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Maps, plates, charts, etc., mey be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too lerge to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed iMginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Lea cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmis i dMS teux de riduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour itre reproduit en un seul clichi, il est filmi i partir de I'angle supirieur gauche, de geuche i droite. et de haut an bas, en prenent le nombre d'images nicessaire. Lea diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA .'^i.mmimei 4>9 u yiffggllggfgf0f0M*»m*jm^*''*^^^^'^''*»>^'^''''^^'''' ■HMM 'tim \ \ 7 / ■ \ A:rK.3K i(S i \ /^; HE ENGLISH IN AFRICA f BY HON. DAVID MILLS, Q.C. MINISTER OF JUSTICE fBOFBSSOR OF INTERNATIONAL ANy» CONSTITUTIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO t TORONTO GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY, Limited 1900 ■^ GENERAL MAP OF /FRICA shcwiIng the tcrri o r THE DIFFERENT EUROPEAN AND qfTHEN STATES #2 HCwAmq the TCRMITORIAL boundaries and 8PHERC8 OF INFLUENCE ND OTHER STATES ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT 1900 >cal« if English Mllai.SOO to an inch ■ T T '■ " '■' '"llj- "■■ ■ rhiuLsh Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand nine hundred, by Gkokok N. Morang & Company, Limitkd, in the cflice of the Minister of Agriculture. CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY. Responsibility of Citizens of the Empire— Command of the Sea Color'zation in North America— Expansion in India, Africa and Australasia— Liberality of British Policy with regard to Colonies— Acquisitions by other Powers and their Antago- nistic Attitude PAOK CHAPTER I. The English in Egypt. Antiquity of Egypt— Modem Egypt began with Mehemet Ali, '769 — His Work in Egypt— Immunities of Foreigners- Ismail Pasha and the National Debt— Public Works— Arabi Pasha Rebellion—The Caisse— Attitude of France. . . 14 CHAPTER II. The Soudan. Geography of the Country— The Darfurians— Belali- Zubeir— His Energetic Operations— Action of Ismail Pasha— Ap- pointment of Gordon by the Khedive— Rise of Mahdism and its Subsequent Developments. , 38 vi. THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA CHAPTER III. The Soudan— Continued. Efforts to repress the "ising' tide of Mahdism — General Hicks appointed to the Work — His utter Defeat and Death — Earl Granville directs Gordon to report — Lord Selbourne's Memorandum — Death of Gordon — The Expedition of Gen- eral Kitchener. . . - PAGE 60 CHAPTER IV. British Dominions in West Africa. The Gold Coast — French Campaigns of Conquest and Appro- priation — German Aggrandisement — Difficullies of the Niger Company — Germany's Co-operation with France — Projected Railways 82 CHAPTER V. British East Africa. Geographical Particulars — The Cameroons District — French and German Pretensions — Britain's Attitude that of Non- Aggrandisement — Despatches of Lord Granville — Explana- tion by Lord Randolph Churchill — The Ten Mile Strip. . 106 CHAPTER VI. British East Africa— Continued. The Imperial British East Africa Company receive a Charter — Mackenzie and His Work — Slavery and Slave Trading — Stanley's Expedition — Catholic and French Opposition — Captain Lugard's Defence of British Interests — A Pro- tectorate Arranged — Revolt of Native Chiefs, 1895. • 130 CONTENTS vii. CHAPTER VII. The English and Dutch in South Africa. PAOE Early History of Cape Colony — The Dutch East India Com- pany — Ancient Dutch Laws — Rising of the Boers in 1813 — Results of the Abolition of Slavery— Boers ask for Indepen- dence — The Orange Free State — Pretorius resists Annexa- tion — Revolt of the Boers— Defeat of the British — Position of the Uitlanders — Importance of the Cape to England. . 158 CHAPTER VIII. The Transvaal President and His Policy. Treatment of Natives by the Boers — Enquiry by the British Government — The Transvaal Proclaimed an Independent Republic — Kruger Visits England — A Commission Ap- pointed — Convention of 1881 — Lord Kimberley on the Situation — Lord Cairns' View — Discovery of the Gold Fields 196 CHAPTER IX. The South African Republic. The Kaffirs : English compared with Boer Treatment — The Hollanders in Office— The Dynamite Question — Declaration of the Commission — Franchise of the Uitlanders — The Jameson March 222 CHAPTER X. The South African ''.epublic — Continued. The Commandeering of British Subjects — Treaties with various Powers as to Commandeering — Exemption from Com- mandeering Demanded — Opinion of a Cape Town Lawyer —Aliens in the Uni'ed States— Tyranny of the Boers. . 238 Vlll. THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA CHAPTER XI. The South African Republic— Continued. PACK Insecurity of Life and Property — Murder of Edgar — Transvaal Law as to Arrest — Murder of Mrs. Appleby — Municipal Law of Johannesburg— Laws regarding Education— Hos- tility to the English — An Artificial Conspiracy. . . . 254 CHAPTER XII. The South African Republic— Continued. Boer Tyranny over British Subjects — Examples of Race Hatred — Unfair Treatment of the Uitlanders— Right of Public Meeting Abolished — The Policy of Leaving things Alone — Duty of the British Government. ...... 273 CHAPTER XIIL The South African Republic— Continued. Negotiations with a view to the Removal of Existing Abuses — Rejection by the Uitlanders of the Boer Proposals — The Final Lippert Memorandum — Views of the South African League — The President's Terms — Variations by the Volksraad 289 CHAPTER XIV. The South African Republic— Continued. Duty of the British Government to Interefere against Boer Tyranny — Attempts to Justify the Boer Government — Primacy of the Great Powers — The Convention of 1844 did not Touch the Suzerainty of England — Declaration as to Natives— European Hostility to England 313 CONTENTS IX. CHAPTER XV. Rhodesia. Boer Agrgrressions in Bechuanaland — Incorporation of the British South Africa Company— The Delagoa Bay Contro- versy—Relation of the British Government to the Chartered Company— Progress and Characteristics of Rhodesia- Responsibilities of the Colonies. . • • • INDEX. PAOK 332 361 •ed >Iic 273 le in le . 289 313 PREFACE In this little volume I have uot undertaken to deal exhaustively with the possessions of England on the continent of Africa, but ouly with those acquisitions which have led to controversy with France, with Germany, with Portugal and with the South African Republic. I have not undertaken to point out the commercial importance of these British possess- ions to which I have referred, but rather to indicate the diplomatic history which, since 1884, has been somewhat critical, and which made it important, that the English Gov- ernment, without being timid, should be cautious, and should take care to maintain British interests in these countries which her merchants and geographers have done, not a little, to acquire, and over which they have endeavored to exercise a jurisdiction in fact, if not always in law. The political relations which have sprung up since 1884, in Africa, between England and France, have threatened at times the peace of both countries, and bear some resemblance to the controversies which arose between them upon this continent, in respect to the Valley of the Ohio, which ultimately ended in the conquest of Canada. France has, since the invasion of Napoleon, had a sentimental, if not a pecuniary, interest in Egypt. The strategical importance of Egypt made a powerful impression upon the French mind. It enabled the country which held it to threaten India, and, since the construction of the Suez Canal, it gives control of the commerce of the whole valley of the Nile, and to the east coast of Africa. It has been the aim of French statesmen to obtain dominion over the xii THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA whole of the southern and eastern coasts of the Mediter- ranean, and so to acquire the sovereignty of the Barbary States, of Egypt, and of Syria. The possession of these territories would, no doubt, greatly add to the military power of France. They would have made her a great im- perial state, only less compact than the Empire of Russia, united, rather than divided, by the Mediterranean. Her possessions now extend from the shores of the Mediterranean continuously southward to the Ivory Coast, and they stretch from the most western part of Africa on the Atlantic, eastward to the western borders of Larfur. One-third of the continent of Africa is under French jurisdiction, and, if she should acquire the Congo Free State, her dominions will be increased to an area of 5,000,000 of square miles. Fre ice has, with more vigor and less scruple, undertaken io extend her territories in Africa than any other State. Under the Berlin Treaty the country owning the territories upon the coast has the right to acquire the Hinterland, although not the right to hold it in an undeveloped condition, against those who are prepared to bring it under the reign of law, and to give security to life and to property within its borders. France has acquired the Hinterland of Sierra Leone, of Liberia, and of the Gold Coast colony, and the boundary that was agreed upon between Great Britain and the Republic, as the separating line on the north of the Niger country, in August, 1893, was, five years later, modified in the interests of France. Upon the western coast of the Middle Niger, three or four years ago, the French proposed that the boun- dary should be drawn due south from Say, and that all the Niger country lying east of that boundary, should be recog- nized as British territory. This proposal gave France a large stretch of territory, between the western watershed of the British portion of the Niger and the proposed boundary ; but French military explorers, supported by the French Government, have actively pushed on to the east of the boundary which France was prepared, a short time ago, to PREFACE xiii accept, and the boundary !ine is finally settled between the French Soudan and the British Niger country, as extending a long way east of the line drawn due south fi'om Hay, and which France, a little earlier, proposed to accept. So, also, what is called French Ubangi, which lies east of the Cameroons country, has been extended eastward to the western water- shed of the Nile, and northward so as to embrace the Sultanate of Wadai, that lies eastward of Lake Tchad, and northward to the Turkish Vilayet of Tripoli. One-third of the continent of Africa is to-day under the dominion of France. But while the territories of France, in Africa, are very extensive, they are not commercially as advantageous as those which have fallen to the lot of England, and which have been, for the most part, brought under English jurisdiction, after English explorei*s and merchant-traders had acquired important interests in the country. The British possessions in Africa include Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, Lagos, the Niger Coast Protectorate and the great territory to the north, which, until recently, was under the fBoyal Niger Company, but is now under the direct authority of the Crown. The other British possessions are Cape Colony, Natal, Zululand, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, the Protectorate of Bechuanalaud, British South Africa, British Central Africa, Nyasaland, the Protectorate of British East Africa, Somali- land, the Soudan and Egypt. And to these, no doubt, will be added, as a result of the war now in progress, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. In the present work, I have dealt with the English in Egypt, in the Soudan, in the Protectorate of British East Africa, in the Niger coun- try, and in South Africa. In the Niger country, in Egypt, and in Soudan, England has been brought diplomatically in conflict with France. In East Africa, and in South-West Africa, in diplomatic conflict with Germany ; in Central Africa, into diplomatic conflict with Portugal ; and in South- Eastern Africa, into hostilities with the two Boer Republics. Portugal claimed to hold possession of territory extending xiv THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA entiroly across the continent. What is now the British Central Africa Protectorate, and what is under the jurisdic- tion of the British South-African Chartered Company, she claimed belonged to her ; but this was not admitted by Great Britain, and it was pointed out that she had done nothing, in the present century, to show that she exercised any jurisdiction over this portion of the continent. Her resources were inadequate to develop so large an extent of territory, and so the central region which she claimed has passed in part under the jurisdiction of England, and in part under the jurisdiction of the Congo Free State. No country, however, has expended less on the territories which she holds than Germany. Her possessions in Africa cover nearly one million square miles of territory. In the Cameroon s country the English were there before her, and she went into posses- sion by a species of sharp practice. The same may be said of her possessions on the Atlantic, north of Cape Colony and west of the territories of the British South Africa Company. Her East African possessions were acquired with the concur- rence of the English, and, to some extent, as a compensation for her moral support of England in Egypt. But now that her sovereignty over these territories is a recognized fact, her rights in them are not open to question. Had it not been for the ' -idustry and enterprise of Mr. Bhodes the whole country north of Cape Colony to the lakes, would have become either German or Boer territory. When one examines the political history of South Africa, he will see what an enormous sum the English people and Government have expended in that region, and if those who till the soil and sow the seed are entitled to reap the harvest, neither Germany nor the Boers could make any claim upon the southern part of the African continent that would weigh against the claim of the United Kingdom. It seemed to me that it would be doing some service to our own people, and would be a small contribution in favor of Imperial unity, if the claims of Great Britain to the terri- tories which she holds in South Africa were fairly presented, PREFACE XV and if the real nature of the controversy between the British Government and the Governments of the two Republics were clearly set out. As long as British trade in Africa was not threatened by the hostile policy of other states, there was no special necessity to extend the Empire, or to assume the cost and the responsibility of governing regions outside of the Empire in. which British trade had been firmly established ; bui when it became apparent that the only way the trade could be held was by the acquisition of the country, it also became a policy not so much of territorial expansion as of commercial defence to extend the Empire into those regions into which British geographers, and merchants, and mission- aries had gone, and in which large sums of British capital had been invested. I trust that the importance of the acquisitions will be pretty clearly impressed on the mind of the reader, and that the justice of the English case in the present war will clearly appear. DAVID MILLS. Ottawa, 23rd March, 1900. Ri yea gre Do gre DO cap mei gre ho\ fam futi divi scri hun Maj thei thei thei * mal 1 INTRODUCTORY Responsibility op Citizenr op the Empire— Command op THE Sea has enabled Britain to build up an im- mense Empire — Colonization in North America — Expansion in India, Africa and Australasia — Liberality of British Policy with regard to Col- onies—Acquisitions BY other Powers and their ANTAGONISTIC ATTITUDE. The British have held possessions in Africa for many years. It has been only within the post twenty years that a great expansion has taken place. At present the British Dominions embrace immense stretches of country upon all the great rivers of that continent, except the Congo, and perhaps no other territories embraced within the Empire are equally capable of effective defense, or afford a better field for com- mercial expansion. It is the duty of every citizen of the greatest Empire that the world has ever known, to consider how that greatness has come about, and to make himself familiar with its history, its present political fortunes and its future outlook. It is not enough to say that there is a divinity that shapes our political fortunes. I cordially sub- scribe to that proposition, but it is none the less true from our human standpoint that the statesmen and the people of Her Majesty's Dominions have the preservation of the Empire in their own keeping, and that its permanency depends upon their high appreciation of its value, the moral stamina which they possess, and the sacrifices which they are prepared to make on its behalf. 1 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA "In a conflict," sayH Burke, "between nations, that state whidi ih roHoIved to liu/ard its existence rather than to abandon itH olycctw, must have an inflnite advantage over that which is resolved to yield rather than carry its resistance beyond a certain point." I have often heard views expressed which, if they were to become dominant, would destroy the independence of any country that ever existed, and which are based upon most short-sighted and erroneous theories of the conditions upon which national prosperity can be secured and maintained. It will be my object in this volume to combat these errors, and to present what I regard as a more prudent — a more states- manlike course, one setting forth a juster estimate of the duties of the citizen towards the State, and of the Paramount State to its Dependencies. Many years ago a story was told of a Hindoo, who declared that he had endeavored to find out what he was in the world for, and that he had discovered it was to multiply joy, to dispel sorrow, to relieve human want, and to take pleasure in doing good to others. We do not all form so lofty, so disinterested a conception of our duties, either in our per- sonal or political capacity. We seldom stop to consider why it is that, in this Empire, we have become trustees of so great a heritage. We do not ask ourselves whether we ought in any case to shrink from the duty and responsibility of territo- rial expansion, when the opportunity opens before us and lures us on to sovereignty. We seldom consider more than the financial side of this question, though the influence which the sense of responsibility may exert may so develop and strengthen our moral courage as to completely change the financial results. The majority of mankind, in the pursuit of their own interests, contribute to the progress and comfort of the world, and place within the reach of vast mfisses of men the means of comfort, without specially aiming to accomplish these ends. INTRODUCTORY Britain's Sea Power The British people, beyond any other, since the fall of the Roman Empire, have been marked by indomitable enterprise and by unwearied perseverance, which have enabled them to win d(j.ninion urdor circumstances of a character which, if prescLted to o»,ner peoples, would have deterred them from the attemi)t. They have, since Spain lost her ascendency, held command of the seas, and they have twice built up a grcflt empire through the advantage which that command gave them. In the earlier attempt at colonization, the English were led by the Sj aniards, and they had both the Dutch and the French as active competing rivals. It would be foreign to my purpose to discuss the decadence of the Spanish dominion, and to point out how the Dutch and the French fell behind the English in the race for commercial ascendency. At one time, out of 25,000 ships afloat, three- fifths belonged to the Dutch. But the Navigation Acts — which forbade any foreign vessel to carry into a British port any goods which were not the product of the country to which the ship belonged — struck a serious blow at Dutch commerce. The Dutch, after holding New York for half a century, were driv»^n out of North America by the English ; and a century later Eng- land and France fought for the possession of this continent. The English were threatened by the French, who carried forward their explorations from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains, and who established trading and England military posts upon the banks of the Ohio and _ . the Mississippi rivers. By the possession of the America ^^^^^y **^ ^^® ®^- Lawrence and the valley of the Mississippi, they undertook to hem in the English colonies between the Atlantic coast and the Alleghany Mountains. Their aim was to deny to the British colonies all room for expansion, although they exceeded the French colo- nists fifty-fold. There were statesmen at that period who would have acquiesced in the western limit which the French would have placed upon the English possessions, if the French THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA themselves had consented to remain north of the Ohio, just as there are statesmen in the United Kingdom to-day who are ready to acquiesce in the barriers which Fiance and Germany have been actively striving to place in the way of the expan- sion of the British Empire in Africa. Fortunately for the prosperity of the Empire, those who are ready to acquiesce in dictation of this kind have usually been in the minority, and although their influence often produces, in the condnct of public affairs, unsteadiness and hesitation, it has never been sufficiently strong to wholly neutralize the impulses in favor of expansion in accordance with the commercial and industrial requirements of the Empire. The Seven Years War ensued from the French aggressions in the last century, and as a result of that fierce contest France lost her North American possessions. Twelve years later, the colonies, which had grown for a century and a half, and which had cost so much blood and treasure to defend, declared themselves independent. Seven years later that independence was acknowledged, and England found herself, in 1783, in possession of only Canada and Newfoundland, a few West Indian Islands, and a iew Trading Posts in Hindos- lan. She had fallen from the high pedestal upon which the genius and statesmanship of Lord Chatham had placed her ; and in granting independence to the United States, she surren- dered to the new Republic a large expanse of territory which she had acquired from France, to which it could make no claim, and which French statesmen thought she ought not to surrender — an opinion in which she herself subsequently concurred. Her most sagacious statesmen regarded the war with her colonies as most unwise, from every point of view. They had so long resisted the authors of this folly, that when power came into their bands, and they made peace, they accompanied it with improvident concessions, intended to conciliate the new State and to separate it from France, which concessions greatly marred the future prospects of the possessions that remained. INTRODUCTORY ggresgions ce conteet elve years md a half, to defend, ater that id herself, Qdland, a n Hindos- which the iced her ; le surren- )ry which make no )ught not seqiiently the war of view. hat when ace, they ended France, ;ts of the at Reunion ,o When the United States Government came to be carried ou u-Jer their Articles of Confederation, it wa« found that the union was little better than no union at all ; that the States were jealous of each other ; that Congress had Inenectual jjq power to give effect to its own decisions ; Attemnts "^•^ that it was utterly incapable of keeping its treaty obligations ; that it was without troops, without ships, without money, without credit, and with- out any executive authority. The controversies which arose between the new Government and Spain in reference to the navigation of the lower Mississippi led the settlers of the Illinois country and of Kentucky to look again to a union with England as the only means of escaping from the impediments in iht way of their prosperity. To facilitate their return to the union with British America, the Province of Quebec was divided into Upper and Lower Canada, and the boundaries of Upper Canada were so described as to make it possible to embrace the whole territory between the Lakes and the Mississippi, southward to the Ohio and perhaps to the Alle- ghany Mountains, within the limits of that Province. Mr. Hammond, the British Minister to the United States, kept his Government informed of the weak and disorganized condition of the Republic. He pointed out to the Foreign Secretary how all those who had gone beyond the borders of the States into the territories, were anxious to enjoy once more the protection of English institutions and the security of English law. Sir Henry Dundas was an active supporter of the re- acquisition of the territory which had been so inconsiderately surrendered. But the adoption of the Constitution, which gave to the United States a Federal Government, capable of acting directlj' upon the people, and having power to enforce its own de(;isions, the concession by Spain of the navigation of the lower Mississippi, and the indecision of the King at the last moment, reconciled the scattered settlers in Kentucky and Illinois to the union, and the war between Great Britain and France induced the King and his advisers to abandon the 6 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA project of regaining that portion of the Province of Quebec which had been so inconsiderately surrendered to the United States ; so that when the war broke out between the French Revolutionists and Great Britain, the British Empire was far less influential and far more limited in area than it was at the accession of George III. Under the genius of Nelson and Collingwood and other distinguished naval commanders, the English acquired a decided supremacy at sea, and by means of this supremacy they extended their dominions in the West Indies at the expense of France and Spain. Their naval ascendency forced the French to cede Louisiana to the United States, to prevent its being captured. They succeeded in wresting from the French their dominions in India ; and at the end of the war, through the enterprise of British navigators, they were in possession also of New Hohand and Van Diemen's Land by occupation, and they had taken South Africa, Guiana and Berbice from the Dutch. When the Treaty of Vienna was ratified, the United Kingdom again found itself in possession of territory giving it room for a mucli larger British Dominion than it had prior to the war with the Colonies. Since the Treaty of 1815 the United Kingdom Expansion ^^^ acquired New Zealand, with other islands in in Recent the Pacific. It has very greatly extended its Years Indian Empire. It has extended Cape Colony northward to the Orange river. It has taken possession of Natal, Basutoland, Pondoland, and the whole central region of Africa north of Orange river to the borders of the Congo Free State. It haa acquired an immense region upon the Middle and Lower Niger, and upon the Upper Nile. It, by the Soudan campaign, began a new conquest, which has resulted in further expansion, and has given well nigh con- tinuous dominion from Suakin, upon the Red Sea, to the mouth of the Niger and the shore of the Atlantic. It has acquired portions of Borneo, and of New Guinea. At no period in the history of the British Empire has its expansion INTRODUCTORY gone forward so rapidly as during recent years. In 1884 tlie area of the Empire was 8,410,000 square miles, and in 1896 it contained 11,009,000 square miles — an increase of 2,600,000 square miles. Since then the success of English anns in the Soudan has added nearly two millions more in the Valley of the Nile. It is said that this exhibits a greed for the possess- ion of territory, which has left the United Kingdom without an ally among civilized nations ; that it has greatly weakened her influence ; for other nations are persuaded, that, under the pretence of acting in the interest of humanity, she is impelled onward by some sinister motive, behind which is always hidden some special gain to herself. They regard everj' proposal which she makes — no matter how plausible it may appear, no matter how seemingly fair to other states — as being primarily intended to secure to herself, some para- mount advantage. This is not at all a fair representation, because it often happens that the expansion is a positive gain to all commercial states, as well as to the inhabitants of the country over which her dominion has been extended. In so far as other states are hostile to England, that hostility is not due to the reason which has been assigned, but to this — that the English possessions are, for many reasons, more secure, and more prosperous than those of other great states ; and that her acquisitions have generally been well chosen for the extension of commerce, or for colonization, and, in many instances, for both. And this is so, because they have been explored by men of indomitable enterprise and great self- reliance, who, without government aid, have established trade and extended British influence over vast regions, and having won them, have then offered them as trophies to the Groverument of their own country. Her possessions aie also secure by reason of her great maritime strength, and because of the liberal commercial policy which, for half a cen- tury, she has pursued, which has greatly increased the difliculties of other states, in entering as her Liberal Govern- ment Policy 8 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA rivals, upon the work of colonization. As long as each state undertook to make its colony a close preserve for its own peo- ple at home, so long was it certain that every foot of settled territory acquired secured an exclusive trade to the parent state, and, to that extent, restricted the trade of these people with every other state, and of those of every other state with them. Every barbarous and semi-barbarous country taken pos- session of, to which such a policy is applied, has all its avenues of commerce closed to every nation, other than its conqueror. In the last century, no colonists were permitted to trade with any foreign state. With the repeal of the English Navigation Laws, the English colonists were, in matters of commerce, put upon a footing of equality with the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, and the foreigners were put upon a footing of equality with the people of the parent state. Now, the effect of this has been that immigrants from other countries are as free to settle and engage in foreign trade as if they had been in their native country. They are much freer to trade with all other countries than if they had colonized a possession of their native land. On account of this freedom of intercourse, and on account of the political liberty which they acquire in a British possession, there are very few well-informed immi- grants from the Continent of Europe who do not know that a far freer hand is given them to become the architects of their own fortunes in the colonies of the United Kingdon. than in any colony belonging to the country of their birth. The pros- pect of this freedom kicks the beam in favor of a British Dom- inion, and thither they set their faces. This has had no small degree of influence in retarding the colonization of Dutch and German possessions, and has secured to England a large number of persons of foreign birth. If we examine the facts closely, we shall find Acquisitions that much of the land-grabbing done during the p ^^ P^s*" twelve years has been done by those states that have been loudest in their complaints against British selfishness and British greed. What has there INTRODUCTORY beeu in the history of the expansion of our Empire to be com- pared with the French acquisitions in Tonquin, in Siam, in Madagascar, in Congo, on the Upper Niger and in the occu- pation of Tunis? Let anyone take the trouble to investigate the merits of the French controversy, with the governments of some of these states, and explain what real ground of quarrel France had with any one of them. Tunis, a state depen- dent upon the Ottoman Empire, at the very door of Italy, upon which Italy from contiguity, and considerations of self- defence, had a superior claim, was taken possession of by France, to put an end to the depredations of Arab tribes never heard of except in French despatches, and the commerce of other nations secured by Treaty with the Bey of Tunis, has been swept away. But let me invite attention to recent acquisitions in Africa. In 1884, France held in Africa 600,000 square miles of territorj-, in Asia 56,000, in Oceania 9,000. In 1896 France had in Africa 3,100,000, in Asia 282,000 and in Oceania 9,000 ; so that France, during these twelve years, hjts added to her dominions, 2,726,000 square miles of terri- tory, being 126,000 square miles more than England had within the same period, and j-et Frenchmen complain of the land-grabbing tendencies of the British. It is true that French colonies are conquests. Frenchmen do not go forth to colonize. The emigration from France does not exceed 5,000 a year. France can, for this reason, have no colonies by settlement. All her colonists are necessarily of alien races. She helps them only to the extent that she governs them better than they were governed before. This she does. She seals their ports against foreign trade, and to the extent that she can, in this way, secure to the traders of France, a com- merce that they could not otherwise obtain, she wages a tariff war against the commerce of all other states. Germany, in 1884, had no possessions in the Pacific seas, nor had she any in Africa. To-day Germany holds 102,000 square miles of the Pacific Islands, and she claims 921,000 square miles in Africa. These figures show that neither France nor Germany are in a 10 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA m position to complain of English land-grabbing. The truth is that the English Empire in Africa had long been in a semi- dormant state, and had a new impetus given to it by her relations to Egypt, by recent mineral discoveries, by the ex- plorations and discoveries of her citizens, and in self-defence ; for everyone knows, that, while British occupation does not, in the slightest degree, interfere with the trade of Germany or of France, the sovereignty of either of those states, means the exclusion of the products of British industry from the countries that pass into their possession ; and if the British Empire was not to have the continent of Africa wholly closed against British commerce, it must acquire upon that continent exten- sive dominions. Commercially, every other state gains by the extension of English dominion, commercially every other state loses by the extension of the dominion of Germany or France. Perhaps no country ever before acquired so extensive a territory to protect so slender an interest as Germany did in Western Africa. To-day, Germany claims the whole of the western coast known as Demara-Land and Namaqua-Land — the whole country from the Orange River, northward to the southern extremity of the Portuguese possessions — ^a distance of more than 700 miles. Both these territories had, for many years, been practically in the hands of English traders. A Bremen merchant had obtained concessions The Angra from a native Chief at a place called Angra Pequina Pequina, and had been promised protection by Incident Bismarck. The whole of this coast, to a distance varying from forty to one hundred miles inland, is a sandy desert, except at Walfish Bay, where the fertile territory extends to the shore. The coast contains but few inhabitants. Mr. Coates Palgrave was sent thither, in 1876, by the Cape Town Government, to report upon the country and its inhabitants. He brought some chiefs back with him to Cape Town and the result of the expedition was the annexation of Walfish Bay with the adjacent coast. Mr. INTRODUCTORY 11 Palgrave was named Special Commissioner to the tribes north of the Orange River. Angra Pequina is in Namaqua- land, about midway between Orange River and Walfish Bay. Because of the one Bremen merchant's purchase, a corre- spondence took place between the Foreign Office and Her Majesty's ambassador at Berlin upon the subject. The English Government made inquiry of the Cape Government in respect to the value of this coast, and their desire to have it retained as a British possession. The Government at the Cape were slow to answer, and when the answer was received it expressed no decided wish in the matter. Lord Derby asked the Cape Government whether they would undertake the control of Angra Pequina if it were made British Territory? He informed the Cape Government that the matter was urgent, and that it would be difficult to resist the representations of the German Government, for if protection were not given there to German subjects by some British authority, Germany herself would assume jurisdiction over the country. This representation from the Foreign Office was telegraphed in February, 1884, to the Cape, and was not answered till May following. Lord Derby again telegraphed for a decisive answer. Sir Thomas Scaulon informed the Colonial Office that, were he remaining in office, he would submit a proposal for the protection of Augra Pequina, but as he was retiring the matter must be left to his successor. His successor, Mr. Uppington, sent a proposal, but it was for- warded too late, for a German gunboat was then on its way to the Western Coast carrying thither a German Commissioner, with full power to protect German interests, and to annex the territory to the German Empire. In fact, the German Government had resolved to seize the country, and was, without disclosing its intention, endeavoring to draw from the British Government the admission that tliis was not British territory. The Colonial Office had proposed that the whole coast between the Portuguese possessions and the Orange River should be brought under the control of the Cape 12 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Gktvemment. But the Germans were already at Angra Pequina, and claimed the coast, not only up to Walfish Bay, but for hundreds of miles beyond. The Germans desired the cession of Walfish Bay and its adjacent territory to them. The Oape Government refused their assent. The German Government were invited to concur in appointing a Commis- sion to deal with the claims of British subjects, because all along the coast there were islands in the possession of the English, and the English trade was out of all proportion greater than that of Germany. The Germans were much exasperated at the English attempt to isolate their settlement at Angra Pequina, although they did not hesitate to under- take to isolate the much older and more important English settlement at Walfish Bay. If Lord Derby had taken upon himself the responsibility of protecting the one German trader at Angra Pequina, as the German Government not very hon- estly requested, there would have been no German possessions upon the Western coast south of the Portuguese possessions. As the matter ended, much merchandise, including arms and ammunitions, that would otherwise have been supplied, if supplied at all, from the Cape, found their way into the interior. The annexation of this part of Africa by Germany was, in the words of Lord Derby, made in an unfriendly spirit, and Germany claims the whole country eastward to the 20th meridian, north to the 18th parallel S. L., and thence east to the 21st meridian, north to latitude 22. When the desert coast is passed, the interior is a good distance above the sea level ; the climate is salubrious, and the country rich in minerals. Germany wishes to hold this country, without improving it, until it may become useful, and, as it is only accessible by Walfish Bay, to acquire this part of the coast also, so as to have access to the interior. The Cape Gtjvernment have wisely de- clined to consent to its cession, because there is, at this point, a good deal of trade which is now in their hands, and from which they would be excluded if Germany acquired this dis- trict ; and they know that the German territory is for the INTRODUCTORY 18 present useless to Germany without it. M. Leroy-Beaulieu, writing on behalf of France, and correctly expressing French feeling, * ' rejoices at the German possession of Angra Pequina as a protest against the Anglicisation of the whole world." " It has not, however, pleased the Cape colonists, that this protest should he made at their back door," because it may, hereafter, seriously interfere with their expansion in territory, and their growth in population and wealth. But the Cape authorities are not free from blame ; had there been on their part, as there should have been, a little more enterprise, and a little more readiness to bear some of the burdens attached to the prospect and promise of future greatness, the Germans would not have been upon the Western Coast at all. Lord Derby, no doubt, was influenced by the feeling of repugnance which exists in the minds of many Englishmen against the extension of British territory, and because of the cry that would have been raised against the Government on account of the additional expense, attendant upon the police establish- ments of the trading posts upon this coast; but what has actually happened, will add far more to the expense of the due pro- tection of Cape Colony and Bechuanaland, than the cost of actual dominion would have necessitated. The immense discoveries of diamonds and of gold, and the facilities that are being provided for trade over the great central regions of which the English are now in possession, may carry those sattlements westward until they reach the sphere of German influence, and then there may arise in the interior a dispute between Germany and England such as that which arose between the English and the French in the eighteenth century, when the English colonists began their settlements within the valley of the Ohio. It is quite certain that the English settlements will reach the borders of Ger- many's claim before German colonization is likely to have even a beginning. CHAPTER I. THE ENGLISH IN EGYPT Antiquity op Egypt — Modern Egypt began with Mehemet Ali, 1769 — His Work in Egypt — Immuni- ties OF Foreigners — Ismail Pasha and the National Debt — Public Works — Arabi Pasha Rebellion — The Caisse— Attitude of France. The annals of Egypt are longer and more interesting than those of any other country on the globe. Egypt began its national life with the dawn of history. It was old before the story of many ancient states had a begin- ning. It was contemporaneous with Babylon, Assyria, and Kheta. Some thousands of years had passed over it before Athens was founded by Cecrops. It was a very ancient state in the days of Abraham, and far on in a period of decay, when Herodotus visited it, and declared that it possessed more marvels than any other country then in existence. Egypt has fallen from the lofty place which it once occupied, but it is in many ways still a country of intense interest, on account of its antiquities, which afford precise historical information, while the earlier stories of other states leave us sometimes unable to distinguish history from fable and real persons from mythical. It is not my purpose to discuss the history of Egypt, but to deal with its present condition, and with the relation which the United Kingdom occupies, in respect to it. Egypt began its modern life under Mehemet Mehemet Ali, an Albanian, who was born in 1769. He came All, to the front during the period of anarchy and 1769 civil strife which existed in Egypt, after the con- flict which occurred there between the English and the French, and which was continued after the withdrawal IN EGYPT 16 of both. After the English had retired, the Turkish Admiral invited the Beys, who were a powerful class in Egypt, to an entertainment on board his ship. When they were in open boat, in Aboukir Bay, he endeavoured to destroy them. One of the number took refuge with the English garrison at Alexandria. This was the beginning of a conflict between the Memlooks and the Turks, in which the Turks were almost uniformly defeated. But they as uniformly endeavoured to accomplish by treachery what they were unable to accomplish in open and manly conflict. Mehemet Ali led a most adventurous life during this stormy period, until he was ultimately made Pasha of Egypt, and was recognized as such by the Sultan. The Sublime Porte always seemed ready to award the spoil to the victor no matter who the victor might be. Mehemet Ali succeeded in forming a small but well-disciplined army, that usually served under the command of his son, Ibrahim Pasha, who, in several conflicts with the Turkish forces, succeeded in beating a Turkish Army more than twice as numerous as his own, until he was at no great distance from Constantinople, and forced the Sultan to appeal to the Czar for protection. In May, 1833, a treaty was concluded which left the whole of Syria to the Pasha of Egypt. Some years later, the Sultan attempted to limit the dominion of his vassal, and sustained, in the second conflict, a tremendous defeat at Nezeeb. In this contest Mehemet Ali relied on the co-operation of France, but France failed him at the critical moment, and to this may be attributed' the transference of Syria, once more, to the Sultan, and the restrictions which the treaty of 1841 imposed upon the Pasha of Egypt. It is true that M. Thiers was adverse to the British policy which was incorporated into the London Convention of July, 1840. He favored the ambitious projects of Mehemet Ali, which, in his opinion, would strengthen French influence in the East, and but for M. Guizot and Louis Philippe he would have risked war with England, and this, after France had co-operated with her upon the lines which 16 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA England had laid down. It is certain that Runsia would have come to the rescue of Turkey, because it would have afforded her, at that time, the opportunity which she wanted, of making the Ottoman Empire a vassal state ; and there could be no question what would have been the fate of Egypt had not powerftil states come to her rescue. The English, by the Treaty of London, secured to Mehemet All the hereditary administration of the Pashalik of Egypt, and this upon condition that he should restore to the Sultan of Turkey the Turkish fleet, and evacuate Syria. Lord Palmerston, in a despatch to Lord Ponsonby, authorized this proposal, and the British Commodore sent Captain Mansel with the ship Rodney, bearing a flag of truce, to Mehemet Ali. The Captain took with him a letter from the Commodore, in which he said : — ' ' Will His Highness permit an old sailor to suggest to him an easy means of reconciliation to the Sultan and to the other great powers of Europe? Let His Highness frankly, freely and unconditionally deliver up the Ottoman fleet, and withdraw his troops from Syria. The miseries of war would then cease, and His Highness in his later years would have ample and satisfactory occupation in cultivating the arts of peace, and probably laying the foundation for the restoration of the throne of the Ptolemies. He may rely upon it, Alexandria itself may be made to share the fate of Acre. His Highness has now an opjjovt unity of founding a dynasty or he may sink into a simple Fa iha." Mehemet Ali acted upon these suggestions and they were included in the treaty. Being upwards of seventy years of age, he gave up all his great political projects and devoted himself to the improvement of Egypt. He continued to pursue commercial, manufacturing, educational and other schemes. The barrage of the Nile was beg^n by him. In the estimation of many, the darkest act of his life was the massacre of the Memlooks. In so far as he understood western civilization, he availed himself of it with marked ability, and considering the restrictions under which he IN EGYPT 17 Inhored, ho gave oecurity to lifo and to property within hiM (lominiunH. The Firman of 1841 rentricted hiH military power in time of peace to an army not exceeding 18,000 men. And the foundation of the modern ingtitutionH of Egypt may be said to have originated with him. Egypt, under Mehemet Ali, approached more nearly to being independent than it has for many centuries. It has always presented features that seem abnormal and that are peculiarly its own. In the days of Herodotus we are told that women went abroad to trade and to do business, and that the men remained at home to weave and to spin. The Sultan of Turkey is still sovereign lord of Egypt, and possesses, as head of the Mohammedan world, a great deal of influence, but apart from this, he does not govern. The world has, perhaps, never seen another Government so complicated as that of modern Egypt. There- are Pashas and Generals, and Commissioners, and Consuls and Consuls-General, and native Judges, and foreign Judges of native Courts, and foreign Judges of foreigners and foreign Judges of International Courts. Egypt is cabined and confined in a Oovern- ment of Modern Egypt hundred ways, and great patience and great tenacity, stimulated by interests of paramount importance, are, as the Government is at present constituted, essential to its being governed at all. Let us look at some of the restraints upon government in Egypt. It is not an independent country. It is a vassal state of the Sultan of Turkey. The power of the Khedive is an emanation from the power of the Sultan. The Firman of June, 1873, enumerates the powers bestowed upon the Khedive of Egypt, subject to the payment annually, to the Sultan, of about £700,000 sterling. He may conclude commercial treaties not incompatible with the treaties of the Porte. He may rogotiate loans. He may maintain an army, which in time of peace is not to exceed 18,000 men. He It THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA may buiM ships of war, other than ironclads. His heir is entitled to succeed him in the Khediviate. But, since 1879, he cannot negotiate a loan without the consent of the Sultan. But the restrictions upon the sovereignty of Egypt, arising from the suzerainty of the Sultan, are small indeed, compared with the international obligations which restrain govern- mental action and which are known as Capitulations. Thebe Capitulations, which are concessions made in times long since gone by, by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, to subjects of Christian states, are held to be binding upon Egypt, as well as upon other portions of the Sultan's dominions. When these Capitulations were made, they were Acts of Grace on the part of the Sultan, based upon considerations of public policy. The Sultans, after the conquest of Constantinople, were, from a military point of view, more powerful than the rulers of any of the Christian states of Europe, and when the concessions were made, they were intended as«a protection to the defence- less strangers of an alien faith. When Turkey declined in strength, and the states upon her borders became more powerful than she, the concessions which former rulers of the Empire had made to the subjects of all European states, and which have since been extended to the United States and to Brazil, became restrictions upon Turkish sovereignty and crippled her freedom of action in respect to matters of great importance to herself. Among these Capitulations are V . Qunity from taxation, other than Customs duties, inviola- bility of domicile, and exemption from the jurisdiction of local courts. These Capitulations have received in Egypt, a con- struction by foreign representatives, that has given them a most preposterous extension, and makes their continuance a detriment to Egypt, and a disgrace to Europe. Claims have been made under them, practices have sprung up, which have acquired the sanction of long usage, which are not only without warrant under the Capitulations, but are in express contravention of their exact terms. Foreigners have pressed IN EGYPT 19 Immuni- ties of Foreign- ers for privileges and immunities, which they have obtained from the weakness or from the mistaken liberality of Egyptian rulers, as concessions by Turkey, which Turkey did not concede, and which no fair construction of these Capitulations will uphold. Let us see how the immunities claimed work out in practice. A foreigner commits there a criminal offence. He may be tried by his Consul in Egypt or by a competent Court in his own country. He cannot be tried in an Egyptian Court. Being a foreigner his domicile is inviolable, and hi8 domicile has been defined in a way which not only prevents his arrest but prevents any proof being obtained for any breach of the law which he may commit. The domicile is taken to include the whole premises, and, before it can be entered for the purpose of arresting him, the Consul of his own country, or some one to represent him, must be present. In an immense number of cases the Consul of his own country keeps out of the way. Time is given him to remove, or in some way to effectually conceal the wrong, the smuggled or stolen goods, or whatever the wrong may be. The result of this is that the offence goes unpunished, and the revenues of the country are constantly defrauded. An Egyptian officer cannot board a foreign ship unless the Consular agent of the country in which the ship is registered, is present ; and if she is engaged in smuggling, before he can be persuaded to put in an appearance, she again puts to sea, and awaits a better time, or a more suitable place, to land her cargo, free of any Customs charges. A criminal, or a gang of criminals of one uationality, take refuge upon the premises of a foreigner of a different nationality. When this happens, two Consular agents are necessary before the police can act — one to le.T:alize the invasion of the domicile, the other to legalize the appre- hension of the offender. But if the criminals so taking refuge are themselves of different nationalities, there must be present a Consular agent of the nationality of each. It is easy to see 20 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA that in the majority of cases it will, in practice, be found impossible to obtain the timely co-operation of the adequate number, and so the criminals escape. If it is difficult to arrest an offender, it is not less difficult to secure his con- viction and punishment after the arrest. That it is a tremendous abuse of authority, in any case, to prevent criminals from being amenable to the Courts of the land, even where natives are victims of their criminality, goes without saying. It is easy to understand how the govern- ments of Christian states regarded this matter at the time the concessions were made. The immunity of an offender where the crime was not an atrocious one, was regarded as far less repugnant to our conceptions of right than the administration of justice according to the views of Asiatic despots ; but with the safeguards that surround all classes in a modern Egyptian court, the ancient immunity can no longer, on any ground, be upheld. But the nuisance of these Capitulations becomes intolerable where the tribunal by which he is tried shields the wrong-doer because he is a fellow countryman. The Consular Courts have, for the most part, but a limited jurisdiction, and where the jurisdiction is adequate, and appeals are allowed to some tribunal at home, and where the original evidence is not forwarded, and where depositions without hearing or seeing the witnesses are taken, and the local circumstances and conditions are wholly unknown, it is not difficult to see that the administration of justice, in respect to foreigners, may be wholly abortive. Sir Alfred Milner, who was a British official for many years in Egypt, says it is no uncommon thing for Greek thieves, forgers and murderers, to be handed over to their Consul, and either to escape trial, to be acquitted in the teeth of evidence, or if convicted, to be acquitted at Athens. Ruffians of the worst description, difficult to arrest, more difficult to convict, appeal and are discharged by a court at home, and they return to Egypt to resume again their old IN EGYPT 21 career ; and so the Greeks in Egypt are notorious for their lawlessness. I am sure you will agree with me when I say, that there cannot be a greater scandal to a Christian civili- zation than that this state of things should be perpetuated. And it is not difficult to understand the very unfavorable impression that the use, not infrequently made, of these immunities is calculated to produce in the minds of those who subscribe to a different faith. Then, in respect to ordinary police regulations, these Capitulations are found equally strong as barriers against the suppression of vice, or the repression of nuisances. They protect gambling houses and dens of vice. An Egyptian may be reached. Proper police regulations may be exercised over him, but not over the foreigner. The lower class of for- eigners who swarm in Egypt, keep gambling houses and low drinking shops, refuse to pay any heed to sanitary regulations, throw refuse into the public streets, pollute the water in the canals, they cannot be tried by an Egyptian court, and they are pretty sure not to be tried by their own. Now these police offences are offences against the Municipal Law of J^gypt- But a foreigner can only be tried for an act which is an offence by the law of his own state. In these police matters, the law of the foreigner's country may have no provision applicable to the offence which he has committed in Egypt, and to make an Egyptian municipal law apply to foreigners, it must be enacted with the approval of all the powers. As the chances are that the consent of all cannot be obtained, the Egyptian authorities usually find themselves powerless to enforce the most necessary sanitary and police regulations. Since the English influence has become para- mount, the Government of France may be reckoned upon at all times to withold its consent from ill-humor, if from no other cause. Before entering upon the discussion of European interven- tion, and the present relations of the British Government to the Government of Egypt, it is important to point out the circum- 22 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA stances out of which that intervention arose. The conduct of Ismail Pasha, who succeeded to the Khediviate in Ismail 1863, and was forced to retire from his position in Pasha 1879, has been ever since a subject of controversy 1863 and conflicting opinion. Ismail Pasha, from one point of view, contributed much to the progress of Egypt ; but those by whom he was surrounded were, no more than himself, capable of properly conducting the affairs of the country, so as to carry into effect those reforms and improvements which he deemed essential. When he suc- ceeded to the Government of Egypt, he found a debt of £3,300,000. When he was forced to abdicate, it had risen to £100,000,000. In 1870 the funded debt was, in round num- bers, £33,000,000, and the charge very nearly 12 per cent, annually. In 1873 the Oppenheim Loan was effected for £32,000,000, for which the Khedive received £11,000,000 in cash, and £9,000,000 of stock worth 65 per cent, in the mar- ket, and which he was forced to accept at 93 per cent. — 28 per cent, above its market value ; so that by this one loan, though the debt of Egypt was increased £32,000,000, the net cash received was less than £17,000,000. The following year the Ronznamah International Loan was ordered for some- thing over £5,000,000, for which the subscribers were to receive a perpetual annuity of 9 per cent. Further efforts were made to bring the debt of Egypt, which had risen from 15 shillings per head in 1863 to £18 per head in 1879, within control, and to see whether the Egyptian Government might not be saved f^om the bankruptcy which threatened it. Mr. Goshen was sent out by 2,500 bond-holders to remodel Egyptian finances. The Khedive assented to his demand. £59,000,000 which was bearing £4,130,000 interest annually, was charged against the general revenues of Egypt. £17,000,000 preference debt, bearing £886,000 interest annually, was charged against the earnings of Egyptian railways, and the Daira Loan, of £8,825,000, bearing £450,000 interest annually, was charged against the estates of the Khedive. This arrangement was m EGYPT 23 found to be one beyond the power of Egypt to carry out, and lasted for but a few months. Next a mortgage was given upon the estates belonging to the various members of the Khedive's family. Upon this security Sir Rivers Wilson went to Paris and negotiated a loan with the Kothschilds for £8,500,()00, upon which there was a discount of 27 per cent., and Sir Rivers was allowed 2| per cent, commission, on the nominal sum, which amounted to £212,000. So the Khedive actually received less than £6,000,000, though the liability of Egypt for this loan was £8,500,000. A number of Egypt's creditors had already obtained a lien upon these lands, and this led the Rothschilds to delay the payment of the money. This proved very dangerous indeed. A large number of Egyptian officials were left unpaid, and there was serious danger of a massacre of both the Khedive and all Europeans found in the country. It is charged against Ismail Pasha that he squandered the money which he borrowed. Mr. Mulhall, who is a very high authority, defends Ismail Pasha against this charge. He points out that on loans amounting to nearly £100,000,000, he actually received but £42,000,000. Upon the Suez Canal he expended £6,700,000 after deducting the value of the shares sold. The actual amount spent by the Egyptian Government upon this canal was upwards of £16,000,000. Of this sum £5,328,000 was interest. Upon 8,400 miles of Nile canals £12,600,000 was spent. Upon 430 bridges £2,150,000. Upon the harbor of Alexandria £2,542,000. Upon the Suez docks £1,400,000. Upon 919 miles of railway £13,361,000. Upon 3,200 miles of telegraph £853,000. And upon 15 lighthouses £188,000. During Ismail Pasha's reign, his public works increased the fertile area by 1,373,000 acres. The value of the imports rose from less than £2,000,000 in 1862 to £5,500,- 000 in 1879. The exports in 1862 were £4,500,000, and in 1879 £14,000,000. The revenue in 1862 was a little less than £5,000,000, and in 1879 was more than £8,500,000, and the population of Egypt increased during his regime 700,000, and w 24 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA the estimated value of the crop in 1879 was £44,800,000. There can be no question that the wealth and productive power of Egypt was enormously increased under Ismail Pasha. That he squandered large sums in entertaining Europeans, and upon places of amusement, is time ; but his chief loss arose in his dealings with money-lenders who obtained Egyptian bonds greatly below par, and at very exorbitant rates of interest, and to these things, and to the bad management of those who were entrusted with the government, his misfortunes were due. He had hi office 1,300 Europeans, whose salaries aggre- gated £37.^,0 I' which the majority did little, and some did nothing at 'u , .^i^d it is not surprising that Egypt, under incompetent management, rapidly approached bankruptcy. Mi', Mulhaii day tha 1 e original cause of Egyptian bank- ruptcy was the excestiive charge on account of the sinking fund ; that the net product of nine loans was £50,500,000, and of this sum, £46,000,000 was spent by him on public works. English contractors for thoHC works Expensive charged 80 per cent, profit, and European bankers Public obtained 28 per cent, interest. He expended Works during his reign £3,600,000 on schools, and lost £900,000 in village banks started to save the fellaheen from the usurers ; he lost £150,000 in the Nile Navi- gation Company, and spent upwards of £1,000,000 in the erec- tion of palaces and opera-houses, and in the entertainment of Kings and Emperors. When these sums are put together, it will be found that they amount to the net sums of money that the Khedive received. It is said, and I believe the statement is true, that the amount of money already paid by Egypt to her creditors, had she borrowed at par, and at a moderate rate of interest, is more than equal to the total amount which she has received, with the ordinary rate of interest that sol- vent states pay, included. In fact, Mr. Seymour Kay main- tains that all the loans that Egypt has received from European speculators, have already been paid, together with interest at the rate of 6 per cent., although the total nominal amount of IN EGYPT 25 her indebtedness — less the sums paid into the Sinking Fund — still stands against her ; that, notwithstanding this fact, under the law of liquidation, as settled in 1880, the people of Egypt still pay 8 per cent, on the amount actually received ; so that about one half of the revenues of Egypt are applied in the payment of interest on loans, for which Egypt has never received any return whatever. That the European control was established to manage the affairs of Egypt in the interests of those capitalists who had plundered her, is in some measure true, and, also, that the cultivators of the soil in Egypt had been promised a permanent reduction of their taxes by one-half, if they would raise money to meet pressing public obligations. They raised £17,000,000 in cash, which sum was paid to the bondholders and was never reminded, although the fellaheen had no remission made to them. Mr. Kay also maintains that Egypt is governed in the interest of thie bondholders, and not in the interest of the Egyptian people. There is much truth in these statements. From one point of view they are correct. They are not, however, the whole truth ; and much contained in the charges made by Mr. Seymour Kay, Mr. Mulhall, Mr. Blount, and others, will be found, when investigated, to be charges rather against the Governments of other countries than the Govern- ment of England. No doubt, when the security for Egyptian loans was raised from one of desperate speculation to a per- fectly good security, the Governments that took control of the Egyptian revenues ought to have insisted upon the actual amount of money received by the Egyptian Government being taken into consideration, rather than the nominal sum men- tioned in the Egyptian bonds. But such a course, though favored by the English Government, was strenuously resisted by the Government of France, that put a higher value upon the influence of the bondholders than it did upon justice to the Egyptian taxpayer. Although Egypt has, from a period prior to her occupa- tion by England, been compelled to pay a sum unduly great, 26 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Rebellion, 1882 it was the oppression arising from bad financial management tnd the undue influence of Turkish officials that led to the Egyptian rebellion, a rebellion which, had it not been for the defeat of the Arabi Pasha, might have ended in a general massacre of the Euro- pean population. There cannot be a doubt that when the English entered Egypt, they expected to put the Egyptian Government in order, and then retire. But the spread of popular religious excitement produced a situation that made retirement impossible. There were many millions of Euro- pean mone^ , and many thousands of European lives, in jeop- ardy. England had an enormous interest both in the transit trade, and in the direct trade of the country. It was only a few years before, that Egypt, from bad financial management, was on the brink of bankruptcy. There is no room to doubt, that, apart from the joint control, Egypt would have been compelled to repudiate her indebtedness without much prospect of allevi- ation to the great masses of her population. The movement under Arabi Pasha threatened her with both bankruptcy and barbarism. The massacre which occurred at Alexandria and at Tanta, and the rising Mohammedan feeling, might have produced a state of things in Egypt, that would have led to massacres as shocking as those which have recently taken place in Armenia. There was constantly-increasing violence that pointed in the direction of the extermination of the entire Christian population, native as well as foreign. The Govern- ment of the United Kingdom sought the concerted action of Europe ; it sought the intervention of Turkey ; it invited the co-operation of France. But the growth of a spirit of hostility became too alarming to await the delays of negotiation ; and so England assumed the responsibility of acting alone. She had a greater interest at stake than any other state. Her resources enabled her to act at once, and the rising storm forbade delay. No matter what criticism English intervention may subject her to, her conduct saved Egypt from great loss. It saved the Christian population from annihilation. She did for Egypt IN EGYPT 27 what Europe refiised to do for Armenia. The intervention of 1882 was an intervention that the situation justified. No doubt the movement led by Arabi Pasha was one springing from the aspirations of the Egyptian officials. They were provoked by the favors extended to Turkish officials. The non-Turkish officers in the Egyptian army were wearied beyond measure by the Turkish oligarchy. The official Turk had no claim upon the Egyptian people. The class was arro- gant and corrupt, and Arabi Pasha and his friends were resolved to get rid of them. Then the gross abuses associated with the privileged position of foreigners of the most unscru- pulous sort, had grown, during the large expenditures of Ismail, to frightful proportions. The Egyptian whose intelli- gence enabled him to comprehend the situation, was friendly to Arabi, and he hated those who had plundered the treasury of his country. The European adventurer seeking favors, the loan-monger, the Greek publican, the Jewish and Syrian money-lenders, the European who had obtained possession of great estates and received the protection of his Government, had battened upon the Egyptian treasury, and had burdened the Egyptian cultivator, until his condition was little better than that of a slave. Indeed it was often worse. These were all hated by the Egyptian fellaheen, as the Turkish official was hated by the Egyptian official. So Egypt was ripe for the movement which Arabi Pasha had begun to lead. Nearly the whole native population sympathized with him. The cry of Egypt for the Egyptians, was a cry that aroused the entire population, and betokened instant revolution. It was directed against every European as well as against every Turk, and so included those who were necessary to the progress of Egypt as well as those who had proved to be its greatest misfortune. The abuse of the privileges which I have mentioned has been the bane of Egypt, but European influence of a legitimate kind, has all along been its hope. The usurer who found in Egypt a Paradise for rogues, and who has bled the country without pity, has done great mischief; but there is also the 28 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Of Dangrep capitalist who has invested his money in great public under- takings, that has developed the resources of the country, and has met the special needs of its people. The Eastern Christian and the Eastern Jew are both unscrupulous, but they have in their possession more than half the wealth, and a good deal more than half the intelligence, the enterprise, and the re- forming energy to be found in the land of the Pharaohs. The crusade of Arabi Pasha came, says Sir A Time Alfred Milner, at a moment when the better class of Europeans were triumphing over the worse class, and when, under dual control, Egypt was entering upon a path of pure, economical and just administra- tion. But when the movement under him became powerful, it not only attacked the abuse of Egyptian influence but its existence. The prejudice of the Moslem grew as he became conscious of power, and half a million of Egyptian Christians with their hated rivals, the Syrians, and Europeans of every nationality, would have perished had England not instantly intervened. Arabi Pasha did not favor the excesses of revolution, but he was wholly unable to control the spirits which he had called up. He and his Egyptian confreres be- gan the movement to root out the Turk, but as Moslem fanaticism grew in fierceness, the floods of revolution were diverted from their original channel, and he sought the sup- port of the Sultan against the Christians of Egypt. The great improvements which England has made in the valley of the Nile, are such as the Egyptian party professedly favored ; they were such as Ismail Pasha himself, in a most improvident way, undertook to carry into effect. The people of the United Kingdom have furnished Egypt with the only real nationalists that it has known. They are the only people who have earnestly devoted themselves to the development of the great natural resources which Egypt possesses. During the year 1895, there was made in Upper Egypt 115 miles of drainage at a cost of £66,500. During the ten years 1,400,000 acres have been drained and made flt for cultivation at a cost of IN EGYPT » £421,000. There are 3,000,000 acreH undmined, which will require an expenditure of £800,000. The Puhlic Works De- partment have built, in recent years, 900 miles of agricultural roads, and light railways hb e been begun. The natives who belonged to the ruling class have them- selves been wanting in honesty and capacity. They have accepted bribes, they have perverted justice, and they have neglected their public duties. It has often happened that the men selected from among the foreign classes have lacked InHuence when they were not wanting in honesty. The uumber of foreign officials have, since the fall of Ismail Pasha, been excessive, and the salaries paid them have been out of all proportion to their services ; but France has most stren- uously resisted all reform of this abuse. The Egyptians have justly complained of excessive taxation, waste, incompetence, and corruption. The prestige of the Khedive has been diminished ; his power and authority have been weakened. This is the necessary consequence of European interference, especially the power to interfere under the Capitulations. England has found a most formidable task in England's the government of Egypt, the most formidable T *T?^ that any one government has ever undertaken to meet, because she has largely denied to herself the employment of coercive means, to secure respect for her authority. Her civil officers, there have found corruption to be the root of Egypt's misfortune, and they have under- taken to destroy it. In 1879 Sir Evelyn Baring, now Lord Cromer, on behalf of England, and M. De Blignieres, on behalf of France, undertook to give Egypt a better civil govern- ment than she had before known. But the dual control was doomed to failure, and the attempted revolution under Arabi Pasha, three years later, put an end to it. England, on account of her immense interests, assumed the responsibility of governing Egypt through Egyptian authority. It may well be, that had the British Government fully realized how formidable the undertaking was which they had assumed, 30 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA they might have shruuk fVom the taak, or they might have boldly faced it by the eBtabliahment of an English Protector- ate over Egypt. But they adopted what they thought a milder course. They declined an English Protectorate. The Egyptian authorities must govern Egypt, but they must be guided by English advice, which, under i}0 circumstances, could they be permitted to disregard. In 1884 Lord Gran- ville informed Sir Evelyn Baring that, <' It should be made clear to the Egyptian Ministers and Governors of Provinces that the responsibility which for the time rests on England obliges Her Majesty's Government to insist on the adoption of the policy which they recommend, and that it will be neces- sary that those Ministers and Governors who do not follow that course, shall cease to hold office." This is, in effect, a Protectorate, though it is not one in form, and so not one that a foreign state can recognize, and has rendered the govern- ment of Egypt far more complex than if an actual Protector- ate had been boldly proclaimed. British authority in Egypt is exercised in three ways — through officials in the Egyptian service, through the troop8 that England maintains there and through the Consul-General. The British officials have been greatly reduced in numbers. Theoretically, they are the officials of the Khedive. They are not, in most instances, the heads of their respective services. There is an Egyptian chief in almost every instance ; but he knows that his subordinate who stands next him is a citizen of a State that through him and others must, in e£fect, govern Egypt. On account of their official relations to the power behind the Government, the advice of these officials is not ordinary advice ; it is the voice of superior wisdom, supported by invisible authority. The English troops have no official status of any kind in ^t^yp^- Had there been a British Protectorate, then they would have had an official position ; but, as it is, they are not foreign soldiers in Egypt upon the Khedives solicitation ; they are not soldiers of a protecting power, because the British tectoi presei IN EGYPT 81 Ooverament do not claim that they have cHtablished a Pro- tectorate. They are a few thousand foreign visitors, whose presence lends additional weight to the advice given by the British Consul-Oeneral. The Consul-Oeneral himself is, in practice, a powerAil British Minister at the Court of the Khedive. His normal position is the same as that of any otlit r Consul-General. His actual position is very different. Nominally he stands upon a footing of equality with the Consuls-General of other coun- tries, but, in fact, he is the unproclaimed arbiter over an administrative area of very varying dimensions. He is engaged in the work of internal administrative reform in Egypt ; but all he does is, in form, to give advice, but advice which he knows the parties carrying on the G >vernment of Egypt, cannot disregard. The system is not popular with Egyptian statesmen, because when they receive advice, they think, also, they ought to be at liberty to exercise a judg- ment, but when the test comes they find that this is not the case. There is much in the Government of Egypt of which an Englishman cannot approve, and were there a British Protectorate there are many abuses which might easily be got rid of. When Egyptian finance was undergoing reform, and the creditors of Egypt were having their securities improved, the English Government favored a permanent reduction of the interest upon the debt. France championed the bond-holders and favored the sweating process. The law of liquidation failed to make adequate provision for the actual needs of the Egyptian Government. This was modified by the LondoH Convention, which provided that the Government should have a claim upon any excess received by the Caisse as soon as the interest on the debt was satisfied. The Caisse hands over to the Government of Egypt whatever is necessary to meet the deficiency on the authorized expenditure. If there is still a surplus, it is equally divided between the Caisse and The Caisse 82 THE ENGLISH IN AFEICA The Copvee tlie Government. What is retained by the Caisse is applied in the reduction of the public debt, what is handed to the Government is used in the public service. If, in any year, there is a defiqit, the Egyptian Government are authorized to draw upon the surplus in the hands of the Caisse to the extent necessary to meet the authorized expenditure. One of the chief embarrassments of the Egyptian Government has arisen from the necessity of obtaining the consent of the Great Powers to any new outlay, as the construction of a new canal, or the extension of the system of irrigation, etc., for without such consent the expenditure is not authorized, and 80 cannot be made a charge upon the revenues. This is one of the embarrassments which the English Government are compelled to face. Another ancient abuse which the British Government have endeavored to abolish was the Corvee — the forced labor of the Egyptian peasants upon public works, especially that of clearing the canals of silt. It was estimated that this would cost about £400,000 a year. Under the old regime the fellah might be compelled to work upon any undertaking, public or private, at the instance of the Khedive. He was frequently taken from his own field at a season that entailed upon him an enormous loss. So that, of all form of taxes, this was one of the most wasteful. The English stopped the Corvee upon occupying the country. They regarded the abolition of this forced labor, of far more consequence than the reduction of the tax to an equal sum in value. The Great Powers were asked to add the costs of removing the silt from the canals to the authorized appropriations. Yet it took three years to get the consent of the French authorities to this most reasonable proposal. The sum appropriated was but little more than half of what was required. As soon as this limited appropria- tion was made, it was found so advantageous that the National Assembly, although composed of landlords, voted the tax necessary to secure its entire abolition. The tax, IN EGYPT however, was ne\ ~r imposed, as it was found immediately after, in 1890, possible to reduce the interest on the privileged debt from five to 3 J per cent. , which relieved the Egyptian treasury to the extent of £300,000 a year. But France refused to give her consent to these most advantageous reforms unless Great Britain would name a day for the evacuation of Egypt. To avoid the Corvee tax, the Egyptian Government asked to have it charged against authorized expenditure. The French Government refused until they had extorted fresh concessions from the Egyptian Government ; but the Egyptian revenue so improved as to enable the Egyptian Government to meet the charge from the surplus. France, from first to last, beyond all the other powers having any interest or authority in Egypt, has never scrupled to avail herself of every proposal to improve the condition of the Egyptians, to get some advantage for herself at their expense. In this regard, there has been a marked difference between the conduct of the United Kingdom and that of France. England has drawn from her predominant position, no special commercial advantage to hei^self. Her percentage of the Egyptian trade is no greater to-day than it Attitude yvas before she occupied the country, though the volume of trade has greatly increased, and in this she has shared. There is no doubt, if the position of the United Kingdom were more permanent, she would increase her iufiueuce and diminish the difficulties of govern- ment. The creditors of Egypt desire her continuance. But the French, and a small minority under French influence, are hostile, and put every possible impediment in her way. Italy was, at one time, the only friend that England had in the government of Egypt ; latterly Austria and Germany have, at times, given effective help. Russia has thrown her influence with France, but it has not been hearty. Her interests in Egypt are small, and she could not decently obstruct English action in the direction of reform. France thinks she has a grievance. She thinks that she has a special claim on Egypt of England 34 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Attitude of France — that Egypt should be a French possession, and that the rest of mankind, the British excepted, sympathize with her. France is mistaken. Those who have no interest in Egypt are not disturbed ; those who have, prefer to see life and property made more secure ; and the mercantile world is not hostile to good government ; and those who reside outside of France know that France, if she could, would legislate solely in favor of her own people in Egypt. France represents nobody but herself. When Sir Drummond Wolfe, in 1887, negotiated a Treaty with the Sultan in respect to English withdrawal, France, by her threats, deterred the Sultan from ratifying it. The influence of France, from the outset, has been far more sellish than that of any other European State. Egypt was burdened to the extent of many millions in the construction of the Suez Canal, solely in the interests of its French promoters. Because Ismail Pasha had promised to aid in digging the canal by the enforced aid of the peasantry, which proved so destruc- tive of life that he was unable to keep his promise, France compelled him to pay an immense sum of money. She used her influence to prevent the establishment of a mixed Tribu- nal. French adventurers received the support of French diplomacy in their dishonest demands upon the Egyptian treasury. She has not regarded either the weakness of Egypt nor the misery of its population. On behalf of contractors and money-lenders, she has sought from the Egj'^ptian the last pound of flesh. It is a mistake to suppose that the hostile policy of Fmnce, in this regard, owes its existence to the presence of England. France bullied Egypt before English occupation. Her arro- gant demands weakened her influence ; and her attempt to- frustr'ite England at every step, has, in more than one instance, sacrificed her interest to her jealousy. She has re- sisted reform, she has checked Egyptian development, she has perpetuated many great abuses, and she has resisted to the utmost every attempt to put an end to useless officials if IN EGYPT 85 her own people were found amongst them. She has resisted a reasonable Press Law. She has interfered with the police. She has prevented restraints upon drinking. She insists upon maintaining a separate Post Office at the expense of the Egyptian treasury, although every other power has abandoned it. She has, by her resistance to reform, continued in existence, at a great cost to Egypt, many separate Adminis- trative Boards that are no longer necessary, and that Egypt has out-grown. France has, to the utmost of her power, endeavored to weaken, and to render costly and ineflTective, the present system. There are French officers in the Egyp- tian service who are men of high honor, who desire to be fair, who wish to avoid friction, and who would like the govern- ment of Egypt to be made effective. But the French colony at once subjects tLem to attack. French opinion in Egypt is too powerful with any French Government, not to succeed in the ruin of the official who refuses to be their instrument. The colony are unscrupulous and active, and are backed up in that policy by the Parisian press. They have sought to propagate the notion, that were England to withdraw from Egypt, France would be her most devoted ally ; but the West Shore question of Newfoundland, the West Coast question in Africa, the occupation of Tunis, the efforts to obtain Central Soudan and the Upper Nile, and the Protectorate of Mada- gascar, all alike, contradict any such notion ; and he must indeed have but a very narrow acquaintance with modem diplomacy, who can be imposed upon by any such notion. French opposition, to the English in Egypt, grows yearly less and less availing. Yearly the amount of European capital invested in Egypt, is increasing. Yearly the men of other countries have larger and larger interests in Egypt. They know that English occupation means an equal chance to men of all nationalities, struggling to make the most of their opportunities. They know that this would not be the case if the authority of France were substituted for the authority of England. They know that with the extension of English 86 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA sovereignty upon the Upper Nile, and English dominion over the Soudan, which the International Court of Appeals, under French influence, has repudiated on hehalf of Egypt, has given to England the right to retain, on her own hehalf, the country of the Mahdi, and this right it is to he hoped she will not hesitate to assert. I shall, in another chapter, point out the strenuous efforts made hy Grermany to bring about a conflict be- tween England and France in the Central Soudan, which shows how anxious she has been during the past twelve years, to divert the attention of France from the Rhine to Central Africa, and from Grermany to England. So far, Germany has not succeeded, though her conduct towards the United King- dom, has, in no case, been marked by friendliness, and in some cases there has not been even good faith. Her diplomacy has neither been scrupulous, nor candid. In the crooked course she has taken, she has imposed upon the English Government, the necessity for concessions, in order to avoid serious friction, both with Grermany herself and with France. But the United Kingdom can never abandon Egypt until it becomes perfectly certain, that Egypt will be politically so circumstanced, that no other State will have either the oppor- tunity or the pretext for taking her place. English dominion has already extended over the best portions of the African continent. I hope, that at no distant day, British authority will stretch continuously from Alexandria in the north to Cape Town in the south, and from Suakin on the Red Sea to Lake Tchad, and thence to the Atlantic coast. England is marking upon the continent of Africa the cross of St. Greorge, as her possession. I say with all my heart may she complete it, and may she be worthy to make it, while the world endures, indelible. Her last treaty with France abandons the country between Darfur and Lake Tchad, and, for the present, separates her possessions on the Niger from her possessions on the Nile. It is to the interest of Africa and its people that she should connect the west with the east ; for she is doing more, many times over for the Dark IN EGYPT 37 Contiuent, than all the rest of the civilized world besides. It is impossible to read the history of the century now closing, without feeling that our Empire has a destiny that is indeed manifest, if it be adhered to with prudence, and upheld with humanity and courage. With Tennyson let me say : " To all our statesmen so they be True leaders of the land's desire I To both our Houses, may they see Beyond the borough and the shire ! We sail'd wherever ship could sail, We founded many a mighty State ; Pray God our greatness may not fail Thro' craven fears of being great." CHAPTER II. THE SOUDAN. Geography op the Country — The Darfurians — Belali — Zubeir — His Energetic Operations — Action of Ismail Pasha — Appointment of Gordon — Rise of Mahdism and its Subsequent Developments. The recent political history of the Soudan is of special interest to us, because of the melancholy disasters sustained and the glorious triumphs which have been won there in recent years. The Soudan country is of vast extent, reaching from the borders of Abyssinia westward to the valley of Lake Tchad, and from the borders of Nubia on the north to the lake region on the south. The Soudan dependent on the Govern- ment of Egypt must embrace, at least, one million square miles. The Khedive of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, in 1822, reduced to subjection that portion of the Soudan lying in the vicinity of the Nile, but the Bahr-el-Ghazal, Equatoria, and Darfur were not brought under Egyptian rule much more than a quarter of a century ago, and that jurisdiction had existed but for a short time, when it was completely effaced by the conquest of the Mahdi. In the progress of his conquest, the aimy under Hicks Pasha was completely exterminated ; the Egyptian garrisons, at various points through the country, were destroyed, and Governor Gordon was beheaded at Khar- toum. The best account that we have of the character of the country, of its people, and of its political condition with which I am acquainted, is that given in the work of Slatin Pasha, the Austrian officer, who for many years, was in the service of the Egyptian Government, and who for four- teen years was a prisoner in chains in the hands of the Mahdi, and after his death, in those of his successor, the IN THE SOUDAN Kaliph. There was, before the rise of Mahdism, discontent and unrest in the various provinces of the Soudan, due largely to the inequality of the taxes imposed, to their oppressive character, and to the constant raids that were made, by various Arabic chiefs, for the acquisition of slaves, and for the carrying on for gain of the slave trade. But, before I present to you a summary of the acquisition of the Soudan by the Egyptian rulers and its conquest by the Mahdi, let me give a brief summary of the history of the country at an earlier date. The Soudan, now dependent upon Egypt, con- History ^is^ of the Provinces of Dongola, Berber, Gezira, ^ of the Kordofau, Darfur, Bahr-el-6hazal, and Equatoria. f Soudan In the two latter Mahdism was established over but a very small portion, but in all the others it had, during its existence, complete sway. The Province of Darfur was at one time one of the kingdoms of Central Africa, stretching nearly across the continent from east to west. During the 17th century the kings of Darfur were sovereigns of the whole of this country. As far east as the Atbara river, the Fungs, a warlike race, and one of the most powerful tribes of the Soudan, gradually drove the Darfurians back, and established their own authority as far as the banks of the White Nile. In the year 1770 the Fungs wrested the Pro- vince of Kordofan from the kings of Darfur, but in 1775 it was retaken by the latter, and remained under their jurisdic- tion until it was acquired in 1882 by the brother-in-law of Ismail Pasha, who was subsequently burnt alive at Sheudi. The tribes of Darfur always had a reputation for bravery, but in 1882 the Province of Kordofan was first brought in contact with enemies equipped with firearms, and those without arms were nearly annihilated by their opponents. They remained under Egyptian authority from that time till 1883, when they fell under the sway of the Mahdi. After the loss of Kordofan the rulers of Darfur retired further westward towards the interior, and their kings exer- 40 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA cised dominion over a much smaller area than they had pre- viously governed. The centre of what remained to them was Jebel Marra, where the district, as the name denotes, is a mountainous one ; the roads are few and difficult, and their country, for defence, is one of great natural strength. In the valley of Jebel Marra grain is grown. The original tribes of the country were the Furs and the Tagos. The Tagos ruled for centuries over the entire district from their inaccessible strongholds in the Jebel Marra. In the fourteenth century the Tungur Arabs emigrated from South Tunis, through the regions around Lake Tchad, and eventually reached Darfur. The Tago Chiefs were brought into subjection, and a more orderly Government was established than had before been known. The rulers of Darfur established a regular code of laws, known as the Kitab Dali, or Penal Code of Dali. They continued to govern the country until far down in the present century. Sultan Mahomet Fadl died in 1838, and was suc- ceeded by his son Hussein, who, by a milder Government, endeavored to recover the popularity which his father had lost. In 185() he became blind, and delegated most of his official work to his sister, who ruled as lya Bassi, accord- ing to the established custom. She was reputed to be both extravagant and immoral. v . ; . ; At this time, Zubeir, a member of the Jemiat section of the Jaaliu tribe, was a trader in the Bahr-el-Ghazal countiy. Zubeir quitted Khartoum, as a young man, and went south in search of fortune. Many mer- Zubeir chants and slave traders, at this time, were fortunate in the Bahr-el-Ghazal country. Zubeir became the assistant to the well known Ali Abu Amuri, who is frequently mentioned by Sir Samuel Baker in his Travels in Africa. Subsequently he established a Zareba of his own. He annexed territories, and amassed great quantities of ivory and of slaves, which he exchanged with the Nile merchants, for arms and ammunition. In character he is said by those who are competent to form an opinion of IN THE SOUDAN 41 him that he was neither better nor worse than hundreds of other merchants occupied in the traffic, which in that country, was regarded as perfectly legitimate. He became the virtual ruler of the Bahr-el-Ghazal country, and one of the most powerAil men in the Soudan. He extended his conquests in the northern districts of Bahr-el-Ghazal, until he reached the regions tributary to the Sultan of Darftir. He endeavored to avoid a quarrel with the Sultan. The Sultan Hussein was informed by Zubeir that, in accordance with the law of the Prophet, the heathen were the legitimate spoil of the Moslems. Hussein replied that, being a Moslem himself, a descendant of the Prophet, he claimed a similar right to deal with blacks and with horse dealers. By the latter epithet he referred to Zubeir himself, as Zubeir was, by descent, a Jaalin, and was known to Darfurians as a dealer in Dongolan horses. Zubeir was not turned from his designs by this offensive communication. His influence continued to increase, until he was master of the district of Bahr-el-Ghazal, which, up to that time, had paid tribute to Darfur. The Darfurians saw their principal source of revenue was now cut off. The government expenditure was increased, the taxation became more burdensome, which resulted in widespread discontent. At this time there lived in the palace of the Sultan of Darfur one Belali, who belonged to a tribe that was partly in the Kingdom of Wadai and partly in Bernu. The man was a religious teacher and claimed to be of Belali noble descent. He found favor with the Sultan but was greatly disliked by the Sultan's sister, the lya Bassi, and by the Vizier, who resented his interference, and induced the Sultan to expel him from the country. Belali fled to Khartoum, and made known, to the Egyptian Government, the immense area and fertility of Bahr-el-Ghazal which formerly belonged to Darfur. The sole object of Belali was to injure the Sultan. The Khartoum authorities believed him, and he was despatched, in company with Kutshuk Ali, in command of some Bashi Bazouks and 1 42 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA two hundred regular trooiis. They were directed to take possession of the region which was supposed to be without a ruler. Zubeir looked with no friendly eye upon the intrigues of this upstart. But he watched and waited patiently. Kutshuk AH died suddenly, and was replaced by Hagali Alur Nurein. At the instigation of the latter, Belali, emboldened by Zubeir's inaction, seized large stores of grain which Zubeir had prepared for his Bazingers. Zubeir fell on him and suddenly drove him and his men off, with loss. Belali collected as many as he could, and attacked Zubeir's Zareba, but he was again repulsed. He fled to Ganda where he was captured and was taken back to Zubeir's Zareba, where he died from wounds which he had received in b ittle. Zubeir, by making valuable presents to Belali' s men, suc- ceeded in having a report made to Khartoum favorable to himself and justifying his conduct. He was pardoned and appointed Governor of Bahr-el-Ghazal. Shortly after he pointed out to the Governor-General the discontent that pre- vailed in the Kingdom of Darfur. He stated that his own relations with siome of the principal dignitaries were such that the inhabitants would be glad to see their countiy annexed to Egypt. He offered to carry out this arrangement without aid from the Government. His proposal was agreed to (1873), and he made preparations to seize Shakka, the capital. At this time the Rizighats, who had been subjugated and some of whom had been dispersed among the people of Darfur, gradually regained their strength, and held an independent position in the district between Darfur and Bar-el-Ghazal. When an attempt was made to tax them they resisted and immediately succeeded in driving away the tax collectors. They had recently fallen upon a large caravan coming from the Nile to Bahr-el-Ghazal, with which were a number of Zubeir's relatives, nearly all of whom were killed. Zubeir treated the Rizighats as subjects of the Sultan of Darfur, and he called upon the latter to make compensation, which he either could not or would not give. Zubeir announced his IN THE SOUDAN 48 inability to obtain satisfaction and his determination to finish with the Rizighats. During this year, the Sultan Death of ^^ Darfur died, and he was succeeded by his son, the Sultan who was nicknamed by the Darfurians Ibrim OfDaPfur Quiko Fiko Mahomet el Heliki. Slatin Pasha, who is a very good authority on the former history of DarAir, relates that Sultan Hussein just before his death said : " I feel my country and the throne of my ancestors is about to be overthrown. God grant that I may not live to s^e that day, for I seem to hear the trumpets of the Turks and the distant sound of the ombyea blown by Bahahara, that is, the lords of the Bahr-el-Ghazal. May God have mercy on my son Ibrim and on my unfortunate descendants." The Sultan, at this time, had been blind for thirty years. He knew the cor- ruption of his country, and how impossible it was for him to restrain it. He realized the growing desire of the Egyptians to extend their territory, and he knew that Zubeir and his Bazingers would be only too ready to become their instru- ments. The Sultan Hussein was a very wise man, and though his blindness to some extent incapacitated him in the discharge of his duties, he clearly appreciated the disasters which the corruption of those by whom he was surrounded, was likely to bring upon his country. Zubeir lost no time in beginning his operations. He was joined in his advance towards Shakka by some of the principal chiefs of the Rizighats, who, being well acquainted with the district, acted as spies and scouts and facilitated his advance. The force of Zubeir v. as incessantly attacked by Arabs, and although he was suffering from sickness he nevertheless reached the centre of the Shakka district. Here he learned that Sultan Ibrim had dispatched a strong force against him. The force was commanded by the father-in-law of the new Sultan, who took command reluctantly and who declared that he did not anticipate victory, but he hoped for an honorable death, as he did not desire to come under the jurisdiction of new rulers. Zubeir strengthened his position in order to resist hi '^;-|4:S 44 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA attack. The Rixighat tribe informed him, that it wan their intention to remain neutral. If he were defeated they were prepared to purnue him and to kill him for booty ; but if he were victorious, they would mount their swift horses and follow up the Darfurians in order that they might receive a share of the spoils. The Darfurian army was defeated. Their forces, deprived of their leaders, retreated, and were pursued by the troops of Zubeir. The Rizighats joined in the pursuit, slaugHtered the flying Darfurians and captured an immense quantity of loot. The few who managed to escape fled to Darfa. Zubeir sent a message to El Obeid, and to Khartoum, announcing his victory, and asking for the reinforcement of troops and guns, which the Egyptian authorities had prom- ised to place at his disposal, in the event of success. He con- tinued his advance upon Darfa. His flank was protected by the Governor-General from El Obeid, who was at the head of 8,000 regulars and a number of irregular horsemen. Zubeir entered Darfa almost unopposed. He found it deserted. The Sultan Ibrim was at El Fashar collecting every available man, and advanced upon Dara. The Sultan made a reconnaisance of Zubeir's position. The reconnoitering party was met by a storm of bullets, and was forced to retire. The other portion of the Sultan's army supposed that it was an attack which had failed, and made contemptuous observations in the Sultan's hearing. Fierce with anger he ordered his riflemen to Are on his own troops, who were retiring towards their camp. Sev- eral were killed and many wounded. They dispersed. Those within the camp took advantage of the disorder and dese'* to their homes. The Sultan, by losing his temper, destr. his army. He informed those who remained with him, tii..t, by remaining they would be able to draw Zubeir from Dara, whom he hoped to defeat on account of his superior numbers, if engaged in the open field. He was followed by Zubeir to Manawashi. The approach of Zubeir was the general signal for desertion. The Sultan's troops fled in all directions, and knowing now that all was lost, he put on his helmet and coat IN THE SOUDAN 48 Death of Ibrlm of mail, and accompanied by his Hons, the Cadi and a few servants — all of whom mounted their richly-caparisoned steeds — sallied forth with drawn swords, and dashed at the enemy. Cutting their way through the first line of the Bazin^^ers, the Sultan shouted, ''Where is your master Zubeir ? ' ' He then made for the spot where Zubeir was directing his guns against his assailants. The Sultan had only gone forward a few steps when he and his little party fell riddled with bullets. Hu perished the last of a long line of Darflirian kings, who had ruled at one time over an immense region of Central Africa. Zubeir informed the Governor-General of his victory. He pushed forward, and arrived in El Fashir in two days. The Governor-General, Ismail Pasha, came too late to share in the booty. The treasure had already been distributed ; but Zubeir sought to secure his friendship by offering him costly presents. This distribution of the booty before the arrival of the Governor-General was no doubt the commencement of a quarrel which subsequently developed into mutual hatred between Ismail Pasha and Zubeir. Zubeir followed the uncle and brother of the Sultan to Jabel Marra, and there he obtained their submission. They were subsequently sent to Cairo. Zubeir himself, having been promoted to the rank of Pasha, returned to El Fashir, where Ismail Pasha was occupied in regulating the administration, and in very freely imposing taxes. Zubeir Pasha had conquered the country and thought liimself justly entitled to have its government confided to im. Ismail Pasha, in order to get rid of him, ordered him to occupy Dara and Shakka with his troops. Zubeir sent a despatch from Dara to the Khedive, begging to be allowed to come to Cniro. His request was granted. He appointed his sou, Suleiman, as his agent, and took with him to Cairo, many valuable presents. On reaching the capital of Egypt, he was cordially received, and he fully stated to the Khedive his ground f complaint against Ismail Pasha. The latter was 46 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA also summoned to Cairo, where both were detained. Hassan Pasha was appointed representative of the Egyptian Govern- ment in Dariur, The people were tired of the arbitrary rule of the Sultan ; but they soon discovered that the Bazingers and the crowd of irregular Shaigis and Egyptian officials, who swarmed into the country, were even greater oppressors, than those to whose yoke they had long been subjected. Soon the unjust and unequal burdens that were imposed upon the population produced signs of revolt. The chiefs elected Haroun el Baschid, th3 son of Self Ed Din, as Sultan. They planned the massacre of the outlying garrisons, and in an incredibly short time all the larger towns of the country were invested by them. At El Fashir the fort was twice stormed, and well nigh successfully. The Khartoum authorities lost no time in sending a force that inflicted heavy defeat upon the rebels, and, pushing on rapidly, succeeded in relieving El Fashir. On the recall of Ismail Pasha, General Gordon was appointed by the Khedive, Governor-General of the Soudan. He thought it very important that he should visit Darfur. He rode into the country with a very small force, but his movements were so rapid, and he was so perfectly fearless, that he escaped attack. His sympathy with the people, a-jd his opposition to unjust treatment, won their confidence, so thai/ with a mere handful of men he was enabled to restore order in the country. The Sultan Haroun, with a few followers, took refuge iu the wilds of Jabel Marra. Gordon's first step was to remit the greater part of the taxes which the desolation of the country, by rapine and war, made it impossible for the people to pay. In order to make the diminished revenue adequate to the requirements of the Government, he reduced the garrisons. This measure, although necessary from a financial point of view, subsequently had a disastrous eflect upon Darfur. In the meantime, the Sultan had established an independent rule in Niurnia, the ancient capitul of the Tago Appoint- ment of Gordon IN THE SOUDAN 47 Princes. From this point he occasionally descended into the plains and ravaged the villages. When Slatin Pasha arrived at El Fashir the garrison consisted of two battalions of regulars, two batteries of field artillery, and 250 irregular Shaigia horsemen. But a very few years passed from the time that Zubeir conquered the kingdom of Darfur, until it was lost to Egyptian rule. During the disorders that prevailed in that country Mahdism took its rise, and the founder Mahdism extended his authority over the whole Soudan country, northward to the vicinity of Wadi >■<:-.