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 BOERS 
 
 AND 
 
 LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 I'he Story of 
 
 the Conventions 
 
 By JOHN PROCTER 
 
 BARRISTER- AT-LAW 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ALLEN, 156 CHARING CROSS ROAD 
 
 1897 
 
 All rights raer-ved
 
 Printed by Ballantvne, Hanson &" Co. 
 At the Ballantyne Press
 
 srlf 
 
 URL 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The chief object of this book is to render the position 
 of Her Majesty as Suzerain over the South African 
 Republic intelligible to all. 
 
 Few persons seem to be aware that Her authority 
 as paramount Power is derived from the Convention of 
 Pretoria of 1 88 1 , and not from the London Convention 
 of 1884. 
 
 The former Convention is still in full force in so 
 far as the Queen's guarantee and Suzerain rights are 
 concerned, and the 1884 Convention is only supple- 
 mental and ancillary to it. The latter deals solely with 
 the substitution of Articles for those of the former 
 Convention, and it in no way alters the declaration 
 made in 1881. 
 
 It will be found that the story of the Transvaal has 
 been told in chronological order, from the trek in 1836 
 down to the present day ; and almost all the facts set 
 forth, save what have come under my personal observa- 
 tion whilst in South Africa, are corroborated by evidence 
 ■' • ." ,0 ^''V/^ \
 
 vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 from Blue Books placed from time to time before 
 Parliament. 
 
 Thus I have dealt : 
 
 (i) With the manner in which the South African 
 Republic sprang into existence. 
 
 (2) With the annexation by us of that country in 
 1877, and the incidents which compelled us to that 
 step. 
 
 (3) With the events prior to the Convention of 
 1881. 
 
 (4) With the Convention itself. 
 
 (5) With what transpired after the ratification of the 
 Convention, and the surrender in 1884 by Mr. Glad- 
 stone's Cabinet of its most important provisions. 
 
 (6) With the situation to-day. 
 
 I have felt it my duty from my own personal expe- 
 rience of the brutal treatment of Kaffirs by Boer 
 officials, in open violation of Article 19 of the Conven- 
 tion of 1884, to devote a chapter specially to this 
 subject. 
 
 Outrages on the persons and property of natives, 
 as well as murders in cold blood, have reached such 
 proportions as to rouse the indignation of every British 
 man and woman ; and, for the honour of England, it 
 is to be hoped that Her Majesty's Government will 
 peremptorily demand that this portion of the Con- 
 vention be strictly observed. 
 
 I have further introduced a chapter on the Hollander,
 
 INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 which I regard as very necessary, when we consider 
 the enormous influence now exercised by this group of 
 foreigners over the Boer Executive and Government. 
 
 My work has no pretensions to literary merit. It is 
 a plain, unvarnished tale, and the information thus 
 collected will, I trust, be found useful to the great 
 masses of those, both at home and abroad, who have 
 interests in South Africa. If, perchance, its perusal 
 should incite the members of the Parliamentary 
 Committee, now sitting, to make inquiries as to the 
 guarantee and obligations undertaken in 1881 towards 
 the inhabitants of the Transvaal State in the name of 
 Her Majesty, and should further induce them to take a 
 firm stand, I shall feel I have not laboured in vain. I 
 have added an Appendix (including the texts of the 
 Conventions of 1881 and 1884), in which will be found 
 copies of several documents corroborative of my views. 
 
 J- P. 
 
 May 22, 1897.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. Origin of the South African Republic 
 II. Annexation by England 
 
 III. Events Prior to the Convention 
 
 IV. The Convention of i88i . 
 V. The Surrender of 1884 
 
 VI. Boer Treatment of the Kaffir 
 VII. The Hollander .... 
 VIII. The Situation To-Day 
 
 Appendix 
 Index 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 32 
 
 73 
 
 99 
 
 121 
 
 148 
 164 
 
 igi 
 
 239
 
 Boers and Little Englanders 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
 
 About the year 1835 the descendants of the Dutch and 
 Huguenot families settled at the Cape were roused to a 
 pitch of deadly resentment against British rule. Ever 
 since the beginning of the century, when the Dutch 
 possessions in Africa were ceded to England, relations 
 between the British military authorities and the 
 "Boers" (as these Dutch settlers were called) had 
 been more than strained and, as the years rolled on, 
 these Boers openly resented our masterful power over 
 them, and compared it to the tyranny exhibited towards 
 their fathers by their own Dutch East India Company 
 of a generation earlier. 
 
 The climax was reached when England proclaimed 
 the total abolition of slavery in the country. Our 
 Government promised to compensate the masters 
 liberally for the losses incurred by the enforced 
 emancipation of their slaves, and were lavish in their 
 assurances that sums of monev would be handed over
 
 2 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 to the farmers to cover the expense of hired labour. 
 But, in the main, these promises were unfulfilled, and 
 scarce a tenth part of the funds agreed upon ever 
 reached the farmer's hands. 
 
 What followed is a story tragic in the extreme, and 
 one of the most pathetic in the history of the century. 
 
 Ruined in pocket, their hearts filled with bitter 
 hatred towards the Government which had played them 
 false, and without the power of fighting for their own 
 interests, they deserted the homes they could no longer 
 keep, and wandered with their families northward and 
 eastward, trying to find in the wilderness of the Veldt 
 a resting-place, where at least they would be free from 
 hated foreign official interference. Here they had 
 ample time to brood over their wrongs. Cut off from 
 the outside world, they had but their own misfortunes 
 and the incidents of their daily life as food for reflection. 
 Their only literature was the Bible, and in its perusal 
 the strong and deeply religious tendency inherited from 
 their forefathers daily gained force, until they began to 
 interpret the Old Testament histories as referring to 
 themselves, and to identify their mode of existence 
 with that of the Israelites. Indeed, in their appalling 
 ignorance so fully did they become imbued with the 
 belief that they were a suffering people selected by 
 God to work out their own salvation, that by a very 
 simple process of analogy they were further convinced 
 that they were the descendants of the Patriarchs, and 
 as such were bound to accept the Old Testament as 
 their guide and to live in accord with its injunctions. 
 
 These Boers were grim obstinate folk, both men and 
 women, for the latter shared all dangers, and though a
 
 ORIGIN OF THE REPUBLIC 3 
 
 woman personally did not carry a gun she could load 
 and fire one when needed, at times a most helpful 
 accomplishment. Their religion was entirely of the 
 militant order, the New Testament being to them 
 practically a sealed book and no doctrine of peace or 
 mercy ever entering into their theology. 
 
 At this period each family dwelt in a rudely con- 
 structed waggon drawn by oxen. They kept together 
 for safety's sake, drawing up their waggons at night so 
 as to form a temporary fortress against possible foes. 
 Around the camp fires old and young assembled. 
 Conversation amongst the elders was limited to the 
 incidents of the day and to discussions on passages 
 culled from their one book, from which the}' likened 
 their own wanderings to those of the children of Israel. 
 Fortified in this belief, they taught the younger genera- 
 tion that every black was the born bondsman of the 
 white, and, moreover, that they were the chosen instru- 
 ments appointed by divine command to be the black 
 man's master, and to take possession of his lands as 
 their natural heritage. It must not be supposed that 
 everything went smoothly in their different communities 
 or that all agreed, even on the interpretation of the 
 Scriptures. On the contrary, the want of diversion in 
 their lives and the close neighbourhood of persons who 
 had previously dwelt at long distances from one another 
 naturally brought about divisions of opinion and even 
 dissensions. 
 
 On two points they were, however, united. First, 
 hostility towards the Englishman ; and secondl}', sub- 
 jugation of the Kaffir ; and on these their energies were 
 invariably concentrated.
 
 4 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 It is well known that impressions of early youth 
 exercise a powerful influence over men's future lives, 
 especially when such impressions are graven on the 
 memory by the solemnity of events in which they 
 personally take part. 
 
 Now, a leading characteristic of the youthful Boer 
 always has been a strong respect, amounting even to 
 reverence, for the views and opinions of his elders. 
 
 No wonder then that he who had joined in the diffi- 
 culties and adventures of his father determined in his 
 turn to pursue the dominant idea, and go forth into the 
 world to establish a home. Limited though his educa- 
 tion, his wits were sharpened by the conflicting 
 adversities of his dail}' life, and in Dame Nature's 
 school he soon acquired a knowledge of character far 
 wider and more profound than is ordinarily possessed 
 by a member of more civilised communities. 
 
 Amongst the young Boers there was no more apt 
 pupil than Stephanus Johannis Paulus Kruger. Keen, 
 shrewd and valorous, endowed with a strong physique, 
 doggedly obstinate, and steeped in the history of Moses 
 and Joshua, he soon became marked by his elders as 
 one to be admitted to their deliberations. But, withal, 
 he vigorousl}^ maintained his independence of party and 
 never allied himself to any faction which was not 
 prepared to pursue the path or policy which he had 
 decided in his own mind ought to be followed. 
 
 The Boer modified his fighting tactics by the lessons 
 of personal experience taught him in his frequent 
 conflicts with his native foes. Soon his expertness in 
 forming "laager," or in taking advantage of every bush 
 or ant-hill calculated to afford protection against his
 
 ORIGIN OF THE REPUBLIC 5 
 
 enemy's bullet or assegai, as well as his own sure aim, 
 won him reputation as a formidable antagonist. 
 
 Ever on the move, and constant in his determination 
 to acquire land, although his knowledge of agriculture 
 has never ceased to be of the most primitive character, 
 it is not at all surprising that the population became 
 scattered sparsely over a very large area as the years 
 went by. 
 
 Within fifteen years of the exodus of 1835, different 
 groups of these wanderers had spread over what are 
 now the Orange Free State and the British Colony of 
 Natal, whilst others had established themselves to the 
 north of the Vaal River, many powerful Kaffir tribes 
 having been subdued in the meantime. At first, and 
 indeed for some years, these farmers beyond the Vaal 
 obeyed the military and civil authority of tried and 
 accepted leaders. In course of time, however, dissen- 
 sions arose between different commanders, and serious 
 bickerings broke out on religious matters to such an 
 alarming extent that the more enlightened amongst 
 them determined to create a form of government 
 directly representative of the people's will. Hence we 
 find that in the year 1 849 a Volksraad or parliament 
 was instituted to which delegates were elected by 
 popular vote. Meanwhile, the Imperial policy of 
 England towards her Colonies had undergone those 
 great changes which ultimately led to the establishment 
 of a Colonial Department of the Home Government as 
 distinguished from the control hitherto of the War 
 Office. In 1852, after many disputes with the English 
 authorities at the Cape, an arrangement known as the 
 Sand River Convention was arrived at between Her
 
 6 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Majesty and those Boers who had crossed the Vaal 
 (at whose head were two sagacious and vahant men 
 named Andries Pretorius and Piet Potgieter), wherein 
 the Boers were granted self-government under certain 
 defined conditions, and were recognised as a nation 
 under the title of the South African Republic. To 
 achieve this result they had conquered Kaffir hordes in 
 many a stubborn fight, and, possessing the blind belief 
 that they were God's messengers to do His work, it is 
 not strange that they looked on the soil and the natives 
 as a direct gift to them from the Almighty. No assist- 
 ance had been rendered them by any other race during 
 those long years of trial. They and they alone had 
 made almost superhuman sacrifices, had endured untold 
 privations, and had freely shed their blood to accom- 
 plish this object — a home and country free from foreign 
 interference. 
 
 Is it singular, then, that in their hearts they should 
 claim for themselves the sole right of representation in 
 the Government of the State, to the exclusion of every 
 other settler ? 
 
 In order to grasp the situation fully, we must 
 consider the narrow limits of their social intercourse, 
 confined for years to peripatetic meetings with other 
 wandering religious fanatics of their own race, their 
 intermarriages, and their moral and intellectual training. 
 It will then be understood how these slow-thinking, 
 ignorant and suspicious farmers felt (and still feel) that 
 every promise they made, whether oral or written, 
 which might have the effect of placing outsiders on an 
 equality with them, had been extorted by superior force, 
 and was not, therefore, binding on their conscience.
 
 ORIGIN OF THE REPUBLIC 7 
 
 Most essential is it to understand this curious moral 
 attitude ere we pass judgment on their flagrant 
 disregard of all pledges, and open violation of all 
 compacts. Let us be clear on this point. Whenever 
 the terms and conditions expressed in Articles of 
 different Conventions appear inimical to their interests, 
 these Boers have never considered themselves bound 
 to respect them, and this has been their line of action 
 from the early days of the Sand River Convention 
 down to the present year of grace. Once the right to 
 govern themselves had been granted by Her Majesty 
 in 1852, and before the Convention was ratified by 
 their lately constituted Volksraad, a serious quarrel 
 broke out between their two chief commanders, Potgieter 
 and Pretorius, who were each supported by a body of 
 adherents. And here Paul Kruger played an impor- 
 tant part. Sometimes with Potgieter, and at others 
 against him, but always acting as a sort of firebrand 
 amid the factions, he took the line that the Zoutpansberg 
 and Lydenburg Boers should be welded Jnto the South 
 African Republic. 
 
 The matter became at one tim.e so grave as to render 
 a civil war imminent, but the strong common sense of 
 the two principals prevailed ; they became reconciled, 
 and the dark cloud passed. Attention was then 
 directed towards the framing of a Constitution, and 
 after repeated meetings in different parts of the 
 Republic, and many disagreements over details, this 
 was finally accomplished in 1858. This Constitution, 
 based more or less on that of the United States of 
 America, was solemnly accepted by the people, and is 
 now recognised as their charter under the name of
 
 8 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 " Grondwet." All functions appertaining to Government, 
 including the administration of justice, were usually 
 carried out by those more enlightened and cultivated 
 descendants of the old Dutch and Huguenot stock from 
 the Cape Colony and Orange Free State, of whose 
 services the more ignorant among the Transvaal Boers 
 gladly availed themselves. But in a community such 
 as this, the duties of judges and magistrates were 
 obviously not very heavy. Financial affairs, however, 
 were more serious, and as the difficulty of finding 
 money for ordinary State purposes asserted itself, it 
 will be readily understood that a revenue officer stood 
 a very poor chance of collecting taxes from these 
 wandering nomads. 
 
 As the young Republic grew in years, it became 
 ever increasingly difficult for the authorities to raise 
 money sufficient even for necessary defensive require- 
 ments. Strife had broken out amongst the Boers on 
 the everlasting religious and territorial questions. In 
 consequence, they became jealous and mistrustful of 
 each other, until at last their condition was such that 
 towards the close of 1876 they were not merely 
 bankrupt as a nation, but had become totally unfitted 
 for self-government. 
 
 From the uncompromising character of the man and 
 with our knowledge of his narrow, bigoted, religious 
 views, it is not singular that in that year we find Paul 
 Kruger had attained to the position of a member of the 
 Executive, and Vice-President of the Republic, the 
 head of the State being a quiet cultured man. President 
 Thomas Burgers. Neither is it surprising, when we 
 consider the training and mode of life of the two men,
 
 ORIGIN OF THE REPUBLIC 9 
 
 that on all matters of expediency relating to the 
 Government or the future destinies of the Republic, 
 their views were as wide apart as the poles. The 
 more educated of the community supported the President, 
 but the Voortrekkers either stood aloof or trusted to 
 Kruger, who urged them to continue the struggle for 
 the maintenance of their independence, although he 
 was incapable of suggesting a way out of the difficulty 
 which their own dissensions and incapacity had brought 
 about.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 
 
 With their usual aggressiveness towards natives, the 
 Boer Government in the year 1876 seized lands be- 
 longing to an independent Kaffir chief named Sekukuni, 
 who, though by no means powerful in comparison with 
 others on their borders, utterly routed the Boer forces. In 
 short, the Boers displayed such cowardice in their attack 
 on Sekukuni 's stronghold that their President Thomas 
 Burgers had to raise a force of mercenaries regardless 
 of nationality, by the offer to each of ;^5 per month 
 and a farm at the end of the campaign. This body was 
 commanded by a German, named Von Schlickman. 
 Matters progressed from bad to worse, and other native 
 chiefs, emboldened by Sekukuni 's success, began to 
 threaten both the Boers and our own colonists. Notable 
 among these was the Zulu King Cetewayo, the most 
 powerful of all, who in haughty terms declared his 
 intention to "allow his young men to wash their 
 spears." 
 
 Sir Henry Barkly, at that time Governor of Cape 
 Colony, in a letter dated October 30, 1876, to the Earl 
 of Carnarvon, Secretary of Stale for the Colonies,
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND ti 
 
 explanatory of the situation, expressed himself as 
 follows* : — 
 
 " 5, Thirteen volunteers it is further stated had reached 
 Pretoria from the Diamond Fields, sixty or seventy 
 more being expected the week after, and Von Schlick- 
 man had gone on before them to Lydenburg, to the 
 military command of which district he has been officially 
 gazetted. 
 
 *' 6. He is said likewise to have been appointed by 
 President Burgers to collect the taxes there with a 
 salary of ^i a day and 5 per cent, on the amount 
 collected. 
 
 " 7. This appointment, as your Lordship will perceive 
 from the enclosed letter, which has just reached me 
 from the chairman of the Defence Committee at 
 Pilgrims Rest, has excited much apprehension, in 
 consequence of Von Schlickman having recommended 
 when examined before the Volksraad ' that the Gold 
 Fields should be subdued.' 
 
 " 8. It is feared that an attempt to coerce the diggers 
 into exorbitant payments by armed force will be made, 
 the impression that this is contemplated acquiring 
 strength from the summary suppression of the office of 
 Special Magistrate, which is described in the letter as 
 an arbitrary and unconstitutional act. 
 
 " 9, Nor is the discontent confined to the Gold Fields 
 population only. At a public meeting held in Lydenburg 
 on the 2nd inst., before the appointment of Von 
 Schlickman was known, resolutions moved by some of 
 the oldest and most influential inhabitants of Dutch 
 * See Blue Book C 174S, No. 14S, p. 178.
 
 12 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 extraction were unanimously carried, condemning the 
 continuance of the war and the imposition of war taxes, 
 and in favour of Confederation and of applying for 
 British intervention in the dispute with Sekukuni. 
 
 " 10. I append a translation of the petition to the 
 President and the Volksraad founded thereon, which is 
 said to have been signed by nearly every adult male 
 inhabitant of Lydenburg and Kruger's Post. 
 