■ jvM Haifa, on the Nile. This man, Mahomet Ahmed, was born near the island of Fago, in Dongola. His family were both poor and obscure, but he claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet. This claim had never been acknowledged. His father was an ordinary teacher, and had early instructed his son in the Koran. He had learned to read when still a child, and his father, who had started with him to Khartoum, died on the journey. He studied assiduously, and being naturally of a religious disposition, became a great favorite with his teacher, who taught him to commit the Koran to memory, and gave him early instruction in Mahommetan theology. He subsequently went to Berber, and there became a pupil of a learned insti-uctor, with whom he completed his religious education. He remained several years in Berber, and continued his studies with well known instructors. When he grew to manhood, he left Berber and went to Khartoum, where he became a disciple of the Sheikh Mahomet Sherif, whose father and grandfather had been the chief exponents of the Samania Tarika, which means the " Guide to the Way." These holy personages devoted them- selves to reading texts of the Koran, which the devotees are called upon to commit to memory, and which thus facilitate their journey to the heavenly mansions, which are believed to be the goal of all true believers. Various doctrines are held by different schools of Mahommetans. Each school bears the I «lf: m THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA name of its original founder, and these founders are held in high respect by their disciples. Mahomet Ahmed soon showed himself an ardent supporter of Mahomet Sherif. He went to the Island of Abba, on the White Nile, where he was surrounded by several devoted disciples. They cultivated the lands, and occasionally received gifts from religious persons, who passed up and down the Nile, and so supported themselves. His two cousins also lived there, and devoted themselves to boat-building, and to supporting the young Fikt who had hollowed out for himself a cave in the mud bank, where he lived in almost entire seclusion, fasting for days, and occasionally paying a visit to the head of the Order, so as to assure him of his devotion and obedience. One day Sherif had gathered together his Sheiks and disciples, to celebrate a feast in honor of his son. His guests were informed that they were at liberty to amuse themselves by singing and dancing, and he would pardon them, in God's name, any sin that might be committed by them during these festivities. But the young Fiki Ahmed pointed out to his friends that singing, dancing and playing were transgressions against the laws of God, and that no man, not even their master, Sherif, could forgive such sins. This opinion reached Sherif, who entirely disagreed with Ahmed, and being very angry at the assumption of his disciple, called upon him to justify himself. Ahmed came in the most humble manner before the Sherif and sought his forgiveness ; but Sherif denounced him as a sedition-monger, who had broken the vow of fidelity, and struck him off' the list of disciples of his Order. Mahomet Ahmed, finding himself spurned by Sherif, applied to Koreishi, who lived near MesaPamaia, to receive him into his Order. This he did. Subsequently Mahomet Sherif directed him to appear before him, and he would grant him a fiill pardon, but this he refused to do. The story that a disciple had been refused forgiveness by his chief, enlisted sympathy on his behalf, and made him pretty widely known IN THE SOUDAN. 49 throughout Dongola. He now made a journey through Kordo- fan. He received gifts from the people, which he distributed among the poor. He wrote pamphlets calling upon time believ- ers to purify religion, and he obtained far and wide a reputation for superior sanctity. His new superior dying, he sought per- mission to be admitted into a third Order. Ahmed began now to inform some of his most ardent friends that he was the Mahdi, but he desired by his journeys through the country to ascertain the temper of the population towards the Govern- ment. Bauf Pasha, the Governor-General at Khartoum, had been told by Mahomet Sherif of Mahomet Ahmed's intentions ; but it was known that their religious differences had embit- tered their relations, and so the authorities did not attach the importance to the information which it merited. The Gover- nor-General regarded Mahomet Ahmed as a pious man who had obtained a hold over the population on account of his sanctity. The Governor-General (Rauf Pasha) sent Abu es Said to Mahomet Ahmed, in order to bring him to Khartoum. Timely warning had been given to Ahmed that, if he came to Khartoum he was likely to be detained there through the intrigues of Sherif. When Said appeared, he infonned Ahmed of the reports that had been circulated with regard to him, and strongly urged him to come to Khartoum, and to justify himself to the Governor-General. Ahmed sprang to his feet, and declared, in a loud voice, that by the grace of God and his Prophet, he was master of the country, and would never go to Khartoum to justify himself, and he urged the Governor- General's envoy to become a believer in the truth. Abu Said returned to Khartoum and informed the Governor-General of his failure. Ahmed now realized the importance of prompt action. Rauf Pasha also realized the situation, and at once dispatched two companies, each under the command of an independent officer, to go to the Island of Abba, where Ahmed resided, to arrest him and to bring him to Khartoum. The officer who succeeded in capturing him was to be promoted to the rank of major, the effect of which was to make each jealous 4 6# THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA of the other and each anxious to succeed by his own indepen- dent exertions. Ahmed became aware of their approach. He and his followers withdrew from their huts. He had already summoned a number to join him in a Jehad. The two companies approached from opposite directions. The huts were deserted, upon which they fired, and, in the darkness began to fire upon each other. The followers of Ahmed, who had been hidden in the long grass, armed with swords and lances, well-nigh exterminated the two companies that had been sent to arrest their chief. This success gave additional weight to his pretensions to divine instruction. Ahmed had still but few followers. He resolved to retire to a greater distance from Khartoum, and he informed his friends that he intended to proceed to southern Kordofan. He had some difficulty in getting away from his insular position, but being joined by a number of friends, who for some time hesitated, he retired to Jabel Masa. On his journey southward he came near a small party of soldiers under Major Guma, who were engaged in collecting taxes. Guma did not care to attack him without orders, and before his instructions could be received the opportunity was lost. Mahomet Ahmed now felt himself sufficiently strong to openly assume the title of Mahdi. Kaiku Bey undertook to check the march of the Mahdi, and underrating his strength he marched without any militaiy precaution into an ambush, and lost 1,400 The Governor of B^ashoda (Rashed Bey) warned the Government of the serious character of the revolt, and took steps to offer an effective resistance ; but the Mahdi had issued letters in all directions proclaiming his victories and his divine mission and summoned men everywhere to join in the Jehad. Once the Mahdi' s pretensions found a place in the minds of the people, many regarded it as a wrong to fight against so pious a man. By another victory, the Mahdi found himself in possession of the whole southern Kordofan. Among the uueducat-ed the stories of his victories were exaggerated, a The Title of Mahdi assumed of his men. IN THE SOUDAN 51 spirit of fanaticism was let loose, and many joined his ranks to fight against the Government troops, which were stationed in various parts of the countrj-. The Government forces were successful here and there ; nevertheless the fortunes of war were generally against them, and in May, 1882, the Governor- General earnestly set to work to place Khartoum itself in a state of defence. The Mahdi having now created a spirit of anarchy over the whole of southern Kordo&n, extended his efforts into south- ern Darfur. The feeling of superstition, which has a strong hold upon the ignorant and fanatical populace, spread umong the tribes of Darfur, and greatly weakened Egyptian authority in many cases over those who were in the public service, who were but half-hearted in their opposition to Mahdisra, and did not a little to bring about the defeat and destruction of the Egyptian forces in Darfur. Before discussing this matter further let me direct attention to the dissatisfaction and unrest that existed throughout Darfur prior to the rise of Mahdism, and which betokened danger to Egyptian rule apart from Mahdism altogether. Slatin Pasha points out that in 1879 he had been appointed by Governor Gordon as financial inspector, and he was instructed to travel in the Soudanese country in order to make himself conversant with the complaints of the popu- lation, and to learn the reasons assigned for the non-payment of taxes. He learned from the population that the distri- bution of taxes was unjust, and that this injustice resulted in its burdens being chiefly borne by the poorer classes of the lauded proprietors, whereas the wealthier portion of the population, by bribes and otherwise, escaped taxation alto- gether. The poorer classes were so mercilessly ground down that there was constant discontent. It may also be observed that the method of collection was both tyrannical and oppressive. The tax gatherei*s were for the most part Bashi-Bazouks and Schaigias, who took advantage of their position to enrich themselves. At this J: t I #1 62 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA time the officials were mostly Schaigias and Turks, who, besides receiving pay for their services, regarded themselves as exempt from public burdens. Slatiu Pasha arrested some of the delinquents, who then admitted that their taxes were still due. At this time there was insurrection in the Bahr-el- Ghazal country, led by Suleiman Pasha, son of Zubeir Pasha, who had been called to Cairo and was there detained. Slatin Pasha, greatly disliking the duties of his office, tendered his resignation to General Gordon and it was accepted. Gordon himself went to Darfur to inquire into the circumstances connected with the conflict that ivas being carried on against Suleiman Pasha. Slatin Pasha was, a few days later, appointed by General Gordon as Mudir of Dara, which com- prised the south-western district of Darfur. Thither he was directed to go immediataly, in order to conduct military operations against the Sultan Harva, the son of a former Sultan, who was endeavoring to regain from Egypt the possession of his country. The campaign that was being conducted under Suleiman the Egyptian authorities against Suleiman Zubeir Zubeir was one of great interest because it was the begin- ning of those conflicts which led to the destruction of Egyptian authority in the Soudan. After the conquest of Darfur, Zubeir received instructions from the Governor of the Soudan, Ismail Pasha, to reside in the Dara and Shakka Districts. Ismail and Zubeir were not good friends. Zubeir had complained of the excessive taxation, and had asked permission of the Khedive to visit Cairo, in order that he might fully explain the situation, and convince him and his advisers of his loyalty and devotion. This permission was granted. Gordon had become Governor of the Soudan country in the place of Ismail, and was on a visit of inspection to Darfur, for the purpose of becoming better acquainted with the situation, and with the view of giving to the country a more stable government. In June, 1878, General Gordon arrived at Foga and sent instructions to Suleiman to meet him IN THE SOUDAN 53 at Dara. Huleimau was discontented and dissatisfied at his father's detention at Cairo and with his own position in the districts of the Soudan, which had mainly been brought under Egyptian jurisdiction by his father's efforts. Suleiman was determined to maintain his father's authority in the country. He felt that the Egyptian authority owed its sovereignty over Darfur and Bahr-el-Ghazal to his father and that his claim must not be ignored. From Foga Gordon proceeded to El Fasher, where he gave instructions for the erection of a fort. From thence he went to Dara, where Suleiman, with four thousand well armed Bazingers, had already arrived and were in camp. The men whom Suleiman had about him were men who had taken part in the conquest of Darfur, and who, like their leader, felt that they had a prospective right to dominion over the country. They did not think they were called upon to hand over to Turkish and Egyptian officials, territories which they had won, and so they were not a little incensed against the Khedive and his government for the detention of Ziibeir, Suleiman's father, at Cairo. The chiefs with whom Zubeir had surrounded himself, and who were now with his son, were of his own tribe, who had, from a remote period, engaged in the business of slave hunting as their chief occu- pation. In their case, under^ Zubeir Pasha, by the union of bravery and good luck, they had established their authority over an immense portion of the Bahr-el-Ghazal country. As they had acquired their dominion by violence, they had, for the most part, maintained their authority by the same methods. When they learned that Gordon was appointed Govei'nor General, they discussed among themselves the attitude which they should assume towards him, whether one of friendship or of hostility. The more turbulent were disposed to attack Dara and seize Gordon and his escort, and to exchange them for Zubeir Pasha. If he were killed in the conflict it would be all the better. The better informed amongst them counselled moderation, and suggested the wisdom of complying with the orders of the Government, Hi i 1*1 54 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA When Suleiman learned of the approach of Gordon to Dara, he gave instructions to his troops to deploy in three lines drawn between the camp and the fort. While Suleiman's troops were engaged in this operation, Gordon came up from the rear, rode through the lines rapidly, saluted the troops as he passed, and reached the fort. As the malcontents had no time to mature their plans, they ordered a general salute, but before they had time to even give the salute Gordon had sent orders to Suleiman and his chiefs to appear instantly before him. This was done. Suleiman saw that the favorable moment for carrying out the plan of revolt had gone by. After the usual compliments at the meeting, and upon the retirement of other chiefs, Gordon invited Suleiman to remain. He told him that he had learned of his intention of opposing the Government, and advised him not to listen to evil counsellors. He said that it would be infinitely more to his advantage to comply with the orders of the Government than to attempt hostilities that would end in his ruin. Gordon excused the enormity of Suleiman's offence on account of his youth. He allowed him to return to his troops, and enjoined him to strictly obey all orders in the future. Gordon after a short rest, and upon the arrival of his escort, sent for Said Hussein, one of Suleiman's leaders, who admitted to Gordon that, in spite of the pardon, Suleiman was still ready to fight in order to secure the return of his father, and his restor- ation to authority. Gordon at once appointed Said Hussein Governor of Schaigia, and ordered him to start the following day with such of the troops as he required, but he was directed to say nothing with regard to his appoint- ment for some hours. As soon as he had left Gordon another of Suleiman's chiefs was called, Nur Angara. Gordon up- braided him for the want of loyalty that existed amongst his men, but Nur Angara pointed out that Suleiman was sur- rounded by bad advisers, who were urging him on to his ruin, and that Suleiman gave not the slightest heed to any warning Tact of General Gordon IN THE SOUDAN 6fi which he gave him. Gordon appointed him Governor of Surga and Aredu, in the western part of the Province of Darfur, and instructed him to leave at the same time that Baid Hussein departed, and to take such portions of Suleiman's troops as he liked with him. When Suleiman learned that two of his chiefs had deserted him, and had accepted the posi- tion of Governors under Gordon, he reproached them for their ingratitude, reminded them of how much they owed to his father's generosity, to which they replied that his father owed quite as much to them as they did to him, and, without their services, could never have attained the position which he had acquired. After the two chiefs had gone, Gordon again sent to Suleiman. He at first refused to go to Gordon, hut his prin- cipal officers reminded him that resistance was then out of the question, and that it was to his interest to obey. Gordon treated him with great consideration ; told him that he had come into that district mainly to warn him against the folly of the course upon which he was entering ; that he must not think that by trusting to the bravery and loyalty of his Bazingers he could thwart the Government, and that his ambition would be more certainly satisfied by obedience than by hostility. Gordon directed him to proceed to Shakka, and to await his arrival. Gordon had, with amazing celerity, taken in the whole situation, which, for the moment, put an end to the danger that threatened Egyptian authority. Suleiman accepted the situation, and seemed prepared to comply with General Gordon's wishes. He was appointed by Gordon Gover- nor of the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province, which had been acquired by his father, Zubeir. Upon his arrival he issued circulars announcing his appointment, and directed Idris Bey Ebter to forthwith present himself Idris had been appointed the agent of Zubeir Pasha in Bar-el-Ghazal before he left for Cairo. Idris was of the Dangala tribe, while Suleiman was a Jaalin. Between these there is no little amount of ill-feeling, as the Jaalin Arabs look down upon the Dangalas, who are of mixed Arab and Soudanese blood. The friends of Idris urged u if I I 1 % m IS > 4 66 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA him to disobey Suleiman's summons. This produced a state of things that greatly favored the tendencies and wishes of the slave hunters. They were now ready to play off one rival chief against the other. Idris, in defiance of Suleiman's authority, took fiiglit to Khartoum. Here he misrepresented the position ef Suleinmn, described him as acting as though the country were his own— as having usurped the position of his father, having conferred offices upon his Jaalin followers, and his conduct showed that he had resolved to make himself an independent ruler. Unfortunately the (Jovernment believed the story of Idris, and he was made Governor of Bahr-el-Ghazal. He wrote Suleiman, informing him that he had been dismissed from the position to which he had lately been appointed. Suleiman immediately summoned his friends, declaring his resolution to disobey so unjust an order and that the position which he had was really his by right. Suleiman addressed a letter to Idris, protesting his interference, charging him with ingratitude — with having disregarded every consideration of honor and of justice, in order to gratify his own personal ambition. He pointed out the favors which had been bestowed upon him by his father, Zubeir, and he upbraided him with having gone to Khartoum, and with having intrigued against him (Suleiman) in order to be made Governor. Upon the receipt of this letter, Idris sent Suleiman an ultimatum, and he was answered that the sword must decide the disputes between them. The Jaalin tribes sided with Suleiman, the other tribes with Idris. The friends of Idris met with a bloody defeat at Ganda, after which Idris returned to Khar- toum, and reported that Suleiman had revolted in the Bahr-el- Ghazal, and had declared his independence, which was, at that time, believed to be the case. Suleiman's forces were gradually weakened, and some months later he suflfered a defeat, not very important in itself, but very important in its consequences. Suleiman had quitted Bahr-el-Ghazal, and had collected his forces in the south-west of Darfur, but the Sultan of this country having been conquered by his father, he was hated by the Darfur people, even more than were the Egyp- IN THE SOUDAN 67 tianB, who had a higher reputation for moderation than the Bazingers that had followed Zubeir in his cpnquests. Sulei- man was deserted by the greater part of his Bazingers, who, from hunger and fatigue, had made off through the forests to the Valley of the Nile. Gessi, the commander of the Govern- ment troops, sent Ismail Wad Bamu to Suleiman to inform him that if he would surrender, his own life, and the lives of his chiefs, would be spared. Ismail pointed out to him that all hope of a successful resistance was at an end, and that the son of the conquered Sultan would never be induced to enter into an alliance with him. Suleiman called a meeting of his chief officers, some of whom doubted the sincerity of the con- ditions proposed. After full consultation, all, with the excep- tion of one — Rabah — agreed to accept, but Kabah declared that he would not, for if they were once in the hands of their enemies, they had no ground whatever to expect mercy. He reminded them of the very bitter animosity that existed between the Jaaliu and the Daugala ; he recounted to them the merciless manner in which the former had treated the latter in their defeat at Ganda, and that, no matter what agreement might be made on behalf of Gessi, it would be im- possible that such an engagement could be kept. He pointed out that they could collect their entire force ; that they could march west into the Ganda country ; that the population would be unable to resist their well-armed Bazingers ; that they could enter into relations with the kingdoms of Wadai, Behrgan, and Bornu in the vicinity of Lake Tchad, or they could make their way independently through Gessi to the Nile, and make peace with Governor Gordon. He declared that if none of these proposals met with their approval, he was prepared for himself to separate from them, as he would never place himself in the hands of Gessi and his Dangali. Several of the other chiefs sided with Babah. Rabah again urged upon Suleiman the propriety of reconsidering his deter- mination. Suleimau was obdurate. Rabah collected his Bazingers and followers, bade his companions farewell, and marched off to the south-west, but the five chiefs who had first '•< THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Bided with him deserted him at the first camping-station, with the intention of making their way l)a(^lc to the Nile as soon as they believed the dangers to l)e over. Ismail returned to Gessi's camp, reporting the flight of Kabah with a considerable number of Bazingei*s, and also the readiness of Suleiman to surrender. Gessi advanced to Gaharra, and met Suleiman here, whose men filed their armn. Here Suleiman and his chiefs had a small guard placed over them. The Dangali reported to Gessi that Suleiman declared if he had supposed he would have been received in this way he never would have surrendered. Idris, by his intrigue, had led the Government to proceed against Suleiman, and so he dreaded Suleiman's appearance at Khartoum, whence he might be permitted to visit his father at Cairo, and might be able to make known the facts which led to his revolt. The Dangali informed Gessi that Suleiman had sent messengers to recall Rabah, who was no doubt preparing to resist ; that Rabah's force was suffi- ciently strong to overcome them, and Gessi, being convinced of the accuracy of his statement, had Suleiman and his chiefs brought into the tent, and reproached them as traitors, when an altercation took place, and they were all butchered. The predictions of Rabah were fulfilled to the letter. The chiefs who had deserted him at the end of the first day, and who expected to make their way back to the Nile, were dis- covered and put to death ; and Rabah, with those who accom- panied him, established a new dominion to the west of Darfur, as he had declared might be done. France has, under her recent Convention with Great Britain, by which she was assigned the exclusive sphere of influence west of the Province of Darfur, endea- vored to explore the country, and to establish her authority east of Lake Tchad. Three of these expeditions were sent out by the French Govern- ment, and one by a commercial syndicate in Paris. One of them was under the command of M. Behagle and was sent before the conclusion of the Anglo-French agreement in 1898. The first Government expedition set out under the France in the Soudan IN THE SOUDAN 69 command of Captains Voulet and Chanoine, and it left France in July, 1898. It started by way of the Senegal, and was exceedingly unfortunate. Col. Klobb, who was sent by the French Government to asHume the command, was murdered by Capt. Voulet, and Captains Voulet and Chanoine were both killed by their own men. The second expedition left Algeria for Lake Tchad in 8e[)tember, 1803. It was placed under the direction of M. Foureau, who had acquired some distinction as an explorer of the Sahara. Its total strength reached three hundred. But the members were massacred by the Tuareg.s, and so it, too, failed. The third expedition, known as the Gentil-Bretonnet expedition, was organized and left France about the same time that the second expedition set out. The aim of this expedition was to establish French authority south of Lake Tchad and east of the Shari River, as well as to establish French influence in Wadai — a little-known country, which lies to the east of Lake Tchad, and which Rabah, after he had left Bar el-Ghazal, succeeded in reaching, and in which he has ever since main- tained his supremacy. Reports reached the Soudan of his military successes, and of the immense influence which he has acquired over the large region of country extending eastward to the borders of Darfur. M. Bretonnet came in contact with Rabah, who, it is believed, obtained arms from Tripoli, and is capable of bringing into the field a large force both of infantry and cavalry. There is no longer room to doubt, that the fourth expedition of the French has met with disaster similar to that which overtook each of three which preceded it. It is rumored at this moment that M. Behagle himself was a prisoner in the hands of Rabah, and that he has since died of starvation. Rabah will undoubtedly prove to the French a formidable opponent. He received a military training under Zubeir Pasha before he escaped from Bahr-el-Ghazal to Wadai, and it may be a long time before the French, far away from any secure base of operation, are capable of establishing their authority in the region over which he, at the present time, exercises effective sway. VTA 'Jti CHAPTER 711. THE SOVDA^.— Continued. Efforts to repress the rising tide of Mahdism — General Hicks appointed to the work — His utter defeat AND DEATH — COLONEL FARQUHAR'S NOTE-BOOKS — AP- POINTMENT OF Gordon — English objections to Zsjbeir — Gordon wishes to resign — Lord Selbourne's memo- randum — Death of Gordon — The Expedition of General Kitchener. Earnest efforts were made by the Egyptian authorities in the Soudan to stem the tide of Mahdism, but although the Egyptian officials made a desperate struggle, their authority grew steadily weaker. The tribes who joined the Mahdi constantly increased, until Darfur passed under the Mahdi's control. At various points desperate engagements took place between the Egyptian troops and the forces thpt were in revolt ; but as the Egyptian authorities received no accession of strength, and as they were subject to constant attack, their numbers gradually diminished until the Egyptian military forces in the countiy were well-nigh exterminated. At Shakka, at Darfur and at other points, desperate conflicts occurred, but the efforts to stay the tide of Mahdism were made too late. The fanatical movement could only terminate by completely expending its force. El Obeid was captured, Said Pasha was put to death, after which the Mahdi began to organize his government. Saleh Bey had inflicted a serious defeat upon the forces of the Mahdi, but this did not seem to diminish his ptpularity or to lessen the confidence which his zealots had in him. At tliis time, Abdul Kader Pasha urged the Egyptian Government not to scud exi>editions to reconquer Kordofan, but to garrison the strong defensive positions along thy White Nile, and that the forces of the Mahdi should, for the time being, elsewhere, be left to them- selves. If this advice had been taken, the country between IN THE SOUDAN 61 the Blue and White Niles could have been held, and the spread of Mahdism eastward might have been checked. The Government of Egypt adopted a different policy. General Hicks, assisted by other P^gyptian officers, was ordered to undertake the work of subjugating the General Mahdists. Abdul Kader Pasha was recalled, and Hicks, Ala ed Din Pasha was appointed in his place. 1883 General Hicks, immediately after his arrival, pro- ceeded to Kawa, where he inflicted a defeat on the rebels, April 18th, 1883. Osman Digua, a former slave dealer at Suakim, was ordered to raise a Jehad in the neigh- borhood of his own town. Tha Mahdi showed a good deal of ability in selecting this man, who afterwards became so dis- tinguished. He assumed, and rightly, that a revolt in the Eastern Soudan would embarass the Khartoum Government, and prevent it sending an expedition for the reconquest of Kordofan. In September, 1883, General Hicks left Khartoum for Duem, on the White Nile. It is clear that with the imperfect means of communication, and the distance of the Soudan country from Cairo, the Egyptian authorities did not fully appreciate the situation. Already the forces under Raschid, Lufti and Shellali had been annihilated. Bara, el Obeid, and many other important places had fallen. A large number of rifles that had been in the possession of the Egyptian forces, and of the allied chiefs, were now in the hands of the enemy, so that the number of men bearing fire- arms in the forces of the Mahdi was far greater than that of the forces assembled under Hicks Pasha. It is also of import- uuce to bear in mind that many people in the Soudan provinces who had been trained in civilized methods of warfare under the Egyptian authorities, were now serving in the ranks of the Mahdi. The Egyptian authorities seemed to be under the impression that these men, when the opportunity came, would desert the Mahdi and re-enlist under Egyptian authority. But in this they wholly misapprehended the mental state of those who had been brought into contact with the Mahdi, and . > > :J 62 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA who had become scarcely less fanatical than their leaders. Hicks Pasha managed to muster an army of ten thousand men, whe were formed into a square, and who marched with their baggage and six thousand camels in their midst. They were marching through a country overgrown with vegetation — the grass was taller than the men — through a country which they did not know, and with which the enemy was well acquainted. That enemy was better armed, und its men were better fighters than those who were serving under General Hicks. They marched through a country where the ground was not open, and where water was scarce. Six thousand camels in the centre of the square presented a perfect forest of heads and necks, at which the enemy miglit take aim. When the Mahdi learned that an expedition was moving against him, he sent proclamations to all the tribes, summoning them to the Jehad. Hicks Pasha expected to be joined on the road by six thousand men whom he daily hoped to meet, but who never came. The troops of Hicks Pasha were suffering for the want of water. There was water within a mile, but as none of them knew the country they remained ignorant of it. When night came on, the Zareba, within which they were encamped, was besieged. As soon as morning came the EgyptWii army advanced, leaving behind them the dead and dying, and a few guns, the teams of which had been killed. But th»* army did not proceed a mile before it was attacked by a h\iu4ftrd thouKand wild fanatics concealed among the trees. In a momf«it Hicks Pasha's square was broken, and a wholesale massacre was begun. The European officers and a few Turkish cavalry were the only persons who undertook to make a stand ; but they, being attacked on all sides, were killed to a man. The heads of Baron SeckendorlT and General Hicks were cut oflT and sent to the Mahdi. Klootz was sent to identify them, but this seemed hardly necessary, as but few escaped. With the exception of two hundred or three hundred who had hidden themselves under the heaps of dead Annihila- tion of Hicks' Square IN THE SOUDAN bodies, the whole force had been anuihilated. Even those who had been at first spared, were subsequently executed. The Mahdi's executioner, with a few hundred horsemen came across about cue hundred Egyptians, who showed fight. They were informed that if they gave up their arms their lives would be si)ared ; but no sooner had they complied, than they were denounced as unfaithful dogs, and every one of them wt re put to death. Some time later, the notebooks of Col. Farquhar and of Mr. O' Donovan were sent to Slatin Pasha. " I read," says Slatin Pasha, "all they contained, most care- fully, !Hid terribly sad reading it was." They gave an account oi the discord between General Hicks and Ala ed Din Pasha. Farquahar in his notebook attacks General Hicks for his mistakes. They both saw what must occur ; and Farquhar r -pi ji.' hes General Hicks bitterly for having started on a miiita. y expedition with forces whose condition and morale were such as to warrant certain disaster. Col. Farquhar says in his diary : "I spoke to Mr. O' Donovan to-day, and asked him where he thought we should be eight days hence?" " In Kingdom come," was the reply. O' Donovan refers in his journal to Klootz's flight, and he asked, "What must be the condition of an army when even the European servant deserts to the enemy? " He also wrote : " I make my notes, and I write my report, but who is going to take them home?" And so, after the destruction of Hicks and his army the Mahdi exercised absolute control from the Red Sea to the frontier of the Kingdom of Wadai. Some I^uropeans and some Egyptians, who were living in the cities on the Nile, dis- patched as much jus they could of their portable property to the north and made their way out of the doomed country. The fight in Darfur was fierce, but it was one that could have (as no assistance came from Cairo) but one termination. Gordon was at Khartoum, and did all in his power to prepare that city to resist. Slatin Pasha was taken prisoner. He w'as brought to the Maluli at Bahad. He was held first as a prisoner by the Mahdi, and after the Mahdi's death, m -! I '. f ., M i' -i M It ft m THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA of the British Govern- ment by the Khalifa, and he remained iu chains for a period of twelve yeai-s before he managed to escape. When the British Government and the Egyptian Govern- ment joined iu sending Gordon, who had an exceptional know- ledge of that country, to the Soudan, in order ^fi^'^J^J'*^^® that he might quell the rebellion and restore order, they had no adequate idea of the serious- ness of the situation. There is no doubt that the Government of the Soudan country by Egypt had been corrupt, and its burdens were oppressive on that portion of the population least able to bear them. It is equally certain that if Egyptian authority had been properly exercised previous to the rise of Mahdism, the Mahdi could never have obtained a footing in the country, and had there been a thoroughly competent Governor-General of the Soudan it could not have succeeded. The state of the coun- try is, to some extent, shown by the condition of Hicks Pasha's army in 1883 — an army that was but imperfectly equipped for war, that had but little knowledge of the country through which it was to travel, and that iu conse- quence was often without water in the vicinity of wells and springs. In 1883, Hicks Pasha informed the Earl of Dufferin that the Mahdi was evidently going to do some- thing, but what he did not know. He said that he was moving the army to Duem and he £-sked that he should be, by authority of the Khedive, in indisputable command. On the 3rd of June, General Hicks telegraphed Sir Edward Malet, — " We marched through a hostile county, inhabited by power- ful tribes. The line of communication must be kept open. Depots must be formed, which must be suiiicientlj ^e.'arrisoned. Each convoy will require an escort. Our available strength will be under 6,000. Many will be sick during the fever season. Khartoum is full of rebels, and a sufficient garrison must be left there." He said that he had for the campaign about 5,000 infantry ; that 2,000 would be necessary to maintain his communications, and that 3,000 would be available, when lij IN THE SOUDAN 65 the force should be at least 10,000 men. Bir Edward Mallet informed Earl Granville that General Hicks required 6,000 additional troops, and that the Egyptian Government were unable to supply the necessary funds to properly maintain such a force. On the 28th of June, General Hicks telegraphed Sir Edward Mallet for authority to require obedience to his orders, and if this is not done, he suggests that he may be re- called. In August, he advises that he is convinced it would be best to hold the two nvers — the Blue and White Nile — and the Province of Senaar, and to wait for Kordofan to settle itself. On the 19th of August, General Hicks was appointed Commander of the Forces in the Soudan, and in November, Sir Eveiyn Bariag wrote to Elarl Granville, "if General Hicks is defeated, Kordofan will probably fall into the hands of the rebels, and the whole Sondan will be lost to Egypt. Under these circumstances, the 1 .cyptian Government request that the British Government will send either English or Indian troops to their assistance." On the following day. Earl Granville said: "We cannot lend the English or Indian troops, and would recommend, if consulted, the abandonment of the Soudan within certain limits." It had been suggested by the Egyptian Government that Turkish troops should be employed to restore order. To this. Earl Granville replied that Her Majesty's Government do not object to the employ- ment of Turkish troops, provided they are paid by the Turkish Government, that their emploN^meut should be restricted to the Soudan, and that the base of their operations should be Suakim. When it was suggested that the command should be given to Zubier Pasha, Her Majesty's Government regarded this as inexpedient both politically and as regards the slave trade. At this time. Baker Pasha was in the employ of the Egyptian Government, and he was most anxious to avail him- self of Zubiei Pasha's servi<'es. He also stated that, in his opinion, it was not just to leave the responsibility to the Egyptian Government, and at the same time to object to the employment of Zubier Pasha. THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA In this state of confusion, (Jeneral Charles Gordon was sought out as the man best qualified to deal with the situation in the Soudan, and Earl Granville telegraphed Appoint- Sir Evelyn Baring, to know whether Gordon ment of would be of use to the Egyptian Government, and Gordon in what capacity. Sir Evelyn Baring replied that the Egyptian Government was very much averse to the employment of Gordon, because the movement was a religious one, and Gordon being a Christian in high command, would probably alienate the troops who were still faithful ; and the same opinion was expressed by Nubar Pasha. On the 16th of January, 1884, Sir Evelyn Baring informed Earl Granville that General Gordon would be the best man. On the 18th, Earl Granville addressed a letter to General Gordon informing him that the British Government required him to proceed to Egypt with the view of reporting to them on the military situation in the Soudan, and on the measures which might be advisable to take for the security of the Egyptian garrison. He was desired to consider and report upon the best methods of effecting the evacuation of the interior of the Soudan. He was told that he would be under the instruc- tions of Her Majesty's agent and Consul-General at Cairo, through whom his reports should be sent under flying seal. He was to consider himself authorized to perform such other duties as the Egyptian Government might desire to entrust him with, and as might be communicated to him by Sir Evelyn Baring. He was told that he would be accompanied by Col. Stewart, who would assist him in the duties that were confided to him. Earl (rranville, on the 22nd of January, addressed to Sir Evelyn Baring a paper containing suggestions made by General (iordoii, and he was informed that Her Majesty's Government had not sufficient local knowledge to enable them to form an opinion as to the practicability of these suggestions. On the 1st of February, 1884, Sir Evelyn Baring informed Earl Granville that (jreneral Gordon's instructions had been IN THE SOUDAN followed in every particular, although in his instructions he has been left with the widest discretionary power. Gordon's He also informs Earl Granville that there is no bugrSTOS- difference between the views entertained by General Gordon and those of Nubar Pasha and himself. General Gordon, in his memorandum, suggested that in the future the people of the Soudan were to be inde- pendent, and the Government of Egypt were not to interfere with their affairs. As a consequence of this, provision was to be made for the evacuation or safe removal of the Egyptian employes and troops. This being determined upon, the Mahdi should be left altogether out of the calculation. The Government should be handed over to the petty Sultans, with whom it should be optional to accept the supremacy of the Mahdi or not, as they might deem proper. The arsenals, therefore, in the country should be handed over to the Sultan of the State in which they were placed, postponing the dis- posal of the arsenals in Khai'toum, Dougola and Kassala for further consideration. It would be most improper to recon- quer the Soudan and hand the population back to the Egyptian authorities without any guarantee of future good government. In this plan of action Col. Stewart concurred. ^ General Gordon informed Sir Evelyn Baring, on the 1st of February, that he understood Hicks Pasha and Ali ed Deen quarreled on the first day's march from Khartoum. Their march lasted about forty days. The heat was great, and the troops were probably greatly fatigued before any conflict between them and those under the authority of the Mahdi took place ; but the morale of the army was not such as to give any hope of success. After General Gordon arrived at Khartoum he was obliged to consider what should be done after the Egyptian authority was withdrawn ; because it would scarcely do to withdraw the Egyptian troops, and leave the country without the semblance of government, as such a proceeding would be the signal of general anarchy throughout the country. In General Gordon's opinion, the man above all li I ! i. 1=1 i] ii THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA others qualified to restore order and authority throughout the Soudan country was Zubeir Pasha. He alone had the ability to rule the Soudan. He would be universally accepted by the Soudanese ; and his exile at Cairo for a period of ten years, his mixing with Europeans, must have had a great effect upon his character. His nomination, and the moral support of the British Government, would bring all the European merchants again back to the Soudan. Gordon was of opinion that if a Turkish force of 3,000 men were brought to Suakim it would be sufficient to secure the collapse of the Mahdist movement, but the English Government declined the responsibility of their employment. The English Government also strenuously objected to the employment of Zubeir Pasha, who had at one time been actively engaged in the slave trade in Objection the Soudan country. Earl Granville informed Sir to Zubeir Evelyn Baring that the Government were of opinion that the gravest objections would exist to his appointment as a successor to General Gordon, and that the public opinion of England would not tolerate it. Sir Evelyn Baring said, in a dispatch of the 18th Februery, 1884, that be would venture again to recommend to the early atten- tion of Her Majesty's Government the serious question of principle which General Gordon raised — the duty of setting up some form of government to replace the former Egyptian administration. This plan General Gordon favors ; and Sir Evelyn Baring further observes that, " whatever may be said to the contrary, Her Majesty's Government must in reality be responsible for any arrangements which are now devised for the Soudan, and I do not think it is possible to shake off that responsibility. If, however, they are unwilling to assume any responsibility in the matter, then I think they should give full liberty of action to General Gordon and the Khedive's government to do what they deemed best. I have no doubt as to the most advisable course of action. Zubeir Pasha should be permitted to succeed General Gordon. ... It is useless to send anyone who has no local influence. There IN THE) SOUDAN. # are certain obvious objections to Zubeir Pasha, but I think too great weight is attached to them ; and I believe that General Gordon was quite right when he says that Zubeir Pasha is the only possible man. I can suggest none other, and Nubar Pasha is strongly in favor of him. "It is for Her Majesty's Government to judge of the im- portance to be attached to public opinion in England. But I venture to think that any attempt to settle Egyptian questions by the light of English popular opinion is sure to be produc- tive of harm, and in this, as well as in other cases, it would be preferable to follow the advice of the responsible authori- ties on the spot." >' ' Zubeir Pasha was undoubtedly a man of far more than ordinary ability. He had, when comparatively a young man, gone to the Bahr-el Ghazal countiy to pursue his fortunes as a trader. He had risen to great distinction. In engaging in the slave trade he was no worse than other merchants. All that could be said against him was that he did not rise supe- rior to his situation and to the social and political atmosphere by which he was surrounded. He, by slow degrees, made himself master of the whole Province, and brought Darfur as well as Bahr-el-Ghazal, within Egyptian jurisdiction. He went to Cairo for the purpose of making complaints against the unjust treatment he had received from the Egyptian Govern- ment, and he was detained in Egypt. It was a great misfor- tune to Egypt, and to the Soudan country, if public opinion iu England was so strong that it was impossible for the Government to assent to the prudent suggestion of General Gordon, Sir Evelyn Baring, and Nubar Pasha. There is little room to doubt that Mahdism would have been defeated, and authority would have been restored in the Soudan country, and the life of Gordon preserved, if the advice primarily given by Gordon had been followed. Gordon's proposal was rejected by men who were seeking to escape all responsibility, and who were, nevertheless, assuming, by their timidity, responsibility of the very gravest character. )< i im m % THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ment of Gordon When Gordon learned that Earl Granville would not con- sent to Zubeir Panha becoming Governor of the Soudan, he said: — ''That settles the question for me. I -fL^^**i* cannot suggest any other. Mahdi's agents are active in all directions. ^^ * * if Egypt is to be quiet, Mahdi must be smashed up. Mahdi is most unpopular, and with care and time could be smashed. Remember that once Khartoum belongs to the Mahdi, the task becomes far more difficult, yet you will, for the safety of Egypt, execute it." Earl Granville suggested that if Zubeir Pasha was sent as Governor-General to the Soudan he might ally himself with the Mahdi, and so increase the danger to Egypt, instead of being a security against them, but everj'- one knew that this was an impossible danger, and that no such alliance could have taken place. On the 1st of March General Gordon informed Sir Evelyn Baring that it would be impossible to get the Egyptian officers out of Khartoum unless the Government were prepared to help in the way he suggested. The refusal of Zubeir Pasha was a reAisal of the only chance, and although he will do his best to carry out his instructions, he feels vexation that he himself should be caught in Khartoum ; that the combination of Zubeir and himself is an absolute necessity for success ; and he begs Lord Granville to believe his certain affiimation there is not the slightest fear of a quarrel between Zubeir Pasha and himself. And he further informed Sir Evelyn Baring that Col. Stewart entirely concurs in thinking that Zubeir Pasha should be sent at once to Khartoum. Col. Stewart, on the 4th of March, 1884, telegraphed that the principal desire of General Gordon was to have Zubeir at Khartoum as soon as possible, ' ' as Zubeir is the only man with sufficient prestige to hold the country together. Being a Pasha among the Shagia regulars, he will be able to get at the sources of their information. Every day they are kept in the country forces upon them responsibility towards the people which it is im- possible to overlook." On the 9th of March Sir Evelyn IN THE SOUDAN n Baring advocated to Earl Granville Zubeir Pasha's appoint- ment, and General Gordon said : " It is impossible to find any other man but Zubeir for the CJovernment of Khartoum. No other has his power, and unless you send him you have no chance whatever of getting the garrisons away ! " General Gordon, in a telegram to Sir Evelyn Baring, said : " You could not recall me, nor could I possibly obey, until the Cairo employes get out from all the places. I have named men to different places, thus involving them with the Mahdi. How could I look the world in the face if I abandoned them and fled? As a gentleman, could you advise this course? It may have been a mistake to send me up, but having been done, I have no option but to see evacuation through, for, even if I was mean enough to escape, I have no power to do HO. You can easily understand this ; would you do so ? " General Gordon advocated, later, the opening of the road between Suakim and Berber as a means of escape, Gordon und he warns the Government that the thing of Wishes to the greatest importance in sending such an expe- Reslgrn dition is speed. A little later he telegraphed Sir Evelyn Baring, asking the British Government to accept the resignation of his commission, since they have re- jected his suggestions, in order that he may endeavor to escape with the Egyptian officials up to the Equatorial and Bahr-el-Ghazal provinces. On the 13th March Lord Granville, in referring to General Gordon's recommendation of the ap- pointment of Zubeir Pasha and the despatch of British troops to Berber, says he is unable to accept these proposals, but that he hopes that General Gordon will not resign his commission. On the 18th April, Sir Evelyn Baring says of General Gordon, that he " repeats the statement that 8,000 Turkish troops from the Sultan would settle the Soudan and the Mahdi forever. He evidently thinks he is to be abandoned, and is very indig- nant. ' ' These observations of Sir Evelyn Baring are no doubt due to a telegram sent by Gordon two days before, in which he says: — "You state your intention of not sending any I'i! ' fi >.«< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 t.l ■^ 128 1 2.5 >^ 1^ 12.2 1-25 {{1.4 |||{|.6 4 4" ► Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO (716) 873-4503 ^ ,.\^ % ^ ^ 79 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ■Hi relief up here or to Berber, and you refltse me Zubeir. I consider myself free to act according to circumstances. I shall hold on here as long as I can, and if I can suppress the rebellion I shall do so. If I cannot, I shall retire to the Equator and leave you the indelible disgrace of abandoning the garrison of Senaar, Kassala, Berber and Dongola, with the certainty that you will eventually be forced to smash up the Mahdi under great difficulties if yon would retain peace in Egypt." In September, Si? Evelyn Baring telegraphed Earl Granville that he has received a telegram in Arabic fh>m General Gordon, stating that on his arrival at Khartoum, he found it impossible to withdraw the soldiers to Egypt on account of the insurrection ai d the interruption of communi- cation, and he asks : — ''Is it right that I should have been sent to Khartoum with only seven followers after the destruction of Hicks' army, and no attention paid to me until the communications were cut?" Somewhat later the Gordon Relief Expedition was sent out under General Wolseley, but it was organized in such a way that it seemed wanting in the elements necessary to success. It marched ft'om Wady Haifa to Mentemneh, 540 miles, in sixty-nine days. General Hicks marched from Suakim to Berber, 260 miles, in eleven days. It is pretty certain that the expedition was not hurried forward, and the perils of General Gordon and the Egyptian officials, merchants and traders cooped up at Khartoum, did not afford any additional stimulus. It approached the vicinity of Khartoum, and it was within striking distance at the very time that Gordon was murdered. Lord Sel borne, in his Memorials, says of General Gordon : "He was a man, to find whose like one must turn to the chivalry of the Crusades, or the heroes of romance. An enthusiastic Christian, a knight-errant, ever ready for enterprise and adventure, a soldier of iron will, nobly despising all common objects of human desire and ambition ; nature meant him for command, but not to execute other men's orders, to Lord Selborne on Gordon IN THE SOUDAN 78 I employ him in different affaire witliout giving him more or leas of a ft«e hand, or to judge his actions under circumstances of diflBculty by rules of red tape and routine, was an offence against the fitness of things. He was not a week at Khartoum before he took a view of the situation and of what ought to be done in it, different fh>m that contemplated in his instruc- tions. He perplexed the minds of most Englishmen by a proclamation intended to quiet the minds of Soudanese slave- ownere as to any interference with slavery as a domestic in- stitution ; and he perplexed the Cabinet by urging upon it the choice of his sworn enemy Zubeir, with whom he had a blood feud, and whom Englishmen generally underetood, upon his authority, to be an inveterate slave-trader, as the fittest person to establish an independent government at Khartoum. The reasons for such a choice could not h^\e been intelligible to the British public, nor would it have been acceptable at Cairo ; yet it may be doubted whether his judgment on such a point ought to have been (as it was) overruled." ''Until the beginning of April, 1884, our communications with General Gordon were well kept up ; but after that they were cut off, and we remained for several months without lettere from him, and without knowing whether he had received our answere to his own, in which the views of the Government were explained. We had no light as to his actual situation, except rumor, more or less vague and un- certain ; but we knew that he had offered terms to the Mahdi; which that personage had rejected, and that he had to defend Khartoum by force. The country began to feel uneasiness ; but Gladstone had no misgivings. He declared in the House of Commons — rightly, as all or most of us thought — that the Government was responsible for General Gordon's safety. But he declared also his own conviction that he was as sra? Hi Khartoum as he would be in Regent Street ; and that, if then^ were any danger to that place, he had the means of ascendinj^ the Nile at any time to the equatorial regions, and from I u TAE £NGLtSH IN AFRICA thence making his way to the coast near Zanzibar. Prepara- tions, nevertheless, were made for a relief expedition from Suakim, and for the construction of a temporary railway be- tween that place and Berber, for the conveyance of troops and guns ; but the opinions of military authorities fluctuated from time to time, some being for that, and others for the Nile route — ^and it looked very much as if nothing would ever be done." " Mr. Gladstone's sanguine views as to General Gordon's personal safety was shared by his brother, 8ir Henry Gordon, who in June or July, published a paper on the situation (without his name, but known to be his) in The Contem- porary Review. But I thought that more than this was necessary to justify inaction on our part ; so did Lord Hart- ington and others of my colleagues. * * * * " After carefully considering all that Sir Henry Gordon said, I put my own view of the case, and of the duty which it imposed upon us, into the form of a memorandum dated the 29th of July, which (with Mr. Gladstone's consent, and accom- panied by his observations upon it) I circulated to our colleagues." The substance of the memorandum to which Lord Sel- borne refers is as follows: — "* * * We know that Ber- ber is in the hands of tribes hostile to him ; and we know the same of the country between Berber and Suakim. We have used all means which have Lord Sol- borne*s Memopan- dum July swgg*®*®^ themselves, ordinary and extraordinar}', 29 1884 ^ senA messages to him and rceive answers ; — we do not know that he has received any of our messages, and we have received no answer. The most recent r«>ports, through Dongola and Suakim, appear to show that he has been, and is, successftiily defending himself, and is iu no present danger. But they also show that he is expecting a force to be sent for his relief. * * * I am aware that General Gordon himself, some months since, entertained that idea (that he could hold his ground until October), and that IN THE SOUDAN 76 it is still entertained by Sir Henry Gordon ; but Sir Henry €k>rdon's opinion upon tliis point must be taken with the qualification, that he believes this mode of escape (that is, by Equatoria) though physically possible, to be certain to have for its consequences the massacre, not only of any Egyptian soldiers who might be left behind, but of the whole civil and trading population of Khartoum who have loyally stood by General Gordon, and with whom he would rather perish than desert them in such an extremity. I am not myself convinced that there is sufficient ground for this belief, but I am just as little convinced of the sufficiency of the ground for supposing that such a mode of escape would be really open to him unless he were very well provided with the means of forcing his way, if attacked, as he probably would be. " In this state of things, it does not seem to mc that those who are under any responsibility for his safety have sufficient reasons for believing his position to be one which will be safe beyond the coming autumn. The question remains whether he has done anything which, fairly and reasonably considered, ought to exonerate us from that responsibility ? For my own part, I see no ground for such an opinion, if anybody enter- tains it. There is nothing whatever to show that the military operations which he has been carrying on have exceeded what was necessary for strictly defensive purposes ; nor can it be imagined that he would have any motive for making war upon tribes by whom he was not attacked or threatened. Is he to be condemned for operating actively against those who have attacked or threatened him, as we ouraelves did near Suakim? * * * I am as much averse as any man possibly can be to sending out an unnecessary, and a more or less costly expedi- tion, to encounter the difficulties and dangers of any route which may be practicable between Egypt or the Red Sea and Khartoum, but I am still more averse to acting towards a public servant, in whose reputation and safety all England, and (I might almost say), the world, is interested — who has accepted, at our instance, a mission of extraordinary difficulty iT^m^ 76 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA — as if we had no real sense of the responsibility which we have publicly acknowledged, or as if something (of which I can see no evidence at all) had happened to absolve us from those responsibilities. * * * *" The expedition was sent, but it failed to save Gordon. The British Government had under consideration the pro- priety of taking steps to send a stronger force for the purpose of avenging his death. What their conclusion might have been 'f nothing had intervened I do not know, but at that moment a dangerous controversy arose between Russia and the British Government in respect to the frontier of Afghani- stan. The Russians seized by force a territory which had hitherto been recognized as a portion of the country of the Ameer of Afghanistan, and there was every prospect of a conflict between the United Kingdom and Russia. It was, therefore, of immense consequence that the British Govern- ment should not be involved, at the same time, in a formid- able conflict in the Soudan. It became necessary to abandon all intention, for the time being, of subjugating the Mahdi. The dispute between Great Britain and Russia was amicably ajdusted, and a boundary commission fixed the limits with the assent of both parties between the Russian Empire and Afghanistan, and the defeat of Mahdism in the Soudan was deferred until a later period. The final attack was made on Khartoum at early dawn, and in a little while a number of persons returned to the camp of the Mahdi with the head of Gordon in a shawl. Death of An English army had been despatched to the relief Oordon of Gordon, but they had delayed at Metemneh. The English advance guard reached Gubat on the 20th of January. On the 2l8t Gordon's four steamers arrived, but none of the English forces went on board. If they had done so, and had been instantly despatched to Khartoum, the Garrison would have taken fresh hope, and would have actively resisted the enemy, whilst the inhabitants, who had lost all confidence in Gordon's promises, would have been IN THE SOUDAN 77 most willing to have joined him in resisting the Dervishes. Gordon had put forth most extraordinary efforts to hold the town. He had announced that an English army was coming. He had distributed decorations and honors daily to keep up the hearts of the garrison. He made superhuman endeavors to induce the troops to hold out, but having lost hope, in conse- quence of the delay, despair had taken possession of them. Gordon's pro«^ lises had ceased to inspire those who were serving under nim. Gordon made a display of fireworks, and the band played to revive the flagging spirits of the garrison. But the Nile was falling, and the part of the defences near the water was still out of repair. At dawn the Dervishes marched through this opening into the city. There was but slight resistance. Most of the troops laid down their arms. Many of the Egyptians were massacred. Amongst the leaders that attacked the place where Oordon resided were the followers of Makin Wad-en-Nur, who was afterwards killed at the battle of Toski. The palace servants who lived in the basement were massacred. Gordon was standing on the top of the steps leading to the Divan aw»,iting the approach of the Arabs. The firat man who ascended the steps plunged his huge spear into the body of Gordon, who fell forward on his face without uttering a word. His murderers dragged him down the steps to the entrance of the palace, and there his head was cut off, and sent immediately to the Mahdi. Thous- ands pressed forward to stain their spears and swords in his bloou, and soon his body was but a heap of mangled flesh. Gordon did all in his power to save the lives of the Europeans, and he seemed f^om the outset more anxious about the safety of others than about himself. With the capture of Khartoum and the death of Gordon, Mahdism had uncon- trolled sway of the Soudan, and Egyptian authority for the time being, was completely effaced. The Soudan underwent a complete change. A great portion of it had been under the jurisdiction of the Khedive of Egypt for three-quarters of a century. In all its chief towns were found Egyptian and m r iT!^ 78 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA European merchante engaged in trade. In the city of Khartoum, as well as at Cairo, foreign governments had representatives. Telegraph lines and regular postal services had been established. The officers of the Government had, for many years, succeeded fairly well in maintaining the peace. There was discontent, due to the avarice and dis- honesty of the Egyptian officials, and it was through the misconduct of these officials that the growth of Mahdism was largely due. Mahomet Ahmed was a man of acute intellect, and formed a just estimate of the situation. He knew well that the country of the Soudan embraced numerous tribes of people, who remained distinct from each other, and that the only bond of union that could be established between them, and which would be sufficiently strong to hold them fairly well together, was religion. So when he had established for himself a reputation for piety, he proclaimed himself a divine ri ler, sent by God and His Prophet, to deliver them from a foreign yoke and to purify religion. By making the most of his opportunities, and by ascribing to divine interposition the few successes that attended him at the outset, he succeeded in awakening a spirit of fanaticism sufficiently strong to enable him to triumph over the Egyptian authori- ties. He succeeded in shattering that imperfect order of things which had been established under Egyptian rulers. He established one of the most oppressive governments to which men have ever been forced to render obedience. The im- perfect civilization in the Soudan was, at once, superseded by barbarism. Upon the death of the Mahdi, his power passed to the Khalif. The spirit of religious fanaticism, to some extent died out, and he was compelled to have recourse to more vulgar means to maintain his authority. It is estimated that three- quarters of the population of the Soudan had been extermi- nated, and the remainder existed in a species of slavery. Districts that were populous, and which at one time afforded no inconsiderable trade, had been converted into desert wastes. The country was reduced to a condition from which, IN THE SOUDAN 79 The Nile Valley a Unit without external interposition, it could not escape. The Sul- tanate of the Khalif closed again an immense district of Afirica to trade and to travel. It closed for several years other por- tions of Africa by barring the way of access ; and it seriously threatened the future of Egypt, because the very existence of Egypt would be put in jeopardy should the Soudan pass under the jurisdiction of some other powerful and civilized State. The Soudan is a natural and necessary part of Egypt. The reasons which first prompted Mehemet Ali to take possession of the Soudan are still as cogent as they were in his day. The Nile valley is politically indivisible, and must be protected throughout its entire length from intrusion. If large districts were brought into cultivation throughout the Soudan country by extensive works of irrigation, the great water-way which prevents Egypt from becoming a desert, might, by improvidence, be well-nigh consumed before that country was reached. It was not possible that the English (Government, after making war upon the Mahdi and defeating him, could permit two great provinces — Equatoria and Bar-el-Ghazal — to become the possession of some other foreign State. Bhar-el- Ghazal is a province of immense extent. It is full of water- ways, tributaries of the Nile. It is said to be the most fertile of all the districts of the Soudan, and its strategical position is of the greatest importance with reference to the rest of the Soudan country. Were it to pass into the possession of a power unfriendly to Egypt, it might be most disastrous to that country. It was of immense consequence, then, to Egypt, that the matter of re-conquest should at a favorable moment be pushed forward with vigor. France was in possession of the Valley of the Ubaugi. She was pushing forward her explor- ing parties on the borders of Bhar-el-Ghazal. She was most anxious to acquire that province, and also Equatoria — thus interposing her own territories between Egypt and the Eng- lish possessions on the Upper Nile. If France had succeeded it would have been in her power, by the expenditure of money, to have converted Egypt into a desert \ ftnd it would kil 80 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA have been far more difficult to dislodge her, even by the aid of England, than it would have been to subjugate the Khalif and his barbarous hordes. The reconquest of the Soudan was, therefore, of vital importance to Egypt ; and it would have been folly, indeed, for the British Government to expect to retain a paramount authority in Egypt, and to decline to assume the responsibility of those measures upon which the Aiture of Egypt depended. It was of vast importance that the authority of the Khalif should be destroyed — that a new Egyptian army should be created, and that well-considered measures should be taken to unite the Soudan once more to Egypt with as little delay as possible. The English Govern- ment, for a good while, hesitated, but that hesitation was due not to a want of knowledge of the situation on the part of those to whom public authority was entrusted, but to the fact that one section of public opinion in the United Kingdom was in a large measure indifferent, and another section was hos- tile — that it was ill-informed, and that the importance to England herself of the restoration of the Soudan to Egypt, was, by many, not fully realized. The Government were obliged to proceed cautiously. There were international difficulties, as well as those of a domestic character, which surrounded the situation, and to all these due weight had to be given, in order that the work undertaken might not be checked or attended with disaster. Then began Kitchener's march against the Khalif. This hostile movement extended over a period of two Kitchener's years. It was a war between modem civilization Expedition and oriental barbarism. No war in modem times was more defensible. The French expedition under Marchand was pushed forward from the Upper Congo to fhistrate the full effect of English triumph in the Soudan, and to rob the conquest of its fruits. The French flag was hoisted at Fashoda, securely, because of the triumph of English arms at Omdurman. Through the security that that triumph gave, France hoped to connect her possessions at Ubangi with her possessions upon the Red Sea, and so cut the IN THE SOUDAN 81 British territorieB in twain. So Midaoioui a proceeding oould not be permitted. English blood was not 9hed, and English treasure expended to put impediments in the way of English enterprise, and to close the gates of commerce in Central Africa against British industry. The French flag was taken down at Fashoda, and ftill effect was given to the victories of (General Kitcheier. A convention was negoti- ated between England and France which effectually excluded France from the Valley of the Nile. The words of the convention are sufficiently explicit to prevent ftiture misunder- standings.* The policy of British statesmen having the larger hope and the more enduring faith in the greatness of the Empire, in the end prevailed, and the death of the illustrious Christian soldier, Oeneral Gordon, has been fittingly avenged ; but not before there was engraven deep into the minds and hearts of those who think, and of those who feel, the fact, that a great and chivalrous soldier was sacrificed by those who had not the courage to risk public censure in the discharge of an imperious public duty. * The Convention describes their re sp ective spheres of influence as follows : — I. Her Britannic Majesty's Government engages not to acquire dther terri- tory or political influence to the west of the line of frontier defined in the follow* lag paragraph, and the Government of the French republic engages not to acquire either territory or political influence to the east of the same line. a. The line of frontier shall start from the point where the boundary between the Congo Free State and French territory meets the watershed of the Nile and that of the Congo and its a£9uents. It shall follow in principle that water-parting up to its intersection with the nth parallel of north latitude. From this point it ■hall be drawn as far as the 15th parallel in such a manner as to separate, in principle, the Kingdom of Wadai from what constituted, in i88s, the Province of Darfur ; but it shall in no case be so drawn as to pass to the west beyond the lift degree of longitude, east of Greenwich (18* 4<«n states. This charge is wholly without fonndai.un. The truth h that other European Governments have not infrequently been disposed to appropriate regiou«i which they have hitherto failed to utilize, and that the British Government has, in many cases, neglected its own interest and the interests of its subjects, when it failed to appropriate, in many parts of Africa, territories which during the past twelve years have passed under French and German juris- diction. This is well illustrated in some of the French acquisitions on the western coast, and in the German acquisitions in the Oameroons and at Zanzibar. It cannot very well be denied that the United Kingdom possessed superior claims to the valley of the Niger. The chief explorers of that region have been British subjects. Mungo Park, Captain Clapperton, Laing, the two Landers, Thom- son, Robinson and many others, took the initiative in the exploration of that region, and had it not been for private enterprise, it is not at all improbable that the territory which was, until recently, under the control of the Royal Niger Company, would have passed into the hands of the French, although the geography of the country, was made known to the rest of Europe by British geographers and travellers, among whom I include Dr. Barth, in the pay of Lord Palmers- ton. If the territory should hereafter become an important 84 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA British possession, as I feel sure it will, it will not be due to any foresight on the part of British statesmen, but to the energy and enterprise of British explorers and geographsrs, who have discovered the country, and of British capitalists and traders, who have held it in the interest of the Empire against no inconsiderable opposition offered at home, and against great rivalry from abroad. The Niger Company had to contend against French energy and enterprise, aided by the French Government, from the public treasury. It has had to contend against the active energy of German explorers, encouraged and supported by the German Colonial Society. The Royal Niger Company en- deavored to strengthen itself upon the Lower Niger, and to extend its operations into the Niger Basin. It made treaties with the chiefs of populous districts, and secured their assent to its protection. The French, following the track of Mungo Park, iVom the western coast to the sources of the Senegal, reached the upper waters of the Niger, the territories of which they have recently appropriated. They have pro- jected railways from the mouth of the Senegal to the city of Timbuctoo upon the great bend of the Niger, so as to connect the trade of that interior city, with the navigable waters of the Seuegal. France, from the interior, has encroached upon the British colony of Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast. She threatened a like encroachment upon Ashantee and Lagos. She undertook to shut these colonies out from the hinterland, which under the Berlin arrangement the United Kingdom might fairly claim for them, and has thus practically ruined the trade of the former. Before I further discuss the course adopted by British merchants and traders in the valley of the Niger, by which ultimately the whole of the country now known as Nigeria was made a portion of the British Empire, I shall give a brief summary of the efforts put forth by France, in recent years, to extend her dominions upon the AfHcan continent. France, under the regime of Gambetta, began a new policy, in order IN NIGERIA 85 to repair those misfortunes which had befollen her in the Frauco-Gennan conflict, in the closing days of the Empire. The German provinces of France, which had been long under French jurisdiction, were lost in that war. France had been so thoroughly beaten that she could not at once renew the conflict, and so Gambetta, and other French statesmen, sought to enlarge the dominions of the Republic, and hoped by the increase of her wealth and the growth of her com- merce, to more than repair the losses which she had sustained. Extensive possessions were acquired in Farther India; but it was to the continent of Africa that France chiefly looked for a suitable field in which to overcome the effect of the misfortunes which the (German war had brought upon her. No such weli-sustained and systematic efibrts have been put forward by French statesmen since France lost her North American possessions. When the United Kingdom went into the possession of Cyprus, France set about the ac- quisition of Tunis, which she, in a short time, ac • French complished. Indeed, her public men declared that Military this acquisition had been suggested at the Berlin Campaigns Conference by Lord Salisbury, and France had, at least, the tacit acquiescence of that nobleman in her conquest of Tunis. By this she added five hundred miles of the southern nhore of the Mediterranean and a large extent of territory, to her dominions, at the expense of the Sultan of Turkey, the integrity of whose Empire, she all along contended, that she ardently desired to maintain. In many ways, France has, no doubt, greatly improved the country. This was the first forward step that France took in Africa. She subsequently began upon the Atlantic coast in the neighborhood of Senegal, and she sent her military men to explore the couutry to the headwaters of ohat river, and thence to the upper stretches of the Niger. She >uilt roads, surveyed railway lines, erected forts, constructed lines of telegraph. She has extended her military and political operations from the River Senegal, southward, over Futa 86 THE ENQUSH IN AFRICA Jallon, which lies immediately to the rear of her colony Rwierea du Sud, so that her possessions upon the coast are extended over the whole interior country. She has crossed the Upper Niger and acquired dominion over the country of Samory, and over that of the Mandingoes, southward to the ocean. She has made all the country between the Gk)ld Coast and the republic of Liberia a French possession. Contrary to the terms of the Berlin Act, she has acquired the hinterland of Sierra Leone and Liberia, she has also appropriated the hinterland of Ashantee and Tongaland. Her possessions again reach the coast between Lagos and Tongaland. France, to-day, holds the whole of Western Africa, except those portions which I have named and the small colony which belongs to Portugal. Nearly the whole of western Africa, from the Gold Coast of the Atlantic, northward to the Mediterranean, and from the mouth of the Senegal eastward to the border of Darfrir, is French territory. , » > Undoubtedly France is entitled to enlarge her possessions and to bring the barbarous districts in Africa, where other civilized States are not before her, under her jurisdiction. French explorers have examined the country, from the Senegal to the Upper Niger, and have taken formal pos- session on behalf of France. She is endeavoring to make the districts which she has brought under her sovereignty easy of access. She has projected railways from Kayes on the Sene- gal to Bammako on the Niger, a part of which is already completed. But in her enterprise France has shown but little consideration for the claims of other States. She has gone into possession of all that part of British Nigeria lying to the north of Dahomey, and this encroachment is now confirmed to her by treaty. France has put forth extraordinary energy in the extension of her dominions from Senegambia eastward. She has sent into Western Soudan military men, who have car- ried out her wishes with skill and energy. In 1880 Captain Gallieni and Colonel Bognis-Desbordes rapidly brought under her jurisdiction the country from the borders of Senegambia to IN NIGERIA 87 the Niger, as fiu* as the town of Bammako. Colonel Bognis- Desbordes was the first French officer to plant the French flag upon the banks of the Niger. At Bammako a fort was erected, and a military outfit and garrison were provided. French Soudan is estimated to contain a population of from ten to fifteen millions. For the purpose of protecting the territory, the Govern- ment placed two gun-boats and some iron barges armed with mitrailleuses, upon the Niger. They were commanded by a French lieutenant and midshipman, but the crew was wholly composed of natives, and so were all the troops except those in charge of artillery. The officers, including doctors, veter- inaries, and telegraph clerks are white men. All others in the public service are natives. There are four millions of negroes in French Soudan enrolled as foot soldiers and trans- port bearers, and the Superintendent of Police, in each of the towns, is a negro armed with an old sabre ; so that the French have had but little difficulty in getting the natives to ent'er their service, and to undertake the duties assigned to them. The French authorities under Colonel Frey were, in 1885-6, engaged in hostilities with Samory, whom they defeated and drove from his capital. In 1887 King Ahmadu placed his kingdom under French protection. As the French set up their authority, they established forts which they connected Mith telegraph lines, the more easily to uphold their supremacy. Several years ago the British Government was urged to take possession of Futa Jallon which lies uj on the northern border of Sierra Leone. Had it done so, the colony would have been of much greater commercial importance. This was neglected and Sierra Leone is now completely hemmed in by the possessions of France. It is said that many of the tribes on the Upper Niger, would have preferred to have come under English protection, but as there was no prospect of the claims of France being there contested, they considered it the more prudent course to acquiesce in the suzerainty of France. Captain Binger explored the country lying within the great I U 88 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA bend of the Niger from Bammako southward to the shore be- tween Liberia and the Gold Coast. He claimed to have received the submission of all the Chiefe in that region. Colonel Archinard, who captured Sago, on the Niger, in 1891, took Jenne in 1898, and prepared the plan of march on Timbuctoo. Further French Explora- tions This campaign he did not conduct ; it was committed to Colonel Bonnier, Colonel Jouffi*e and Lieuten- ant Boiteux, who had charge of the flotilla. The town of Tim- buctoo surrendered to the latter ; but the surrounding tribes did not acquiesce, and in January, 1894, the troops who were under Colonel Bonnier were surprised and well nigh extermin- ated in the night. The inhabitants of Timbuctoo did not join in attack, and have continued peaceable under French juris, diction. The French attach great importance to the posses- sion of the city, and hope from it, as the centre of their mili- tary operations, to bring the whole of their possessions in Northern Airoa under effective control. They were dis- appointed in not finding it more populous ; but they speak ot it as the Queen of the Soudan, which will become a centre of great influence over the immense region which is under their jurisdiction.