 " II, As the Volkraad had been prorogued before it 
 reached Pretoria, this expression of opinion could have 
 little effect, and it has since been determined in default 
 to open negotiations with Sekukuni, at whose mercy for 
 weeks past the district has virtually lain, the Boers 
 from a distance commandeered by the President for its 
 protection having positively refused to obey the order. 
 
 " 12. In short, the whole state of things borders very 
 closely upon anarchy ; and although in other parts of 
 ^ife» Republic lawlessness and inhumanity are less 
 rampantly exhibited, the machinery of administration is 
 everywhere all but paralysed, and the Republic seems 
 about to fall to pieces through its own weakness. 
 
 " 13. In that event, the Boers in each district would 
 either have to make their own terms with the adjacent 
 Kaffir tribes, or trek onwards into the wilderness, as is 
 their wont, whilst the position of the large number of 
 British subjects scattered about on farms, or resident 
 in the towns and at the Gold Fields, might fairly claim 
 the humane consideration of Her Majesty's Government 
 even if there were not other reasons for interposing to 
 save so fine a country from so miserable a fate." 
 
 In the information supplied to Parliament and to be
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 13 
 
 found in the different Blue Books, it is conclusively 
 proved that the war then carried on by the Boers was 
 conducted in the most cruel and barbarous manner. 
 As an illustration I quote from the Blue Book C 1776, 
 p. 15. 
 
 "There is no doubt that what Turkey is to the rest 
 of Europe, the Transvaal is to the remainder of South 
 Africa. Both countries are centuries behind the civili- 
 sation of the day ; both are out of sympathy with, yea 
 we may use a stronger word and say, that both are 
 determinedly opposed to, the sentiments and policy of 
 all educated and Christian nations." Both, *' by virtue 
 of their religion and by virtue of that idea of superiority 
 which it encourages, have remained as they were long 
 ago, except where partial changes have been forced 
 upon them from without." Since the Boers are Christians 
 it will be incomprehensible to many how this comparison 
 can hold, and yet it is so. Nothing is clearer than 
 that the Boers regard themselves as the elect of heaven, 
 and their particular formularies and mode of worship as 
 rendering them, par excellence^ the people of God. No 
 Mussulman treats with greater superciliousness the 
 religion of the Christian than does the Transvaal Boer 
 the style of worship followed by his fellow Christians 
 of another school of thought. In his ignorance of 
 history and geography, the farmer of to-day looks 
 upon himself as the lineal descendant of the Jewish 
 patriarch, to whom was given the vocation of a 
 peculiar separation from the world, together with the 
 legacy of superior spiritual privileges. The "stand 
 by, for I am holier than thou " is apparent in all the
 
 14 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 relations of the Boers with men of other nations and 
 churches. 
 
 *' The whole world may know it, for it is true, and 
 investigation will only bring out the horrible details, 
 that through the whole course of this Republic's 
 existence it has acted in contravention of the Sand 
 River Treaty ; and slavery has occurred, not only here 
 and there in isolated cases, but as an unbroken practice 
 has been one of the peculiar institutions of the countr}', 
 mixed up with all its social and political life. It has 
 been at the root of most of its wars ; it has been carried 
 on regularly even in the times of peace. 
 
 ** It has been characterised by all those circumstances 
 which have so often roused the British nation to an 
 indignant protest and to repeated efforts to banish the 
 slave-trade from the world. The Boers have not only 
 fallen upon unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose 
 of obtaining the women and children and cattle, but 
 they have carried on a traffic through natives, who have 
 kidnapped the children of their weaker neighbours and 
 sold them to the white man. Again, the Boers have 
 sold and exchanged their victims amongst themselves. 
 Waggon^loads of slaves have been conveyed from one 
 end of the country to the other for sale, and that with 
 the cognisance of, and for the direct advantage of, the 
 higher officials of the land. The writer has himself 
 seen in a town situated in the south of the Republic 
 the children who had been brought down from a remote 
 northern district." 
 
 But more authoritative than all, and most interesting 
 at this time, is it to know what was the conviction of
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 15 
 
 Her Majesty's Government with regard to these 
 matters, and we learn from the concise despatch of the 
 Earl of Carnarvon to Governor Sir Henry Barkly, 
 dated January 25, 1877, that the Boer Government 
 had manifested towards that of Her Majesty just the 
 same reckless disregard of all warnings, friendly advice 
 or remonstrance, that President Kruger and his 
 Hollanders of to-day exhibit in response to the good 
 offices of our Colonial Department. This despatch is 
 of such importance, and so illustrative of the circum- 
 stances which induced Lord Carnarvon's action, that I 
 have appended it in full : * 
 
 *' No. 20. 
 
 "The Earl of Carnarvon to Governor Sir H. Barkly, 
 G.C.M.G.. K.C.B. 
 
 "Downing Street, January 2^, i^TJ. 
 "Sir, 
 
 "I have received your despatches of the nth 
 
 December and of the i8th of that month, f on the 
 
 subject of the barbarous mode in which the hostilities 
 
 undertaken by the President of the South African 
 
 Republic against the natives have been conducted. 
 
 ** 2. Her Majesty's Government, after having given 
 full consideration to all the information attainable on 
 the subject, and with every desire to view matters in 
 the most favourable 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. 
 
 " 3. Warnings against this wholly gratuitous and 
 * See Blue Book C 1776, p. 25. I Nos. 13 and 16.
 
 i6 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 unjust war, earnest and friendly advice and finally 
 remonstrances, have been offered by Her Majesty's 
 Government ; they have all been ineffectual to arrest 
 the course to which the Transvaal Government seems 
 to have committed itself, leading, as it must, to national 
 bankruptcy and anarchy, but most dangerous to all the 
 neighbouring European communities, whose interests 
 have already been gravely affected by these reckless 
 proceedings. 
 
 " 4. Such being the case, it is to be feared that nothing 
 that can be further urged in the way of protest will 
 be of much avail. Nevertheless, it is the duty of Her 
 Majesty's Government again to protest in the plainest 
 and strongest terms possible against the proceedings of 
 the Transvaal Government and the prosecution of this 
 so-called war on the lines of action hitherto adopted ; 
 and while I approve of the remonstrance which 3'ou 
 have already addressed to President Burgers, I have to 
 instruct you once more to express to him the deep 
 regret and indignation with which Her Majesty's 
 Government view the proceedings of the armed force 
 which is acting in the name and under the authority of 
 the Transvaal Government, and to cause him to under- 
 stand that he is rapidly making impossible the con- 
 tinuance either of those sentiments of respect and con- 
 fidence towards him, or of those friendly relations with 
 him as the chief of a neighbouring Government which 
 it was the earnest hope of Her Majesty's Government 
 to preserve. 
 
 " 5. I am aware that very many of the inhabitants of 
 the Transvaal deplore as deeply as I do these unhappy 
 occurrences, nor do I suppose that any, except those
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 17 
 
 who are urged by strong personal or political motives, 
 would do otherwise than condemn and put aside the 
 system of which they have been the result. Some, 
 indeed, of the inhabitants (as, for example, in the 
 Lydenburg district) appeal directly to my sympathies 
 and anxieties as British subjects ; but, in dealing 
 officially with the responsibilities of the Republic in 
 this matter, I cannot separate the private individuals 
 from the Government which represents them, with 
 whom alone I can remonstrate, and in whose hands is 
 the power of granting redress. 
 
 "6. Under the peculiar and critical circumstances 
 which now exist, I propose to await the result of 
 Sir T. Shepstone's mission to Pretoria before instructing 
 you to take any further steps beyond conveying to Presi- 
 dent Burgers the further protest which I am compelled 
 by a sense of public duty to make through you, and in 
 the plainest and most unequivocal terms. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 "(Signed) "CARNARVON. 
 
 "Sir Hknry Barkly." 
 
 Now it has been frequently alleged by Boer propa- 
 gandists and by those others who have attempted to 
 palliate Mr. Gladstone's line of conduct in 1881, as 
 well as his subsequent surrender in 1884 of all the 
 most important articles of the Convention of 188 1, 
 which he and his Cabinet had formally imposed, that 
 Sir T. Shepstone was delegated to Pretoria expressly 
 to carry out a "hobby" of the late Earl of Carnarvon, 
 originally suggested and matured in detail by Sir Bartle 
 Frere — this hobby being nothing less than that the 
 
 B
 
 i8 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 South African Republic was to be driven, if necessary 
 by force of arms, into joining in a grand scheme of 
 confederation of all the South African States ; and, 
 failing this, that the country was to be annexed to the 
 British Crown, that Sir Bartle Frere was sent as High 
 Commissioner to Cape Town to effect this annexation, 
 and that Sir T. Shepstone acted in Pretoria under his 
 instructions ! 
 
 There is not a shadow of truth in any of the above 
 allegations. 
 
 As a matter of fact, Sir Bartle Frere did not reach 
 Cape Town from England until March 31, 1877, 
 and Sir T. Shepstone had actually been in Pretoria 
 from January 22 of the same 3'ear, whilst his pro- 
 clamation annexing the Republic was issued on 
 April 12. So that before Sir Bartle Frere set foot 
 on African soil, the whole of the arrangements for 
 supplanting the Boer Government of the country had 
 been already made by Sir T. Shepstone. 
 
 We have only to read the despatches sent to the 
 Home Government long before Sir Bartle Frere came 
 on the scene, by such men as Sir H. Barkly and Sir 
 Henry Bulwer, and Lord Carnarvon's replies thereto, 
 to learn how Her Majesty's advisers were compelled, 
 against their own desires, to take the line they did. 
 
 Those measures, which they were driven to adopt, 
 had been forced on them by a situation created by 
 the Boers themselves, and their policy was formed 
 mainly on the long array of stern facts as reported by 
 high responsible British officials in South Africa. 
 
 A study of these documents as contained in Blue 
 Books presented to our Houses of Parliament cannot
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 19 
 
 fail to convince any unbiased person of the patient 
 consideration, repeated warnings, and friendly advice 
 given by Lord Carnarvon to the Boer Government. 
 It was only when at length he became thoroughly 
 roused to the imminent danger threatening our people 
 and Colonies by further delay that he assented to Sir 
 T. Shepstone's mission. 
 
 Hence, on October 5, 1876, a commission was 
 issued — " under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet 
 appointing Sir Theophilus Shepstone, K.C.M.G., to be 
 a Special Commissioner to inquire respecting disturb- 
 ances which have taken place in the territories adjoining 
 the Colony of Natal, and empowering him in certain 
 events to exercise the power and jurisdiction of Her 
 Majesty over such territories, or some of them.* No 
 man ever had a freer hand granted by a Government 
 than had this gentleman, and deservedly so, for during 
 his forty years' experience of South Africa as an official 
 he had earned the respect and confidence of both Boers 
 and native chiefs alike. And no man was more com- 
 petent to bring about a modus vivendi between the 
 Crown and the Transvaal State, to the peace of each 
 Colony and Republic in South Africa. 
 
 Between Sir T. Shepstone's departure from England 
 and his arrival in Natal, the position had become still 
 more alarming, and he decided accordingly to proceed 
 to Pretoria without delay. 
 
 From the moment he entered Transvaal territory 
 
 until he arrived at the capital of the State, he was 
 
 received with acclamation en rontc^ and this can readily 
 
 be understood when wc learn what was the actual 
 
 ''* See Blue Book C 1776, p. i.
 
 20 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 condition of the Transvaal at that period, which we can 
 best do from Sir T. Shepstone's own words. In a 
 letter to Lord Carnarvon dated Pretoria, March 6, 
 1877, he says :* 
 
 " It was patent, however, to every observer to 
 observe that the Government 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 ; that the Treasury was empty ; that the 
 salaries of officials had been and are for months in 
 arrears ; and that sums payable for the ordinary and 
 necessary expenditure of Government cannot be had ; 
 and that payment for such services as postal contracts 
 were long and hopelessly overdue ; that the white 
 inhabitants had become split into factions ; that the 
 large native population within the boundaries of the 
 State ignore its authority and laws, and that the 
 powerful ruling king, Cetewayo, is anxious to seize 
 upon the first opportunity of attacking a country, the 
 conduct of whose warriors at Sekukuni's mountains 
 has convinced him that it can be easily conquered by 
 his clamouring regiments. 
 
 " During my stay at Pretoria I have had numerous 
 interviews with all classes of the inhabitants of the 
 Republic. None have denied the unfortunate condition 
 of the country, or the state of collapse into which the 
 Government has fallen in consequence of that condition. 
 In all these interviews the most friendly feeling has 
 been exhibited ; the great majority of the people with 
 whom I have spoken see no remedy that can be 
 " See Blue Book C 1776, p. 107.
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 21 
 
 extracted from the country itself. A few such as Paul 
 Kruger, the only opposing candidate to Mr. Burgers 
 for the position of President, expressed a ' strong 
 hope' or a 'confident belief that all will come right 
 in time, but no one has any plan and the state of affairs 
 is daily becoming worse." 
 
 And further in a letter to the Earl of Carnarvon, 
 dated March 12, 1877,* Sir T. Shepstone states : — 
 
 " 5. Financially the country is in a state of bank- 
 ruptcy ; commerce can scarcely be said to exist, the 
 taxes are in serious arrear, some will not, some cannot, 
 pay them, and the Government offers to take promissory 
 notes for such small sums even as ^10, on bonds upon 
 the debtor's land. The public treasury is absolutely 
 empty, the most pressing demands cannot be met, 
 except by promises and compoundings which but 
 increase the debt. Two instances which have been 
 brought to my notice will illustrate this : — (i) A sum 
 of ;^25CK) was due to one of the post contractors 
 exclusive of one of £'j(^>o previously due, and yet 
 remaining unpaid ; the Government being pressed 
 promised by bond to pay ;^I500 in a fortnight and the 
 balance of ^1000 in a month, or forfeit £2QQ) the 
 fortnight has passed, but £600 only was forthcoming. 
 (2) The Volksraad, which had been in session, broke 
 up last week, and the members were much inconveni- 
 enced, because there was no money in the treasury to 
 pay their travelling expenses. 
 
 *' 6. These instances, and the action of the Govern- 
 * See Blue Book C 1776, p. 125.
 
 22 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 ment show that there is no probability that the larger 
 engagements of the country are likely to be met. 
 Claims of all kinds are daily being presented which 
 cannot be liquidated, either wholly or in part, and the 
 interest on the Railway and Commercial Bank loans is 
 already in arrear. 
 
 *' 7. To estimate correctly the inherent weakness of 
 the State with reference to the native races, it is but 
 necessary to consider the position, strength, and 
 circumstances of the white population, as compared 
 with the position, strength, and temper of the black. 
 
 " 8. The white strength consists, at the outside, of 
 8000 men capable of bearing arms, of these about 1000 
 live in towns and villages, and 350 are the foreign and 
 fluctuating population collected at the goldfields ; the 
 remaining 6650 are all farmers, widely scattered in 
 isolated homesteads over a surface equal to that of 
 Great Britain and Ireland put together. 
 
 " 9. These 6650 farmers are the only producers which 
 the Republic has to depend upon for resources and 
 supplies of every kind, and they constitute also the 
 military strength of the State. The goldfields are 
 undeveloped, and furnish too uncertain data to be as 
 yet of much account in any estimate of the permanent 
 producing or military power of the country. 
 
 " 10. When any native demonstration has to be met 
 or rebellion suppressed, the farmers have to leave their 
 farms and do the work of soldiers ; the few bees that 
 make the little honey that is made in this country have 
 to cease their productive labours, and the immediate 
 effect is that the income of the State is cut off at a 
 moment when its expenditure must be indefinitely, and
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 23 
 
 may be enormously, increased. The Sikukuni war has 
 been a notable example of this. Insignificant in its 
 dimensions when compared with what might happen, 
 and with what must happen before long, if a change is 
 not made in the strength of the State, this little episode 
 in its history has proved serious enough to bring about 
 utter bankruptcy and collapse, and had not the farmers 
 mutinied against their President and other leaders at 
 Sikukuni's mountain as they did, and when they did, it 
 is not improbable that the calamity of famine would 
 have been added to the disastrous consequences." 
 
 To dispose effectually of the charge brought against 
 Her Majesty's Government that the Boers had to be 
 coerced into confederation or annexation to carry out 
 Lord Carnarvon's " hobby," I here append the special 
 Commissioner's account as to the army accompanying 
 him to Pretoria and also as to the forces at his 
 disposal.* 
 
 " 12. The protest, the minute and decision of the 
 Executive Council, as well as the proclamation by Mr. 
 Burgers, were necessary to calm strong feeling here 
 and there, but the great value of them has been that of 
 furnishing an excuse to the great body of the people to 
 accept quietly what they feel is the only means of 
 saving themselves and the country. 
 
 *' 13. In the resolution or minute of the Executive 
 
 Council my act is described as one of * violence.' It 
 
 seems to me to be necessary only to state that the 
 
 Transvaal is about the same size as Great Britain and 
 
 * See Blue Book C 1776, p. 154, pars. 12 and 13, Appendix,
 
 24 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Ireland put together; that it is beHeved to contain a 
 population of 40,000 whites and 800,000 natives ; that 
 I entered this territory with my personal staff only and 
 an escort of 25 Natal mounted policemen on the 4th 
 January, and after a slow progress reached Pretoria, 
 the capital, on the 22nd January last ; that I have 
 never hesitated during these three months and more to 
 explain to both the Government and the people the 
 condition of the State, and the only remedy that 
 appeared to me capable of saving it from immediate 
 ruin ; that I have again and again expressed my 
 willingness to at once withdraw if any plan or action or 
 latent power in the country could be shown me by 
 which its independence could be saved and maintained, 
 and the dangers to its neighbours be averted, but 
 without result ; that I have invariably been and still 
 am treated with the utmost deference and respect by 
 all classes of the people ; and that the only means by 
 which I could have used violence in carrying out what 
 I have done — i.e.^ Her Majesty's troops — were four weeks 
 march from me in the Colony of Natal, and cannot be 
 here even now within a fortnight, or very nearly a 
 month after the issue of my proclamation, and of my 
 having assumed the Government. These facts will, I 
 think, show your Lordship conclusively that I have 
 acted in accordance with the real convictions and 
 feelings of the people, and that for an officer accom- 
 panied, as I was, by a staff of twelve gentlemen and an 
 escort of twenty-five men, openly and avowedly to 
 attempt to subvert the Government of a country and 
 place himself at its head against the true wishes of 
 such a people would have been an act of madness."
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 25 
 
 In the same despatch he states : 
 
 " Every step I have taken towards the accomphshment 
 of my object was taken with the knowledge of the 
 President. I thought it my duty to be perfectly open 
 and frank with him from the beginning, and on the last 
 occasion of my meeting him in the Executive Council 
 he took the opportunity to acknowledge and thank me 
 for what he was good enough to call my considerate 
 and frank behaviour to him and the Government." 
 
 The only opposition which appears to have been 
 made to annexation was offered by a small number of 
 the Executive, but even then, with the exception of Mr. 
 Paul Kruger, all came in afterwards. 
 
 Sir T. Shepstone says in this same despatch : 
 
 "The officers of the late Republic including every 
 member of the Executive Council except Mr. Paul 
 Kruger^ one of the delegates appointed to go to Europe, 
 have all signified in writing their willingness to serve 
 under the new form of Government." 
 
 But Sir T. Shepstone had met with another kind of 
 opposition and from a quarter not previously anticipated. 
 Several Hollanders had been previously introduced 
 into the Republic by President Burgers and we find 
 that these persons did all in their power to stir up 
 strife, as will be seen from the following excerpt from 
 Sir T. Shepstone's despatch : * 
 
 "8. Every effort had been made during the previous 
 * See Blue Book C 1776, p. 153,
 
 26 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 fortnight by, it is said, educated Hollanders residing at 
 the seat of Government, and who had but lately arrived 
 in the country, to rouse the fanaticism of the Boers, and 
 to induce them to offer * bloody ' resistance to what it 
 was known I intended to do. The Boers were 
 appealed to in the most inflammatory language by 
 printed manifestos and memorials ; agents were sent 
 out to excite them by violent speeches at public 
 meetings, and every possible means were used to 
 intimidate individuals, and stifle the expression of real 
 opinion ; it was urged that I had but a small escort, 
 which could be easily overpowered, and that there 
 would be no difficulty in putting the mission across the 
 border ; but, as I had judged from the first, the daily 
 accumulating pressure and personal distress which the 
 circumstances of the country were bringing upon them 
 had created in the minds of the people a conviction that 
 the State did not possess inherent vitality enough to 
 relieve them, and that the only prospect of relief lay 
 in their accepting my proposal. Every intelligent man, 
 from the highest to the lowest, with whom I discussed 
 the question frankly admitted this, and those who 
 opposed my mission because of their positions in the 
 State were equally frank in the expression in that 
 direction of their personal opinions ; I know, therefore, 
 that in spite of the efforts to create opposition there 
 was at bottom no feeling strong enough to nourish it ; 
 and my judgment has been so far confirmed by the 
 fact that from the moment that the proclamation was 
 published to this, opposition has been gradually d3'ing 
 away, and the disposition to accept the situation 
 growing apace,
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 27 
 
 " 9. Immediately after the issue of the proclamation 
 Mr. Burgers addressed the assembled officials and, in 
 taking leave of them, urged them to loyally serve the 
 new Government, he directed Mr. Swart, the State 
 Secretary, to hand over formally to me the key of the 
 offices, a direction which he (Mr. Swart) at once came 
 to the house I occupy to compl}^ with, and upon his 
 doing so I handed it back to his charge." 
 
 It would be manifestly unfair to the Boers were we 
 not to consider the situation from their side, for, during 
 the negotiations with Sir T. Shepstone, the Volksraad 
 was in session at Pretoria, and President Burgers 
 several times addressed that assembly on these all- 
 important questions, especially on the 3rd and 5th 
 March. No authority in the land could emphasise or 
 explain the position to his countrymen so well as their 
 Chief Magistrate. He performed a painful task with 
 great courage, and his utterances were so clear, and 
 expressed in language so unmistakeable, that I give 
 extracts from his speeches delivered on the occasions 
 mentioned.* 
 
 " We should delude ourselves by entertaining the 
 hope that matters would mend by-and-by. It would 
 be only self-deceit. I tell you openly, matters are as 
 bad as they ever can be ; they cannot be worse. These 
 are bitter truths, and people may perhaps turn their 
 back on me. But then I shall have the consolation of 
 having done my duty." 
 
 * * * * 
 
 " Do you know what has recently happened in 
 * See Blue Book C 1776, pp. 160, 162, and 163.
 
 28 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Turkey ? Because no civilised Government was carried 
 on there the Great Powers interfered and said, Thus 
 far and no further. And if this is done to an Empire, 
 will a little Republic be excused when it misbehaves ? 
 Complain to other powers and seek justice there ? 
 Yes, thank God ! justice is still to be found even for the 
 most insignificant ; but it is precisely this justice which 
 will convict us. If we want justice we must be in a 
 position to ask it with unsullied hands. (Cheers.) " 
 
 * * * # 
 
 " Whence has arisen that urgency to make an appeal 
 for interference elsewhere ? Has that appeal been 
 made only by enemies of the State ? Oh no, gentle- 
 men, it has arisen from real grievances. Our people 
 have degenerated from their former position, they have 
 become demoralised, they are not what they ought to 
 be. (Cheers.) " 
 
 * * # * 
 
 "To-day a bill for ;^iioo was laid before me for 
 signature, but I would sooner have cut oft' my right 
 hand than sign that paper (cheers), for I have not the 
 slightest ground to expect that when the bill becomes 
 due there will be a penny to pay it with," 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "The principal thing which had brought them to 
 their present position was that to which they would not 
 give attention ; it was not this or that thing which 
 impeded their way, but they themselves stopped the 
 way, and if they asked him what prevented the people 
 from remaining independent, he answered that the 
 Republic was itself the obstruction, owing to the 
 inherent incapacity and weakness of the people. But
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 29 
 
 whence this weakness ? Was it because they were 
 deformed ? Because they were worse than other 
 people ? Because they were too few and insignificant 
 to occupy the country ? Those arguments did not 
 weigh with him, they were not true, he did not consider 
 them of any importance. The people were as good as 
 any other people, but they were completely demoralised, 
 they had lost faith in God, reliance upon themselves, 
 or trust in each other, hence he believed they were 
 inherently weak." 
 
 * * «• # 
 
 " In several of the cities of Holland there were 
 people who had subscribed for only one debenture, 
 because they thought men of their own blood were 
 living in South Africa. What was the consequence ? 
 The interest up to July last had been paid ; in January 
 of this year ;^22 50 was due for interest, and there was 
 not a penny to meet it. 
 
 " To take up arms and 'fight was nonsense ; to draw 
 the sword would be to draw the sword against God, for 
 it was God's judgment that the State was in the condi- 
 tion it was to-day (cheers), and it was their duty to 
 inquire whether they should immerse in blood the 
 thousands of innocent inhabitants of this country, and 
 if so, what for ? For an idea ; something they had in 
 their heads, but not in their hearts ; for an independence 
 which is not prized ? Let them make the best of the 
 situation, and get the best terms they possibly could ; 
 let them agree to join their hands to those of their 
 brethren on the south, and then from the Cape to the 
 Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there 
 was something grand in that, grander even than their
 
 30 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 idea of a Republic, something which ministered to their 
 national feeling (cheers), and would this be so miser- 
 able ? Yes, this would be miserable for those who 
 would not be under the law, for the rebel and the 
 revolutionist, but welfare and prosperity for the men of 
 law and order." 
 
 * i;; * * 
 
 "They must not underrate their real and many 
 difficulties. He could point to the South-western 
 border, the Zulu, the Gold Fields, and other questions, 
 and show them that it was their duty to come to an 
 arrangement with the British Government, and to do so 
 in a bold and manly manner. An hon. member on 
 Saturday last had spoken of fervent patriotism, but he 
 had failed to appreciate the reference because it 
 amounted to this, that they must shut their eyes to 
 everything, so as to keep their independence." 
 
 On April 12, 1877, Sir T. Shepstone issued his 
 proclamation formall}'- annexing the country as a 
 colony of the Crown, subject to the conditions set forth 
 therein.* 
 
 True it is that a protest was made by the Boer 
 Executive Council on April ii,t but this appears 
 to have been more a formality than anything else, as 
 we learn from Sir T. Shepstone's account thereof. | 
 
 "On Wednesday, the nth inst., the Attorney- 
 General and Chief Clerk came and officially read the 
 
 * See Blue Book C 1776. 
 
 t See Blue Book C 1776, p. 156, and Appendix. 
 
 J P. 153, par. 4, Despatch April 17, and Appendix.
 
 ANNEXATION BY ENGLAND 31 
 
 protest to me, and at the same time handed in a resolu- 
 tion of the Executive Council, copy of each herewith 
 enclosed, from which it appeared that, in addition to the 
 protest, a mission to Her Majesty's Government, and 
 contingently to other governments which had acknow- 
 ledged the independence of the State, had been deter- 
 mined upon. The resolution appointed the Attorney- 
 General, E. J. P. Jorissen, LL.D., and Mr. Paul Kruger, 
 Vice-President, to be members of this mission, with 
 power to add a third person if required. I received 
 these papers, but as they contained nothing to induce 
 me to change the view I had taken of my duty, I said 
 that while I recognised the propriety of their discharg- 
 ing what they conceived to be incumbent upon them, I 
 must ask them to do the same with regard to me ; they 
 expressed their acquiescence, and the interview, which 
 had been friendly throughout, ended. 
 
 " Mr. Burgers called upon me shortly afterwards and 
 explained to me the object of these documents." 
 
 In pursuance of that protest, however, the Hon. 
 S. P. J. Kruger, Vice-President of the Republic, and 
 the Hon. the Attorney-General, Doctor E. J. P. Jorissen, 
 were delegated to proceed to England. These gentle- 
 men were well received in this country, but failed 
 entirely in the object of their mission, nor did another 
 deputation in 1878, also headed by Mr. Kruger, meet 
 with better success.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 
 
 The annexation of the Transvaal having duly taken 
 place in 1877 under the circumstances that I have 
 described, we must now pass to the events which 
 resulted in our defeat at Majuba Hill and the signing 
 of the Convention of i88r. 
 
 Although Mr. Kruger and his Boer companions, 
 aided by their Hollander coadjutors, did not convince 
 either Lord Carnarvon or, later. Sir Michael Hicks 
 Beach (his successor at the Colonial Office) that the 
 Transvaal would be better governed by a few immacu- 
 late Boers and Hollanders than under the British 
 Crown, their visits to England proved highly beneficial 
 to the objects they had in view. 
 
 A very short residence here enabled them to discover 
 that for party purposes a strong Radical faction was 
 ready and willing to denounce Lord Carnarvon's policy 
 and what was termed his " Federation Scheme," the 
 policy, by the way, which to-day in relation to our 
 Colonies is almost universally applauded and advo- 
 cated. 
 
 Mr. Kruger and his associates had, figuratively 
 speaking, fallen on velvet. They promptly took in the
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 33 
 
 situation, hailed with delight this political ring of " little 
 Englanders" as champions of the innocent Boers, 
 victims of Tory oppression, and with all their might 
 they aided this group to discredit the recent acts of 
 its opponents. 
 
 Whilst thus co-operating with the Radical faction, a 
 strong impression was produced on their minds by our 
 usual, lamentable want of union on Imperial and 
 Colonial questions in face of an enemy, and of which 
 they have invariably taken advantage. Mr. Kruger 
 then felt, and has since always acted on the assump- 
 tion, that if a Conservative Government held office in 
 England, every effort would be made by the opposition 
 to weaken or impede any measures which might be 
 proposed to compel him to observe his pledges or 
 obligations. 
 
 Deep in his heart this rugged old Boer has the 
 utmost contempt for our so-called patriotism and for 
 the tactics displayed for purely party ends regardless 
 of the national honour or the rights of Uitlanders in 
 the South African Republic. 
 
 On their arrival here a second time, the Boer 
 delegates found that a problem awaited solution which 
 to the Government of the day was of far greater 
 importance than even the future of a large English- 
 speaking population extending from Cape Town to the 
 limitless north. This question occupied the minds of 
 Her Majesty's Ministers to the exclusion of almost all 
 other Imperial or Colonial matters — Ireland was the 
 cry 1 Agitators abounded, and in and out of Parliament 
 the sorrows and woes of one or more sections of these 
 down-trodden victims of English tyranny were daily 
 
 c
 
 34 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 paraded. Arguments still more forcible were being 
 brought to bear with a frequency which became 
 monotonous, yet none the less terrible in their effect on 
 the public mind. Constituted authority and the law 
 were being daily set at defiance, and a rooted objection 
 to the payment of rent or taxes was emphasised by the 
 shooting of landlords and officials from behind a 
 wall. The cabins of suspected informers were being 
 raided and their inmates foully murdered, and by the 
 judicious application of explosives to private dwellings 
 it was sought to strike terror into the hearts of all. 
 Small wonder then that these astute gentlemen from 
 Africa and Holland quickly grasped the situation. 
 A very slight stretch of imagination was requisite to 
 institute a parallel in their minds between the wrongs 
 of Irish malcontents and those which they considered 
 had invariably been inflicted on their race by England. 
 Neither was any great discernment needed to discover 
 the weak points in our armour. They perceived that 
 the Government which a short time before had stepped 
 in to protect the Boers against themselves was tottering 
 to its fall, and they recognised fully that when the 
 Liberal party came into office a firm Colonial policy 
 would assuredly form no part of its programme. 
 
 The lessons thus learnt were invaluable to Paul 
 Kruger, who had only one aim in view, one object to 
 accomplish, at all risks and by any means — the South 
 African Republic to be governed solely by Boers, 
 independently of the Crown ! Is he to be blamed for 
 his dogged determination in pursuit of this idea ? 
 
 On his return to Pretoria with the rich store of 
 knowledge and experience thus garnered, he could
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 35 
 
 afford to bide his time and wait an opportunity. No 
 man understood his fellow Boers as well as he. 
 Recognised as the head of the powerful religious sect 
 known as Doppers, he exercised a commanding influence 
 over all those who belonged to that branch of the 
 Dutch Reformed Church, and he was thoroughly con- 
 vinced that, when he called upon them, they would rally 
 round him to a man. 
 
 Meanwhile, the natives within and on the Transvaal 
 borders had become more menacing. Sir T. Shepstone 
 had been withdrawn from Pretoria and his post filled 
 by a military official, Colonel Sir William Lanyon. 
 As we have seen, for some time prior to the annexation, 
 Cetewayo, King of the Zulus, had given clear proofs of 
 uneasiness and of his desire for war. At length his 
 conduct became so outrageous that we were compelled 
 to take hostile measures against him for the protection 
 both of Natal and the Transvaal. After many san- 
 guinary encounters our operations ultimately ended, in 
 1879, in the subjugation of the Zulu nation and in the 
 capture of its ruler. 
 
 Moreover, in that year Sir Garnet Wolseley had 
 been appointed High Commissioner in South Africa, 
 and he had found it necessary to reduce to subjection a 
 chief named Umbcline, who had been giving great 
 trouble, as well as Sikukuni, who ever since the Boers 
 had failed to defeat him in 1876 and 1877, had remained 
 within his strongholds and become a standing menace 
 to the peace of South Africa. 
 
 Whilst these operations were in progress, a strict 
 watch had to be kept on the large Kaffir tribes in the 
 northern and eastern portions of the Transvaal, and
 
 36 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 British garrisons were established in different districts 
 at long distances from each other, 
 
 Mr. Kruger and a few Boer leaders clearly saw how 
 difficult it would be to concentrate these scattered 
 forces at any given point, and also how easily they 
 could be attacked and dealt with in detail, or when on 
 the march. They secretly and determinedly set to 
 work, therefore, lo organise commandos of disaffected 
 Boers throughout the Veldt. Ammunition was pur- 
 chased and hoarded in every waggon, and the word 
 was passed where each party was to assemble. 
 
 All that now remained was to find a fitting excuse 
 for the revolt, and to fix upon the day on which to 
 throw off the mask. 
 
 A reason which could be alleged for taking up arms 
 had long been present to the clear shrewd minds of 
 Paul Kruger and his friends, and had indeed been 
 communicated to every Boer as an inducement to join 
 the ranks of the disaffected. It can be explained in 
 one word — taxes. 
 
 Now, payment of taxes may be said to be regarded 
 by the majority, even in the most civilised communities, 
 as a hardship to be borne, but to a Boer it is a monstrous 
 injustice. In the days before annexation took place he 
 had always resented every demand m.ade on him by the 
 tax-gatherer as a personal wrong. One can appreciate 
 the difficulties besetting a revenue collector in his 
 attempts to convince a gentleman on the Veldt with a 
 waggon for his home, that the latter should contribute 
 towards maintaining the Government at Potchefstroom, 
 and how still more onerous would be his task, under 
 the circumstances, to recover such tax by any known
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 37 
 
 process of law. True, when he went into a town or to 
 a nachtmal, a sort of religious assembly, an attempt 
 would sometimes be made to compel this recalcitrant 
 personage to pay his dues, but he invariably shirked 
 the demand on one plea or another. The Boers never 
 had any properly organised collection of their revenue, 
 everything was left more or less to chance, and the 
 salaries of officials were so miserably small that it was 
 absolutely worth no one's while in outlying districts 
 thus to serve the State. 
 
 This condition of affairs had to be remedied when the 
 Transvaal came under British administration. Soon 
 the Boers learnt that they were expected to pay taxes 
 for the protection afforded them, yet they never could 
 or would comprehend that, if a Government was to 
 exist, money must be found. Even their bitter experi- 
 ence of the abject state of national degradation and 
 bankruptcy to which they had sunk, and which had led 
 to annexation by the Crown, taught them no lesson. 
 Previously, taxes had been almost invariably collected 
 from foreigners, commercial men, and residents in towns 
 only, therefore, those Boers living on farms scattered 
 over the Veldt could not appreciate the need for any 
 change in the system, so that when, under the new 
 regime, they were called on to contribute their quota 
 towards the expenses of administration, they fiercely 
 resented to a man what they regarded as an extortion. 
 Paul Kruger and his friends experienced no difficulty 
 in fanning this flame, and an important part was 
 played in the movement by those wily Hollanders, 
 also, who in 1878 had given so much trouble to Sir T. 
 Shepstone.
 
 38 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Unjust taxation, then, was the flimsy pretext ad- 
 vanced to cover the real object Paul Kruger determined 
 to achieve — self-government by Boers independently of 
 the Crown. 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield's Cabinet had fallen early in 1880, 
 and Mr. Gladstone had succeeded him as Prime Minister; 
 the time was therefore ripe. Mr. Kruger was well 
 aware that no strenuous effort would be made by 
 Great Britain to retain the remote colony as an 
 appanage of the Empire ; only a bold dash was required 
 whilst the British troops available in South Africa were 
 few, and the Boers could then demand their own 
 terms. 
 