* The French sought to extend their territories in the vicinity of Lake Tchad in 1899 by sailing up the Benue River. This expedition was intended to extend French authority over districts claimed by the Royal Niger Company, and by * The trade bcl we en France, Senegral and other French colonies is carried on ex> clusively under the French flag ; British products are conveyed under the British flag as a rule. A raOway exists from Dakar north-west to St. Louis, a distance of 175 miles, and is beinfl^ used more for passenirers than for goods. Another line runs from Kayes on the Senegal in western Soudan to another point on that river, and is being slowly pushed forward to Timbuctoo. It is also contemplated to construct a railway from Conakry to the nearest point on the Niger to which a practicable route may be found. Of the ordinary roads there are two short roads that are good, but all those leading to the interior are mere bridle paths and are impassable for wheeled vehicles, on account of the absence of bridges. Dakar is of great importance as a revictual- ling port, a coaling station and the finest harbor upon the western coast. IN NIGERIA 89 Oermany. The Company's officers, nevertheless, lent the French both money and means of transportation. The French commander sought to make treaties with the Sultan of Bomu. He conducted his force through the Cameroons to the Congo, and carried on his explorations through Ubangi, northward, to the Shari River. These efforts at acquisition were, in part, recognized by (Germany in March, 1894. Still mere recently the French claim to have established their authority over the Sultanate of Wadai and the subordinate States of Bagirmi and Kanem. During the past sixteen years the French have pursued much the same policy in Africa, that they did in the first half of the eighteenth century in North America, and for the expansion of their dominions have employed much the same means. Here they traversed the country in the rear of the English settlements, and took formal possession of the interior. So far as the country in Africa was unoccupied, and was not the hinterland of the possessions of other countries, that were en- titled to a reasonable time after the Berlin Act to perfect their title, there could be no ground of complaint. But in respect to the country in the rear of the possessions of other European States, they have acted upon the assumption that they had a paramount right to claim the hinterland where it was neces- sary to give them a continuous territorial possession. The French have aimed at establishing a great Empire in Africa, and they have pursued this object with great pertinacity. They have endeavored to bring under their control the whole country from the Mediterranean Sea to the Congo River, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Bed Sea. They succeeded in pro- ducing a crisis by the Fashoda incident which made it neces- sary, if war was to be avoided, that there should be a definite statement as to the boundaries in Africa, between the British possessions on the Nile and the Niger, and those which belong to France. The friction has accomplished this result. Upon the Niger, France has been a great gainer, and the country which 8^ 3 has acquired will no doubt gain by her success. f !1 il llil i|T 90 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA She will spend large sums of money in making roads, in con- structing bridges, in erecting forts, in disciplining the popula- tion, and in educating the sons of Chiefs and Emirs. That part of the Niger country which remains to the English, is that portion which the English people can best develop, and make commercially valuable. In December, 1893, the forces of England and France came into collision on the borders of Sierra Leone, and resulted in serious losses to both. This is the only conflict which has arisen although there have been very many temptations to break the peace. In the country west of the Niger the French regarded it as a no-man's-land, although they were not ignorant of the fact that they were making treaties and accepting the submission of subordinate Chiefs, whose superiors had already submitted to the protection of the Royal Niger Company. But this policy of active advancement which was so dangerous to the peace of the two countries, came to an end when the boundary from Dahomey to the Niger was defined in 1898. It seemed as though the question with French statesmen was, whether war with the United Kingdom, upon the Nile and the Niger, would arise under circumstances which would aiford compen- sation for what had been lost upon the Rhine. The Czar did not favor war, and peace has been maintained. France has made great gains in Africa, and she has every reason to be content with her success. Concessions have been made to her demands by the British, to the north of Dahomey. Germany has surrendered much of the Cameroons to permit her to ques- tion the English acquisitions on the Nile ; but fortunately for the world the dangerous road which these three great States have travelled so closely together, has been passed over, with- out the peace having been broken. The French entered into active commercial competition with ''The United African Company, Limited," and so it became a matter of doubt for a while, whether the trade of the Lower Niger would remain British or French. There are in IN NIGERIA 91 the Lower Niger, streams which are partly formed by the Niger River, and partly independent creeks, known as the Oil Rivers. Upon these British trading posts have long existed. They had no connection with the in- terior, the British traders who established foctories The National ComDanv ^° ^^® ^^^ Rivers district exchanged arms and ammunition, cotton goods, and impure spirits, for palm oil and other native products. These traders were content with their business ; they made little efifort to reach the interior. The coast chiefs were opposed to any direct trade with the interior country ; besides there were political difficulties in the way. The Foulahs conquered the country in the beginning of the present century, and they have retained their ascendency. The aboriginal inhabitants had no security prior to the establishment of British authority, either for person or property. Slavery was recognized, and no native was secure in his possessions. Sometimes a British gunboat ascended the river to punish marauders ; but the country was unhealthy, malarial fever prevalent, the punitive visits short, and separated from each other by long intervals of time ; and so the predatory pursuits of the ruling class continued. Mr. Goldie Taubman, in 1879, succeeded in uniting into one Company all British interests on the Lower Niger. And he endeavored to unite the various tribes into one homogenous state. The capital of the Company, which was at first but £125,000 was found inadequate, to enable the Company suc- cessfully to cope with the French traders. The stock of the Company was thrown open to the public, the name of the Company was changed to the "National African Company," and the capital increabed to £1,000,000. The Company estab- lished political relations with the kingdoms of Sokoto and Gando on the Niger, and the great States on the Upper Benue and on the western shore of Lake Tchad. It established new trading stations, put steamboats on the rivers whiih carried the merchandise of the Company up the Niger and its tribu- taries. The French merchants made a vigorous attempt to "t 92 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA obtain the trade of the country. Two of these companies had between them a capital of £760,000, and they established factories at every accessible place that promised a profitable retuir'. Mr. T.'iubman, now Sir George Goldie, increased his staff, opened new trading stations, distributed goods among the natives at low rates, and so inflicted serious loss upon the French traders, and hindered the natives, by his policy, from entering into treaty relations with the French. The French sustained heavy loss and sold out their interest for cash or for shares in the British Company. The French danger was got rid of, but the Company was also threatened with German aggression. The Cameroons was made the basis for operating against the Company upon the Benue River. The British Government had declared a protectorate over the Oil Rivers district in July 1884, but it made no claim to sovereignty over the country between the Niger and Lake Tchad. Agents of the German Colonial Society and the German African Society, were engaged to explore the country, and to enter into treaties with the natives. This became known to the British Company, and Sir George Goldie employed Mr. Joseph Thomson to visit Sokoto, Gando and other nations of the Niger basin, and to make treaties with their chiefs, acknow- ledging the suzerainty of the Company. His mission was successftil. An immense number of treaties were made, by which nearly the whole country from the northeast bend of the Niger to the sea, were covered before the German agents reached the country.* The company then renewed its appeal for a royal charter, which it received in July 1888. Under this charter the Company obtained jurisdiction extending from the French possessions, to the borders of the Oil Rivers district. The Company interfered as little as possible with the native States ; it made careful provision for the adminis- tration of justice, and the maintenance of its authority. The See London Gazette, June 5. 1885. * The Company succeeded in Kitting its treaties recognized by the British Government, and a protectorate proclaimed over the Lower Niger. IN NIGERIA 98 Company maintained a military force of a thousand men whose headquarters were at Lakoja, at the junction of the Benue and the Niger rivers. It has in its service many white officials, assisted hy educated natives brought thither from the western coast. The trade of the Company grew rapidly, and its revenues, at the time that its charter was surrendered, amounted to about £400,000. The Company took precautions to prevent encroachments upon its possessions. Its efforts at expansion were restricted, owing to its limited resources. The practice of chartering companies that are at once commercial and political, was very common at one period of British history. Some of the early colonies in North America, the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Blast India Company are notable examples. The practice for a long period went out of use, but in recent years it has been revived. The British North Borneo Company, the British South African Company, the Imperial British East Africa Company and the Royal Niger Company, are recent examples. The two latter have disappeared. The charters have been cancelled and the territories of the Companies taken over by the Crown. Pro- tectorates over barbarous countries, says Sir Charles Dilke, tend to become national territory, especially where the security of the Company is threatened by the aggressions of civilized States. The area, if great, often requires an expenditure beyond the Company's means and to preserve its possession, it becomes necessary to sacrifice its commercial interests. The career of the Royal Niger Company was very short. One of the difficulties which embarassed it, was, that its revenue was not adequate for the expenses which Difficulties were really necessary. The trade, for the want of the of means of communication, was not at all what Company it could have been made, as there are about thirty millions of people in this section of the British dominions, and several piillions more who would carry on trade through the Niger, if railways were con- 94 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA structed. The rivals with which the Niger Company had to contend were French and German traders who were aided by their respective governments, while the Royal Niger Company was crippled becanse it was not permitted to impose such a tariff as would enable it to meet, out of public Ainds, the expenses of government instead of being obliged to pay them out of the gains of the Company. Had the Company been given a freer hand, it might have been able to have extended its authority over a wider area of country. The British Ministers have now become responsible for the proper government of Nigeria. The opportunities of growth were lost when the Government interfered with the discretion of the Company in respect to customs charges. It ought to have aided it by a subsidy, but no aid was given, and imperial interests suffered in consequence. The Berlin Conference did not impose Free Trade on the Niger as it did on the Congo. The waters of the British Niger are free to foreign ships engaged in the carriage of merchandise up that river and its tributaries into territories beyond the boundaries of the Niger Company. Where the goods are landed within the dominions of the Company, they had assuredly a right to impose the customary charges. But both Germany and France endeavored to break through the regulations of the Company, which, had they been successful, would have seriously interfered with its power to improve the waterway, to regulate the places of landing, and would have rendered nugatory its policy of excluding spirits from the country, the use of which has done such incalculable injury to the natives upon the coast. Before referring to the international treaties partitioning this part of the African continent, let me say, that the terri- tories of the three great powers converge towards Lake Tchad. Sokoto, Bomu, Bagirmi, Kanem and Wadai, lie between the river Niger upon the west and the Province of Darfiir upon the east ; they are the principal states in Central Soudan. If the British territory were extended eartward IN NIGERIA 96 between the parallel which it occupies upon the hanks of the Niger, it would embrace all these States. Sokoto and Bomu are admitted to be within British territory. Bagirmi lies on the south shore of Lake Tchad, and is, for the most part, within the German sphere of influence as it exists, but should, according to the principle of the division b,«;;reed upon by the Berlin Act of the 26th of February, 1886, be a British possession. If the northern boundary, agreed upon between England and France, as far as Lake Tchad, is farther extended eastward, the greater portion of Kanem and Wadai would be included within the English sphere, yet France is, nevertheless, claiming them.* They are naturally connected with the territories of the Niger. The next few years will determine to which of the European states this part of Central Soudan will fall ; but anyone who will study the geography of this part of Africa, will see of what great consequence its possession must be to the British Empire. Some of the people in the Basin of the Niger are pagan, of negro and mixed bloods, some are Mahometan and of Arab origin. Some of those west of the Niger, hi the Kingdom of Borgu, deny that they are pagan and claim that they are Krisis, the followers of a Jew that died for men. They are supposed to have been of Berber origin, and to have been driven back from the shores of the Mediterranean, or from the Nile by the Vandalic invasion. The brightest and most in- dustrious race are the Housas, who outnumber all the others put together. The ruling race are the Foulahs. They con- quered the Housas at the beginning of the present century. They are war-like, traffic in slaves, and may give trouble to the Company if any great restraint is suddenly imposed upon their practices. Both f*rance and Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, have taken the risk of conflict, as they have all pushed forward with great energy towards Lake Tchad. The French and the Germans have received pecuniary aid < "France hat raoently had her pretentions conceded, and ao it is ao longer poe- lible for the British to connect Lagos with the Nile. t Cr iH n , 'C TT 96 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA from their respective Oovemments, the stockholders of the Royal Niger Company have been compelled to depend solely upon themselves. So far, they have exhibited great energy and great tact, and have extended their dominions and paid dividends to their stockholders. Both the French and the Germans have expended sums of money greatly in excess of any revenues which they have received. In the case of the English, the flag has followed the trader. In the case of the French and the Germans, the trader has followed the flag. What has transpired in the British territory is more in com. mendation of the people than of the Government. The Anglo-German boundary of 1890 between the Niger Company and the Cameroons, was drawn in a north-easterly direction. That boundary is not warranted by the coast line, and ought not to have been carried beyond the 9th degree of north latitude ; as it is, it has been extended nearly to the 13th. The whole northern portion is, in reality, the hinterland of the English possessions. This portion became German terri- tory under an agreement in 1898. Germany, instead of retaining the hinterland of the Cameroons country, has surrendered it to France, and what she obtained between Bornu rnd the Shari river, Germany's itj ^ould seem, has been acfjiiiied to prevent the j^^'^P^i"!*" ®*^®'^''^<*** of English terriloiy eastward, and to to France the opportunity to obtain tlon with , France ^^""^ possession of Kanem, Bagirmi, and Wadai. The territories lying between Lake Tchad and the Nile, might have been regarded as the hinterland of the Egyptian Soudan, but by a recent treaty the British Government have recognized them as within the sphere of French influence. It is not possible to read over the boundary agreements between England and Germany, and Germany and France, without seeing that Germany and France, in respect to Africa, have acted in concert as against England. Look at the agreements made between England and Germany in respect to the Cameroons country. The IN NIGERIA 97 western boundary of Cameroons toviohee on the Niger country. The eastern boundary, as settled at the same time, touches the British protectorate of Ea^)t. AfVica. The agreement between England and Germany as to the western boundary, no doubt, largely depended upon the satisfactory settlement of the separating line upon the east. Now more than half of the Cameroons country, Germany has surrendered to France. Germany claims that the western limitary line is settled by compact, but France is at liberty to repudiate that part of the compact relating to the eastern boundary, because she does not admit that Germany owned the Ubangi country, nor that she could make an agreement with Great Britain, with respect to the Upper Nile country, that could bind her. France by various stages, then, has advanced in the direction of Lake Tchad and the countries immediately to the east. The boundaries there are the result of international agreements, which have not been so clearly defined nor so well settled as to prevent future disputes. Under the agreement of the 10th of August, 1889, in respect to the Gambia Colony, the British have submitted to being confined to a territory within an area of six miles on each side of the Gambia River, and the trade of this territory, as might be expected under such an arrange- ment, is mostly in French hands. .. , , (,, ^, , . France owns the entire coast as far as Sierra Leone, except Portuguese Guinea, which embraces but 11,500 square miles. There are 200 miles of French coast between Sierra Leone and Portuguese Guinea. The boundary of the British Colony was definitely settled by an agreement with France, in January, 1895, which left the French the whole interior country behind the British Colony, from which any expansion of the trade of the Colony must have come ; and the same may be said of the Republic of Liberia, which has been greatly reduced in area under French pressure. It is not improbable, that it will become a dependency of France. The British Gold Coast may be extended to the ninth degree of north latitude; and as France was permitted to acquire the territory m 111 98 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ll ! ! in the interior, the same injury may be done to British trade in that colony, as has been done to the British colonies of Gktmbia and Sierra Leone. The French have taken possession of Dahomey. Between Dahomey and the Qold Coast, Ger. many has a territory known as Togoland, which was limited by an agreement with Great Britain in 1888. In spite of this agreement, German explorers were, for a time, endeavoring to extend her possessions behind the British Gold Coast; but the territory in controversy here has been taken out of the field of dif^pute by the recent convention between Germany and Great Britain. The territories north, both of Togoland and of Dahomey, ai*e parts of the country lying within the Niger Basin, in the Kingdom of Borgu, which had acknowledged the Protectorate of the Niger Company. The French favored a limitary line between them and the Company from Say south to Dahomey, which would have placed no incon&iderable part of both Gando and Borgu on the French side of the boundary. British explorers favored the extension of the boundary between the British and French possessions from Say westward to the watershed, and thence southwest- ward to the Black Volta River, in the tenth degree of north latitude. This would have left to the Niger Company the greater portion of the territory which it had acquired by treaty from Native States, whereas a line due south from Say would place more than half the Company's terri- tories on the west side of the Niger in the possession of France. Conflicts occurred between English and French explorers, which were dangerous to the peace of the two countries, and so in June, 1898, a convention was entered into at Paris between Great Britain and France, which settled the boundary between the English and French territories on the Gold Coast and Lagos, delimiting thcne possessions from the French possessions of the Ivory Coast, Soudan and Da- homey, and also delimiting the British and French posses- sions and the spheres of influence of the two countries, both to the west and east of the Niger, Thi^ treaty makes im- IN MGEBIA 99 mense concessions to France. Her territories are increased by several thousand square miles east of a line due south from Say. Upon tt . east of the Niger, this treaty has altered the northern boundary of Nigeria in favor of France. It is to be hoped that the description of the various boundaries founded on that Treaty will prove to be sufficiently full and minute to avoid controversy in the future. The United Kingdom has not sought to stand upon her exi/reme rights in competition with France. Throughout Western A frica she has exhibited a great deal of Moderation forbearance, and has surrendered, both to France of the ^^^ ^ Germany, territories in respect to which English bar rights were superior to theirs. British peo- ple, for many years, declined to assume the responsibility of farther territorial extension, and when the scramble for dominion in Africa, under the Berlin Act, began, they entered into the contest with a great deal of reluctance, and only from considerations of commercial necessity. Every Englishman who reflected upon the subject saw that, if the British Government took no action, the British people would lose much of the trade which they had already acquired, and a large portion of the continent would bo closed against them ; but, even as it is, British statesmen have refrained from standing upon their undoubted rights, in order to avoid friction with France in Western Africa. It is extremely doubtful whether such a course has been to the advantage of the United Kingdom. To yield, for many years, seemed only to invite further aggression, and no country upon the globe has shown less inclination to submit to the restraints of public law than France. Th3 British colonies on the west coast of Africa have been charged with a want of enterprise. In the case of some of them this charge may be well founded. It is not my purpose here to O.iscuss it. But the accusation will not apply to the Royal Niger Company. The Company received no aid. Its interests were sacrificed to conciliate other parties in 1890, ml 100 THE ENGLISH IN AFKICA Boundaries 1890 and if public opinion had not guarded it, it might have suffered even more than it did. By the agreement of 1890, the British Government recog- nized the country as far south as Say, on the Niger, and Brua, on Lake Tchad, as belonging to France. The separating line between these points was to be so laid down as to leave the Niger Company the kingdom of Sokoto and its dependencies, and also the kingdom of Bomu. This line was to be deter- mined by a joint commission, which was also to settle the boun- dary on the west side of the Niger. The French and English drew the line between Say and Brua very differently. But there is little room to doubt that the French maps are not con- sistent with the territories to be assigned to each, for much of the dominion of the Sultan of Sokoto lies north of a straight line drawn between the two extreme points nam dd. The French cartographers made the western boundary a line due south from Say to the northern boundary of Dahomey. In this they completely ignore Gurma, which is a province of the Sokoto- Gandu Empire and Bornu, over which kingdom the Niger Company by treaty acquired a protectorate. The meridian of Greenwich was suggested as a limitary line. The more appropriate one, according to the principles of public law, would have been the one I have already suggested — extending due west from Say to the height of land in the bend of the Niger, and thence due south to the Black Volta River. All this is now settled by the treaty of June, 1898. At the other extremity of the line, the parallel of Brua extended eastward ought, according to the terms of the agreement, to fix the southern limit of French acquisitions in Central Soudan. But the principles upon which the treaty has been based have been disiegarded. The French hastened to get behind the Niger Company's sphere, and to create a French sphere south and east of Lake Tchad. France proposed to project this boundary southward from Say so as to give her the whole of the territories west of that line, including IN NIGERIA 101 parts of Gandu, which the English had already acquired. But the treaty of 1898 concedes to France territories east of this line. The trade of the people is naturally to the Niger. It is worth cultivating. The states of Kanem and Bagirmi are less advanced in civilization than the kingdom of Wadai, upon which they are dependent. The latter kingdom contains 160,000 square miles, and 1,500,000 people. They are a warlike nation, and are not likely to become a subject people without a struggle. The Royal Niger Com- pany, while the government was in its hands, had a great advantage over both Germany and France in this — that the Niger and the Benue Rivers afford them highways to the very borders of their possessions, and at a moderate cost, they can reach any point upon which it may be desirable to oper- ate. They could, with far greater ease, and at a far less cost than either of the others, have exercised paramount influence over the States around Lake Tchad. While the French agents were forcing their way through the west and south of the British sphere, the Germans were sending expeditions to the Upper Benue, of such a character as to render inaction on the part of England impossible. Germany gave up the valley of the Upper Nile to the English, and the intervening region, between the Niger country and the Nile Valley, to the south of Lake Tchad, the British agreed that Germany should hold, as a part of the Cameroons country. This agreement was formally set out by the Treaty of Berlin of the 15th of November, 1893. By this treaty a part of Adamawa and Bornu, were handed over to Germany ; but it was agreed that the German area should not extend eastward of the Valley of the Shari River, and that Darfiir, Kordofan, and Bahr-el Ghazal, as defined on the map of Justus Perthes, should be excluded from German influence, even if affluents of the Shar* should be lying within this sphere. This was an enormous concession to Germany, for she had done nothing to give her Hil 'Aki 102 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA any moral claim to much of this region ; but it was done to secure Carman friendship, and to settle the boundary in a way which recognized the claim of England, so far as a Treaty with Germany could do so, to the entire Valley of the Upper Nile. Subsequent events have shown that the friend- ship of Germany had not been secured, and that Germany sur- rendered the whole eastern part of the territory, admitted by England to be within the sphere of German influence, to the French ; and so, while Germany has a secure boundary upon the western border of the Cameroons country next the Niger, she put it in the power of the French to repudiate the boundary agreed upon with England on the eastern side of the territory, which she yielded up to France. In 1890 France proposed the 15th meridian of east longitude as a boundary between the Cameroons country and her own. Germany declined the French proposal. French expeditions were actively engaged in pushing on toward the Shari River from the Congo. The advantage which England had con- ferred on Germany by the extension of the Cameroons country to Lake Tchad, gave to Germany an opportunity of concilat- ing France with a portion of the territory which Great Britain admitted to be within the German sphere of influence by the treaty of November, 1893. By that agreement the German territory was not to extend beyond the basin of the Shari River on the east ; and not even that far, it any portion of the western slope was within the state of Darfur, because the whole of that country was held to be within the sphere of British influence extending westward from the Nile. It is impossible to look at what France has acquired behind the Cameroons country and northward, from the border of the Congo Free State, without seeing that Germany has endeavored to use her treaty understandings with Great Britain to con- ciliate France, and to bring Great Britain and France into conflict. This much, however, is clear, that th« United Kingdom, while in possession of the Niger and the Nile, had great IN NIOEBIA 103 advantages over her two rivals. These two regions are by far the most fertile in Africa, and Central Soudan can hardly remain in the possession of another European Advant- S^e, with the valley of the Niger and of the ages of the Nile under British control. The Niger country English contains a very large population, perhaps not less than 30,000,000, and some portions of it are suffici- ently elevated to admit of European colonization. In certain respects its inhabitants are geographically situated like the inhabitants of some portions of British India. There are not less than 15,000,000 of the people of the Niger country who are of the Housa race. They are intelligent, industrious, remarkably robust, peacefully inclined, and withal courage- ous. They were conquered at the beginning of this century by the Foulahs, who are Mahometan Arabs, and who have the control of the Government in Gando, Sokoto and Borgu. The kingdom of Borgu, which lies wholly west of the middle Niger, and the kingdoms to the south — Nupe, Yoruba, and Benin — resisted the attempt at conquest. The people of Borgu, as I have stated, claim to be of the Christian faith, but if so, it has been greatly corrupted by pagan superstitions. There are many large cities in Nigeria such as Zaria, Kauo, Sokoto, Kuka, and several others, varying in population from 10,000 to upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. A railway has been projected from Lagos, a point about 250 miles west of the mouths of the Niger, so as to cross the Niger at Babbah about 250 miles distant from the coast, and thence to extend northward to Kano and Sokoto, and thence eastward to. the shore of Lake Tchad. Should this project be carried into operation, the British merchants would command the whole commerce of our own possessions, and an immense region beyond the borders of Nigeria. The British Govern- ment may now be regarded as committed to this enterprise. Mr. Chamberlain in addressing a deputation on this subject said: — "The only dominion which caa compare with the Projected Railways m^ 104 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Britinh Dominion is the old empire of the Romans, and it was to the credit of the Romans that wherever they went, even in barbarous countries, they left traces of their passage in admir- able public works. . . . Great Britain has, in many cases, neglected the duty of a mother country, very much to her own injury, as well as to that of the populations under her care. The Lagos railway may be said to be almost commenced. We have authorized the construction of bridges, which are the first matters to be arranged for, and we shall authorize, without the slightest hesitation, the completion of the railway as soon as the surveys are officially completed, and we shall endeavor, in the meantime, to push on those surveys as quickly as possible." This statement is, in the highest degree, satis- factory to every friend of the Empire who has studied the question sufficiently to understand it. The greatest elevation between Lagos and the Niger, which the railway must cross, is 1,400 feet. And in this section, three populous cities will be reached. Beyond the Niger 400 miles more of railway through an undulating country, will carry it to the city of Kano, which has on the northwest, at a distance of 250 miles, Sokuto, and of 500 miles to the east Kuka, with many large and populous places intervening along the line. The importance of the trade, once slave-raiding is suppressed, cannot be over- estimated. Its importance is shown by the fact that France has undertaken surveys to connect, by rail, Timbuctoo with Algeria on the north, and with the coast of Senegal on the west, and with Central Soudan at Lake Tchad on the east. More than 4,000 miles of railway would be required to carry out the projects of the French Government, and, in the whole of thiR vj8t territory there are not more than 15,000,000 li. H 1 ,j \ t!ie majority of whom would be much too faraway ::•< 1 ^1' jiway lines, when built, to utilize them for pur- por 9 . merce, whereas 1,000 miles of railway in the Niger coujutiy would render the commerce of more than 30,- 000,000 people accessible to the British manufacturer and merchant. 1,500 miles of railway in the Niger country would IN NIGERIA 105 give to the British manufacturer and merchant a larger field for the consumption of British products than any country with which the United Kingdom trades at present, India alone excepted. Once the population enjoyed security against slave-raiding, and had for the purpose of agriculture the improved appliances which modern manufacture can give them, it is not easy to set limits to the expansion which would take place in the commerce of people so willing to work and so ready to learn. The British Government have recently taken over the political authority which, under its charter, -was vested in the Royal Niger Company. The political success which attended this Company was mainly due to the ability and energy of Sir George Taubman Goldie; of whose merits I have already spoken. Sir George Goldie triumphed over great difficulties, and has practically placed in the hands of the British Government a country containing half a million of square miles, and thirty millions of people. It is a great gift for a Company with moderate resources to make to the British Empire. Five International agreements have been made between England and France, and England and Germany, with reference to the country which Sir George Goldie has struggled to preserve to the Empire. So much of this terri- tory as is held as a sphere of influence under the Berlin Act may, by the want of energy and diligence, in time be lost, so it is hoped that the spirit of Imperial unity will prove sufficiently strong to secure the early development of this great country. The United Kingdom has, in the Housas of the Niger, one of the most industrious, the most enterprising, and the most easily civilized people on the whole continent of Afi'ica, and no wiser investment can be made than that which would bring them, at the earliest moment, within the influence of English industry, English thought, English law, and English civilization. ' • - ■ - :'j*i kM-1;-- -^•*. , .-I i j, I J : , ! • < ► > i 1 ■ / -, CHAPTER V. BRITISH EAST AFRICA Gbogbaphical Particulars — The Cambboons District — French and Qerman Pretensions — Britain's At- titude THAT OP Non- Aggrandisement — Endeavors OF Sir John Kirk — Despatches by Lord Granville — Explanation of the Circumstances by Lord Randolph Churchill — Surrender op the Ten- Mile Strip by the Sultan. The country, the acquisition of which I am about to des- cribe, is that which is now generally known as British East Africa. When we get north of Cape Colony, we have Natal, Zululand, the Portuguese country, and then the Zanzibar coast, the southern portion of which has, within a few years, become a German possession, and the northern portion, which is bounded on its northern border by the Jubb river, and separated from the German territory on the south by Umba, extends in a north-westerly direction to Lake Victoria Nyanza, and thence westward to Lake Albert Nyanza. British East Africa now extends in a north-westerly direction, to the western watershed of the Nile. It embraces the whole of the valley of the Upper Nile, and stretches northward to the borders of the Soudan. It is a very extensive region, and contains at least seven hundred thousand square miles of territory, and about seven millions of people. Though usually designated British East Africa, it is not precisely that portion of the continent to which the British Government made a shadowy claim forty years ago. That portion of the coast of eastern Africa, to which the British Government had the strongest claim, and with which British traders and merchants were best acquainted, is now partly embraced IN EAST AFRICA 109 within the possessions of Oermany. G«rmany acquired it iu much the same way as she obtained the Cameroons country upon the west. Lord Granville, it has been said, permitted Prince Bismarck to outwit him in respect to the Zanziba^ coast, as he did in respect to the Cameroons country. Eng- land had many trading posts on that portion of the AfVican coast. The late Captain Burton had planted the British standard upon the Cameroons mountains, as Johnston and other British travellers had carried the British flag into the vicinity of Kilimanjaro, and Oermany obtained the one part of the African continent by the same methods as she subse- quently obtained the other. The work of British explorers was complete in every respect except one — the taking of for- mal possessions of the country in the name of the Sovereign. No officer had been regularly commissioned to enter into pos- session in her Majesty's name. And the claim of England, in consequence of the explorations of Livingstone and of Stanley, to the valley of the Congo, and to the lake region, was certainly not inferior to any claim that France could make to the northern border of the Congo country, by reason of DeBrazza's exploration. The French, after the Berlin Convention of 1885, took possession of the country upon the northern bank of the Congo. The Germans had taken possession of the Cameroons country upon the coast, and, in 1893, England and Germany drew a limitary line between British East Africa and the Cameroons region. In 1894, Germany, instead of extending her southern border eastward, until it reached the Congo, permitted France to lay claim to the eastern portion of the Cameroons country, and to extend her possessions northward, to the southern shore of Lake Tchad, and to the southern border of Wadai. All that portion of the Cameroons country, east of the Shari River, was claimed by France, and yielded up to her by Germany. The separating line which divided the Cameroons country between them was agreed upon in February, 1894, and so France was invited into a controversy '1! ■^' -^ i^" j*'{i 108 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA with Great Britain, in respect to the eastern boundary of the Gameroons, and the western boundary of the British posses- sions in Eastern Africa. Before referring to the controversies between England and Germany, in reference to Zanzibar, and between England and France, with reference to the The territories of the Upper Nile, let me refer you Camepoons to certain stations upon the coast of the Cam- Dlstriet eroons, such as Ambas Bay,* which had been occupied by English missionaries for more than forty years, but which were made oyer to Germany. The Gameroons district, still held by Germany, embraces about 191,130 square miles of territory, and 3,500,000 of people. The British connection with this part of Africa was one of long standing. Her merchants and traders had done more than all other peoples to explore that country. As early as August, 1879, the chiefs of the Gameroons district asked for British Gonsuls, and for a British protectorate. They believed that disputes and differences would be then fairly settled ; that murders would diminish, and they wanted to be like the people under British rule. The British Government were IndifTerent to these appeals. These petitions remained unanswered. Similar communications were forwarded by English residents, backed by British Gonsuls, without more hopeful results. In July, 1883, the Foreign Office was informed that the French were in that neighborhood, and were about to become possessed of a jurisdiction and a trade in that quarter of Africa, which had long been in English hands. It was not until the end of that year that the Foreign Office and the Golonial Office thought it worth while to consider the matter, and to place the Oil Rivers district and the Gameroons under British protection. In May 1884, Gonsul Hewitt was ordered to return to his post, and to take the necessary steps * A notification of Britiiih Sovereignty was proclaimed on the 19th of July, 1884. Victoria, Ambas Bay, was transferred to Germany aSth of March, 1887. IN EAST AFRICA 109 for declaring a British protectorate over the Cameroons. He did not realize that immediate action was urgently called for, and he proceeded leisurely to the country. In .April, the German Government informed Lord Granville that the German Consul-General had been directed to visit the west coast of Africa, to complete the information at that time in the possession of the German Foreign Office, and to ascertain the state of German commerce on that coast, and to this end he was to visit the English authorities on the coast and to obtain from them the information which he desired, and which it was in their power to bestow. Germany, iA this way, threw the English Government off its guard, and hastened the appropriation of the country ; and thus her Consul obtained from the Erglish au- thorities the information which he desired, and which was for the purpose of upholding the course which Germany intended taking against any claim to sovereignty the English might make. The policy which Germany pursued in respect to the Came- roons country she also adopted in her acquisitions upon the opposite side of the continent. In 1877 the Sultan of Zanzibar offered to lease to Sir William MacKinnon, the English representative at his capital, the whole of his terri- tories, except the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. But neither the Government of Lord Beaconsfield, nor the Government of Mr. Gladstone, attached any importance to the offer. They did not seem to realize its vast importance to British trade in that quarter. Sir William MacKinnon declined the responsi- bility, unless the British Government would support him. He did great service to the British Empire, by connecting British India and Zanzibar, in 1872 and onward, by a line of mail steamers. Then German houses began there to estab- Oerman Diplomacy lish German commercial agencies, and to place upon the market German goods, at prices which did a great deal to interfere with English trade. But it was not long before Englishmen took alarm at the growing influence of Germany. ■ tyi'^n :m fM 'Fpr no THE BNOM8H IN AFRICA Sir Bartle BYere, when High Commissioner at the Gape, had expressed his concern in respect to German designs on that part of the continent, and, had his warnings been heeded, and his advice talcen, no acquisitions could have been made by Germany upon the Zanzibar coast. ^ At this time the leaders of both parties in the United Kingdom were still indifferent to the extension of the Empire on the continent of Africa. The merchantmen of the United Kingdom had long enjoyed an almost exclusive tradw upon the entire coast of Africa, south of the 10th degree of north latitude, and as long as this condition of things could be maintained, the British Government were not desirous of incurring the responsibility and the expense of protecting life, and maintaining order, upon the entire borders of South Africa. It was not, until it became apparent, by the acquisitions of Germany and France, that British merchan- dise would be effectually excluded from all those parts of the continent of Africa over «vhich the Queen had not acquired political dominion, that the English Govern- ment were impelled to make further acquisitions, or lose the trade which the people of the United Kingdom had long held. The acquisition of the southern part of the Zanzibar coast by * Namaqualand and Damaraland, tracts of country hitht.rto nsettled and little visited by white men, extended some seven hundred miles along th'^ west, northward ot the Cape Colony between Bechuanaland and the sea. ^r . Coates Palgrave, who had formerly spent some years there, had recently btic.i sent to report on the country and had broufj^ht back a great amount of information and earnest appeals from the chiefs of the more important tribes to be taken under the British protec- torate. . . . All this country, and Waliisch Bay in particular, with the adjacent land Prere urged should be proclaimed to be {under the British protectorate. . . . . He (Molteno) agreed that Palgrave should be sent back ; and just as Frere was getting into his carriage to start on a prolonged absence from Cape Towi., he called to beg that he would instruct the Commodore to hoist the British flag at Walflsch Bay. This was done, and the annexation of Walfisch Bay and the adjacent terri- tory, from thirteen to eighteen miles inland, was sanctioned by the British Govern- ment ; but to Frere's great regret the protectoratejof Damaraland and Namaqualand was refused by Lord Carnarvon ; the opportunity was lost, and that country has ^ce come under GennAn protMtton.— iVarfMrnw'* Life of Sir Batik Frtrt, IN BAST AFRICA 111 Oerman Schemes by Germany, in the way I shall hereafter more Ailly set out, was the beginning of German aims to paramount authority in the Transvaal, and to secure to herself the possession of Delagoa Bay. Later, Germany gave up the islands of Pcraba and Zanzibar to England in exchange for Heli- goland, which Lord Balisbury ceded to Germany for the verj' precarious support which she gave, in respect to the English occupation of Egypt, and which she might, at any time, have withdrawn. It was not until later that British statesmen awoke to the ambitious aims of Germany in South Africa. German statesmen looked forward to the expansion of the German pofisessions, at an early day. over that part of the continent, and this could not be accomplished except at the expense of the British Empire. Germany hoped, as Prince Bismarck informed Benedetti, at a fitting opportunity, to acquire Holland, which would add to her mariners 40,000 well-trained seamen, which would make her at once a great maritime state, with extensive colonial possessions. With Holland incorporated into the German Empire, it was not surprising that Germany hoped for the acquisition of, at least, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, and her acqui- sitions in South Africa were made with this end in view. German statesmen were at no pains to conceal their ultimate aim. Without further discussing German policy let me return again to the consideration of the position that the British Government occupied upon the Zanzibar coast, before Germany acquired a foothold. Sir John Kirk who possessed great influence with the Sultan, did everything in his power to awaken the British Government to the designs of Germany ; but his reports were unheeded. The English had been in possession of the trade for many years. They did not look forward to any change in existing conditions, on account of the presence of German merchants, and so no action was taken. Lord Granville remondtrn^ed in respect to tb« mission of Dr. vr II If 112 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Bohlfg, and also in respect to the expedition under Count Pfiel and Dr. Peters, all of whom went to Eastern Africa in 1885, and effected the first acquisitions in that region on behalf of Germany. A correspondence took place between the British and German Governments upon the subject. Germany had resolved that the whole of the Sultan's posses- sions upon the mainland, westward of Lake Tanganyika, should become German territory. The Sultan appealed to Sir William MacKinnon, and besought him to accept from him concessions of territory, in order that a limited sphere be reserved for British influence which would enable the British East Africa Company to afford him some protection. Mr. H. H. Johnston had previously received certain con- cessions in the interior from two chiefs. These concessions he had transferred to a Manchester merchant and they became the nucleus of what was known at a later period as the Imperial British East Africa Company. Lord Granville, in a despatch to Sir Edward Malet, in May, 1885, informed him that there was no intention on the part of the British Government to oppose Conces- German colonization at Zanzibar. He said that Sions by Great Britain hoped for the co-operation of Ger- England many in the work of colonization, and in the suppression of the slave trade. He directed Sir Edward Malet to inform the German Government that certain British capitalists had originated a plan for the settlement of the country be Ween the lakes and the coast, extending over the upper waters of the White Nile, and they proposed to connect those interior regions with the coast by a railway. To carry out this project the promoters purposed procuring concessions from the Sultan of Zanzibar of a very com- prehensive character. Lord Granville directed Sir Edward to inform the German Government that the Government of Her Britannic Majesty had the proposals of the Company then under consideration, but they would not support it unless they were fully satisfied that it would, in no way, conflict with German IN EAST AFRICA 113 interest in the territory which Germany Aod taken under her protectorate. Sir Edward Malet informed Prince Bismarck of Lord Oranville's views before any sf^ps were taken, in order that misunderstandings might be avoided by the frank explanations which were given. Most friends of British Dominion will regard this despatch as going quite beyond anything called for by international frankness. Great Britain, as a sovereign state, was not required to explain her intentions to Germany, or to assure German statesmen that if in the lawful pursuit of their own country's interest, anything should arise to the detriment of Germany, the United Kingdom would abandon its undoubted right to make further acquisitions if it was not in the interest of Germany that she should do so. There are, no doubt, reasonable limits within which a state should pursue its own interest. It ought to be one object of a wise statesman not to adopt a course in the interest of his own country that is going to array several powerful states in Christendom against it ; but there is always a possibility that what is helping one state may be inconvenient or even injurious to another state, but as long as the act done is not intended as an injury, but solely with the object of benefitting the state that is promoting it, there is really no ground for complaint. If the state does nothing with hostile intent ; if the evil done to another state is merely incidental to the legitimate pursuit of its own interest, and in conformity with public morals and with public law, its conduct is proper and there is nothing in the taking of such a course of which any other nation or empire can reasonably complain. What England might do among the central lakes of Africa, or upon the head waters of the Nile, was wholly her own business. Her explorers were the first there. These regions were not under the jurisdiction of any civilized state at the time, and if English traders and explorers desired to colonize that region, to improve it, to extend thither British commerce, 8 I ■'.i '■'i 114 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ^!•| to bring it under Her Majesty's jurisdiction, and under Hor Miyesty's protection, it was their right, as they were first in point of time, and it was wholly unnecessary for any British dtctesman to ask leave of the rulers of another independent nation to pursue a course so obviously proper. It may be quite true that the expansion of Germany would be greater, and her trade in Eastern Africa more prosperous, if Great Britain were to withdraw, but Germany could not find fault with Great Britain for not helping her in this way, any more than England could complain of Germany for not doing the same thing on her behalf. Before this despatch was written, : however, Germany had endeavored to mislead the British Government, by pretending to explain her intentions, when, by her explanation, it became manifest that she consulted them solely to secure time, in order that she might the better carry out her designs. The British Government owed the Government of Germany nothing in the way of obsequious deference, or of excessive frankness. The action of the G«rman Government had, in fact, put her out of court, and it was the duty of the British Government to pursue that course which the interests of the Empire called for, quite regardless of any action that Germany might take to promote her own plans of colonial expansion. Although the tone of Lord Granville's despatch was extremely deferential towards Germany, it showed that the desire for Airther territorial acquisitions had taken a strong hold upon the minds of British statesmen, who saw clearly that if they did not acquire a fair share of the continent, they could not obtain a &ir share of the trade, and that the practice which had secured to the manufacturers and merchants of the United Kingdom the trade of the coasts for so many years, without any political responsibility, was now at an end. The pretentions of Germany grew in dimensions, as she found the British authorities reluctant to actively oppose her policy of aggression. It claimed a few native districts opposite the Zanzibar coast, and four others to the south of the IN EAST AFRICA 115 Further German Claims Pangani River. At the outset, Germany admitted by treaty that the Sultan of Zanzibar was entitled to collect duties on the products of the interior upon their arrival at the coast. It had recognized the Sul- tan's jurisdiction, but in the end it stoutly maintained that the sovereignty of the Sultan did not extend inland beyond ten miles from the shore. The Sultan claimed the sovereignty of the Kilimanjaro district, in virtue of treaties which General Matthews had made in his behalf. The Germans claimed sovereignty over the same territory, based upon subsequent treaties entered into by native chiefs with German explorers. The German Government maintained that away from the coast the Sultan of Zanzibar was not a soverign but a mere trader, and, c«enying his sovereignty, they also refused to admit that he had any legal claim to levy duties upon merchandise brought from the interior to the coast. Sir John Kirk, who resided for many years in the dominions of the Sultan, was more minutely acquainted with everything relating to East Africa than any other person whom the British Government consulted. He did all in his power to uphold there the claims of the United Kingdom, but as the British Foreign Secretary was not disposed to resist German acquisitions, he could do no more than to keep his Government thoroughly informed upon whatever related to the country. The British Government were reluctant to intervene between the Sultan and the German Government. It treated the Sultan with the most friendly consideration, and gave him what moral support it could, without producing friction with the German authorities. The agreement be- tween the two Governments, in respect to East Africa, related only to the territories lying between the Rovuma and the Tana Rivers; but the country lying between the Tana and the Juba Rivers was claimed by the Germans to be a German Protectorate under the jurisdiction of the German Witu Company. This territory Dr. Peters sought to bring 1 1 .*» 116 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA under Oerman jurisdiction. The better to uphold their pre- tentions, the German Goverment refused to recognize any claim on the part of the Sultan of Zanzibar to the country, and maintained that this part of the continent was within the dominions of the Sultan of Witu. Great Britain claimed the islands upon the coast, without which the mainland had but little value. The question in dispute as to this part of Africa was referred by England and Germany, in 1886, to Baron Lambermont, a Belgian Minister, who made an award in 1889, in which he held that the convention of November, 1886, between Germany and England, applied only to the area lying between the Bovuma and the Tana Bivers, which was separated by the Umba Biver, the Germans receiving the country to the south and the English the country to the north of that stream. He further held that the Islands upon the coast were under the Sultan of Zanzibar, and that the Sultan had made no agreement either with the German Coiipany of Witu, or the Imperial British East Africa Com- pany, which gave to either of them a paramount claim to the Island. Shortly after, Germany was engaged in hostilities with the natives, and in order to secure British co-operation, withdrew her claim to the territory between the Tana and Juba Bivers. By the convention of the 1st of July, 1890, Art. II., " Great Britain engages to use all her influence to facilitate a friendly arrangement, by which the Sultan of Zanzibar shall cede absolutely to Germany his possessions on the mainland comprised in existing concessions to the German East African Company and their dependencies, as well as the island of Mafia, etc., Germany engages to recognize a protectorate of Great Britain over the remaining dominions of the Sultan of Zanzibar, including the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, as well as over the Dominion of the Sultan of Witu." Germany, how- ever, in no way restrained German traders from continuing their explorations and extending her claims, while the agents of the British Company were most seriously hampered by the hesitation of the British Government. When Lord Granville •wr, IN EAST AFRICA 117 desired to know what the claims of Germany were in that section of Africa, Herbert Bismarck replied that he was unable to answer the enquiry, until German subjects had an oppor- tunity of showing what their claims were. He informed Sir Edward Malet that certain German explorers were then in the interior of the African continent — no one could tell where— that they might have CAQcluded treaties with native chiefs which might be within the limits of the English sphere, and within the scheme of acquisition which the English may have marked out ; but if this were the case it would be quite possible to come to an understanding in the same way as had been done by the two governments with respect to the western coast. Owing to the indiflference of British statesmen they failed to stand up for the British people in the way that the German Government was standing up for those of Ger- many. The truth was, the masses of the people were indifferent or hostile to any action being taken, for they knew nothing respecting the matter, and were opposed to increased responsibility and increased expenditure on account of Airther expansion, which in their opinion meant not gain but greed. British activity was paralyzed for more than a year, while the Grerman explorers were left perfectly free to make such bar- gains with the natives as they could for an extension of German dominion. The German ambassador in London, in 1885, in an interview with Lord Salisbury, admitted the interest of Great Britain, and ultimately a commission for delimiting their respective spheres of influence, and marking the separating line between their African possessions, was agreed to. While the interests of England were being sacrificed upon both shores of the African continent in favor of Germany, Sir John Kirk was most assiduously endeavoring to uphold both the interests of England and the rights of the Sultan of Zanzi- bar upon the eastern coast. His endeavors did not seem to yield much fruit at the Foreign Office, but it is not improbable tha.t British interests vfere more ' carefiiUy jr4 ii'iH r™^??^P" lis THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 1 i ^'- -i ii ' i watched by those in authority by reason of his zeal, activity, iftnd diligence, than if he had permitted his Government to remain wholly uninformed. It is only fair, however, to say of Lord Granville that he did not, in fact, surrender any British territory to Germany. When he retired from office the Sultanate of Zanzibar included the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, and some five or six hundred miles of coast extending ten miles inland. By an agreement of the 14th of June, 1890, the protectorate of Her Miyesty was established : '^t the Sultanate.* When the Government of Mr. Gla •. .etired in 1886, it was under- stood that the sovereignty of the Sultan of Zanzibar was to be transferred to the Protcv to*ate of the British Crown. By the agreement of November, u.36, vney mutually recognized distinct spheres of influence for each within the Sultan's dominions. When the treaty between Germany and England of 1890 was under discussion. Lord Rosebery said that : ** We gain information only by instalments, and if we thought the information satisfactory as far as it went, our anxiety was rudely put an end to by the publication of this treaty." The treaty not only fails to give Great Britain the Protectorate of Zanzibar, but it contradicts the statement made in the covering despatch of Lord Salisbury, and shows that what their predecessors intended should come to Great Britain, under the treaty, goes to Germany. So that the whole territory of the Sultan of Zanzibar on the mainland passes under German protection. Article II. of the Treaty provides: "Great Britain engages to use all her influence to facilitate the friendly arrangements by which the Sultan of Zanzibar shall cede absolutely to Germany his possessions on the mainland, comprised in existing concessions to the German East African Company and their dependencies, as well as the Island of Mafia." * Articlb I. — His Highness Sayyid Ali-bin-Snid, the Sultan aforesaid, accepts reely and unreservedly for himself, his subjects, and his dominions, the Protector- IN EAST AFRICA 119 It will be seen that the British intereets in the Sultanate of Zanzibar were not sacrificed by any cession made to Germany under Lord Granville or Lord Rosebery, but by the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890. Lord Rosebery declared that the merit of this transfer to Germany was entirely the work of Lord Salisbury. Lord Salisbury, while the treaty was under discussion, pointed out, that, until recently, the British were masters of the African coast, without being inconvenienced by a Protectorate, or anything of that sort, by the simple foot that they were masters of the sea, and that they had large experience in dealing with native races. So much was this the case that the British Government left immense stretches of the coast to the native rulers, in the hope that they would gradually acquire their own proper civiliza- tion, without any interference on the part of the British Grovemment. This conditiou of things, which was extremely convenient, had no basis under international law. The British Government had no right over these vast stretches of coast ; they had no power, from anything they had done, of preventing any other nation from seizing a portion of it. Lord Granville had been suddenly confronted with a demand on the part of Germany, first on one coast of AfHca and then upon the other, to know, how far these territories were under the protection of England. Lord Salisbury declared that he thought the decision arrived at by Lord Granville was a necessary one, because it was impossible that England should claim a right to lock up the whole of Africa, and to say that nobody should occupy it but herself. While Lord Salisbury approved of the course that Lord Granville had taken, he denied that he was responsible, and he declared that it was entirely settled before he had come into office. It is true, as ate of Great Britain, to commence from any date which may hereafter be fixed by Her Majesty's Government. Article II.— His Highness Sayyid Ali-bin-Said urther understands and agrees that all his relations of whatever sort, with foreign powers, shall be conducted under the sole advice and through the channel of Her Ms^ty's Government. ■ 1 li it am w pp 120 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Lord Salisbury said, that the position of England on the coast of AfHca had no basis in internauonal law, but this was not because the British authority had not an adequate basis for such claim in what her merchants had done, and by reason of the interests which they had established, but solely because the official assertion of jurisdiction was wanting. Had this missing link been supplied the title would have been com- plete, for nothing else was wanting. It was denied by Lord Bosebery and others, that Lord Granville was responsible ; and Lord Granville himself pointed out, that, when Mr. Gladstone left office, in 1886, British influence at Zanzibar was supreme, partly owing to her maritime and commercial position, and partly owing to the character and influence of Sir John Kirk, who had been removed by Lord Salisbury. British influence was supreme in a way of which neither Germany nor France could complain ; but that supremacy had been given up, and, by treaty stipulation, had been surren- dered to Germany. The friends of Lord Bosebery and Lord Granville maintained that the Government of Lord Salisbury had gone too far in allowing Germany to come within a section of Africa in which English influence was, up to that time, exclusive, and was sufficiently established to uphold her rights without question, had she chosen to assert them. But she had not asserted her rights, and unless she did so, she had no ground to resist the intrusion of Germany. She could not refuse to perfect her title, and, at the same time, prevent Germany from taking possession. But under Lord Salisbury's regime, Germany had been permitted to acquire territory, both upon the east and the west coasts of Africa, which crossed a part of English extension in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The English sphere of influence was declared by Mr. Mofiatt, in February, 1888. In July of the same year. Sir Hercules Bobinson wrote to the Transvaal Government that Her Mtgesty's Government regarded the territory to the north of the South African Bepublic, south of the Zambesi river, and east of the 20th degree of east longtitude, as within IN EAST AFRICA 121 the sphere of British influence. Within that sphere Lord Salisbury had admitted Qormany. It was felt that important districts had been surrendered, by the agreement of 1890, to Germany, without anything having been received in return.* The only thing that appeared obvious was that -when Germany asked, it was easier to acquiesce in her wishes than to contest the point with her. In 1886 Zanzibar was virtually under the control of the British €k)vemment. Sir John Kirk was, with the consent of the sovereign, master of Zanzibar ; the Sultan credited him with being both upright and capable, and had the utmost confidence in him as an adviser. That advantage was thrown away by reason of the anxiety of Min- isters not to offend the German Government. Sir John Kirk was recalled ; Germany was put in possession of the country south of the Umba river ; the active influence of England was promised to assist in establishing German supremacy, and the way between Cairo and the Cape was closed to British enter- prise, f A long strip of territory, a part of the district which appropriately belonged to England, not less than twenty miles in width, and nearly three hundred miles in length, was pro- jected from the German possessions on the west to the Victoria Falls on the Zambesi river. There is no room to * The German sphere in aouth^west Africa is described as follows : — I. To the south by a line coBtimencing: at the mouth of Orange River and ascend- ing the north bank of that river to the point of its intersection by the twentieth degree of east longtitude. a. To the east by a line commencing at the above named point, and following the twentieth degree of east longtitude to the points of its intersection by the twenty- second parallel of south latitude, it runs eastward along that parallel to the point of its intersection by the twenty-first degree of east longtitude ; thence it follows that degree northward to the point of its intersection by the eighteenth parallel of south latitude ; it runs eastward along that parallel till it reaches the river Chobe and descends the centre of the main channel to its junction with the Zambesi, where it terminates. t By the agreement ot agth October, 1886, Great Britain engages to support negotiations of Germany with the Sultan tor the leasing to the Germany African Company of the Customs' duties at the ports of Dar-es-Salaam and Pangani, in return for an annual payment to the Sultan by the Company, liSsiiiM 1 ■>-' 182 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA I ' !, i doubt what the aims of Oermany were in these aoquisitions. She had, to use the words of a member of the House of Commons, practically extended her arm around the British possessions, and all this, no doubt, is due to the plans of Qerman expansion, which have been well considered, but, which are still in abeyance. It was said by Mr. Stevenson, during the discussion of the treaty, that the English jframers of the agreement do not appear to have considered "what will be the effect upon the course of events in South Africa of the incorporation of the Kingdom of Holland with Ger- many. In that event, Germany will obtain in Amsterdam and Rotterdam 40,000 able seamen, and all the Dutch colonies, and their interest in the affairs of South Africa will be enor- mously increased. One would suppose that the commercial interest in Germany, connected with the colonies, is of so strong and important a character as to be able to dictate to the Government what course to adopt." It is obvious that both the Government of Mr. Gladstone and the Government of Lord Salisbury avoided antagonizing Germany in her attempt to obtain a foothold in a most inconvenient way to England, both upon the east and west coasts of Africa ; and it was, indeed, a most extraordinary concession to permit her to acquire, right through British territory, a strip not less than twenty miles in width, stretching from what she already possessed, nearly half way across the African continent, and so placing a most inconvenient barrier between one portion of the English possessions and another. Unquestionably, im- mediately to the north of this extension is British territory. The conduct of Lord Salisbury is fairly explained in a speech addressed to the people of Birmingham in July, 1889, by the late Lord Randolph Churchill, who, in accounting for the concession made by Lord Salisbury to Germany, against the superior claims of the British, said : — "Now the price we paid all along to the German Chancellor, since we occupied Egypt, for the support of the German Government LordR. Churchill's Explana- tion IN EAST AFRICA 138 in our policy, has been one concession after another to the colonial policy of Germany. Now the colonial policy of (Germany is essentially an aggressive policy. I will give you one instance of the price whicL we paid for the support of the (German Government in Egypt. It happened at the time when I was in the Government, and in spying what I do, I do not wish to blame the Government, or if the Government is to be blamed, I take as much blame on myself, as being a part of it, as may be necessary. But this is what took place. The support of the German Government in Egjrpt was necessary to our policy. The German Government had designs on Zanzibar. Our position there at that very moment was one of immense value and strength. The whole of the tribes of that part of Africa were under our influence and were looking up to us, and were determined to be guided by us. We held at Zanzibar the key to all the com- mercial development of the great African territory. Well, in order to gain Prince Bismarck's support for our Egyptian policy we had to give up our position of predominance at Zanzibar. We practically ruined almost, but certainly most seriously damaged ourselves with that part of Africa, the commerce of which at that time we valued at upwards of two millions of pounds a year. And we know perfectly well that the state of that part of Africa, at the present moment, owing to German designs, and owing to German enterprise, is one of utter confusion, utter insecurity, and one where com- mercial relations cannot possibly tranquilly prevail. Now, that is one price we had to pay for the Egyptian policy." In 1862, England and France entered into a treaty engage- ment to respect the independence of the Sultan of Zanzibar, to which Germany gave her adhesion in 1886.* But this did not prevent Germany from endeavoring to undermine that independence, and to become possessed of the Sultan's authority in the country. The Sultan did all in his power to * Proces Verbal of the 9th June, 1885, agth October, 1886, Adhesion of Germany to Declaration between Eng^land and France of the loth March, 186a. ■i ■ k. m i ■ 124 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA iii secure to himself the region of Kilimanjaro. It was first care- flilly explored by the English. It was rightfully within the sphere of English influence. It would have been of great consequence to them as a sanitary resort for Europeans settling in the country ; but the Sultan was not supported, and the English Government agreed that it should be embraced within the German sphere. In 1886, the three con- tracting parties appointed an International Commission to ascertain the boundaries of the Sultan's possessions. During the period the Commissioners were engaged in their labors, the British Government discouraged and restrained the servants of the Company from carrying on their explorations, and from endeavoring to make acquisition of territory by compacts with the natives. German agents were not subjected to any such restraint, but were left entirely free by the German Govern- ment to make the most of their opportunities, and they no doubt gained no inconsiderable advantage by the freedom permitted them. The correspondence of the Foreign Office, during these years, shows that of all the English foreign ministers, Lord Bosebery was the most firm, and the one most disposed to uphold the rights of Her Miyesty's subjects, and the rights of the Crown to dominion, were fairly acquired. He was the most courageous, and, when in the Foreign Office in 1886, he bluntly told the German Govern- ment that the rule which they expected her Mi^esty's Government to apply to British subjects, must also be applied, by them, to Germans, and unless the German Government restrained German agents, no hindrance would be put in the way of the British Company undertaking to extend its dominions and to secure its rights. As Germany insisted upon unanimity, the labor of the Com- mission were abortive, but notwithstanding the advantages which the Germans enjoyed, the British Company more than made up for these delays when the opportunity for action came, and either by more careful observation or better fortune, the territories which they acquired are not IN EAST AFRICA 126 inferior to those which fell to the lot of the German Company. In October, 1886, the Government of Germany sent a 'commissioner to London, and in November, an understanding reached with respect to the Sultan's dominions which were situated upon the mainland. This understanding recognized his sovereignty over the islands of Zanzibar, Temba, Lamu and Patta. The London Commissioners agreed to fix their boundaries in the west and in the east. The territory to be divided between England and Germany was to extend ftom the Rovuma river on the south, to the Tana river on the north. The northern boundary followed the Tana river to its intersection with the equator in the 88th degree of east longitude, and thence along that meredian to the 1st degree of north latitude, thence west- ward along that parallel to the 37th degree of east longitude. '8 territory was divided between the two countries by a , commencing at the Umba and running northwesterly to the eastern shore of Lake Victoria. The German possession lying south and the British to the north of this separating line. For a time much territory which the Imperial British East Africa Company subsequently acquired was in great danger of passing under foreign jurisdiction. After the separating line was agreed upon, a dispute arose as to the starting point upon the coast, and had Germany remained in possession of the country between the Tana and Juba rivers the English would have been shut out from Uganda, and the country about the lakes would have passed under French and German control.^ It is impossible to understand how those who had, at that time, the charge of British interests, came to consent to such a one-sided arrangement, unless for the reason given by Lord Randolph Churchill, and if so it was a tremendous price to pay for so uncertain a quantity. At one time they were * The Imperial Britiah East Africa Company were slanted a Royal Charter, 3rd September, 1888. They received concessions from the Sultan ot Zanzibar, 9th October, 1888. They make an agreement with the Italian Government, 3rd August, 1889, by which ,4 t il ■p 126 THE ENGI4ISH IN AFKICA 1 i ■ disposed to agree to a settlement, which would have effectu- ally excluded British trade from the region of the great lakes, — those lakes which had been made known to Europe by the labors of Livingstone and of Stanley. No other country had sent so many explorers to Central Africa as the British ; no other country had an equal opportunity of being well informed, and the foreign office of no other country, having any trade at all with the interior, had exhibited such extraordinary indifference to the political and commercial interests of its people. For this, however, the ministers were not wholly to blame, for it often happens that a minister who has carefully studied such a problem, and has thoroughly mastered it, finds himself fiercely confronted by his own countrymen. It is the few, at the outset, that are especially interested and who are alone informed ; it is not until they have gone thither and opened the way that the channels of trade are established and the products of tens of thousands of their countrymen find, in the course of a few years, consumers, where at the outset, it was a market for the products of very few indeed. It is one of the duties that constantly falls to the lot of British states- men — that they are compelled to maintain the interests of the British people against themselves — against strong prejudices, and well nigh invincible ignorance. When the work is accomplished, everybody admits its importance ; but when it is first undertaken it is regarded as a mere attempt to satiate an unreasoning desire to unduly extend the dominions of the Empire. The territory lying between the boundaries referred to was divided between the Germans and the English. The limitary line ultimately agreed to started from the River Umba, and ran in a northwesterly direction to the eastern side of Lake Victoria Nyanza, which it touched at one they a^ree to transfer certain terriiu: lal rig^hts to Italy. They make a Deed of Trans- fer to the Italian Government, i8th Nov., 1889, They receive from the Sultan, 4th March, 1890, the concessicnd of certain islands. Agreement between the Company and the British Government, resoecting the Administration of Witu, 5th March, 1S91. Agreement between Impl. B.E. A. Co. and the authorities of Witu, 18th March, 1891. IN EAST AFRICA 187 degree of south latitude. The Kilimanjaro country, of which Mr. Johnston had obtained the cession from native chiefs, was placed on the German side of the boundary. This has been specially regretted by British traders, because by reason of its elevation it would have afforded a desirable place of residence for them during the summer season. Sir William MacKinnon, and others who had been associated with him, had explored the whole of this region at no inconsiderable expense. It had been ceded, as I have already said, by the chiefs of the district to Mr. Johnston before the Germans had acquired any interest whatever in the country. It is pronounced the most inviting district in all East Africa. But the boundary agreed upon makes a circle round the northern base of the mountains, by which the British are wholly excluded from a territory which they had unquestionably the right to retain. They had the concession of the natives ; they had expended a large sum of money by making themselves acquainted with the country, prior to any German having gone thither, and it became the property of another state that could make no such claim to its possession. This was no doubt due to the anxiety on the part of British statesmen to avoid placing themselves in antagonism to the ardent desire of German statesmen for extensive colonial possessions. The limitary line is described as the river Wanga, while it is tli£ river Umba that was meant. The Wauga is a small creek emptying into the sea two miles north of the Umba, yet, although it was clear that the Umba was intended, the Germans regarded this verbal mistake as sufficient to make the boundary doubtAil, and they insisted upon the creek being taken, and thus the whole of the Umba river and the village on the English side of it were within their jurisdiction ; and so an arbitration had to decide whether it was the small creek, or the large river, that was the actual starting point of the boundary which separated British from German territory.* * This blunder is like that in the treaty of St. Petersburg^, in which Portland Canal it named, althouf^h it is Clarence Canal that was meant and is described. » - im i. k 1i ■* 128 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA -!■ ':!i is 1 i Under the presidency of Sir William MacKinnon there was no difficulty in obtaining from the Sultan of Zanzibar, in May, 1887, a surrender of the ten mile strip of the continent along the coast of the British territory. This concession was made for a period of fifty years. Under the arrangement the Sultan was to receive, by way of compensation, the whole of the duties which he formerly collected, together with 60 per cent, of any additional sum collected after the expenses of such collection had been deducted. Concessions were obtained of the interior country from native chiefs, by which the juris- diction of the British East Africa Company was carried 200 miles inland from the coast. After this, the Company applied to Her Miyesty's Government for a royal charter of incorpora- tion, and in September, 1886, the Company was incorporated under the title of "The Imperial East Africa Company." Future acquisitions were provided for in the charter. The Company began with a claim to jurisdiction over 200,000 square miles. When they surrendered their charter in 1895 their claim embraced about 750,000 square miles of territory, occupied by a native population of five millions. The Com- pany possessed the usual powers of government which are entrusted to a colonial administration. It had a governor to pay, troops to maintain, and it fell to the lot of the Company, almost from the beginning of its existence, to push its way westward into the regions of the upp^r Nile. As to its juris- diction over the ten mile strip of coast, it derived its authority from the sovereignty of the Sultan ; as to the interior, it is restrained only by the rights which other states may acquire in conformity with the Berlin agreement. The rights which the Company acquired from the Sultan of Zanzibar — to tax all goods passing into the interior — was withdrawn by the British Government, and the coast in the possession of the Company being placed under the Free Zone provision of the Berlin agreement, cut off from them very important sources of revenue. The Company was greatly crippled by this policy. If they had enjoyed a monopoly of trade, they might have IN EAST AFRICA 129 sold their goods at such a price as to pay dividends as well as the cost of government ; but they had active competitors for the trade of the country which was still in its infancy, and with but very imperfect channels of intercourse. But, in British East Africa, the work of development and of explora- tion rests wholly upon the Company, and their ability de- pended mainly tipon the right to collect revenues upon the commerce of that region, for there was nothing else to tax. But when a monopoly of trade is prohibited, and all attempts to raise a revenue by a tax on commerce is withheld — ^which is the only way of imposing upon the population of the country any portion of the burden of government — it is, indeed, difficult to understand upon what ground it could be thought possible that the Com^^^any would be willing to incur most onerous burdens, the fruits of which they would be compelled to share, upon equal terms, with all other traders who were called upon to bear no burden whatever. It is not improbable that had the founders of the Company not had Sir William MacKinnon at their head, and had they not been upheld by a strong patriotic feeling, further stimulated by an active and aggressive rivalry by Germany and France, they would never have continued the struggle as long as they did on behalf of the Empire. The British Government became more and more impressed with the importance of the country, and of the duty of putting British authority there upon a secure basis, and so they resumed the political functions which the Company, for a time, held, and have assumed those burdens and responsibilities which could not justly be thrown upon the Company, while there was withheld from them the power to make the neces- sary provisions by which the burdens of government could be properly met. We may now fairly assume that the critical period in British East Africa is past, and there is no longer duiger of the area of a great Empire being thrown aside as though it were but a* worthless trifle. , „ St I i •I Iw^^ tWi l\m i I !,i- r >r CHAPTER VI. BRITISH EAST AFBICA—Cmitinued \ The Impebial British East Africa Compant RECEiyE a CHARTER — George Sutherland Mackenzie and his WORK — Slavery and Slave-Trading — Stanley's Expedition — Catholic and French Opposition — Captain Lugard and his Defence of British In- terests — A Commission appointed — A British Protectorate arranged — Revolt of Native Chiefs, ^ 1895. It may be of some interest to state more Mlv the origin of the Royal East Africa Company, because for several years it actively contributed to the extension of the British dominions in East Africa. Certain concessions were granted by the Sultan of Zanzibar to the British East Africa Associa- tion on the 24th of May, 1887. The Association obtained a grant of concessions for a period of fifty years. It was under the presidency of William MacKinnon. The Sultan made over to the Company all the power which he possessed upon the mainland, and in all the territories and dependencies from Wanga to Elipini inclusive. He placed in their hands the whole administration, which was to be carried on under his flag, and subject to his sovereign rights. The Association was to be liable for all expenses connected with the govern- ment of the country leased to it. The Sultan agreed that no other was to be entitled to purchase public land on the mainland, or anywhere in his territories or dependencies within the limit described. He granted to the Association and its officers the pow^r to levy taxes, and be agreed to IN EAST AFRICA 181 do all other acts which might be necessary to give effect to the terms of his concession. The Company agreed to respect the treaties which the Sultan had made with foreign powers. The Company had conferred upon it the power to appoint Commissioners who were to administer the government in the various districts of which the territory was composed. The Company was authorized also to make laws for the govern- ment of these districts, to establish courts of justice, and to adopt such measures as might be necessary for the protection of the districts and the interests over which it had juris- diction. It was authorized to make treaty engagements with native chiefs, which treaties were to be ratified and confirmed by him, and made in his name. He transferred to it all public forts and buildings. The Association had the right of trade, of holding property, and of acquiring lands within the boundaries over which it had jurisdiction. It had the exclusive regulations of trade and commerce, the navigation of rivers and lakes, the control of the fisheries, and the right to construct railways, roads, canals and tele- graphs. It had jurisdiction over the importation of arms, ammunition, and intoxicating drinks. It had jurisdiction over mines and minerals, and over forests. It guaranteed to the Sultan, during the continuance of the concession, the whole amount of the customs duties received at the time and fifty per cent, additional. He had one-tenth share in the interests of the Company. On the 3rd of September, 1888, the British Qovemment granted a charter to the Association, under the title of the Imperial British East Africa Company. In the A Chapter charter were set out the concessions which had Granted been received from the S;:ltan of Zanzibar, both 1888 as to territory and as to jurisdiction. The Company consisted of William MacKinnon, Right Hon. Lord Brassey, General Sir Donald Stewart, Sir John Kirk, William Burdett-Coutts, Robert Palmer Harding, George Sutherland MacKenzie, and such other persons and l« Pi 183 THE ENOLISH IN AFRICA I I I |t' i bodies as, from time to time, might become members of the Gompany. The Company was to have a common seal. It had power bestowed upon them to govern the territory and to exercise all the powers granted to it by the Sultan of Zanzibar. The letters patent incorporating the Company followed closely the terms of the instrument granting jurisdic- tion by the Sultan. On March 4th, 1890, the Sultan of Zanzibar also made a ftirther concession, which conferred upon the Company a iurisdiction over the Islands of Lamu, Manda, Patta, Kwyhu, and places on the Benadir coast, which was modified by a subsequent agreement of the 5th of March, 1891, by which the privileges granted in the concession for a period of fifty years were now made in perpetuity, and under which the Sultan was to receive $80,000 annually in quarterly payments. An agreement was also entered into between the British Government and the British East Africa Company for the administration of Witu by the Company, the Company making itself responsible for the proper government of that country, and the Company having con- ferred upon it powers to receive revenue by the imposition of taxes and customs duties ; but the customs duties and taxes were to be subject to revisal by Her Majesty's Government. The judicial administration of the country was to be in accordance with the provisions of the Civil and Criminal Code of India. The Company bound itself to institute an efficient administration in the territory of Witu, which was to be under the control of Europeans. By this agreement the question of the sovereignty over Witu was reserved for Imperial decision. In June, 1891, the people of Witu submitted to British authority, having at that time sued for peace, and promising to obey whatever orders the English Government might issue in regard to the State of Witu. In respect to the boundaries of the British sphere of inflHeao« on the East Coast of Africa, the dominions of the So¥* IN EAST AFRICA 18S The Pro- gress of the Company ereign of Zanzibar, leased to the British East Africa Company, extend from Wanga to Kipini, with an inland frontier ten miles from the sea-coast, and including the^ islands of Lamu, Patta and Manda. Under the charter, the Company is authorized and empowered to extend its territory from time to time, but such extension is subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. After the Company obtained the charter it is important to note briefly what it did in the way of obtaining control of the country, and what it did to establish a govern- ment in accordance with the terms of the grant — to send expeditions, to mark out roads of travel, which were to be opened for the purpose of trade with the interior. The country lying be- tween the ocean and Lake Victoria was very imperfectly known. The coast had never been properly surveyed. The actual direction of the Tana river, which was the northern boundary of the country in the first instance, was unknown. Most of the information which the Company and its officers possessed in respect to the interior, had been acquired from the Arab traders. The information which the Company had obtained from its own employees did not lead it to look upon its acquisition as one possessed of very great commercial value. The most active and enterprising man connected with the Company, for the purpose of promoting dominion and trade, was George Sutherland Mackenzie. He had for several years resided in Persia ; and he was named the first Administrator of the Company, with the approval of Her Majesty's Government. After his appointment he proceeded to the Zanzibar Coast which he reached in the autumn of 1888. Upon his arrival there he found that the Sultan who had given the Company its concessions, was dead, and his brother had succeeded to the Sultanate. No obstacle, how- ever, was put in the way of the Company. What the former Sultan had done was ratified, and the authority of the Company was eiAended. fiut the Company did not ind SI If! ■■ ]Wr 184 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA everything plain sailing. The representatives of German aspirations were active, and were disposed to enlarge their territories at the expense of the Company. Mr. Mackenzie ftilly appreciated the situation. He improved the port of Mombasa, and made it much more easy of access than it had been before. He made extensive harbor improvements. Facilities were afforded for the discharge of ships' cargoes ; vessels were put upon the Tana river, and the expenditure upon steamers and launches, on buildings and harbor works, amounted to about £70,000. Not a little friction had occurred between the former Sultan and the German authorities. Witu had become the rendezvous of the worst characters on the East African coast. They lived chiefly by plunder. They were, it was contended, within t>e dominions of the Sultan of Zanzibar. The chief, Simba, claimed himself to be Sultan. He was at the head of a force of 3,000 men. The Germans interfered to restrain the Sultan of Zanzibar from chastising him, and the German Government had recognized him as the Sultan of Witu. The German Government complained that the Imperial British East Africa Company were endeavoring to obtain the concession of Lamu Island from the Sultan of Zanzibar. Germany herself was endeavoring to obtain posses- sion of Lamu, and this design was facilitated by denying the sovereignty of the Sultan of Zanzibar. In 1889, the German Consul sought from the Sultan of Zanzibar the concession of Lamu, as well as the Islands of Patta and Manda. Mr. Mackenzie had already applied to the Sultan for the extension of the authority of the Imperial British East Africa Company over those islands. The Sultan delayed signing the conven- tion to carry out the agreement, to which he had assented ; but he informed Sir William Mackinnon that this was due to the fiEUst, that he had been threatened with the hostility of the German Government if he did so. The German Consul claiured that a promise had been made to transfer the jurisdic- tion to the German authorities, and this dispute the British Government agreed to refer to an arbitrator, in which the IN EAST AFBICA 186 British East AMca Company were compelled to acquiesce. Baron Lambermont made an award which recognized the Sultan's sovereignty north of the Tana river, and which affirmed that the Sultan was still free to make the concession to either party. This he did in favor of the British East Africa Company, and the Qerman Witu Company came to an end, and Oermany subsequently withdrew her claim to establish a protectorate over the country. Notwithstanding this decision, Dr. Peters undertook to explore the country, and to take possession of it on behalf of Germany. He enlisted a force of 100 Somalis, and sought to land them at Lamu. He was told that they would not be permitted to pass through the territory of the British East Africa Company. He was suspected of being engaged in a military enterprise, and the arms and ammunition found in his possession, justi- fied the suspicion. The Sultan of Zanzibar forbade the landing of the Somalis at Zanzibar. The German Govern- ment professed to discountenance his enterprise, but took no steps to prevent it. He succeeded in landing at Kwyhu Bay, and journeyed up the Tana. He fought the natives that resisted him. He entered into treaty relations within the Company's territory. He tore down the Company's flag, and hoisted the German flag in its place. He publicly burned the Company's treaties with the natives. He burned the stations which they had established, and appropriated any stores which he found to his own use. But these acts of violence brought no advantage to the authorities whom he was endeavoring to serve. If the Tana could have been per- manently established as the northern boundary of British Ektst Africa, the sphere of the British in East AiHca would indeed have been very limited, for it could not well have been extended to the Uganda country. The natives in the German sphere were in open rebellion and tact was necessary to prevent those under British juris- diction from being drawii into the insurrection. The mis- sionaries in the country were zealously opposed to slavery. II ni i-1 li'U rm id« THE £NGLI8H IN ABHICA 1 The Arab population favored it, and their friendship was important to the Company. Slavery is indeed a very distinct thing from slave-trading and slave-raiding, both of which are carried on as a part of the Arab commerce in Eastern Africa. It was impossible that there should be se/ttled industry among the native pop- ulation, who were constantly surprised by freebooters, who came down upon them and seized as many as they could capture, to sell as they would any other article of merchan- dise. It was of immense consequence that the slave trade should be vigorously suppressed. It was impossible that without personal security industry could thrive, and mercan- tile operations be successAilly carried on. The number who were interested in the slave trade constituted a minority of the population, and until it was thoroughly stamped out neither social nor industrial progress was possible. But domestic slavery is a very different thing. Slaves are found in almost every fiimily in East Africa, and the extinction of domestic slavery would, in the opinion of thoughtful men, lead to general disaster ; because in undertaking to destroy domestic slavery, one is not seeking to govern society, but to reconstruct it, and to make it different from that form which usage and general opinion in Africa approve. The plan adopted by Mr. Mackenzie, on behalf of the Company, was to provide for its gradual disappearance with the growth of com- merce and civilization. For the commissioner to interfere, it was maintained, would not only defeat the object which he had in view, but would necessarily lead to a general war which would inflict serious evils upon the people, would lead to the destruction of commerce, would awaken a feeling of hostility upon the part of the natives, not only against the Company and its agents, but against all Europeans. A great many lives would doubtless be sacrificed in the conflict that would ensue, and an enormous expenditure would be incurred by some one, in this attempt to change the conditions of society. IK EASir JiPRtCA vn The offioere of the Company took active measures for becoming acquainted with the topography of the country, with its productions, and its industrial capabilities. They estab- lished trading stations in the interior. They carried on extensive explorations and investigations. They discovered that some parts of the country were well adapted to agricul- ture and the raising of cattle, as immense numbers of buffiUos, antelopes and other wild animals of that class, would seem to indicate. Messrs. Fitzgerald, Walcot, McAllister and others reported in favor of the suitablity of much of the territoiy for settlement by Hindoo farmers. The Tana river, which was for a time the northern boundary of their possessions, became the centre of the country, when their boundary was extended to the Juba, and an expedition was fitted out to ascend the Tana and to establish friendly relations with the chiefia along its borders, and to push on to Mount Kenia. Messrs. Jackson and Pigott, two of the Company's officers, were sent to explore the country westward to the Uganda district, and they successfully carried out their instructions. Dr. Peters continued his Journey from the headwaters of the Tana, west- ward to the Uganda country, which he reached early in 1890. Through the influence of the French Roman Catholic mis- sionaries, he obtained a friendly reception from Mwanga, and entered into a treaty with hpa, with the hope that it might facilitate his scheme for bringing the country under German jurisdiction. But the agreement between the British and German Governments, of July 1890, doomed his exertions to failure, and himself to disappointment. The people of Uganda at this time were divided into factions. The Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries were actively struggling against each other for ascendancy, and their rivalries were as markedly political as religious. The Mahometans were numerous in that country, and there were many of the inhabitants who were still Pagans ; so that in Uganda, the population was, from the religious standpoint, divided into four classes — the Protestant, the Roman Catholic, the Mahometan, and the Jil ''W^ ll I 18t THE ENGLISH IN AFRIOA 'i i:j Pagan. The Protestants preferred English rule ; the Koman Catholics preferred t> ^ country should come under the sovereignty of France, but as between English and Oerman, they leaned to the German side. The Roman Catholic mis- sionaries were Frenchmen by birth. They came from Algeria in 1879, and very naturally desired to see the country of the Upper Nile and the Great Lakes fall under French Jurisdic- tion. In 1886, there were many Christian converts butchered by the King. There were conspiracies to massacre the the Christians by the Mahometans in 1888. The plot was discovered. The Mahometans were victorious, and the King fled. The Mahometans placed his brother upon the throne. The conflict between Christians and Mahometans, was renewed, and in October 1889, the Mahometans were de- feated, and Mwanga was restored to his position as ruler. By the agreement of July 1890, German authority was withdrawn from Umba to the east shore of Lake Victoria Nyanza ; so that British jurisdiction extended along the Indian Ocean, from the River Umbe, on the south, to the Juba River on the north, and in a north-westerly direction to the western watershed of the Upper Nile. Thus the East Africa Company were left free to explore and to bring under their jurisdiction an immense area of territory. The position of the Uganda country was of gf eat political and commercial importance to the United Kingdom. The population was advanced in industrial progress much beyond the condition of those in the surrounding country. Uganda was both populous and productive. The inhabitants were both physi- cally and mentally superior to those in the adjoining districts. The country is well suited for settlement by white men, and when the petty jealousies among the religious communities are completely under the control of the Government, and each faction learns that the powers of the Government cannot be used to promote its special interests, at the expense of those of a difilsrent faith, the natives are not likely to give uiy further trouble. IN EAST AFRICA 189 The claims of Great Britain to Uganda wore, according to International Law, stronger than those of either Germany or France. The early explorers were, for the most part, British subjects, and nothing was likely to weaken the British claim, except the indifference of the people of the United Kingdom. It was also certain ft-om the efforts put forward both by Germans and Frenchmen, to reach the valley of the Upper Nile, that the possession of the country was regarded of great importance ; and the British East AfHca Company, if it had done nothing else, did the Empire an important service, in holding the country as a British possession, until public opinion in the United Kingdom became interested in retain- ing it. The Arab power came to an end in 1889. The British East AfHca Company sent a caravan in charge of Mr. Jack- son, who was directed to explore the country, to mark out stations, to make treaties, and to cultivate friendly relations with the various tribes through whose territories he passed, and to persuade them to accept the Company's flag. At starting, he was instructed to avoid Uganda, but during the progress of his journey, he received a pressing invitation from the King, and from the missionaries, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, to visit the country, as they desired his support to hold in check the growing power and influence of the Mahometan party. Mr. Jackson declined the invitation '*^ the outset, and it was only after he was again strongly urged by the King to come to Uganda, that he assented. JacV son's expedition did not reach Uganda until 1890, after the .iuthority of Mwanga was re-established, and Arab juris- diction had come to an end. When Jackson arrived with 5CM) men, armed with Snider rifles, the country was in a state of anarchy ; Brr ish prestige was at a discount ; the people had imbibed the notion that Englishmen might be killed with impunity, and the influence of the clergy was unfavorable to the establishment of the Company's authority. Mr. Jack on returned to the coast during the summer, and w. MiP l! H ^ 140 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA was accompanied on his journey by chiefis both from Uganda and Usogo, who wanted to ascertain for themselves whether the English were really supreme upon the coast. Upon this point they were satisfied, and their observations made it easier to establish the Oompany's authority. Mr. Jackson left Mr. Gege, who was next in rank to him- self, to carry on the affairs of the Company after his retire- ment. Mr. Oege was so much worried with the constant intrigues, and the perpetual threats of disorder, that he favored the abandonment of the country. He went to the south shore of Lake Victoria, where he met with Emin Pasha, who was setting out for Uganda, to take possession of the country as a Commissioner of the German Emperor, to see that the treaties which Dr. Peters had made with the natives, were observed ; but he learned, shortly after, that Uganda was within British jurisdiction, and so he was led to abandon his project. Mr. Gege came to an understanding with Emin Pasha to put an end to the illicit trade in gunpowder, which was carried on by some of the French clergy. Those missionaries who engaged in trade or politics, were subse- quently held liable to forfeit their special immunities, as all, in this respect, were required strictly to conform to the hiw. Emin Pasha, it was thought, would attach himp-lf to the British East Africa Company, both because they had e:irned his grvtitude by the generous efforts put forward on his behalf, and because of their aims and methods, but ultimt^-tcly he accepted appointment in the German service. His actions provoked a good deal of adverse criticism, because he owed his deliverance to the generosity of the Imperial British East Africa Company. The efforts put forward by Dr. Peters and Emin Pasha, to establish German authority in Uganda, left no doubt in the minds of Englishmen that the situation was critical. It was true that Uganda was within the recognized sphere of British influence, but German geographers, and the German colonial party, claimed that it was within the German sphere; and it Bf EAST AFRICA 141 was quite certain that the actual occupation of the country would prove stronger than any paper title that could be set up. The British public expected the British East Africa Company to uphold British authority in Uganda. The country was 800 miles from the coast. The resources of the Company were extremely limited, and the efforts required to establish British authority rendered it necessary, beyond all question, that a large expenditure should be incurred. The Company were appalled at the magnitude of the respon- sibility which devolved upon them. The public, by and by, began to consider whether the Government and Parliament were justified in undertaking to shift so great a burden to the shoulders of a mercantile corporation. The region of the Tana River had been explored by Mr. Pigott, southward to the German territory. Messrs. Jackson and Gege had explored the country lying between the head waters of the Tana and the Uganda District. Other explorers had been sent out by the Company into other districts. All these proceedings were necessary to the development of trade, and the establishment of industry, but they imposed upon the Company a large burden without any prospect of an immedi- ate return. The British Government had done little to aid the Company. The German authorities had been permitted to enlist Soudanese troops in the Soudan country, but this privilege was denied to the Company, and it was not until it was made apparent to the British public that the Government had by this refusal given moral support to their opponents, which they had withheld from the Company, that the Company was permitted to enlist Soudanese. This state of things had awakened an interest in England in the perils which threatened British authority in Uganda, and compelled the Government to come to the aid of the Company. It is clear that Mwanga had sent his delegates to the coast to ascertain who was there in authority, and to know upon whom he could rely for support against those who were rivals for his throne. I mi m ir w 142 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA The return of Mr. Stanley to England, exercised an important influence there, and awakened so strong a feeling in favor of British interests in Uganda, that the Government were enabled to take a more decided line of action than they had hitherto adopted. Uganda was in such a state that a very strong man was required to establish, beyond question, British supremacy. The Foreign Office advised Sir William MacKinnon to despatch two envoys to the King, and similar advise was given to the Consul-General at Zanzibar. Captain Lugard who had been stationed at Sabaki River, to assist in opening the trade route into the interior of the country, was given instructions to proceed to Uganda, in order to establish there, the Company's influence. Captain Lugard before setting out for Uganda had been furnished with a letter from the Sultan of Zanzibar, recommending his expedition to the Arabs, and testifying his own Mendship for the Company. He learned that there was not only danger from from foreign rivalry, but that the Arabs were disposed to invite the aid of the Mahdi, and so it became obvious that prompt action was necessary. Before Captain Lugard set out for Uganda he returned to the coast. He was authorized by the Commissioner, if he met the Jackson party returning, to attach as many of it to his own force, as he deemed necessary. The British South Africa Company became aware of the very great importance of establishing themselves firmly in Uganda, and the Company sent out Sir Francis de Winton as Adminis- trator ; but shortly after he left for East Africa, the Anglo- German agreement of July, 1890, was ratified, and the same necessity for haste no longer existed. When Sir Francis arrived at Zanzibar, there were many matters requiring his attention, and so the original intention of sending Captain Lugard was acted upon. He constructed on the line of his march, forty-five stations, at suitable distances from each other. Captain Lugard reached Uganda late in December. The French missionaries were opposed to the territory coming under the Company's jurisdiction, and they sought to prevent ■A. IN BAST AFRICA 148 the execution of a treaty recognizing the supremacy of the Company. Their efforts were unavailing. The treaty was signed and ratified, and the suzerainty of the Company acknowledged. By the terms of the treaty other Europeans were excluded from acquiring land, and from holding public offices, without the sanction of the Company's Resident, who was to have complete jurisdiction over all Europeans settling in the country. The treaty provided for a Council of State, who were to have authority to collect taxes and customs. The revenues, so obtained, were to be employed for the main- tenance of the Sovereign, the payment of salaries of officials, the construction of public works and the support of an army. All traders were to be freely admitted to the country, but they were not to bring in any goods that had been prohibited by general agreement among the Powers. No form of religion was to be a barrier to appointment to office. Trade in slaves was prohibited, and all missionaries who were engaged in reaching or in teaching the arts of civilization and industry, and who abstained from trade and politics, were at liberty to settle in the country. The policy which was disclosed in the treaty was broad and tolerant. The rivalry between Roman Catholics and Protestants continued, and the people attended church armed. Captain Lugard put forward earnest efforts to terminate this state of things, which se 'iously interfered with the industries of the country. Disputes also arose in respect to the division of the land, from which the Mahometans had been expelled. Captain Lngard was engaged for a time in military expeditions to the south and west. He built forts, he garrisoned them, and gave thereby general security to the inhabitants of the country, from Uganda southward, to the border of the German possessions. Of the Christian popula- lation, the Roman Catholics were much the more numerous, and as their clergy were of foreign birth, and hostile to the supremacy of the Company, the officials found the main- tenance of strict equality attended both with difficulty and danger. They desired that the country should not come Hi THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA imder English) rule. They felt that if this policy could be made effective, the control of the country would remain practically in their hands. Captain Lugard besought Bishop Hirth to use his influence with his people to preserve the peace. He was answered by a list of grievances^ Captain Lugard was disgusted with the religious quarrels, and he complained of the conduct of the Bishop. He said the Bishop knew that his position was one of difficulty. He admitted that he had no complaint to make against Captain Lugard' s administration, which he regarded as impartial, yet instead of co-operating with him, his partisanship was so vehement that he threatened war unless his own views were complied with, which with regard to the question at issue were, both narrow and heated. The officers of the Company declared every man free to join what religion or faction he pleased, and he was was not to suffer in his property or estate in consequence. Yet neither faction was satisfied. The Roman Catholic clergy promised that if all were made equal, they would hoist the British flag throughout Uganda. This, says Captain Lugard, wrs done, but the promise was not kept. The English missionaries made earnest protest, couched in very strong language, and which was not marked by either a broad or tolerant spirit. The religious animosities produced war. A battle ensued. The Roman Catholics were defeated. A division of the country was then proposed. To this Captain Lugard gave his consent, upon the condition that the king who was then in the custody of the Roman Catholic party should be set free. A settlement was then concluded. A new treaty was made by which the importation of arms and gunpowder was prohibited. All parties agreed to its terms, and the country enjoyed peace until the Soudanese mutiny occurred in the following year. The Protestants were not altogether satisfied with the terms of the treaty. The missionaries had promised the Roman Catholic chiefe the assistance of the Germans against tb<) Company, but the German officers at Bukoba infonuedi ^W IN EAST AFRICA 145 Captain Williams of the request which had been made. When the news of these collisions reached England, in August, 1892, the feeling of the country was enlisted on the side of the Protestant minority, and it was felt that Uganda should be made more easily accessible. Many of those who had been ready to protest against the expansion of the Empire for any commercial purpose, were quite ready to undertake large expenditure on behalf of Protestantism when it was seen that the two religious parties represented two great states. It is quite certain that, apart from these conflicts, no Government could, with any hope of success, have proposed the construction of a railway connecting the ports of Mombasa with Lake Victoria Nyanza. It was seen that it was improper to require the Company to undertake so great a work for the purpose of defence. The Company had spent nearly one-half its capital to explore the country, and to defend its authority, and the power of taxation which it expected to employ in raising revenues for the maintenance of government, was still with- held. The Company felt that it was unreasonable to expect it to govern so vast a country out of its private means. Still more unreasonable would it have been, to expect it to construct a railway more than five hundred miles in length. In the summer of 1892, Lord Rosebery had become Foreign Minister, and he came to an understanding with the Company by which the British Government was to take over from it, the government of Uganda. Public opinion in England favored its retention and Captain Macdouald was entrusted in Uganda with the duties that had previously devolved upon Captain Lugard. The Government appointed the Consul General at Zanzi- bar, Sir Gerald Portal, a commissioner to inquire into and report upon the state of affairs in British East Africa and Uganda. Sir Gerald Portal set out for Uganda accompanied by troops furnished him by the Sultan of Zanzibar. Upon arriving at Uganda, the Company's flag was replaced by the Union Jack. He prescribed for the different religious bodies 10 ! I 146 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA definite territorial possessions. In 1893, there was a mutiny among the Soudanese troops, which, for a time, was a source of no little anxiety. Under the arrangement with Mwanga, Uganda became a British protectorate. Sir Gerald Portal left several British officers under the command of Captain Macdonald. One of these, Major Owen, was sent to Lake Albert Edward, to withdraw the garrisons from two of the more distant forts which had been established by Cap+ain Lugard. Captain Macdonald was replaced by Col. ColviliC. In the earlier part of 1894, Major Owen, acting under his instructions for the protection of British interests in the Valley of the Nile, planted the British flag as far north as Wadelai ; so that the work begun by Captain Lugard has been slowly pushed northward, and has received a still further extension by the victories of the Sirdar in the Soudan. The abandonment of Uganda is no longer a debatable question. There is no one to-day asking that English jurisdiction should be with- drawn. Had Lord Rosebery been permitted to pursue his own course, he would have established British authority at an earlier period over a wider area, and Rhodesia could have been, without difficulty, connected with the English terri- tories on the Upper Nile. British authority over the whole lake region would have been established without the possi- bility of being questioned. But the anti-expansion statesmen of England forced the Prime Mimister of the day into a com- promise, which could not have satisfied his own judgment any more than it will, when carefully examined hereafter, satisfy the judgment of the historian. The Company held a few places in the country which it had governed until the British Government were ready to enter in possession. In 1895, the political functions of the Company came to an end. The Imperial Government paid the Company £200,000 in satisfaction of its claims, and £50,000 for the surrender of its charter. There can be no doubt that the Imperial British East Africa Company per- IN EAST AFRICA 147 formed very great and important services to the Empire. The spirit by which it was animated was patriotic rather than commercial. It had formed broad views as to the importance of this section of the African continent to the Empire, and its members were convinced that it was of vast importance to connect the Uganda country, by rail, with the ocean. The members of the Company believed, and I think rightly, that it would prove an immense loss if Uganda were permitted to pass into other hands, and that much of East Africa would afford an excellent field for colonization by Hindoo agricul- turists. It may be that the resources of so extensive a country can best be developed by the Government. This is undoubtedly true if the public opinion of the United Kingdom fully appreciates the importance of the position, and the people are willing that the necessary expenditure shall be made. But it is a fact worthy of note that if the spirit of religious and national rivalry had not found expression in Uganda, it is extremely doubtful whether the British people would have taken sufficient interest in its possession to pre- vent it falling into other hands. Upon the termination of the Company's authority, the immediate government of the coast has passed again to the Sultan of Zanzibar. The Company had introduced the Indian Criminal and Civil Code. That code has been superseded by Mahometan law, and civilization has lost something by the termination of the Company's authority. The railway construction to Lake Victoria was, for a time, postponed, and trade in the Lake region was in danger of passing to the German side of the boundary. The construc- tion has since been resumed and pushed forward with vigor. The history of that important work is briefly this : — A line of railway was surveyed by Major Macdonald from the coast at Mombasa to a port on Victoria Lake. The distance in a straight line is about 520 miles, but the railway when completed is likely, owing to the geographical difficulties, to be somewhat longer. A survey was made under the direc- l»l 148 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA r , ' 1 1)11, t tion of the British East Africa Company and a report was pre- sented to Parliament in 1893. In 1895 the British Govern- ment had resolved upon its construction, and in December a staff began to arrive at Mombasa, when operations were at once commenced. This line is known now as the Uganda railway, because it connects that important district with the sea coast. The reasons which led to the construction of the railway are that, Great Britain in 1890, undertook, as a party to the slave trade conference at Brussels, to actively co-operate in its suppression both on land and sea. This coast is the outlet to the sea-borne slave traffic, and the interior country is the source from which it springs. The profit arising from the construction of the railway must depend upon the amount of commerce whiph the district in the Lake region will be able to afford. It is the policy of the Government to develop this extensive area, which is entirely new, and which gives promise of affording a considerable addition to British com- merce. It is said the Government should, as far as possible, divest itself of the task of working the railways, once they are constructed ; but this policy, it is argued, is not appliable to a country capable of great development, and in respect to which the interests of the country might be at variance with the interests of a private corporation owning the railway. Prior to 1891 the British East Africa Company had borne the expense of maintaining the government over an area of 750,000 square miles. In December, 1890, Sir William Mac- Kinnon, chairman of the Company, addressed a letter to Lord Salisbury, in which he maintained that the most important thing for the suppression of the slave trade would be the con- struction of railways, and the substitution of economical and rapid means of transport for the then existing system. He urged, therefore, the policy of guaranteeing a moderate rate of interest on the capital required. On the 23rd of March, 1891, the Foreign Office admitted its readiness to grant the aid. The directors of the Company then consulted with Sir John Fowler and General Williams in respect to the cost and IN EAST AFRICA 149 ;'r I character of the road. The chief points mentioned in a report by Sir Guilford Molesworth were, that the road should be built with steel rails of about forty pounds to the yard, and steel transverse sleepers ; and that the road should be con- structed telescopically under conditions similar to the rail- ways of Beloochistan. The cost was estimated at about £1,800,000. In July, 1891, Sir Guilford Molesworth was asked to furnish the Treasury with an estimate of the cost of the preliminary reconnaisance. This was estimated at £20,000 and the actual cost was £19,710. The estimated cost of the road was £3,422 per mile. For one hundred miles inland the conditions are not dissimilar from those of the Beloochistan desert. The country is, in a great measure, a desert, sparsely populated, waterless, without resources, and fatal to all transport animals. The position selected for the terminus was at Kilindini, on the island of Mombasa. There is here a magnificent natural harbor, although, when the work was begun, it was devoid of all facilities for landing stores. Most of the island was jungle, with patches of cultivation of cocoanut trees. It is separated from the mainland by a strait, a third of a mile in width. At the distance of 300 miles the land rises to a height of 7,000 feet, and there is then a sudden descent of from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. This valley is from twenty-five to thirty miles in width, and extends north and south, entirely across and beyond British territory. From ten to fifteen miles inland there are produced large quantities of cocoanuts, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, etc. Then there is a sparsely wooded tract, thirty miles in width, emerging into the Taru desert, absolutely waterless, covered with a thorny jungle, and having a width of from 50 to 100 miles. The next 150 miles the jungle is not so dense, but the supply of water is still scanty. Then is reached, at the distance of 280 miles, a treeless, rolling desert, which is forty-seven miles in width, and teems with antelope, zebra and other large game. The rivers in the district, except during the rainy season, consist of a series of large pools. In spite of the closeness of the 160 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA jungle there are no shade trees, and the only effect of the jungle is to shut out any breeze. The water throughout the region is brackish ; near the summit of the Kikyu, the forest becomes thicker and the trees larger, and the slopes are covered with dense vegetation. When the height is crossed and the rift is reached, the vegetation is a compromise between the Taru and Athi deserts, and the water is more plentiful. Except Lake Naivasha, the waters are salt. During the year 1896 there were constructed about twenty-two miles of railway from Mombasa inland. During 1897, the number of miles completed reached 120, and during the year 1898 the road was completed to a distance of 250 miles. I have not before me the number of miles constructed during the past year. Considerable progress is made in the work of construction as long as the supplies can be carried forward without hindrance, but wherever a ravine or a stream has to be crossed no progress whatever can be made until a bridge over it is con- pleted, because the railway itself furnishes the only means of carrying forward supplies. This road, when completed, will provide ready facilities for getting into the Uganda district, and as there are a good many Hindoos going into the country there is no reason to doubt that, at no distant day, the British East Africa and the Uganda country will contain a large population, and will afford a substantial addition to the commerce of the United Kingdom. The savage lions found along this line of railway were a source of great dread to those engaged in working upon the line, and during the construc- tion of 1898, twenty-eight coolies were eaten by these man- devouring animals, and it became necessary, for this reason, to send the men back by train, at night, to safe places, in order to prevent a great destruction of human life by these formidable beasts of prey. The Congo Free State has pushed her north-eastern sphere with a good deal of vigor towards the Nile, and the French made, for a time, a strenuous effort to extend the eastern border of their tierritory still further eastward until it united with their IN EAST AFRICA 151 possessions upon the Red Sea. They also hoped to acquire the Uganda country, through the missions which had been established there. In 1894 the natives checked the advance of the Congo Free State, which was endeavoring to establish itself upon the Nile, within the sphere of English influence. King Leopold maintained that he was within his right under the Berlin agreement to do so. But both Lord Salisbury and Lord Rosebery have distinctly denied that he possessed any such right, and it is diflicult to understand how, under the Berlin agreement, it could be seriously maintained. The French had extended their domains upon the Upper Mobangi until they planted the French flag within the Province of Bahr-el-Ghazel at Fashoda. This expedition, which was, in fact, a military expedition, set out from Obangi in 1893, under Colonel Monteil with instructions to proceed eastward to the Nile. France, for several years, struggled to obtain a footing upon the Upper Nile, although she protested against the Congo Free State having any right to do so, maintaining that it was an interference with the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. France was no party to the settlement of the boundary upon the western border of the English claim. That had been done between England and Germany. This agree- ment was rendered valueless by Germany admitting France to have a claim superior to her own. And so the French explorers maintained that they had an equal right with the English to acquire territory that was still unoccupied. Be- tween the Congo Free State and France on the one side, and the " Little Englander " party, who were in effect their allies, on the other, England was, for a time, in a fair way to lose her possessions upon the Upper Nile. Lord Rosebery found himself embarassed by a section of his own party in respect to the propriety of establishing English sovereignty in those regions. Had Lord Rosebery been allowed a free hand there would have been no dispute about the right of Her Majesty to possess the country around the lakes, and upon the Upper Nile. Fortunately, however, the Fashoda incident followed -pr- 162 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA I immediately the victory at Omdiirman, and led to a convention between Her Majesty and the French Republic, which has clearly defined English supremacy in the whole valley of the Upper Nile. If the British Government had fully appreciated the importance of securing, without delay, the Province of Bahr- el-Ghazel, they might have established, at little expense, their authority in that Province, and the Fashoda incident could never have arisen. Franco would have had no ground to pro- test against the lease which the British Government gave to the Government of Belgium, nor would Germany have been able to question the claim of England to a right of way from British Central Africa northward to her possessions upon the Nile. Why Germany made the protest she did, it is not easy to understand, as Great Britain has, by convention, a similar right through German territory from Lake Tanganyika to the border of Lake Victoria. Lord Rosebery found it impossible to secure the support of all his colleagues to send a sufficient force into these territories to take full possession of the country of the Upper Nile. Had King Leopold remained firm, the arrangements made with him, would have served their purpose. He did not do so, and what could have been done without even a protest, at that time, later required vigorous action and no inconsiderable expense. The United Kingdom has made large concessions to the aggressions of France upon the Niger. She has, for various reasons, permitted France to come within the sphere of her influence in respect to Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, and in the West Basin of the Niger. Under the last convention with France she has assented to the connection of French territory on the Upper Congo with that north-east of Lake Tchad. At Fashoda she has succeeded in excluding the French from that portion of the Soudan to which the Great Lakes and the Central Nile country is the key. What Sir Michael Hicks- Beach said in refersnce to Egypt and the country of the Mahdi gave hopes of a clearer perception of British interests, and of IN EAST AFRICA 158 a more vigorous policy in support of them than the one which has, in recent years, crippled the action of British statesmen. The Imperial British EaHt Africa Company, during the short period of its existence, made, considering its resources, a vigorous attempt to establish British authority in Uganda. The Company did important service elsewhere. The extensive region committed to the Company was explored. The Sultan of Witu was compelled to settle down in peace, and to estab- lish friendly relations with the Chiefs along the coast of the Company's possessions. The Juba river, upon the northern boundary of their territory, was explored and found to be navigable four hundred miles up from the sea. The capabili- ties of the country were noted, its rainfall measured, and its productive character ascertained. Its commerce has increased, and an Indian and Persian immigration to the country has well begun. The river valleys are adapted to Hindoo coloni- zation. When the resources of the Company are considered it must receive credit for the work it accomplished. It made the country known, and it has suggested to British statesmen how the congestion of the Indian population may be relieved. Early in 1895 the chiefs near the sea coast became discon- tented, and rose in arms against British authority. Some of them regarded with contempt the jurisdiction Revolt of proclaimed by the Company, and declined to Chiefs, receive any salary from the Company's officers. 1896 Those chiefs on the Zanzibar coast were the descendants of an Arab family from Muscat, in south eastern Arabia. At one time they acknowledged the suzerainty of the Imam of Muscat. Abdullah the founder of the Arabian rule, on the coast of Zanzibar, had two sons, Othman and Zaher, from whom two chieftains, who in 1805, reigned at Gaza and Takaunga respectively, are descended. They were made Viceroys by the Imam of Muscat, and their families continued to rule on the eastern coast until 1837. About the year 1750 a new dynasty acquired dominion both at Muscat and at Zanzibar. The chiefs of Mombasa threw oflf I 1 I 1.- ■i , 1 ■ ■• f i I 154 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA their allegiance at Muscat, 'fhe Imams of Muscat were too much occupied with their conflicts with Persia to take notice of the resistance to their authority at Mombasa until 1804, when Seyyid Said, the fourth Imam of the dynasty, attempted to reconquer the old African possessions of the family. He was checked in his military enterprise in 1831 by the senior naval officer of the British navy upon the Zanzibar coast, who established a Protectorate, and provided that the revenues were to be divided between the British residents and the Mazuri. The British Government, however, failed to ratify the treaty, and, after a long struggle, the Sultan took Mom- basa in 1837. With this capture the unity of the State came to an end. A part of the Mazuri Arabs went southward to Gaza, where they founded a small state, which was governed by the younger branch of the old ruling family. This ruler grew up under the care of his uncle. As soon as he became a man he attempted to take Congo from the younger branch of the Mazuri. Seyyid Said removed his seat of government from Muscat to Zanzibar, and from that point maintained his authority. Mukruk led three successive rebellions against the Sultan. He was defeated by a force under the command of General Matthews, who was in command of the Sultan's troops. Mukruk despised the East Africa Company, and was hostile because of its interference with the slave trade. The younger branch of the family at Takauugu remained quiet until the chief died in February, 1895. He never would accept any subsidy, either from Zanzibar or the Company. When his nephew paid homage to the Sultan on his behalf, he was always given a valuable present equivalent to the subsidy. From the CompaLy he never deigned to take anything. He kept a force of about 1,200 fighting slaves, and his cousin, at Gaza, had about the same number. They were the most powerful chiefs upon that coast. Upon the death of Selim, his son Raschid was suggested as Governor by Mr. McDougall, and this suggestion was confirmed by tlie chiefs. He was proclaimed Wali by his people. The cousin was sworn in as IN EAST AFRICA 155 his deputy. The cousin took charge of the 1,200 slaves, which made his force practically 2,400. He fortified his position. He raised the standard of rebellion. All the inhabitants of that region, by midsummer, were in arms against British authority. The marines from the ships upon the coast aided the forces of the Sultan in defeating these chiefs. But the country was difficult to traverse, and the 24th Regiment of Belochees were brought from India to assist in suppressing the insurrection. The progress was slow, because there were no roads, and the jungle was dense, but the rebel chiefs were surrounded and driven across the German border. Here they were compelled to surrender in April, 1896, and British authority was then recognized without question. Difficulties again arose in that part of East Africa known as the Uganda Protectorate, in consequence of the attempt made by some of the chiefs, to incite the poorer classes to revolt. In 1897 two of them were sentenced to imprison- ment at hard labor — the one for five and the other for seven years. There was, at the time, a revolt in the Soudan forces iu the country, and a portion of them withdrew from the district. They were pursued, but were not overtaken. Major Macdonald attempted an exploration of British East Africa, and in September he set out for the sources of the Juba river with two British officers, 300 Soudanese, 100 Swahilis and 200 porters. The Roman Catholics had then exclusive possession of the district of Buddu, which they designated "our Province," because Protestant missionaries were not permitted to enter it. The Roman Catholic missionaries there were mostly French, and they endeavored to make Buddu a French district. The Soudanese pressed northward from I^ganda, but re- mained to the south of their own country. They are attached to their families, and are always anxious to take their women with hem. In September, 1897, Major Macdonald said, that tliey might take one woman each, but the expedition could ' if %'i iiii'i;''!! W i i 156 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ■ 1 1 i i I not ^a,it for the rest of the women, and this was one of the chief sources of discontent. Those of them that deserted were asked to return to their places in the force, but they declined to do so. Their camp was close to the fort at Ravine station. They were given, by their officers, five min- utes to pile their arms, or fire would be opened upon them, and their answer was, that the British might fire if they liked. One of the companies fired three volleys, and the deserters fired twenty or thirty shots in return. They then ran into the woods and established a camp about three-quarters of a mile from the fort. Colonel Macdonald says that the acting Commissioner ascertained upon enquiry that the men appeared to have grounds of complaint in the past, although they made no complaint against Major Macdonald of their treatment. He took no action with regard to their previous grievances when they joined liis expedition, as it was beyond the scope of his powers. But the greatest cause for discontent was that tliey were left in the dark as to any support for their wives and families in their absence. Mr, Jackson writes to Lord Salisbury on the 1st of Octo- ber, 1897, giving an account of a further outbreak of the Soudanesf troops who were before loyal, and Mr. Jackson rorom:r<'nds the mainteuance of a force of 300 Indian soldiers at I'ganda. Mr (-Ave, in November, telegraphed Lord Salis- bury, tha< the mutineers had suffered a defeat, losing 100, and that the fight lasted for several hours. No fewer than 300 had deserted a fortnight before. Major Macdonald asked for 500 Indian troops. On the 22nd of October he wrote Ix)rd Salisbury that he liad available 150 Waganda Mahometans, ten Europeans, eighteen Indians, 340 Swahilis and eighteen Soudanese. Sir A. Hardinge, on the 7tb. of November, wrote Lord Salisbury that 300 Soudanese had deserted from the Ravine, and had established themselves at Kaviroii'lo ; that they had there built a fort ; that they had raided the natives, killiug large numbers of them and loot- ing cattle. Mr. Wilson, in January, 1898, wrote Lord Salis- IN EAST AFRICA 157 bury that, subsequent to the engagement of Major Macdonald, a portion of the Uganda force had, in Usoga, driven back the mutineers, but his information was that everything depended upon the friendly attitude of the Uganda people. In June, 1898, Major Macdonald gave Lord Salisbury an account of the various forces available for the defence of tlie < latry. In his report of the Toro district, he says there is nine times as much cultivation as there was when he first came into that district, and that wheat, potatoes and other crops are jibii'Hlant. Mr. Berkley directs Major Martyr to establish permanent garrisons, and to take early steps to re- lieve the troops from India and East Africa that have been dispatrh'^fl to their assistance. Mr. Berkley in 1898 writes that ])o i; eonvii.ced that foreign expeditions are making for the Upper Nile, and that the advance of the British troops on Khartoum makes it important that they should try and obtain touch with those on the Nile to the north ; and he is directed, if he can do it with reasonable safety, to endeavor to reconnoitre, and to make treaties with the local cliiefs as far north as Fashoda. Major Macdonald, in 1898 sent a column under Captain Austin to the north of Lake Rudolph, to cover by treaty, the country between the lake and the Abyssinian limit of occupation. That these British territories will prove of immense importance there can be no doubt. That the British dominion over the country was many times in peril is beyond question. The sovereignty of a country so large, so fertile, and in many parts so sparsely settled, within which millions from the congested districts of India might find room to live in coirparative com- fort, and without much risk of suffering from famine, cannot be other than an interesting and important possession for the Kmpire. Illi! \ M :.|| i t CHAPTER VII. THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH IN SOUTH AFRICA 1 1 ! ■ Early History of Cape Colony — The Dutch East India Company — Ancient Dutch Laws — Rising of the Boers in 1813 — Results of the abolition of slavery — Boers ask for Independence — The Oranc4E Free State, its early history — Pretorius resists annex- ation — Revolt of the Boers — Defeat of the British — Relative numbers of Dutch and English — Disregard of treatifs by the Boers — Position of the UiTL ANDERS — IMPORTANCE OF THE CAPE TO ENG- LAND. Whoever studies the position of England in South Africa, will learn, that if British India is left out of view, she has spent a much larj?er sum of money in establishing her authority, and in protecting the inhabitants of that country, than in any other of her colonial possessions. At the present time the Empire is at war with the Boers, in consequence of difficulties which have arisen between one of the Dutch Free States, whose people were born British subjects, and British subjects who have settled within the precincts of the Republic. Nothing is more astonishing to a student of South .African history, than the obstinacy of the Dutch populatioi) of the Tuiusvaal, and their deep-rooted hostility towards those who ere of English origin. How far the present possessions of Germany on the continent of Africa, and the hopes which her colonial policy has awakened, have contributed to bring about this result, I shall hereafter consider. Tliere can be no doubt that if Germany were master of the Transvaal, she would be able effectuallj^ to prevent the consolidation of the English IN SOUTH AFRICA 169 v-^miuions in Africa. In what way the fiMistration of her hopes, in this respect, would hetter the condition of the Boers, it is not easy to perceive, for no one can doubt, that if the Boers were brought under German rule, they would be governed very much more stringently, and would enjoy much less real liberty, than they would under English dominion. The Boer has a very great repugnance to English people, and that re- pugnance is due mainly to the fact that he has been brought more in contact with Englishmen than with those of any oth r race. The Boers dislike restraint of every kind ; so much so, that, except in the presence of very great danger, they resist any attempt to exercise, by law, even the most moderate authority over them, although attempted by those of their own country and race. But I shall i 3t anticipate here what I pur- pose saying later with regard to .he conduct and character of the Boers of the Transvaal. The southern portion of the African continent was not dis- covered by the Dutch, but by the Portuguese, who in virtue of discovery, were entitled, by the usage of nations Discovered ^® assert their sovereignty over that section of the by the African continent. But not long after the dis- Portugruese covery was made, the Crown of Portugal was seized by the Sovereign of Spain, and many of the Portuguese possessions, among others the regions around the Cape of Good Hope, passed to the jurisdiction of the Dutch East India Company. This part of the African continent was visited by the Dutch as early as 1595. The Dutch East India Company was organized in 1602, when it took possession of tlie Cape, and in 1619, erected there a fort for the protection of its own interests. The voyage from Holland to the Dutch East Indies, at that period, was a very long one, and the Cape became a most important half-way house, at which Dutch merchantmen called, and Dutch sailors rested. Here they obtained fresh provisions and supplies, and recuperated their health. The Dutch East India Company, in 1651, formed at the Cape a regular colony. In 1685, Louis XIV of France re- UM I ! I' 160 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ■ pealed the edict of Nantes, and a large number of Huguenots, who could no longer find protection under the dominion of the French king, migrated thither, and became an important portion of the colony at the Cape. They were forbidden to use their own language, and in the course of a few years, were absorbed into the Dutch population. When the Huguenots arrived in the colony, they were not by any means favorably received. When it was proposed that the Huguenots should be permitted to establish a separate church of their own, the Dutch Commander broke out into furious passion ; he declared the project was seditious ; that the French were the most im- pertinent and ungrateful race on the face of the earth, and if they were allowed to have their own church, they would next demand their own magistrate, and their own prince. They were informed that they must be content to remain a branch of the Dutch church in their neighborhood. The Dutch re- garded the Huguenot immigration as an attempt to thwart the scheme of a pure Dutch colony, and they were, therefore, all the more resolved to compel them to become Dutch. The result was that the French newcomers refused, for a time, to intermarry with the Dutch, which meant, practically, that they could not marry at all ! They declared that having braved the anger of the Grand Monarch, they would be ashamed of themselves if they were to submit to the tyran- nical demand of Governor Van Der Stel. The Dutch refused to hold intercourse with the French, and said they would rather give their bread to a dog than to a Frenchman. They absolutely refused the request of the Huguenots to be allowed to locate together, and orders were given, that they should be interspersed among the Dutch population, in order to facili- tate their becoming Dutchmen. The result was, that when the next generation grew up, the Dutch language alone was spoken, and there was nothing, beyond their names, to indicate the French origin of the Huguenot families. At the time of the French Revolution, when Holland was overrun by the French under Pichegru, the Stadtholder took IN SOUTH AFRICA 161 refuge in England, and authorized the English Stadtholder Government to take possession of South Africa, authorized in order to prevent the colony falling under the Possession dominion of the French. When the order of the Stadtholder was presented to the Dutcli garrison at the Cape, the governor refused to recognize it, as the Stadt- holder was no longer in Holland. 'I'he English were there- fore obliged to take possession by force. They retained possession until the peace of Amiens, when, in 1803, it was again placed under Dutch jurisdiction. War shortly after broke out, and in 1806 the Cape was a second time taken by the English. By the Treaty of 1814, which was confirmed by the Treaty of Vienna the following year, the colony of the Cape, along with Essiquibo and Berbice, wtis retained by the English. The English Government, during the war, had spent no less a sum than sixteen millions of pounds sterling in their defense ; and as England further assisted in paying the large expenditure incurred in the expulsion of the French from the low countries and promoted the union of Flanders with Hol- land, forming thereby the kingdom of the Netherlands, she was held to have given ample compensation to the Dutch for the Dutch colonies, which she was authorized to retain. The truth is, that the wealth and resources of Holland had gradu- ally declined for a long series of years previous to the French Revolution ; and when the war existed between France on the one side and Great Britain and several states on the Conti- nent on the other side, Holland was altogether unable to put forth those efforts which were necessary both for her own defense, and for the defense of her colonial possessions ; and so several of the Dutch colonies became colonies of p]ugland. The Boers exhibit many of the characteristics of the people from whom they sprang. They are equally distinguished by their impatience of authority and by the dislike of that legiti- mate control which is essential to the well-being of a state. Like the Hollanders, they love to show their authority in their rule over those of other nationalities. Those who have 11 ill a ail §1 m ■W ' nt \m iJ-Mi. 162 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA i read the origin of the Kingdom of Belgium must have been impressed with the charaeteristica of Duteli rule over the United Netherlands. Holland and Belgium were united in order to form a comparatively strong state on the north-eastern border of France. They were united on terms ol' equality ; but the King of Holland was a Dutchman, and he exhibited the qualities and temper of his race. Those of the Low Countries spoke nothing but French ; French was the language of the entire population : it was used in the courts of justice, in the schools, in tlie market-places, and in the pulpit ; but the Dutch king insisted that the Dutch language should be used in the Low Countries as well as in Holland. Lawyers were thrown out of employment. Their incomes were effect- ually wiped out by what was done. Men with large incomes were reduced to penury. Judges were compelled to retire from the bench. Nothing but Dutch was to be used in the schools, and this among peoples who did not know a word of the language. The teachers who spoke only French found their occupation gone. Everywhere private schools were started, and everywhere private schools were soon after for- bidden without a royal license ; and the king, who began his reign with a united people, found that in the course of a few months sixty thousand of his subjects were up in arms against him, because one-half of the population were determined that the other half should be made, in every respect, like them- selves. This assumption of superiority and the determination to force upon others the blessings which they themselves enjoyed, have marked the conduct of the Boers of South Africa no less than it did the conduct of the Dutch rulers of the United Netherlands. Perhaps no better idea could be given of the peculiarities of the Dutch race at the Cape than that which is afforded by two or three illustrations taken from their ancient law. It was expressly provided by law at the Cape that every person, without exception, should stop his carriage and get out of it when he saw the Governor ap- proaching, and that he should likewise get out of the IN SOUTH AFRICA 168 Ancient Dutch Law at the Cape travelled way so as to allow of a convenient passage to any member of the ruling body, known as the Court of Policy, whom he might meet. Every citizen who passed Government House was required to uncover his head, and everyone below a certain rank could, neither himself nor could his wife or his daughters, venture to carry an umbrella. Such a love of dis- play was not to be tolerated. Th3 possession of an umbrella was an indication that the person whom the law allowed to carry it had a certain social rank, and it was not permitted to anyone to aspire to a position above that, which according to custom, properly belonged to a condition of life higher than that which was actually allotted to him by reason of his calling. In the earlier days of the Dutch Colonies the authorities viewed with jealousy the arrival of ships of other countries in the bay. The inhabitants were permitted to sell to foreign- ers — whose vessels might come into the Cape port for sup- plies — vegetables and pork ; they were not allowed to sell coal or fresh beef ; and some, who disregarded the law, de- fended themselves by saying that the animals, the beef of which they sold, were diseased. They considered it lawful to cheat strangers, but not to commit the unpatriotic offense of selling to them a necessary supply of wholesome food. At a later period some Danes and English, on their arrival, were unable to purchase anything whatever. The Commander of the Fort treated them with politeness, and invited them to his own table, but declined to supply the ship with either meat or vegetables. He informed some of them that they were at liberty to purchase from the burghers, but privately he sent messengers around to the burghers for- bidding them to sell under very heavy penalties. At other times the farmers were required to charge four or five times ths usual rates. Complaints of this kind speedily reached Europe, and the j)ublic opinion of the world had even then sufficient force to lead the Dutch Assembly to give instructions ■Hi Bi ; '?. :A&i^ J Il ,«, 164 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA i! ■ 1 that foreigners were to receive proper treatment. But they were still forbidden to furnish stores out of their magazines which were solely for the use of the Dutch East Indian Com- pany. No wheat or fuel was to be sold, as the Company needed all these for their own use. But while they were per- mitted to refresh themselves at the lodging houses, kept by the Dutch for strangers, they were forbidden to sell any mer- chandise in the country. This was the condition of things at the close of the seventeenth century. A system was gradually Introduced by the Company, the traditions of which still linger in the memory of the Boers, by which strangers were taxed for its benefit. After the English had come into permanent possession of Cape Colony, the Dutch inhabitants admitted that they had greatly benefited by the abolition of the authority of the Dutch East India Company ; they admitted that under Dutch rule they had never approached the condition of prosperity which they had attained after it became a British possession, yet, for years after the Cape had passed from Dutch to Eng- lish jurisdiction, the subjugated race already assumed the air of conquerors. They were not prepared to admit that Eng- lish settlers had rights equal to their own, and they regarded with jealousy every colony of Englishmen that arrived in South Africa. The first real occasion for the exhibition of discontent was afforded them in 1813. The border districts of the Colony were surveyed, and a quit-rent was charged. Rising of under which the occupants, who before had been the Boers simply lessees, were made the permanent owners in 1813 of the lands of which they had possession ; but the Boers had no notion that the rights which they had in the soil were derived from the law ; they were greatly dissatisfied with the change, and although it was beyond all question to their advantage, numbers of them took up arms to resist the enforcement of the law. There were some, too, who were tried for outrages committed upon the IN SOUTH AFRICA 166 Krugrer Pardoned Hottentots, whom they thought the law ought not to protect. The result of these two-fold sources of discontent was, tliat between three and four hundred farmers took up arms against the Cape Government. They were defeated. Six of their number were tried for treason. All the Dutch settlers in the surrounding country became interested in their fate, and earnestly interceded with the authorities on their behalf ; but they had shown so turbulent a spirit, and, having resisted the maintenance of the law by force of arms, five of the six were hanged. The name of the one pardoned was Kruger, whose execution might have changed the currents of South African history. All who had participated in this most unwarrantable insurrec- tion, harbored feelings of revenge towards the British Government, and many of them a little later emi- grated north, beyond the Orange River. The second source of discontent arose from the enforce- ment, within the Colony, of the Act of Emancipation. Slavery was abolished by the Emancipation Act in South Africa, as well as in other British colonies where it had been established. At the time that Act came into operation, there were about 30,000 Kaffirs, Bushmen and Hottentots held as slaves by the Boers. At first it was proposed to appropriate nearly two and one-half millions of pounds sterling for the purpose of extinguishing the slave-holders' claims ; but later the sum was reduced nearly one-half, and the British Govern- ment made no provision for paying the Dutch slave-holders within the Colony. The claims which they had, could only be met by the Bank of England, and the bank had no agency in South Africa. Parties at once constituted themselves agents to act on behalf of the distant colonists, intending to make as large a commission by their services as they could ; and this led to a further reduction, by twenty per cent., on the sum which the Boer was entitled to receive. The result was that many of the old slave-holders of the Cape, received far less than half the sum to which they were entitled. All were ;• ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■^1^ 12.5 ,>. 1^ |2 2 ■« I," ^ 1^ 12.0 im ■•25 IJU 1 1.6 ^ 6" ► V] V f C?=F J^*' / /A ''W '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 93 WeST MAIN STREfT WEBSTER, NY. MSM (716) 873-4503 '^. > ^ Ir' 166 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA i::-'^ 1'!- A' highly indignant, and some reAised altogether to accept pay- ment. Othere knew so little of ordinary financial busincHH transactions, that although they were willing to receive compensation, they were never paid. The discontent which resulted from the want of foresight on the part of the English Govern; aent, and from the want of business training on the part of the Boers, led large numbers of them to quit their homes iu the vicinity of Cape Town, and to remove to the north, some beyond the Orange river, and others beyond the Drakenberg mountains. More than 1,000 wagons started for Natal. Thi"; Boers compared their own exodus from Cape Colony, t > that of ancient Israel from Egypt. They read from their Bibles, as they sat around their camp fires in the evening, the story of the Israelites, and sang the song of Miriam, as if the British authorities that they had left behind them, had perished by Divine interposition, as did Pharoah and his host i:. pursuing Moses. But, before the Dutch burghers had quitted the Cape for Natal, the English traders, were already in possession of the country. The Dutch undertook to form Republics, but they were too dis- united to agree, either upon their rulers, or upon a plan of government such as they deemed proper to establish. At Port Natal and at Weenan, religious congregations were organized, and elders and deacons were prominent in the exercise of civil authority. A Volksraad was organized as the supreme legislative power. It consisted of twenty-four members. Maritzburg was named as the place of meeting, and four sessions were held within the year. At each session a chairman was chosen, with the title of President, who, with the aid of a few members of the Raad, conducted the public business and appointed from their numbers a committee for carrying on the government during that portion of the quarter of the year in which the Raad was not in session. The ofiicers were not elected, but were appointed by the Volksraad. Those condemned to death for crimes could only be executed after Volksraad Organized IN SOUTH AFRICA 167 the concurrence of the Raad was obtained. The* field cornet in each Canton forwarded a paper signed by the burghers, each of whom named the individual whom he desired to be his representative in the Raad. The twenty-four who had the greatest number of votes formed the Raad for the following year. It would be impossible to conceive a scheme better calculated to produce a condition of disorder. The decisions of one day were, not infrequently, reversed on the day follow- ing. The most violent language was lised in discussing matters of even trifling importance. There was no continued author- ity, and the public opinion, which was predominant in each locality for the time being, was the only force which controlled the actions of individuals. The men were ignorant, and pos- sessed no knowledge of anything, except that which had come under their own observation ; and there was but one man amongst them all who had the slightest experience in official life. A loose kind of alliance was formed between those in the Vaal west of the Drakenberg mountains, and those in Natal to the east. The Boers had spread over a vast extent of territory, embracing parts of what is now the Orange Free State, the Vaal, and Natal. In this state of Boers Ask things, they communicated with the Government 1*1 ''^^" ^^ ^*P® Colony, and asked for a recognition of th ! IndA- *^®*^ independence. Sir George Napier and others Dendence P*"®^^®^ upon the Imperial Government, the duty of taking formal possession of Natal. Sir George, who was Governor, became convinced that British interests were imperilled by the attitude of the Boers towards the native^ in the extensive regions over which they had spread themselves ; and the Boers who desired to be recognized as independent, were informed by the Governor, that he could not enter into any negotiations, or further communications \vith them, until they distinctly acknowledged a fUll and en 'ire allegiance to the Queen of England, and declared their willingness to obey the lawful authority of the British Gov- ernment. 'TW 168 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA il During the couree of the year 1841, Sir George Napier received a despatch from Lord John Russell, bearing date of the 2l8t of August in that year, in which he was instructed to make arrangement for reoccupying Port Natal in such a manner as to command the harbor, but he was not to inter- fere with the immigrant farmers, unless the British troops, or friendly Kaffir tribes, were attacked by them. He warned all British subjects, including the immigrants, of the conse- quences of resisting either Her Majesty's troops, or of exercising Her Miyesty's authority, which could only be done by duly appointed officers. In 1842 an English force left the camp on the Ungazi river for Natal. This force consisted of 253 men, furnished with one howitzer and two field pieces. It was accompanied by a wagon train, sixty of the drivers being armed Englishmen. The distance to be traversed was 260 miles, through which no road ran. As the expedition drew near to Durban, it was met by two farmers, who served a written protest from the Volksraad upon Captain Smith, who was in charge of the expedition, against the troops enter- ing Natal. Captain Smith declined to receive the protest. He was informed that the Volksraad were negotiating with Holland for its protection. But Captain Smith persisted in his plans. It was true that they informed the King of Holland that they had ttikeii possession of the country in his name, and on his behalf ; but in the despatch addressed to the English Government, in November, 1842, the King informed the British Foreign Secretary that the disloyal action of the immigrant farmers had been repelled with indignation, and that he had taken every step necessary to mark lys dis- approval of the unjustifiable use of his name by the Boers in Natal. Some of the Boer immigrants, when they found themselves unable to escape from English sovereignty, if they remained in Natal, re-crossed the mountains into the Transvaal country, so that they had what ultimately became two colonies that were still beyond English jurisdiction — the one immediately north of the Orange river, and the other lying still f\irther away beyond the Vaal. IN SOUTH AFRICA 169 The Orange Free States, when the Dutch first took pos- session of the Cape, was the country of the Bushman. The Early Oriquas were the half-breeds, who came into the Hist4)ry district from the west. They were armed with of tha guns, and were able to maintain their position Oranffe against the Bushmen, who had been driven out of Free State the central portion of the country by the Mata- beles, as they marched northward. The central part of what is now the Orange Free State, was then unoccupied, and thither the Boers from Cape Colony first went, in considerable numbers, as early as 1828. They got immense areas of land for small sums of money, or for a few pounds of goods. They were followed later by a great migration in 1836. The first emigration consisted of about thirty -five families, who obtained possession of from 6,000 to 20,000 acres for each family. Those who came later, went, as I have already stated, on to Delagoa Bay ; but the climate there proving unhealthy, a large per- centage of them died. The remainder were massacred by the natives, and their stock was driven away. The next band of immigrants was but a little more successful — having lost up- wards of 6,000 head of cattle and 40,000 sheep. Perhaps no people, in a new country, ever experienced a more adven- turous life, or incurred greater dangers and hardships, than did those emigrant Boers of South Africa. No colony held to-day by the United Kingdom has cost in men, so many lives, and in money so large a sum, as British South Africa. Towards no other people have the Government and people of the United Kingdom shown such great forbearance as to- wards the Boers, and no other territory of the British Empire presents within the same space of time so many matters of historical interest as do those territories in South Africa. The Boers have treated the natives with great harshness, and with great injustice. They have appropriated their lands without scruple wherever their interests were served by doing so. From the point of modern civilization the Boer has not been a desirable colonist. He is contented with his condition, and - ii It il 1 I I!' 1 1- , I 170 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA he fiercely resiste any change in his surroundings which will have the effect of compelling him to enter into new paths. Wherever he has gone his aim has been to acquire an im- mense private possession, where he, by the labor of slaves, could raise flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and what little grain he needs for his own use. His chief means of subsistence are his flocks and herds. In the summer time he remains upon the uplands, and in the winter he drives his sheep and his cattle into the valleys. There he resides, with his family and his servants — lodging in his wagons during the continu- ance cf that season. The immense area which each family takes possession of is only diminished, as an individual hold- ing, by the partitions necessitated by reason of the natural increase of the family, and this division of the father's lands is often avoided, by many sons emigrating into new districts, and by violence towards the natives, in making new appro- priations. The Boers are essentially unsocial. They are widely separated from each other, and their ability to live in comfort depends upon each having a large area, or range, exclusively his own. When Sir Harry Smith first visited the Orange river, he found the people there divided in their allegiance. A few of the better informed were in favor of placing their country under English rule, in order the better to secure life and property. In February, 1848, a proclamation was issued, annexing the whole of the country, between the Orange and the Vaal rivers to Her Majesty's possessions. The lead- PpetOPius ing Boer, Andries Pretorius, resisted the English Resists attempt to obtain possession of the country. He Annexation called on the farmers on both sides of the Vaal river to join him. He formed an Immigrant Association, and he gave notice to all who did not join it that they must quit the country. A small garrison was left by Sir Harry Smith under Mtyor Werden at Bloemfontein. Mi^or Werden was notified to quit the country, and having an wholly inadequate force under his command, he crossed the IN SOUTH AFRICA 171 Orange river, where he remained until he was reinforced by 200 Oriquas, and two companies of regulars, making in all a force of about 850 men. Pretorius, with the immigrants, was encamped at Bloomplaats, upwards of 1,000 strong. They were all mounted on horses, and their guns were quite superior to those in the possession of the English. They had chosen an ad' antageous position, in which they were pro- tected against fear of surprise by the enemy. After four hours' fighting, the Boers were driven from their position, broke in disorder, and fled. Their wagons were loaded, all ready for departure, some miles away. Thither they rode, and taking all their possessions with them, they continued their march northward until they crossed the Vaal river. A British garrison was then placed in Bloemfontein. On the 22nd of March, 1852, letters patent were issued, erecting what is now known as the Orange Free State into a separate government. A large party in England, who were totally ignorant of the situation, aiid of all the surrounding facts, urged, in the following year, the propriety of with- drawing altogether from the country. The English Gov- ernment, being otherwise occupied, and being but imperfectly informed upon the subjoct, adopted this view, and sent Sir George Clarke to South Africa as a special commissioner, with instructions to abandon the country. The colonists of the Orange River District, especially those of them who resided in the villages, and who were carrying on trading and industrial operations in the country, most earnestly protested against this course. The natives were equally anxious for the continuance of British protection. They knew, by long and disastrous experience the merciless character of Boer rule. They knew how cruelly the natives had been ti'^ated by the Boers when any difficulty arose between them, and they were especially interested in the continuance of British authority. The remonstrance, however, of those chiefly concerned was iu vain, and in February, 1854, the British Commissioners, in a convention negotiated at Bloemfontein, banded over the Orange river country to the resident Boers. OTI 172 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA if'!' ■ I , ! In ■11 ! Between that period and 1868 many conflicts arose between the Boers and the native tribes and chiofe in Basutoland, which lies to the westward of the territory, at Basutoland ^j^^^ Hmef abandoned. Those people were driven Enirllsh ^^^ ^^ ^^® country by the Boers. They expressed Possession ^^^^^ anxiety to become British subjects, and to place themselves and their possessions under British protection. Their wisho were ultimately acceded to, and a proclamation was issued in which it was announced that Basutoland had become a British possession. The author- ities of the abandoned country, which now is known as the Orange Free State, protested, maintaining that under the Convention of 1854, the English Government had promised not to interfere between them and the native population, and that the action of the British Government, in taking the BpButos under their protection, was a violation of the treaty. The English Government, however, maintained that the res- trictions referred to natives within the territory belonging to the Orange Free State, and not to the natives in the countries beyond. In 1869 the boundary between the Basuto country and the Orange Free State was settled by the Treaty of Aliwal. The republic was allowed to extend its A*ontier Airther westward than it had before held. The diamond fields, in the vicinity of Kimberley, were retained within British territory, greatly against the will of the Boers ; but, had the Boers retained possession of Kimberley, their covetous disposition, and their desire to make the Uitlanders bear the entire burdens of Government, would undoubtedly have created the same condition of things at Kimberley, that has for several years prevailea at Johannesburg. Friction there has been prevented, and moderate freedom in respect to mining operations, has been allowed flill play. It would have been well for the peace of South Africa if the gold-bear- ing lands in the vicinity of Johannesburg had been equally free fVom Boer control. The Boers of the Transvaal Republic were involved in IN SOUTH AFRICA 178 conflict with the Basutos, and with other tribes in their vicinity. They had exhausted their resources ; they refused longer to pay taxes to their own Oovemment ; that Govern- ment endeavored to negotiate a loan for the construction of a railway ; part of the stock had been subscribed and paid for, and the money so obtained had been used for the purchase of material which was not utilized, and the Republic was in- volved in a formidable native war and with an empty treasury. It was on the verge of dissolution when, in April, 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone visited the country, and with the osten- sible sanction of the Oovemment of the Republic, took it over as a British possession. In fact, when the country was so brought within the sovereignty of the Queen, the Zulus, under Cetewayo, and the Matabeles, under Secocoeni, were making war upon the Boers. They had defeated them in several engagements, and were on the point of completely overpowering them. The action of Sir Theophilus Shepstone left the Zulus in the position of being enemies to a people that had now become Her Majesty's subjects ; and so the English, own- ing Natal upon the east, and the Transvaal upon the west, were the only authority against whom the hostilities of the Zulus could now be directed. No sooner was the territory acquired than the British authorities found themselves involved in a war with the most powerftil native chief in South Africa, who had under his command more than 40,000 men. When the Zulus were subjugated, and the Boers relieved from the danger of exter- mination by the sacrifice of the lives of English soldiers, and by the expenditure of a large sum from the English treasury, they began to complain of being brought under the Queen's sovereignty. As soon as they found themselves relieved from the danger that had threatened them, they declared that they had never sanctioned the act of their Oovemment, by which they were made a dependency of the British Crown. When the great body of the English troops was withdrawn trom The Zulu War wr 174 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA I < : 1 1 i ■ ^ '■ English defeated at LalDflr's Nek. Inffogo and the Transvaal, and but few remained, the Boere, under Kru- ger, took up arms against English authority. They treacher- ously slaughtered two companies of the 94th regiment that were in their country, and in three preliminary engagements they defeated the British troops upon their border at Laing's Nek, at Ingogo and at M^juba Hill. Their leader, Krugcr, pro- posed peace, with the reestablishment of the MajubaHlll l^i^i^^vaal Government. Mr. Gladstone, believ- ing the Boer inhabitants to be opposed to Eng- lish supremacy, and that British authority had been extended over them under a mistaken view of the public opinion of the country, agreed to terminate the conflict, and to recognize the domestic independence of the Boers of the Transvaal. It was expressly provided that all other than natives, who conformed themselves to the law of the South AfHcan Republic, should be at liberty to enter with their families into the country, to reside in any part of it, and to freely travel within its borders. They were, under the Treaty, entitled to hire or possess houses, to establish manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises, in which they might carry on, either in person or through agents, any lawful business in which they might choose to engage. In their persons and in their property they were not to be subject to any taxes other than those which were borne by other citizens of the Republic. We shall hereafter see how completely this stipulation of the treaty between Great Britain and the Transvaal Republic has been disregarded. A wide difference of opinion has prevailed among the public men of England as to the wisdom of the course taken by Mr. Gladstone in the two treaties made with the Trans- vaal Republic. Sir Bartle Frere, an Indian statesman of dis- tinction, and unquestionably a man of far more than ordinary ability, favored the extension of British authority over the Boers of the Transvaal ; and the friends of Sir Bartle Frere regarded the course of the British Government as a disastrous IN SOUTH AFRICA ITS blunder, calculated to damage the interests of the Empire in that quarter of the world ; while the friends of Mr. Gladstone have maintained that his course was flilly justified under the circumstances. Lord Randolph Churchill, who was opposed to the policy of Mr. Gladstone at the time it was adopted, says, after having visited the country personally : ^' The surrender of the Transvaal and the peace concluded by Mr. Gladstone with the victors of Miyuba Hill were at the time, and still are, the object of sharp criticism and bitter denunciation from many politicians at home. Quorum pars parvi fui. Better and more Situation Lord Ran- dolph ChUrChiirS . . r *• u- J -i-u t a Vewofthe P*"®*"**® information, combined with cool reflec- tion, leads me to the conclusion that had the British Government of that day taken advantage of itri Htroii^ military position and annihilated, as it could faHily have done, the Boer forces, it would have gained the Transvaal, but it might have lost Cape Colony. The Dutch settlement in the Colony has been so exasperated by what it considered to be the unjust, faithless and arbitrary policy pursued towards the free Dutchmen of the Transvaal by Sir Bartle Frere, Sir Theophilus Shepstone and Sir Owen Lanyon, that the final triumph of the British, mainly by brute force, would have permanently and hopelessly alienated it from Great Britain. Parliamentary government in a colony, where the Dutch control the Parliament, would have become impossible, and without parliamentary government Cape Colony would be ungovernable. The actual magnani- mity of the peace that the Boers concluded with Mr. Glad- stone's ministry, after two humiliating military reverses, suffered by the arms under their control, became apparent, and to the just and sensible minds of the Dutch Cape Colonists, atoned for much of past grievances, and demon- strated the total absence in the English mind of any feeling of hostility or any unfriendliness to the Dutch race. ' ' Recent experience shows, however, that the impression made upon the Boers of the Transvaal was one which, among f 176 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ! i a people so ill-informed, was well calculated to give them a totally falHe impresiiion of their [>(>wer and importance, and those conoesHions which the English Government made in the conventions of 1881 and 1884, have left upon their minds the notion that they were themselves the paramount authority in South AfVica, and that they were not only entitled to govern the Transvaal, in any way they might feel inclined, but that it was only a question of a few years till they should be able to extend their authority over the wh ole of Houth Africa. It is well nigh impossible for one not a close student of their history, to understand the politioAl ideas which were para- mount in their minds, and which led them to adopt so hostile a course towards the residents of British origin. Almost everything they have done shows how ready they are to exercise dominion over others, and how reluctant they are to submit themselves to the most i^eceseary restraints of govern- ment. Their inability to control their own people led to the Zulu war, and had it not been that the English took over their country, would have led undoubtedly to their extermination. Even when Mr. Burgers, their President, admitted the total failure of the Oovernment which they had set up, and its utter inability to keep its engagements, or to control its border population, a portion of whom still protested against handing over the Government to Her Majesty. Mr. Burgers stated in the Volksraad '^ As long as I am bound by my oath, and the people are indeed with me, I shall do what I can for our liberty. But if they want independence without fulfilling their duty as burghers, and obedience to law and order, then we must say good-bye to our liberty." (February 16th, 1877.) A few days later he said : — " Public meetings had been held in the presence of the members of the Volksraad where it had been unanimously resolved not to pay the taxes. How could the officials carry out the law in the face of such proceedings ? ' ' Hod he to add civil war to all our present misery? "Owing to the request of old and experienced w !t '1 IN SOUTH AFRICA 177 6tb, burghers he hod orderehe ordinary rights of citizenship in the country of his adoption.