 The plan previously concerted was to cut off all 
 British garrisons, confine them to their various stations 
 and hold the roads, so as to prevent any reinforcements 
 from reaching them. But until some special act of 
 injustice could be alleged as a reason for armed resist- 
 ance, it is obvious that the Boers had no excuse to 
 move. However, when so desired, a pretext was not 
 far to seek. One Bezuidenhout had been served with 
 a notice to pay £2^ 5s. by the Landdrost of Potchef- 
 stroom, which he refused to do, at the same time tender- 
 ing £i^- Judgment was given against him and his 
 waggon was attached for the amount due. This cir- 
 cumstance was seized upon as a sample of the outrages 
 perpetrated on these honest and simple farmers. 
 
 Again I leave the story to be told by those who were 
 on the spot at the time, and whose knowledge was 
 better than any to which we can aspire.* Sir Owen 
 
 " See Blue Book 2783, p. 19 ; Report of Mr. Hiirlson, Colonial 
 Secretary, p. 24, and Appendix.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 39 
 
 Lanyon in a despatch to Lord Kimberley, dated December 
 5, 1880, makes the following statement: 
 
 " In continuation of my despatch of the 28th November, 
 I have the honour to forward further reports received 
 from Mr, Hudson relative to the action of certain Boers 
 at Potchefstroom who resisted the law. 
 
 " A perusal of these reports will show your Lordship 
 that the Government has spared no means in order that 
 a peaceful termination may be arrived at in this matter. 
 I consider that Mr. Hudson's action was one which was 
 well worthy of your Lordship's approbation, for he 
 incurred considerable personal risk in going out as he 
 did to meet Mr. Kruger. 
 
 " The report of the interview serves to prove what I 
 have already pointed out, that neither the leaders nor 
 the people know what they want further than that they 
 object to pay taxes, or to be subordinate to the laws of 
 the State. A re-perusal of the former reports of inter- 
 views between officials and these people will show that 
 the arguments now used by Mr. Kruger are the same 
 as those advanced on every similar occasion since the 
 annexation, now two years and eight months ago. 
 They seem to forget or to ignore the fact that the State 
 must be supported, and that it cannot allow a portion 
 of its citizens to set at naught such obligations till such 
 times as it may be convenient to them to act up to 
 them. All of them make ready use of its institutions 
 when they want to "do so; and when it suits their 
 convenience or ends one does not hear of their protest 
 preventing their taking advantage of that improved 
 state of government and of affairs which Her Majesty's 
 
 /
 
 40 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 rule has conferred upon them, I do not know of a 
 single instance in which any of them threw up an 
 office of emolument because of their principles, and I 
 can mention many who whilst opposing the Govern- 
 ment held on to the office of Field Cornet, and con- 
 tinued to draw their ;^50 per annum as long as they 
 could. Notwithstanding, some of these men tried to 
 avoid paying their taxes on the grounds that they were 
 protesting against the Government. In no instance, 
 however, did their conscientious scruples prompt them 
 to object to receive money from Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment. Mr. Kruger^s case exemplifies this, for he 
 continued to draw salary as a member of the Executive 
 Council for a period of Z\ months after the annexation. 
 In fact, he would doubtless have been drawing it vow, 
 for, notwithstanding his term of office expired on the 
 4.th November, 1877, he applied for and irceived pay up 
 to the close of the year. Mr, C. J, Joubert, another of 
 the leaders, acted in precisely the same manner. Not 
 long since Mr. Hemming Pretorius, who had been 
 Field Cornet for some time after the annexation, applied 
 for arrears of his pay to the Treasurer, though he knew 
 that he had refused to pay his taxes. 
 
 " The Committee has now settled that the mass meet- 
 ing shall take place a month earlier than was intended. It 
 is to be held on the 8th, at a farm called Paardeplaats, 
 which is about 35 miles from here in the Potchefstroom 
 direction. 
 
 ** Every endeavour is being made in order to get as 
 many as possible to attend it, and (as was the practice 
 regarding former meetings) threats and intimidation 
 are freely used to force the people to attend. I have
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 41 
 
 received frequent reports to this effect. Several loyal 
 Boers have been to see me to ask for protection, because 
 emissaries had been to them threatening that their 
 houses would be burnt down if they did not attend. 
 In fact, a reign of terror exists, and this renders it 
 impossible for the Government to obtain evidence 
 sufficient to prosecute these men. 
 
 " But this action on the part of the agitation in forcing 
 unwilling men to attend the meeting is an element of 
 safety, for it will strengthen the ranks of those who are 
 opposed to overt acts of rebellion. I do not think 
 that the leaders wish for warlike measures, for they 
 have too much to lose. Nevertheless, they are respon- 
 sible for having kept up the agitation, and for bringing 
 together the elements of discord. They have brought 
 their followers to the brink of a precipice, and I trust 
 they may have sufficient power to make them look 
 before they leap. 
 
 " I still do not think there is much cause for anxiety, 
 but the position of affairs is one which requires careful 
 attention and watching. 
 
 " I append a copy of the instructions I caused to be 
 issued to Major Clarke upon his assuming the charge of 
 the Potchefstroom district. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 " (Signed) " W. OWEN LANYON, 
 
 " Adyninistrator. 
 "The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberlev." 
 
 That this allegation of unjust enforcement of taxes 
 was of the most flimsy character, and only used as an 
 excuse to veil their real motives, is plainly apparent
 
 42 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 from the conduct of these disaffected Boers towards 
 their own Government, before Her Majesty was com- 
 pelled to step in, literally, to save them from themselves. 
 That burghers in outlying districts refused to pa}^ taxes 
 was only natural, and particularly when they knew that 
 members of the Volksraad were the greatest delinquents 
 in this direction. That this utter disregard of the law, 
 and of their obligations towards the maintenance of 
 constituted authority, had been going on for 3'ears is 
 evident from the resolutions of the Volksraad itself, and 
 from the plain statements made to their faces by Pre- 
 sident Burgers. Let us take a few illustrations.* 
 
 " Volksraad Session, 1868. February 12, i2>6?>,Art. 255. 
 
 " Put to the order Art. IIL of the financial report, viz. : 
 
 "The Committee find by the general statement of the 
 public income for the financial year 1866, drawn by the 
 Auditor-General, that the collections of the poll-tax and 
 quit-rent on farms and Erven of the different districts, 
 particularly Potchefstroom, Pretoria and Lydenburg, 
 are comparatively very small, and that for this reason 
 the State President may be directed that the arrears 
 and annual taxes are properly collected according to 
 law. 
 
 "The Volksraad resolve to adopt Art. IIL of the 
 financial report, with amendment of the last portion as 
 follows : 
 
 "That his honour the State President is charged to 
 direct the landdrosts to collect all taxes without dela}', 
 and that if not complying with the orders of those 
 * See Blue Book 27S3, pp. 46 and 47.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 43 
 
 placed above them they shall be liable to a fine of from 
 £iS to ;^5o for the first time, and on a repetition they 
 shall be discharged." 
 
 ** Volksraad Session, 1 87 1 . December 2, 1 87 1 , Art. 426 C. 
 
 " The Committee for the estimates recommended that 
 from now henceforth all persons who are negligent in 
 paying their taxes at the time stipulated shall, after an 
 elapse of six months after the taxes are due, pay double 
 the amount." 
 
 The following resolution was passed by the Volksraad 
 in March 1877 : 
 
 " Whereas it appears from the report of the Financial 
 Commission that the greater part of the taxes have not 
 been paid, and as it is therefore impossible to carry on 
 the Government of the countr}^, the Volksraad resolves 
 to authorise the Government to collect all outstanding 
 taxes, not by the ordinary procedure adopted in civil 
 cases, but by summary process." 
 
 Extract from Presidents Speech at opening of 
 Volksraad, February 13, 1S77. 
 
 ** As a matter of course, the state of our finances first 
 demands attention. With deep regret I have openly to 
 state that our expectation when passing the annual 
 estimates, as also the special estimates for the war 
 expenses, have not been realised by far, for reasons 
 which I will explain further on. This will be clear to 
 you from a perusal of the documents, which will in 
 connection therewith be brought to your notice."
 
 44 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Extract from Speech of President Burgers, in Volksraad, 
 on February i6, 1877. 
 
 "Two causes, viz., our position towards the natives 
 (the Secocoeni war), the financial embarrassment of 
 the Government, and its subsequent helplessness. 
 What is now to be done ? Methinks no more nor less 
 than remove these grievances. Get the native under 
 due authority, restrict him in his savage wa3^s, and 
 strengthen your Government by obedience to the laws 
 and by fulfilling your duty as burghers, and then, I 
 assure you, you shall hear no more of confederation." 
 * * * * 
 
 ** 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 bid good-bye to our liberty." 
 
 Extract from Speech of President, February 20, 1877. 
 
 " Public meetings had been held in presence of 
 members of the Volksraad, where it had been unani- 
 mously resolved not to pay the taxes. How could the 
 officials carry out the law in the face of such pro- 
 ceedings ? Had he (his honour) to add civil war to all 
 our present miseries? Owing to the request of old and 
 experienced burghers he had ordered the landdrosts 
 only to urge the people to pay their taxes, but not as 
 yet to summon them. And beyond this, how had 
 summonses to be served when here one landdrost was 
 carried out of his office, and there the office door was 
 locked in the face of another, and elsewhere officials
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 45 
 
 were deterred from doing their duty by intimidating 
 crowds at their office." 
 
 "He thought it most astonishing that hon. members ot 
 this Raad should have committed acts which tended to 
 create the greatest rebeUion in the country. Here they 
 passed laws and resolutions, not for themselves, but 
 for the burghers outside. Here they imposed taxes 
 which the outsiders had to pay, but which they them- 
 selves refused to pay. Must that not lead to the worst 
 anarchy ? Could the burghers be expected to obey the 
 laws when they saw those who passed these laws 
 violate the same in such an outrageous manner ? The 
 evil must be rooted out. The legislator who breaks 
 one law is guilty of all. The Raad is bound to sift this 
 matter thoroughly." 
 
 There can be no doubt of this broad fact that had 
 Bezuidenhout's waggon been returned and the claim 
 on him remitted, the result would have been exactly 
 the same. 
 
 A large meeting of Boers had been summoned for 
 January 8, but this was antedated to December 
 15. At a place called Paardekraal, on the anniversary 
 of their victory over the Kaffir King Dingaan in 
 1836, armed Boers, acting on secret instructions, 
 assembled in thousands and, then and there, resolved 
 to abolish their Committee appointed previously and 
 to elect departmental officers. 
 
 On the 1 6th of the same month a force of from 4000 
 to 6000 men took possession of Heidelberg, and pro-
 
 46 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 claimed a Government of their own under the 
 Presidency of Paul Kruger.* 
 
 " Landdrost, Standerton, to his Excellency the Governor, 
 Pietermaritzburg, Colony Natal. 
 
 " Decemhcy 19, iSSo. 
 
 " Your Excellency will probably not be aware of the 
 Boer movements, as telegraph communication between 
 this and Pretoria has been stopped. I have to inform 
 your Excellency that a Boer force of from 4000 to 6000 
 men took possession of the town of Heidelberg on the 
 1 6th, and established their own Government under the 
 Presidency of Paul Kruger. Piet Joubert is Com- 
 mandant-General ; Jorissen, Attorney-General ; Bok, 
 Acting State Secretary : Jacob Mare, Landdrost at 
 Heidelberg. Landdrost Neckcrucan was from town 
 when his office was taken possession of, no violence 
 was used ; protection offered to the Bank by Boers. 
 The inhabitants of Heidelberg are not allowed to leave, 
 unless supplied with a passport, signed by the Slate 
 Secretary on behalf of the Commandant-General. 
 
 " I will send an express to Pretoria in two hours' 
 time, so can forward any communication your Excel- 
 lency may wish to send to the Administrator." 
 
 How cleverly this rising was arranged, and how 
 opportune the moment chosen for attack, may be 
 gathered from the despatch of Sir G. P. Colley to the 
 Secretary of State for War, dated December 26, 
 1880. 
 
 * See Blue Book C 2783, p. 60.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 47 
 
 " I. I regret to have to report that on the 20th instant 
 a portion of the 94th Regiment, consisting of the head- 
 quarters and about 250 men, marching from Lydenburg 
 to Pretoria, were attacked about ^'j miles from Pretoria 
 by a large number of Boers, and overpowered ; about 
 120 men are reported killed or wounded, and the rest 
 taken prisoners. The only details yet received are 
 given in the two telegrams of which copies are 
 annexed. 
 
 " 2. The circumstances of the march of this detach- 
 ment, so far as known to me, are as follows : 
 
 ** On the 23rd ultimo, owing to the detachment of 
 troops which it had been found necessary to send from 
 Pretoria to Potchefstroom, and the consequent weakening 
 of the garrison of the former place, a movement of 
 concentration on Pretoria was ordered by the officer 
 commanding the troops in the Transvaal, acting in 
 concert with his Excellency the Administrator. This 
 movement included the withdrawal of one company 
 94th Regiment, from Marabastadt, and of the head- 
 quarters and two companies of that regiment from 
 Lydenburg ; leaving a detachment only at the latter 
 place in charge of the fort and store. 
 
 " 3. At that time telegraphic communication between 
 Pretoria and my head-quarters was temporarily inter- 
 rupted ; and the movement was therefore carried out 
 without reference to me. It was, however, entirely in 
 accordance with my general views, which were to 
 reduce our detachments and strengthen the moveable 
 force at Pretoria, and I approved of it as soon as it was 
 reported to me. 
 
 " 4. At the time these movements were ordered, no
 
 48 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 apprehension of so sudden, widespread and determined 
 a rising seems to have been felt ; orders had been 
 issued against small escorts and parties moving about 
 the country, as it was feared they would be exposed to 
 insult, and accidental collision might ensue ; but no 
 serious attack was apprehended. The disturbances at 
 Potchefstroom were of the same character as had taken 
 place on many former occasions ; and had their direct 
 origin in the usual cause — the demand for payment of 
 taxes. Gatherings of Boers had been reported, but all 
 of them too small to endanger any considerable detach- 
 ment of troops ; and the mass meeting long announced, 
 remained fixed for the 8th January, a date still six 
 weeks distant. 
 
 "5. The company from Marabastadt reached its 
 destination punctually and without molestation, but the 
 Lydenburg detachment, which was originally expected 
 at Pretoria about the 12th instant, was delayed by bad 
 roads and flooded rivers, and appears to have been 
 still near Middleburg when the Boer rising took place 
 and Heidelberg was seized. On the i6th the Boer 
 leaders sent in their demands to the Administrator, 
 allowing 48 hours for a reply. In the meanwhile the 
 Boers sent to warn the Officer Commanding at 
 Standerton, that any further advance of troops would 
 be considered a declaration of war. I have not heard 
 whether any similar warning was sent to the Lydenburg 
 detachment, but warning was in any case sent to it by 
 Colonel Bellairs, commanding the troops in the 
 Transvaal. On the 19th the reply of his Excellency the 
 Administrator appears to have been received at Heidel- 
 berg, and on the 20th the detachment was attacked.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 49 
 
 "6. I have directed the Officer Commanding at 
 Standerton to communicate with the Boers, and ask to 
 be allowed to send a surgeon to attend to the wounded ; 
 and also to endeavour, if possible, to have the wounded 
 sent in to us. I have little doubt that similar efforts 
 will be made from Pretoria ; and I trust that the Boers 
 will act humanely and give the wounded all care and 
 assistance." 
 
 The fact is our officials were either ignorant of the 
 importance of the movement, or were entirely put off 
 their guard by the Boer ruse of giving out that their 
 mass meeting would be held on January 8, whereas 
 they were all fully prepared to strike on December 16. 
 As they had prognosticated, orders had been given to 
 outlying British detachments to march on, and con- 
 centrate at, Pretoria. Suddenly, the Boers seized 
 Heidelberg and Potchefstroom, and on December 20, 
 fell on a portion of the 94th Regiment and annihi- 
 lated it. 
 
 ^^ From the Officer Commanding, Standerton, to the 
 
 General Officer Commanding, Natal 
 
 and Transvaal. 
 
 "Arrived 8 a.m., travelling through night to escape 
 rebel patrol reported on road, half-way met men from 
 Middelburgh, who said 94th, between that and Pretoria, 
 were met by rebel force 800 or 1000 strong. A man 
 with white flag demanded their arms. The Commanding 
 Officer refusing, the rebels poured in a volley, and 
 killed seven officers, two wounded, one woman, and 
 201 men, the rest (49) taken prisoners. The place was 
 
 D
 
 50 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 a spruit where all waggons had stuck. Ten soldiers 
 
 and two waggons left to bury dead. I fear this is true, 
 
 as informants are Barrett Brothers, who had left 
 
 Middelburgh on seeing the massacre, but could not 
 
 reach me, being stopped by rebel patrol. 
 
 " True copy. 
 
 " A. H. Wavell, Lieutenant-Colonel, A.A.G. 
 " Head-Quarters, Pietermaritzburg. 
 " Jamtary 26, 1880." 
 
 General Sir George Colley moved up from Natal 
 with all his available forces, and on January 26, and 
 again on February 9, he sustained severe checks at the 
 hands of a strong force of Boers. These reverses to 
 the British arms created an exaggerated expression of 
 timidity in the minds of Her Majesty's Ministers at 
 home, and when Sir George Colley telegraphed that 
 he had been approached by the President with a 
 view to a peace, the home authorities became eagerly 
 anxious to fall in with Kruger's offer.* The first sign 
 of this disposition is shown by the following telegram 
 from Lord Kimberley to Sir Hercules Robinson : 
 
 " February 16. I have received following telegram 
 from Sir G. Colley : * 1 3th. Letter received from 
 Kruger, purport, — Anxious to make one more effort to 
 stop bloodshed ; Boers driven to arms in self-defence ; 
 views continually misrepresented ; if deed of annexation 
 cancelled, willing co-operate with British Government 
 everything for good of South Africa ; know that English 
 people would be on their side if truth reached them ; 
 
 * SeeC 2837, p. 10. Secretary of State for Colonies to Governor 
 Sir Hercules Robinson.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 51 
 
 are so strong in this conviction that would not fear 
 inquiry of a Royal Commission, which they know 
 would give them their rights ; ready, therefore, if 
 troops ordered to withdraw from Transvaal, to give free 
 passage and withdraw from their positions ; if annexa- 
 tion upheld will fight to the end.' Telegram ends. 
 