* •By the Franchise Law of 1876 one year's residence in the Republic, or the possession of landed property, was sufficient to entitle the alien settler to full burgher privileges. This law remained in force until i88a. In that year the Volksraad provided that an alien could be naturalized, and have conferred upon htm burgher rights after five years' residence, which was to be proved by the Field Cornet's book of registration. As in many cases there was no proper registration, it was always open to deny burgher rights to thjsc whose residence had not been recorded. In 1890, a Second Chamber, or Volksraad was created. The law creating this Second Chamber made many important changes in the right to exercise the electoral franchise. It declared who should vote for members of the First Chamber, and who for members of the Second. It provided that the members of the First Chamber or Volksraad, should be elected by those burghers who possessed the right of voting before the law of 1890 came into operation, or who were natural born citizens of the Republic, and had attained the age ot sixteen years. It pro- vided that those who were naturalized and enfranchised after the new law came into operation should not vote for members of the First Volksraad until they had been entitled for ten years to ^--ote for the Second Volksraad. In order to possess the franchise, or in order to be eligible for election to the Second Volksraad, a naturalized citizen must be thirty years of age, a member of the Protestant Church, a resident and a landholder in the Republic, and have been naturalized for a period of not less than two years. Under this amended law full electoral privileges could only be acquired by a naturalized citizen after a residence of fourteen years in the Republic, and having the possession of the other qualifi- cations named. In 1891, and again in 189a, there was further legislation in respect to the franchise. In 1893, additional restrictions were imposed, and in 1894, a new fran- chise ar*- was adopted. It provided that all persons born in the Republic, or who Ihau acquired a domicile there before May, 1876, are entitled to full burgher rights. Those who settled in the country since then may become naturalized after fTf- I ;■ 184 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA i ; I He may vote for a member of a second Chamber, a Chamber which has little power given to it, but the first Chamber, the one that really controls and directs the affairs of government, he has no voice in at all, even though he is naturalized. He is not permitted to vote for an election of its members. If under the present constitution every Uitlander became a citizen the Government would still be in the hands of the Dutch Boers, and this would hold equally good if the population of English origin became a million, and the Dutch population sank to 10,000. It is indeed a most extraordinary thing that men of British origin, men of American birth, trained in the principles of self-government, used to the exercise of popular authority, should, in a country where they have had for several years a decided majority, submit to such tyranny and oppression as that which the Boers of the Transvaal have practised upon them. Once reform in the domestic constitution of the Transvaal is effected, the first substantial step will have been taken towards the federation of South Africa. That The Future country is one which admits, under existing cir- Of South cumstances, of very rapid growth, both in popula- Africa tion and in wealth. It is one where the English race may indefinitely extend its authority. The Government of the Transvaal has been for years in the hands of men who have been the persistent foes of all modem prog- ress. Lord Randolph Churchill has drawn a very dark pic- ture of the Boers ; and while they continue a dominant population it is doubtful whether that picture is overdrawn. two years' residence, subsequent to their names being registered in the Field Cornet's books. The naturalization confers the privileges of voting for local officials, Field Cornets, landdrosts, and for members of the Second Raad. The children, though born in the Republic, take the status of their fathers. A naturalized dtizen, four years after his registration, is eligible for election to the Second Volksraad, Ten years later, he may obtain full burgher rights upon condition that the majority of 'uurghers in his district will signify in writing their desire that he should obtain them, and, further, after the President and Executive see no objection tc granting full burgher rights to him. IN SOUTH AFRICA 185 He says that ''the day of their authority in the Transvaal, as in every other part of South Africa, is numbered ; and they will pass away unhonored and unlamented, and scarcely even remembered except by the natives. They have had given to them great possessions and great opportunities. They will be for a time remembered on account of their cruelties to- wards, and their tyranny over, the native races. Their fierce fanaticism, their ignorance, their selfishness, will be handed down by tradition to posterity. They have had one of the finest countries in the world, and one of the greatest oppor- tunities ever offered to a people, but they have failed to confer a single benefit upon a single human being, not even upon themselves ; and upon the pages of African history they will leave a shadow, but only a shadow, of a dark reputation and an evil name." The British Empire has for a long time been in practice, under the conventions of the Constitution, a confederation, the local and domestic concerns of which have been in the exclusive possession of the local Governments ; but the Impe- rial Parliament has never admitted that the local jurisdiction is exclusive of its own authority. It maintains that it pos- sesses a paramount jurisdiction, which, whenever exercised, supersedes, even in local matters, the authority of the Provin- cial Legislatures. This claim is recognized without question in every court of justice throughout the Empire. This paramount authority can, under the modem conventions of the Constitu- tion only, be rightfully employed for reasons sufficiently strong to commend themselves to the judgment of those who are alike jealous of their personal rights and their constitu- tional liberties. It is impossible to acquire even a superficial knowledge of the history of South Africa, without seeing that the Imperial Parliament and Government in the Transvaal and ill the Orange Free State, have, in a large measure, abandoned this paramount jurisdiction over domestic concerns. Unfortu- nately, the experiment has not been satisfactory. One of the difficulties which every Secretary of State for the Colonies Tin- 186 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ^Rf i H '*ii has again and again experienced, in dealing with South African problems, has been, that the public sentiment of the United Kingdom, on a number of South African domestic questions, has oveinddon the judgment of the Colonial Secre- tary, and compelled the Imperial Government to shape its policy in accordance with English sentiment rather than in conformity with the local circumstances. The authorities in South Africa, on account of this pressure for interference, have never been able, themselves, to draw clearly the line which separates matters which are in their nature local, from those which are Imperial. Over the whole field of Govern- ment the Dutch statesmen of Cape Colony have more than once sought jurisdiction where they were unwilling to bear those burdens which were inseparable from it. They have never cheerfully admitted of interference on the part of the Colonial Office, even when the burden, as well as the responsi- bility, devolved upon Imperial authority. There can be no doubt that the sentimental ignorance which has, at times, exercised a potent influence with British statesmen, has sorely tried the patience of those upon the ground who were better informed. But the present state of affairs in South Africa may do much to clear the atmosphere, and to settle, with greater distinctness, the boundary which separates that class of questions which may be safely entrusted to local authority from those of Imperial concern. In every part of South Africa, although the days of Boer ascendency be numbered, yet the character which the Boer has exhibited — his habit of mind, his religious faith, his ob- stinacy, his selfishness, his treachery, his courage, his tenacity of purpose, will long remain important elements in South African character. These mental characteristics are too strong and too deep, not to create in that portion of the Em- pire, a distinct type of man ; and although the English popula- tion may increase, and although the Dutch population may be wholly absorbed, and the people become one people, yet the Boer, not on account of what he has done, but by reason I IN SOUTH AFRICA 187 uass sou of what he is, is destined to exercise no unimportant influ- ence upon the future course of South African history. There have been, no doubt, very serious blunders con- nected with the government of South Africa. The Colonial Secretary on one occasion, to avoid the cost of protecting the Bechuanas, and, on another occasion, the expense of giving peace and order to Zululand by annexing it to British dominions, suffered the Bechuanas to be overrun by the Boers, and Zululand to be first torn by civil war, and then, in part, annexed to the Transvaal. ' f So far as the Boers of the Transvaal are concerned, gener- ous treatment has not induced them to act either in a friendly or fair spirit towards the English. They have never observed either the letter or the spirit of any of their treaty engage- ments. Though born British subjects, they have treated those of English birth and lineage as though they belonged to some inferior race. The extreme liberality with which they have been treated leads them to look upon men of English descent as a class who will not resent an affront, and who may, without danger, be subjected to unjust treat- ment, and held in a condition of marked political inferiority, and they regard the neighborhood of the Germans as a security, to them, against the possibility of English absorp- tion. The annexation of the western coast, from the Portuguese frontier to the Orange river, and the German possessions on the east at Zanzibar, have led the Boers to the conclusion, that Germany will put forward whatever effort it can, to hinder, delay, and defeat the extension of English authority in South Africa. Both have been arrogant and offensive, and have acted towards the United Kingdom as though it were a second-rate power. The flying squadron taught Germany moderation, but the Boers must learn in another way. When the Cape Parliament, a few years ago, annexed the whole western coast, except Angra Pequina northward, as far as the Portuguese frontier, the German Government took exception, and Prince Bismarck declared M^ 188 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ' tf^ ' : * ■ ^1 J. ■I that " no opposition is apprehended fh)m the British Qovem- ment, and the machinations of colonial authorities must be prevented." The Germans seemed to think that the occupation of Egypt, and the establishment of British ports on the Red Sea, have made the route through the Mediterranean the military as well as the commercial route to India ; and that the more the English endeavor to make the shorter rout« a secure one, the more certain does it become that they would, without a struggle, abandon South AfVica to the Dutch Boers and the Afrikanders, prior to German absorption. This is certainly a mistaken opinion. The Cape, from a militarj' point of view, is of vital importance to the integrity of the Empire. It does not require the naval supremacy of France or of ^^POViAnae Ruggia in the Mediterranean, to make the Red Sea route an impracticable one for the commerce of the Caps to Enirland °^ *'^® East, in case the United Kingdom were at war with either of those great states. The occupation of the Cape is essential to the continued sove- reignty of the United Kingdom, over India and the Australas- ian dependencies. South Africa, therefore, from a military point of view, is of paramount importance ; nor can the Cape be held, without continued sovereignty over the country in the rear. New Zealand and the Australian colonies could be much more readily given up without great peril, than South Africa. Their loss would, no doubt, weaken the Empire, and diminish its prestige ; but the Empire might be moderately strong without them. But this cannot be said in reference to South Africa. England might be ready to abandon any other colony if its people ardently desired to escape from the Queen's dominion, and to set up a petty sovereign government on their own account ; but Cape Town and the country from which it draws its supplies, are differ- ently situated. Cape Town is a military station which is of consequence, not merely to Cape Colony, but to immense IN SOUTH AFRICA 189 British posseosions, and enormous British interests, in every direction. Without the country stretching away into the interior. Cape Colony cannot be retained ; and so South AfHca is, of necessity, vital to the maintenance of the integrity of the Empire. It has so often been said, of late, that 'jtie British are isolated, that they are without an ally in the world ; that many British people have been led to believe that their own Qovernment has been doing a great wrong to all the rest of mankind, and that the United Kingdom, like Macaulay's She Bear, has, all over the world, been growling '' midst bones and blood." Is this so ? England has to cope with the ambitious, may I not truth- fully say, the preposterous pretensions of the United States, known as the Monroe doctrine, on this continent ; with the pretensions of Russia and France in Asia, and with those of France and Germany in Africa. I should like very much to examine, and to bring critically before the reader the diplo- matic correspondence on controversial matters for the past thirty years, between the Qovernment of the United Kingdom and that of each of these countries. I am sure that neither the moderation nor the justice of the British Government would suffer by a careful study and an impartial investigation of that kind. But let me again revert to the English position in Africa. It is one of great moment to the Empire. About one-half of the entire trade of that continent is in her hands. About one-fourth of it only is in the possession of France. England, at the present time, holds the upper regions of the Nile as her own territory. Her conquest of the Soudan, and the repudiation by the rest of Europe of all interest in it, on behalf of Egypt, when payment had to be made, will greatly enlarge, if she is so disposed, the dominions which she may rightfully claim as her own, from Suakim on the Red Sea, westward nearly to Lake Tchad. She holds the valley of the Lower and Middle Niger, and the whole country eastward to Lake Tchad. She is in possession of the Upper Zambesi 190 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA i< ' and the tablelandH northward to the boundarioH of the Congo Free Htiite. Hor dominions, north of the German sphere of influence, extend from the shore of the Indian Ocean, west- ward across the Upper Nile, and northward to the Soudan. Germany has yielded her hinterland to France, to tempt France into taking the English hinterland to the westward of the Nile, and so connect her own African possessions by separating those of the United Kingdom. If the finest regions upon that continent have fallen to the lot of England, it is because her explorers, her merchants, and her miners have gone in twenty-fold greater numbers into those regions than the inhabitants of any other European state. Her people have invested many-fold more capital than all the rest of Europe put together ; and she has placed no impediment in the way of any other people, either as miners or traders, within her territories. She has spent many millions of pounds to acquire and uphold her dominions there. On no other continent, should good fortune attend her ent-f rprises — are her prospects brighter than in Africa. She has undertaken to solve many most difficult problems, at an enormous cost ; these problems impose upon her great labor, and they have been undertaken, not without peril, and if she should hereafter reap an abundant harvest, she will have wronged no one — ^no other state — in doing so. She has cultivated the soil, she has provided the seed, and the harvest rightfully belongs to her. There the blood of her people has been shed, there their money has been spent — do these give no title to a country that, until she came, there was no man to till ; a country that produced thorns and briers, and which she is now making to produce bread ? She has a most difficult problem to deal with in South Africa, and its complexity has been increased by the recognition of two independent states, which have been formed by her own Dutch subjects. Had there been more vigor and decision exhibited, the solution would have been arrived at years ago ; but the independence of these States has greatly increased the difficulty of solving the South AfHcan problem ; HI': m IN SOUTH AFRICA 101 they have neutmliztHl her energies, niid have given hope to her rivals. The Boers, who have gone beyond her borders, have been treated with more t*'an ordinary liberality, and they have long exhibited, especially in the Transvaal, a most ui\)ust, illiberal, and unfriendly spirit, which has culminated in war, and which, it is to be hoped will end in their conquest. There has been a good deal of fVietion at the Cape itself owing to the nonprogressive character of the rural Dutch population. They have never felt the touch of The Unpro- those impulses which belong to this restless and Srressive inventive age, nor any pride in the great Empire Dutch of which they are a part. Their opinions and their habits, are those of their Dutch ancestors, not those of the Hollanders of to-day. Although the Dutch had been in possession of South Africa for a period of a hundred and fifty years, when it came into the possession of the English there were but ten thousand white people in the whole colony ; they were under the monopoly of a trading company, without any aid from their own Government, and they were scattered over a very large area for so small a number of inhabitants. In no colony of the Empire has the Imperial Government incurred anything like the same ex- pense for the defence of its inhabitants. Immense sums of money have been invested by English capitalists, for rail- ways and in mining operations ; and these investments, together with the population which they have attracted, have enormously increased both the material and moral claim of Englishmen in South Africa. The Dutch race are not likely to remain wholly indifferent to the new impulses which can- not but exercise a very great and wholesome influence over them. Already those of them that are being drawn into trade and into mining operations, are taking a larger view of their political relations than the one which their ancestors brought with them from Holland. The governing clique in the Transvaal have, for the most part, sent to Holland for the I ! f'T : ;1 1 .■ \ 192 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA !'* i I i } ■ i ); y* clerical help they required in the conduct of public affairs. They have no educated class amongst them, and they have shown a distrust of their fellow countrymen in the Cape, which has certainly not strengthened their hold upon the Dutch of that colony, nor upon those of Natal. There exist in South Africa, within the British possessions, two organizations which are supposed to represent two types of political aspiration, the Afrikander Bond, and The Afri- the Empire League. The Afrikander Bond is an Kanaer institution of Dutch origin, creating a Dutch national feeling, and educating public opinion in , favor of the establishment of a Dutch Republic. At first, it was a league among the Dutch fanners, intended to awaken them into looking after their own interests. The process of awakening was accomplished, but the intellectual activity that had been aroused was not always wisely directed, and it not infrequently embarrassed the Government in respect to its financial policy. Under Gov- ernor Frere among other taxes imposed to meet the expense of the native war, was a brandy tax, which the Dutch of the western districts, where vine growing most largely prevailed, were persuaded, fell upon them, and not upon the consumer, and was denounced as a tax imposed to place the burdens of the war upon the Dutch population, and they at once main- tained the necessity for native maragement to protect them- selves against such injustice. Everything else, for a time, was forgotten. Upon full discussion the more intelligent amongst them were persuaded that the grievance was an imaginary one, but it had served the purpose of awakening Dutch national feeling in Cape Colony. In no part of South Africa is the nationality cry more diligently adhered to than in the villages of the western part of the province. In the Patriot, the organ of the Afrikanders, no argument is neglected, no suspicion is allowed to sleep that can awaken a feeling of hostility to Bvitish connection. At the time that the Transvaal rising of 1880 took place, the cry was every- IN SOUTH AFRICA 193 where heard, from the Zambesi river to Cape Town, that Africa must be liehl for the Afrikanders. That the British Government had defended the country, that the British people had protected its popuhxtion, and had invested their capital, and had developed its resources, did not weigh for a moment with these people. In their interest; Lord Carnarvon had sent thither Mr. Froude, the historian, to promote federation. Mr. Froude proclaimed not only federation, but he talked of it as a step towards independence, to which the British Gov- ernment did not object — a statement wholly unauthorized, wiio'ily unfounded. Mr. Froude was as indiscreet an agent as could well have beep employed, and every Englishman knows that if South Africa were an independent Republic at the present time, its ports would be seized by the first European stato of maritime strength with which England hereafter, might be at war. Indeed, were South Africa made independ- ent, the Britisli Government itself might find the re-occupa- tion of the Cape absolutely necessary to keep open her way both to India and to the Australian colonies. The hope of the Dutch Afrikander to root out the English language from the Cape Parliament and from the Cape schools, is not becoming more bright. The declaration that, iit no distant tlay, they would be able to make the English ptople of South Africa — as they made the French Huguenots — Dutchmen, is certainly not on the point of being realized. During the former cuufiict with the Transvaal these Cape men advised those of their own race, to transact no business, and have no intercourse, with those of English origin. They aimed at crippling English trade by refusing to consume English goods ; but with thirty-thousand Englishmen every year finding their way into South Africa, the Dutch Afrikander has marked out for himself a task, which as he has no doubt already discovered, is beyond his power to accomplish. Before 1880, no Afrikander vote was heard of. The con- cessions made to the Orange Free State and to the South H -.iiS i^ll !■' J-J '^rj '•:'■' ■ i t'! 1 M 1 1 ■ ! I 1 . I 1 i ^ J 1 I! ■i > 194 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA African Republic, awakened expectations, strengthened pre- judices, and turned the heads of a majority of those of Dutch origin. To-day his hope lies in the union of the Free State and the Transvaal. Should they unite, tlie Dutch hoped to destroy the South African Company, and to overrun and appropriate the British territory which lies between their western borders and those of Germany upon the western coast, and to make Soutb Africa a mediaeval State. But the large Bntish immigration into the gold fields and into the diamond district, has had a depressing effect upon the ambitious aspirations, the narrow patriotism, and delusive dreams of somft of those of the Dutch race. Already the Dutch in the Transvaal are overwhelmingly outnumbered. Niue- tenchs of the wealth belongs to the Uitlauden The commerce of the country, and the capital in mining operations, are theirs. Kruger and his supporters have endeavored, by restrictive amendments to their constitution, and by repres- sive legislation, to retain the control of the Government. They hoped by disarming the Uitlanders, by arming the Dutch, by i)olitical disabilities, by military burdens, by the friendship of Germany, and by its active support, to perpetuate the outrageous condition of things which they have established ; but the dissolving influence of an increasing number of Eng- lishmen is felt, and must yearly increase in power. And the friends of English authority, may, at no distant day, see a British l\}deration in South Africa, enlightened, strong, loyal and prosperous, not unlike that British federation which exists here, and to this end the Empire League labors. The Eng- lish in South Africa have been in a marked degree the upholders of justice, tempered with mercy and patience, and the protectors of the native races against oppressive and unjust treatment. The hostility and the contempt of the Dutch for the natives is deep rooted indeed. They fiercely resented the abolition of slavery ; and every attempt to civilize the Kaffir and to encourage him to become a pro- prietor of the soil and a cultivator on his own account, they have resisted. IN SOUTH AFRICA 195 I have sat for more than thirty years in the Parliament of this country, and I have been impressed with two truths which I desire to emphasize here, the first is that the service of the Crown is entirely consistent with the service of the people ; and the second is, the highest prosperity of every part of this great Empire can only be reached by the main- tenance of its integrity ; I trust, then, for ages to come, the character and features of the mother will be found in each of her numerous progeny. The old courage, the old patience, the old constancy, the old faith in the right, the old determi- nation to hold all we have ; and, as a great family among the races of men, to remain united, having in our international relations " one life, one flag, one fleet, one throne," to all of which we are devoted, and for which we are ready to make whatever sacrifices may be necessary to uphold them, and make them now and always the emblems of freedom and justice among men. !■: •■tM *? f '^'i« '"*S »*1 *■; i'--' . • , >\ ' m' WTTTTT" CHAPTER VIII. THE TRANSVAAL PRESIDENT AND HIS POLICY Treatment of natives by the Bo>i:bs — Enquiry by the British Government — The Transvaal Proclaimed AN Independent Republic — Kruqer visits England — A Commission Appointed — Convention of 1 SSI- Lord Kimberley on the Situation — Lord Cairns' View — Discovery of the Gold Fields. u M h I I I HAVE already discussed, in a general way, the position of the Boers of the Transvaal. I may point out with a little more definiteness the position which they occupy towards those of the British race. The local independence of tlie Boers of the Transvaal was first recognized by the British authorities in the Sand River Convention of 1852. For many years thereafter they came very little in contact with the British authorities in South Africa. They were scattered over a very large area of country. They were divided amongst themselves by internal feuds, and the organization which they found necessary to enable them to resist the attacks of the Kaffir tribes went to pieces when danger no longer threatened them ; and so with them predatory raids took the place of former warlike expeditions. They treated the natives, in many cases, with great cruelty. In some instances they wantonly killed them, and in others they reduced them to the condition of slaves, whom they carted through the country to sell to anyone who was willing to purchase them. For some time after their settlement in the Transvaal country there were IN THE TRANSVAAL 197 practically four separate districts,* each of which had a species of government of its own, and no one of them recog- nized the supremacy of another, nor had they a common head. For a time they were engaged in a civil war, and it was not until 1864 that all four communities united undfer a common government. I have already pointed out their great dislike to the restraints of law, and the consequence was a state of disorder which invited successful retaliation from the Mata- beles and the Zulus, whom they had wronged. There was an inclination amongst the more industrious and better informed among them to come under English rule, and when Sir Theophilus Shepstone visited the country that rule was set up, seemingly with their acquiescence, or their consent, with the hope of putting an end to the disorders that existed, and of securing to the population a more orderly government and more permanent institutions than they had hitherto known. Sir Henry Barkly, the Governor of the Cape, in a despatch written to the Earl of Carnarvon, in October, 1876, points out tlie great difficulty in obtaining the taxes, and how persons were employed for the purpose of collecting them. It was clear that the parties appointed to collect the taxes did not always pay much regard to the law, and were quite ready, by an armed force, to coerce the miners into making exorbitant payments, and large numbers of the Boers, in order to obtain greater security for life and property, declared themselves in favor of confederation, and of asking British intervention to terminate the dispute with Secococui ; and it was found that in some districts the vast majority of the people had signed petitions asking to be brought under British authority. The truth is that at that time, a government could be scarcely said to exist in the whole Transvaal country. The population was in a state of anarchy, and lawlessness everywhere * At first the Transvaal consisted of four states, Potchefstroom, Zuutpans- bcr^r, Lydensbury and Utrecht. Tlie first two united in i860. A "ivil war broke out in i86a, and in 1864 all the factions united under Pretorius, (he manager. ;s* u ■ill - u il £ ]7m^ 198 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA |-^ w\ liilr '"4 1 ^ t ■ Hi' 'if The Slave Trade prevailed.* By the Saud River Convention, the Boers bound themselves not to countenance slavery ; but, so far from observing the terms of the convention, they, not infrequently, fell upon the kraals of the natives, seizing the cattle as well an the women and children, whom they reduced to the condition of slaves, or offered them for sale, as such, to others. No small tribe of the natives was at all secure from inroads of this kind. Wagon loads of them were conveyed from one end of the country to the other, to be sold to whoever was ready to purchase them, and girls were sometimes sold for ten shillings each. The Earl of Carnarvon, in writing upon this subject to the Governor-General, in January, 1877, says: — "Her Majesty's Government, after having given full consideration to all the informa- tion obtainable on the subject, and with every desire to view matters in the most favorable light, deeply regret that they are forced to come to the conclusion that the barbarities alleged to have been committed, though denied by the Transvaal Government, have, in fact, occurred." It is as clear as noonday that the Government of the Transvaal was powerless to control either its white citizens or. its native subjects, and that it was incapable of enforcing its laws, or of collecting its taxes, or of fulfilling its obligations to its neighbors ; that its treasury was empty, the salaries of its officials were unpaid, and its postal contracts were overdue ; that the white inhabitants were divided into factions, and were in danger of being exterminated by Secocoeni and Cetewavo. Governor Barkly compares the condition of the Transvaal to that which prevails in Turkey. *hb ■ ^-r. . ^rd, 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone wrote Sir Bartle Frere :— ■ >; \ '*•• ft. ,. ',ho had been all alon^, as tar as his conversation and profession to ■,. . . 'uU accord with me, had suddenly taken alarm; he made impi>ssiblc proposals, nli oi which involved infinite delay, and, of course, dangerous agitation. As far as I am concerned it is impossible for me to retreat now, come what may. If I were to leave the country civil war would at once take place, as the nativi-K would consider it the sunshine in which they should make hay in the Transvaal; the gold fields .ire in a state of rebellion against the Transv.ial Government, and they are kept from overt acts only by my warnings and entreaties." IN THE TRANSVAAL 199 He poiutH out that both countries are centuries l)eliin(l the civilization ol' tlieir day. Both are oj)i)ose(l to the policy and the sentiments of all Christian states or nations ; both have an absurd idea of their own superiority over others, which induces them to resist all change, initil it is forced upon them from without. The lioers regard themselves as the ele:t of Heaven ; under divine protection ; and therefore are not obliged to pay much regard to the wishes of other States, or to the discharge, in any reasonable way, of the duties that, by the usages of nations, devolve upon them. They are, therefore, equally oblivious to advice and to remonstrance, and there are few things recorded of any peo[.)e tluit give a more unfavorable view than the story of the treachery exhibited by Kruger, in calling out the Boers who were in sympathy with him to resist British authority. The British Government had, by the defeat of Cetewayo, saved the Boers of the Transvaal from extermination. The dangers from which they had just escaped were understood, and had a sobering etlect on many, but to the mind of Kruger, it was a Divine interposition on behalf of a chosen people ; and so he did not feel under any obligation to the British Government for the service which had been performed — they were but an instrument in the unseen hand of Him who had come down to deliver His chosen people. There is reason to believe, that, had the Government acted promptly in granting a representative assembly to the people of the Transvaal, as Sir Theophilus Shepstone had promised, the entire population would have acquiesced in the annexation, and Kruger would have been left without a following among his own people.* But the Colonial Office, instead of acting * Frere, in writing to Lord Carn.-irvon, says:- "I think Shepstone is quite wise in dticiding not to summon a Volksraad, nor to take any step which could tj mistaken for a recognition of its poNsessiiig any of its old sovereign powers ; but I think it will be necessary ti> hear the burgiiers, and all other men of property, as to their future form of government ; and no Ix'ter opportunity of doing this is likely to offer than the occasion when they may be summoned to hear that the Queen has confirmed the Act of Annexation and intends henceforward to govern the Transvaal." f Pl^^^ 200 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ! i i::! w promptly, delayed any attempt to establish popular govern- ment in the Transvaal, being preoccupied with the problem of South African Confederation, which it hoped to bring about at the same time. A very bad imi)ression was made by calling into existence a legislative body, consisting of certain officials and a few members nominated by the Governor. It became easy to persuade many of the Boers, otherwise well disposed, that faith had been broken, and that they were no longer a free people, nor were they to possess free institutions. Sir Theophilus Shepstone, who was thoroughly conversant with the country, was popular with the people. He knew them, and they knew him ; but he was succeeded by Sir Owen Lanyon, a military man, totally unfit, as many military men are, to deal with a people who were not prepared to receive commands, and his government seemed wanting in every element upon which the government of a free people should rest. There was but little money in circulation in the country, the people supplied their wants mostly by barter, and it was not easy to dispose of their cattle for sufficient money to pay the taxes which had been imposed upon them. The irritation was all the greater because they were unrepresented in the body by Avhich the amount of these charges was determined. There was no longer danger from Secococni and Cetewayo, and so, on the 16th of December, a Triumvirate consisting of Pretorius, Kruger and Joubert, who had been elected by the disaffected Boers to lead a revolu- tionary movement, proclaimed the Transvaal an independent republic, for the defence of which there was a call to arms. There was a prompt The Transvaal Proclaimed an Inde- pendent Renublic response to this call on the part of the disaffected Boers. Hostilities were begun without delay. The treacherous slaughter of two companies of the 94th Regiment followed, and then came the defeats at Laing'sNek, Ingogo and MajuV)a Hill. Kruger proposed terms of peace after these victories had been achieved. It seems not to have IN THE TRANSVAAL 201 occurred to the British authorities that these terms were proposed, not from the point of view of a man who desired to avoid defeat, but of a victor offering tenns to the vanquished. Mr. Gladstone and his Government were greatly blamed for having entered into negotiations with Kruger, after the success of the Boers at Majuba Hill and Laing's Nek ; and it Ih not infrequently spoken of as a cowardly act. But I think this is an entirely mistaken view of the feeling by which the Government of that day was actuated. That subsequent events show that they erred may be true. It required a good deal more courage on the part of a Government at the head of a powerful state, to agree to terms of peace after its troops had sustained temporary defeats by the forces of a weak one, than to have refused such terms, and to have pushed on to victory. It is no doubt true that Mr. Gladstone and those associated with him, hoped, by these negotiations to convince the Boers of the Transvaal, that the English Government did not want, in any way, to tyrannize over them. All they desired was that a government capable of performing its duty to its neigh- bors should be established, which government should give e(iual rights, and equal protection, to all nationalities of white men, that might settle among them. It was undoubtedly the impression of the British Government, that, in the course which they adopted, they would succeed in preventing any feeling of resentment obtaining a foothold in the minds of the Dutch population on account of the hostilities which had taken place ; but Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues miscalculated the result. They did not appreciate the conceit and the igno- rance which prevailed in the minds of the Boers, and how certain it was that the conduct of the British Government to- wards them, would be misinterpreted, and misunderstood. The British Government, in the policy which they adopted, were casting pearls before the Boers. Had Sir Evelyn Wood's advice been taken, and had the country been subjugated, it would have been much easier to convince the Boers that the granting of local independence was, indeed, an act of ,11 I' li f 202 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA geuero«ity, after victory had been Hecured aii) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses, manufatitories, warehouses, shops and premises ; (c) they may carry oii tlieir commerce either in per- son or by any agents whom tliey may think fit to employ ; (d) they will not be subject, in respect to their persons or property, or in respect to their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed upon Transvaal citizens. Article 27 : — " All inhabitants of the Transvaal shall have free access to the Courts of Justice for the prosecution and defence of their rights." It will be seen from an examination of the Convention that there is nothing in its provisions that takes the Trans- vaal territory out of the dominions of Her Majesty. The inhabitants are given complete self-government, subject to Her Majesty's suzerainty, and subject to the reservations and limitations contained in the various articles of this Treaty ; but the Boer Government were not quite satisfied with some of the restrictions. The Volksraad were positively hostile to many of the terms of the Convention. Lord Sel borne wrote to his col- league. Lord Kimberley (10th October, 1881) "These Trans- vaal papers have lately caused me (as I suppose they must have caused you and every member of the Government), great uneasiness ; but I comfort myself by the tone of your own telegrams, from which I infer that, let the Volksraad do what they may, we shall stand to our ground, and not aban- don under Boer dictation, anything of importance in the terms of the Convention. If the renewal of the war should be IN THE TRANSVAAL 211 an unavoidable consequence of our adherence to those terms the moral responsibility would no longer be on our side ; and, unless the doctrine is to be laid down, that whoever, in any part of the world, threatens us with war or insurrections can in that matter have his own way, I think we mu8t, upon this occasion, show that we have not V^een acting, down to this point, under the influence of fear ; and that, having done what we hold to be right, we both can and will stand firm in maintaining it. I cannot imagine anything more dangerous, not in South Africa only, but in India and elsewhere, to those interests the protection of which, by a nation having a world- wide dominion over many races of men, is really a most im- perative obligation and duty, than to permit ourselves, when we have proposed terms amply sufficient to prove our hatred of any war not forced upon us, and our determination to be governed by justice in preference to false pride — and when such proposal has resulted in an agreement with the leaders of the Boers, in the war, with whom alone it was possible for us to deal ; to be driven from the points on which we insisted iu that agreement by any proceedings (be they what they may) of the Volksraad. I shall look upon the refusal of that body to ratify (if persisted in) simply as a determination either to deal with us as a defeated enemy, accepting that position, or to renew the war. If so, though yielding to no man in my hatred to war, I see no alternative but that the Volksraad must yield. " Lord Kimberley, in replying the following day, wrote, — "We have, as you justly say, to consider our position not only in South Africa, but all over the world. South Africa itself is treated with far too much indiflerence by many of our politicians. Everyone who has considered the question knows that the route to India by the Suez Canal and Egypt cannot be relied on in case of a great war. The Cape route will then be of enormous importance to us, and it is an entire delusion to imagine that we could hold Cape Town, abandon- ing the rest. If we allow our supremacy in South Africa to III i'^i ^ PTT I \ i - J ' 'I 212 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA :{i be taken from us, we shall be ousted before long from that country altogether." Public opinion was greatly divided at the time as to the course which the Government ought to have taken, and it has remained divided ever since. When the negotia- Lora tions were made a subject of discussion in the Kimberlev s VI rth ^®^^® of Lords, in 1881, Lord Kimberley pointed Situation ^"* *^*^ ^® ^^^ ^^^ blame their predecessors in office for tb*> course which they had taken in annexing the couutrr • that time had shown that the Boers did not acquien;*. ^ /he action that had been taken, and that a greater blunder was hardly ever committed, and he thought those by when '^hat i take had been made ought to exhibit greater consideration u)r their successors in endeav- oring to extricate the country from the difficult position in which they were placed. The truth was, that when the Gladstone Government came into office they were informed by Sir Owen Lanyon and Sir George Colley, who went through the whole country in August, 1880, that things were quieting down, and that all the difficulties would soon disap- pear. How much mistaken they were, in this opinion, was shown by the fact that a rebellion broke out shortly after. The difficulty which the Government felt, was, that by the Sand River Convention, the British Government had recog- nized, subject to the restrictions and limitations stated, the local independence of the Boers of the Transvaal ; and if it were really the case that the people never desired annexa- tion, it was a gross breach of faith to have annexed their country to the dominions of the Crown, and that was a matter which weighed greatly with the Government, in taking the course they adopted in 1881. Lord Chancellor Selborne, in replying to Lord Cairns upon the subject, says that the " Government which preceded us supposed that they had the consent of the great body of the people of the Transvaal to the annexation. It is a most difficult matter to judge whether they were, in this respect, misled by false information, IN THE TRANSVAAL 213 1 'A I: whether, under the difficulties aud embarrassments of that time, a majority of the people of the Transvaal were really inditferent, or for the moment favorable to the change. If the late Government had not believed this, I am quite per- suaded that nothing would have induced them to annex the country. And, I am further persuaded, that if they could have foreseen how utterly false and hollow the state of opin- ion was on which they had been led to rely, and that in so short a time an insurrection would take place, which could hold its ground, and beleaguer our garrisons, without so much even as a counter movement or demonstration in our favor from those who were supposed to be well affected to British rule, they never would have been willing to place the British Crown in so false a position. It is a position which it would not have been wise to assume, and which, it cannot be wise forcibly to retain. " . I am persuaded, after a full and carefiil consideration of all the sources of information available, that when the annexa- tion took place the majority of the people favored it. They were appalled by the dangers which surrounded them, and by the state of anarchy which existed, and these dangers overawed, for the moment, the revolutionary element amongst the population ; but when the native races were defeated, and danger from that source no longer threatened the population, Kruger, and the restless spirits associated with him, again came forward to incite the people to demand the restoration of their independence. This demand was strengthened by the fact that the representative Assembly, which had been promised, had been withheld, and taxes were imposed by a body, which, under the English constitutional system, can have no such power, except in a conquered country, or where such power is expressly bestowed by the Imperial Parliament. Lord Cairns, during the negotiations, brought forward the subject for consideration in the House of Lords, in one of the most able and most eloquent speeches which he ever made. He maintained that the country, having been made a portion !fl liff 214 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 ^T i /i| i ! of Her Majesty's dominiou, and having been dealt with as such, by Parliament, it was not in the power of the Crown, by the exercise of its perogative, to abandon the country. He said: ''I do not desire to raise any legal question at this moment, but wish to enter my protest against this straining and stretching of the prerogative of the Crown. We have heard a good deal of ^ate years in the way of charges against straining the prerogative of the Crown. Take care, lest you strain it as it has never been strained before. I want to know what right the Crown has to abandon territory ? It is a very difficult question about which a good deal could be said. I recollect what was done in the case of the Orange Free State. There was much doubt entertained as to how that State was to be given up ; and, in great doubt, the Secre- tary of State at the time, determined, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, to repeal Letters Patent by an Order-in-Council, and not to ask for an Act of Parliament. But in the case of the Orange Free State there had been no war, and the Imperial Parliament had never legislated upon the subject. In the case of the Transvaal, the subjects of the Queen were in rebellion, and the English Parliament had stepped in and had voted money, and legislated in a form which embraced the Transvaal. But, my Lords, do you recollect what was done 100 years ago in the case of the American States ? Did the Crown cede these States by its prerogative? Look back at the Statutes. You will find there an Act of Parliament which authorized the Crown to cede those States ; and until that Act was passed the Crown was not authorized to treat with the rebels and to cede that territory. ' ' It must not be forgotten that in this case, while the Crown, under the Convention, entered into and limited its authority and recognized for certain purposes, an independent executive, the Queen did not abandon her dominion over the country, nor has the Over-Lordship of the Crown ever ceased to exist. Yet the fact that men who had taken up arms against British 'NA IN THE TRANSVAAL 215 authority, bad ou one occasiou, at Madder Spruit, treaclier- ouHly attacked Col. Aihstruther, under the cover of a flag of truce, and had exterminated the little force of which he had command, had ou three subsequent occasions defeated small British forces at Laing's Nek, which is in the Province of Natal, at Ingogo, and Majuba Hill, were now being nego- tiated with, may have given the Boers the impression that they were dealing with the English as a subjugated enemy. There was no doubt, as Lord Selborne said, that a majority of the English people were anxious for peace, and were unwill- ing to exercise dominion over the Transvaal against the wishes of its people, but there was a large section whose views were reflected by those who insisted upon subjugating the enemy before opening negotiations with them. The opinions of these were well expressed by Lord Cairns, in the conclusion of the speech, to which I have already referred. T"6 He said : — "You have given a bitter cup to drink T i?? ^^ Englishmen abroad and Englishmen at home, and you have made the draught unduly and unnecessarily bitter. Surely some of the ingred- ients might have been spared. I wish you could have chosen for the conclusion of such a capitulation some other agent than one of the bravest, the most intrepid, the most promising generals in the service of the Queen. I wish you could have spared our troops the intense mortification of being paraded to see a half-civilized enemy marching off in triumph, with arms and accoutrements captured from British soldiers. I wish that, while still the Transvaal remains, as you say it does, under our control, the British flag had not been first reversed and then trailed, in insult, through the mud. I wish that the moment when you are weakening our Empire in the East, had not been selected for dismemberment of our Empire in South Africa. These are the aggravations of the transaction. You have used no pains to conceal what was humbling, and a shame that was real, you have also made burning. But the transaction, without the aggravations, is bad enough. It has Lord Cairns ;iis'j 1 "/I f - ; I i I i ) : <. I T I 216 THE ENGLISH] IN AFRICA i ■ already touelied, and will every day touch more deeply, the heart of the uatiou. Othc^r revernes we have had ; other disaHterH. But a reverse is not dishonor, and a disaster does not necessarily imply disgrace. To Her Majesty's Govern- ment we owe a sensation which to this country of ours is new, and which certainly is not agreeable. " In all the ills we ever bore ' We grieved, we sighed, we wept ; We never blushed before. ' " I- I I have already pointed out that under the Convention, as concluded, a large measure of authority remains to Her Majesty. It was not until 1884, during the period that Earl Derby, the brother of the present Earl, was Colonial Secretary, that further concessions were made, which, though still not placing the South African Republic wholly outside of Her Majesty's dominions, nevertheless greatly lessened her authority. This Convention of 1884, known as the London Convention, as that of 1881 was known as the Convention of Pretoria, is the basis of the existing relations. The chief changes which were made, as shown in the articles, I shall presently set out. No sooner had the Convention of Pretoria been negotiated than the Boers set themselves to work to get rid of the sovereignty of the Queen altogether, and this seems to have been the principle reason for entering into negotia- tions which led to the Convention of 1884. There is nothing however in that Convention which wholly deprives Her Majesty of her sovereignty. There is simply a diminution of the limitations and restrictions imposed by the Convention of 1881. The suzerainty of Her Majesty remains in every other respect intact. This will be seen from an examination of the preamble to the Convention of 1884, which declares that the Convention of 1881, "contains certain provisions which are inconvenient, and imposes burdens and obligations from which the said state is desirous to be relieved, etc. , ' ' now, therefore, IN THE TRANSVAAL 217 Her MajoHty has been pleased to direet, and it is hereby (h'elared that the following artielen of a new Convention, signed on behalf of Her Majesty etc., when ratified by the Volksraad of tlie South African Rei»ubli(^, be aubntHuted for the Articles embodied in the Convention of the .ird August^ 1881, which tatter, pending such ratification, shall continue in full force and effect. When we examine the terms of these two Conventions we cannot fail to observe that the Convention of 1881 still con- tinues in force, as ai^ended by the Convention of 1884, and so the suzerainty of Her Majesty over the Transvaal Republic continues to exist. • f ' But further, I may say that the liberties granted to the white inhabitants of the Transvaal, were liberties depending for their legal continuance upon the faithful observance of the terms of these Conventions. The British Government did not contract themselves out of the right to see that the terms of these stipulations were, both in letter and spirit, honestly adhered to. Article 3, which I have quoted, remains intact. Article 12 of the Convention of 1881 is superseded by Article 7 of the Convention of 1884, which provides **all persons J vf^^ who held property in the Transvmil on the 8th p . August, 1881, and still hold the same, will con- of 1881 tiuue to enjoy the rights of property which they have enjoyed since the 12th of April, 1887. No person who has remained loyal to Her Majesty during the late hostilities shall suffer any molestation by reason of his loyalty, or be liable to any criminal prosecutions or civil action for any part taken in connection with such hostilities ; and all such persons will have full liberty to reside in the cou. try, with enjoyment of all civil rights and protection for their persons and property. " Article 8, which reads as follows, is substituted for Article 16 : — " The South African Republic renews the declaration made in the Sand River Convention and in the Convention of Pretoria, 4 I 'I; % m m f^F 218 THE ENGLISH IN AFRK.^A that no slavery w apprenticeMhip partaking of slavery will he tolerated by the Oovernment of the said Republic.^ ^ Article 3 provides: — "If a BritiHli officer is appointed to reside at Pretoria, or elsewhere within the South African Republic, to discharge functions analogous to those of a Consular officer, he will receive the protection and assistance of the Republic." Article 14 is substituted for Article 26, and seems to differ from it only in the substitution of the name of " Houth African Republic " for that of " Transvaal State." Article 27, not having any corresponding article, continues in force. It will be seen, from a careftil examination of the Conven- tion of 1884, that the Boers did not succeed in securing that complete emancipation from the jurisdiction of the Crown at which, it is obvious, they aimed. They did not ask for the repeal of the whole of the Convention of 1881, but only that the said ' ' convention should be amended ' ' and this amend- ment which is what was undertaken by the Convention of 1884, and everything which is found in the Convention of 1881, not inconsistent with that of 1884, remains. This, I think, is clear, too, from the discussion which took place in the House of Lords at the time that that Convention was adopted. We learn that, when the Boer delegates were in London, they waited upon Lord Derby with a proposal to abolish the Queen's suzerain authority in the Transvaal State ; but, so far from Lord Derby having agreed to this proposition, he expressly refused to consider it, which shows very clearly that the British Government had no intention whatever of putting an end to that sovereignty which they claimed. And when it is remembered that the Convention of 1881 is not repealed, but amended ; that certain Articles found therein are to be replaced by the Articles of 1884, it would seem that a careful construction of the two instruments will show that the Con- vention of 1881 was still a subsisting Convention, modified and amended in so far as it was inconsistent with that of 1884 \'iM IN THE TBAN8VAAL 21» — that, in fact, the Articles of the Convention of 1884 are rvMi-eHHly (lechireii to be Hubntituted for the Arti(rle« in the ention of 1881 — not all the Articles, but those for which they were substituted. And when by Article 8 it is again agreed that no slavery, or apprenticeship partaking of slavery, will be tolerated by the Government of ilie Republic ; by Article 12, that the independence of the Swazis will be fully recognized ; and by Article 27 of the Convention of 1881 (which is not mentioned in the Convention of 1884) that all the inhabitants of the Transvaal shall have access to the Courts, the paramount power is within its rights when it insists upon the observance of these stipulations in the way contemplated by the Convention of 1881. No doubt the Boers hope ! that it would so far weaken the authority of Her Majesty and the »rintendeuco of the Imperial Government as to enable i to make the Transvaal an exclusively Dutch State — one in which the Dutch race would be dominant, and in which all others, regardless of their numbers, would be placed perman- ently in a i)08ition of political inferiority. Nor can it be doubted that the Boers of the Transvaal aimed to acquire this power, but I dissent from the view that, under these negotiations and conventions, they legally succeeded in accomplishing this result. The negotiations in 1881 were begun by a statement made by Kruger — the evil genius of the Transvaal Boer — and embraced in a protocol, that the two races, English and Boers, were upon a footing of equality, and this was the basis upon which the negotiations proceeded. The concession made by the Convention of 1881 was a measure of self-government, resting upon equality ; but they treated the concession as a trophy won by and for themselves alone, by the force of arms ; and they have assiduously labored since to defeat the terms of the compact, and to estab- lish a rule of race over race. From the outset they paid but little heed to the terms of the Convention, and disregarded the boundaries within which their authority was confined. An armed expedition under Sir Charles Warren, became ^1 / } ■«* 220 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA iMH .''■I 111 Diseovepy of the Gold Fields neceHsary, aud was sent against their marauders, to enforce obedience and to protect the natives from their depredations. Before the British capitalists began to work the Gold Drift, the Boers began once more to sink into their old condition of disorder. But the discoveries of the great gold fields in the vicinity of Johannesburg gave to the Transvaal State a new impulse. Large numbers of people rushed into the country. Had Kruger and his associates been equal to their opportuni- ties, the Transvaal might have been made the most prosper- ous section of South Africa ; but they were as greedy and as dishonest as Turkish Pashas. Instead of adopting a liberal commercial policy, which would have contributed to the further growth of the Republic in wealth, in population, and in enlightenment, they seized the opportunity offered to secure for themselves and their people a permanent ascend- ency over other Europeans, and to impose upon them, for all time to come, serious civil and political disabilities and oppressive burdens. What others saw clearly was, by greed, by race jealousy, and by the mad desire to have supremacy over others, hidden from their eyes. Step by step, the Boers legislated to establish their own ascendancy, and with the determination to preserve it, at all hazards, especially over those of British descent. They were already in the minority, and so, to maintain their ascendency, it became necessary to retain sole possession of public affairs. President Kruger has said they could not concede the rights of citizen- ship to those who refused to join with them in assuming its responsibilities. But this is not an honest statement, either of the position of the Boers or of the Uitlanders. The Boers were unwilling to place Uitlanders, especially those of British origin, upon a footing of equality ; and so, in order to become a citizen, they increased the period of residence from twoyeai-s, which it was at the time the Convention of 1881 was entered into, to five years, and ultimately to fourteen years. They did not regard this as sufficient protection to their politi- IN THE TRANSVAAL 221 cal ascendency, and so there were disabilities imposed upon naturalized citizens which had the eflTect of denying to them all the advantages of citizenship. Their legislation enabled Uitlandors to give up the advantages of being citizens of the country of their birth, without actually acquiring any rights in its place. The Boer of the Transvaal aspires to dominion, not only over his own country, but over all South Africa, and 80 the British were to be driven out by legislation that placed them, while they remained, in the position of an inferior race. They were to be Gibeonites among the chosen people. There was no choice for them but to effectually resist the Boer policy, or to sink into the degraded position which the Boers of the Transvaal had marked out as the one which those of British origin were to occupy now in the Transvaal, and hereafter in all South Africa. I shall briefly set out the hostile acts which, from time to time, have characterized Boer policy, until the British were left no choice between war and that condition of political inferiority which the Boers were resolved, that, at all hazards, they should occupy. 11 "■ ' i n ii .-J m mm CHAPTER IX. u, hi ll THE SOUTH AFRICAN UE?VBLlC—( Contiiiued) The Kaffirs ; English compared with Boer treat- ment — The Hollanders in office — The dynamite QUESTION — Declaration of the Commission — Corres- pondence WITH the Colonial Office — Franchise of the Uitlanders. The policy of both South African Republics has, almost from the beginning, been one by which they hoped ultimately to exclude English authority from that part of the continent altogether. On many occasions the Presidents of the Trans- vaal and of the Orange Free State have expressed the hope, that at an early day, a Federal Republic would be established in South Africa.* Sometimes they have expressed the hope that South Africa would be united ; but whenever it has been suggested that that union should be under the sovereignty of the Queen, they have not hesitated to express their dissent. Since 1884, both governments have steadily looked forward to a wider measure of sovereignty than that which pertained to them under their arrangements with Great Britain. Year by year the feeling of hostility to Englishmen has grown stronger. Year by year the determination to secure an uncontested ascendency as a * "The President spoke at a public dinner last night talking with vague enthusiasm about a united South Africa. I asked him what the flag was to be. He hesitated, but I saw what he meant. I told him a South African flng would float over Cape Town Castle and Simon's Bay when South Africa was strong enough to drive us out, but neither he nor I would live to see it."- Froude's /Leaves from a South Airican Journal. IN THE TRANSVAAL 223 race has become more marked, and anyone who has followed the growth of political opinion in South Africa could not have failed to observe that the Boer of to-day has no intention to rest content with equality. South Africa must, at all hazard, be made Dutch. The English language must be stamped out, Dutch must be the language of the State, and the Afrikanders of to-day must do with the English, what their forefathers did with the Huguenots. One would expect to find a race of men so circumstanced, appalled with the formidable task to which they have set themselves. The advantage is on the side of those whom they hope to crush. Superior knowledge, superior enterprise, and greater wealth. Beyond the mere desire to be dominant, as the Khalifa of Omdurman was dominant over those WMom he held in chains, the Boer has no aims or a.spirtitions. The Boer may think himself a member of a community distinct from the Kaffir, though within the same country, and in tliis he is right ; but he also thinks his superiority gives him a right to govern the Kaffir absolutely, and solely with reference to his own advantage. The Kaffir has no rights which he is bound to respect. He does not hope to make slaves of the English, but if they remain in the Trans- vaal, he hopes in time to make them Boers. The Boers hope to make them forget the language of England and to learn that of the Transvaal. Until then, they may enjoy the privilege of Gibeonites. They maj' bear the financial burdens of the state, but they must not hope to bear any part in the direction of its affairs. The English, like the Boers, for the present at least, recognize the Kaffirs in the country as a distinct community, but they regard themselves as trustees and not masters of the dark race, on whose behalf and for whose benefit they are to use their superior knowledge to raise them to ^ higher plane, and to make them capable of a better social state than the one in which they now are. They have treated the Boers as equals, and all Europeans as capable of being constituted The Kaffirs l! jm ih^W" 224 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA into one community, and as standing on a footing of equality before the law. It is doubtful whether there is another instance in history where any other subjugated people have assumed so arrogant a tone towards those who were their conquerors. In the Transvaal, at the breaking out of the war, the Boers were not more than one-third of the white population. With a fair electoral system they would have been in a hopeless minority. Their system of Government would have been brushed away, and the direction of affairs would have been in other hands. They were armed themselves ; they disarmed others. They imposed tremendous burdens upon the majority in order to collect arms and munitions of war to perpetuate their political supremacy, and to maintain these political advantages, of which, by fraud and bad faith, they have become possessed. That is not peace ; it is conquest. It is supremacy by treach- ery and by force of arms, maintained by the tribute imposed upon the disfranchised. It is preposterous to call such a gov- ernment a republic ; it is a tyrannical oligarchy. What have they done ? They have sought to exclude Englishmen from any share in the Government, and as the numbers of English- speaking people became greater, they have imposed political disabilities of increasing stringency, until, at the present time, it requires a residence of fourteen years in that country before naturalization can take place, and then, the naturalized citi- zen of the Republic does not stand upon a footing of equality with the Dutch Boer, but he is only permitted to vote for the return of members to the Second House, which is clothed but with such power as the First House may entrust to it ; and, although the English-speaking people might in- crease to tenfold the numbers of the Dutch, the Government would still be as effectually in the hands of the Dutch minor- ity, as if they constituted the exclusive population of the State. Before the discovery of the immense gold mines of the Transvaal, the Dutch Boers took but little interest in the industrial development of their country. They were content IN THE TRANSVAAL 225 to live in the rural districts; they were solitary in their habits, because their farms being of great extent they were widely separated from each other. The country was, for the same reason, capable of sustaining but a very small population, and the lands remaining, for the most part, uncultivated, the country could make but little progress. The Boers attached little value to money because, in their mode of living, they required but little to serve their purpose, and it was not until they found that by imposing burdens upon the Uitlander popu- lation they could improve their own position, that the love of gain became a marked feature of their character. In a large measure, the Boers not only imposed taxes for the pur- pose of supplying the wants of the Government, but for the purpose of meeting their own private wants, and when a Boer official plundered the public treasury, it was not regarded as a heinous offence, and seldom has anyone been called to account for the misapplication of public funds to private uses. The Boer, being himself wholly illiterate, has largely de- pended upon people from Holland to fill the public depart- ments, and to do all the clerical work required in The the public service. The Hollanders have, in conse- Hollanders quence, been specially favored, and the enjoy- in Office ment of those special favors has induced them to egg on the Boer population to further acts of aggression towards those of English origin; in fact it has been to their interest to stimulate, as far as they can, a feeling of hostility towards those who are British by birth, and in this regard all persons who speak the English language, whether from the United Kingdom or the colonies, or from the United States, have been, alike, regarded as English. Under Article 14 of the Convention of 1884, British manu- facturers believed themselves entitled to be placed on a foot- ing of equality with the inhabitants of other States, and they declared, when the monopoly in respect to explosives was adopted, that, in their opinion, the creation of the monopoly was necessarily inconsistent with Article 14 of the London 15 n i.y. m I' i >"•: -l. 226 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA :J ..: I!' ;! ;•■ !i ' Convention. This monopoly was granted in 1877 to Edward Lippert, and strong representations were made by Her Majes- ty's Government, which led to its formal cancellation in 1892. In 1893, the Volksraad declared that the traffic in explos- ives was vested in the Government, and that, with the consent of the Executive, it might be transferred to other persons, subject to such regulations as the Volksraad chose to make. In October, 1893, the Government of the Vorstmann Transvaal entered into a contract with one L. G. Appoiniea yorstmann, under which he was appointed sole Sole Agrent . n . .. i / -a for agent for carrymg on the monopoly for a period Dynamite ^^ fifteen years. He was given the right to estab- lish a company for the purpose, and he was allowed to charge a certain maximum price for dynamite, which for No. 1 was fixed at £4 15s. a case, out of which he was to pay the Government five shillings on each case of fifty pounds, as well as a further sum, not exceeding twenty per cent, of the surplus, which, under the contract, was the balance remaining after deducting costs, wear and tear, the usual writings off, and eight per cent, interest on the capital invested. Vorstmann agreed to erect manufactories within the two and one-half years from the time at which he entered into the contract, and pending the erection of these factories, the Government was to import all materials required, and place them at the disposal of the agent of Vorstmann, who was to hand over to the Government the proceeds of the sale, from which the Government were to deduct five shillings for each case of dynamite, and the sum paid for the materials imported, returning the balance to the agent, who thus had a profit of £2 a case on a Government monopoly. Under these regula- tions, the question that presented itself for the consideration of the British authorities was whether the dynamite monopoly, as established under this contract with Vorstmann, was for the benefit of the State of the Transvaal, or for the benefit of Vorstmann. It would seem from the report of the Commis- sion appointed by the Volksraad that the facts were as follows: IN THE TRANSVAAL 227 The company did not complete their factory within the period mentioned in the contract, but in October, 1896, they claimed to be in a position to manufacture yearly 80,000 cases of fifty pounds each, the total requirements of the country at that time being 200,000 cases. The resolution of the Volks- raad of September, 1894, expressly forbade any departure from the regulations allowed the company, but, notwithstand- ing this express restriction, the Executive Council did grant a further period of two and-oue-half yeai*s to the company, for the erection of factories sufficient to supply the entire con- sumption within the Republic. It was estimated by the com- missioners, that for four years, extending from 1893 to 1896 inclusive, it would be necessary to import at least 430,000 cases over and above all that could be produced by the com- pany ; and so the Committee expressed the opinion that the Government agent had not fulfilled the promise he had made in the contract, to produce dynamite and other explosive materials in such quantities as the needs and demands within the South African Republic required. The importations brought to the company extraordinarily large profits, which were wholly distinct from any profits that the company might have made upon the importation of the article into the country as an ordinary mercantile trans- action. The Commissioners stated that they found, from the accounts which had been laid before the Secretary, that the profits made by the company on the material imported and paid for by the State amounted to close upon £2 per package, while the amount received by the State for revenue was but five shillings. If this calculation be applied to 430,000 cases, it will be seen that the gift to the company, on the importation for these four years, amounts to £860,000, of which the State would receive only £107,500. The character of the transaction will be better appreciated when it is borne in mind that the State purchased the material, paid for the importation, and received the five shillings a case tax, handing over to the company, organized under Vorstmann's ! Sf ■I n ; { II :|!l I I i , ■ ,t 228 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA contract, £752,500. There could not be a doubt that a monopoly, so established and carried out, was an infringement of the principle upon which Article 14 of the London Conven- tion is based ; that it was not a monoply for the benefit of the State generally ; that it served no purposes of State ; that it did not make the Republic independent of outside sources, while the loss to the State, or to those who required it for con- sumption, would amount, for the four years, to £752,500. The British Government did not state its views upon this question, when the abuses arose, to the Government of the Transvaal, as the Government of the Transvaal had, at that time, appointed a commission to enquire into all matters which hindered the development of the mining industry, with a view to making such recommendations as might tend to their improvement and amendment. Her Majesty's Government were of opinion that this enquiry would lead to the termination of the abuse, without any remonstrance on their part. The commission, after examining a number of witnesses, including leading representatives of the South African Company, declared that the price of all kinds of explosives was unreasonably high, and that the excess in charge amounted to from forty to forty-five shillings a case. They further reported that none of the raw material required for the manufacture of explosives was found in the country, or only in such small quantities as to make it practically valueless for the purpose, and they asserted that such were the drawbacks to the manufacture of explosives in the Transvaal as to make it well nigh impossible to establish a bona fide industry for this purpose. They declared that the factory had not attained the object for which it was established, and that there was no reasonable prospect of its doing so ; and the committee pro- ceeded to report, that the subject should be placed in the hands of the legal adviser of the State, with a view to ascer- taining whether the monopoly contract could be cancelled. In the meantime they recommended that the Government should reserve for itself the right, when the interest of the !Ui k-k. .......MUli*- I ' « i>l IN THE TRANSVAAL 229 State renders it necessary, to take away the agency of trading in gunpowder, dynamite cartridges, and other explosives from the company, and to take into its own hands the importation of dynamite for the benefit of the mining industry, subject to a duty not to exceed twenty shillings a case. The British Government expected that the Government of the South African Republic would act in accordance with these recommendations, but, after a lapse of eighteen months, the monopoly exists without any modification. In August, 1897, the Government asked the First Volks- raad to appoint a further commission to consider the report of the Government Commission on the mining ^°'"™^^^*°" industry, and this was done. The Commission Indu«!tpv ^^^^ ^ report on the 16th October, 1897. It AoDOinted ^®®™^ ^^ have been ill-informed as to the price of dynamite. When presented, a debate arose in the Volksraad, in the course of which Gen. Joubert declared that the monopoly was no longer a state monopoly but Lippert's monopoly, for he still made most of the profit out of it. He said that the reasons which existed for cancelling the Lippert contract still existed, and that he hoped the Volks- raad would cancel the Vorstmann contract, as they had can- celled the former Lippert contract. There was no serious attempt made on the part of those who favored the continu- ance of the abuse, to reply ; and on the 4th of November a resolution was passed which, in effect, was, that the Volks- raad, having taken into consideration the report on explos- ives, charged the Executive Council to place this matter in the hands of the State Attorney and other legal authorities, in order to ascertain what steps can be taken, in order to pro- vide the mines with cheaper dynamite, either by allowing importation under permits, subject to the payment of ordin- ury Customs duties, or otherwise, as the Executive Council Ihinks desirable. As the matter was thus left at the discre- tion of the Executive, all that had been effected was the reduction of ten shillings per case in the price, by the iit.iii \WT 230 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1^ > m company abandoning five shillings of its charges, and the Government abandoning its revenues altogether. It will thus be seen that the Government had given up its royalty, or Customs tax, of five shillings, retaining only its interest in twenty per cent, of the surplus profits, so that the monopoly, is not bona fide a Government monopoly, but is a monopoly in the persons upon whom these special favors, in this exclusive right of trade, is vested. No report seems to have been made by the legal adviser of the Government, although in a debate arising in November, 1898, the State Attorney promised that the report would be, before long, laid before the Baad. Mr. Chamberlain, in a despatch, declared that the British Government had learned with surprise that the Government of the Republic had asked the Volksraad to extend the duration of the monopoly to a further period of fifteen years, in return for another small reduction of five shillings per case in the price of explosives, and that it was proposed, at the same time, to so modify the concession as to put it in the power of the Government to cancel it on other grounds. But were all these changes effected, and a further reduction of five shillings a case made, the company would still have a charge of from twenty -five to thirty shillings on every case in excess of the price, including profits, at which the dynamite could be laid down in Johannesburg. With 200,000 cases, which the Volksraad reported in February, 1897, as being the annual consumption, this would represent a loss to the mining industry of from £250,000 to £300,000 yearly. Mr. Chamber- lain said that Her Majesty's Government felt that they must no longer delay to make known their view of this matter to the South African Republic, and to protest, not only against the prolongation of the monoply, which they hold to be inconsistent with the London (invention, but also against any further delay in taking steps to cancel the concession, except in so far as it may be continued, in good faith, for the benefit of the revenues of the State. Under this arrangement it will be seen that the taxation which the miner is compelled IN THE TRANSVAAL 231 to pay is not a tax which is paid into the public treasurj', but a tax that is paid by the consumer of explosives to Mr. Vorstmann's company, which is known as the "South African Explosives Company, Limited." On March 9th of the past year, the State Attorney obtained the opinions of advocates Curlewis, Reitz, and Schreiner of Cape Colony. Before the then State Attorney (1897) had given his own written opinion, he was appointed Chief Justice, and, therefore, his final opinion was not made known to the Government. Mr. Reitz, the State Secretary, considering the question as to whether the monopoly was a violation of the 14th Article of the Convention of London, said that : — " No reasons are stated as to how Her Majesty's Government have arrived at this conclusion, a conclusion which is not clear to this Government, and which does not agree with the opinions obtained by it. According to these opinions, neither the contract for the manufacture of explo- sives, nor the manner in which it is carried out, is in conflict with the 14th Article of the Loudon Convention. The spirit and aim of this Government is clearly to the eflfect that strangers sojourning here will be subject to the same trade rights and obligations as burghers, which is the case under the existing state monopoly. Mr. Chamberlain admits that the state has the right to create a monopoly for its own pur- poses, but that it has not the right to create a monopoly simply to make gains for private parties. The Government of the Republic cannot admit, that, in this matter, the question whether the Government intended the concession for the benefit of the state or for the benefit of the concessioner is one into which another state has a right to enquire. This Government asserts the right that only the Republic itself can and must decide what is best for itself, and that in that decision, financial considerations alone must not be consulted, but all the circumstances which are or could be of importance to the country. The standard by which the interest of a state, in the direction of a monopoly, is measured, is not the greater or lesser sum of money which the Government derives from it, but the welfare which the state would miss if the monopoly did not exist. The Government of the South African Republic is entitled to have its own views as to what, in connection with the monopoly, is in its own interests." ii 1 pp 232 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ,iK , i ; The Question of Taxation If the Vollcsraad had passed an Act providing that whoever imported a case of dyn...nite should pay Vorstmann £2, the Act would not differ in principle from what has been actually done. The words of Article 14 of the Convention of 1884, which the policy of the Transvaal Government was thought to contravene are : — " They will not he subject, in reaped to persons or property, or in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those which may he imposed upon citizens of the said Republic. ' ' It has been well said by a great judge in the United States, that taxation is a burden imposed by a Government for a public purpose. The benefit resulting from the public use made of the tax is the value which the State gives for the money received, to the individual from whom it is taken. If the State should expropriate property for public use, which is a special burden upon the individual, the owner is compensated for its value by direct payment, or, it may be, in part, by the increased value given to property which he still retains. But where the law compels one man to give a portion of his possessions to another, by reason, it may be, of some indirect advantage, which it is supposed the owner may derive from the use which the recipient may make of it, this is not taxation but robbery, and it is not the less robbery because it is done under legal compulsion. A tax is money taken from the owners for the use of the State. This is the test, as to whether it is a tax or confiscation of property ; but, where it is expressly designed for an individual and not for the State, it is not a tax. If the charge, in the interest of Vorstmann, were a tax, a larger sum might be imposed by imposing it upon other imports for many others — a sum so large, as to amount to a total confiscation of the property subjected to the burden. In my opinion, the portion of Art- icle 14 quoted, is only indirectly applicable to the case ; the Article i3 intended as a protection against unequal taxation, against a discrimination in favor of one man and against II: . IN THE TRANSVAAL 233 iinother — against unequal treatment. But this is not taxation at all ; it is not a charge imposed to raise money for the use of the State, but a charge imposed to bestow a certain percent- age of one man's property upon another for his use and benefit, and if the Article is intended as a protection against unequal taxation, it is clear that the other contracting party never intended to leave to the Transvaal Volksraad or Gov- ernment, the unrestrained power to be used, for the destruc- tion of the right of property in one person, for the benefit of another, who may be a favorite of the Executive. In princi- ple this is far more reprehensible than that inequality against which Article 14 of the London Convention guards, and comes clearly within the spirit of the rule. The next ground of complaint against the Boers was their disfranchisement of the English-speaking population, while they had a majority. Sir Theophilus Shepstone had formally annexed the country to Her Majes- ty's dominions. While it was under the com- The Question Franchise P^^^® sovereignty of Her Majesty many English- men settled in the country. Both the English and Dutch languages were spoken by the people, and both nationalities stood on a footing of equality in respect to polit- ical rights and privileges. In this respect they did not differ in their relations to each other from those of the two peoples in Cape Colony and in Natal. When negotiations took place, I iio- ojotiations were with the Boers, as the only discontented section of the population. They were asked as to the political rights ' Englishmen ; the present President, Kruger, was one "f the Boer Commissioners, and he answered that they made no distinction between Boers and English, both were entitled to the francliise. This statement became a matter of record, and this declaration of equality was the basis upon which the negotiations proceeded. The English Government were con- tent to take precautions against the establishment of slavery and the ill-treat -nent of the Kaffirs, and to deal with those Boers who attempted to punish any of their number who were H I: V f ■ i. 'i r:fi 4m -1 i 1 \ i ■ 1 1 ' : ri -1, '1 1 hi?M •: -km. 234 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Restless- ness of the Boers favorable to English rule. The two nationalities then, at the conclusion of the Convention of 1881, stood upon a footing of equality, as far as their legal rights were concerned. The only advantage which the Boers possessed was that which their superior numbers gave them. From the outset they paid little regard to the restraints which the Convention, into The which they had entered, imposed. They invaded the surrounding country ; they enslaved the blacks ; and they disregarded, as far as they thought they could safely do so, the compact into which they had entered. The old conditions of disorder began to return, and they not infrequently raided the kraals of the Kaffirs, drove away their cattle, and carried away their chil- dren. They chafed under the restraints of the Convention, and at once began pressing the English Government for modi- fications. They sent a delegation to England for this purpose, and they persuaded Lord Derby to agree ^o many of the changes which they desired. The Queen's authority was confined within narrower limits, and they have since concluded that it might safely be disregarded altogether. The discovery of the immense gold fields in the Transvaal caused a large influx of people from the Cape and i'rom the United Kingdom. An immense amount of capital was invested in mining operations, and the Boers now felt that it would be possible to sustain a Government with great advantage to themselveri, wholly at the expense of the mininr^ capitalists. To this '^ud, it was necessary that the mine owners should acquire no political influence, otherwise they might put an end to such a policy; and so, while the Volksraad was in their control, was the fitting opportunity to deprive the English-speak- ing population of the elective franchise, and of all share in the administrative Government. At first the period of resi- dence, which, at the time the Convention was entered into, iu 1881, was but two years, was increased to five, so that they could, contrary to the understanding, impose disabilities upon the English-speaking section of the population, aiid thereby II! its' IN THE TRANSVAAL 235 retain control of the Government. But it was not long •'-= before they discovered that this disability would Period of ^^^ ^*^® them absolute security, for the English Residence °<^w greatly outnumbered the Boers, and the per- Increased iod of five years was superseded by one of four- teen years, and by a further provision that, even then, the naturalized citizen could not vote for a member of the First House in which the paramount authority of the country was vested. Thus, in 1881, we find that the two nationalities stood upon a footing of equality, and, a few years later, the Boers had the entire government in their own hands. The English population found themselves the principal tax- payers, without political rights or privileges of any kind. Everywhere throughout the country they were among the chief proprietors of real estate. They were also the proprietors of the mines, and they were the mercantile men of the country. It is within the mark to say, that nine-tenths of the wealth of the country belonged to them. In the city of Johannesburg there were at least sixty thousand people who spoke English. They were disqualified from being elected members of the city council because they could not speak Dutch, in which lan- guage Boer legislation required that the proceedings of the council should be recorded. The city was without any pro- vision for lighting at night, and the robbei*s and burglars could pursue their avocation under circumstances attended with but little danger. This monopoly of government does not represent ancient franchises and privileges, and a long- established system of rule wliich required reform. It was a creation but of yesterday, due to the unscrupulous conduct of the Boers, in violation of solemn engagements, which dis- closed the terms, upon the observance of which a large meas- ure of self-government had been conceded, not to them only, but to the subjects of Her Majesty as well, who might choose to become residents of the Transvaal state. It was this con- dition of things which led to great discontent within Johan- nesburg and in other parts of the South African Republic. V' ■,' it' ^ Im III ii 236 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA From the time the London Convention of 1884 was entered into, onward, the Boers enacted laws of an aggressive character, until their own political supremacy was effectually established, and until the Uitlanders were compelled to bear nearly the entire cost of government. They themselves took up arms against British authority because of the taxes, when the total tax of the entire country did not exceed two hundred thousand pounds, and they now tax the Uitlanders upwards of four millions of pounds a year. It was by this policy that they drove the English and American residents to agitate for reform, and for the correction of abuses, such as neither, in any civilized country, are called upon to endure. The scat- tered British population in Rhodesia had their sympathies awakened, and Dr. Jameson, at the head of five hundred police, began his disastrous march to Johannesburg. Dr. Jameson and his force were taken prisoners, and this afforded Kruger and his associates an excellent pretext for disarming all the Uitlanders in the country. The Boers, although form- ing less than half as many as the English, being armed, and< having the Government in their hands, were masters of the situation, and they enormously increased the revenues of the year, so as to be able to provide arms and munitions of war to maintain that supremacy which they had unscrupulously acquired. They dotted the country with forts. They im- ported the most improved modern ordnance. They imported improved small arms, sufficient to arm their population several times over. They secured the services of scientific military men from Germany and France, who, by studying the topo- graphy of the country, could prepare plans for effective defen- sive warfare. The Boers have long since resolved, not merely to become the paramount power of South Africa, but the sole power of South Africa. To-day the English are, in politi- cal rights and privileges, an inferior race in the South African Republic. The place assigned to Englishmen now in the Transvaal by Kruger and the Volksraad, will soon be given them, if Boer aspirations are realized in Natal, in Cape IN THE TRANSVAAL 237 Colony, and in Rhodesia. The Boer determination is that, "These sons of the bond-woman shall not inherit along with the chosen people." And so the question whether British subjects, or those of British origin, shall be the bondmen of the Boers, must be decided, in my opinion, by the arbitrament of arms. The policy of the Boers was not decided upon yesterday. It has been the settled policy of Kruger, and others, who have shared in his opinions for many years. That policy has been permitted to acquire a firm footing in the Transvaal, and if it is not effectually destroyed there, it will not only destroy English supremacy but English sovereignty in South Africa. ' m r i'\i. "}. CHAPTER X. THE SOUTH AFRICAN nE?VBLIC—{ Ccyntinued) The commandeering of British subjects — Favorable treaties in regard to commandeering entered into with various powers — exemption from com- MANDEERING DEMANDED — OPINION OF A CAPE TOWN LAWYER OF EMINENCE — DUTIES OF AN ALIEN — ALIENS IN THE United States — Tyranny of the Boers. I' I SHALL next refer to the military duties imposed upon British subjects who sire residents of the Transvaal. The Government of the Transvaal have, not infrequently, com- pelled British subjects residing in the country to serve in their military expeditions against the natives. The Boers have, on many occasions, started off on cattle-lifting adven- tures against the Kaffir population, when these natives ought to have had extended to them the same protection against wrong-doing that the Boers claimed for themselves ; but this they did not receive, and, when the depredations of the Boers led to insurrection, Englishmen who were not natural- ized, and who were aliens in the country, were compelled to risk their lives in suppressing insurrections which Boer robbery and violence had provoked. They were forced into the public service at great expense to themselves, and with- out any compensation from the State. Whether the British residents could legally be called upon to perfomi these military services on behalf of the Government of the South African Republic, to which they owed but a temporary allegiance, is a matter about which lawyers do not agree. On the 22nd of May, 1876, Lord Carnarvon, who was then Colonial Secretary, consulted the Law Officers of the Crown T IN THE TRANSVAAL 289 in respect to the case of a Mr. Smith who had been com- mandeered. They expressed the opinion that British subjects in the Transvaal might be legally called upon to perform this service, as there was nothing contrary to international comity in the application of such a law as the commando law of the Transvaal to a resident foreigner, and there was nothing in the case submitted which would justify any quasi- diplomatic intervention on Mr. Smith's behalf, by the British representative in South Africa. In August of the same year, Lord Carnarvon directed Sir Henry Barkly, on grounds which he indicated at length, to press the Transvaal President for the exemption of British subjects from this liability. In October following, the President stated that orders had been issued to commandeering officers to call out none but citizens of the state. The President expressed his readiness to seek the authority of the Volksraad, for entering into a convention with the British Government upon the subject. Before this could be done, the Boers were at war with the natives. They had been thrice defeated. The country was in a state of anarchy. The Government had practically gone to pieces, and the Transvaal was annexed by Sir Theophilus Shepstone to the British dominions, with the acquiescence, if Provisions qq^ with the active approval of the inhabitants. Under Article 28 of the Convention of 1881, pro- tection against commandeering is only extended to those who had settled in the Transvaal between the periods of annexation and retrocession ; and this limited provision appears also in Article 15 of the Convention of 1884. As the black population were very numerous, and were the only people with whom future trouble was to be anticipated, Of the 1881 Con- vention and as the Transvaal Government was poor, it was not deemed desirable, at the time, to prevent the commandeering of future immigrants, in case of insurrection or of invasion. Subsequently, however, the South African Republic entered into treaties with Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, by which the subjects of each :« urn w^ 240 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ,1 1 ■"^ 1 '' "'I i ; : J. 1 1 of those powers are exempted from commandeering, and Lord Ripon, in a despatch of June, 1894, points out that the num- bers of Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa are greater and more intimately connected with the country than those of any other power, and cannot be expected to remain in a position of such marked disadvantage. He instructs Sir Henry B. Loch, the British Commissioner in South Africa, to bring to the attention of the Government of the South African Re- public, the hope of the British Government, that they will take such steps as may be necessary to exempt all British subjects, who have not the full right of burghers, from military service, and from liabilities to military requisitions. This the Government of the Republic promised to do, but five years and more went by before the present war began, and we shall see that, up to the last, no treaty or convention to this end was entered into, and no exemption from this mili- tary service, though frequently promised, was ever made. In fact, at the very time Lord Ripon 's despatch was written, British subjects were being commandeered for service in the war against some of the native tribes in the northern part of the state, and they were compelled to provide themselves with an expensive outfit, without any remuneration. Men who had just arrived in the country were met in the street by a Field Cornet, were asked their names, and were at once commandeered. The British Agent at Pretoria engaged a servant at Cape Colony, and, two hours after his arrival, he was ordered to be ready for military service. When British subjects spoke of the protection of Her Majesty's Government against such arbitrary proceedings they were sneered at and laughed at. In fact, they were specially singled out from the rest of the population for service in the war against the blacks, who, by harsh treatment, had been goaded on to insurrection. One Englishman telegraphed the High Com- missioner at this time, that he had been commandeered for active service against a Kaffir chief, and had been ordered to find a horse, saddle, rifle, thirty rounds of ammunition and IN THE TRANSVAAL 241 provision for eight days, without remuneration. He was the sole manager of a business, and it was impossible to find any- one to fill his place, and he added that he had been less than two years in the country. He was threatened with imprison- ment by the Boer authorities unless he obeyed, and he claimed the protection of his Government. In the administration of this law the Transvaal Govern- ment made no distinction between temporary sojourners and permanent residents. It was sufficient if he were a British subject. The manager of the South African Bank, Mr. Simp- son, applied to a Mr. Searle, a lawyer of eminence at Cape Town, for an opinion upon the practice of commandeering British subjects in the Republic. He advised as follows : "There can be no doubt that persons domiciled in the South African Republic, though British subjects, can be called upon to serve in defence of the State for re- B5p. Searle pression of any internal rising or for the protection on Com- of life or property in any part of the State, when mandeer- the Government calls out a commando for the ing purpose, in accordance with the law of the State. If any person is commandeered contrary to the provisions of the law of the Republic he can refuse to go, and appeal to the Law Courts. I am not informed what the law of the Republic is with regard to commandeering, but I am of opinion that the commandeering of persons in the streets on their arrival in town, without reference to whether they are or are not on any list prepared for the purpose, in accordance with law, or whether they are permanent residents or merely sojourners, is illegal, and contrary to the practice of civilized states. No visitor to, or passenger through the Republic, can be compelled to serve. What persons may be regarded as permanent residents, and, therefore, liable to this service depends upon the length of their past residence, their inten- tion as to future residence, their possession of landed property, and similar kindred considerations bearing upon the question where is their fixed abode. Any owner of landed property, of which he is in actual occupation, would be liable ; also any person who had a settled and fixed employment in the Republic, whether he was in receipt of salary or engaged in business or profession on his own account, and one test of liability would be whether such resident had been placed 16 w rprr- 242 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA without objection upon a municipal or similar list for pui-poses of taxation, and had paid, or was liable to pay taxes, but any sojourner merely temporarily employed and not on such list as above could object, or even if placed upon such list, when so placed without opportunity of objection afforded to him, he could apply to the court to have his name taken off". ''Permanent residents are liable, quite independently of what political privileges they may enjoy, for there is no rule or principle of international law which prohibits the Govern- ment of any country from requiring aliens within its terri- tories to serve in the militia or police of the country. The State calling out the burghers is the proper judge of the necessity of the operations to be carried out within its borders. Of course, all persons protected by Article 15 of the Conven- tion of 1884 are exempt. ' ' The above statement appears to be in accordance with the principle of international law (see Phillimore, Int. Law, Vol. 2, p. 6, et seq. ; Wheaton, Int. Law, et seq., p. 205, et seq.) In the absence of more information as to how the law of the Republic stands upon this subject, it is difficult to advise more specifically, but in view of the fact that the State offers the persons commandeered no remuneration, compels them apparently to provide an expensive outfit, and confers upon the persons under discussion next to no political rights or privileges, it may be worth consideration whether Her Majesty's Government should not call attention to the system in vogue, and request that the matter be placed upon some clear and defined basis, which will give Her Majesty's sub- jects at present in the Republic, and such as may intend to go thither, the satisfaction of knowing how they stand or will stand, in respect of military service." M. W. Seaele. Chambers, May 21st, 1894. • ! Mr. Searle, in this opinion, has expressed views as favor- able to the Boers as can be found in the writings of any publicist, though he may not have gone further than the Law Officers of the Crown did in advising Lord Carnarvon and Lord Ripon. Messrs. Leonard and Wessels expressed their dissent from the opinion given by Mr. Searle and they referred the British Agent at Pretoria to Bluntschli's Droit Inter- national, Sec. 391 ; Hall's International Law, p. 187, and IN THE TRANSVAAL 243 Wheaton's International Law, p. 309.