 "I replied to-day as follows: — Your telegram 13th 
 received. Inform Kruger that, if Boers will desist from 
 armed opposition, we shall be quite ready to appoint 
 Commissioners with extensive powers, and who may 
 develop the scheme referred to in my telegram to you 
 of the 8th instant. Add that if this proposal is accepted, 
 you are authorised to agree to suspension of hostilities 
 on our part. Message ends. 
 
 " Communicate foregoing to President Brand. 
 
 " Blyth, Consul Free State, called to-day with impor- 
 tant telegram, conveying very friendly assurances from 
 President. I requested him to convey by telegram to 
 President the satisfaction with which I had received 
 this communication." 
 
 At this period President Brand of the Orange Free 
 State was in almost daily communication with Her 
 Majesty's Government, and he proffered his services to 
 bring about a settlement with the Boer leaders. This 
 offer was accepted, and he honourably and loyally did 
 his best to fulfil his self-imposed difficult and delicate 
 task. 
 
 On February 26, a day that will be long memorable 
 in the annals of the Transvaal, Sir George Colley 
 occupied Majuba Mountain, and on the morning of the 
 27th he was attacked by a strong force of Boers, who
 
 52 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 retook the hill and almost destroyed the British troops. 
 In this action the British commander was himself among 
 the slain. 
 
 On learning this intelligence, Her Majesty's Ministers 
 seem to have been still more scared than they were 
 before, although Sir Evel3'n Wood, who had taken 
 command, telegraphed on March i to the Secretary of 
 State for War as follows : 
 
 " The promised reinforcements will be ample, even if 
 the Boers are still more largely reinforced ; they have 
 not yet taken advantage of temporary advantage, and 
 every hour's respite is a gain." 
 
 However, on the same day we find that Lord 
 Kimberley telegraphed to Sir Evelyn Wood : 
 
 " Inform me if you know when Sir George Colley 
 made communication to Kruger in pursuance of my 
 telegram of February i6, what time fixed in which 
 answer must be given and whether any, and if so what, 
 communications have since passed between him and 
 Boer leaders." 
 
 Again, on March 3, the Government being still 
 nervously anxious, he telegraphed : 
 
 "March 3. — My telegram March ist. If you find 
 that Sir George Colley made communication to Kruger, 
 but no answer has been received, inquire of Boer 
 leaders whether an answer will be sent you."
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 53 
 
 Then on March 4, Lord Kimberley telegraphed 
 again : 
 
 "4th March. Your telegram of March 2nd. State 
 date on which Colley's communication sent to Boers, to 
 whom addressed, and to what place. Was person to 
 whom sent known to be competent to reply without 
 reference to others ? Reply as quickly as possible. 1 
 understand from your telegram that no answer has been 
 received from Kruger, and therefore inquiry directed 
 in my telegram of yesterday should still be made." 
 
 Sir Evelyn Wood, however, had no such fears as 
 those permeating the minds of Mr. Gladstone and his 
 Cabinet, but felt that under the conditions of our 
 various defeats, this haste to truckle to the Boer 
 leaders was, to his soldierly instincts, most untimely, 
 and we learn he was perfectly convinced that the only 
 way to make peace on a sound and satisfactory basis 
 was after a success in the field by British arms. He 
 knew that, notwithstanding the defeats at Laings Nek 
 and Majuba, the Boers were only too anxious to bring 
 matters to a conclusion without further fighting, and as 
 speedily as possible. That this was so we learn from 
 his telegram dated March 5, in reply to that sent by 
 Lord Kimberley on the 4th, as follows : 
 
 " Newcastle, March 5th, noon. I anticipate hearing 
 from Joubert soon. Fear until Boers are defeated 
 leaders, if altogether excluded from amnesty, will 
 continue hostilities if they can ; but, on the other hand, 
 the very unfavourable weather, and their admitted
 
 54 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 certainty of eventual suppression may cause dispersion. 
 Sir G. Colley was very averse to pardon leaders, and 
 your telegram of lOth implies such cannot be granted. 
 Instruct me fully on this point, for much will turn on 
 it ; and, reflecting on similar struggles in history, I do 
 not attach much importance to punishing leaders, as 
 did Sir George Colley, though I would not recommend 
 allowing them to remain in Transvaal, nor would I 
 accept them as representatives of people. In discussing 
 settlement of count?y, my constant endeavour shall be 
 to carry out the spirit of your orders; but^ considering 
 the disasters we have sustained^ I think the happiest 
 result ivill be thaty after accelerating successful action, 
 which I hope to fight in about fourteen days, the Boers 
 should disperse without any guarantee, and then many 
 now undoubtedly coerced, will readily settle down. In 
 any negotiations, Joubert will probably make dispersion 
 contingent on amnesty. I may be cut off from commu- 
 nicating with you, and if you wish to avoid further 
 fighting, I suggest, while giving me no instructions for 
 the future settlement, you should empower me, if 
 absolutely necessary, to promise life and property, but 
 not residence, to leaders. This I would not do, if 
 dispersion could be effected without it." 
 
 Even before Sir George Colley's sad death, Mr. 
 Gladstone had stated in the House of Commons that 
 steps would be taken to come to terms with the Boers, 
 and these expressions of his intentions were promptly 
 telegraphed to Africa, and were in the hands of the 
 Boer leaders ; so that at every turn Sir Evelyn Wood 
 found himself handicapped by the knowledge which his
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 55 
 
 enemy possessed of the distinct instructions sent to 
 him from home. Distasteful as it must have been to 
 carry out this policy, yet as a soldier he obeyed his 
 orders to the letter. Having come to terms for an 
 armistice with General Joubert which was prolonged 
 from time to time, he arranged for meetings with 
 President Kruger, General Joubert, and Pretorius, who 
 formed a triumvirate appointed by the rebellious Boers 
 to represent them, with the view to drawing up 
 conditions of peace. 
 
 On March 12, 1881, the Earl of Kimberley tele- 
 graphed to Major-General Sir Evelyn Wood, as follows 
 
 " Inform Boer leaders that if Boers will undertake to 
 desist from armed opposition, and disperse to their 
 homes, we are prepared to name the following as 
 Commission : — Sir H. Robinson, Chief Justice de 
 Villiers, and yourself. President Brand would be 
 asked to be present at proceedings as representing 
 friendly State. Commission would be authorised to 
 consider following points : — Complete self-government 
 under British suzerainty, with British resident at 
 Pretoria, and provisions for protection of native 
 interests, and as to frontier affairs. Control over 
 relations with foreign Powers to be reserved." 
 
 Influenced by these instructions. Sir E. Wood 
 arranged for a meeting with the Boer leaders, and 
 accordingly an interview took place on March 16, 
 under Laings Nek, at which were present. General Sir 
 Evelyn Wood and his staff. President Kruger and 
 Messrs. Pretorius, P. Joubert, Jorissen, C. Joubert,
 
 56 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 J. Mare and Dirk Uys. At this interview, President 
 Kruger declared he was prepared to accept the terms 
 of peace on the conditions of Lord Kimberley's 
 telegram. He did so as follows : 
 
 " General Wood. Do I now understand you to say 
 that should Boer representatives be included as 
 members of the Royal Commission you would accept 
 the terms proposed in yesterday's communication as a 
 basis of peace, bearing in mind that this implies 
 immediate dispersion ? 
 
 " Mr. Kruger. Yes. I am prepared to accept terms 
 of peace on the conditions mentioned in the communica- 
 tion of yesterday. I expect the British forces to with- 
 draw from the Transvaal. Lord Kimberley in his 
 telegram gives me my rights. I accept the telegram. 
 There are minor details to be settled by the Commission 
 — e.g., boundaries, etc." 
 
 Later on President Kruger stated, " I accept 
 suzerainty as explained by General Wood." 
 
 The definition being : 
 
 " Suzerainty means : That the country has entire 
 self-government as regards its own interior affairs, but 
 that it cannot take action against or with an outside 
 power without the permission of the suzerain." 
 
 It is amusing and instructive also to find how at this 
 interview the calm sagacious soldier understood those 
 clever subterfuges which have made President Kruger 
 famous as a diplomatist, to the discomfiture of most of 
 our so-called statesmen.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 57 
 
 As an illustration the following little passage of arms 
 is, to my mind, particularly a propos : 
 
 " Mr. Kruger. The reason I wish to insist on with- 
 drawal of your troops is, that if it be not done the 
 people will be suspicious. If withdrawn, the labours 
 of the Commission will be faciUtated and the people 
 would be grateful. 
 
 " General Wood. / should prefer a direct answer 
 to my question rather than a contingent promise of 
 gratitude'^ 
 
 Owing to the inclement weather and the non-arrival 
 of President Brand, of the Orange Free State, the 
 armistice was prolonged to March 21, and on that 
 day a meeting took place between Sir Evelyn Wood, 
 the delegates already mentioned, and Mr. Brand, who 
 was present as the friend of both sides. This meeting 
 is historical and one memorable in the annals of the 
 Transvaal, as then the terms of peace were arranged 
 and the principles laid down for the convention, which 
 was subsequently signed. After having been explained 
 to and accepted by the leaders of the disaffected Boers, 
 Mr. Kruger suggested that the Act of Treaty should 
 be drawn up. General Wood proposed to draft this 
 in the first instance with Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius 
 and Joubert. A draft was accordingly made and 
 marked "B." 
 
 This agreement is of such vital importance, and so 
 essential to estimate properly not only the position at 
 the time of the armed Boer opposition, but also of the 
 written instructions of Her Majesty's Government and
 
 58 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 of its policy, that I have decided to insert at this stage 
 an exact copy of the document.* 
 
 **B. 
 
 " Result of a meeting at O'Neil's Farm on the 21st 
 March 1881. Present: Sir Evelyn Wood, Majors 
 Clarke and Fraser, Lieutenant Hamilton and Mr. T. 
 Cropper, A.D.C.'s, on the one hand ; Messrs. Kruger, 
 Pretorius, P. Joubert, Jorissen, Dirk Uys, Mare C. 
 Joubert, on the other hand. 
 
 "At the meetings of the 6th, 14th, and i6th of March 
 1 88 1, between Sir E. Wood and the Boer leaders, it 
 was agreed that an armistice be entered upon, and the 
 Boer leaders subsequently accepted, in general, the 
 conditions laid down in Lord Kimberley's telegrams of 
 the 8th and 12th March, as communicated to them by 
 Sir E. Wood, except on two points, viz. : (i) direct 
 representation on the Commission, and (2) the expres- 
 sion of a hope that the English garrison in the Trans- 
 vaal should withdraw when they dispersed. In their 
 desire for peace the Boer representatives have since 
 abandoned these two points. 
 
 " It is therefore agreed as follows : 
 
 "Schedule i. — I, Sir Evelyn Wood, admit the Boer 
 leaders, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, Joubert, and others 
 who have been present at these meetings, as duly 
 representing the people of the Transvaal, now in arms. 
 
 "Schedule 2. — We, Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert 
 declare our readiness to accept the suzerainty of the 
 reigning Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 * See Blue Book, C 31 14, p, 55.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 59 
 
 according to the explanation given by Sir E. Wood, as 
 noted in the minutes of the meeting of the i6th March. 
 We also agree to recognise a British Resident at the 
 future capital of the Government, with such functions 
 as the British Government may decide on the recom- 
 mendations of the Royal Commission. 
 
 " We also agree to leave to the Commission the con- 
 sideration of provision for the protection of native 
 interests, and as to frontier affairs, that control of 
 relations with foreign powers should be reserved to the 
 Suzerain. 
 
 " Schedule 3. — I, Sir Evelyn Wood, acknowledge the 
 right of the Transvaal people to complete self-govern- 
 ment, subject to suzerain rights. 
 
 " Schedule 4. — We, Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, 
 will gladly co-operate with Her Majesty's Government 
 in bringing to justice those who have committed, or 
 are directly responsible for, acts contrary to civilised 
 warfare. 
 
 "Schedule 5- — 1> Sir Evelyn Wood, in the event of 
 the position on the Laings Nek being abandoned by 
 the Boers, and of the latter dispersing to their homes, 
 declare on the part of Her Majesty's Government that 
 I will not take possession of that position, nor follow 
 them up with troops, nor send ammunition into the 
 Transvaal." 
 
 '* At a meeting on March 1 8, a telegram from Lord 
 Kimberley, dated 17th, was handed to the Boer repre- 
 sentatives, being an answer to Sir E. Wood's telegram 
 of the 1 6th, embodying the points raised by them on 
 that day."
 
 6o BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 "Schedule 6. — The Boer leaders accept the terms 
 offered in the telegram of the 17th. They declare, ' We 
 trust to the British Government to give to us complete 
 self-government as soon as possible, and at latest 
 within six months, it being understood that no civil 
 action shall be entertained in respect of proceedings 
 taken during or in reference to this war, and equally 
 no action be entertained in respect of taxation until the 
 government be accorded. We further trust that if the 
 Royal Commission considers any separation of land to 
 the east of the 30th degree of longitude to be necessary, 
 such Commission will not recommend the separation of 
 more land than is necessary, for the purposes of the 
 English policy as indicated in the telegram of March 
 17th. 
 
 *' Schedule 7. — I, Sir E. Wood, do engage, on behalf 
 of the British Government, that the Royal Commission 
 shall meet at the earliest possible date, and that the 
 government of the country shall be handed over within 
 six months from this date. 
 
 "Schedule 8. — Under these circumstances, we, Kruger, 
 Joubert, and Pretorius, engage on behalf of the Boers 
 in arms, to disperse our forces at once, and to await the 
 settlement of all pending questions referred to the 
 Royal Commission ; on the completion of the labours 
 of which the country will enter on the promised self- 
 government. 
 
 " Schedule 9. — We, Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius, 
 engage on behalf of the Boers, to restore all British 
 property, now in possession of the Boer authorities, 
 captured during the war, and Sir E. Wood undertakes 
 to restore all property of the Boers now in possession
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 6i 
 
 of the British Government, captured during the war, or 
 
 taken over from the RepubHc at the time of annexation. 
 
 The exchange to take place when the self-government 
 
 is finally accorded. 
 
 " (Signed) EVELYN WOOD, Major-General, 
 
 "Deputy High Commissioner. 
 "S. P. KRUGER. 
 "H. W. PRETORIUS. 
 "P. J. JOUBERT." 
 
 This agreement speaks for itself. It demonstrates con- 
 clusively what the Boer leaders of the armed opposition 
 accepted as binding on them in the future. It is the 
 standard by which we must judge the convention, it 
 was the guide and chart of the Royal Commissioners 
 who were subsequently appointed. The entire negotia- 
 tions, so ably carried out by Sir Evelyn Wood with 
 great diplomatic skill and with soldierly firmness, were 
 approved and promptly ratified by Mr. Gladstone's 
 Cabinet; and the three Royal Commissioners, Sir 
 Hercules Robinson, High Commissioner for South 
 Africa, Sir Evelyn Wood, Commander of the forces in 
 Natal and the Transvaal, and Sir John Henry de 
 Villiers, Chief Justice of the Cape of Good Hope, were 
 duly appointed to be " Commissioners to inquire into 
 and report upon all matters relating to the future settle- 
 ment of the Transvaal." 
 
 It follows then, as a natural consequence, that instruc- 
 tions from the Home Government should be sent to 
 these commissioners, and hence we find on March 31, 
 1 88 1, the Earl of Kimberley instructed Sir Hercules 
 Robinson and his associates at great length as to the 
 duties to be performed by them, as to the conditions
 
 62 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 they should impose, and as to the guarantees for the 
 due performance of those conditions which had to be 
 given by Her Majesty, as suzerain. A perusal of 
 these instructions acquaints us with the fact that Mr. 
 Gladstone's Cabinet adhered mainly to the demands 
 imposed on, and agreed to b}^, the Boer leaders on 
 March 21, but one important item therein absolutely 
 fettered and hampered at least two of the Commissioners 
 throughout their discussions with Mr. Kruger and his 
 friends. Nothing demonstrated so plainly the state of 
 abject flabbiness into which the Home Government had 
 sunk as that statement set forth by Lord Kimberley 
 for the guidance of the Royal Commissioners. Here 
 it is : 
 
 " With regard to the Lydenburg district apart from 
 New Scotland, the arguments in favour of maintaining 
 British rule over it are that the population is stated to 
 contain an increasing British element, principally at the 
 Gold Fields ; that the native population vastly out- 
 number the white inhabitants, being estimated at 
 123,300 as compared with 1578; and that having 
 subdued Sikukuni's tribe, which occupies an important 
 part of the district, we are under peculiar obligations to 
 make provision for its fair treatment. 
 
 "On the other hand the Lydenburg district could 
 scarcely be annexed to Natal, and as a separate British 
 Province it would form an inconvenient narrow strip of 
 territory which would probably, for some time to come, 
 not pay its own expenses. Lastly, Her Majesty's 
 Government are averse, on general grounds of policy, to 
 the extension of British Territory in South Africa.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 63 
 
 " A most important consideration will be the wishes 
 of the settlers themselves, and you will be careful to 
 ascertain in the fullest manner whether they would 
 willingly accept the continuance of British rule, if it 
 should be determined to retain any of the territory to 
 which I have referred." 
 
 When Lord Kimberley, as Colonial Secretary, des- 
 patched these instructions to the Royal Commissioners, 
 there had been no intention either expressed or implied 
 to extend the area of British territory in South Africa. 
 But Her Majesty's Government had at many times con- 
 tracted obligations towards those Kaffir tribes who had 
 been conquered by us and who had come under our 
 protection, and the fulfilment of these was binding 
 on us. 
 
 Sekukuni was an independent chief when the Boers 
 attacked him. Cetewayo's territory had never formed 
 a portion of the Republic, neither had the Swazi 
 country ever been subject to Boer control ; moreover, 
 the Triumvirate in their negotiations with Sir Evelyn 
 Wood had practically agreed to our right to fix the 
 boundaries necessary to protect our colonists, and to 
 carry out our pledges to the natives. 
 
 What justification or reason, then, had Lord Kimberley 
 for sending this Little Englander declaration of policy to 
 the Commissioners ? It was not to be supposed for a 
 moment that they would attempt to extend the Empire 
 by acquiring new territory for the Crown. No, the 
 difficulty they had to get over was how to surrender 
 with a grace, territory which different British Cabinets, 
 and their representative officers, had declared would
 
 6+ BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 always form an integral part of Her Majesty's 
 dominions. 
 
 It was a question of scuttle, not of extension, and 
 solemn pledges made to both white men and natives 
 were ipso facto to be broken. 
 