* It may not be with- out interest that I should briefly refer to the principle involved in this interesting question. Every individual in a civilized country is a member of the community in which he is born, until by some legal proceeding, sanctioned by the Law of Nations, he becomes a member of some other community. In modern times sovereign states recognize the fact that a man may withdraw temporarily from one community, and become a member of another to which he owes a temporary allegiance. But, in contemplation of law, his citizenship and his allegiance to his native state, still continue, and the temporary allegiance which he owes to the state in which he sojourns, is sub- ordinate to that allegiance which he owes to the state of his birth, or to which, with its consent, his permanent allegiance has been transferred. In order to ascertain how far his allegiance is due to the state in which he sojourns, we must ascertain how far what is demanded of him, can be reconciled with that which is, at all times, due to the Sovereign of which he is a subject, or to the Republic of which he is a citizen. It is too clear to call for discussion, that he cannot be com- mandeered by the authority of the country in which he sojourns to bear arms against the country to which his allegi- ance is always due. Nor can he be called upon to bear arms against the allies of his native state. He has no legal right to bear arms in the service of the state in which he sojourns, against another state with which the Sovereign, or Executive head of his native state, is at peace, though this rule is not one which, in modern times, has been strictly enforced. The allegiance which is due to his own Sovereign, is personal, as * "The broad rule has already been mentioned that as an alien has not the privileges, so, on the other hand, he has not the responsibilities, attached to the mem- bership of the foreign political society, in the territory of which he may happen to be. In return, however, for the protection which he receives, and the opportunities of profit or pleasure which he enjoys, he is liable to a certain extent, at any rate, in moments of emergency, to contribute by his personal service to the maintenance ot order in the State from which he is deriving advantage, and under some circum- stances it may be even permissible to require him to help in protecting it against external dangers." — Hall's International Law, p. i86. '.' i ^ :• 244 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA well as political, and, like any other personal obligation, accompanies him even when he is beyond the municipal juris- diction of his own country. The British army is under the jurisdiction of Her Majesty, even when in a foreign country, and the individual is accompanied, by the law of allegiance, wherever he may go, until he is released by due process of law. Bearing then, in mind, these elementary principles of law, it follows, that the alien, while in a foreign state, may be called upon to obey the law, so far as it is consistent with the obligations due to his own state, and if more than this is required of him, then the municipal law of the state in which he is a temporary sojourner, is in conflict with those principles of international law which recognize the duty in every sub- ject, to obey first the obligations due from him to his own Sovereign and state. A state may require an alien to assist in putting down insurrection, because in doing so he is neither disregarding the duties due to his own state, nor the duties due by every citizen of a state to its allies and to every other state with which it is at peace. In suppressing insurrection and riot he is not called upon, by such service, to make war with any other sovereign state. The same rule applies in resisting the insurrection or invasion of barbarians, because they are outside the pale of international law, and his own state is under no obligation to them, and he is violating no obligation due to his own state, in resisting an invasion of that kind. It follows from these elementary principles of law, that the obligation which rests upon the alien, on principle, is to assist in restoring order, in putting down insurrection, Duties an(j ^q q\^ in resisting an invasion by those who have no recognized international status, and this is the doctrine as stated by Bluntschli,* and by other writers of repute. of an Alien * Bluntschli in effect maintains, 1. That it is not permissible to enroll aliens, except with their own consent, in a force to be used for ordinary national or political objects. 2. Aliens may be compelled to assist in maintaining^ social order, provided at IN THE TRANSVAAL 246 Formerly allegiance was closely associated with the owner- ship of the soil. It was the obligation of the tenant to the lord paramount, and the vassal took an oath of fidelity to his lord in much the same terms. This oath of fealty, when taken to the lord paramount, was an oath of allegiance, and he swore to bear faith to his sovereign lord, in opposition to all other men, without any exception. And so when it came about, under English law, that all lands were held of the King as lord paramount, and the oath of allegiance could, therefore, be taken to the King alone — as a man could not bear alleg- iance to more than one Sovereign — so he could only hold real estate of one. And, although the connection between terri- tory and the allegiance due from free men, is now obliterated, the principle that allegiance can only be permanently due to one head, still continues. And that temporary allegiance due to an alien prince or state, like the fealty due by the tenant to his immediate lord, must be always consistent with and subordinate to the fidelity due to the permanent execu- tive head of one's own country. Having thus indicated the difference of opinion existing among publicists in respect to the military services due from an alien to the government to which he owes a temporary allegiance, and having stated the principle upon which the law rests, and the limitations by which obligations of service arising from temporary allegiance are governed, I shall con- tent myself by referring to the opinion of Lord John Russell and the action of the United States Government. In a despatch addressed by Lord John Russell, in April 1861, to the British Minister at Washington, he admitted that there is no rule or principle of international law which prohibits the government of any country from requiring 1 the service required of them does not overstep the limits ot police, as distinguished from political action. 3. They mav be compelled to defend the country against an enemy of social order, or if the population is threatened, when, in other words, a state or part of it is threatened by an invasion of savages or uncivilized nations. See Hall, pp. 187-8, and Bluntschli, Articles 381 to 393, both inclusive. I- ■ ■^li w^^ 246 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA }\ Milltapy Services of Aliens In the United States aliona who are residents within its territory from serving in the militia or police of the country, or from requiring them to contribute to the support of sucli establishments. In no case, during the United States Civil war, either on the one side or the other, was a British subject detained in the service against his will, nor was his discharge refused upon a proper representa- tion. In Mackett's case, which arose in 1863, and which will be found in Halleck's *' Interna- tional Law," the English Government did not interfere. Mackett was a natural born British subject, then a resident of the United States. He had not been naturalized, and he sought exemption from service through the British Minister. It appeared upon enquiry that since he was in the United States he had voted at the elections as a United States citizen, and on this ground the British Government refused to interfere. The United States agreed that British subjects should not be compelled to serve in the army. Toward the close of the war the conscription included resident aliens who had declared their intention of becoming citizens, but who had not completed all the neces- sary conditions to naturalization, unless within sixty-five days they withdrew from the country. The conclusion drawn by Lord Ripon, in 1894, from the course pursued by the British Government and by the United States, was that, in strict law, the South African Republic was within their right, but that the comity of nations favored the exemption of British subjects. I think that Lord Ripon has overstated the rule of law in favor of the South African Republic. I think the rule is such as I have indicated, and such as M. Bluntschli has stated it to be. There can be no doubt, how- ever, of this, that a government cannot demand military service from the subjects of a foreign state with which it is at war. And there is as little doubt, that no state in modern times has, without war, submitted to such insults as the Government of Great Britain and its subjects have endured at IN THE TRANSVAAL 247 the hands of the authorities of the South African Republic since the adoption of the London Convention. The Marquis of Ripon telegraphed the High Commissioner (in June 1894) advising him to press, in a friendly way, the Government of the South African Republic, to relieve British subjects from service, and in the meantime, to release those who had been forced into hostilities. Upwards of two hun- dred called on the British agent at Pretoria, and learned the opinion of Mr. Searle. Many declared their inability to obey the Cornet's command, as they were obliged to work for their daily bread, and if they left for active service their wives and their children would be without sustenance during their absence. The High Commissioner informed Lord Ripon that the position of British subjects, under the Government of the South African Republic, had become intolerable, and that they looked to the justice and power of Great Britain for protection from the wrongs they were called upon to endure. On the 18th of June five British subjects refused to go when com- mandeered. They appealed to the court with a view of con- testing the validity of those proceedings. The court held that four of them were liable to be called out ; but the fifth was not so liable, as he had not been two years in the country. The majority of the court held that the commando was not in conflict with international law, but one of their number, Judge Morice, dissented, holding that by international law, a foreigner cannot be called upon to do military service. Chief Justice Kotze distinctly maintained that foreigners domiciled in the country, can be compelled to do service with a view to restoring public order, and resisting the inroads of barbarians. All agreed that a foreigner could not be called upon to do military service against his own country. The British agent, in a telegram to the High Commis- sioner at the Cape, said that a number of British subjects were being called upon for military service, and that money was being levied upon them for the purposes of war. The Secretary of the Republic, Dr. Leyds, when waited upon ■Iw. it r Em ■i ! 248 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA by the British agent, excused himrelf for what was being Trouble About the Exemption of British Subjects done, by repeating the old stcry that the lists vvere imperfect. When asked about the requisi- tion for the expense of the war made upon British subjects while the Portuguese were exempt, he said that the Government of the South African Republic had agreed to exempt British subj its merely from personal service. But this was not true. The British Agent had been promised again and again that they should be put upon a footing of equality with the Portuguese, but this had not been done. It was pointed out that under the policy which had been adopted, it was possible to levy the whole expense of the war upon the subjects of Great Britain, and the result of this outrageous proceeding was to awaken again amongst the English population the fiiei'cest resentment against the Government of the Republic. Had they been armed, the feeling of resentment was such that there would certainly have been a conflict. The High Com- missioner lost no time in telegraphing to President Kruger that the promise which had been made had not been kept. It was not simply that the British should be personally exempt from military service, but they were expressly pro- mised that there would be extended to them the same privileges as were enjoyed by the subjects of other countries. What made the proceedings in this matter more offensive was that the tax was not a uniform tax, it was not general, but was imposed arbitrarily upon such persons as the authorities might choose to select. The burghers of the Republic were exempted, and against British subjects it was made the means of persecvtion and oppression. Although the officials of the Boer Government adhered to their usual practice of denying that British subjects were commandeered, yet we find on the 11th of July between fifty and sixty complaining to the British Agent, and in one estab- lishment that was manned by British subjects, thirty employ- ees were compelled to pay from seven to fifteen pounds IN THE TRANSVAAL 249 The Hut Tax sterling each, in order to secure exemption from service. Upon inquiry it was found that there liad been no levies upon either the Portuguese or the French. I shall refer to the commandeering of the British, and the brutal treatment of colored British subjects from Cape Colony who had gone into the Transvaal country. In October, 1898, the Government of the South African Republic had diflerences with a chief in the northern part of the Republic, known as Magato's country. Some Boer officials demanded, from a part of the tribe, a payment of a hut-tax which the chief forbade them to pay. He in- formed the officials that he intended to collect a hut-tax on his own account, and that he did not recognize, in the white men, any right to collect taxes in his country, or to exercise any authority over his people. President Kruger resolved to send a military force to assert his authority in the district. Preparation was made, a commando was ordered, and a number of British subjects, as usual, were called upon to serve, or in lieu of sei'vice, to furnish horses, saddles, grain and oxen. More than four years before an agreement had been signed by President Kruger and Sir H. B. Loch, relieving British subjects from these commandos. The acting British agent at Pretoria informed British subjects that they were not only exempt from all personal military service, but from all war requisi- tions in money or in kind, which were not general taxes imposed by law on all burghers and aliens alike. The British acting agent was asked whether he did not think that resident British subjects should contribute to the military expenses which might be necessary to defend the country from native attacks. This question was wholly iiTelevant. The matter complained of was not that British subjects were called upon to engage in this service, but that they were called upon to bear burdens from which others were exempt. This was not a preparation to defend the country from attack, but a proposal to attack the natives in their own district. The If? :mi i ;i H f 250 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA chief ground of objection was that the tax was not a tax that was general, but, like all others which had been imposed in connection with commandeering, one from which the burghers were exempt. It was partial, discriminating and oppressive. A general tax imposed upon some recognized principle, and levied upon all tho inhabitants of the country alike, would be an equitable tax; but no such tax was imposed under the commandeering law ; on the contrary, it arbitrarily imposed upon British subjects an unjust burden, and the acting British agent informed the State Secretary that British subjects should no longer be so oppressed, and could not be henceforth commandeered in any way. It is clear that this public announcement had a sobering effect upon the State officials, and the State Secretary informed Mr. Fraser, the acting agent, that orders had been issued not to commandeer British subjects. He further stated that what had occurred was due to a misundertftanding on the part of subordinate officials, and that the money which had been improperly taken fi'om certain Englishmen in the district of Standerton, would be returned. But Mr. Fraser reminded him of the case of certain colored people from the Cape who had been ordered to apjjear before the FJeM Cornet with a view of being sent north, that they were British subjects under British protection, whose claims to exemj>tion were co-extensive v/ith the Convention which the Triw»*vaal Government had made with the Portuguese, and no matter wi»at the Volksraad might think on the subject, thn British Government had no intention of retrograding from thiw position, as the Portuguese colored subjects are exempted by a clause in the commandeering law itself. But in this case, as in those occurring in previous years, although many British subjects were commandeered, no attempt was made to commandeer any persons who were subjects of Holland or citizens of France. It is impossible to believe that this commandeering of British subjects was a mere accident, or mistake, due to tlie carelessness of subordinate officials. Three weeks later the Secretary of State again IN THE TRAN8VAAL 251 assurred Mr. Fraser that the cases which occurred, or which were attempted, were due to the disobedience of subordinate officials, or to their ignorance of the nationality of the parties. A lame man who was met in the street by a Field Cornet on horseback, and claimed exemption as a British subject, was most mercilessly flogged by the Cornet with a heavy horse- whip wr no other reason than that he claimed exemption liKiu commandeering. Two colored Cape men were kid- napped by the assistant Field Cornet of Roodepoort, put on board a train and sent north.* In the South African Republic the feeling against the colored people is very strong, and a law was passed requiring colored men from the Cape to obtain monthly passes, -^.nd to wear a badge, or else to obtain a certificate by the payment of three pounds a year, which would exempt the holder from the monthly pass. The acting agent at Pretoria, in a dispatch to the British High Commissioner at Cape Town, gave an account of the arrest of some forty Cape boys for not being in possession of the monthly passes. Some of the boys arrested were fined for not having any pass ; some were discharged ; but all were treated with great harshness ; and the conduct of the officers was characterized by proceedings that were grossly illegal, and, by the treatment of some of the parties, shock- ingly brutal. This was the fourth occasion within eighteen months that complaints of misconduct on the part of the officials were made to the British officers. Threats of eviction, under the law, for living in town, were constantly held over colored people, who averted it by bribing the town inspectors, Feel'ng Colored People * " The right of interference on the part of a state for the purpose of enforcing the performance of justice to its citizens from a foreign state, stands upon an unquestionable foundation, when the foreign state has become itself the debtor of these citizens." Phil. I. L., Vol. a, p. 38. "The war of 1868 waged by England against Abyssini.i for the imprisonment and detention of British subjects— a war very remarkable for the skill and vigor with which it was conducted, and the complete success which crowned it," Ibid. p. 7. This was an intervention on behalf of an injured subject. I'- 252 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ^:|' <( I Si! and persons among them were served with these notices in Pretoria and Johannesburg after a residence of seven years. The ill-treatraent of the Cape boys was such that the British might claim their protection by Article 14 of the Convention. The diligence of the British agent only served to increase the brutality of the Boer officials. One L. A. Williams, who made oath that he was a West Indian, states that on the 29th of October, 1898, between nine and ten o'clock at night, one Lombard knocked at his door and asked entrance. He says, *'I opened the door, and he asked, 'Where is your pass?' I said, 'I carry no pass.' He said, 'Where does Jacob live? ' I said, * I will show you.' When I went out a man named Nel caught hold of me. I told him to stand still. Lombard then struck me on the mouth. I said, ' If you take the law in your own hands I won't go with you.' Nel then poked me with a stick under the eye and asked Lombard's permission to punish me. Lombard said, ' Throw him down and choke him.' I was then thrown to the ground, and Nel got on my chest with his knee. I was then handcuffed and taken to the charge office, being beaten all the way. At the charge office I paid £10 bail. I appeared at court on Monday the 31st, when I was remanded until Fridaj^, November 4th, when I was discharged. Francis was also arrested, and can testify to my ill-treatment. I was i^iven no travelling pass at Vereeniging, and consequently could have had no pass issued here. ' ' This is but one of many instances of brutal treatment by the officers of the Republic. The Transvaal Government professed to strongly disapprove of the conduct of their Field Cornets and their pass officers, but with this the mattoi ended, for there was no improvement in the conduct of their minis- terial officers. When Field Cornet Lombard was being tried for brutal treatment of British subjects, the evidence again.st him was clear. The defence was a denial of the facts. Lombard admitted that he knew nothing against the character of those whose houses he had entered at night-time, without warrant, and whom he had maltreated in their own houses. It was IN THE TRANSVAAL 253 )ass clf^ar fiom the trial that he was avenginp: himself ou colored suujects who refused to be commaudeered. The law in respect to passes is confined to South Africans, yet the Law in local authorities had extended it to people from respect to St. Helena, Mauritius and the West Indies, whom Passes they fined for not taking out passes, and this without haviug gone into their cases at all. After the trial of Lombard was over, the Executive Council rein- stated him in his office, as they could find no reason for fur- ther punishment. The South African League, which took an active part in bringing the misconduct of the Transvaal offi- cials into prominence, incurred the deepest resentment of the Boers ; but they performed an important public service : for not even the Boers of the Transvaal can be indifferent to the force of public opinion. Many ! ard things have been said of the colored people from the Cape in extenuation of Boer mis- conduct ; but vague declamation is of little value against spe- cific evidence ; and those who would palliate, if they could, tlie violence of the Field Cornet, have failed to show how people who were in their own beds at night could offend Boer olficials who raided their houses without lawful warrant, broke in their doors, treated them with indignity, knocked them down and brutally kicked them. Whatever may be the char- acter of the Cape boys, such actions by Cornets and policemen show conclusively that the latter are ruffi.aus, and the Govern- ment is disgraced that entrusts such men with authority. Still more is this the case when it becomes apparent that they expect by their ruffianism the better to please those whom they serve, and when they discover that no outrage which they commit upon British subjects militates against them as servants of the Transvaal Government. I iril ■ ■'' ;: . i . I ■ ■ ! --'^■M^ ' *■ ""^ — :3i CHAPTER XI. THE SOUTH AFRICAN BEFVBLIC— (Continued) Insecurity of life and property— Murder of Edgar- Transvaal LAW AS TO ARREST — MURDER OF MrS. Appleby — Municipal law of Johannesburg — Laws regarding education — Hostility to the English — An attempt at an artificial conspiracy. There have beeu many incidents happening under the Government of the Transvaal which show that there is but little chance of convicting a Boer who takes the life of an Englishman. This was very clearly brought out in a few cases which happened in Johannesburg, where English senti- ment is stronger than at any other place in the country, and where, if anywhere in the Republic, it would serve to secure a fair protection of person and property to a man of British origin. Late in December of 1898 one Edgar was shot in his own house, after midnight, by a policeman who broke open the door of his house, instantly shot him and then Murder ran away. So little importance did the Boer ®^ authorities attach to this iitrocious murder that ^ the prosecutor permitted the murderer to go at large. Mrs. Edgar testified that before Mr. Edgar entered his house some man had been impudent to him. When Edgar came in he shut and locked the door. Almost immediately after she heard the same men at the bedroom window which they tried to open. They urged the police to get Edgar out. They tried both the front and back door two or three times ; then they threw themselves against the front door which opened into the sitting room and which was broken in by their efforts. They had barely forced open tlie door ^hen a policeman raised a revolver and shot Edgar. He died IN THE TRANSVAAL 255 immediately. Mrs. Edgar testified as follows : — "The police- man said nothing to Edgar, nor had Edgar time to say any- thing to the policeman. The moment he had fired the policeman ran away. My husband had no quarrel with the parties to whom he spoke that night. They were strangers to him. I asked the policemen who afterward came to the house, to get me assistance, and a little water, but not one of them would do anything." One, Donald Bourke, a painter, testified that he saw the man who was calling the police ; tliat he himself jumped out of his window to see what was the matter, and met three policemen in the street. He heard a man say "Take this man in charge ; he knocked my mate down." He pointed to some man who ran into the doorway. He did not think that the man struck the policeman. " The man who called * police ' said ' break in the door, he is hiside,' this he repeated two or three times, then one of the policemen broke in the door ; almost immediately he fired, and I saw the man stagger and fall. I saw no weapon of any kind in the man's hand." The testimony of one Joseph Friedman, who was also an eye-witness of all that transpired, testifies that Policeman Jones fired his revolver, which he had ready in his right hand, the very instant he had broken the door. " I was standing right up against the door, on the right hand of the policeman, almost touching him, and I could see distinctly what happened. As the door was forced in, I saw Mr. Edgar standing just behind it, and the policeman, the instant the door fell in, without saying a word himself, or giving Mr. Edgar a chance to speak, fired straight at him. Mr. Edgar fell instantly. I was so close that some of the blood from his wound went on my face. As soon as he had tired the policeman ran away as fast as he could, but, as he was doing so, one of the other policemen, whose name is Roux, called out to him 'Jones,' which I thus gathered was his name. He was a tall, big man, with a black mo jstache. I have never seen him since, but I would be able to identify him." Jones was put upon his trial, and tm 256 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA » ' after the jury were locked up all night, they returned a ver- dict of " not guilty." Edgar's house was hrokeu into without warrant after midnight. He was entitled to resist the assault that the policeman made, had he been so disposed. The act of the policeman was an illegal act, and he added to his offence by taking the life of a man who was within his own residence, and was entitled to use force for his own protection. Mr. Edgar did not resist a policeman in the discharge of his duty. The officer was not arresting a party in the act of wrong doing. If there had been a wrong done, it was over, and a warrant was necessary to justify the policeman in pro- ceeding to take Edgar into custody. He had not seen Mr. Edgar committing any offence, it was simply reported to him that he had knocked a man down, a man whom some supposed was dead, but who seemed to have been helplessly drunk. The judge, in addressing the jury, said that ^^ Jones thought it best to use violence to arrest the man, and to prevent his escap- ing, and this wa^ certainly his duty. ' ' He admitted that Mrs. Edgar denied that her husband had anything in his hand, and she testified that he was killed the moment the door was broken open. Two of the policemen swore that they looked in through the window and saw Edgar armed, and that he had struck Jones twice before Jones shot him. The police had consulted together, and had decided in favor of breaking into the house after they had seen Foster lying on the ground. The judge said that if a policeman saw a man knock another down it was his duty to arrest him. The question was whether the time which elapsed between Edgar's act and the appearance of the police entitled them to act upon the infor- mation given by Shepphard, especially as Shepphard's evi- dence was supported by the sight of Foster lying upon the ground. He told the jury that the police were entitled to make an investigation, and that they had the right to make the arrest. If the jury believed that the door was broken open in the execution of a duty, they would find the prisoner ^ 3 ■ .' IN THE TRANSVAAL 257 not guilty. If they thought the prisoner deserved to go to jail they would find him guilty. If they were in doubt, they must give the benefit of the doubt to the prisoner. When the jury brought in the verdict of not guilty, the judge said he hoped the police, under difficult circumstances, would always know how to do their duty. He concurred with the verdict. It appears that Edgar assaulted Foster in the presence of Shepphard, who apprised the police of the assault, and pointed them to Foster lying on the ground. Foster had addressed some insulting remarks to Edgar. Jones forced his way into Edgar's house, according to the testimony of the police, Edgar resisted him, Jones shot him, was tried for manslaughter and was acquitted. A charge more discredit- able to a judge was never made ; no policeman saw Edgar knock the man Foster down. Why should the judge refer to an incident which was not in the case? There is but one answer : he wished to aid the jury in reaching a verdict of acquittal. How could the jury believe that the door was broken open in the discharge of a duty, when Jones was with- out a warrant and had not seen the offence committed of which Edgar was accused? The charge was not to secure a proper adminstration of justice, but to secure the acquittal of an officer who had wantonly taken the life of an innocent man. The law of the Transvaal upon the subject is : " The perpetrator of an offence not being dis- covered in the commission thereof shall only be arrested on a warrant from the State Attorney, and in such districts where he is not, on a war- rant from the Landdrost or Justice of the Peace, of such dis- trict, who, upon the request of the officer, shall grant, or ex officio issue, the same when it is certain or highly probable that the crime has been perpetrated by the accused." In this case Jones' counsel justified the arrest without a warrant, under the provision of the preceding Article 37, which enacts : "The officers of the law have not only the authority, but are compelled, in case^a crime or contravention 17 The Trans- vaal Law as to Arrest mtM 1 ■ ■ ^ 258 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA of the law is committed within their jurisdiction, and in which the public safety requires that the perpetrator be taken — to take into custody such perpetrator at once (i. e. , without a warrant), that is, if he be found immediately upon, or after, the act, without their requiring or waiting for a previous judicial warrant." Article 40 provides : "Where, however (in the delay which may be caused) in obtaining a warrant, by making a previous application for the same from the competent authority, a dan- ger may arise that the law may be defeated by such delay, the officer may arrest the suspected person and may keep him in civil custody." It would seem from these sections of the law that the circumstances of this case are against an arrest without a warrant. The rule of the English Criminal Law is, that where a constable did not witness an affray, and it is over before he has arrived, and there is no continued pursuit, the constable has no right to arrest the wrong-doer, unless there is an immediate danger of the affray being again resumed. Here Edgar, it was said, had knocked down Foster for a real or supposed insult. He committed no further assault, but turned and went inside of his own house and locked the door, before any policeman arrived. There was no legal ground upon which the violent assault upon Edgar's house, and the breaking of hib door, without a warrant, could be justified. If, then, these proceedings of Jones were illegal, Edgar would have been excused if, in resisting, he had killed Jones. Whether the innocence of Jones, in taking Edgar's life, can be upheld, must depend on the legality of his act in breaking into Edgar's house. No man has the right to slay another unless he has already done everything in his power to avoid the necessity of so extreme an act. There was no evidence, with so many persons present, that it was neces- sary, because of Edgar's resistance, to shoot him. There is no evidence that Edgar had upon his person any firearms or other deadly weapon ; and to hold human life so cheap, as was done in this case, is calculated to make every policeman T IN THE TRANSVAAL 259 indifiereiit as to the meaiiH whieli hv may oinploy h\ the dia- chargc of his duty. No wonder that intense exeitement was awakened amon^; the Enj!;lish-speakinj? portion of the popuhi- tiou on account of the action of Jones, the charge of the judge, and the decision of the jury. It became manifest that the extreme penalties of the law would not be inflicted upon any Dutch offender whose victim was a British subject. In May, 1899, Mrs. Api)lel)y, a British subject, and the wife of a Wesleyan missionary, was brutally murdered at Fordsburg. It was supposed that the act was that of liquor dealers in revenge for the attacks that were made by the mis- sionaries on their nefarious trallic. Mrs. Appleby, at the time, was proceeding to choir practice at her husband's church. She was in company with a Mr. Wilson, who was knocked down by a severe blow over the head, MurdeP of and Mrs. Appleby was struck immediately after- Mrs, wards. It seems that the assault was made by Appleby one white man assisted by several Kaffirs. The lawlessness of the act, and the illicit liquor trade in which it originated, show how ineffective the police admin- istration is ; and although the Boer Government cannot be supposed to have any special sympathy with the murderers of a missionary's wife, it is pretty clear that they are so preoccu- pied with their assaults upon the English — with their anxiety to worry them and persecute them — that they have no time for the discharge of those duties which legitimately fall to the care of those whose business it is to enforce the law for the protection of life and property. Another source of discontent among the English-speaking population of the Transvaal is the state of the law relating to municipal government and education. The Star newspaper may be taken to represent the views of the Uitlander popula- tion of Johannesburg, which shows that the amendments that the Volksraad made in the law, instead of being improve- ments, multiplied unworkable provisions, created new limita- tions, and added to the number of inconsistencies that before ■I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 1^ |28 |Z5 ■^ h£ 12.2 u lift % 0> // ^v*^ '> > ■^^.^ ^ ^c.* '/ /^ Hiotograjiiic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. USM (716) 172-4303 \ \\ *\ 4^ /^" 6^ 4g^ p \ ■ rt i 960 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ! ■> m ' "I •! ;.1 B i existed. The powers vested in the Town Council are so restricted that the only result is that the last state of the municipal government of Johannesburg is worse than the first. The number qualified, under the law, for seats in the Munici- pal Council is very small. At le^st one-half of the Council must be Dutch burghers, of whom there are very few in the city, and the President of the Republic himself appoints the chairman, who is called the Bu^-gomaster, which, in any event, would give them a mfyority of one. The municipal law of Jobpunesburg is, in every way, a remarkable legislative productiois. Its chief features are that the Town Coun^vh shall consist of twenty-four The Munlci- ^jg^jjjgyg rpjj^j twelve of them must be burgh- Jh^M^ ers of the Republic. That the chairman of the buFff l>ody shall be api>ointed by the President for five years, but may be removed at any time by the President. That the administrative work shall be entrusted to the Burgomaster and two aldermen, who shall he appointed by the Council fh)m among its members. The police shall be appointed by the Council, subject to the approval of the Exe- cutive Council of the Republic. That the burghers elected shall be burghers entitled to vote, and that others, who shall have the franchise for the municipal election, must be the owners of property to the value of one hundred pounds, or tenants paying a rental of one hundred pounds. That all the proceedings of the Council shall be recorded in the Dutch language, besides many other provisions which proclaim, under all conditions, a determination to maintain Dutch ascendency. On the subject of education, the law could not well be more oppressive. It is said that hundreds of boys and g^rls are growing up without an acquaintance with Laws in ^^® merest elements of reading and writing. In Regard to the Orange Free State equal time is devoted to Edueation English and to Dutch, but in the Transvaal there is no such provision for teaching English. The teachers are imported from Holland, and their English IN THE TRANSVAAL S81 qualification is acquired by a three months' residence in England, prior to sailing for the Transvaal. One of these teachers, in reply to a Mr. Robinson, who was advocating a more liberal teaching of English, asked — "V/hy should we give pistols and swords into the hands of our enemies." This is but the expression of the race hatred felt by the Boer, and which the Holland schoolmaster further intensifies. Pro- fessor Mansvelt undertook to defend the present system, and stated that several English schools had been established in the gold fields, but that they had not been well supported. He also attacked the late School Board of Johannesburg, and said that the difficulties created by that body had hindered the work of education. Mr. Robinson pointed out that the superintendent himself had destroyed the Board because it was an active and energetic body of business men, who wanted their children taught by competent men, who were frustrated by the Government, and whose communications to the superin- tendent had not even been acknowledged. Thirty thousand pounds had been voted last year for schools on the gold fields, and but three thousand pounds had been spent, because the system provided by the State was absolutely worthless to the English-speaking population, and so they could not avail themselves of it. The restrictions against an English educa- tion have been increased. The power to employ English and Colonial teachers is being taken away, and so preparation is being made for the importation of more Dutchmen, who are to qualify themselves for teaching English children the Dutch language, in the way I have stated, by a three months' residence in England. There are many Afrikanders, some of whom are English university men, and who know equally well English and Dutch, who would be capable of teaching, but who arc not to be thought of in Boer estimation as qualified to teach in the Transvaal. They are too enlightened to meet Boer requirements. In one school in the gold fielus a Qerman is permitted to be head master, but no Englishman or Gape Dutchman is qualified to be a principal in a school /:lJ ft? 262 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA composed of English children. The principal must l>e a Dutchman. The narrow and intolerant spirit which has characterized the system of education introduced Hostility ^y ^^- Mansvelt, by which it was intended that to the all Europeans of the Transvaal should be con- English verted into Dutchmen, has in a great measure made the system a complete failure. Children with English names are chaffed and worried until they are forced to keep away from the schools. On all occasions, and in many ways, the bitter hostility of the Boers is manifested. Men who are preparing for the bar are compelled to take a supplementary examination in the Dutch language, and this examination is so conducted that proficients in the Dutch language from the Cape university, are plucked by the Transvaal Board of Examiners. A Dutch magistrate of Johannesburg was fined by the Government for allowing part of the examination of an English witness to be conducted in English. The Dutch teachers are circulating a petition informing the Government, that the danger to the State is very great owing to the increased use of English, as it is a subtle means of undermining the independence of the Re- public. It will be seen from this statement, what the spirit is by which the Boers and their Holland teachers are actuated, and how determined the minority are, that, no matter how great the English majority may become, they shall be kept, iu respect to their political rights and privileges, in a position of inferiority. The Boers of the Transvaal have long been looking for a pretext which would justify them in imposing further disabili- ties upon the English, and which would prevent them from persisting in their just demands for those political changes, which neither the President nor the Volksraad intends to concede. They have, through spies and perjured informers, sought to create a public opinion abroad against British subjects who reside in the Republic. No means have been IN THE TRANSVAAL 268 too base to be employed to this end. In May, last, an action was entered for treason against certain parties, including, as ringleaders, NichoUs and Paterson. It was charged against them that they purposed enlisting a number of men whom they intended to arm, and who were to attack the town and fortress of Johannesburg, which they were to carry and to hold, pending the arrival of British troops from Natal. The State Attorney informed the British Agent at Pretoria that he intended to implicate, along with their chairman, the South African League at Fordsburg. It was hinted that the War Department of the British (Government would be compro- mised, but the Transvaal authorities would be magnanimous and avoid bringing the matter to light. The whc\e story seemed to have been concocted t)y certain officers of the Transvaal Government. Sir Alfred Milner informed the British agent at Pretoria that he did not approve of the plan of the State Attorney, who said that he would endeavor to suppress any allegations which had the effect of compromising Her Maj- esty's (Government — that he did not at all approve of this plan — that he must insist, if there were any such allegations, that they should be sifted to the bottom — that he could not allow them to be suppressed. In this Mr. Chamberlain concurred. Sir AlfVed Milner telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain (May 20th, 1899), that the State Attorney said that it was his inten- tion to prevent insinuations against the British (Government being bandied about in a court of law, and that they wished to make as little of the case as possible. It appeared that the accused were certainly not British officers, and to represent them as such was an attempt to make political capital out of the affair at the expense of the English Government. The men were loafers, and seem to have been in the secret service of the Republic. Sir Alfred informed the British Agent at Pretoria that he did not object in the least to any statement implicating the British Government being brought to the test of judicial investigation, where the truth could be clearly T^ ^■" 264 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 i! ascertained. The proposal to hush up the matter is a pro- posal to leave on the public mind the impression that there is something to conceal, and to this the High Commissioner ob- jected. The parties who had been arrested were represented as officers in the army : Richard Nicholls, a colonel ; ^^® Patorson, a captain ; and Tremlett, Ellis and Mit- NleholU ^^^^h <^ lieutenants. Beside these there were and others ^^^^^ others who were charged with high trea- son, and with having undertaken to enroll troops, to create a revolution, to seize the fort at Johannesburg, and to hold possession of the place until British troops could arrive from Natal to assist them. One of the prisoners is represented as having admitted that he was acting under the direction of the British War Department. On 2nd June, 1899, the Brit- ish Agent at Pretoria was instructed to retain counsel for the defence of the prisoners, and also to engage counsel to watch the proceedings for the information of the English Government. The State prosecutor denied that he had any intention of suggesting that the British military authorities, or indeed that any British officer, had any connection with the movement. But this statement is not true. The aim was to slander the British authorities. The whole thing is very discreditable to the Transvaal Government, as the parties were spies and agents in the service of that Government. They were arrested and put in jail in order that they might become spies on the others. The Transvaal Government, during the negotiations, sought to make the impression that the British War Office was engaged in a conspiracy against the South African Republic, and if this were believed the Volksraad could easily be brought to reject any reasonable reform which might be agreed upon. About this time, the British Agent at Pretoria informed the High Commissioner, that Nicholls had said that he had no money, and desired to have counsel engaged on his behalf. Sir Alfred Milner replied that, as counsel would have no standing in court to cross-examine the witnesses unless defending the prisoners, he was authorized to engage counsel IN THE TRANSVAAL S66 to defend them, so as to have the opportunity of bringing out the truth. He at lirst declined to engage counsel for the defence of Nicholls, but as he was one of the prisoners that some of them said was acting under instructions from tbd British War Department, the British Government desired the matter to be thoroughly sifted, and counsel in his case was retained. On f\e last day of May, 1899, the Agent at Pre- toria informed the High Commissioner that he had visited Nicholls at the jail, when NichoUs expressed a desire to see him privately, as he had a confidential communication to make. He replied that he could have no private conversa- tion with him, but was ready to hear anything that he had to say in the presence of the officials. He said he could not, before third parties, tell the Agent what he wished. The Agent then said that as his case wls coming on for hearing the next day, and as the matter was in the hands of the Court, he could communicate his stat foments to his own attor- ney, who would, no doubt, attend to them. He replied that he had no money, and could not engage counsel for his defence. He was asked if he had not been represented at the preliminary hearing, and he replied in the negative. The British Agent saw Mr. Jacobsz, who informed Mr. Greene, the Agent, that Hooper and Mitchell alleged that Nicholls had told them that he was acting under the instructions of an officer from the British War Office, and Tremlett and Ellis, two otber prisoners, had also stated that Nicholls told them, that he was a subordinate of a superior officer in Johannes- burg. The British Agent told Jacobsz that he had entrusted the defence of Nicholls to Tancred and Lunnon, and asked him to give them access to Nicholls. He gave them instruc- tions, and they retained Duxbury as counsel. The British Agent wrote, on June 2nd, to the High Commissioner, that it appeared that Paterson was even more directly affected than Nicholls, and so he (Mr. Greene) had instructed the solicitors to interview Paterson in jail, and to undertake his defence if he desired it. Mr. Greene noticed, in locking over the I 266 THE ENGLISH IN! AFRICA \: ii 1^!;;- 1^ r: SI ■rt Prelimin- ary Examina- tion affidavits, one missing wliicli he Iiad seen at his first inter- view with the State Attorney, and which, he thinks, wan that of the party who gave evidence against the others. The Preliminary examination of the conspiracy case l)egan on the 7th of June. Tremlett, Ellis and Mitchell became State witnesses, and the charges against them were dropped. Dux- bury directed the attention of the State Attorney : First — To the fact that Nicholls was refused access to a legal adviser. Secondly — After this reAisal, Nicholls wrote on the 22nd of May to Duxbury ; but this letter was not deliv- ered till the 30th. Thirdly — That Detective Beatty and Commandant Schutte were allowed to see Nicholls in jail, and to ask him to make a statement. Ellis was examined as to the visit of Beatty and Schutte, and the object of the visit, and also as to Nicholls' military chief, whose existence Nicholls denied. Mitchell gave evidence against Paterson and Nicholls about raising a force to fight the Transvaal and to take the forts. An enlisting book was produced, drawn up by Hooper and Mitchell, and handed by them to Tremlett. It appeared that Mitchell had lived by begging for eighteen months. He admitted that Hooper and himself had threatened Patersou with exposure if he did not give them money. On the 9th of June Mitchell was recalled by Duxbury and admitted that his expenses to Pretoria had been paid ; and when he came to make an affidavit, he testified that they had been paid by Tremlett. Detective Beatty was called upon by the Public Prosecutor to produce private letters which had been handed to him by Paterson when the latter was arrested. The Public Prosecutor intimated to the Court that these papers had no bearing on the case, but he nevertheless instantly proceeded to read them. Duxbury protested against the proceeding as dishonorable. The Landrost ruled against Duxbury. The letters were several years old, were from prominent people whom Paterson had once known, such as Lord Rosebery, and were about purely private affairs ; and IN THE TRANSVAAL 267 there was a telegram firom Rhodes respecting a cure for horae Hickness. In cross-examination Beatty admitted that he had been employed by Schutte to work up a case, and had him- self employed Tremlett to assist him. He also admitted that in the affidavits on which all the prisoners had been arrested there was no accusation against Tremlett, Ellis, Fries, or Butler, and the only accusation against Mitchell and Hooper was Tremlett's. Nevertheless this witness had, upon oath, charged all the prisoners with high treason. He could not explain why Fries had been discharged from jail without an order of the Court. He admitted that Tremlett had been in his employ for more than a month. Duxbury challenged Beatty to deny that the High Court had, on two separate occasions, since he had been appointed Acting Chief Detective, denounced him as a person to whose oath no credibility could be attached. Duxbury then asked the Public Prosecutor whether or not he intended to go on with this scandalous case, tainted with illegalities, and the Public Prosecutor answered, ** Certainly. " Tremlett was then called as a witness with a view of implicating the South African League. Duxbury invited the attention of the court to this fact, that a letter addressed by Nicholls to the American Consul on the 27th of May was not delivered until the 10th of June. He Airther invited attention to the fact that the State Attorney had not answered the two questions which a few days before had been put to him. The Public Prosecutor denied the right of counsel to ask the questions, and declined to give any information. Tremlett admitted having met Mitchell, Hooper and Fries, by appoint- ment the night before the arrest, and, in order to elicit the information from them, he told them where arms were concealed, and added that men who did not take part with the Gk>vemment would be given twenty-four hours to leave, or they would be shot. He admitted that Schutte, after seeing Nicholls in jail, had told witness he could get nothing out of Nicholls. He admitted having several conversations m i iii ' J\ . .11 !1| 268 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA with Beatty about the case. In the afternoon the prosecution called three independent witnesses, who expressed the opinion that the whole movement was canteen talk. Duxbury announced, that after considering the evidence led for the prosecution, there was no occasion to call a single witness for the defence. The prisoners pleaded not guilty, and reserved their defence. Duxbury asked the court ' o release Butler, and to liberate the others on bail. He referred to the many irregularities in the case, and pointed out that there was no evidence of high treason to go to the jury. He called atten- tion to the fact that the accusations not only affected the honor of the accused, but the honor of a friendly power. He ftirther said that the South African League was in no way responsible for any words that might have been used by Nicholls ; the League was thoroughly capable of taking cure of itself. The Public Prosecutor denied responsibility for any statement made that went to support an accusation against the British military authorities, or against any British officer. The prisoners were released on bail. The British Agent at Pretoria, on the 15th of June, reported these preliminary proceedings to the High Commis- sioner. The Public Prosecutor denied that there was any intention to insinuate that any British military officer was at the back of the case, but this was not consistent with the action of the Government, that dispatched telegrams to Lon- don and to other capitals in Europe, in which it attempted to connect the War Office and British officers with the so-called plot, and he expressed to the Btate Secretary his inability to understand how the Government could have dispatched such a telegram on the date in question, as they were the only people who could know the real status of the men arrested, and how far the statements sworn to, in respect to them, were true. The so-called conspiracy seemed to have been set on foot for the purpose of embarassing or of putting an end to the negotiations. It certainly could not add anything to the reputation of the Transvaal Government. Mr. Reitz, the IN THE TRANSVAAL 260 jm, were State Secretary, apologized to the British Agent by saying that at the time the telegram waH sent he believed there was truth in the statement, now he regretted the matter. But how could he have lielieved such a thing when the plot was the product of the Government of which he was a meml)er? It is clear that it was intended to serve the purpose of a diplo- matic correspondence which would retard ncigotiations, but the judicial proceedings spoiled, to some extent, the plan of political fencing which it was intended to serve. Sir Alfred Milner, on the 21st of June, sets out in a brief narrative the story of the so-called conspiracy. He points out that if the State Attorney and the State Secretary Sir Alfred ^^ exercised the slightest care in the preparation Milner's of their case, they must have known perfectly well Story the real status and character of the men, yet it was bruited abroad, through Dalziel's agent, that they were British ex-army officers, and the Consul General of the Transvaal, in London, received the same information, although in a somewhat more guarded form, and there was published three days before, a statement implicating Her Majesty's Government, although the State Attorney informed Mr. Greene, the British Agent, that the public were unaware of the existence of such allegations. The man Tremlett was the agent of the Public Prosecutor. He and Ellis and Mitchell were arrested on their own affidavits, voluntarily made, and were placed in jail for the express pur- pose of acting as spies on Nicholls and Paterson, and en- deavoring to get one or other of them to invent the name of some person behind him. The evidence against Nicholls and Paterson is of so worthless a character, that it does not call for a careful examination. Had Her Majesty's Government not been compelled by the insinuations against them to retain counsel, the prisoners would have been unable to secure the services of an advocate, and, in that case, the exposure of the methods of the Transvaal Government would uot have been made. The manner in which Nicholls was denied access to a 270 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA I .'■ I < legal adviser, and the failure to deliver his letters to the British Agent and to the American Consul, are indeed very discreditable to the Transvaal Government. Mr. Duxbury made a very Aill and able report of this case for the informa- tion of the British Government. The affidavit upon which the defendants were committed for trial for high treason woh made by Beatty. The warrant which was issued was based upon this affidavit. This man Beatty was, on two different occasions, within a month, denounced by the Chief Justice and by Mr. Justice Esser as a man to whose statements, even whcu made on oath, no credence was to be attached. The case dis- closed that both Mitchell and Hooper were Tremlett's crea- tures to carry out Beatty's scheme of proving the existence of some conspiracy. As to Paterson he was in the confidence of Mr. Schutte, the Commissioner of Police, almost from the very inception of the proceedings taken by the Detective Department, and it was understood that the remuneration he was to receive for his assistance was to be a good figure for every concealed firearm which he might discover. NichoUs was the only honest person in the collection. He was a respectable working miner with a fad for military affairs. He no doubt entertained the notion of forming some kind of or- ganization for the protection of the non-burgher inhabitants in the event of an attack from the fort. This he freely admits, and the threats published in a semi-Dutch organ against Johannesburg and its inhabitants, no doubt led to this talk. Nicholls is a citizen of the United States, and formerly a resident of the State of Michigan. The proceedings against Nicholls, charged with high treason, and incarcerated iu prison, while he was denied the opportunity of consulting counsel, and surrounded by fellow prisoners, who were spies upon his conduct, were unworthy of any government. Wit- nesses, who were summoned for the prosecution, were subsequently left out, because it was not thought prudent to submit them to a cross-examination. An attempt was made to connect Nicholls with the British War Office, and with IN THE TRANSVAAL 271 the South African League. The effort, however, did not Hucceed. Among the affidavits which accompanied Mr. Duxbury's letter is one from Mr. T. D. Bundy, in which he says that Mr Boatty said to him: ''I expected you to implicate the League." Mr. Bundy replied: ''I had inquired and found out that the League had nothing to do with the so-called movement at all." Mr. Bundy Airther says: "On my way to Pretoria to give evidence, I came in the same railway carriage as Beatty, who had taken my ticket. I stayed, as he requested, at the Fountain Hotel. In the afternoon I met Mr. De Villiers, the gentleman who prosecuted in the case, at Beatty 's request, at the Trua ivaal Hotel. In the course of conversation he said, ' Bundy, we must bring in the League: will you try and work up the cas. ? You will be well paid for it.' I said I would. In the evening Beatty asked me to meet Tjaart Kruger, at the Transvaal Hotel. In the course of conversation Mr. Kruger said to me, ' Do all you can to prove this to be a case of conspiracy on the part of the British GU>vernment, as it will strengthen my father's hands.' He added: ' I'll give you a couple of hundred pounds, and you will get a good billet in the Secret Service.' I said 'All right. ' About a week after this interview I met Mr. Kruger again at the Chief Detective's office, Johannesburg, and told him, that, after having made careful inquiries, I had come to the conclusion that the British Government and the League had nothing whatever to do with the alleged movement, and that the whole affair was nothing but canteen talk. He still pressed me, however, to do all I could to find evidence incriminating the League, and to report later on to him at Pretoria. A day or two before I gave my evidence, Beatty and I had a drink at the Fountain Hotel, and he said: 'Old man, I rely on you. You must bring the League in.' I said: 'All right, old man. I intend, however, to tell only the truth in the box.' " The Blue Books show that at the very time correspondence was proceeding with a view to ending I i i' .r.M I'/ Si the wrongs done to the Uitlanders, a meeting of the President and High Commissioner was taking place at the capital of the Orange Free State; with this object the Presi- dent and his advisers were engaged in e conspiracy to make it appear to the world that the War Department in Eng- land, and British military officers in the Transvaal, were conspiring to destroy the Government of the South African Republic. The scheme failed, and the refusal to grant the necessary reforms had to be squarely faced by the Transvaal Executive. We shall see how far the concessions that President Kruger was prepared to make fell short of those required to give contentment to those upon whom the burdens of the State were falling, and to put an end to that race hatred which his policy had engendered. No other country, great or small, in modern times, has had so dis- graceful a history. ( '.- CHAPTER XII. THE SOUTH AFRICAN B,E?VBUC—( Continued) Boer Tyranny over British subjects — Petition from British residents in the Transvaal — Privileges to burghers in Johannesburg — Examples op race- hatred — Unfair treatment op the Uitlanders — Right op Public Meeting abolished — Tee policy OP LEAVING things ALONE TRIED POR YEARS — DUTY OP THE British (Jove 'nment. The Oovernment of the Transvaal, under President Eruger, has been very offensive to the British, and very arbitrary in its conduct towards British subjects in the South African Republic. It has acted upon the ass^umption that the Republic is an independent and sovereign state, and that if it be independent and sovereign, it is at liberty to act towards the citizens or subjects of other countries as it may deem proper, and that it can in no way be made accountable for wrong done either to person or to property. But there are a number of recent instances iu which states have intervened ou behalf of injured subjects. This was done many years ago by the British authorities in Greece, and the Convention in 1861 between England, France and Spain, led to a com- bined expedition to Mexico, in order to enforce the payment of debts due from the Mexican Government to the subjects of these three countries, and for the general redress of injuries which had been done to those subjects by the Mexican authorities. But the Government of the Transvaal have assumed that they are not amenable, and that if outrage is committed, or wrong is done, a sufficient >^nswer is given by the statement that ''We can admit of no interference. We 18 ,1 it 274 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA cannot recognize the tight of any outside party to tell us how we shall be governed." And so, if you complain that out- rages are committed, that wrong is done to British subjects, for which you seek redress, you are at once told ''you are interfering with our independence, to which we will not sub- mit." The Boers have not those full sovereign rights to which they have set up pretensions, but if they had, they would still be amenable to those principles of international law which govern the relation of States, and which give to each State the right to demand that no outrage shall be committed, nor injustice done to its subjects while they reside in another civilized state. Let mc direct attention to the kind of legislation which has recently been enacted in the Transvaal, and to which British subjects have been compelled to submit. The British residents of the Transvaal, in a petition to Her Mtgesty, during the past year (1899), pointed out many oi the grievances of which they complain. They indi- cated that they had no share in the government of the country, although they constituted a majority Petition fk>oiii P . . of its civilized inhabitants, were the owners of a in the very large proportion of the land, and represented Transvaal ^^^ enlightenment, the wealth and the energy of the State. They pointed out that they had been promised by the Government of the Transvaal redress for the grievances of which they complained, but that no prac- tical amelioration of their condition had yet been afforded, and that every suggestion pointing to redress had been scorn- fully rejected. In 1895 President Kruger published a proclamation, in which he held out hopes of reform ; but since that period all the chief acts of legislation, which have been adopted by the Volksraad, have pointed in the opposite direction. The Immigration of Aliens' Bill, the Press Law, and the Aliens' Expulsion Law, were all brought forward in the year 1896. The first of these measures was abandoned, because it was a u: IN THE jTRANSVAAL 276 palpable infringement of the provisions of the London Conven- tion. The second of them placed the whole press of the Republic at the mercy of the President. This power has been used by him, without scruple, against every newspaper which has shown itself friendly to British interests, while those favoring his Government have been permitted without molestation, and without any protest on the part of the authorities, to advocate the commission of the most atrocious crimes. The Aliens' Expulsion Act, contrary to the Conven- tion of 1884, distinguishes between burghers and Uitlanders, and permits the President to expel Uitlanders Irom the country, and fails to secure to them any means of legal redress. It places the authority of the President, in this regard, above the law, and denies to British subjects the judicial redress for which the Convention expressly provides. The municipal government of Johannesburg, as I have mentioned in an earlier chapter, gives to the 1,039 burghers of the city twelve representatives in the Mun- Prlvileges icipal Council, and it bestows only the same toBurgrh- number on the 24,000 adult male Uitlanders '6PS in . . who reside there. There is a clear attempt in xj the municipal government of the city to distin- guish between those of Dutch and those of English origin, and to give to the Dutch inhabitants the control of the Council, wholly regardless of either their number or their wealth. The President, undei the recent Municipal Act, appoints an officer to preside, known as the Burgomaster, so that the Dutch burghers have thirteen representatives, while the Uitlanders have but twelve, although the Dutch are among the very poorest and most ignorant of the city population. In 1897 the Executive Government of the Transvaal, in order to further oppress the Uitlanders, took aivay from the Court its power of independent action, dismissed the Chief Justice for maintaining the ascendency of the Constitution, and brought a judge from the Orange Free State to preside M i^l 276 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA over the Court at the trial of political prisoners. The Government built forts overlooking the city of Johannesburg, as a menace to its alien population. The Constitution of the police force ts such, and its feeling of hostility to the English population is so intense, that instead of being a protection, it has become a danger to the lives of the people. The feeling of race hatred is so strong, that a trial by jury, composed only of burghers, would mean a miscarriage of justice, as was shown in Mr. Edgar's case, where the Public Prosecutor reduced a charge against Jones from that of murder to that of culpable homicide, and released the prisoner upon the recognizances of his comrades in the police force for the sum of £200. As soon as it became known in the city that a petition there was in circulation, setting forth the grievances of British subjects in the Transvaal, signed by several thousands, and which was to have been forwarded to the High Commis- sioner, but which the agent had not forwarded, the President and Secretary of the South African League were arrested on the charge of contravening the Public Meetings' Act, and were admitted to bail upon the security of £1,000— five times the sum required to free from confinement the murderer of Edgar. British subjects who assembled in public meetings in a perfectly legal manner, were attacked by Boers, and by police- men, with batons, sticks, revolvers, and parts of the chairs which they had broken up in the hall ; and thus meetings legally convened were dispersed by riot and disorder, al- though there were present Justices of the Peace, Lieutenants of Police, in addition to the police who were applied to, to prevent the work of destruction, but who refused to do so, or to arrest any of the offenders, or to make any attempt to en- able those who had called the meeting to proceed with the business in hand. The Uitlanders are deprived of all municipal and political rights. They are taxed far above the requirements of the .M- IN THE TRANSVAAL 277 State — the revenues of which are misapplied, and the public money is stolen. The education of Uitlander un a r children is made subject to impossible condi- Treatment .. _,. • ^ *u • u* * *•*• : of the tions. The exercise of the right of petition is Uitlanders "^^^^ ^ crime, and British subjects have been imprisoned for asking the Queen's protection against the illegal and unjust actions of the Transvaal Govern- ment. Such are some of the grievances which have been set out in the petition, and they indicate a state of things which would lead to a revolution if the one section of the population had not been armed to the teeth, and the other section kept without arms altogether. Sir Alfred Milner, the High Com- missioner in South Africa, writing to the Colonial Secretary iu March, 1899, refers to the negotiations which had taken place between President Kruger and certain leading men of Johannesburg. One or two facts were strongly brought out in these negotiations — as, for instance, the attitude of the Uitlander leaders. Negotiations were carried on with widely diverse elements, including the President of the Chamber of Mines, who was a Frenchman. In these negotiations the residents of the Rand stood well together. They are not a homogenous body. They are of different nationalities, al- though the vast mujority of them are British. They all alike demand genuine political reform. Their demands were ex- tremely moderate. It is often asserted that the Uitlanders of Johannesburg are a crowd of money grabbers, who have no regard for political rights, nor care for their personal dignity, as long as they can succeed in filling their purses. But these negotiations show that statements of this sort are calumnious. The Uitlanders had undertaken to bargain for the whole community, and the provisional agreement which they endea- vored to make was to have the approval of the people iu a public meeting. To engage in these negotiations, there was a re])resentative body of men who approached the officials appointed to discuss public matters with them in a moderate and fail spirit. It was not surprising that they should be mm "i™;f * pii III m 278 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA suspicious after the many years of promises, followed by no performance. They were denounced by the Boer press, though they aimed at nothing but fair treatment. The mem- bers of the Government that put forward a party to negotiate with them endeavored to entrap them into an agreement to accept what the Government would propose, although they had no means of knowing what the Government proposal would be. They were denounced by the Boer press because they did not consent to tie their hands, and also the hands of those on whose behalf they had undertaken to act. They aimed at nothing but proper security, for the fair treatment of the non-Boer population, and what transpired made it plain that there was no honest intention of conceding to them this moderate measure of reform. The richer section of the Uitlanders, at the time the war broke out, were making an earnest effort to provide for the education of the poorer classes. They had paid more than their full share of the very large sums collected for the pur- pose of education, most of which, hitherto, seems to have been frittered away. They were paying, in addition, out of their own pockets for the education of their children, whom the State would not permit to be instructed in the only language which they knew and understood. To this end, £100,000 sterling was subscribed, and the mining companies further proposed to contribute £15,000 a year. Thus the Dutch Government will not succeed in forcing the children of a large English population to become Dutch, or to remain in perpetual ignorance. The High Commissioner, in a despatch to the Colonial Secretary (11th April, 1899,) calls attention to the fact that the masses of the people are taking an interest in the ques- tions of political reform. The Dutch press, the writers of which are all apologists for the Transvaal Government, deny this, and declare that the political agitation in the Rand is due to the influence of capitalists. This is not so. The working classes are not reconciled to the methods of Boer IN THE TRANSVAAL 279 government. They regard with extreme aversion the pro- visions of the law which treat them as an inferior race, and make them suspects in the eyes of the ruling caste. Those of them who desire to leave the country at an early day, are, no doubt, in favor of peace and quiet on any terms. They think that they could make money faster, and get away sooner, if all political unrest could be avoided. But those who foresee for themselves a longer sojourn, or a permanent residence in the country, are, of course, much less tolerant of misgovem- ment, which affects both them and their children most seriously, and they see no way of getting rid of the abuses that have been created, except by acquiring for themselves civic rights. President Kruger has expressed an intention of loosening the barriers, but his proposals, when closely examined, are found to be wholly illusory. He has proposed to Krugep s reduce the period of naturalization to nine years. Unsatisfac* rpj^jg pe^od does not begin to run until after the tory Proposals law comes into operation. What the Uitlander then gets, under President Kruger's proposal, is not a right, but simply a prospect, which may be of no value whatever, as it requires the consent of two-thirds of the burghers of the district in which the Uitlander resides, and the subsequent approval of the Government. After he spends an additional nine years, and becomes a citizen of the Republic, he is not permitted to vote, in any event, for the President or the Commandant-in-Chief ; and the First Raad may, by a simple resolution, after a twenty-four hours' notice, upset the arrangement, and deprive him of al! burgher rights. The naturalized burgher may then find that he has lost the citizenship of his native country without having acquired any right of real value in the Republic. It is impossible that the Uitlanders can of themselves do anything to make things better. They cannot fight ; they have been disarmed. They are as careftilly guarded and shadowed as if they were prisoners on parole. They are, in vs ! 1-' 280 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA fact, not free men, but prisoners at large in a State claiming to be a Republic. The constitutional agitation which had been carried on for years could bring to the Uitlander no relief, for notbing that it was in his power to do could endanger the control which the Dutch burghers have over the Government of the State. As to law and order, the trial of Edgar shows that the British workmen in the Trans- vaal are wholly without legal protection. The police are armed with revolvers ; the British population are unarmed. In the trial of Edgar's murderer the judge commended his conduct in breaking into Edgar's house without warrant of law and shooting him without warning. And, as these acts of violence have received the approval of constituted authority, there is no restraint upon them any more than if there were no law in force, for it is administered in such a way as to afford them com plete immunity. The right of public meeting has been taken away, because the attempt to exercise the right exposes one to violence, for Riffht of ^hic^ ^^ *^^ obtain u^ redress from the consti- Publie tuted authorities, although he may fairly claim Meeting this right under the London Convention. The Taken political rights demanded by the people are de- Away manded solely for the purpose of remedying the injustice that prevails. The people desire municipal reform in order that they may manage their own civic concerns in their own interest. They seek the franchise as a protection against iiyustice committed by those over whom, under the existing order of things, they have no possible control. The High Commissioner, in addressing the Colonial Secre- tary in May, 1899, mentioned the Edgar incident as one which precipitated a struggle that was certain to come. He charac- terized this as a criminal blunder of a character that would have provoked a popular outcry anywhere, but it was further aggravated by the misconduct of the Public Prosecutors, and by the extraordinary attitude of the judge at the public trial. It had been made worse because the police were incompetent IN THE TRANSVAAL 281 and to deal with gross scandals. The disorders produced by the liquor traffic and the brutal treatment of the colored people, further added to the discontent. The people found their affairs mismanaged, their protests disregarded, their sense of self-respect outraged by officials actuated by the strongest prejudices, without culture, or any proper appreciation of their official duties, and over whom no influence or control could be exercised. None of the grievances which have excited sympathy have been redressed. Their numbers have been increased. The High Court of Judicature has been degraded by the dismissal of the judge, by putting the resolutions of the Volksraad above the constitution, and by making its actions in all mat- ters supreme. Defenceless people are clamoring for protection against those in authority, and for redress of the wrongs that officials commit. The few Uitlauders who may be engaged in the liquor traffic have, of course, no sympathy with reform. They live by the idleness and disorder that their business creates ; but the prosperity of the country depends upon those who are seeking to make the Qovernment the guardian of justice, and not an instrument of oppression. The men who own the wealth of the country, and upon whom its progress depends, are subject to the arbitrary legislation of incom- petent, unsympathetic, and corrupt administrators. They have been made to feel deeply numerous personal indignities, and their permanent subjection to a ruling caste which owes all it possesses to their industry and exertions. Could anyone doubt that the riots and disorders of the Transvaal must con- tinue until wrong is rectified and the numerous impediments which the Government have erected in the way of progress, are removed? = There is a close relation existing between the British South African Colony, in which the Boers are settled, and the South African Republics. They are composed of the same races of Europeans ; they are largely engaged in the same 282 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA industrial pursuits ; the two white races are in all these political communities intermingled. They can live in har- mony only upon conditions of equality. It is impossible that the one race can be given political ascendency over the other for any lengthened period of time, without producing serious conflict. South Africa may be divided into provinces or states, as North America is divided, and they may get on without conflict ; but you cannot have two social and political systems, with perfect equality in some of these provinces, and the ascendency of one race over the other in provinces adjoin- ing. In the Transvaal, the attempt has been made by Presi- dent Kruger and the Volksraad, to make the position of Englishmen one of permanent subjection to the Dutch Boers. It is idle to talk of peace and unity under such a state of affairs. It is impossible that you can have anything else than conflict, and it is little short of an outrage, where such a con- dition of things has been attempted, to deny that the British Government have a sufficient reason for war, and are justified in attempting, by force, if necessary, to alter this condition of things. It might as well be argued that your neighbor has a right to burn down his residence which adjoins yours because it is his own. The condition of things which the Boers of the Transvaal Republic have undertaken to establish is one which produces disorder and discontent over the whole of South Africa. The Government which they have created, and the policy which they have pursued, are nuisances that must be abated. The British Government have long and patiently striven to bring about reform by peaceful means. All its efforts have failed, and there is no other course open to it than to employ force to accomplish those desirable ends which reason and remonstrance have failed to secure. Sir Alfred Milner, in reviewing the inequalities which Boer legislators have undertaken to make permanent, has well said : — "It is this which makes the internal condition of the Transvaal Republic a matter of vital interest to Her Majesty's IN THE TRANSVAAL 288 Oovemment. No merely local question affects so deeply the welfare and peac^e of her own South African possessions. And the right of Great Britain to intervene to Sir Alfred secure fair treatment of the Uitlanders is fully Milner's equal to her supreme interest in securing it. View of the The majority of them are her subjects whom she Situation is bound to protect. But the enormous num- ber of British subjects, the endlef>s series of their grievances, and the nature of those grievances, which are not less serious because they are not individually sensa- tional, makes protection by the ordinary diplomatic means impossible. We are, as you know, for ever remonstrating about this, that, and the other injury to British subjects. Only in rare cases and only when we are very emphatic do we obtain any redress. The sore between us and the Transvaal Republic is thus inevitably kept open, while the result in the way of protection to our subjects is lamentably small. For these reasons it has been, as you know, my constant endeavor to reduce the number of our complaints. I may sometimes have abstained when I ought to have protested from my great dislike of ineffectual nagging. But I feel that the attempt to remedy the hundred and one wrongs springing from a hopeless system by taking up isolated cases is perfectly vain. It may easily lead to war, but will never lead to real improvement. "The true remedy is to strike at the root of all these injuries — the political impotence of the injured. What diplomatic protests will never accomplish, a fair measure of Uitlander representation would gradually but surely bring about. It seems a paradox, but it is true, that the only effective way of protecting our subjects is to help them to cease to be our subjects. The admission of Uitlanders to a fair share of political power would no doubt give stability to the Republic. But it would at the same time remove most of our causes of difference with it, and modify and, in the long run, entirely remove that intense suspicion and bitter hostility to Great Britain which at present dominates its internal and external policy. "The case for intervention is overwhelming. The '^^^® only attempted answer is that things will "Leaving right themselves if left alone. But the policy of alone'* leaving things alone has, in fact, been tried for Principle years, and it has led to their going from bad to worse. It is not true that this is owing to the raid. They were going from bad to worse before the raid. We were on the verge of war before the raid, and the Trans- 1 '1)1 m\i I ■ I I !U 384 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA vaal was on the verge of revolution. The effect of the raid has been to give the policy of leaving things alone a new lease of life, and with the old consequences. ''The spectacle of thousands of British subjects kept per- manently in the position of helots, constantly chaflng under undoubted grievances, and calling vainly to Her Mf^esty's (lovernment for redress, does steadily undermine the influence and reputation of Great Britain and the respect for the British Government within the Queen's dominions. A certain section of the press, not in the Transvaal only, preaches openly and constantly the doctrine of a Republic embracing all South Africa, and supports it by menacing references to the arma- ments of the Transvaal, its alliance with the Orange Free State, and the active sympathy which, in case of war, it would receive from a section of Her Mi^esty's subjects. I regret to say that this doctrine, supported as it is by a ceaseless stream of malignant lies about the intentions of the British Govern- ment, is producing a great effect upon a large number of our Dutch fellow colonists. Language is frequently used which seems to imply that the Dutch have some superior right even in this colony to their fellow citizens of British birth. Thou- sands of men peaceably disposed, and, if left alone, perfectly satisfied with their position as British subjects, are being drawn into disaffection, and there is a corresponding exasnera- tion on the side of the British, "I can see nothing which will put a stop to this mis- chievous propaganda but some striking proof of the intention of Her Majesty's Government not to be ousted from its posi- tion in South Africa. And the best proof alike of its power and its justice would be to obtain for the Uitlanders in the Transvaal a fair share in the Government of the country which owes everything to their exertions. It could be made perfectly clear that our action was not directed against the existence of the Republic. We should only be demanding the re-establishment of rights which now exist in the Orange Free State, and which existed in the Transvaal itself at the time of and long after the withdrawal of British sovereignty. It would be no selfish demand, as other Uitlandere besides those of British birth would benefit by it. It is asking for nothing from others which we do not give ourselves. And it would certainly go to the root of the political unrest in South Afirica, and, though temporarily it might aggravate, it would ulti- mately extinguish the race feud which is the great bane of the country." IN THE TRANSVAAL 986 The foregoing is a very clear and poweriVil statement of the situation in South Africa, and it makes obvious the duty devolving upon the British Oovernment, if it is to retain its position. It is essential to the integrity of the Empire that Great Britain should be the paramount power in South AiVica ; but, if the policy of the Boers of the Transvaal is allowed to prevail, Great Britain would not be a paramount power, but, at a very early day, must cease to be a power at all. The Colonial Secretary (10th May, 1899), addressed to the High Commissioner, a despatch in respect to the com- plaints of British subjects resident in the Transvaal, against the course pursued by the Government of the Republic to- wards them. The Colonial Secretary mentions the fact that the root of discontent is due to the policy which that (Govern- ment pursues towards an immigrant population, which far out- numbers the burghers, and which forms a very large propor- tion of the entire white population of the Republic. How far they have contributed to the products of the country is shown by the increase of its revenue, which, in 1885, was £177,876, and in 1898, £8,983,560, which sum had been almost wholly contributed by the Uitlanders. The people who paid these taxes are debarred from taking any part in the public affairs of the country of which they are the chief support. They are compelled to take an Oppressive oath to the Government, the words of which are Con- most offensive to their sentiments. They are ex - ditions eluded from sitting upon juries, and are at the mercy of judges who are bound, under pain of dismissal, to respect, as the paramount law of the State, any resolution which the Volksraad may choose to adopt.