 Why then, may we ask, did Lord Kimberley further per- 
 plex the minds of his Commissioners with the disturbing 
 fear that if they fixed certain boundaries they would 
 be acting contrary to the policy of the Government ? 
 
 To his honour be it recorded, one of the three 
 Commissioners, Sir Evelyn Wood, had the courage of 
 his convictions, and this statement of policy did not 
 cause him to swerve from the path of duty which had 
 been already marked out for him, not only by Mr. 
 Gladstone's and Lord Kimberley's predecessors, but by 
 themselves. He had the manliness to dissent from his 
 colleagues, and his reasons are set out in his special 
 report, an extract from which I append.* 
 
 " 2. With reference to the territorial question. Sir 
 Evelyn Wood is unable to concur with his colleagues in 
 the arguments which led them to recommend the 
 abandonment of the scheme of separation of territory 
 agreed to at Laing's Nek. Paragraphs 44 to 53 of this 
 Report give the arguments of the Boer leaders against 
 the separation of any territory east of the 30th degree 
 of longitude. 
 
 *' These objections must have been just as evident to 
 the leaders, when treating with Sir Evelyn Wood at 
 Laing's Nek, as when treating with the Commission at 
 Newcastle. At Laing's Nek they acquiesced in the 
 
 * Book Book, C 31 14.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 65 
 
 principle of separation of territory ; that they did so is, 
 Sir Evelyn Wood thinks, a proof that they preferred 
 peace, with the proposed separation, to a continuance 
 of war. 
 
 "To contend afterwards that the Royal Commission 
 ought not to decide contrary to the wishes of the 
 Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, is 
 to deny to the Commission the very power of decision 
 that it was agreed should be left in its hands. 
 
 " In paragraphs 53 and 54 the majority of the Commis- 
 sion hold that sentiment was the mainspring of the late 
 outbreak, and imply that none of the peace stipulations 
 antagonistic to this feeling can be enforced without 
 detriment to the permanent tranquillity of the country. 
 Sir Evelyn Wood cannot concur with even the premises 
 of his colleagues, and he is convinced the approximate 
 cause of the late outbreak was a general and rooted 
 aversion to taxation. 
 
 " His colleagues appear to have received the state- 
 ments of the leaders as expressing the feelings of their 
 followers. In Sir Evelyn Wood's opinion the views of 
 the Triumvirate should have been accepted with 
 reserve ; and he could not attach the same value that 
 the majority of the Commission did to the Leaders' 
 account of Boer sentiments. As it was, his colleagues 
 arrived at their conclusions on this question in New- 
 castle before the Commission had entered the Transvaal, 
 and practically before they had any opportunity of 
 learning the wishes of the inhabitants, except through 
 the mouths of the leaders. 
 
 "As Sir Evelyn Wood cannot accept the conclusions 
 of his colleagues, based on the arguments of the Boers, 
 
 E
 
 66 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 still less can he accept those they have arrived at in 
 paragraphs 56 and 57, on the aspect of the native 
 question. It is argued that by concessions to the Boers 
 on the territorial question the Commission would obtain 
 large powers for the British Resident, and also gain the 
 consent of the Boers to conditions not contained in the 
 peace agreement, viz. : 
 
 " The creation of a native location Commission, the 
 right of veto on native legislation, and the settlement 
 of the disputed boundary of the Keate Award territory, 
 all of which will, the majority of the Commission think, 
 form the best guarantees for the protection of all 
 native interests. 
 
 "Schedule 2 of the agreement of the 21st March, 
 1 88 1, left to the Commission to define, and to the British 
 Government to determine, what powers should be 
 assigned to the Resident, and what provision should be 
 made for the protection of native interests, while 
 Schedule 3 made complete self-government subject to 
 suzerain rights. 
 
 " It is not apparent to Sir Evelyn Wood that in the 
 Convention any powers greater than those justified by 
 the peace agreement have been so assigned to the 
 Resident, and the creation of a Native Location Com- 
 mission, the power of veto on native legislation, and 
 the settlement of the Keate Award question, appear to 
 him to be matters so directly affecting native interests, 
 as to be entirely within the scope of the agreement of 
 the 2 1 St March ; however, be this as it may, he cannot 
 believe that any power the Government or the Resi- 
 dent may derive from the Convention will prove as 
 beneficial to the natives as would the existence of
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION (i-] 
 
 British rule eastward of the 30th degree of longi- 
 tude. 
 
 " It is admitted that all the eastern natives would 
 prefer the retention of British rule in this country, and 
 also, that it would benefit them ; it is, however, argued 
 that these are the natives best able to protect them- 
 selves. 
 
 "To a certain degree this is correct, but we have 
 recently destroyed the military power of the Zulu 
 nation and have disarmed the people. 
 
 " In the interests of the Transvaal, but at England's 
 expense, we subdued Sikukuni, and we have checked 
 the acquisition of firearms by all natives. 
 
 " Sir Evelyn Wood maintains, therefore, that the 
 eastern tribes are not so capable of defence as to be 
 independent of our protection ; and while admitting 
 they are not so defenceless as are those on the western 
 border of the Transvaal, he submits that the arguments 
 of his colleagues prove more conclusively the import- 
 ance of protecting the natives on the west than the 
 desirability of withdrawing protection from those on the 
 east side of the Transvaal. 
 
 " Sir Evelyn Wood's colleagues admit the desirability 
 of retaining the eastern territory under British rule, 
 and the substantial benefit to the natives living therein 
 and to the eastward of it ; but they argue that those in 
 the west, who, by their position, are unavoidably 
 excluded from our protection, would have suffered loss 
 by missing those favourable conditions which have 
 been secured to them by the Convention. The 
 value of the said conditions must be a matter ol 
 opinion until tested by time, and the necessity for
 
 68 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 making concessions to obtain them is not, Sir Evelyn 
 Wood submits, apparent ; but whichever may be 
 the more accurate view, in summing up numeri- 
 cally the interests concerned, the question cannot be 
 confined to those named, but should be considered 
 to extend indirectly to all the natives in South-east 
 Africa. 
 
 " Sir Evelj'n Wood agrees with his colleagues in 
 thinking that the grounds for retaining the country east 
 of the Drakensberg are less cogent than those for 
 retaining the whole territory east of the 30th degree, 
 and he admits that the relatively small number of the 
 Transvaal natives east of the Drakensberg does not 
 alone justify the proposed rectification of the boun- 
 daries, but he cannot follow his colleagues in the rest 
 of their argument, and thinks that, while studying how 
 best to balance the interests of Boers and natives, they 
 have overlooked, what was to him the most important 
 factor in the question, viz., the interests of the English 
 colonies in South Africa. The proposal for a separation 
 of territory proceeded from Her Majesty's Government. 
 In the month of March, when the negotiations at Laing's 
 Nek were approaching completion. Sir Evelyn Wood 
 submitted to the Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 what he considered would be (for British and native 
 interests) the most suitable boundaries for the Trans- 
 vaal in case we left it. 
 
 "The Commission being opposed to the retention of 
 the territory lying to the eastward of the 30th degree 
 of longitude. Sir Evelyn Wood suggested as a com- 
 promise the retention of the district which lies to the 
 east of the Drakensberg; but it was far less in the
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 69 
 
 interests of its native population that the smaller 
 measure was suggested, than for the sake of tranquillity 
 in Swaziland, Zululand, and Natal. His colleagues 
 have balanced the eastern and western native question 
 by a comparison of numbers, but a glance at the map 
 will show how very much more important it is to our 
 Colonies to have quiet on the eastern than on the 
 western borders. Separated as we now shall be by 
 the Transvaal from the eastern natives it will be 
 impossible for us to exercise over them the influence 
 for peace due to our paramount position in the 
 country. 
 
 "It is from this cause, he thinks, trouble to England 
 may arise, and this is the consideration which has led 
 him to dissent from his colleagues on the territorial 
 question." 
 
 But I desire to do Lord Kimberley justice, and perhaps 
 the doctrine that a Government is entitled to change its 
 policy by its own volition regardless of its obligations 
 had become matured in his mind. To make myself 
 perfectly clear, I assume that his views on the Transvaal 
 situation were at that period identical with those he 
 holds to-day qua Turkey, and which he enunciated a few 
 weeks ago at Norwich. 
 
 He then said : 
 
 ** My present view is that whatever treaty may have 
 been concluded in 1856, it is idle to say that the British 
 policy has now to be bound by it as if it was a treaty 
 concluded yesterday. It is not a treaty which can bind 
 us to such a degree that, if we think another policy is
 
 70 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 required, we are not to be allowed to change our 
 policy." 
 
 Now a treaty may be described as an instrument 
 embodying stipulated conditions under which the parties 
 affected have agreed they can live in peaceful accord 
 with each other. Again, a treaty is generally the natural 
 consequence of a dispute or disagreement which may or 
 may not have been settled after armed conflict. 
 
 At any rate, it represents the convictions and inten- 
 tions of the parties interested in the settlement of such 
 disputes. It is the most solemn form of contract known 
 to mankind, regulating not simply the interests of 
 individuals, but the present and future welfare of 
 nations. 
 
 Infractions and infringements are only to be dealt 
 with in two ways : First, by moral suasion ; secondly, 
 by force of arms. In the latter event the treat}' no 
 longer exists. 
 
 No statute of limitations governs a treaty. It is in 
 force so long as the parties abide by its conditions, and 
 the withdrawal from it, or wilful infraction of any of its 
 provisions, by one party to it, constitutes no reason why 
 the other should acquiesce in this act of repudiation or 
 should change the policy which had been evolved from 
 the mature deliberations of the wise and prudent men 
 at the head of the nations interested. 
 
 In other words, violation of a treaty by one party 
 affords no reason for a change of policy by the other. 
 On the contrary, such violation should operate as a 
 stimulus to maintain manfully the policy which originates 
 the treat}' itself.
 
 EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION 71 
 
 Let us now apply Lord Kimberley's dictum at 
 Norwich to the situation in 1881. The Boers having 
 violated the terms of the Sand River Treaty of 1852 
 " British policy was no longer to be bound by it as if 
 it was a treaty concluded yesterday," and therefore a 
 change of policy to his mind was necessary. But even 
 so, I do not see how this doctrine can be applicable to 
 the position he had then to confront, because only 
 three years before we had been compelled to 
 annex the Transvaal to save our colonists and the 
 Boers themselves, from the consequences of their 
 impotence, and to prevent bloodshed throughout South 
 Africa. 
 
 But here we have the key-note to all the events which 
 subsequently transpired in 1884, ^^^ ^o the contempt 
 for the conventions always manifested by the Boers. 
 Not only did Lord Kimberley's declaration of policy 
 prejudice and affect the minds of two of the Com- 
 missioners when dealing with the apportionment of 
 territory, but astute Hollanders, ever at the elbow of 
 these illiterate though cunning Boers, learnt from this 
 despatch, when published and laid before Parliament, 
 this miserable history of weakness. And more, from 
 our Blue Books they became rightly convinced, between 
 1 88 1 and 1884, that only a little pressure was required 
 to be put on the men who were in office prior to the 
 Convention to gain all that they desired ; that is to say, 
 the abrogation of the leading principles which, in the 
 Convention of 1881, Mr, Gladstone's Cabinet had 
 guaranteed in the name of Her Majesty as sacred and 
 binding. 
 
 Englishmen, and indeed men of every nationality who
 
 72 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 have taken up their abode in the Transvaal, or who 
 have invested their money in that country, must feel 
 profoundly thankful that at this hour there is a reason- 
 able hope that British policy will not be conducted on 
 such weathercock principles. 
 
 And now let us see what the Convention of 1881 
 comprised.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 CONVENTION OF i8Si 
 
 Never during the long reign of the Queen has this 
 realm been placed before the world in such a humilia- 
 ting light by responsible advisers of the Crown as in its 
 relations with the Transvaal State. Her Majesty's 
 ministers in 1880 had before them the history of our 
 transactions with the Boers extending over long years ; 
 for in despatches, reports and statements, trustworthy 
 officials on the spot had repeatedly furnished un- 
 impeachable evidence not only of the Boers' incapacity 
 for rule, but also of their utter disregard of all treaties 
 or conventions. Moreover, all the circumstances which 
 had impelled the Crown to annex the Republic and our 
 recent wars with Sekukuni and Cetewayo, which arose 
 out of Boer impotence and threatened at one time to 
 turn South Africa into a vast charnel-house, were within 
 their immediate ken. 
 
 Nevertheless, the pledges of different Cabinets were 
 broken, solemn promises made by high officials set 
 aside, and the rights of those persons who, placing 
 reliance on such pledges and promises, had taken up 
 their abode and invested their money in the country, 
 were trampled on by Mr. Gladstone and his Ministers
 
 74 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 under the flimsy cloak of s^'mpathy with an oppressed 
 race struggling for liberty. 
 
 Lest there should be any misapprehension as to the 
 promises which had been made to the inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal State, or that Her Majesty's Government 
 were ignorant of them, I will quote from a memorial 
 presented to the Ro3'al Commissioners on May 20, 
 1 88 1,* and from a petition addressed to the House of 
 Commons by the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal.t 
 
 " Nor is it necessary to dilate upon the panic which 
 has taken place since the peace, and which has been 
 made public through the press. The Committee of 
 Loyal Inhabitants is informed that the banks intend 
 leaving, and all credit is suspended. Some part of the 
 panic may be due to temporary excitement, but the 
 want of confidence must be permanent, as the Boers 
 have no money, and no one will lend them any. 
 English capitalists certainly will not, nor are the 
 Hollanders, busy as they have been in fanning the 
 agitation which has helped towards the peace, likely to 
 spend much money in the country after the experience 
 the}' have had of the Delagoa Ba}' railway scheme. It 
 cannot be long before the State is again insolvent, 
 unless it is helped from without ; and the circumstances 
 under which the Boer Government is likely to be carried 
 on, judging from past experience, will not invite capital 
 into it. Hence there will necessarily follow a lasting 
 depreciation of the value of property, and the fears of 
 the claimants, expressed in some of the affidavits, that 
 
 * See Blue Book C 31 14, pp. 179 and 180. 
 f See Blue Book C 31 14, pp. 1S3 and 184.
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 75 
 
 the depreciation will be at least 50 per cent, of the 
 value, are certainly not beyond the mark. 
 
 " But there is another aspect at which to look at the 
 question. Not only is there a contract for compensa- 
 tion to be implied from the acts of the British Govern- 
 ment, but there are promises and pledges, amounting 
 to an ' express warranty,' contained in speeches and 
 in proclamations, and made in the most solemn and 
 authoritative manner, by Prime Ministers, by colonial 
 secretaries, by governors, and by administrators, and in 
 fact by almost every person who has had right or 
 authority to bind the English Government since the 
 annexation. It is not necessary to quote every pro- 
 clamation and every speech, as their general effect is 
 matter of common knowledge, and cannot be unknown 
 to your Excellencies. Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley, Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Owen 
 Lanyon, have all declared repeatedly that the country 
 could not be given back. Sir Garnet Wolseley used 
 the remarkable expression more than once that the 
 Transvaal would remain British territory as long as the 
 sun shone ; and it will be seen by reference to the 
 affidavits that this emphatic declaration from so high an 
 authority was the immediate and direct cause of several 
 persons investing money in landed property in the 
 Transvaal. But it was not only governors and 
 administrators who gave utterance to such declara- 
 tions ; Earl Beaconsfield, when at the head of affairs in 
 England, made statements to the same effect, as also 
 did Lord Carnarvon, then the Colonial Secretary', and 
 his successor in office, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. The 
 latter, in a letter to Sir Owen Lanyon announcing the
 
 76 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 establishment of a Provisional Government, dated the 
 20th November 1879, and published in the Government 
 Gazette of the 8th January 1880, uses such remark- 
 able words that we must quote them at length. He 
 says : 
 
 " * It would not be possible, and if possible, it would 
 be injurious to the country, to re-establish the form of 
 government which existed before the 12th April, 1877. 
 The interests of the large native population, who now 
 (with the exception of Sikukuni and those associated 
 with him) are quiet and contented ; of the European 
 settlers, who have acquired property in the Province, in 
 the full belief that the annexation will be maintained ; 
 and of the peaceful and industrious residents in and 
 about Pretoria, and other centres of population, in 
 whose hands is nearly all the commerce of the country, 
 have apparently been entirely disregarded by those who 
 would deprive them of the advantages which they 
 desire to retain under the authority of the Crown.' 
 
 " It is perhaps unnecessary to explain that the con- 
 cluding words do not refer to the British Government, 
 but to the Boer agitators. 
 
 " The pledges of the Beaconsfield Government were 
 endorsed by Mr. Gladstone, on his taking office, in a 
 special manner in May 1880, and again on the outbreak 
 of the war ; and Lord Kimberley, the present Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies, stated publicly, and his state- 
 ment was, we believe, published in the Government 
 Gazette, that under no circumstances could Her Majesty's 
 dominion over the Transvaal be relinquished."
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 77 
 
 "To the Honourable the Commons of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament 
 assembled. 
 
 " The humble Petition of the Loyal Inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal. 
 
 " Sheweth : 
 
 That the country now known as the Transvaal 
 was forcibly taken possession of, in or about the year 
 1836, by emigrant Boers from the Cape Colony, who 
 were at the time British subjects. 
 
 "That the natives, to whom the country then 
 belonged, were either driven out of the country, or 
 reduced to a state of subjection or servitude. 
 
 "That by the Sand River Convention in 1852, the 
 emigrants were permitted by the British Government 
 to establish themselves as an independent Republic, 
 subject to certain conditions. 
 
 "That from the year 1852 up to the year 1877 the 
 country remained subject to a Boer Republican 
 Government, when the British Government exercised 
 its dormant authority, and annexed it to England. 
 
 " That on repeated occasions since the annexation, 
 successive Governors of the Transvaal have given 
 pledges by proclamation and by word of mouth that the 
 country would remain British territory, and would not 
 be restored to the Boers, and that in particular by a 
 proclamation, dated October 7th, 1879, Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley stated that, in order to remove an}' doubt as 
 to the maintenance of British authority, he made it 
 known that the Transvaal would continue to be an 
 integral portion of Her Majesty's dominions, and on
 
 7S BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 more than one occasion he stated that the Transvaal 
 would remain British territory as long as the sun 
 shone. 
 
 " That Mr. Gladstone, who was then Prime Minister of 
 England, stated in reply to a memorial addressed to 
 him by the loyal inhabitants of Pretoria about May 
 1880, that he had already informed the Boer repre- 
 sentatives, who had addressed him, that the annexation 
 could not be rescinded, endorsing the pledges and 
 declared policy of Earl Beaconsfield, his predecessor 
 in office ; and that Lord Kimberley, the Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies, in a telegram to Sir Owen 
 Lanyon, the Administrator of the Province, and in 
 order to allay doubts which had arisen in consequence 
 of the continued agitation of the Boers, said, that under 
 no circumstances could Her Majesty's dominion over 
 the Transvaal be relinquished. 
 
 " That inasmuch as Her Majestj^'s Government exer- 
 cised the supreme control of the affairs of the Province, 
 and werecognisant of the whole question in all its bear- 
 ings from the commencement, including the position 
 taken by Boer agitators during the later part of the period 
 in question, and that they had notwithstanding declared 
 so repeatedly and in such unmistakable terms that the 
 annexation would never be rescinded, and especially so 
 lately as last year, your petitioners were justified in 
 concluding that the British nation had irrevocably and 
 after the utmost deliberation determined that under all 
 circumstances the Transvaal should remain under 
 British rule. 
 
 " That firmly relying upon these solemn pledges, and 
 confiding in the steadfastness of purpose and fidelity to
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 79 
 
 obligations which have up to the time of the present ill- 
 advised treaty made the name of England respected by 
 civilised and savage nations alike, and fully believing 
 that her ancient traditions would never permit her to 
 break her word, numbers of British subjects and 
 European immigrants settled in the country with a view 
 of making it their home, and invested largely in land 
 and property, on the strength of the security and pro- 
 tection afforded by British rule. 
 
 " That the value of property increased at least three- 
 fold during the English occupation, and that the 
 increase progressed in a ratio correspondent with the 
 reliance placed on the promises of English officials. 
 Indeed, some of your petitioners are prepared to state, 
 on oath if required, that they invested money immedi- 
 ately after or in direct consequence of a statement made 
 by a Governor of the Transvaal or a Minister of the 
 British Crown. 
 
 "That the towns are almost exclusively inhabited by 
 loyal subjects, and English farmers and traders are 
 scattered all over the country. 
 
 " That the inhabitants of European or Cape extrac- 
 tion, a large proportion of whom have settled in the 
 country since the English occupation, form at the lowest 
 estimate one in seven of the white population, and are 
 in the possession of from one-third to one-half of the 
 property, exclusive of Crown Lands. The total white 
 population is not more than 40,000, while the natives 
 are estimated at about 700,000. In Pretoria alone 
 during the late war 4300 people, not including the 
 military, took shelter in the camp from the Boers, and 
 were rationed by the Government.
 
 So BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 " That a large number of the Boer population, who 
 had learned to appreciate the advantages of a settled 
 rule, refused to fight against the British during the late 
 war, and took refuge, some in laagers of their own and 
 others among the natives. The unexpected termina- 
 tion of the war presses with peculiar hardness on these 
 loyal Boers, as it renders it impossible for them to 
 return in safety to their homes, and has practically 
 ruined them as a reward for their loyalty and trust in 
 the honour of England." 
 
 In face of the above facts, even Mr. Gladstone and 
 his Cabinet could not for very shame altogether 
 repudiate the acts of their predecessors as well as 
 their own plighted word, and one cannot help con- 
 cluding that either he and his colleagues were over- 
 whelmed b}' a wave of moral cowardice, such as never 
 before overtook any British Ministry, or were feverishly 
 anxious to justify themselves to their constituents and 
 to the country at large so as to retain office. 
 
 For even whilst indulging in a parade of mock 
 sentiment, they were secretly abasing themselves before 
 the Boers, as we learn from Lord Kimberley's telegrams 
 to Sir George Colley and Sir Evelyn Wood, and later, 
 on the death of the former, they set aside the advice of 
 his military successor on the spot, and from day to day 
 wailingly ordered him to truckle to the Boer leaders, in 
 order to obtain their consent to terms of peace. 
 
 Nor could Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet ignore the obliga- 
 tions entailed on them by the annexation, for they were 
 driven to confront the altered circumstances which had 
 arisen since April 1S77. It was this, doubtless, which
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 81 
 
 led Mr. Gladstone himself, before he assumed the garb 
 of sentiment, to make the statement in 1880 already 
 recorded. And however anxious, a little later on, he 
 and his Ministers might have personally been to eat the 
 leek, the large majority of Englishmen at home were 
 not so frightened as to forget that the Crown had 
 duties to both loyal Boers and other inhabitants 
 who had settled in the country after its annexation. 
 Further, the obligations towards the large native 
 population under our protection or control had to be 
 taken into account, and, that even when making a 
 humiliating peace, some regard for Imperial pledges 
 and authority had to be exhibited. Therefore, although 
 Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet, through Lord Kimberley, had 
 fettered their own Commissioners b}- the statement 
 that " Her Majesty's Government were averse on 
 general grounds of policy to the extension of British 
 territory in South Africa," we must assume that, 
 setting aside the question of territorial acquisition, all 
 other conditions embraced in their instructions clearlj-^ 
 showed the length to which Mr. Gladstone and his 
 colleagues could go in any settlement. 
 
 For future guidance, then, let us examine the nature 
 of Lord Kimberley's instructions. I append below 
 those most pertinent to our present consideration — the 
 full text will be found in the Appendix, 
 
 " Instructions. 
 
 "The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley to 
 Sir Hercules Robinson, G.C.M.G. 
 
 " It may be desirable that the Commission should, in 
 the first instance, address itself to the principal points 
 
 F
 
 82 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 referred to in the general terms of settlement, agreed to 
 by Sir E. Wood with the Boer leaders, a summary of 
 which is contained in his telegram to me of March 2ist,* 
 and, to some extent, further explained in subsequent 
 telegraphic correspondence. I may recapitulate them, 
 as follows : 
 
 " The Transvaal State is to enjoy complete self- 
 government under the suzerainty of the Queen; the 
 control of its relations with foreign Powers being reserved 
 to the British Government. 
 
 ** A British Resident f nay be appointed at the capital 
 of the Transvaal State, with such functions as Her 
 Majestys Govermnent may determine on the recom- 
 mendation of the Commission. 
 
 ** The Commission is to consider provisions for the 
 protection of native interests. 
 
 " The Commission is further to consider whether any 
 portion, within certain limits, mentioned in my telegram 
 to Sir E. Wood, of March I7th,t should be severed from 
 the country now included in the Transvaal Province. 
 
 "There is to be no molestation for political opinion 
 either way, and a complete amnesty is to be accorded 
 to all who have taken part in the present war, 
 excepting only persons who have committed, or are 
 directly responsible for, acts contrary to the rules of 
 civilised warfare. 
 
 " Immunity from civil process is guaranteed to the 
 Boer leaders, individually and collectively, for acts 
 done in reference to the war until self-government is 
 accorded, and the question of compensation to either 
 
 * No. 123 of (C 2837) March 1881. 
 t No. 115 of (C 2S37) March 1881.
 
 CONVENTION OF iS8i 83 
 
 side, for acts not justified by necessities of war, is 
 remitted to the Commission to judge what acts were 
 justified. 
 
 " Besides these principal points there are some other 
 matters referred to in the agreement entered into by 
 Sir E. Wood, as reported in his telegrams to me, and 
 there are further points not mentioned by him, which 
 will have to be provided for in the final settlement. 
 Of the latter the most important are the determination 
 of a boundary line in the territory known as the Keate 
 award, the payment of the public debt of the province, 
 and the recognition of all lawful acts done by the 
 Government during the British occupation. I will deal 
 in order with the various points to which I have 
 referred. 
 
 " Entire freedom of action will be accorded to the 
 Transvaal Government so far as is not inconsistent 
 with the rights expressly reserved to the suzerain 
 Power. The term suzerainty has been chosen as most 
 conveniently describing superiority over a State pos- 
 sessing independent rights of government subject to 
 reservations with reference to certain specified matters. 
 
 " The most material of these reserved rights is the 
 control of the external relations of the future Transvaal 
 State, which will be vested in the British Government, 
 including, of course, the conclusion of treaties and the 
 conduct of diplomatic intercourse with foreign Powers. 
 
 "As regards comtnunication with foreign Govern- 
 ments, it will probably be found most convenient that the 
 Transvaal Government should correspond on such matters 
 with Her Majesty's Government through the Resident and 
 the High Commissioner.
 
 84 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 *' There remains, for consideration under this head, the 
 manner in which the relations with the independent 
 native tribes beyond the frontier should be conducted. 
 The general superintendence of these relations would 
 seem naturally to fall within the functions of the 
 British Resident under the direction of the High 
 Commissioner. It will be for the Royal Commissioners, 
 after examination of the whole question, to recommend 
 what should be the precise limits of the powers 
 assigned to the Resident in regard to this important 
 matter. You will bear in mind that the objects to be 
 aimed at are to preserve the peace of the frontier, and 
 to maintain a course of policy conducive generally to 
 the interest and tranquillity of the whole of South 
 Africa, and that Her Majesty's Government have no 
 desire to interfere with the local administration beyond 
 what may be indispensable for the furtherance of these 
 objects." 
 
 Thus the terms of settlement agreed on between Sir 
 Evelyn Wood and the Boer leaders on March 21 were 
 to form the basis of any definitive understanding. 
 Now, the first stipulation laid down was that Her 
 Majesty as suzerain should control all the foreign 
 relations of the State for all time, even to the extent 
 that it could have no intercourse with outside Powers 
 save through British diplomatic officials. In every 
 sense of the word the new State was to be a vassal of 
 the Crown, and not an independent sovereign power. 
 Then, as paramount authority, Her Majesty would 
 guarantee to all inhabitants of the new State complete 
 self-government under Hcrsuzerainty^ and the enjoyment
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 85 
 
 of all civil rights to every person then resident in the 
 country, as well as to those who should hereafter take 
 up their abode therein, subject to defined conditions. 
 
 Especial care was to be taken for the proper provision 
 of native interests, and Her Majesty's own Resident 
 Officer was to be charged with their protection. 
 
 Now the terms demanded, and already generally 
 acceded to on March 21, are set forth in this misnamed 
 Convention of 188 1. I say misnamed, because a con- 
 vention or treaty is usually an agreement arrived at 
 between two or more independent States. In this 
 instance it was a guarantee by Her Majesty that a 
 vassal State should be accorded complete self-govern- 
 ment subject to conditions imposed by her as suzerain. 
 
 This guarantee was to extend to all the inhabitants 
 of the country, and if a section of them, to the detriment 
 of others, wilfully broke the conditions under which that 
 guarantee had been given, all the other aggrieved parties 
 could call on the suzerain to enforce the guarantee. 
 
 That this can be the only interpretation is clear from 
 the document itself. Unlike any ordinary treaty or 
 convention, it commences without preamble or recitals, 
 and in bold and terse language declares what the 
 suzerain accords to the inhabitants of the Transvaal 
 State, subject* of course to their compliance with the 
 terms thereinafter set forth. 
 
 It commences thus : * 
 
 ^^ Her Majesty's Commissioners for the settlement of 
 the Transvaal Territory, duly appointed as stick by a 
 Commission passed under the Royal Sign Manual and 
 * Blue Book C 11 14, p 37.
 
 86 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Signet bcarmg date April 5, 1881, do hereby undertake 
 and guarantee on behalf of Her Majesty that^ from and 
 after the Zth day of August, 1881, complete self-govern- 
 ment, subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs 
 and successors, will be accorded to the inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal Territory, upon the folloiving terms and con- 
 ditions, and subject to the following reservations and 
 limitations^ 
 
 To appreciate the intention of the parties, as expressed 
 in this document, we must remember that though Her 
 Majesty's Commissioners discussed these conditions 
 with men representing a section of the Transvaal 
 community which had recently' taken up arms, there 
 were others to be considered whose lives, property and 
 interests Her Majesty was bound to safeguard. These 
 were : 
 
 (i) Loyal Boers. 
 
 (2) British Colonists, and foreigners who had settled 
 mainly through, and after, the annexation ; and 
 
 (3) Native tribes. 
 
 Before the " Convention " was drafted, long confer- 
 ences took place between the Commissioners and the 
 Boer leaders, and every point which subsequently 
 became one of the conditions set forth in the different 
 articles of the Convention was carefully threshed out 
 between them. The Boers in opposition then, beyond 
 all others, were bound by these terms, conditions, 
 limitations and reservations, inasmuch as they alone 
 were admitted to discuss and accept the form, nature, 
 and spirit of the Convention, to which they afterwards 
 affixed their names. It is plain that Her Majesty's
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 87 
 
 object was that all sections should become united, that 
 all should enjoy equal rights and privileges, and thus 
 cement relations with each other, founded on principles 
 of equity and justice. Hence, at the very outset, we 
 find that the chief pledge Her Majesty gave was a 
 guarantee of complete self-government to all the 
 inhabitants of the Transvaal Territory, and not to 
 those Boers alone who had recently been in arms 
 against her authority. 
 
 Self-government naturally involves the right of each 
 person to the franchise, subject to the restrictions or 
 qualifications imposed by law, and as this right had 
 such an important bearing on the mutual relations of 
 the members of this mixed community, it is essential 
 for us to inquire what qualification was needful at the 
 time to enable a man to become a burgher, or to vote 
 for members of the Volksraad. A reference to the 
 Blue Book shows that this question presented itself to 
 the minds of the Commissioners, and that they were 
 anxious to learn from the Boer leaders what was the 
 position of a foreigner, or outlander, coming into the 
 country under the Grondwet at the time of annexation. 
 Mr. Kruger, as we gather from his explanation, was 
 desirous of creating a good impression on the Com- 
 missioners, and he made distinct statements and 
 promises which they undoubtedly believed, and accord- 
 ingly, when framing their article, safeguarding to each 
 person an equality of civil rights, they did so in the 
 spirit and with the intent that no alteration should at 
 any time be made in the law, by which an outsider 
 might be hindered in acquiring the privileges of a 
 burgher. The following extracts from the discussion
 
 88 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 prior to the signing of the Convention are instruc- 
 tive.* 
 
 "Question 239. Sir H. Robinson. — Before annexa- 
 tion, had British subjects complete freedom of trade 
 throughout the Transvaal ; were they on the same 
 footing as citizens ? 
 
 " 240. Mr. Kruger. — They were on the same footing 
 as the burghers ; there was not the slightest difference 
 in accordance with the Sand River Convention. 
 
 "241. Sir H. Robinson. — I presume you will not 
 object to that continuing ? 
 
 " 242. Mr. Kruger. — No, there will be equal protec- 
 tion for everybody. 
 
 " 243. Sir E. Wood. — And equal privileges ? 
 
 " 244. Mr. Kruger. — We make no difference as far 
 as burgher rights are concerned. There may perhaps 
 be some slight difference in the case of a young person 
 who has just come into the country. 
 
 "245. — There are no disabilities with regard to trade 
 are there ? 
 
 "246. Mr. Kruger.— No." 
 
 At page 53 of the same book we find that at a 
 subsequent meeting Dr. Jorissen, in Mr. Kruger's 
 presence, corrected Mr. Kruger's answer to Sir E. Wood. 
 
 " 1037. Dr. Jorissen. — At No. 244 the question was : 
 
 ' Is there any distinction in regard to the privileges or 
 
 rights of Englishmen in the Transvaal ? ' and Mr. 
 
 Kruger answered, ' No, there is no difference ' ; and then 
 
 * Blue Book C 3219, p. 24.
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 89 
 
 he added, * there may be some sUght difference in the 
 case of a young person just coming into the country.' 
 I wish to say that that might give rise to a wrong 
 impression. What Mr. Kruger intended to convey was 
 this : according to our law a new-comer has not his 
 burgher rights immediately. The words young person 
 do not refer to age, but to the time of residence in the 
 Republic. According to our Grondwet (Constitution) 
 you have to reside a year in the country. 
 
 " 1038. Sir H. de Villiers. — Is the oath of allegiance 
 required from a person, not being born in the Trans- 
 vaal, coming to reside there, who claims burgher 
 rights ? 
 
 ** 1039. Dr. Jorissen. — In the law relating to the 
 franchise there is a stipulation for the oath of allegiance 
 to be taken to the State. 
 
 " 1040. — Then it is not every burgher who has a 
 vote ; it is only the burghers who have taken the oath 
 of allegiance that have a vote ? 
 
 " 1 04 1. Dr. Jorissen. — Yes, the last revision of that 
 law was made in 1876." 
 
 Now enactments of the Volksraad, and the Boers' 
 fundamental constitution, their Grondwet, must be 
 taken as being within the cognisance of the parties at 
 the time this Convention was signed, and therefore we 
 are compelled to interpret the different articles embraced 
 in the Convention according to the intention and know- 
 ledge of those who agreed to them. It is evident that 
 the Boers conveyed to the minds of the Royal Com- 
 missioners that they were desirous to increase by every 
 means possible the number of burghers, for in a
 
 90 
 
 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 previous despatch addressed to the Commissioners by 
 the Triumvirate respecting the boundaries, they state 
 that if certain steps were taken these " would prevent 
 the much desired affihation of the colonists of different 
 nationalities throughout South Africa." 
 
 What then does this mean ? Nothing short of the 
 facts already contended for — that at that time, if the 
 Boer leaders were sincere (which Her Majesty's Com- 
 missioners had every right to believe them to be) they 
 desired, in order to benefit their country, and to make 
 the nation more powerful, to give Burgher Rights under 
 their laws existing before 1877, to persons of any 
 nationality whatever, who might dwell within their 
 borders. Her Majesty's Commissioners, on their side, 
 not merely safeguarded the rights of the inhabitants, as 
 well as those who might in future settle there, under Her 
 Majesty's guarantee, from the 8th day of August 1 881, to 
 the enjoyment of complete self-government, but in the 
 Convention they gave effect to the desire of the Boer 
 leaders, as expressed by themselves. 
 
 There are other civil rights, however, besides the 
 exercise of the franchise, as the Commissioners were 
 aware, and, to protect each section of the community, 
 they took every precaution to particularise and express 
 in the terms and conditions what benefits the inhabitants 
 of the country were to enjoy in common, under Her 
 Majesty's guarantee of self-government to all. 
 
 For example, Article 12 of the Convention declares: 
 
 "That all persons holding property in the State on 
 the 8th day of August 1881, will continue to enjoy the 
 rights of property which they have enjoyed since the
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 91 
 
 annexation. That no person who has remained loyal 
 to Her Majesty during the recent hostiHties shall suffer 
 by reason of his loyalty, and that all persons will have 
 full liberty to reside in the country, with enjoyment of 
 all civil rights and protection for their persons and 
 property." 
 