* The * This law was adopted in tSqrj at the instance of the President . It empowered him to exact from the judg^es assurances that they would recognize the resolutions of the Volksraad as having the force of law, and would not question the validity of any Act by reason of its being in conflict with the Constitution. If the reply of a judge, when questioned, was not satisfactory to the President, the President was professedly given power to instantly dismiss him. This rule was applied to two of the judges, including the Chief Justice, though no one could doubt that the Volksraad could not validly legislate as they had done. ■el '- ii i I w 286 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Uitlanders are, for the most part, British subjects, who, prior to the Jameson raid, sought to obtaiu the amelioration of their condition by constitutional agitation, which entirely failed to effect its object. Active agitation and passive acquiesence alike proved abortive, and the inhabitants of Johannesburg, in December, 1895, had recourse to arms to secure that redress which by peaceful agitation they were unable to obtain. At the instance of the British High Commissioner they gave up their arms, and the Republic was spared a civil war. The President announced that the Governmint were prepared to consider all complaints, properly brought before them, and submit them to the Volksraad for redress. Several years have since gone by, and, during that time, no reform has been effected, and both the legislation and the Executive action have been characterized by further acts of encroachment upon the rights of the Uitlanders, and by further acts of oppression. The financial administration has been marked by numer- ous defalcations, for which the offenders have never been called to account, or put upon trial, and oince 1883 £2,400,000 has disappeared from the public treasury. Numerous concessions have been made, by which monopo- lies have been created in breach of Article 14 of the Loudon Convention. They embraced the manufacture of matches, paper, chocolate, wool, starch, soap, oils and mineral waters, all of which take moneys from the Uitlander population, not to the benefit of the State itself, but for the benefit of certain favorite persons, and the excessive cost of the necessities of life resulting therefrom has greatly injured the working classes, and has rendered the working of mines, of the lower grade, in some cases difficult and in others impossible. £250,- 000 is yearly taken from the Uitlanders for popular education, which is conducted in such a way as to become a mark of oppression and race degradation, as it is intended to force upon the children of the Uitlanders the use of the Dutch language, instead of imparting to them the rudiments of a knowledge in their own. IN THE TRANSVAAL 287 Under the law of 1896, all teaching must be in Dutch ; all school books are written in Dutch. But four hours of the week are devoted to the study of any other Dutch the language, while, in all the lower forms, nothing Enforced y^^,^ j^^^^j^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ J* . J^ Municipal reform was promised at Johannes- Countrv ^"^^' ^"^ ^^ ^^^ proposed act, although the Burgher population are but one in twenty-five, they elect one-half the Council ; and the Burgomaster, who presides, and who is the chief administrative officer for the city, is appointed by the President. He is bound to submit every reguiacion made by the Town Council, to the Executive Council of the State, within four days after its passing, and the Executive Counr'l has the power to disallow these munici- pal regulations if they are so disposed. The whole proceed- ings of the Council in a large city, in which Dutch is scarcely spoken, must be kept in the Dutch language. The residents of the Band asked for the creation of a Board, composed of respectable persons, who would enjoy the confidence of the mining and commercial classes, to supervise the administration of the liquor traffic, the press law, and the law regarding gold thefts, with the special detective force under them. This Board was recommended because the existing organization was utterly inefficient, and because the sale of liquor to the Kaffirs had the effect of seriously interfer- ing with the mining industry. Drink is supplied to the natives in unlimited quantities, so that they are utterly unfit for their work, and spend much of their time in idleness, which greatly interferes with mining operatioDS. Up to the time that the war began, no action was taken by the Govern- ment, to carry into effect the reforms suggested. The inefficiency of the Administration is scarcely a less source of discontent than the oppressive legislation of the Volksraad. It menaces both the security of life and of property. In the administration of justice the officials are practically free from all local control. This was shown in the 1 J t if „ ,-_ .tX'^< 288 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA treatment of British subjects, who were illegally comman- deered by the Comets, and who met with the most brutal treatment without having redress afforded them. Since 1884, the Uitlanders have been deprived, not only of all political representation, but of the protection which the law at one time afforded, and are made liable to banishment if they appeal to public opinion, or attempt to bring the grievances, of which they have good reason to complain, to the attention of their own Government. By the press laws of 1896 and 1898, the President is given power, with the sanction of his executive advisers, to prohibit the circulation of any newspaper which, in his opinion, is dangerous to the peace or good order of the Republic, and every editorial article which condemns his public conduct is so regarded. Under the Alien Expulsion r.aw of 1896, an alien may be expelled from the country by an order from the President, contrary to the terms of the London Conven- tion. By the Act of 1897, the President is given absolute control over the administration of justice. The policy of the South African Republic has been such as to excite the fiercest race animosities. The authorities have trampled upon the provisions of the Convention of 1884, and they have adopted towards British subjects a course of action so unjust, and so oppressive, as to justify the interference of the Government on behalf of its own people, for the coui-se pursued is altogether at variance with the comity which prevails between civilized nations in respect to the subjects of one State that may be residents within the jurisdiction of another. . CHAPTER XIII. THE SOUTH AFRICAN RE?VBUC— (Continued) Negotiations with a view to the removal of existing ABUSES — Rejection by the Uitlanders of the Boer PROPOSALS — The final Lippert memorandum — Views OF the South African League — The President's TERMS — Variations by the Volksraad. A Mr. Lippert, who is said to have beeu a confidential agent of the German Government, on behalf of the Transvaal Government, met a number of prominent gentlemen con- nected with the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg, with a view of discussing with them the subject of such reforms as would be necessary to satisfy the reasonable expectation of the Uitlanders. It was well known to Mr. Lippert that certain questions were the subject of very grave differences between the Transvaal Government and that section of the Uitlander population that was engaged in mining industries. These differences extended beyond the impediments put in the way of mining, and related to the subject of education, of municipal government, and of representation in the Volksraad, so as to give some assurance of permanency to any arrangement that might be made. There were on the one side, Messrs. Brakham, Birkenruth and Rouliot, and on behalf of the Transvaal Government three of its members, Messrs. Leyds, Reitz and Smuts, with Mr. Lippert. On the 18th of March last, Messrs. Brakham, Birkenruth, Rouliot, Pistorious and Fitzpatrick met Mr. Lippert, who communi- cated to them definitely what the topics of legislation which the Government proposed to submit to the Raad, were, and that they required all parties in the Rand to bind both them- selves and their London friends to accept the Government 19 ! ! '• T. V 290 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA proposal as a complete settlement of their grievances. The proposed policy of the Government was to be taken as a whole, and no modifications were to be permitted. So, instead of the meeting being for the purpose of discussing each subject of the matter of which the people of the gold- fields complain, it was a sort of ultimatum, proposed by the Transvaal Government by which the representative men were to bind themselves and the residents of the gold-fields in advance, to accept, and to which also they Proposl- were to obtain the approval of their friends in tions of London. The propositions which Mr. Lippert Mp. Lippert submitted, on behalf of the Transvaal Govern- ment, were as follows: — 1. The modification of the claim of the surface holders in the mining districts, and a general plan for enabling them to acquire the mining rights beneath. 2. The appointment of a suitable man as financier and auditor, he, if necessary, to be a member of the Executive Council, who was to formulate a scheme of taxation. 3. To discourage further agitation in the newspapers on these subjects. 4. To publicly discourage and repudiate any political organization having for its object the stirring up of strife and dissension between different nationalities inhabiting the State. 5. To deal with the dangers of uncontrolled and indis- criminate immigration of Hindoos and Chinese, and to exhibit a willingness to aid the Government in the above objects. 6. To consider the principle of granting monopolies in respect to dynamite, which cost the miners, at preneut, £600,000 without any benefit to the country — the Chamber of Mines accepting the proposal of the Government, on condition that the terms of the contract be rigidly enforced, and that the Dynamite Companj' reduce the price to seventy shillings a case of fifty pounds, and pay the Government five shillings a case out of this sum, and the share of the profits agreed upon between the Company and the Government. it ! IN THE TRANSVAAL 291 7. The Uitlanders were to accept the Government pro- posals in respect to their franchise, which are not to include a substantial reduction of past residence ; that the period of residence required be for seven years ; and that the new burghers shall not be entitled to vote for the President, and the oath of allegiance required shall be taken by them at the beginning of the seven years ; that before the new law shall operate in any district it shall be published for a year, and shall receive the assent of two-thirds of the enfranchised burghers of the Republic. The law must also receive the approval of the unenfranchised community. 8. The independence of the Bench vas to be assured and maintained inviolate. The gentlemen who were acting on behalf of the Uitlan- ders, after considering the propositions submitted to them, and the proposed franchise legislation, declined to Rejection approach the Uitlander population with the pro- by the posal of President Kruger's advisers, for many Uitlanders reasons — because there was no consideration given to residence already completed. The pro- posed scheme, if carried through the Volksraad, and which subsequently required two-thirds of the burghers to signify their approval, would be, if the measure were unobjectionable in other respects, a proposal of a practical impossibility. In the late presidential election — one of unusual excitement and public interest — with prominent men in the field, and with every agency at work in favor of opposing candidates to stimulate activity, less than two-thirds of the burghers on the register, recorded their votes. It requires no great amount of argument to satisfy any reasonable man, that upon an abstract question, in which a large number of persons were being admitted to the franchise by the reluctant action of the existing burgher population, it would never be possible to bring the existing law into operation, as it would never be possible to secure the percentage of the voters in its favor which the law requires. It was also pointed out that the %hf w ■ 292 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA m. oath of allegiance was humiliating in its terms. It had been quite recently rejected by the Yolksraad of the Orange Free State, and was equally objectionable in the Transvaal. The further proposal to require every Uitlander to take the oath of allegiance, seven years before he could be admitted to citizenship, was a proposal that he should give up all his rights to citizenship in the country of his birth without acquir- ing any right in the country in which he had come to reside. It was a proposal that he should abandon everything without acquiring anything in return. His experience in the past was, that the rights which he possessed, had been legislated away at the very period when they were at the point of maturing ; and in this case, after he had waited for seven years, and sought admission to citizenship when on the point of attainment, he might find that the vote of the burgher population, which was to admit him to his rights, limited though they were, would be used to exclude him. Further, on account of the peculiar condition of the country, the extension of the franchise, without also considering the question of representation, would really be regarded as no solution of the question, for after the Uitlanders were admitted to the fran- chise, and after they had acquired the limited citizenship proposed to be conferred upon them, supposing every step up to this point to be successful, it might be found that the number of representatives bestowed upon them, notwithstand- ing their own numbers, was so small, that they could produce no appreciable influence on the course of legislation, and the disabilities under which they labored might be perpetuated, in spitr- of the reforms which had been conceded. J . 1 Tsaiorandum, of which the foregoing is a sum- t. ' Li'ansvaal Government, through the State Secre- •■/ ' repudiating the proposals which had been made ■T: '■•iV' throikgh xl-:. Lippert, and declaring that the reforms which Mr. Lippert had suggested, had been put forward solely on his own responsibility, and were not to be regarded as proposals of the Government at all. They deny that Mr. Lippert, IN THE TRANSVAAL 293 in making these proposals, had acted on behalf of the Government. He was a friendly mediator, whose object was to see to what extent the differences and misunderstandings could be overcome. The S3cretary denies that the members of the Executive were in any position to treat with the repre- sentatives of the Rand, for the subjects put forward by Mr. Lippert had never been discussed by the President. The Secretary goes on to say: — "From your side, we desired a more friendly attitude in the press, because we were con- vinced that the exaggerated press campaign in newspapers — which are generally stated to be owned or influenced by you — which, however much it might promote private interests, was nevertheless calculated to cause an endless amount of evil to the lasting interests of all sections of the community. By the continual and perpetual instigation and suspicion, caused by the newspapers, the public mind was constaritly held in a state of insecurity, and by the continual propagation of race- hatred, the Government and Legislature were prevented from improving the State and the position of the so-called Uit- landers with respect to the old population." It will be seen by these proposals that the Government contemplated taking away the mining rights from the proprie- tors of the soil, and to this act of public policy Proposals ^j^^y required the Uitlanders to give their assent 2l?™ ^" advance. They asked for a pledge that the Uitlanders would discourage further agitation in the newspapers, which had been, heretofore, subjects of complaint, and it would seem with a view to legis- lation against the press, that, after the Government proposals had been accepted, these subjects were not to be discussed, and that repressive legislation would be adopted by the Volksraad to secure this result. These men were to pledge the entire community that political organizations which might have the effect of stirring up strife and of creating dissensions between different nationalities, were to be repudiated. Whether politi- cal organizations were created for such a purpose or not, the Govern- ment li ,% mf^. 294 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Government must be the sole judge. President Kruger de- clares that he believes the Uitlanders are disposed to accept his scheme of citizenship and of burgher rights, and would do so if they were not misled. In his opinion they were ready to quietly accept the position of inferiority which he proposes to assign them, and that any attempt to secure for them equality with the Dutch population must be regarded as an attempt to stir up strife, and to sow dissention between the diflferent nationalities of the Republic. They are to acquiesce in the monopolies which have been established, and to be content with the payment of seventy shillings a case for dynamite, when dynamite of the same kind is sold for thirty-seven shil- lings a case at Kimberley. They are, for all time to come, to cheerfully agree to the proposal, that the Boers shall be free men, and the English shall be helots. The State Secretary, in his reply, goes on to discuss miners' rights, the press agita- tions, political organizations, and monopolies. He complains that the propositions which have been made by Mr. Lippert had appeared in the London Times, the Cape Times and other newspapers, but why he should complain with regard to the publication of propositions for all responsibility, on behalf of the Government which he repudiates, it is difficult to see. The law forbade the holding of a public open-air meeting, and so what had transpired could not be publicly discussed. Those who constituted the committee, on behalf of the people of the Rand, declared that they had failed in their attempt at nego- tiations, and that the committee itself was formally dissolved. Subsequently (14th of April), the gentlemen who constituted this committee replied to the violent communication of the State Secretary, with a view of correcting his mis-statements, and preventing any misapprehension arising in the public mind. They point out that every statement is based on docu- ments, which they have every reason to believe had been approved of by the Transvaal Government. Mr. Lippert sub- mitted to them the basis of settlement, which embraced the proposals which Dr. Leyds, Mr. Reitz and Mr. Smuts had > II IN THE TRANSVAAL 295 agreed to. They point out that Mr. Lippert's memorandum embraced five points which the Uitlauders were expected to concede, upon condition that the Government agreed to the other four in return. They were told that these propositions must be considered together, and that the matter must be kept absolutely secret. After the representatives of the Uitlanders expressed their willingness to open negotiations on the basis of these propositions, Mr. Lippert went to Pretoria to consult with the authorities, and, upon his return, informed them that the President viewed the matter favorably, and requested them to acquaint their friends, by cable, of the facts. A few days later they were informed that no subject other than those mentioned in the memorandum would be discussed at their meeting. So that the gentlemen, who were invited to consider the reforms required, found that the Government, through Mr. Lippert, assumed not only to state the grievances which they were prepared to redress, but also the demands which they were resolved to make. The committee felt assured that the proposals which they were asked to communicate, by tele- graph, to parties in London, at the instance of the President, could not be considered as propositions made upon the sole responsibility of Mr. Lippert. On the 17th of March the President was informed of the reply received from London, and the committee pointed out that their proposal to discuss the question with Dr. Leyds was based on the proposal that the Government had made to the committee — that the people in London should be parties to the settlement ; and to this the State Secretary replied that the exchange of views could best take place in the Transvaal ; that the session of the Volksraad was at hand ; and that delay was undesirable. There was no room, therefore, to come to any other conclusion than that the communication made to the friends in Europe, at the instance of the President, em- bodied the proposal of the Transvaal Government itself, and was sent with its knowledge and The propositions embraced in Mr. Lippert's mem- The Lippert Memor- andum approvaL orandum were If!' ;;'v :' 'Wf riff ' 'i'i'" m-^ fm 296 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA m 1. The cessation of the press agitation in the Transvaal, and in Europe. 2. The support of the Government in its treatment of the Coolie question. 3. The settlement of the dynamite question. 4. The support of a Government loan, if the Government wishes it. 5. Condemnation of the object* of the South African League. 6. The appointment of a State financier and State auditor of European reputation, with a seat and a vote on the executive on all questions of finance. 7. No fresh taxation to be levied on the mines until submitted by the Finance Minister to the Government. 8. Sale of the under-mining rights to the surface holders. 9. Burgher rights after seven years of registration, coupled with a property test. It will be seen that in these propositions there is an immense latitude given to the Government, while the ques- tion of education, and the use of the English language, and the number of representatives, are left wholly untouched. On June 16th the South African League addressed a letter to Sir Alfred Milner, in which they called his attention to the constitutional reforms required in order to adequately guard the interests of the Uitlander population. They point out the importance of a workable measure of franchise reform, accom- panied by a proper scheme for the redistribution of seats, by which they might be enabled to secure a substantial voice in the government of the country ; but they also bring to the High Commissioner's attention other griev- ances under which they labor, and for which neither of the measures referred to would afford immediate relief. Many years, they say, must elapse before the full power of the Uit- lander can be exercised and his influence felt, so that other necessary reforms would be, for the present, indefinitely Views of South African Leasrue u IN THE TRANSVAAL 297 postponed, were the relief to rest on the franchise alone. For this reason reform, in these cases, can only be effected by pressure from the suzerain power, otherwise abuses of the most oppressive character would continue for many years in a very aggravated form. The reforms required, the League says, may be divided into some that are fundamental, and others that are of secondary importance. Among those of the first class are : the constitution of the court, the constitution itself, and the question of language. It is of fundamental importance that the independence of the Bench should be guaranteed, and to this end the Act of 1897, which destroyed that independence, should be expunged from the statute book. Next comes the constitution, or Grondwet. The pretensions of the Volksraad to over-ride the Grondwet, and to place a mere resolution of its own above the con- stitution as the supreme law, is a danger that constantly menaces the Uitlander, because with the establishment of this supremacy, the last act in his degradation occurred. The constitution should be made unalterable by the Legislature, except by a popular sanction of three-fourths majority. The League declares that no measures of franchise reform could be made workable, unless the use of the English language is provided for. The Uitlander is but little conversant with the Dutch language. The exclusive use of Dutch in the Legis- lature would deprive his representations of all value, and its exclusive use in the courts of law entails useless expense and great inconvenience to suitors. The secondary questions are the civil service, municipal government, police, and the composition of juries. At the present time no one but a burgher is eligible for a post in the civil service, and burghership is the only qualification, however ignorant or incompetent a burgher may be. The present municipal government is most unfair to the Uitlanders. All municipal- ities should be under a general municipal act. As to the police force, it is at present appointed by the Government, and many are made policemen who are utterly unfit for i » 298 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 their duties. TIio municipal authorities, whose duty it is to maintain order, ought to have the power to appoint their own police, who should be amenable to their authority. Jurymen should be subject to a proper qualification, and should be chosen according to some well defined plan. The League points out that there are certain other laws which are oppressive in their ehara(!ter, and which are contrary both to the spirit and to the letter of the Convention of 1*^84. The most conspicuous of these are the Aliens' Expulsion Law and the Press Law. They further say that no permanent cordiality between the two races can be looked for until the forts are demolished, which have been erected by one portion of the population to overawe and to hold in subjection another section, and until, both in respect to language and political rights, the British people of the Transvaal are put upon a footing of equality with those of Dutch origin. On the subject of representation, i' is necessary that the XJitlander population shall be represented in proportion to their number, intelligence, and wealth, and so it is necessary that some plan shall be adopted by which they will have secured to them a fair share of representation in the Volks- raad. But this principle neither the President nor the Volksraad were willing to accept. They, on the other hand, insisted, no matter how numerous the English section of the population should become, that the re))re8entation bestowed upon them should always be lea? t'lan that be- stowed upon the Boers. The proposals made by the President show a determination to maintain race ascend- ency, and to resist any concession, which would enable the Uitlanders, through the political power bestowed upon them, to protect themselves against wrong and oppression. It was proposed that the newcomers, who desired the franchise, should register themselves within fourteen days of their «,rrival, in order to obtain naturalization after two years, and burgher rights after the lapse of a further period of seven years. A newcomer, just arriving in the country, not IN THE TRANSVAAL 299 having yet deturmined where he is to settle, finds himself altogether too much occupied with (onsidering his private interests to turn his attention to the question of his future political rights. He might he entirely ignorant of the law, and the proposed provision, had it been adopted, might cease to be operative as to him, before even he had become aware of its existence. It was provided that he should give six months' notice of his intention to apply for naturalization, which would give to those who were opposed to his becoming a citizen due opportunity to prevent his registration suc- ceeding. He was required to prove, that, during the time he had been a resident of the country, he had rendered obedience to the laws, whatever that may mean, and that he had done no act against the Government, or against the independence of the country. These proposals, had they become law, would impose a very formidable task upon an Englishman living in the Boer Republic. The onus of proving his obedience. Vexatious unless an officer was friendly, would be impos- Provisions sible, and he would not, after having waited for seven years, have had the slightest chance of being admitted to burgher rights. It was also proposed that there should be two years' continued residence and regis- tration, so that, if a man were out of the country on business, his name might be removed from the register, or it might be that he was out of the country at the time the re-registration was necessary, and so his chance of ever becoming a burgher would be at an end. .^.fter naturalization five years' con- tinuous residence was necessary before he could apply for burgher rights. If, by mistake, his name was left off the list for a year, his chance might be gone altogether, unless a provision was made for his beginning his five years anew. He might find some irregularity which would forever preclude him from the realization of his hopes. The measure exhibits the ingenuity of a petty mind that seeks to withhold what it professes to bestow, and was contrived to put impediments in 300 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA I ' the way of the Uitlanders, and to prevent them acquiring those burgher privileges which would enable them to protect themselves against the abuse of public authority. If the law is to have any value it must substitute legal conditions which put the matter within the power of the party, instead of discretionary powers bestowed upon officials, which make them the masters of the political fortunes of others, whom they are always ready to oppress. Mr. Wessels, who is himself an Afrikander, but who is both fair-minded acd able, in a communication to the Chairman of the Uitlanders' meeting, criticizes, with great ability, the character of the proposed Franchise Act. He points out that this measure is an attempt to create an inferior caste of burghers. It confers rights that fall short of making those who possess them, free men. It is a sort of hybrid-naturaliza- tion, which admits a man to something that falls short of real citizenship. The Uitlander is entitled to a full voice in the affairs of the country which he has raised from a pastoral to an industrial state, and who is also supplying the Government with all the resources which it employs to keep him in an inferior condition. He has been in the past, and he must con- tinue to be in the future, the chief factor in the prosperity of the country. But there is a pleasure in oppression, there is a feeling of superiority on the part of the Boer, in knowing that he enjoys privileges beyond those possessed by those who sur- pasp him in intelligence, in wealth and in enterprise, and he is ready to risk al ; 'hat he has, rather than abandon them. But there was more than an unofficial discussion of the grievances of the Uitlanders. The Government of the Trans- vaal had reached the place where the ways part, and it had to decide which way it would take. A conference was proposed between the President and the High Commissioner. They met at the capital of the Orange Free State, a little more than two months after the attempt to commit the people of the Rand to proposals which the President and his advisers refused to set out, had failed. IN THE TRANSVAAL 301 The conference met on the 31st of May, and was continued until the 5th of June. The High Commissioner explained his view of the object and scope of the conference. The number of questions between the Governments increased as time went on, and as the tone of the controversy became more acute, it was pointed out that many of these questions of difficulty arose from the policy pursued by the Republic towards the Uitlanders, which led to an irritated state of opinion, and rendered it more difficult to arrive at an amicable conclusion. The High Commissioner, in making his suggestions, stated that he had to bear in mind, on the one hand, the prejudices of the burghers and the necessity of convincing them that they would not be swamped by the proposals made, and on the other hand that the proposals should not be of such a charac- ter as to be regarded by the Uitlanders as totally insufficient, and which would have the effect of keeping them apart from the old burghers, and so prevent them from becoming one people. Starting out with both these points before him, he proposed that the franchise should be bestowed on every foreigner who had resided for five years in the Republic, and who has declared his intention of residing there permanently, who would take an oath to obey the laws, and who would undertake all the obligations of citizenship and of defending the independence of the country. The franchise was to be confined to persons of good character, possessing a certain amount of property or of income, and there was to be an increase of seats in the districts where the Uitlanders prin- cipally reside. These seats should not be so few in number as to leave the representatives of the new constituencies a con- temptible minority. The President replied that the proposal of the High Commissioner was tantamount to handing over the country to foreigners. He further expressed a desire to ^ .^® ^. make the concession of the franchise contingent Pp6sid6nt s _ on the settlement of other questions by arbitra- tion, but he ultimately handed in, on the 2nd of June, a memorandum to the following effect : ^fm : m^ \ W^: ;>. .. %' 1 m 4'a,;:i' mm 1 ! 302 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1. That the franchise concessions should be made condi- tional upon the satisfactory settlement of other questions in dispute, especially the right of reference to arbitration. 2. The incorporation of S^vaziland with the Transvaal. Upon this being agreed to, the President would submit to the approval of the Yolksraad, and to the people, detailed proposals to the following eftect : — (a) Newcomers were to register themselves within fourteen days after their arrival in the country. They were to be naturalized at the end of two years on condition (1) that they had given six months' notice of their intention to apply for naturalization ; (2) that there was to be two years' continued registration ; (3) their resi- dence was to be in the South African Republic during that period ; (4) no dishonoring sentence had been pronounced against them ; (5) they were to give proof of obedience to the laws, and to have doneino act against the Government or its independence ; (6) they were to give full proof of citizenship and of the franchise, or title to it in the country of their birth ; (7) they were to possess fixed property to the value of £150, or a house of the annual rental of £50, or an income of £200. The Government was to have the power of granting naturalization to persons not satisfying these conditions. (8) The oath was to be similar to the oath taken in the Orange Free State. Five years after naturalization a person so naturalized might obtain a full franchise on condition (1) of continued registration for five years after naturalization ; (2) continuous residence during that period ; (3) no dishonoring sentence ; (4) proof of obedience to the law, etc. ; (5) property qualifica- tions as above. Persons who have been resident in the Republic since before 1890 may, by naturalization within six months from the promulgation of this law, and upon giving six months' notice of the intention of applying for naturaliza- tion, become entitled to obtain full franchise two years after, upon the same conditions as those who obtained the franchise at the end of five years. Those settled before 1890, who IN THE TRANSVAAL 303 failed to be naturalized within six months, fall into the class of newcomers, and are naturalized and enfranchised upon the same conditions, i.e., after a further residence of seven years. It was suggested by the High Commissioner that, apart from the franchise, it should be considered whether the Uitlanders might not have some measure of self-government bestowed upon them, but this proposal the President refused to entertain. The High Commissioner considered the pro- posals of the President inadequate to the case, although it was an improvement on what the President had previously suggested. A person who had been in the country over fourteen years would not get a vote for the first Volksraad in less than two and-a-half years after the passing of the new law. A large number would not obtain a vote in less than five years, even if they were naturalized. But the majority would not naturalize, because the scheme retained an unfor- tunate principle, first introduced in 1890, by which a man must abandon his old citizenship by becoming naturalized and taking the oath for a number of years before he is admitted to burgher rights. The President maintained that the old burghers ought not to be swamped, but neither should the newcomers be reduced to an inferior caste. The scheme, therefore, was so inadequate that, in the opinion of Sir Alfred Milner, it would be wasting time to discuss its details. The President was altogether opposed to a grant of municipal administration to the Uitlanders within their own districts, and so the High Commissioner was driven to the conclusion that, so far as the Uitlander population was concerned, the conference had been productive of no results. On the 4th of June the President intimated to the High Commissioner his readiness to propose five members to the gold fields instead of two, and that the Uitlanders scattered through the other constituencies would exercise considerable influence on those districts where they were registered. He pointed out that persons naturalized before the promulgation of the proposed law could obtain full franchise five years '' : 1 i:'.:l' i WF i J ! ■ 304 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA after naturalization, so that all persons naturalized five years ago would then he entitled to full franchise. The President maintained that elsewhere citizenship did not necessarily imply voters' rights, and he said that hy their naturalization they could make their influence felt in the Second Volksraad, which is largely concerned with mining interests. The First Volksraad had the power to review the work of the Second, hut where it concerns mining interests it has seldom done so. He stated that in Great Britain, and in many of the British Colonies, enfranchised citizens had no vote for the Second Chamber, and in this respect they would be better off in the Transvaal than they were in the other country. As regards the alternative plan of local government for the gold-fields, a wide measure of government had, since Mr. Chamberlain's suggestion in 1896, been accorded to them. If experience should demonstrate that further extension was necessary, the Volksraad would doubtless make suitable provisions for it. The High Commissioner pointed out that his aim was to obtain some measure of representation for the Uitlanders immediately, in the First Volksraad, which had been all along out of touch with the new popula- tion. The President argued that the new burghers would have a vote for the Second Baad, and that the second chamber dealt with the matters in which they were most interested. To this the High Commissioner demurred. He pointed out that the second chamber had no powers whatever on questions of finance, and yet these questions deeply afiected the new population, because they supplied the revenue. As to the second chamber having jurisdiction over matters affecting the industrial community, he replied, that they had no such powers, unless the First Raad chose to permit them to exercise it. His Excellency, therefore, could not consider that the proposals of the President would be satisfactory to the Uitlander community, nor would it relieve the British Government from further solicitude. Still less could the Views of the High Commis- sioner hiil' IN THE TRANSVAAL 306 British Government be asked to give something in exchange for the proposed legislation. No small measure would any longer meet the condition. The Republic had everything to gain in removing the grievances from the field of controversy between the two governments. The High Commissioner was prepared to drop many questions if there was a liberal measure of enfranchisement, because the enfranchised party can be entrusted with the reformation of these grievances. The High Commissioner admitted that the proposal of the President was an improvement on the existing law, and it would be important and desirable that the proposal should be adopted rather than to permit the law to remain as it is ; but these changes did not go far enough. As to arbitration, the British Government could not consent to arbitration by any foreign power ; but arbitration between the two parties, apart from this, was not unreasonable. The President proposed to recommend this franchise proposal to the Volksraad, upon condition that the High Commissioner would recommend to Her Majesty's Government the President's request as to arbitration. As nothing was decided the condition of things was unchanged. The High Commissioner did not want to dis- courage the President from laying the proposals before the Volksraad, but he must do so on his own motion, and not as a part of any understanding with Her Majesty's Government. The Conference had imposed no obligation upon either party. There were some questions about which Her Majesty's Government might arbitrate, if a suitable method might be found. On the 11th of June, the High Commissioner informed Mr. Chamberlain that he had a visit from the Prime Minister of Cape Colony, and that he was anxious that Mr. Chamberlain should be informed that, in his opinion, the franchise proposal of Kruger was practical and reasonable and a considerable step in the right direction. He admitted in a subsequent conversation that the President's proposal could be improved, m 11 .\i V : -(mi ::;'■"(■■ jiiiikit wm w i 1 i ! ' 1 1 1 i ' 1 ) 1 r ( ■ ! i I: i, 1 * 1 i i ft 806 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA as, for instance, by immediately admitting men to the franchise who had entered the country previous to 1890, and by admitting them to full burgher rights after taking the oath of naturalization. The High Commissioner informed his Prime Minister that these were points of first rate importance, and not of detail, and since after all he seems to agree with him instead of with Kruger, he had better address his advice to the President and not to Her Majesty's Government. The first Volksraad ^■^t on the 9th of June, and declared itself in accord with tb ■ '«nt proposals, both as regards the franchise and as regar lb ... Lumtion. On the 14th of June, the Consul of the South African R.^public in London, was author- ized to deny that the frs f^hif proposals were conditioned upon arbitration by a foreign power, a.nd that, on the contrary, the franchise proposals were quite distinct from the question of arbitration. On the 6th of June a telegram was sent to Dr. Leyds in which he was informed that the President in- tended to submit the diflerent proposals to the Volksraad, sub- ject to a favorable decision of the British Government relative to arbitration. On the 16th of June, the Vice-Consul of the South African Republic in England, took exception to a state- ment made in the newspapers that the franchise proposals were based upon arbitration by a foreign power as decidedly inaccurate, as these proposals were quite distinct from the question of arbitration. The Volksraad adjourned on the 3rd of July, for the pur- pose of consulting the burghers upon the franchise law sub- mitted to the Raad on the 12th of June, and approved of by it. The chief variations from the President's proposals are as follows : — 1. Naturalization. — (a) The obligation of newcomers to register within fourteen days is omitted. (6) When giving six months' notice in writing of intention of applying for natural- ization, applicants shall supply such information as the State Secretary may deem necessary, (c) Applicant mnst produce a certificate, showing that, during his two years' registrfition. m IN THE TRANSVAAL 807 he was obedient and faithful to the laws, and faithflil to the independence of the country. It is not stated who is to give this certificate. Act done against the Govern- Variatlons iiient is omitted, (d) No dishonoring sentence. by the Applicants shall hand in certificate ft'om a quali- Volksraad fied official as to this, (e) Full State citizenship in his previous country. Applicant shall hand in proofs of this. So that a poor man, who had not the franchise in his own country, because he had not the necessary qualifi- cation, could not acquire the franchise in the Transvaal, al- though he might, apart from this, have every qualification the law requires. Nature of proof not stated. (/) Income qualifi- cation reduced to £100. 2. Franchise. — (a) New clause ; persons invited by Govern- ment, under special circumstances, to be naturalized or enfran- chised, need not have fulfilled naturalization or franchise requirement, except as to oath, (b) New clause ; youths born outside follow status of their father, if latter naturalized or enfranchised, before former's sixteenth year, (c) Immi- gration before 1890 and two years' residence. Six months' notice, as condition precedent to being naturalized, is ex- punged. 3. New Clauses — (a) All applications for naturalization or franchise to be submitted to South African Republic States' Secretary, whose advice will apparently decide whether appli- cations can be granted, (b) No one not considered as belong- ing to the white population can obtain the franchise, (c) All laws and stipulations in conflict with this law are repealed. The Boer Government, several weeks later, proposed further modifications in their scheme for the admission of the Uitlanders to representation in the Volksraad. They proposed a five years' retrospective franchise, which was to be submitted immediately to the people, the Government of the South African Republic pledging itself to support the measure, and to go to the people recommending its adoption. They Fupthep Modifica- tions r pv ■ 808 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA proposed to create eight new seats in the Rand, making, with the existing two, ten seats out of the thirty-six, in which the Uitlanders constituted nearly the whole population. They proposed that the old and new population under the franchise law, should possess equal rights and privileges in regard to the election of the Commandant General and the PresideDt. They proposisd that as soon as this scheme was adopted the British Government should promise to abstain in future from any interference in the internal affairs of the Republic, and that there should be no further assertion of Her Majesty's suzerainty. They insisted that the right to arbitration from which a foreign element would be excluded, should be conceded. To this Sir Alfred Milner replied that the Government of the South African Republic need not fear any interference with its internal affairs, once the Uitlander population were fairly represented, and the question of grievances on the part of the British Government were fairly settled. As regards the suzerainty. Her Majesty could not abandon the right given by the Convention of 1881, but they did not desire to hurt Boer susceptibilities by publicly reasserting it, so long as no reason to do so is given them by the Government of the South African Republic. As regards arbitration, foreigners should be excluded ; as regards representation, it should extend to any new district that might be opened up ; and as regards the language, the new members of the Volksraad should use their own. On the 23rd of August the State Secretary of the South African Republic repeated their proposals for an amended franchise law ; but he also declared, that in putting forward these proposals, the Transvaal Government assumed that Her Majesty's Government would agree that the present inter- vention should not form a precedent for future similar action, and that in the future no interference in the internal affairs of the Republic would take place ; that Her Majesty would not further insist upon the assertion of suzerainty ; and that Tf IN THE TRANSVAAL 809 arbitration would be conceded as soon as the franchise scheme has become htw. On the 28th of August Mr. Chamberlain, after referring to the proposals made by the Government of the Transvaal, adds : — " Her Majesty's Government also desire to remind the Government of the South African Republic that there are other matters of difference between the two Governments, which will not be settled by the grant of political representa- tion to the Uitlanders, and which are not proper subjects for reference to arbitration. It is necessary that these should be settled concurrently with the questions now under discussion, and that will form, with the question of arbitration, proper subjects for consideration at the proposed conference." Mr. Chamberlain also informed the High Commissioner that he had no objection to a person from the Orange Free State acting as arbitrator for the South African Republic, but that he could not accept the appointment of such a person as President of the Tribunal. On the 31st of August, Sir Alfred Milner pressed upon the Colonial Secretary the importance of prompt action, as there was a state of suspense which produced not a little distress throughout South Africa, and as the crisis afifected the trading centres of the colonies. The Government of the South African Republic all along opposed a joint commission of inquiry into the grievances of which the Uitlanders complain. They also declared that with reference to the question of intervention, they did not ask, nor did they intend to ask, that Her Majesty's Government should abandon any right which it really might have, either by the Convention of 1884, or under the authority of inter- national law, to intervene for the protection of British subjects in the country. With reference to a Court of Arbitra- tion, they say that it is not clear what subjects Her Majesty's Government thinks should be referred for the decision of the court, and what should be withheld ; and that the desire on their part for a final settlement of all points in dispute might 1:1 III I It '. . d mWi 810 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA m be altogether frustrated by these limitations. They did not anticipate that the answer of Her Majesty's Government would have been unfavorable. They, at the same time, affirm that they cannot abandon any of their rights. Sir Alfred Milner, in his communication of the 8th of September, says: — "It is, to my mind, one of the most objectionable features of the South African Republic's reply to the latest proposal of Her Majesty's Government, that it absolutely makes no reference to the existence of any questions other than those of citizenship and arbitration." The question of the position of the Hindoos, the position of other colored British subjects, the claim that all British subjects be entitled to treatment as favorable as that extended to the subjects of other nations, were untouched. The dis- putes in reference to Swaziland was passed over without consideration. In fact, the stand taken by the Boers to decline to discuss matters other than those which they themselves have put forward, is a marked feature of their State papers. It will be observed that the Boer proposals in reference to the franchise underwent change. Some of the changes are, no doubt, improvements on the President's suggestions, and others will have the effect of introducing greater uncer- tainty, for they introduce the element of personal discretion, and could the Boers have persuaded the British Govern- ment to abandon the limited jurisdiction retained, they would have had a free hand to govern as unjustly, as vexatiously, and as oppressively as they had done before. The President endeavored to obtain from Sir Alfred Milner, as his advisers did from the representatives of the Rand, a pledge, beforehand, to accept the scheme of the President, if certain modifications were made in it. There was nothing to prevent the Uitlanders, after the adoption of the President's scheme, from remaining politically as impotent as they were till the war began. Whether they really did so or not would depend on the spirit of broad- IN THE TRANSVAAL 311 mindedness with which the measure was administered. The experience of the past sixteen years was against depending on Boer generosity. The scheme waq so framed that, under it, the position of the Uitlandeio might have remained unimproved. It might have served the purpose to keep them out as easily as to bring them in. It WuS hedged with restrictions of a most elaborate kind, and hampered with conditions that vast numbers would most assuredly never accept, and which no one could, in reason, urge them to accept. It was impossible, then, to consider the scheme as one framed to secure a fair settlement. The proposal of Mr. Kruger was a proposal to leave everything to the discretion of himself and the Volksraad, and for the High Commissioner to bind himself in advance that he would acquiesce in the result. The past did not justify such implicit confidence. It has been said that the Uitlanders would have swamped the old burghers, and that the Government would have become an English Government, and the Transvaal a British depen- dency. The Uitlanders were not all of one mind. They were of various nationalities. The President declared that as many Uitlanders signed the petition in favor of his Govern- ment as had signed the petition to Her Majesty for a change. If that was so, he had nothing to fear. He had half the newcomers, in addition to the old burghers, according to his own showing, on his own side. No section of the population desired to destroy the local independence of the Republic. That the new burghers should shape the policy of the Republic in accordance with their views of the public interest was to be expected, and to justify Boer tyranny on the ground that, regardless of their numbers, they had the right for all time to maintain Boer ascendency, is a novel doctrine. No one ever seriously argued that after the majority of the population of Texas became Anglo- American, the local gov- ernment should be solely in the hands of the Mexican resi- dents. The Boers of the Transvaal alone do not constitute the State, yet this is the assumption of those who assume that the Boers have a right to maintain their ascendency. 1 "1 !■< ', 812 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA '( ' Equality is the only rational solution — the only one consistent with the peace and proj^ress of all South AiVica. This solution President Kruger is unwilling to accept. The English are in a minority in Cape Colony, yet they have not hesitated to accept the equality before the law of both Dutch and English. Why should not Kruger do the same thing? He found the races equal in 1881. This, he said, had been the rule before 1877. It was upon this declaration that local independence was conceded, but he has not kept faith. He has treacherously taken away the rights of Englishmen, and declares that he fears that the supremacy of his race will end if he is just, and so he is resolved io adhere to a policy of repression, and to keep those of English origin, for all time to come, in a condition of inferiority, which, if better than that of slaves, is below that of freemen. This is a status to which a British people will not submit. When they become per- manent residents of the country they also become an integral part of the population ; are entitled to share in the franchises of the State as well as in its burdens. They had this right at the beginning. It has been arbitrarily taken away, contrary to the Compact. It ought to have been peacefiilly restored. The Boors are fighting for supremacy, the Uitlander for his ancient rights. The fortunes of war must now decide whether Boer oppression or Anglo-Saxon liberty shall hereafter prevail. CHAPTER XIV. THE SOUTH AFRICAN UE?VBUC— (Continued) Duty op the British Government to interfere against Boer Tyranny — Attempts to justify the Boer Gov- ernment—Primacy OF the great powers — The Con- vention OP 1884 DID NOT touch THE SUZERAINTY OP England — Deci<\ration as to Natives — Disfran- chisement OF the Uitlanders — European Hostility TO England. RUST that I have made it clear, that had not the British G' .ment interfered to put an end to Boer tyranny and oppression, they would have been greatly wanting in duty. They would have lowered British prestige. They would have encouraged those looking forward to emancipation from British jurisdiction, and would not have escaped that conflict which the Boers of the Transvaal had resolved at a fitting opportunity to force upon them. Apart from any conven- tional rights there was abundance in what had happened to justify intervention, and to make it the imperative duty of the British authorities to secure for Her Majesty's subjects in the Transvaal the same rights and privileges that the Boers enjoy in Natal and in Cape Colony. In a pamphlet recently published in London bearing the title "Arbitration or War?" — there are a good many state- ments made that are calculated to mislead. The author undertakes to apologize for what was done by the Boers of the Transvaal, immediately preceding the war, against British subjects, by referring to the condition of the Boers in Cape Colony years before representative institutions were granted. The writer forgets that Cape Colony was acquired by conquest or cession, and in either case, according to the ':m- PTTT !■ WIfii 314 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA well-settled rules of international law, the inhabitants only possessed such rights as the conqueror of the country chose to confer upon them. He is at liberty to establish such form of government as he may see proper, and as the English, shortly after their occupation, had a good deal of difficulty with the Boers who had little regard for the law, and no regard for the rights of others, they did not, as in this country, readily confer upon the inhabitants representative institutions. The modern parliamentary system was then unknown. Those of Dutch origin possessed, for the most part, the same political rights and privileges as those who were born in the United Kingdom. It is said by the writers — Messrs. Story and Perris — that the Boers, before the "great trek," were subject to taxation without representation. That is true, but other British subjects were subject to the same taxes and the same disability. There was no distinction made between Boer and Briton, and taxes were imposed for the public benefit and not with the view of oppressing either class of the population. If, immediately after the conquest, the Boer was assessed for maintaining the government in whose appoint- ment he had no voice, he was not placed in a worse position than other British subjects. If the law was absolute, it was absolute to the one no less than to the other. This is not the position of British subjects in the Transvaal to-day. The Boer enjoys immunities, and possesses political franchises of which those of English origin are wholly deprived. But the political disabilities are not those which are felt to be the most oppressive. If the country had been justly governed the question of political disabilities might not have been raised, but it is the tyranny against which the political power is sought as an instrument of protection, that has wounded most deeply and that justifies in any view of England's paramount authority, intervention, such as the attempt to stamp out the English language. It is also stated that one of the complaints made to-day against the Dutch is that they Boer Tyranny IN THE TRANSVAAL 315 compel the Uitlanders to pay taxes in aid of schools in which the Dutch language alone is taught. It is said, in reply, that in Cape Colony there were at an early period no State-aided schools ; that the Dutch language was prohibited in public offices and in courts of law, and that a Boer was not even permitted to address his petitions to the Government in the only language of which he was the master. It is hardly a correct representation of British rule to refer to the events which happened under Lord Macartney whose brief rule was narrow and intolerant for those who were discontented, but which came to an end in 1798. But that condition of things, of which this is an exaggei^ ated statement, passed away long ago in Cape Colony — long before the vast majority of those who are Boer burghers in the Transvaal were born, certainly as early as May, 1831, and nothing can be more absurd than to refer to a semi- military government that had its origin in conquest, before Her Majesty came to the throne, and before Colonial Parliamentary Government came into existence, as a pretext for that system of tyranny which the Boers have undertaken to establish, in the face of the very different treatment which their own race are receiving at the hands of the British Government in Cape Colony. The Boer of the Transvaal is charged with having a corrupt legislature and a tainted civil service. This state- ment is not denied, but in reply it is declared that at some remote period in the past it was impossible to approach the British Governor, except by liberally bribing those who were about his person. It is admitted that the Boers have adopted a policy based upon intense hostility to the English population. In defence of this, it is stated that the Boer fled from British rule, with a cry upon his lips of having been unfairly condemned, because he was the subject of unjust odium, fastened upon him by dishonest persons, who, in the name of religion, had their statements against him accepted. In other words, the wr I'-n iiUli 'id'ililfi 816 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Wesleyan missionaries in South Africa, who entered an earnest protest against the inhuman treatment of the Kaffirs by the Boers, were unjust ; and the Boers, believing they were perfectly justified in treating the Kaffirs as a population placed by Providence in the country, to be subjected by them to slavery, and to be devoted to toil on their behalf, looked upon the missionaries, who stood in the way of a gratification of their wishes, as their worst enemies, and upon those who sympathised with them, as men who did them grievous wrong. It was not because the English were treating them differently from other white men that they fled, but in order that they might have a free hand to continue that system of robbery and oppression, which they had practised, without restraint, for many years, before the English acquisition of the country. That they should now exclude Englishmen from juries is justified, because, in the earlier period of the Colonial Government, when the judges understood only English, and lawyers were compelled to conduct their cases in that language, all the proceedings of the court were carried on in English, and so those who did not understand English were necessarily excluded from juries. But Dutchmen in Cape Colony have been admitted as jurors in the administra- tion of justice for upwards of sixty-eight years. The criticism to which the conduct of British statesmen is subjected by men from whom broader and more enlightened views might be reasonably expected is, indeed. Pitiful pitiful. A Dutch writer (Professor Vander Criticisms Vlugt), in defending the Boers, and condemning the English for the present war, says that some years ago the British Government deliberately assumed towards the p:esent President and Volksraad of the South African Republic, not a fraternal but a masterful tone, which the law of nations only allows in exceptional cases. He asks the question, whether the law by which the Volksraad intended to regulate the admission and expulsion of aliens Ik •. S li IN THE TRANSVAAL 817 is at variance with the Liberal principles sanctioned by Article XIV. of the Convention of 1884? " I have no hesita- tion in saying that it is." The Professor ignores altogether the fact, that, prior to the Sand River Convention, those who went northward, whether English or Dutch, were British subjects ; that the right of self-government was conferred with the limitations expressed in the Sand River Convention ; that in the exercise of political rights the two races stood upon a footing of equality ; that when the Boer Government went to pieces in 1877, and the country was taken over through Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the two races were still upon a footing of equality ; that when the question was put by General Wood to Paul Kruger, as to the political status of each, he admitted that their political rights were the same, and that no distinc- tion had ever been mad 3 between them in the rule which had been established between the date of the Sand River Convention and the dissolution of the Republic ; that self- government was again conceded in the Pretoria Convention in 1881, in which this principle of equality was recognized ; that it was again recognized in the Convention of 1884 ; and that the use which the Boers made of the power, during the period that they were in the majority, was a gross breach of the understanding between the representatives of the United Kingdom and the Commissioners who acted on behalf of the Transvaal State. It is said by Professor Vander Vlugt : ''The thing we want to insist on is this — that upon every one of these questions Her Majesty's Government have openly or implicitly declined to acknowledge the equal rights of the Republican authority to have a contrary opinion to their own, yea, that it has at least accentuated the bearing of that unwillingness by formally rejecting President Kruger' s proposal — so per- fectly in accordance with the principles of international equality — to refer to arbitration all those points of dispute relating to interpretation." This species of objection cannot be characterized as other than childish. The United Kingdom ;■; ■ tii'i fiiil t ; it ; ! ■ I . i : 818 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA is the paramount power of South Africa. Her powers are plenary ; those of the Boer State are limited. The conditions upon which that limited self-government is held, have been grossly violated. The duty of redress is plain. To require the reference of the authority of the suzerain power to arbitra- tion, at the instance of the semi-sovereign State, is to require that some other State shall have authority paramount to that of the paramount power. Professor Vander Vlugt ignores altogether the doctrine which has prevailed in Europe since the Treaty of Chaumont (1814), by which the primacy of the Great Powers has been the recognized doctrine of rrimacy European international law. The Great Powers thfl O t ^^^® undertaken to finally settle, by concerted Powers *^*'^**^> * great many questions without reference to the smaller sovereign states. They have established the neutrality of Belgium and the neutrality of Switzerland, as the settled conditions of these countries, with- out asking the general concurrence of all other States. Now, that primacy which the Great Powers of Europe have claimed and exercised for the settlement of the affairs of the Balkan States and of Turkey, Great Britain has claimed in the affkirs of South Africa, because primacy there vests in her alone. The South African Republic endeavored to induce Germany to insist upon sharing with Great Britain this power. The telegram of the Emperor, immediately after the Jameson raid, indicated a momentary disposition to claim a share in this authority ; but this position was immediately contested, and I take it that the Emperor has wholly withdrawn from it. At all events he has not actively and openly asserted any such right since. The relations of the English population of the Trans- vaal to that State, and the relations of the other British colonies of South Africa to that State, are matters which concern the English alone. To put Germany upon a footing of equality in South Africa would be to concede to her a rank there which her interests did not justify her in claiming. It is not by insinuations about "Jew speculators" and IN THE TRANSVAAL 319 ' ' mine magnates ' ' at the Rand that the merits of the dispute between the Uitlanders and the Transvaal Government can be determined, nor has there been any such change in the condition of things in South Africa, as to make the action of Kruger and his associates a matter deserving of commend- ation. The sudden changes which have taken place in the financial condition of the country have not made institutions, which existed previously to the new order of things, obsolete. No one is complaining of old institutions that are out of joint with the new social and political conditions which have arisen. It is the absolute and positive introduction of new acts of tyranny for the purpose of perpetuating abuses which had just been introduced, and which it was intended should not be uprooted, that offends. It is one thing to adhere to an institu- tion that is venerable for its years, but which is no longer in harmony with the new order of things that may have grown up. It is another and much more reprehensible thing to introduce new acts, creating disabilities, and oppressing the population. Let me here make one or two observations with regard to the Convention of 1884, which is claimed to have completely . emancipated the Boers from any jurisdiction on The Con- ^^^ P^**^ ^^ ^^^ English, and which makes any vention of interference on the part of the British Govern- 1884 ment an act of tyranny on the part of a powerful state towards a weak, though independent neigh- bor. If this were so, it would not alter matters very much, because every one will admit that there may be just grounds for one sovereign state interfering with the affairs of another whose sovereignty is not thereby called in question. It is in the power of any state, whose subjects are subjected to gross indignities, and denied the right which the sense of justice in man recognizes to be such, to insist upon their removal at the peril of war. Every state that cannot obtain a correction of acts which are manifestly oppressive to its own people, has a right to appeal to the arbitrament of arms. That is a TTmr 320 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA \-M'^ 1 i ■f primary method which international law recognizes and sanctions for the enforcement of its principles as a last resort. And the matters of which the English Government complains, are of such a character that an appeal to arms, rather than that the subjects of Her Majesty residing in the Transvaal should continue to be so wronged, is perfectly legitimate. But what can it mean to provide by convention that Her Majesty shall have the right of vetoing any treaty in conflict with the interests of Great Britain or in conflict with the interests of Her Majesty's possessions in South Africa? Does not this mean paramountcy ? Does it not mean the suzerainty of Her Majesty? Does it not mean the right of the British Government to protect itself against any act, or any attempted act, or treaty with a foreign state, which points in this direction ? Then, again, by Article VIII., the Transvaal Government agrees that no slavery or apprenticeship partaking of the nature of slavery will be tolerated by the Govern- Abolition ^^^^ of the said Republic. What does this 0f mean ? It is an internal affair affecting the Slavery Republic. If the Republic was to have absolute self-government, its plain answer to the Govern- ment of Great Britain when this was proposed, would have been, ''We decline to bind ourselves as to our internal policy. Whether we have slavery, or whether we do not have slavery within the Republic, is a matter which concerns our local independence, and therefore, is not one, in respect to which we can enter into any compact with you." This is not the position taken. On the contrary, they expressly pledge themselves that neither slavery, nor an apprenticeship par- taking of the character of slavery, shall be tolerated. Is not this a compact with the English Government ? And if the compact is broken, have not the English Government, in this very provision, a right to interfere with the domestic affairs of the Republic, and to insist upon its observance ? Article XII. provides for the independence of the Swazis, IN THE TRANSVAAL 321 within the boundary line of Swaziland, being fully recognized. Has the Government of Great Britain no right to interfere, if this provision is not observed ? By Article XIV. it is provided that : — " All persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the South African Republic (a) will have full liberty, with their families, to enter, travel or reside in any part of the South African Republic ; (b) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises ; (c) they may carry on their commerce either in person or by any agent whom they may think fit to employ ; (d) they will not be subject in respect to their persons or property, or in respect to their commerce or industry to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed upon citizens of the said Republic." Article XIX. provides "The Government of the South African Republic will engage faithfully to fulfil the assurances given in accordance with the laws in the South Provisions African Republic to the natives at the Pretoria RegaPdingr Pitso by the Royal Commission, in the presence of Natives the Triumvirate, and with their entire assent, (1) as to the freedom of the natives to buy or other- wise acquire land under certain conditions ; (2) as to the appointment of a commission to mark out native locations ; (3) as to the access of the natives to the courts of law ; and (4) as to their being allowed to move freely within the country, or to leave it for any legal purpose under a pass system." By this Article XIX. there are four things which the Govern- ment of the South African Republic engage faithfully to fulfil. As to the freedom of the natives therein mentioned to acquire land under certain conditions ; as to the appointment of a commission to mark out these locations ; as to the access of the natives to the courts of law ; and as to their being allowed to move freely within the country, or to leave it for any legal purpose under the pass system. Suppose the provisions of this article are violated, suppose that after having been told 21 nf^FTT THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA iiitifi il ; that the law courts will always be open to them to hear and redress their grievances, and to vindicate their rights, that tlie Government of the Republic failed to observe those conditions, can it be said that the other party to the convention has no power to insist upon their observance — that they may make suggestions, if they come with due deference, with hat in hand, but that they are not at liberty to insist upon the observance of the compact which has been entered into ? What were the assurances given to the natives by the Royal Commissioners in the presence of the Boer Trium- virate, which the Government of the South Declara- African Republic again pledge themselves by tion to the London Convention to faithfully fulfil ? Natives They are as follows : — " Paramount Chiefs, Chiefs and Natives of the Transvaal i — You are called together by us, the representa- tives of the Queen of England, to be informed what Her Majesty's Government has resolved to do with reference to the future ruling of the country. ' * * You are aware that, somewhat more than four years ago, the Transvaal was annexed to the possessions of the British Empire. This was done because it was then believed that the majority of those who had a voice in the ruling of the country desired such annexation in preference to the Government of those who were then in power. Subsequent events have shown that this belief was wrong, and Her Majesty's Government, with that feeling for justice proper in a great and mighty nation, commanded that the country should be handed back to its former rulers, under certain conditions, which have been drawn up by us, and agreed to by the representatives of the burghers. I have now much pleasure in presenting to you these representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert. "In the conditions to which they, as I have said, agree, your interests have not been overlooked. All existing laws will be enforced, and no future laws, which more particularly IN THE TRANSVAAL 328 affect your interests, will be put in force until the Queen has approved of them. I desire that you will to-day distinctly understand that although an alteration will take place in the form of government, your rights as well as your duties will not undergo any alteration. "It will be allowed you to buy land, or to acquire it in one way or another, but the title will be registered to you in the name of three gentlemen who will constitute a Native Location Commission. The Commission will survey, point out and beacon off native locations, which the large native tribes may occupy in peace. With the surveying of such locations, existing rights will be strictly enforced ; and the Transvaal Government of the one part, and the native tribes of the other part, will have to recognize and respect the boundaries as laid down. In the same manner the different tribes will have to respect each other's locations, and where this is not done the aggrieved tribe will lay their complaint before the Government of the country. "At the restoration of the country to the burghers, the Queen reserved the right to appoint a British Resident here, and it will be one of the special duties of this official to see that the provisions of the Convention are carried out in your favor. I am pleased of the opportunity this day to introduce to you the person who will fill this important position, and to recommend you all to his care. I must, however, caution you against the idea that he will be the ruler of the country. The Government will be the ruler, subject to Her Majesty's suzerain rights, but the Resident will report the same, when- ever he has convinced himself that the natives have been maltreated, or whenever any attempt has been made to induce them to rebellion. At the same time he will alwaj's be prepared to assist you with his advice, and I am convinced that such advice will be conducive to law and order. " The different Law Courts will always be open to hear your grievances, and to restore your rights, and I trust that you will never have any reason to complain to the Resident that I |i iP7^ rr" 324 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ; I I' ' the portals of justice had been closed to you. Reflect that you are looked on as a law-abiding people, and that it will be allowed to nobody to take the law into his own hands. You will do well to close your ears against mischief-makers, whether English, Afrikander, or native, who might attempt to lead you from the right path. " When you require protection against your enemies you must wend your way to the Government of the country to which you pay your taxes, whose duty it is to grant you protection. As I have remarked before, we have entered into an agreement with the representatives of the burghers regarding the ruling of the country, and if you desire more explicit information regarding your rights under this agree- ment, the Resident will always be prepared and willing to supply you with the desired information. With two points I will, however, acquaint you now. Provision is made that no slavery will exist, or anything approaching it. This proviso existed in a former Convention, and the Transvaal representatives have agreed and consented that it will again be established. So every one may now know what the law on this subject is. But you must bear in mind that working for an honest wage does not constitute slavery, and that you will never be lifted from your present state until experience has taught you that honest labor is no disgrace, whether performed by men or women. ' * The other point is that it will be allowed you to travel about the country, or leave the same, with the object of seeking work elsewhere, or for other lawful purposes. It will, however, be necessary to retain the present Pass Law, with the object of carrying out and preserving good order. " What the Transvaal now requires is enterprise, unity and peace. When the inhabitants, whether white or colored, will each carry out the work for which they are fit ; when they will unite to forward the interests of the country, and forget forever diflferences and disputes, and carry out the principles of peace and union, then this country will very surely have a clear and brilliant future to look to. *iJi2 IN THE TRANSVAAL 326 **The Queen desires the welfare of you all, and you can be assured that although this country is on the point of being restored to its former rulers, your interests will never be forgotten or neglected by Her Majesty's Government, or by her representatives in South Africa. "Now you v.'ill all go back in peace to your kraals, and acquaint all your friends with the words I have spoken to you this day." This address is incorporated into the London Convention, and must be read as a part of it. It declares to these people that their "interests will never be forgotten or Suzerainty neglected by Her Majesty^ a Government.'''' Is not r Implied this suzerainty ? Is not this a right to meddle in the domestic concerns of the Republic, yet we have President Kruger saying, "You may give us advice, but what you say must not go further, for we cannot suffer you to claim any right to meddle in our internal affairs, for we are a sovereign people !" Well, let me ask, do you think that when this political relation is established between the two countries in respect to the Kaffirs of the Transvaal, the Boers have an unlimited authority over Englishmen ? What was the object of this provision ? Was it not to prevent the Boers adopting a policy which would endanger the peace of all South Africa ? They were not to be at liberty to burn down their houses because they were fond of roast pig, when by doing so they endangered the dwellings of other people. As between English and Dutch they declared they made no difference — they stood upon an equality — as to the natives, they conceded the right of interference. In both cases the principle was the same ; they were restrained against the adoption of a policy which would disturb the peace of South Africa by disfranchising the English and by enslaving the blacks. Practically the tJitlanders are disfranchised. In every other State in South Africa, Dutch and English stand on the same plane of equality. In the Transvaal the English are m lll.iliiulUl w ^^T IMi t illiiiiiii 326 THE ENGLISH IN AFBICA treated like Kaftirs. They have taxation without represen- tation. They have tr 1 ■ 1 J } * Spain in her colonies for abuses far less serious than those which the Boers of the Transvaal have undertaken to inflict upon Englishmen. "What," saya 'a Diplomat,' "I want to point out is, that, invented in an hour of need, a principle has been laid down which is false, because it is loose in its aim and wording, and thus leaves the door open to abuse. ' ' This is not so. I have already pointed out that there is in the policy pursued by the Boers a gross breach of faith, for the British Govern- ment have at least as much care for whites as blacks, and the meaning of the limitation is that the Transvaal shall not adopt, in this regard, a policy which shall disturb the peace of South Africa. Mr. Brooks, in his article in the North American Review, points out the bad administration of government in the Trans- vaal, and the prostitution of the law courts to the feeling of race hostility by the Legislature, and by the adoption ©t prohibitive measures against commerce and industry, and against the spread of the English language. ' ' A Diplomat ' ' says : — *' Even if this is a correct representation of the state of things in the Transvaa,l — and it may be, except in its reference to justice, which is susceptible of reservations — the English cannot make it a plea for the suppression of Boer Government, because that Government, although primitive and slowly progressive, as I can afford to admit it is, does not come within the class of institutions which are an outrage to the moral feeling cf mankind, and provide the only excuse a state can invoke f r the suppression of another state." This is not so. A state is bound to keep faith with other states. It is bound not to make itself a nuisance at its neighbor's door. It is bound to deal, even with temporary sojourners from other countries, in the protection of life and property, as it deals with its own subjects. It must not, even in matters of comity, disregard settled usage. "A Diplomat" further says: — "If there is one duty to which % state is more particularly pledged than to any other. IN THE TRANSVAAL 329 it is the obligation to maintain its existence, and to prefer its owu interests to those of other powers. With this object in view the Boers are distinctly justified in overlooking the com- plaints of the British ; and there are states which have gone a much greater length in their indifference to the choice of means in devising plans for the national safety, without international law allowing its interference on the part of their neighbors." This proposition has no applicability to the Transvaal problem. There are broken engagements of a character calculated to produce unrest, and there are dangers to the peace of the surrounding countries due to Boer oppression. - . f "When representation is claimed, it is done with the idea that it will be efficacious ; else why claim it? When the English demand representation in the Boer Parliament, they do so with the intention, not of satisfying a whim, but of modifying the legislation of the Transvaal in a way to make it meet their views. They cannot hope to do so without having a majority. Therefore they aim at outnumbering the Boers in the Band ; and once this consideration has been fulfilled, the Government of the country will have passed into the hands of men, who, following the ordinary impulses of flesh and blood, will transform tb e Boer State into an English dependency — notwithstanding any assurances to the contrary or even the taking of the oath of allegiance. Can anybody contest this view ? Is it at all conceivable that a large body of English- men, invested with the power to rule in the Transvaal will co'itinue to submit to the direction of a President and Govern- vaent representing a helpless minority, and belonging to what they consider an inferior race ? In many things the enfran- chised Uitlanders may quarrel with one another, but they will act like ova man to Anglicise the State. Is the contrary technically possible in a state founded on the plan of liberal institutions? Besides, do not circumstances point to the existence of a deep-laid scheme on the part of England to annex the Transvaal ? Has it not been made evident, that in ; i:i1il 330 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ': ^i pursuance of a gigantic conception, England is forging the links of the dominion, that will extend from the north to the south of Africa, and that the Transvaal will be the next of these links ? ' ' The writer of the above paragraph wholly ignores the history of the Republic, and the origin of its self-government. He ignores the fact that the two races, at the outset, stood upon a footing of equality, and that it has been by legislation contrary to the understanding between the representatives of Great Britain and the representatives of the Boers, that the Boers have acquired exclusive control of the Government. The understanding between the parties in the Convention of 1881 was not that the countiy should be surrendered absolutely to the Boers, but that its government should be put in the hand of those of European origin who might become settlers in the country. The reasoning of this para- graph would be as applicable to a State in which the Boers are but one thousand and the English a million, as it is to the present numbers of the two races in the Republic. The argument goes this far — the Boers are now in possession of the Government ; they are in the minority ; they will lose their ascendency if those who constitute the majority are made equal with them before the law, and are permitted to share in the Government of the Republic, and so they have a right to maintain their ascendency by the same means by which it has been acquired — by disabling legislation. The majority have, in that event, the right of resistance ; and if they have been disarmed by an organized minority, and deprived of the power of resistance, the moral sense of mankind will approve of the British Government coming to their assistance, as certainly as it will approve of the forcible release of the traveller who is in the custody of bandits. There is, no doubt, a great deal of sympathy on the continent of Europe for the Boers, and a great deal of hostility to England. This is due to jealousy on account of the prosperity of the United Kingdom, and the expansion of IN THE TRANSVAAL 881 European Hostility to England the British Empire, and its growth in wealth and population. On the continent of Asia, the United Kingdom is a rival to the empire of Russia ; in Africa it has been brought into controversy both with Fmnce and with Germany. There is little room to doubt that the Transvaal looked, in the present contest, for material aid from the German Empire. It is said that the German authorities, through the German represent- ative at Pretoria, agreed, shortly after the Jameson raid, to send 12,000 military men into the country, by way of Delagoa Bay, to assist in converting the Boei-s into a modern military force. It is certain that the Boers have obtained arms and munitions of war from the continent of Europe. They have had trained military men, from Germany and Trom France, to study the topography of the country, and to devise a plan of defence. They have constructed four large forts at Pretoria and one at Johannesburg. From Germany, it is said that no fewer than 80,000 rifles, and 20,000,000 rounds of ammunition have been introduced. But German sympathy for the Boers is not due to the merits of the Boer side of the question. There is no merit in misgovernment, and in broken compacts. The late Mr. Cowan, who, for a long time, represented Newcastle-on-Tyne in the British House of Commons, in discussing the merits of the conflict in thr Transvaal, said : *'We are fighting to prevent men of British blood from being treated as "helots" on British territory, by a sordid oligarchy which British arms saved from extinction and British generosity endowed with autonomy. We want racial equality. The Boers want racial ascendency. That is the difference. We are at war for the purpose of preventing our brethren in South Africa from being taxed without representa- tion ; from being placed under the control of courts whose judges take their orders from a corrupt Executive ; from being refused the right to carry arms, while their oppressors flourish theirs with insolent brutality ; from being compelled to contribute to schools in which English is treated as a ::1 iii 1 » ]W 332 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA '■ i , ■ ; • i • i ■ ' 1 i i ■ i r t. ■ r j i t foreign tongue ; in short, from being denied the elementary rights of self-government." Such is the character of the conflict of to-day, and who- ever takes sides with the Boers prefers the ascendency of a race to the establishment of equality between white men ; prefers government by an oligarchy to true representative institutions ; prefers monopoly to equal opportunities in the struggles of life ; prefers the bigoted intolerance and the fierce prejudices of the Boers to modern culture, and the protection of just laws honestly administered. t ' CHAPTER XV. RHODESIA. Boer Aggressions in Bechuanaland — Incorporation of THE British South Africa Company — Repulse of the Portuguese and treaty with their Government — The Delagoa Bay Controversy — Relation of the British Government to the Chartered Company — Progress and characteristics of Rhodesia — Its Government Rights — Responsibilities of the Col- onies. This work would be imperfect without some allusion to the recent extension of the British dominions northward to the borders of German East Africa and the Congo Free State, and without some account of the parties who were ready to extend their sovereignty over this part of the African contin- ent, if the opportunity of doing so came. As soon as the Convention of 1881 was completed, the Boers, paying no regard to the compact into which they had entered, com- menced encroachments upon the territories west of the boundary which had been assigned to them by an agreement to which they were a party. There was, at the time, a conflict between certain native chiefs in Bechuanaland for supremacy, and the Boers made it an opportunity for inter- vention, with a view of extending their dominions westward. They endeavored to establish within Bechuanaland two new states, known as Stellaland and Goschenlaud ; so that it became necessary for the British Government to send Sir Charles Warren with a considerable military force to compel them to retire within their own borders, and to prevent them from encroaching upon territory which had become a British RTiPP 334 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA possession. The country south of the Molopo river became the Colony of Bechuaualaud, and that to the north the Bechuahaland Protectorate. In order to prevent Boer aggression the whole territory east of the German protec- torate, and south of the Zambesi river was placed, by the British Government, under the jurisdiction of the ruler of Bechuaualand colony. In 1888 a treaty was made with the great chief of the Matabeles (Lobengula), which extended the range of British influence still further northward, embracing not Treaty ^^^y Matabeleland prope' , but Mashonaland, with with territories lying to the east, of which Lobengula Lobengula had claimed to be the over-lord. In 1889 it became manifest that unless more active efforts were put forward to secure English sovereignty over the whole of the country which subsequently came under the jurisdiction of the South African Chartered Company, it would become either German or Boer territory. This was prevented, and the way was opened for British expansion mainly by Cecil Rhodes and his associates, who saw that if an energetic effort wjis not put forward at once to establish British authority the opportunity to do so would certainly be lost. The British South Africa Company was incorporated in October, 1889. The charter was granted by the exercise of the Royal Prerogative. The chief field of the Company's operation is that part of South Africa lying immediately north of British Bechuaualand and the South African Re- public, and to the west of the territories and possessions of Portugal upon the eastern coasts. By the charter the Company is authorized and empowered to use and to retain for the purposes of the Company, the full benefit of all the concessions and agreements made, with all interests, authori- ties and powers comprised or referred to in any concession or agreement made with the chiefs or tribes within the district. The Company is authorized and empowered, subject to the approval of one of the principal Secretaries of State, to i IN RHODESIA 335 acquire by any concession, agreement or treaty, all or any rights, interests, authorities, jurisdictions and powers of any kind or nature whatever, including powers necessary for the purpose of government, the preservation of public order, and the protection of the lands or property embraced within the concessions ; but no power or agreement relating to the subject of the government or administration, is to be embraced until a copy of the concessions or agreements made has been approved of by the Secretary of State. The Company is bound to fulfil the treaty stipulations into which it enters, and which have had the sanction of the Govern- ment. It is to remain British in its character and domicile, and is to have its principal office in Great Britain. Its principal representatives in South Africa, and its directorate, must be natural born British subjects, or subjects naturalized under an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Any dispute or difficulty with the natives is to be decided by a Secretary of State, and any dealings with a foreign power must have a like sanction. The Company may have a distinct flag ; but the iiag must indicate its British character, and must have the approval either of a Secretary of Stale or the Lords of Admiralty. The Company is not at liberty to establish a monopoly, but the establishment of a bank or railway is not to be deemed such. In February, 1891, the Company expressed its wish to extend the field of its operations to the north of the Zambesi river, and it agreed that Her Majesty's Corn- Govern- missioner and Consul General (H. H. Johnston) ment of in Nyasalaud should be appointed Political Nyasaland Administrator throughout the sphere north of the Zambesi. The British Government required that the Company should agree that this northern extension must be upon condition that Nyasalaud should not be embraced within its charter. The Company accepted these conditions in March of that year, and in April the Secretary of State sanctioned the extension. The Company agreed JM rp 336 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA with the British Government that it should pay £10,000 a year for administrative purposes in Nyasaland, including the Shire Highlands, and Lake Nyasa with its shores, covering the area occupied by the various Scotch and other missions. In May, a British Protectorate was established over Nyasa- land, known as the British Central African Protectorate, of which the South Africa Company and the African Lakes Company received notice. The sovereign rights required by treaty with the natives in Nyasaland, became vested in Her Majesty by reason of the Protectorate. In 1890 British pioneer settlers immigrated northward, through Bechuanaland, into Mashonaland. The South Africa Company there erected forts for the purpose of giving protec- tion to the settlers. A skirmish occurred in Mauicaland with the Portuguese, which ended in their repulse and the capture of their commander, who, not long afterwards, was released by Dr. Jameson, who had become administrator for the Company. In May, 1891, a second conflict occurred, in which the Portuguese suffered severely, and which led to a treaty between the Government of Great Britain and Portu- gal, by which the boundaries were indicated and the respec- tive spheres of influence were defined. In 1870 Sir John Swinburne formed a company for working the gold mines in the south-eastern part of Mata- beleland. Many of those who had been engaged in exploring the country, were of opinion that Mashonaland, on account of its elevation, would prove well suited for European settlement, and was capable of supporting, in health and comfort, a large agricultural population. In 1885, a number of those who had been serving iri the army under Sir Charles Warren, upon their discharge, engaged in the exploration of the country, and made similar reports. At this time, the Boers of the Transvaal were planning expeditions into Mashonaland, with a view of taking possession of the country and annexing it to the Republic, and they have never forgiven Mr. Cecil Rhodes for his energetic action in IN RHODESIA 337 securing the territory and bringing it within the British dominions. The British population of South Africa had been warned that it was the intention of the Boers to obtain a foothold in the country, and that, if they would do so along with the Germans, they would succeed in completely closing the continent of Africa to the further extension northward of the English possessions. The Germans and the Portuguese had been working quietly, but with a good deal of vigor, in the same direction. The natives had a decided preference for the British, who were more tolerant, and permitted a greater freedom to them in following their local customs, and always treated them with much greater consideration and fair- ness than any other European population with whom they came in contact. The result of the representations made by British subjects was that the British Foreign Office notified the Portu- guese Government, that no partition on their part, of any section of Matabeleland, could be recognized, and that the northern limit of British South Africa should be extended at least as far as the Zambesi river. The subject was made one of diplomatic controversy between the Government of the United Kingdom and that of Portugal. Lord Salisbury reminded the Portuguese authorities that according to the terms of the Berlin Convention of 1884, no territory in Central Africa could be recognized as the possession of any state that was not supported by effective occupation. The Government of Portugal argued that this doctrine only applied to the possessions held by European countries upon the coast, and that the Hinterland could be fairly claimed by those who had effective occupation of the Coast ; that Portugal had long had communication with the central portion of the African continent, and could produce irrefra- gable proof of previous occupation. They pointed out that expeditions had been sent by the Portuguese up some of the southern tributaries of the Zambesi, and the ruins of old forts, and the existence of orange groves, were an evidence of the former occupation of the country by them. Nevertheless, 338 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA they could not deny that there was no actual occupation at the time their pretensions were put forward, nor had there been any for a very long period of time.* If, argued Lord Salisbury, the fullest weight were given to the evidence which the Portuguese Government submitted in support of their claims, it yet fell very far short of proof of actual occupation. The Government of Portugal had very limited resources ; it was altogether unable to develop the enormous region over which it claimed sovereignty. To recognize such a claim would be to lock up thousands of square miles of the central portion of the African continent against commercial development, for an indefinite period of time. Lord Salisbury said : — * ' It is, as Senhor Barros Gomes admits, a disputed point whether, nearly 300 years since, a Portuguese traveller did, or did not, see the waters of Lake Nyassa ; the decision of this controversy has no practical value at the present day, as regards the political situation. It is, on the other hand, an undisputed point that the recent * "Affirming as we do, therefore, that she has done her duty through all that region of the Zambesi, and considering it as a Portuguese river, Portugal bases her claim on every element that constitutes historic right, such as priority of discovery and an occupation effectively continued from remote epochs down to our own days ; she relies upon the actual and effective exercise of jurisdiction, upon the real protection which she h.is extended to the commerce and civilizing efforts of people of every nationality ; she relies upon documents of international character, such as the General Acts of the Berlin Conference, the Conventions with France and Germany, and the very treaties which were entered upon with England in 1879 and 1884. " His Majesty's Government would be wanting in one of its essential duties, and would be ignoring the public spirit of Portugal, if it did not hasten to maintain before Lord Salisbury, as I requested Your Excellency to do in my telegram of the 19th of May, what we consider are the clear rights of the Crown of Portugal. The evidence of the arguments upon which we based, and equally therewith the confi- dence we feel in the spirit of rectitude of the British nation, in the superior judgment of its statesmen, and most especially the eminent man who is now her Brittannic Majesty's principal Secretary of State, induce us to hope that Portugal's incontes- tible rights will not again be called in question in official declarations, ns was recently done in the Session of the House of Commons on the 17th instint." (Senhor Barros Gomes, Portuguese Governor General to Lord Salisbury, aSth May, 1888). -_vw';.;,-> > . '■ IN RHODESIA 339 discoveries of the English traveller, Livingstone, were fol- lowed by organized attempts on the part of English religious and commercial bodies to open up and civilize the districts surrounding and adjoining the Lake. Many British settle- ments have been established, the access to which from the sea is by the Rivers Zambesi and Shire. Her Majesty's Oovernment and the British public are much interested in the welfare of these settlements. Portugal does not occupy, and has never occupied, any portions of the Lake nor of the Shire ; she has neither authority nor influence beyond the confluence of the Shire and Zambesi, where her interior custom-house, now withdrawn, was placed by the terms of the Mozambique Tariff" of 1877." A dispute arose between the Government of Portugal and the Government of the United Kingdom in respect to Delagoa Bay. This controversy was referred to the arbitrament of Marshall MacMahon, the Presi- dent of France, who, in July, 1875, awarded the Bay to Portugal. By a convention between the two countries, in August, 1890, the limits of the Portuguese dominions, north of the Zambesi river, so far as recognized by the British Government, were carefully described. By Articles I. and II. of the convention referred to, the Portuguese recognized the British sphere of influence to the south of the Zambesi. The Portuguese Government agreed not to cede any of their territory south of the Zambesi to any other power than Great Britain, without the previous consent of Great Britain. Article IV. defines the western The Delagoa Bay Con- tpovepsy line of division ; Article V. limits the British sphere of influence north of the Zambesi, and Article VI. the British sphere of influence south of the Zambesi, both powers engage not to interfere with the sphere of influence assigned by the Convention to the other. The navigation of the Zambesi and Shire river was declared free. Provision was made for tele- graph communication. This convention not having been ratified, a modus vivendi was agreed upon in much the ii 1 '] i ilHt i iffji 11 H ir ' 340 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 'H same tertiiH, and in June of the following year a treaty was entered into wiiich pra(;tically settled the questions in resoect to territorial ownership, and in May, 181)3, an agreement was reached between the Governments of Great Britain and Port- ugal, relative to the spheres of influence of the two countries north of the Zambesi river. The Germans, the Portuguese and the Boers were all ready to seize the country which Cecil Rhodes and his associ- ates had acquired. In 1887 the Boers made a vigorous eflbrt to establish colonies in Mutabeland ; Lobengula dreaded Boer occupation. The Matabele knew well of the conflict which had occurred within the Orange Free State between them- selves and the Boers half a century earlier. The Rev. Mr. Moffat, who was the British Assistant Commissioner in Bechuanalaud, proved himself an active and trusty agent. He persuaded Lobengula that the prudent course for him to adopt was to put an end to the dangers that threatened him by placing himself under the protectorate of the Queen, and Sir Hercules Robinson, who was then High Commissioner, informed the British Government, in February, 1888, that he had placed his name to a treaty which secured to England supremacy over Matabeleland. Attempts were made to create a distrust in the minds of Lobengula and his people of British supremacy, but so far as he himself was concerned, these efforts were unsuccessful. Difficulties, however, arose because those who were actively intriguiag against British authority were more successful with his Indunas than they had been with Lobengula himself. At this time Portugal, perhaps, had, under the ordinary law of nations, a better claim than any other European state, as her officials, no doubt, at some time, had explored the country, and had acquired an imperfect dominion over it, but one which required a more effective possession than Portugal had taken to enable her to hold the territory against more recent occupants. But her imperfect title was one that had arisen many years before, and which she had done nothing to perfect, and under the recent Berlin IN RHODESIA 341 issioner, agreemeDt, without effective possession, which would enable her to give security to the lives and property of those who might enter this country, that imperfect title which she might lung ago have acquired, Imt which she had never completed, would not enable her to make it a barrier to a recent and effective acquisition. The father of Lobengula had, no doubt, over-run the country half a century before, had established his authority, had exercised jurisdiction, and whatever title Portugal had, was before it had been conquered by him. The Portuguese, however, denied that Lobengula could include in his dominions the country held by the Mashonas and dependent tribes. They asserted that these territories had long been held by Portugal, and were included by her in the Province of Sofala. This was undoubtedly true ; but Lord Salisbury, while admitting his readiness to adjust boundaries at a suitable time, maintained that Mashonaland was subject to Lobengula, and was, therefore, within the British sphere of influence. It was open to the two governments to consider where the boundaries should be drawn, so the extent of territories which the British were able to claim, would depend upon their ability to show clearly what territories had been under the effective jurisdiction of Lobengula at the time that he submitted himself to British supremacy. The question was no doubt one of difficulty, owing to the fact that neither the British Government, nor that of Portugal, were thorougly conversant with the geography of this region. Lobengula claimed the country eastward of the Sabi river, and northward of the Zambesi, besides including a large tract of country on the north side of the river. As soon as the country over which Lobengula exercised dominion was placed under the English protectorate, a very large number of persons sought to obtain concessions of land, as the territory was believed to be rich in gold. Lobengula sent an embassy to England in order the better to understand the nature of English supremacy over his country, and the protection which the British Government might afford him. One Mr. Maund had acquired a great deal I 342 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 'J f 5 i of influence with Lobengula, and he advised the African Chieftain to trust the Queen. When it was known how great the influence of Mr. Maund was, many parties endeavored to make him their agent, in order that they might have his assistance in acquiring mining rights in the country. The first person to undertake these acquisitions was a Mr. Cawston, who, along with others, sought to obtain permission for trading and mining in Matabeleland, and he asked the support of the British Government for the enterprise in which he was about to engage. Lord Knutsford informed him that the British Government would not mix itself up with mining concessions, and it notified the King of the Matabeles that he must look after his own interests in these matters. At this time a syndicate was formed by Mr. Cawston for the purpose of exploration, and another was formed by Mr. Maund and Cecil Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes had been for several years a member of Parliament in Cape Colony, and after making himself acquainted with the situation in Matabeleland, he formed a company which sought to extend its jurisdiction far int/j the centre of the continent, and endeavored to join the land of British Central Africa with the British sphere on the waters of the Upper Nile. Mr. Rhodes sought to acquire Demaraland from Germany, and to form the whole of South Africa into one country having a federal constitution. He put forth energetic eflbrts to obtain rights over Lobengula's country ; so that when Mr. Maund reached Matabeleland in October, 1888, he found that a few days before Messrs. Rhodes, Rudd, Beit and others had obtained extensive possessions in that country. In October, 1889, a charter was granted by Her Majesty to the Duke of Abercorn, the Duke of Fife, Lord Gilford, Cecil Rhodes, Alfred Beit, the present Earl Gray, and Mr. Cawston, with the powers I have already described. The Portuguese Government were no doubt very sore about what had been done. It separated their possessions upon the Atlantic from those upon the Indian Ocean. The IN RHODESIA 348 Portuguese could show that they had heen engaged in developing a considerable portion of the territory for some years before the British Protectorate was estab- ' lished over the country of Lobengula. Col. __■' ^ D'Andrade had obtained from his government a Efforts • * 1 *u r^u concession to explore the resources of the country in 1878. He subsequently transferred his interest to a company at Paris, who receiving unfavorable reports of its mineral resources abandoned the enterprise. D'Andrade formed a company in England, the rights ol which were made over to a,nother company known as the Mozambique Company. Some English capital was embarked in this com- pany, but a powerful native chief absolutely refused to admit any white people to enter his country, and the enterprise proved abortive. The British South Africa Company were in active occupation of the greater portion of the territory to which their charter related. The Boers of the Transvaal were extremely hostile to Cecil Rhodes, because they were prevented trekking into the territory north of the Limpopo, and because their opportunities for expansion were destroyed. The truth is, great progress has been made in developing this portion of the continent by means of British capital, which has contributed to increase the commerce of the world, and to bring a large area of the Dark Continent under Christian rule. This would certainly not have taken place if the country had been brought under Boer jurisdiction, whose occupation and rule could have no otler effect than to exter- minate the native population, and to give him an opportunity for plundering men of means who might go to the country and undertake to develop it with their own resources. The relation of the British Government to the Chartered Company is set out with great clearness, in a communication from Lord Knutsford, when Colonial Secretary to the High Commis- sioner. In that despatch he declares : — "The Queen can, at any time enact or declare a protectorate in any part of the ter- ritory within which the Company operates, and in the absence ill' ^1 344 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 i and its Progress of any permanent protection or protectorate, or failure or mis- conduct of tlie Company, security of tenure is granted to the Company for the limited period of twenty-five years, which is deemed by Her Majestj's Government the shortest period within which the Company can be expected to develop and perfect the public part of its enterprise ; whilst there is reserved to the Government of the day, at the end of that time, and at every preceding period of ten years, the right of considering in the interests of the Empire generally, and of South Africa in particular, how far the administration and public power of the Company, shall be continued." That portion of Matabeleland under the jurisdiction of the Company embraces, at least 100,000 square miles. It is an elevated table land, being about 4,000 feet above *'*® the level of the sea, and rising in places to 6,000 Country ^^^^ j^ jg g^id^ on account of its altitude, to be well adapted for European settlement. The heat in summer is not much greater than in England, and in the winter season there are at times light frosts. The South Africa Company has, in this portion of the territory, a better climate than either East Africa or the Niger country. The railway which the Company constructed extends fr<^ of 575 miles, and the Company proposes to continue its r^/ad to the southern extremity of Lake Tan- ganyika, a diHtauce of between 700 and 800 miles farther. It is estimated that the construction of this latter section will cost the Company about £2,000.000 sterling. The first 200 miles will terminate in the vicinity of extensive coal fields, and v/ill pass through many gold reefs, which have been favorably reported on by experts. Beyond the Zambesi, the line will run through a rich agricultural district, densely populated, which will afford to the Company a very large :ii IN RHODSF^A 345 commerce not only in its own district but in the eastern portions of the Congo Free State as well as the western section of German East Africa. There have been already discovered, beside the rich gold regions and extensive coal fields, very valuable deposits of copper, on the border of the territories adjoining the Free State. There can be little doubt that thf energy and promptness with which Mr. Rhodes and his associates have taken possession of this extensive region in Central Africa, have secured to the empire a country of great mineral and commercial importance. The numerous native popu. a. i make it Ci" much moment that this railway should be constructed at an early day, as it would be easy to save the amount required for the construction of the road from mi'ii..ry expenditure by the facilities which would thus be afFordi'f] 'br the maintenance of peace. The building of the railway will enable the Imperial Government, either through the instrumentality of the Company, or by a Gov- ernment hereafter more closely dependent upon Imperial authority, to maintain the sovereignty of Her Majesty with the least possible expense. Once the road reaches Lake Tanganyika, a no inconsiderable portion of a line from the Cape to Cairo will have been completed. Salisbury has already grown to be a town of a substantial population. It is said to contain many excellent buildings. Farmers have taken up extensive section? of country and are actively devoting themselves to the business of agriculture and cattle farming. In August, 1890, the eastern limit of the South Africa Company's possessions was fixed by agreement with Portugal at the Sabi river, but as that treaty was not conMrmed, there still remains a strip of territory upon the eastern border of the Company's possessions which is open to dispute. This terri- tory is reputed to be exeedingly rich in gold, but the explora- tions have not been sufficiently minute to determine its mineral value. The Portuguese Government agreed to build a railway ;,i*il! i m alii ,,.,,|8(. 346 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA from the mouth of the Pungwa to the Pateau, a distance of 118 miles from Fontesville, and seventy -seven Agreement miles from Umtali, from which point there is with a good wagon road to the west. The Portuguese Portugal have agreed not to charge upon British goods being brought through their country a duty of more than three per cent, for a period of twenty-five years. The gauge of the road is narrow, the embankments are low, and so damage is occasionally done when the country is flooded. The Anglo-German South West African Company propose to construct a line across German territory to Btchu- analaud, and on, northward, to Matabeleland. This project, if completed, might seriously affect the value of the Caj^e railways. It was agreed that this road was not to be carried beyond the boundaries of German territory without the consent of the British Gover'iment ; but the impression prevails that since the Boer war began, the British Govern- ment have agreed, by treaty, to permit its construction to be continued into British territory. In 1893 collisions occurred between the Matabeles and the Company's officers. In October of that year the Matabeles pursued some of their own people who had committed depre- dations upon the Company's property into British territory, and the offenders fled to the police force at Victoria for protection. The Impis of Lobengula demanded their sur- render. The Company's officers, knowing how barbarously they would be punished, refused to give them up, and ordered the officers of Lobengula out of the territory. The Company's police and some natives, under Khama, advanced against them and fought several engagements. Lobengula' s forces wt^e routed, and he himself fled with the remainder of his troops southwards towards the Zambesi, where he subsequently died. The Bechuanaland Border Police are an Imperial force, and are subject to Imperial officers, as distinguished from those of the Chartered Company. The British Government retains but a slender authority in the actual government of Rhodesia. ; IP IN RHODESIA 347 The adininistratiou of the affairs of the Tompany were, until 1894, under the government of Dr. Jameson. The territories of the Company embraced others tlian Matabeleland and Mashonaland. They are described in the cbarter as territories bounded by British Bechnanaland. tlie German Protectorate, the rivers Chobe and Zambesi the Portuguese possessions, and the South African Republic, and include, with Nyasaland and the Central African Protectorate, about 539,000 square miles. The atfairs of the Company are administered by a council of four members, one of whom is a judge. The administrator is appointed by the Company, with the sanction and approval of the Secretary of State. He holds his office for three years, but is eligible for re-appointment. A judge can only be removed by the Secretary of State, \.\ t the other three membeis may be removed by the Company. The Company pays the salaries of all the officials, and it is a condition of the charter that any ordinance by Her Majesty in Council is paramount to any ordinance by the CompanJ^ The Company have unfettered jurisdiction over 2,000,000 acres of land, which has been appropriated to its use. The regulations which have been made, both in respect to agriculture and mining, are liberal. A very large sum was subscribed in 1806 by prospec- tors, syndicates, and investors as working capital, and one- pound shares of the Company's stock sold immediately after its organization, for £3 or £4 a share. The extensive territory in the region of Mgami is being colonized by farmers from the Cape. England's connection with Lake Nyasa dates from the time of Livingstone (1858-64) : as a result of Livingstone's exploration, Scotch and English missions w*re established near the Shire, which joins this lake with tlie Zambesi river. In 1878, a trading company, consisting of Scotch merchants, was formed under the name of the Livingstone Central Afri- can Company. Its capital was £100,000. It has engaged in the formation of coffee plantations, and coffee has been extensively introduced and cultivated. Between Lakes Nyasa 'liii iiiili.' jJlli 348 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA and Tanganyika, a road known as the Livingstone road lias been constructed. Until Germany entered the field of African colonization, Portugal did not disturb herself greatly as lo the British occupation of the country on the Shire and Lake Nyasa ; I 't when the treaty arrangements of 1884 fell through, a scramble began, in which Germany, France and Belgium, as well as England, were engaged. Portugal awakened to her own critical position. She made certain concessions to Germany and to France in 1886, and these two i)owers recognized the Portuguese possession of Angola and Mozam- bique, without x>rejudice to the claims of other powers. Portugal claimed a territory entirely across the continent between these two coasts, but the Marquis of Salisbury refused to recognize the pretensions of the Portuguese, and pointed out in 1887, that they could only be maintained by a real occupation of the territory claimed, and he wrote to the British minister as follows : "You will make a formal protest against any claim not founded on occupation, and you will say that Her Majesty's Government cannot recognize Portuguese sovereignty over territories not occupied l)y her in sufficient strength to enable her to maintain order amongst foreigners, and control over the natives. You will state that this protest specially applies to the district of Lake Nyasa, occupied by British traders and missionaries, and to Matabeleland." On the 25th of June, 1888, he wrote to the British Minister at Lit?bon, pointing out that it was of no consequence wiiether a Portuguese trader had or had not seen the waters of Lake Nyasa three hundred years before ; that the establiHhment of these facts would have no special value upon the present political situation ; that it is undisputed that Livingstone's discoveries were immediately followed by organized attempts, on the part of English mer- chants and missionaries, to open up and to civilize the district adjoining the lake ; that many British settlemenli* have been established, the access to whicli from the sea is by :'i IN RHODESIA 349 the river Zambesi and the Shire, that Her Majesty's Govern- ment has much interest in these settlements ; that there were no Portuguese in the country when they were formed ; that the Portuguese did not occupy, and never have occupied, the borders of the Lake or of the Shire ; and that she has no people and no commerce to uphold any jurisdiction, nor has she any influence in these quarters. The Nyasa district was disturbed in 1888 by the Arab slave traders, whose enterprise the Portuguese seemed to favor. They excluded arms and ammunition for Serpa t^^® use of the British settlers, but the South Pinto's Africa Company managed to bring in supplies. Expedition The British consul at Mozambique kept his Government informed of what was being do)ie by the Portuguese. The Portuguese Government endeavored to persuade the chiefs in the district to become vassals of Portugal, and an expedition under Serpa Pinto was sent forward to establish the authority of Portugal. At the same time Mr. Johnstone, who had been appointed British consul at Mozambique, and had been charged with the care of British interests in the interior, at once set out for the Lake Nyasa region. The Portuguese Government represented the expedition under Serpa Pinto as one devoted to the work of exploration, but the action of the force was at variance with the representations of the Portuguese authorities. They attacked the Makololo people, who had come into that region along with Livingstone. Many of them were killed. The acting consul (Mr. Buchanan), who resided at Blantyre. im- mediately declared the Makololo people under the British flag. Consul Johnstone, on his arrival, confirmed the action of Mr. Buchanan, and made treaties with the native chiefs as far west as Lake Tanganyika. The Portuguese officials on the Shire were unwilling to abandon their claim to the country, and continued to worry British traders and to hamper British commerce. Mr. Sharp was instructed to secure Katanga, on the west shore of Mweru, for the British South Africa m ' III:! I \i iili 350 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Company, but the Belgians claimed the country as within their sphere of influence, and a Belgian organization took possession of the district in the name of the Congo Free State. Cecil Rhodes not only made a vigorous effort to obtain possession of this district, as it was reputed rich in gold and copper, but also of the territory north of the 7. mbesi that is under the jurisdiction of the Lakes Company. He offered to include the Lakes Company in the South African Company. Germany, on the settlement of the boundary, managed to obtain a most fertile district on Lake Nyasa, and Portugal continues to possess the region between the Zumbo and the Lower Shire river. This is one of the most densely populated districts in Central Africa, and contains about four millions of inhabitants. It is elevated and fertile and has yielded an abundance of coffee and also of cereals. Merino sheep have been introduced, and so far are doing well. The Shire river is becoming an important high- way of commerce. A force of 200 Seiks, along with 200 or 300 native police, have been employed in maintaining order and giving security to the population. The Company con- tinues to put forth vigorous efforts to develop the resources of this section of the continent, and the respective rights of the various States struggling to establish their authority here, are now fairly well defined. To the west and north of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, the British, since 1880, have extended their authority over upwards of 700,000 square miles. The Kingdom of Borotse on the west of Matabeleland has become an English possession, and it is now obvious that a great blunder was committed when Germany was conceded a strip of territory off the northern border of Bechuanaland, which separates one portion of British territory from another. The injury to the British is far beyond any proper benefit to Germany. The concession is in marked contrast to the conduct of Germany when the English were endeavoring to obtain territory over which to construct a railway from Rhodesia to their possessions on the Upper Nile. IN RHODESIA 351 i«l ere, are Govern- ment pointmeut During October and November, 1898, an Order-in-Council was adopted, and two proclamations were issued by the I British Government having reference to the Government of Southern Rhodesia. The Order- in-Council of the 20th October, makes very full and complete provision for the government of that region. Provision is made for the ap- of an administrator, the constitution of an Executive Council, and for the constitution of a Legislative Council. The Legislative Council is to consist partly of nominated members, and partly of members elected by those qualified to vote. The Legislative Council may be convoked, prorogued, and dissolved by an instrupaent under the hands of an administrator, and its duration, unless sooner dissolved, shall be for three years. The nominated members may be removed or suspended by the Chartered Company.* When a nominated member resigns, or is removed from office, the Company may appoint a successor, and if the appointment is not made within three months, the vacancy may be filled by an appointment made by a Secretary of State. All persons elected to the Legislative Council must be British subjects over twenty-one years of age, not having been convicted of any offence within five years, and not insolvent. Every elected member who holds any office of profit under the Company shall, upon appointment, vacate his seat, and shall not be eligible for election, but he may be eligible for appoint- ment as a nominated member. The number of members of Council besides the administrator, is nine, and at least six are necessary to constitute a quorum. Provision is made for the constitution of a Court, and in the adjudication of controversies between natives, the native law must be fol- lowed, unless it is repugnant to natural justice. The quali- fications of the elector are, that he shall be a British subject by birth or naturalization, and a resident of the country for at least six months, an occupier of land to the value of £75 yearly, and if a joint occupant each individual interest shall i MS I. i '!ii: 352 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA be of the value of £75, or he must be in the bona fide receipt of a salary of at least £50 per annum. No one is entitled to be put upon the register for any communal or tribal occupa- tion of land, nor who is unable to write his name, address, and occupation, or who has within five years been convicted of any crime to which is attached a sentence of imprisonment with hard labor, without the option of a fine, unless he has received a pardon. These provisions show very clearly how rapidly the southern portion of Rhodesia, which is open for settlement, is becoming organized as a British colony with representative institutions. It is the evidence of permanency which these settlements are affording that induced President Kruger to urge upon the British Government to cancel the charter, and to put an end, as far as possible, to the influence of Mr. Rhodes ahd his associates in British South Africa. At present, the whole Empire is engaged in putting an end to a government that has long disturbed the quiet of South Africa, and that has held towards the United Kingdom much the same place as the Barbary States, at one time, held towards the countries of Europe bordering upon the Medi- terranean. The Government of the South African Republic has proved a nuisance, the abatement of which is demanded for the well-being of the whole southern part of the Dark Continent. President Kruger, and those associated with him, in conducting the affairs of the so-called Republic have, for half a century, been afflicted with an incurable itching to put an end to British authority, and to tyrannize over men far more competent to direct the affairs of the country than those into whose hands it has unfortunately fallen. The British Government have, to some extent, reaped as they have sown. They have, owing to the ignorance of a large section of the population at home, who are too ready to assume that the officials of their own country are always in the wrong, and that the safe course to pursue is to take sides with those who are opposed to British authority, failed more than once to maintain the interests of the Empire. IN RHODESIA 353 ThiH much, however, may be said in favor of those who at one time labored to prevent the extension of English dominion in South Africa, that when the policy of free Reason for trade was adopted, they were of opinion that their example would soon be followed by all ('hristen- Palfo ° ^^^™' "^"^ ^^^^ *^^ market for the products of British industry would not be in the smallest degree restricted by the extension of the dominion of other civilize! states. This was the dominant idea with both political parties at the time that the Orange Free State and the Transvaal became, in a limited degree, independent republics. The same idea prevented the British Government claiming jurisdiction over the whole borders of South Africa, where the trade wus almost entirely in the hands of English manufacturers and merchants. They had all the advantages of exclusive trade without any of the responsibilities or cost of maintaining order and protecting life and property along those coasts. British statesmen upheld the policy of non-extension long after it was known that the opinions upon which it rested were erroneous ; and after the Berlin Act of 1885, it became apparent to every statesman who carefully con- sidered the situation, that if England were not to have the the markets of Africa shut against her she must extend her dominion, and by so doing, protect her commercial interests. Had the international conditions which exist to-day prevailed in 1852, neither the trekkers in the Orange district nor in the Transvaal, would ever have been allowed to establish govern- ments independently of the Queen's authority. The question has been raised and discussed here, what interest have we in Canada in the settlement of controversies in South Africa ? The view is not infrequently taken that we are not specially concerned whether British or Boer authority is in the ascendant in the southern portion of the African continent, and that both the expense and the responsibility for maintaining British ascendancy should devolve wholly upon the Imperial authorities. I do not share in this view, and 23 1 ■■■J li ^, lAAAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 144 128 |2.5 40 12.0 1.8 U III 1.6 Photographic Sciences Coiporation >m iV ^^ 4? o ^ Ci^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 072-4503 o^ lii 854 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 !1 (I • ' ..I I think that when a colony, with local aelf-govemment, grows until it possesses a foreign commerce and has external rela- tions, it has reached a point when domestic self-government alone does net fUlly meet its requirements, and at which the empire is entering upon a new phase of its existence. I cannot better express my view upon this question than by quoting tho concluding part of an article on ''The Bights and ReHponsibilities of the Colonies in the Empire," which I coutribtited to the pages of the Canadian Magazimi in April, 1894 :~- "This question of political evolution and national growth is one of \f^ry great importance, and there obviously spring from it responsibilities as well as rights. It RigfhtS and ^vould be indeed monstrous if we were to claim ^hlSff ^*" the full measure of our authority, and at the ^ .. same time deny all responsibility incident to Colonies ^^® exercise of such authority. Have we con- sidered, as our interests requires, that when we insist upon exercising as occasion may necessitate, the powers of a sovereign state, we must also be prepared to assume some of the burdens and responsibility which attach to that character? We must, while remaining a portion of the Empire, once we claim to exercise such power, be ready to assume in a larger measure than we have hitherto done the protection of our own territory in case of war or hostile invasion. It would be in the last degree pusillanimous to make claim to sovereign authority, and to repudiate all the burdens which sovereign power, if we stood alone, would necessarily bring. No one in his senses would pretend to say that if Canada were independent to-morrow she would not find it necessary to incur expenses in the erection of forts and arsenals, and in the establishment of a fleet, to some extent at least, for the purpose of police and for the purpose of pro- tecting her commerce. As a portion of the Empire, some of the expenditures are no doubt avoided. If our security were not made greater or less costly by remaining within the IN RHODESIA 355 e, some Empire — if we had ao special advantage from doing so — then the motive for continuing to grow within it, instead of stand- ing alone, would be at an end. This much, however, it is clearly our bounden duty to undertake, to protect our own cities on the seaboard against the possibility of surprise, and to make adequate provision against their becoming posses- sions, for the time being, of an enemy. The tribute which might be levied, the injury which might be done, the risk of permanent loss which we would incur by neglect, the humilia- tion and disgrace of capture, would be immeasurably greater evils than the expense which we would now be called upon to bear, in order to give proper security to our own people, and to fairly protect our own special interests. The boy, who on arriving at years of manhood, does nothing to acquire habits of self-reliance, who makes no sacrifice in his own interest — will be wanting in some of the highest qualities of manhood ; and as it is with him, so is it with the colony grown to the status of a nation that claims power, but which repudiates the burdens which accompany it. It must consider larger questions of state for itself ; it must consider the subject of its own defence ; it is not called upon to abuse its neigh- bors, or to indulge in swagger and bravado, but it is bound in duty to itself to acquire habits of self-reliance and to make some sacrifices on its own behalf. We expect, from time to time, to press upon the parent state the propriety of conceding to us a larger measure of authority ; to place, in a larger degree, our own destiny in our own hands. With what face can we do this, if we are not prepared to put forward the least effort for our own protection, and for making ourselves a substantial source of strength to the Empire, instead of being, in case of hostility, a source of humiliation and danger. "Let us, in discussing the future that lies before us, con sider what further measure of authority in particular we should possess, and what further responsioilities we should, in decency and fairness to the Parent State, be prepared to assume ; because, I take it, that the moment we enter upon (:■ J 356 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA '■»'■; the field of external relations as one with which we have to do, and as one which politically concerns us, we cannot stand towards the Mother Country, in reference to questions of defence, as we stood before. There has been on the part of the English (Government, ever since Parliamentary Govern- ment for domestic purposes reached maturity, a determination to throw upon the Colonies the maintenance of peace within their own borders. Was not this a reasonable determination? Now we stand upon the brink of a new phase of colonial life. We enter upon grounds hitherto untrodden by the feet of any dependent community, and we are bound to consider all that in incident to this new state of affairs. I have no doubt that when the subject is fully considered, and exhaustively discussed, the people of this country, as well as those in other portions of the Empire, will reach such conclusions as will bring to it greater strength, and greater security, along with that increased authority which the different parts may con- stitutionally claim and rightfully possess. But there may be other interests arising quite independent of any questions of defence. When one State becomes an ally of another in case of war, it is not always because their designs are ambitious, or because the integrity of both is endangered. " Let us consider for a moment what the effect of the fall of England would be, not only upon Canada, but upon the whole of North America. If France and Russia '^ould destroy the English fleet and acquire naval ascendancy, the British Empire would be at an end. We might have a French garrison in Hali- fax and in Quebec, and a Russian occupation of British Columbia. But I pass that consideration No Colonies would remain to England. They would Interest in the Perman- ency of the Empire over. pass under other control, or become independent. The trade of the world would go back. The restricted system would again be introduced. The whole commerce of the world would be conducted on lines similar to those which prevailed before the beginning of this century. Places with which we can now I IN 11HODE81A 867 ! trade, we could trade with no louger. With the destruction of British commerce would come the dimin?ition of the British population. Their numbers, by famine and emigration, would fall to, at least, one-half of what they are at present. What then would be the British market to us ? With New Zealand, Australia, and India under the control of Russia and France, I need not say to you how very serious the change would be both for Canada and the United States. The United States would be in much the same position that she was when the Holy Alliance threatened the independence of this continent, and the re-conquest of Spanish America. It would, indeed, be worse. The world has not, since the fall of the Roman Empire, known any event which would so calamit9usly affect its material and political progress. A great war fought upon our soil would indeed be a great evil. But it would be to us, in its mischievous consequences, trifling indeed, compared with the fall of the United Kingdom, and the dismemberment of the British Empire. The labor of the husbandman would in the one case, once peace was restored, soon repair the injuries inflicted by war, and the ploughshare would, within a few years, obliterate the evils inflicted by the sword. But nothing could repair for us the evils arising from the commercial ascendancy of nations using that ascendancy, not in the interest of freedom, but to uphold commercial exclusion. A war which would have the effect of reducing the United Kingdom to the position of Spain, would only be less calamitous to us, and to every other British possession, than to herself. The English-speaking population on this continent would find their commerce destroyed by the restrictive policy extended to so large a portion of the industrial world. Let it not then be supi>osed that such a war is one which but little concerns us, or that wc are not called upon to make any sacrifice for domestic considerations to uphold the greatness of our Motherland. It would once more become a question whether any portion of mankind should possess free institutions. We should be 358 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA m ■;':i devoted to freedom and to peace ; but we must not forget that these are made more secure when it is seen that they are so dearly prized that we are ready to make some sacrifice for their preservation. We cannot stand still. We ought to advance ; but we must not forget that increased power and greatness must be accompanied by increased responsibilities, and we would prove ourselves unworthy to share in the sove- reign authority of a great Empire if we attempt to shift to the shoulders of others the burdens which should, in justice, rest upon our own." The mutual obligations of different parts of the Empire must grow with the growth of their commercial and poli- tical interests. They are not yet what they will hereafter become. It is impossible, yet, to satisfactorily determine the extent of these mutual obligations. Our Imperial Constitu- tion is in its infancy, and must for some time to come rest upon the voluntary action of the different parts. It will extend first to this international controversy and to that, until each dependency successively reaches the Aill political stature of the Parent State. One event like that now trans- piring in South Africa, will not lead us to the end of our political journey, though it may thtow light upon the way in which we are walking. The British constitution is not the growth of a day, neither can an Imperial con- stitution, pervaded by a similar spirit, be called intc existence by a single event. It will grow and mature under the influence of those forces which have given it birth, if left to time, and to the good sense of those, to whom the care of the different parts of this great Empire is entrusted. Note. — I desire here to say that so much of Chapter I. as relates to the government of Egypt is condensed mainly from the admirable work of Sir Alfred Milner on that country. The summary given of the rise of Madhism in Chapter II. is abridged chiefly from the work of Statin Pasha. Almost everything else is derived from the treaties, conventions and agreements which have been made, and the THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 869 despatches and correspondence which have passed between the British Government and the Governments of France, Germany and Hortu^al, and between the Colonial Secretary and the British officials in different parts of Africa. In giving^ an account of the correspondence with the countries named, I have necessarily explored ground that has already been gone over by others, notably by Mr. Lucas in his " Historical Geography of the British Colonies," and Mr. Scott Keltie, in his work entitled "The: Partition of Africa," which has discussed that subject so fully as to leave nothing further to be desired. Mr. Scott Keltie's book will be found most useful to the political student. Mr. McDermott has also written an interest- ing work on the service of the Imperial Brit' ^h East Africa Company during the period covered by its charier. The two substantial ^ volumes—'* The Map of Africa by Treaty " — by Hertslet, are also valuable in the study of the diplomacy of !2:irope since 1880. A large number of works, all of which have some merit, have appeared relating to South Africa. I need not specify them. Mr. Martineau's '* Life of Sir Bartle Frere " is perhaps the most instructive of these that appeared before the Transvaal war began. This I have written to enlist the opinion of my country-men on the side of the Parent State, which is the t»ide of justice and enlightened progress. Ill I ! INDEX Abba, Inland of, 48, 49. Abercorn, Duke of, 34a . Abu es Said, 4b. Disfranchisement of the English, 34a. '33. '3S- British Columbia, 356. Disregard of treaties, 180. British East Africa, 106-157. Flagrant misgovernment of Johan- Anglo-German arbitration, 1 16, nesburg, 18a. Britain's conciliatory policy. 15a Hardships, endured by, 169. British Chartered Companies, The, Hollanders put in office, aaj. 130. Independence discussed, 167, British Protectorate in Zanzi b.ir. Legislated to secure their ascen- 118. dancy, aao. ■ British Trade, Its developemen t in, Peculiar laws of, i6a . ■08. Pledges to Natives, 333. Characteristics of countrj*, 149' '54. Rising, Their first, 164. Churchill, Lord, explanation by. laa. Sympathy in Europe for, 330. Concessions by England, 113. Treaties with Foreign Powers, "39. Development of by British, 133-1 41. Treatment of the Kaffirs, 333, 334. French struggles for suprem.icy. i5». aS«- Geographical features of, 106, Trekking propensities of, 180. Germany's manipulations, 107, 109, Trust in Germany, 187. III, 134, 140. Tyranny of, 314, 335. Imperial British East Africa Co's. Unfriendliness to British, 187, 333, work, 146-153. 363, 373, 376, 381 . International Commission, 134. Unprogressive in Cape Colony, 191. Neglect of British Statesmen, 117. Volksraad, organized, 167. ISO, 134, War preparations, 336. Railway Construction in, 147. War with natives. 339. Religions, Rivalries in, 138, 143, «47. Bognis, Desbordes, 86. Revolt of Chiefs, in 1895, *53> Boiteux, Lieut., 88. Revolt of Soudan troops, 154. Borgu, 9S-«o3- Sphere of Germany defined, i3i Bomu, 57, 89-101. Union Jack replaces Co's. Flag. US- INDEX 368 Britinh Eaat Africa Co., iia, ijj, 14A, «54- Britiih Empire, 357, British North Borneo Co., 9.^. Britinh South Africa, 3,^7, 349, 35a. Britiah South Africa Co., 43, 343-344. Brua, 100. Buchanan, Mr., 349. Buddu, 155. Buluwayo, 344. Bundy, T. D., 271. Burdett-Coutta, Wm., 131. Burghers, The Dutch, 166. Burton, Capt., 107. Bushmen, 165, i6q. Butler, a68. Cairns, Lord, opposes abandonment, ai3. Cairo. 45, 73, lai, 345. Cameroons, The, 83<-io7, 109. Canada's interest in South African con- trovery, 353. Cape Boys, 35 1, 253. Cape Colony— 106, ao6, 337, a^q, 305, 315. Discovered by Portuguese, 159. Early British control, 160. Emancipation, Act of, 165. Exodus of Boers, 166. French compelled to become Dutch, 160. Huguenots arrive, 160. Importance to England of, 188. Cape, The, no, lai, 345. Cape of Good Hope, 159, an. Cape Parliament, 187. Cape Town, 10, 166, 188, 193, an, 951. Carnarvon, Lord, 193, 197, 338, 34*. Cave, Mr., 156. Cawston, Mr., 34a. Cecil Rhodes, 334, 336, 340, 343, 343, 345. Central Africa, 337. Central African Protectorate, 347. Cetewayo, 173, aoo. Chamberlain, Mr., 103, 330, 363, 304-309. Chatham, Lord, 4. Chobc River, 347. Churchill, Lord Randolph, 175. Clapperton, Capt., explorer. 83. Clarke, Sir George, 171. Collingwood, 6. Colonial Office, 199. Colonies, American- Independence acknowledged, 4. France lost her. 4. Colonies, The, Rights and responsibili- ties of, 354. Colley, Sir George, sis. Colville, Capt., 146. Commandant General, 308. Commandeering British subjects, 338, "49. Commandeering, Legal views regarding. 341. Commissioner, High, 309. Commission, Native location, 333. Confederation of the Empire, 185. Congo, The, 9, 89, 154. Congo, The Free State, loa, 150, 190, 333. 345- Congo, Upper, The. 153. Congo, Valley of, 107. Cowan, Mr., On the Conflict, 331. Curlewih. Mr., 331. Cyprus, 85. Czar, The, 90. D'Andrade, Col., 343. Dangala, 56. Dahomey, 8a- 100. Danish Settlement. 83. Dara, 44-54. Darfur, 36, 43, 46, 51, 60, 8^103. Darfurian army defeated, 44. Dawes, 163. Delagoa Bay, 111, 169, 331. Demaraland, 10, 34a. Derby, Earl, 11, 316, 318, 334. De Winton, Sir Francis, 143. Dilke, Sir Charles, 193. Disfranchisement, Result of, 326, 339. Dixbury, counsel, 365. Dongola, 47-73. Drakenberg Mountains, 166. Drummond Wolfe, Sir, 34. Dundas. Sir Henry, 5. Duem, 61. Duiferin, Earl, 64. Durban, 168. Dutch Assembly, 163. Dutch East India Company, 159, 164. East Africa, 344. East Indi.i Company, 93. liH 111! I a((4 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA 1 m. H Edirar, Mr., murder of, 364. Educational DiMcriminationn, s6o, 977, 378, a86, a^. Antiquity of, 14. Assembly, The National, 3a. British Protectorate declined, 30. CaiHW, The, 31. Ctpitulation*, 18, Corvee, The, 3a. Dinhonesty of ruling nntiveM, 39. Dual control failed, 39. England's commercial advantages in. 33 Uovernment, modern, 17. Uranville, Lord, on British control, 30. Mehemct Ali's rule, iq. Memlooks, Masaitcre of, 16. Sir Alfred Milner's testimony, ao. Mulhall, Mr., defence of Ismail, 33. Progress under B itain, &S. Rebellion (i88a), a6. Syria acquired and relinquished, 15. El Obeid, 44.60. Empire League, 104* English traders, 166. Emin Pasha, 140. Equatoria, 38-79. Esser, Mr. Justice, 370. Essi Qiiibo, 161. European hostility to England, 331, Fago. 47, 53. Farquhar, Col., 63. FashoOa, 89, 151, 157. French flag hoisted, 80. French flag taken down, 81. Federation, Question of, 185. Fife, Duke of, 34a. Fitzpatrick, Mr., 137, 289. Flanders, 161. Fontesville, 346. Fordsburg, ajo. Foulahs, 359. Fowler, Sir John, 148. France— i6a, 189, 236, 350, 327-348, 357. Action on Egyptian debt, 33. Anxiety to dominate Egypt, 79. Disasters to her Explorers, 59. Expeditions to the Soudan, 58. France— Fight for possession of Am- erica. 3. Future as a Colonizer, 9. Hostility of a minority to England, 33. Loss of American Colonies, 4. Obstructed progress in Egypt. 3s. Russia sides with France, 31. Tariff War, 9. Fr.inco-German Conflict, 8j. Eraser, Mr.. 250. Free State. Dutch, 158, 194. French Revolution. 161. Frere, Sir Bartle, no, 174. i9>. Frey, Col., 87. Friedman, Joseph. 355. Fries, Mr., 267. Froude, Mr., 193, Fungs, The, 39. Furs, The, 40. Futa Jallon, 85-87. Gallieni, Capt., 86, Gambetta, 84-85. Gambia River, 97. Gambia, British 83-97. Ganda, 4a. Gando, 91-103. ' Gaza. 153. Gazalnnd. 180. Gedge, Mr., 140, 141. Germany. 158, 189, 336, 331, 348. Efforts to cause trouble between England and France, 36 Possessions in Africa, 9. Germans, The, 337, 340, 34a. German African Society, 9a. Colonial Society, 9a. . East Africa, 334, 350. East Africa Co., 1 18. Protectorate, The, 334, 347. Witu Co., 115. Gessi, 57. Gibeonites, The, 331. GifFord, Lord, 343. Gladstone, Mr., 109, 118, 130, 174, 175, aoi. Gladstone Government, The, aia. Gold Coast, 84. 15a. Goldie, Sir George, 93-105. Gold Fields, Discovery of, aao, 334. INDEX mr> tiurdon, Gen.— Advinea Suleiman Panha. 5.1, 55. AppcaU to British Uovernment, 70. Appointed Governor General of the Soudan, 46. Aaka for Turkiah troopa. 71 . Efryptian Government objecta to him, 65. Hia death aveniced, 81. OfFera to rcaign, 71. Selbitrne, Lord, on, 7a. Soudanese independence auiftfcated, 67. Visits Darfur, 5a, Wolseiey, General, sent to his relief, 7a • Zubcir P- -iha nominated hia auc* cessv>r, 6q. Tragric death of, 76-77. Gordon, Sir Henry, 74. Goschenland, 333. Granville, Lord, 30, 65, 107, lao. Greece, British subjects in. 373. Greene, Mr., British Agent, 265. Grey, Earl, 34a. Griquas, The, 169, Grondwet, The, 297. Guinea, Portuguese, 97. Guma, Major, 50. Gurma, too. Hagali Alur Nurein, 4J. Halifax, 356. Hardinge. Sir A,, 156. , Harva, Sultan, 5a. H.issan Pasha, 46. Heligoland, in. Hertslet, volumes by, 359. Hewitt, Consul, 108. Hicks-Beach. Sir Michael, ■ ja, 304. Hicks, General :— Appeal to British Government, 64. Defeats the rebels, 61. His command annihilated, 6a. Quarrel with Ali ed Deen, 67. Hicks Pasha, 38, 6a. High Commissioner, The, 300305. Hindoos, The, 310. Holland, 8a, iii, laa, 159, 239, 2;io. Holy Alliance, The, 357. Hooper, 365. Hottentots, The, i6j, Housaa, The, 95, 103. Hudaon'a Bay C 93. Huguenota, The French, 193. Huaaein, 40, 54. Hut Tax, The, 349. Idria Bey Ebter, 55. Immigrant Association, 170. Immigration, Indian and Persian. 133. Imperial British East Africa Co.. 93. iia-iaH. n4-i4o, 359. India :— 105, 157. ».6, 153. Kaiku Bev, 50. Kaliph, The, 38. Kampala, 157. Kanem, States of, 89, 94-101. Kano, 103, 104. Kassala, 73. Kavirando, 156. Kawa, 61. Kay, Mr. Seymour, 34. '■' ii 366 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ii-i Keltie, Mr. Scott, 359. Kenia, Mount, 137. Keyes, 86. Khalif. The. 78. Khalifa of Omdurman, 233. Khama, 346. Khartoum, 38, 46, 51, 64, 73. 77, 78, 157. Kikiyu, The, 150. Kilimanjaro, 107, 115, 133, Kilindini, 144. Kimberley, 17a, 344. Kimberley, Lord, aio-aia. Kipini, 130-133. Kirk, Sir John, iii, 115, lao, 131. Kitab Dali, 40. Kitchener, Lord, 180. Klootz, 62. Knutstord, Lord, 343. Kordofan, 39, 49, 60, 65, loi. Koreishi, 48. , Kotze, Chief Justice, 347. Krisis, 95. Kruger, Paul— 194, 199, 313, 336, 349, »Ti 277. 383-394, 3°S'3^^- As a Compatriot, 37a. Declaration as to Political Rights, 333, 348. Greedy and dishonest, 22. Excuses tor misgovernment, 181. Proposed peace, 174. Rebelled, and was pardoned, 165. Visits England, 303. Kruger, Tjaart, 371. Kruger's unsatisfactory proposals, 279. Kuka, 103. Kutshuk Ali, 41. Kwyhu Bay, 135. Kwyhu, Island of, 133. Lagjs, 83-103. Laing's Nek, 174, aoo, 315. Laing, explorer, 83. Lakoja, 93. . , Lambermont, Baron, 1 16-135. Lamu, 135, i3>-i3S> Landers, explorers, 83, Land Grabbing by European Powers, 8. Lanyon, Sir Owen, 175, 300-313. Leonard, Mr., 343. Leopold, King, 151. Leyd», Dr., 347, 389, 394-5. Liberia, 86, 97. Limpopo, :43. Lippert, Mr., aaq. 389-395. " Little Englanders" party, 151. Livingstone, Dr., 107. 136, 339-349. Livingstone's discoveries, 348. Livingstone Road, 348. Lobengula, 340. Loch, Sir Henry B., 340, 349. Lombard, Field Cornet, 35a. Lords, House of, 313, 318. Low Countries, 163. Lucas, Mr., Volume by, 359. Lufti, 61. Lugard, Capt., 143, 146. Lunnon, Mr., 365. McAlister, Mr., 137, *■ Macartney, Lord, 315. McDermott, Mr., 3«9. Macdonald, Capt., 145. Macdonald, Col,, 156. Macdonald, Major, 147-157. McDougall, Mr., 154. Mackenzie, Geo. Sutherland, 131-136. Mackinnon, Sir Wm., 109, 137, 134, 143-8. MacMahon, Marshal, 339. Madagascar, 9. Mafia, Island of, 1 16-118. , Magato's country, 349. Mahdism, 39, 47, 64. 359. Mahdi, The— 153. Achievements and Death, 78. Annihilation of Hicks Pasha's army, 63. British Government, Ignorance re- garding, 64, Darfur passes under his control, 60. Defeats Kaiku Bey, 50, England's right to his country, 36. Enters Southern Darfur, 51. Everywhere victor in Soudan, 77. Journey through Kordofan, 49, Rise of Mahdism, 47. Slatin Pasha made prisoner, 63. Summoned to Khartoum, 49. Mahomedan Law, 147. Mahomet Ahmed, 47-78. Mahomet Fadl, 40. Mahomet Sherif, Sheikh, 47. Majuba Hill, 174, aoo, 315. INDEX 367 lorance re- :ontrol, 60. Makin Wad*en-nur, 77. Makololo people killed, 349. Maiet, Sir Edward, 64, iia-116. Manawashi, 44. Mandi, Island of, i33-i34. MandingoU, 86. Manicalnnd, 336. Mansfelt, Professor, 361. Mansel, Capt., 16. Marchand's expedition, 80. Maritzburg, 166. »• Markett's case, 346, Martineau, Mr., book by, 359, Martyr, Major, 157. Mashon.is, The, 34I-344. Mashonaland, 334*344. Matabelcs, The, 169, 173, 197. Matabeles, King of, 34a. Matabeleland, 340-350. ' Matthews, General, 115, 154. Maund, Mr., 341. Mauritius, 353. Mazaoi, The, 154. Mgaland, i8o, 347. Mediterranean, The, 85-95. Mehemei, Ali, 38 Mesallamaia, 48. Metemneh, 76. Milner, Sir Alfred, ao-38, 263-377, 296, 303, 310, 359. Mining Industries, Commissions on, 228, 229. Mitchell, Lieut., arrest of, 264, 365 . Mobangi, Upper, 151. Modder Spruit, 315. Moffatt, Mr., 120. MoiFatt, Rev. Mr., 340. Mohammedanism, 26, 47. Mole8worth,,Sir Guilford, 148. Molopopo River, 334. Mombasa, 134 .54. Monarch, Grand, 160. Monroe Doctrine, 189. Monteil, Col., 88, 151. Morice, Judge, 347. Moslem, Fanaticism of, aS. Motherland, Our, 357. Mouli, 157. Mozambique, 348. Mozambique Company, 343, 49. Mozambique Tariff, (1877) 339. Mukoitk. 154. Muscp.t, 153. Mwanga, 137, 146. Mweru, 349. Nairasha Lake, 150. Natal — 106, 313, 336, 364, British Expedition into, '68. Dutch set up assemblies, 166. Population of, 179. Namaqualand, 10. Nantes, Edict of, 160. Napier, Sir George, 167. Natives. Treaty Provisions, regarding, 331. Navigation Acts, Blighting effects on Dutch Commerce, 3. Newfoundland, 4, 35. Nelson's naval conquests, 6. Nttherlands, United, 163, New Zealand, 6, 188, 357. Nicholls, Richard, arrest of, 365. Nigeria, 83, 94, 99, 103 . Nigeria, British, 86. Characteristics of Natives, 95-101. Collision between English and French, 90*98. English, advantages of. The, 103. English, The, moderation of, 99. Exploration and Developement, 83, 88. French defeat Samory, 87. French enterprise, 84. French Military Campaigns, 85. German Aggres'^ion combatted, 92. German co-operation with France, '96. National Atrica Co. formed, 91. Railways projected, 103. Superior claims of British. 83. Niger, The, 36, 83, 87, 89, 9o-io3, 152. Niger, Basin of, 95-98. Niger Co., 82-100. Niger Co., The Royal, 8v'o5. Niger Country, The, 344. Niger, Lower, 90. Niger, The Lower and Middle, 189. Niger, Upper, 9. 85, 103. Niger Valley, 83. Nile, The, 38-79, 89-95, 101-108, 113, 138- >39> »So-'.^7. «90, 34». mm w 868 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA Nik\ The Blue, 61-65. Portugal, 86, 180, 339, 337-350. Nile, The Central Country, 15a. Portuguese, The, 348, 350, 337-.I46. Nile, Upper, Territory of, 153. Portuguese Govt., 343. Nile, The White. 39, 48, 60, 6.s, na. Powers, The Great, Primacy of, 318. Nupe, 103. Pretoria, 181, 304, ai8, 347, 364, 395, 331. Nur Angfara, 54. Pretorius, Andries, 170, aoo. Nyasa, Lake, 336, 338, 347, 3.^8. Pretorius, Mr., 333. Nyasaland, Government of, 335,336, 347. Pungaa, River, 346. Obanc«, 151. Rabah, 57, 103. Oil Rivers Colony, 82-91. Railways, The Cape, 346. Oil Rivers District, 108. Rand, The, 389-329. Omdurmnn, 80, 15a. Rashed Bey, 50. > ■ ' ' Othman, 153. Rauf Pasha, 49. Ottoman Empire, 9, 16, 152. RedSea,75, 89-I5I* Orange Free State, iii, 193, 306, 214, Red Sea Route, 188. 1S9. , 223, 260, 272, 275, 284, 3fKj, 309, Reitz. Mr., 231, 268, 289, 294. .MO, 3SO. Resident, The British, 208, 20(«, 323. Abandoned by Britain (1853) r/i. Rhodes, Cecil, 267, 337, 350. Early History of, 169. Rhixlesia— 146, 236, Erected a Separate Government, 17 1. Agreement with Portugal, 346. Extension of Republic, 173. British secure Matabeleland, 340. Population of, 178. British South African Company in- Orange River, 10, 165, 166, 168, 170, 171, corporated, 334. .87. Boer aggressions in BechuanaUnd, Owen, Major, 146. 333. Palgravc, Coates, 10. Change of Policy, reason for, 353. Palmer Harding, Robert, 131, Collision between Matebeles and Palmerstop, Lord, 16. Company's officers, 346. Pangani River, 114. Conflict between Portuguese and Park, Mungo, 83. British, 336. Parliament, The Boer, 329. Delagoa Bay Controversy, 339. Parliament, Imperial, 214. Exploring Companies formed, 342. Parliamentary Government.Coloninl, 315. Gold Mining Developments, 336. Partition of Africa, The, 359. Government, Rights of, 347, 351. Patanga, 349. Livingstone Central African Co., Pateau, The, 346. formed, 347. Paterson, Capt., Arrest of, 263, 265. Portuguese efforts at control, 343, Patriot, The, Newspaper, 192. 348. Patta, 125-134. Relations of British Government to Pemba, Island of, 109-125. Chartered Co., 343. Persia, 133, 154. Richness of disputed territory, 345, Peters, Dr., 112, 135, 140W 3SP. Perthes . Justus, loi. Serpa Pinto Expedition, 349. Pfiel, Count, 112. Southern, 351. Pichegru, 160. Ripon, Lord, 340, 243, 346, 347. Pigott, Mr., i37-«4'. - Rivieres de Sud, 86. Pistorious, Mr., 389. Rizighats, 42, 44. Police, Bechuanaland Border, 346. Robinson, Mr., 361. Ponsonby, Lord, 16. Robinson, explorer, 83. Portal, Sir Gerald, 145. Robinson, Sir Hercules, lao, 303, 340. ■^^ INDEX 869 -346. i, agS. 33'* iii. 3»3' 1. 346- ind, .^o. Company in- chuanaland, for, 353. :ebeles and 146. guese and sy. 339. rmed, 34a. Its, 336. }47> 3S«" Ifrican Co., (ontrol, 343. ^ernment to [ritory, 345, 1349- I?- RoUiFa, Dr., iia. Roman Empire, The, 357. Rotebery, Lord, 118, lao, 124, 145, 15a, a66w RothchiMa, The, 23. Rotterdam, laa. Roodepoort, 351. Roulio, Mr., 289. Rovuma River, ii5-taj. Royal Commiaaion, The, 3a 1. Rudd, Mr., 34a. Rudolph Lake, 157. Ruaaell, Lord John, 168, 345. Rumia, 189, 331, 356, Sabaki River, 14a. Sabi River, 341, 345. Sago, 88. Said Parha, 60. Saleh Bey, 60. Saliabury, Lord, 85, iii, 117, 148, 157, 337-348. Samania Tarika. 47. Samory, 86. Say, 98. Schreiner, Mr., 331. Schutte, Commandant, a66. Sekendorif, Baron, 6a. Secocoeni, 173, 197, aoo. Selborne, Lord, ao5, aio, aia, 315. Self Ed Din. 46. Selim, ij4. Senaar, 7a. Senesrambia, 84. Senes^al, 83-104. Seven Years' War, 4. Shaigis, The, 46, 51. Shakka, 4a, 45, 5a. 55. 60. Shari River, 59, loi. Sharp, Mr., 349. Shellali, 61. Shendi, 39. Shepatone, Sir Theophilus, 173, 187, 199, «33. 3«7. Shire Highlanda, 336. Shire, Lower, River, 350. Shire River, 339, 348, 349. Sierra Leone, 84, 90, 97, isa. Simba, Chief, 134. Sirdar, The, victories of, 146k Slavery and Slave Trading— 39, 8a, 91, «>5. "33. Abolition of, 330, 334. Attitude of Missionaries regarding, 136. Carnarvon, Earl, on, 198. Conference on, 148. Emancipation Troubles, 165. Provisions anent in Convention of 1884, 318, 319. Trading Prohibited in Uganda, 143. Slatin Paaba, 47> 5<> ^> 359* Smith, Capt., 168. Smith, Mr., case of, 339. Smith, Sir Harry, 170. Smuts, Mr., 389, 394. Sofala, Province of, 341. Sokoto-Gando Empire, 91, 100. Somalia, tribe, 135. Soudan, The— 38, 53, 61, 76, 98, 15a, 190. Bravery of the Tribes, 39. Central, 94, too. Egyptian, 96. Extent of the countrj*, 38. Evaaiation resolved on, 66. French, 87. History, early, 39. Necessary part of Egypt, 79. Reconquest of, 80. Soudan, Western, 86, South Africi, 313, 353. South African Chartered Company, 334, 3SO. South Africa Company, 178, 194, 338, 345. 3.<«. South African Cor '^deration, soo. South African Explosives Co., 331. South African League, 367, a68, 376, 396. South African Republic, 194, ai6, 330, a73. 3M-3a»» 334 • Spanish America. Re-oonquest of, 357. Spain, 5. Stadtholder, The, 160, 161. Standerton, District, of, 350. Stanley, H. M., 107, ia6, 14a. Stellaland, 333. Stevenson, Mr. las. Stewart, Col., 66^ Stewatt, Gen. Sir Donald. 131. |ao3> 34o> ! 870 THE ENGLISH IN AFRICA ifiij I I. Suakim. 74, 189, Transvaal, The— Kimberley, Lord on Suez Canal, an. annexation, aia. Suldman. 45, gfi. Milner, Sir Alfred, on the ntuation, Sultan Ibrim, 43, 44. 45. 383. Suzerainty, The Question of, 207, 317, Mistakes of British Government in. 3»o, 395. 300. Swaziland, 30J, 310. Municipal Law in Johannesburg, Swazis, Independence ot, 919, 330. 360, 375, 387. Switzerland, t», 39, 318. Murder of Mrs. Appleby, 359. Swinburne, Sir John, 336. Murder of Edgar, 354, 376, 380. Syria, 15. Monopolies created, 386. Tagos. The, 40. Pass Law, The, 334. Takaunga, 153. President and High Commissioner Tana River, 115, 135, 133, 135, 141. meet, 300. Tanganyika, Lake, iia. 15a, 345-349- Press Laws, The, 374, 388, 398. Tanta, a6. Pretorius resists annexation, 170. Taru District, 150. Proclaimed independent Republic, Taubman, Mr. Goldie, 91. 30O. Taxation, The Question of, 333. Propositions of Mr. Lippert, 390. Tchad, Lake, 36, 57, 88, 107, 153, 189. Proposals of Boer Government, 393, Tennyson's Patriotic Wish, 37, 3a3- Thomson, Mr. Joseph, 83, 93. Rebellion against Britain, 174. Tiki Aimed, 48. Relations to the Empire, 185. Timbuctoo, 83-104. Second annexation to Britain, 173. Togoland, 98. Selborne, Lord, explains, 305, 313. Tonquin, French Acquisitions in, 9. South African League, (Views of, Tongoland, 86. 396, Toro District, 157. Suzerainty, The question of, 177. Toski, 77. / Treason, Trials for, 363. Transvaal, The, I94-35';- Treason, Sir Alfred Milner exposes, 369. Annexed by Britain (1848), 170. Triumvirate, The Dutch, 300. British troops defeated, 174. Uitlanders, The position of, 173, 180, 183, Chamberlain, Mr., on differences in, 391. 309. Treaties and Conventions :— Chief Justice dismissed, 375. Anglo-Boer Convention (1854I, 173. Churchill, Lord Randolph's testi- Beriin (i88s), 353- mony, 17s, 184. Britain's latest Treaty with France, Compared with Turkey, 199. 36. S8. Dutch, English and Boers, relative Convention of 1894, 398, 309. numbers, 178. Convention excluding France from Dutch Government broke down, 198. Nile Valley, 81. Dynamite, The question of, 181, 335. London Convention (1840), 15. Educational discrimination, a6n, 377, Berlin Convention (1884), "6, 317, a86. ai8, 319, 335, 338, 330, 331, 333, High Court degraded, a8i. 333. a36i 339. 343, 353, 375, 386, Hostility of Dutch to British, 158. a88, 317, 335. Independence recognized, 174. Bloemfontein Convention (1854), 171. Franchise, Question of the, 183. Pretoria Convention (1881), 307, 314, Friction with natives, 173. 316, 317, 318, 819, 330, 334, 339, Future of the country, 184. 317. 330. 333. INDEX 371 r. Lord on be ntuation. rernment in, lannesburg, Treatim and Conventions- Villiers, Chief Justice de, 303. Sand River Convention (185a), 196, Villiers, Mr. de, 371. 198, »05, aia, ai7, 317. Volksraad, The, 166, 307, 359, 387-319. Re Mexico (1861), 373. Vorstman, L. G.. 336, 3aq, 331, 33a. Treaties with Lobengula (1888), 334. Vryburg, 344. Treaty of 1841, 15. Wadai, 57, 59, 89-107. Treaty ot Aliwal (1869), 17a. Wadeini, 146. Treaty of Chaumont (1814), 318. Walcot, Mr., 137. Treaty of 1814, »6'' Walfish Bay, 10. Treaty of Vienna (1815), 6, 161, Wnnga, 137, 133. Treaty between Britain and the Warren, Sir Charles, 319, 333-6. Transvaal (1877), 174. Weeman, 166. Tunis, 9, 35, 85. Werden, Major, 170. Turkey, 198, 318. Wessels, Mr., 244, 300. Turkish Sultan, The, 46, 85. Williams, Capt., 145. Ubangri, 79» *>, 89, 97. Williams, General, 148. Uganda, las, '35, iS7' Williams, L. A., case of, 353. Uitlanders, The, 194, aao, 336, 37a, a86. Wilson, Sir Rivers, 23. 3»9. Wilson, Mr., 157. Uitlanders, IlUtreatment of, 326, 328. Witu Company, German. 135. Leaders, Diversity of, 377. Witu, 116, 133, 153. Umba, 106, 116, 138. Wolseley, Lord, 204. Umbe, River, 138. Wood, General, 317. Umptali, 346. Wood, Sir Evelyn, 301 , 203. Ungazi River, 168. Yoruba, 103. United Africa Co. (Limited), The, 90. Zaher, 153. United States, 4, 327, 357. Zambesi River, 120, 193, 334-347. Uppington, Mr. 11, Zambesi, Upper, 189. Usogo, 140. Zanzibar, 83, 107, 131, 142, 180. Vaal, The River, 167,. 170, Zanzibar, Ci/ast Chiefs of, 153. Vandalic invasion, 95. Zanzibar, Sultan of, 147. Van der Stel, 160. Zaria, 103. Vander Vlugt, Professor, Criticisms by. Zoria, 103. «r 316, 318. Zoruba, 103. Verecniging, 353. Zubeir, 40, 43, 45, 53. 59, 65, 69, 73. Victoria Falls, 121. Zumbo, 350. Victoria Lake, 135, 133, 140, 153. Zuiuland, 106. Victoria Nyanza, Lake, 106, 136, 138, Zulus, The, 173, 197. 145. Zulu War, The, 173, 176. i (»8S4). «7»» h), 307, 314, ao, 334, a39, GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. To Have and to Hold. By Mary Johnston, author of ** Prisoners of Hope." Miss Mary Johnston is the latest planet that has risen on the literary horizon. She is a Virginia girl, and has written of the early days of that British colony that was named for England's virgin queen. It is a period of history full of romance, and is made by Miss Johnston the scenarium of a narrative that holds the reader breathless by its graphic power. Clo/h, $t.£o; Paptr^ 75 cents. Prisoners of Hope. Mary Johnston's first success. It was her fine novel "Prisoners of Hope," that first brought Miss Mary Johnston, its author, into the sphere of prominent literary regard. Miss Johnston has not yet reached the thirties, but her work has a maturity and an artistic finish which are usually the accompaniments of the later years of a writer's life. Her story is told in forceful though simple language ; but, best of all, the new author has the gift of an uncommonly fertile imagination. She has chosen a fine field of fiction, and she is its undoubted mistress. Cloth, $1.50 ; Paper; yg cents. Resurrection. By Count Leo Tolstoy. The unique genius of Tolstoy has found in this story a fine and fertile field for its development. It is an account of the mental and spiritual experiences of a young Russian nobleman, and his resurrection from a life of self-indulgence to one of self- sacrifice and true nobility. It is a realistic picture of Russian life. Tolstoy does not mince matters in dealing with vice or with the actualities of life. The book is one for the adult man and woman, and has created a great sensation in Europe. The profits from its sale are to be devoted to the relief of the Douk- hobors. Cloth, $ I. ffi ; Paper, J 5 cents. The Qreen Flag:, and Other Stories of War and Sport. By CoNAN Doyle, Author of ** Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," etc. In this new collection of stories which wc regard as the best that has been put upon the market for years, the versatility and strength of this famous author are evident on every page. Every story is plainly the work of a master, and is told with a dash. Here we have soldier stories, and sailor stories too, and tales of pirates which are enough to make one's hair stand on end. Narrations of the hunting field and of the amateur boxing ring add variety to the store ; but the striking feature of the whole is its astonishing virility. Cloth, $1.50 ; Paper, yg cents. OEORQE N. MORANQ & COMPANY LIMITED Publisliers Toronto ■:■ t GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. iii ■ i ! Aylwin. By Theodore Watts-Dunton. A vivid and enthralling^ love-story, full of movement and vi^or. The tenth edition ofthis remarkable book is now on sale. Crown 8vo., Cloth, $1.50; Paper, ^s cents. The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll. By S. D. COLLINGWOOD, B.A. This is the life of the author of " Alice in Wonderland." It is a work of deep interest, and the illustrations, which are re- productions of photographs, have excited great attention. Crown 8vo., Cloth, $2.00. With Nansen In the North. By Lieut. Hjalmar JoHANSEN. A record of the From expedition. With very numerous illustrations. This is a record of Arctic experiences that cannot be read without a thrill of interest. Its characteristics are simplicity and straightforwardness. Crown 8vo,, Cloth, $i.£o; Paper, yg cents. t\ The Forest of Bourg-Marie. By S. Frances Har- rison. A story of French-Canadian life, which displays in a vivid and interesting manner the characteristics of the habitant. Its story element is strong. Crown 8vo., Cloth, $1.2^; Paper, 75 cents. A 5ister to Evansreline : being the story of Yvonne de Lamourie. By Charles G. D. Roberts. This work, as its name denotes, deals with the scene already made famous by Longfellow's poem. It is a most interesting story. Crown 8vo., Deckle-edged. Cloth, gilt top, $i.$o; Paper, 75 cents. Life of Jane Austen. By Goldwin Smith, D.C.L. The accomplished and learned author ofthis "Life of Jane Austen " has brought to the task a fulness of information and a literary insight that make this book a valuable addition to bi- ography. Crown 8vo., Library Edition, half Morocco, $i.so. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. Bird Nei8:hbors. By Neltje Blanchan ; with an in- troduction by John Burroughs. Will be found not only to contain much interestini; reading, but to have a high value as a work of reference. Crovn ^to, Chth, with S3 beautiful colored photogravures^ $2.2^. Qame Birds and Birds of Prey. By Neltje Blan- chan ; with an introduction by G. O. Shields. This book, a companion volume to the foregoing, contains the life-histories of 170 birds of prey, game-birds and water-fowl. It has 48 colored plates. Crown ^to., Cloth $2,2$. Cliristian Martyrdom in Russia : an account of the members of the Universal Brotherhood, or Douk- hobortsi. By Vladimir Tchertkoff. This is a most interesting description of the Doukhobors, our new immigrants to Canada. It contains a chapter by Tolstoy and an introduction by Prof. James Mavor. Crown 8vo.^ Paper, js cents. Heart Son^s. By Jean Blewett. Mrs. Blewett has taken a special place in the affections of the reading public, and this volume will undoubtedly confirm her dominion there. The predominant note of the book is buoyant optimism. Crown 8vo., Cloth, ornamental, gilt-top, $1.00. Half Morocco, tz.50. A Critical Study of ** in riemoriam.*' By the late Rev. John M. King, D.D. The wide scope of the work and its masterly dealing with the experiences of human nature give it a unique prominence in poetic literature. It will take its place not only as a text-book but as a valuable addition to private book-shelves. Cloth, i2tno., gilt-top, deckle edges, $1.2^. Essays on Worlc and Culture. By Hamilton Wright Mabie. The place which Mr. Mabie has undoubtedly taken in modern criticism is exemplified in these books. Already he has won a large following by these delightful essays. In eight volumes, Cloth, i2mo., gilt top, deckle-edges, $1.25 per volume. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. Trimalchio's Dinner. By Petronius, translated by Harry Thurston Peck. This story, of the period of " Quo Vadis," brings before the reader in a realistic way, the people and the time of the reign of Nero. The book is a voice from the pa&t. Crown 8vo., CMh, $1.50/ Paper, 75^. Stories from Starland. By Mary Proctor, daughter of the famous astronomer. It precisely fills the want, so often expressed, of a child's book, that is not* encumbered with matters that the little reader cannot possibly understand. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 75^. Cyrano de Bers^erac. By Edmond Rostand, a drama, translated from the French by Gertrude Hall. The unanimity of the critics with regard to this piece of literary work is as surprising as it is rare. Cloth, i6mo., with portrait of Miss Margaret Anglin as Roxane, 50c. Quo Vadis. By Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by Jeremiah Curtin. This remarkable romance deals with the history, religion and customs of Rome in the days of Nero, which is portrayed with vividness and power. It has been called one of the greatest books of our day. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.50/ Paper, 75c. Witli Fire and Sword. By Henryk Sienkiewicz. An historical novel of Poland and Russia, authorized and unabridged edition, translated by Jeremiah Curtin, containing the history of the origin and career of the two Slav States, Poland and Russia. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1,25/ Paper y^c. Pan ilicliael. By Henryk Sienkiewicz, Author of ** Quo Vadis," etc. ^Jn this interesting novel, Sienkiewicz has further developed the characters and scenes to be found in "With Fire and Sword." It is characterized by great vividness and power. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $1.25/ Paper, 75c. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. The Prisoner of Zenda. By Anthony Hope, Author of " The Dolly Dialogues," etc. " The Prisoner of Zenda " at once leaped into popularity because it brought with tion are the best record of the ceremonies of the Diamond Jubilee, and they form a very interesting memento of the 60th year of the Queen's reign. Their gifted author had exceptional opportunities of seeing all that was going on, and the brilliant account of it that she wrote forms delightful reading. 16 mo., cloth ornamental, gilt top, 75c./ Paper, 25c. The Seven Seas. By Rudyard Kipling, Author of " Barrack Room Ballads," «' The Phantom Rick- shaw," etc. These poems are among the best productions of Kipling's genius. Crown, Svo., cloth, ornamental, $1.50. The Day's Worlc. By Rudyard Kit»LiNG, Author of '*The Seven Seas," etc., with eight full page illustrations. To read this book, •* The Day's Work," is to receive a men- tal training and nerve bracing such as must make any man or woman — and especially any young man or woman — fitter to face life and conquer it. Crown, Svo.; Cloth, gilt top, uncut edges, $1.50/ Paper, y^c. Wolfville. By Alfred Henry Lewis, illustrated by Frederic Remington. This is a book of fresh and quaint humor. It describes in odd, but not tedious dialect, the doings in a Western ranching settlement. The 18 illustrations by Remington are fully equal to that artist's great reputation. Crown, 8vo.; Cloth, $1.2$* Paper, -j^c. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. I The Black Douglas. By S. R. Crockett. This is a romantic and stirring story of the fifteenth century with its armed strongholds and its fighting men. Lovely women are also to be found in the tale, and I heir influence on its deveU opment is strong. Crown Svo,, Cloth, $1.2^ ; Paper, 75 cents. Agriculture. By C. C. James, M.A., Dep. Min. of Agriculture for Ontario. Authorized for use in schools. As a primary treatise in the science underlying farming, no better treatise has been put be- fore the public. Crown Svo. Cloth, 25 cents. Away from Newspaperdom and other Poems. By Bernard McEvoy. The style and the sentiment of the poems are admirable. Mr. McEvoy has both the eye and ear of the true poet. Square Svo., with illustrations by G. A. Reid, Ji.C.A. Cloth, $1.00 i Paper, 50 cents. Canada and Its Capital. By Sir James Edgar, Speaker of the Dominion House of Cointnons. Containing twenty-one photogravure illustrations. "The work is a beautiful production from all points of view. Con- tains material that is calculated to make Ottawa the Mecca of the tourist, the sportsman, and the health-seeker." Large Svo. t Cloth, $2.50 ; half-Morocco, $J.SO. A History of Canada. By Charles G. D. Roberts, Author of "The Forge in the Forest," "A Sister to Evangeline," etc. A complete history, with chronological chart and maps of the Domiiiioii of Canada and Newfoundland; containing nearly 500 pages, including appendix, giving the British North America and Imperial Acts in full. Large Svo., Cloth, omatnental, $3.00. The Book of Qames : with directions how to play them. By Mary White. As a compendium of evening amusements for tlie family and other social circles it is unrivalled. Cloth, ornamental, iJtmo.t St.oo. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS. 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A Novel, By John Bloundell- Burton, Author of ♦' The Clash of Arms," "The Mutable Many," etc. This is an engrossing story of religious persecution. Crowns 8vo.; Cloth, $1.00; Paper, soc. When the World was Younger. By Miss M. E. Braddon. An historical romance of the Stuart period, in which love, tragedy, and passion figure prominently. Crown. 8vo.; Cloth, $7.25/ Paper, 50C. The Deluge. By Henryk Sienkiewicz, Author of ♦♦Quo Vadis," etc. This work completes the trilogy begun by the author's great novel, "With Fire and Sword," of which "Pan Michael" also forms a number. It deals in a masteriy way, with Russian and Polish history. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.25/ Paper, 75^. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS ■■■■■ :;;;t GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. Wild Animals 1 Have Known. By Ernest Seton Thompson, Naturalist to the Government of Man- itoba, Author of " Birds of Manitoba," etc. This book has fair claims to being considered unique, for it is probably the first serious attempt to depict the daily life of wild animals as it really is. Profusely illustrated by the author. Cloth y octavo, $2.00. riiss Qrace of All Souls. A novel, by William Edwards Tirebuck, Author of " St. Margarets," *' Sweetheart Gwen,'' etc. Its scene is laid in one of the mining districts of England, and social conditions are touched upon in a discerning and sympathetic manner. Crown Svo. Cloth, $1.00 / Paper, ^oc. The Wonderful Century. By Alfred Russel Wal- lace, Author of "The Malay Archipelago," '• Darwinism," etc. Tills book describes the doings of science during the century that is now drawing to a close, and also touches upon their relation to social conditions. It is a most interesting review of electricity, travel, labor saving machinery, evolution, etc. Crown Svo. Cloth, $2.00. I Her Memory. By Maarten Maartens, Author of •♦God's Fool," "Joost Aveling," etc The delicate and finely sympathetic quality of this consum- mate literary artist is well illustrated in the revelations and finished characterizations of this novel. Crown Svo. , with portrait 0/ the author : Cloth, $1.50/ Paper, 75c. In the Forest of Arden. By Hamilton W. Mabie, Author of "Essays on Work and Culture," "My Study Fire," etc. This is a beautiful piece of poetic idealism, and is presented to the public in a dress in all respects worthy of its literary beauty. Large Crown 8z;o., rjoth and Gold, Gilt-top, decorated by Will H. Low, Edition de Luxe, $2.25. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PATD BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. Notes on Appreciation of Art and on Art in Ontario: With remarks on the Exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists, MDCCCXCVIII. By James Mayor. \2mo.; Paper, -with eleven illustraiions from original draw tngi by the artists, 2$c. At the Cross Roads. By F. F. Montr^sor, Author of "Into the Highways and Hedges," ••False Coin or True," etc. There 5s as much strength in this book as in a dozen ordinary successful novels. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.00/ Paper, 50c. Tlie United States of Europe, on the Eve of the Parliament of Peace. By W. T. Stead. This is a most interesting description of a tour around Europe by the Author, in the fall of 189S. It is lavishly and beautifully illustrated. Crown 8vo., Cloth, ^1.50. The Confounding of Camelia. A Novel, by Anne Douglas Sedgwick. This is a story of English life and society, which attracts by its truth and intimateness. Ctown 8vo., Cloth, $i»oo; Paper, soc. Love Among the Lions. By F. Anstev, Author of '•Vice Versa." A very bright little story of a strange matrimonial experi- ence, with thirteen clever illustrations, latno.; Paper, ^oc. Scottish Folic Lore, or Reminiscences of Aberdeen- shire, from Pinafore to Gown. By Rev. Duncan Anderson, M.A., Author of ''The Lays of Canada," etc. izmo.; Cloth, $1.00. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. The Celebrity. By Winston Churchill. This is an exceedingly amusing book. All the characters are drawn with the firm sharpness of a master hand. To read "The Celebrity" is to laugh. The dramatic effects are un- forced. Crown, 8vo. ; Cloth, $i.oo; Paper, ^oc. Commercial Cuba : A Book for Business flen. With eight maps, seven plans of cities, and forty full page illustrations. By William J. Clark, of the General Electric Company, with an introduction by E. Sherman Gould, M. Am. Soc. C. E. Octavo; Cloth, %4.so. Lyrics of Lowly Life. By Paul Lawrence Dunbar. A very pleasing collection of short poems by a rising writer. Cloth , i2mo. ,$1.2^. Folks from Dixie. By Paul Lawrence Dunbar, illustrated by E. W. Kemble. In the present work the author comes before us as a success* ful writer of short stories and graphic sketches of negro life. These pages are replete with humor. Cloth, i2mo. , ornamental, %1.25. The Science of Political Economy. By Henry George, Author of "Progress and Poverty," "Social Problems," Etc. This is the last work of the celebrated author. In his intro- duction he calls it "a treatise on matters which absorb the larger part of the thought and effort of the vast majority of us— the getting of a living." Crown, 8vo., Cloth, $2.00. Little riasterpieces. From Hawthorne, Poe and Irving. These volumes comprise the most characteristi .; writings of each author, carefully selected and edited by Prof. Bliss Perry, of Princeton University. Flexible cloth, i6tno.,gilt top, j vols, in a box, per vol, 40c. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. The Choir Invisible. By James Lane Allen. The longest, strongest and most beautiful of Mr. Allen's novels. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $7.^5/ Paper, 750. A Kentuclcy Cardinal and Aftermath. By James Lane Allen. "A Kentucky Cardinal" and "Aftermath," form, together, one of the most delightful little love stories that was ever written, izmo. Cloth, $1.25; Paper, yyc. Simon Dale. By Anthony Hope; with tight full- page illustrations. The story has to do with the English and French Courts in the time of Charles II. The material for a tale of love, intrigue and adventure to be found here, could hardly be surpassed. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.30; Paper, 75c. Rupert of Hentzau. By Anthony Hope, a Sequel to "The Prisoner of Zenda," illustrated by Charles Dana Gibson. The world is always ready to read a story of courage and daring, and there is even more exemplification of these qualities in '• Rupert of Hentzau " than there was in "The Prisoner of Zenda." Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.^0/ Paper, 75c. Paris. By Emile Zola. The descriptive power of the author is so great that to read this is to take a bird's eye view of the things and people described. The political world is unveiled for us and Parisian journalism is drawn with a keen pen. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $7.^5; Paper, isc. The Christian. By Hall Caine. This book deserves a fresh interest from its recent drama- tization under the superintendence of the author. No novel of recent years has aroused more discussion, and none has been read with greater eagerness. Crown 8vo. Cloth, %i.$o ; Paper, 750. The Beth Boole. By Sarah Grand, Author of "The Heavenly Twins." Sarah Grand's new work of fiction "The Beth Book," will be likely to meet a wider acceptance than "The Heavenly Twins." As a literary production it fully sustains the anthor's high reputation. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.50; Paper, 750. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY'S LIST. M W-. Caleb West. By F. Hopkinson Smith. This remarkable story is full of human nature and incident. It has had a surprising run in the United States, and describes the exigencies that an engineer had to meet with while building a lighthouse on a stormy coast. Crown 8vo. Cloth,, %z-So; Paper, 75c. The Grenadier. A Story of the Empire, by James Eugene Farmer. Although this story is by a new writer, its force and ability mark it as the work of a coming man. It is a fine specimen of military fiction. Crown 8vo. Cloth, %i,$o ; Paper^ 75c. The Uncalled. A New Story, by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Author of *' Folks from Dixie." This is a strong work of great interest, and will make its author a large number of friends. He writes what is in his heart, and has no mercy for sanctimonious shams. Crown 8vo, Cloth, %i.2S; Paper, 75^. The House of Hidden Treasure. By Maxwell Gray, Author of "The Silence of Dean Maitland," etc. The success of the former works of this clever author guar- antees a large sale of this novel. The portrayal of the character Grace Dorrien is a masterly effort, and there are scenes in the book that dwell in the memory. Crown 8vo. Cloth, %i>so; Paper, 75c. Tekla. By Robert Barr. This novel is pronounced by competent critics to be its author's strongest work. As he is a Canadian, the book is sure to arouse strong interest. Crown 8vo, Cloth, %i.2s; Paper, 75c. By W. O. Stoddard. With The Black Prince. Illustrated. This is an ideal boy's book. It deals with a stirring period of history in a way that will captivate the boy's heart. Crown 8vo. Cloth, ornamental, $1.^0. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR SENT POST-PAID BY THE PUBLISHERS A Duet with an Occasional Chorus By A. CONAN DOYLE A^Uhar of **Uncl€ Btmac," ^'Memoirs of Sherlock Holmtsr #fc Crown 8vo. Cloth. $1.50. Paper. 750. Press Notices ; "We thank Dr. Doyle for his charming volume and say arewell with extreme resreW'-^Jllustrated London News. " It is all very sweet and graceful. "-Z