 Again, by Article 26 it was established : 
 
 "That all persons conforming to the laws of the 
 Transvaal State will have full liberty to enter, travel, or 
 reside in any part of the State, they will be entitled to 
 possess or hire houses, manufactories, warehouses, 
 shops and premises. They may carry on their commerce 
 either in person or by any agents whom they may think 
 fit to employ, they will not be subject in respect of their 
 persons or property, or in respect of their commerce or 
 industry to any tax, whether general or local, other than 
 those which are, or may be, imposed on the Transvaal 
 citizens." 
 
 But this is not all. To provide against any legislation 
 to the detriment or injury of the rights of persons then 
 resident, or to the rights of future comers into the land 
 under the guarantee of Her Majesty, it was expressed 
 in Article 3 of the said Convention that : 
 
 " Until altered by the Volksraad or other competent 
 authority all laws, whether passed before or after the 
 annexation of the Transvaal Territory to Her 
 Majesty's dominions, shall, except in so far as they are 
 inconsistent with or repugnant to the provisions of
 
 92 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 this Convention, be and remain in force in the said 
 State in so far as they shall be applicable thereto : 
 Provided that, in the future, enactments specially 
 affecting the interests of natives shall have no force or 
 effect in the said State without the consent of Her 
 Majesty, her heirs or successors, first being obtained 
 and signified through the British Resident : Provided 
 further that in no case will the repeal or amendment of 
 any laws which have been enacted since the annexa- 
 tion have a retrospective effect so as to invalidate any 
 acts done or liabilities incurred by virtue of such 
 laws." 
 
 It is evident, then, that all the parties were agreed that 
 no law should be passed which would alter or rescind 
 those then in force, relating to rights inter se. Such 
 alterations if made would be repugnant to the pro- 
 visions of the Convention, and, therefore, until a 
 Volksraad, thoroughly representative of the inhabitants, 
 was summoned all laws then in existence were to be 
 maintained. And this is natural, for until a Volksraad 
 properly constituted were elected, no change could be 
 legally made in the Grondwet, and further, that in the 
 case of natives, the inhabitants of the country through 
 their Volksraad could pass no enactments interfering 
 with, or affecting, native interests without the consent of 
 Her Majesty being first obtained and signified through 
 the British Resident. 
 
 Great stress, as we have seen, was laid on the appoint- 
 ment of a British Resident to represent the suzerain, 
 nor was this desire confined to Her Majesty's Ministers. 
 The Boer leaders, when they wanted to hoodwink Her
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 93 
 
 Majesty's Commissioners on the eastern boundary 
 question, pointed out to them what a blessing such an 
 appointment would confer on the Boers themselves. 
 Read by the light of what transpired later, this bit of 
 hypocrisy must be regarded as a gem.* 
 
 *' The constant presence in the capital of the country 
 of Her Majesty's representative, his prestige as such, his 
 constant counsel and advice, will, if necessary, remove 
 every difficulty which may arise, but which we as 
 honourable men are not able to foresee. Experience 
 has taught us that the very absence of such a high 
 placed diplomatic person in our Republic has created 
 the greatest misunderstanding, which gave cause ta the 
 annexation." 
 
 Those worthies who signed the above statement were 
 S. R Kruger, M. W. Pretorius, P. J. Joubert, E. 
 Jorissen, J. S. Joubert. 
 
 There is no article of this '* Convention " more explicit 
 or more emphatic than Article 2, which declares the 
 rights Her Majesty reserves, as paramount power, over 
 her vassals. 
 
 "Article 2. — Her Majesty reserves to herself, her 
 heirs and successors, (a) the right from time to time to 
 appoint a British Resident in and for the said State, 
 with such duties and functions as are herein-after 
 defined ; (b) the right to move troops through the said 
 State in time of war, or in case of the apprehension of 
 immediate war between the Suzerain Power and any 
 
 * May II, 1881. Despatch from Boer leaders, C 31 14, p 63.
 
 94 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Foreign State or Native Tribe in South Africa ; and 
 (c) the control of the external relations of the said State, 
 including the conclusion of treaties and the conduct of 
 diplomatic intercourse with Foreign Powers, such inter- 
 course to be carried on through Her Majesty's diplomatic 
 and consular officers abroad." 
 
 Her Majesty's first reservation then was ** the right 
 from time to time to appoint a British Resident in and 
 for the said State, with such duties and functions as 
 are herein-after defined," and in Article i8 those duties 
 and functions are set out in the plainest manner : 
 
 "Article i8. The following will be the duties and 
 functions of the British Resident : — Sub-section i. He 
 will perform duties and functions analogous to those 
 discharged by a Charge d'Aflfaires and Consul-General. 
 
 " Sub-section 2. In regard to natives within the 
 Transvaal State he will (a) report to the High Com- 
 missioner, as representative of the Suzerain, as to the 
 working and observance of the provisions of this 
 Convention ; (b) report to the Transvaal authorities 
 any cases of ill-treatment of natives or attempts to 
 incite natives to rebellion that may come to his know- 
 ledge ; (c) use his influence with the natives in favour 
 of law and order ; and (d) generally perform such other 
 duties as are by this Convention entrusted to him, and 
 take such steps for the protection of the person and 
 property of natives as are consistent with the laws of 
 the land. 
 
 " Sub-section 3. In regard to natives not residing in 
 the Transvaal (a) he will report to the High Com-
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 95 
 
 missioner and the Transvaal Government any encroach- 
 ments reported to him as having been made by 
 Transvaal residents upon the land of such natives, 
 and in case of disagreement between the Transvaal 
 Government and the British Resident as to whether 
 an encroachment has been made, the decision of the 
 Suzerain will be final ; (b) the British Resident will 
 be the medium of communication with native chiefs 
 outside the Transvaal, and, subject to the approval of 
 the High Commissioner, as representing the Suzerain, 
 he will control the conclusion of treaties with them ; 
 and (c) he will arbitrate upon every dispute between 
 Transvaal residents and natives outside the Transvaal 
 (as to acts committed beyond the boundaries of the 
 Transvaal) which may be referred to him by the parties 
 interested. 
 
 " Sub-seciion 4. Ijt regard to communications with 
 Foreign Powers, the Transvaal Government will corre- 
 spond with Her Majesty's Government through the 
 British Resident and the High Co7nmissioner." 
 
 Another important reservation was the right to move 
 troops through the said State in time of war, but the 
 reservation considered at the time, and which events 
 subsequent thereto have proved most necessary, was the 
 right to control the external relations of the said State, 
 including not merely the conclusion of treaties, but the 
 conduct of its diplomatic intercourse with foreign 
 Powers, and all such intercourse was to be carried on 
 through Her Majesty's consular and diplomatic officers 
 abroad. 
 
 With regard to natives also, the functions to be
 
 96 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 performed b}' the British Resident were proper and 
 salutary, and were, in fact, entirely in accord with 
 the views expressed by Mr. Kruger and his friends. 
 
 There are many other provisions in the Convention, 
 relating to boundaries, native locations, settlement of 
 debts, &c., but none of them materially aftect the 
 questions of to-day as between Her Majesty as suzerain 
 and the Boer Oligarchy, (An exact copy will be found 
 in the appendix.) 
 
 Article 32 only need be mentioned : 
 
 " This Convention will be ratified by a newl}' elected 
 Volksraad within the period of three months after its 
 execution, and in default of such ratification this Con- 
 vention shall be null and void." 
 
 It was beyond a doubt understood that this new 
 Volksraad should be elected by all the inhabitants who 
 were entitled to vote, but this provision was not com- 
 plied with, and thus the first infringement of the 
 compact was winked at by Her Majesty's Ministers. 
 The " Convention " was signed at Pretoria on August 
 3, 1 881, by Hercules Robinson, President and High 
 Commissioner; Evelyn Wood, Major-General ; J. H. 
 de Villiers. 
 
 Let us now recapitulate the rights conceded by Her 
 Majesty to the inhabitants of the Transvaal, as set forth 
 in the Convention of 1881. 
 
 1st. Self-government, with the franchise guaranteed 
 to all inhabitants under laws then existing.
 
 CONVENTION OF 1881 97 
 
 2nd. Full liberty to reside in the State, to possess 
 houses, manufactories, warehouses, etc. 
 
 3rd. To carry on commerce, either in person or by 
 agents, and to be subject to no taxation whatever other 
 than might be imposed on Transvaal citizens. 
 
 And lastly. No law should be passed inconsistent with 
 or repugnant to the provisions of this Convention. 
 
 Hence we see that any alteration in the laws then 
 existing, extending the time or altering the conditions 
 under which aliens might obtain Burgher Rights in the 
 State, any laws which interfered with the free enjoy- 
 ment of property, or the personal liberty of such alien, 
 or any law fettering him in the exercise of his trade, 
 commerce, or industry, or in the establishment of 
 manufactories, is a direct violation of this Convention, 
 and that all persons so aggrieved have a perfect right, 
 morally, legally and equitably, to require from Her 
 Majesty the fulfilment of her guarantee. 
 
 Whatever was demanded by the Commissioners, and 
 acceded to hf the Boer representatives with whom 
 they conferred, must be taken to be the definite con- 
 clusions of both sides, and whatever is expressed 
 within the four corners of the Convention is to be 
 taken as the spirit of the agreement, and the intentions 
 of the parties thereto. 
 
 No evasion is possible. Each condition, reservation 
 or limitation, set out in the articles of the Convention, 
 was discussed at length by the Boer leaders before it 
 was accepted, and, as we gather from the reports of the 
 conferences, every argument which a subtle mind could 
 bring to bear upon each question under debate, was 
 
 G
 
 98 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 adduced by the able Hollander legal adviser of the 
 Boers, Dr. Jorissen, as well as by the delegates them- 
 selves. A study of what took place at these interviews 
 demonstrates the keen penetrative shrewdness of Presi- 
 dent Kruger, and his marvellous capacity for evading 
 any issue either compromising to himself, or adverse 
 to the object he has in view. 
 
 Nor must the magnificent services rendered by Sir 
 Evelyn Wood, on our side, pass unnoticed. He proved 
 himself to be more than a match for his wily adver- 
 saries. His knowledge of the facts, and his grasp 
 of the situation, appear on every page, whilst every 
 one who reads these documents must be struck 
 with astonishment at the legal acumen and diplomatic 
 ability displayed by this man, a soldier, not a states- 
 man.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SURRENDER OF 18S4 
 
 Ordinarily, on the settlement of a dispute, after 
 terms and conditions have been agreed to, reduced to 
 writing and signed by duly accredited representatives 
 of both opposing interests, the matter is looked upon as 
 finished, and each side considers itself bound by the 
 document so executed. Not so the Boers. If they 
 fail to get their own way in a deal, they consider that 
 they have been wronged, and must at once set to work 
 to redress the imagined grievance, for the fact of 
 having to submit to any restrictions, real or fancied, is 
 in their eyes an aggravation of the injustice done them. 
 Bearing this in mind, one can readily account for the 
 conduct of Mr. Kruger and his co-signatories when they 
 faced their Volksraad and produced the " Convention " 
 for ratification. 
 
 Secretly, they had stirred up the members of that 
 body, who were all like themselves disaffected, to 
 protest against the terms and conditions which the 
 Triumvirate had signed. This protest was lodged with 
 the object of reopening the whole question when a 
 favourable opportunity offered, and although the mem- 
 bers of the Volksraad sanctioned the Convention, they
 
 loo BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 did so with the understanding that every step would be 
 taken to have its provisions speedily upset. 
 
 Their objections and alternatives were mainly as 
 follows : 
 
 (i) Instead of the direction of foreign affairs by Her 
 Majesty's Government, there should only be super- 
 vision thereof. 
 
 (2) There should be no interference with the future 
 legislation of the country, either with regard to the 
 white inhabitants, or to measures affecting the interest 
 of native tribes. 
 
 (3) The Resident should simply be the representa- 
 tive of the Sovereign, but should possess no further 
 authority. 
 
 (4) The Transvaal should receive compensation from 
 Great Britain, for the territory east and west which 
 had been taken, and that the debts of the country 
 should only be paid by the burghers after those debts 
 had been proved lawfully to exist. 
 
 Mr. Kruger came over again to this country with the 
 object of advocating the reconstruction of the Convention 
 on these lines. Whilst here, he and his able legal 
 adviser who accompanied him, had ample opportunities 
 afforded them, not only of studying from our Blue Books 
 the policy which Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet had laid 
 down to the Royal Commissioners in 1881, but also 
 the trend of British affairs generally, the condition 
 of Ireland, at that time, occupying the attention of 
 the Government in such a manner as to exclude all 
 minor considerations ; such for instance as the affairs of
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 loi 
 
 the Transvaal State. Although they had to depart 
 from England without having effected any change in 
 the Convention, they were well aware that, as long as 
 the Liberal Government kept in office, there was every 
 hope of eventual success in the direction at which they 
 were aiming, viz., at all hazards and by every means 
 to destroy or evade its provisions. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that these objects were 
 continually kept in view by the Boer delegates, and no 
 blame can possibly attach to them or to the other 
 leaders of the movement, determined like themselves to 
 get rid of every obligation imposed by the Convention, 
 Their desire was to render the Transvaal territory free 
 from control of Her Majesty as suzerain, and they 
 naturally took advantage of the weakness and vacillation 
 evinced by the Government of the day, to become 
 emancipated from all surveillance. 
 
 These Commissioners, profiting by the knowledge 
 gained in England, on their return to Pretoria proceeded 
 to disseminate their views amongst the Boers, and 
 agitated within and without the Volksraad to have 
 those Articles of the Convention which were repugnant 
 to their notions of freedom either recast or expunged. 
 Now, from the manner in which the Boers were even 
 then treating the Suzerain in the question of the 
 franchise by flagrantly setting the Convention at 
 defiance, they felt they could advance their pretensions 
 with impunity, and, no matter what their action, 
 that Mr. Gladstone's Ministers would never cause a 
 shot to be fired against them to enforce Her Majesty's 
 authority. 
 
 For, in open disregard of Article 3, a law was passed
 
 I02 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 in 1882 providing that, before a new comer could 
 become naturalised and acquire full rights of citizenship, 
 he must have resided in the country for a period of five 
 years, must have been registered on the Field Cornet's 
 list for that period, and pay a sum of £2$. This law, 
 opposed to the spirit and intent of the Convention of 
 1 88 1, was actually in force in 1884, and was passed 
 unquestioned by Her Majesty's Government when, in 
 that year, the second Convention was signed in 
 London. 
 
 It is not surprising, then, that in 1884, after all their 
 experience of British indecision and apathy, the Boers 
 should make another bold effort to cancel all, or as many 
 as they could, of the terms, conditions, reservations, 
 and limitations obnoxious to them, but which they had 
 accepted scarcely two and a half years before. Once 
 more President Kruger accompanied by two delegates, 
 Mr. S. J. du Toit and Mr. N. J. Smit, visited England 
 to try and accomplish the object for which he had 
 incessantly striven, this time with a clever Hollander 
 lawyer named Beelaerts van Blockland in his train, and 
 without loss of time they approached Mr. Gladstone 
 and Lord Derby, then Colonial Secretary. These 
 Boer envoys knew their own minds, they determined to 
 wipe out from the Convention of 1881 every article 
 which militated against their independence as a Sove- 
 reign State, or which fettered in any way their right to 
 frame laws affecting the interests of the Uitlander. 
 
 They did not quite succeed in carrying out the 
 programme in its entirety, but a comparison of the two 
 conventions shows that they went a long way towards 
 it. Judging them from their own standpoint, the aims
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 103 
 
 of these Boer delegates were lofty and patriotic, and 
 because they took advantage of the weakness or 
 shiftlessness of their opponents, praise rather than 
 censure should be awarded them. But what can be 
 said in defence of those responsible Ministers of the 
 Crown, who had pledged Her Majesty in 1881 to 
 guarantee to all the inhabitants of the Transvaal 
 complete self-government, and the enjpyment of all 
 civil rights under her Suzerainty? THie changes in 
 the second Convention are more than startling. In 
 the first place, no allusion is even made to the Suzerainty 
 of the Queen, or to Her Majesty's guarantee set out at the 
 commencement of the Convention 0/ 188 1 1 
 
 That the omission was made designedly there can be 
 no doubt, and indeed, to-day the Boers allege that 
 under the 1884 Convention no Suzerainty exists. 
 That, in fact, Her Majesty through her Ministers 
 contracted herself out of the exercise of all suzerain 
 authority, save only the shred of it expressed in 
 Article 4, whereby the South African Republic agreed 
 not to conclude any "treaty or engagement with any 
 State or nation other than the Orange Free State, nor 
 with any native tribe to the eastward or westward of 
 the Republic, until the same has been approved by Her 
 Majesty the Queen." 
 
 The fallacy of such a contention is apparent when 
 these two documents are compared, for be it clearly 
 understood that no alteration was made in the form of 
 guarantee of complete self-government, given by Her 
 Majesty in 188 1, to all inhabitants of the Transvaal 
 State subject to her Suzerainty. Unlike the declaration 
 at the commencement of the 1881 Convention, there is
 
 104 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 a preamble to the Convention of 1884, setting forth the 
 reasons for the modification of articles embodied in its 
 predecessor and, when we construe the legal and 
 binding effect of this later agreement, that preamble 
 must be taken in conjunction with Her Majesty's former 
 declaration in 1881, as Suzerain, which was in no 
 way abrogated or even mentioned in the Convention of 
 1884. 
 
 It will then be made clear to the most obtuse intellect 
 that Her Majesty's rights as Suzerain remain intact, 
 Her guarantee holds good, and the 1881 Convention in 
 these respects is in full force subject solely to the 
 articles of the Convention 0/1884 being substituted for 
 those 0/ 1 88 1. 
 
 A glance at the preamble alluded to above will 
 demonstrate the accuracy of my deductions. 
 
 Whereas . . . that the Convention ratified by the 
 Volksraad of the Transvaal State, " on the 25th October 
 1 88 1, contains certain provisions which are incon- 
 venient, and imposes burdens and obligations from 
 which the said State is desirous to be relieved, and 
 that the South-western boundaries of the said State 
 should be amended, with a view to promote the peace 
 and good order of the said State, and of the countries 
 adjacent thereto ; and, whereas, Her Majesty the Queen 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, has been pleased to take 
 the said representations into consideration : Now, 
 therefore. Her Majesty has been pleased to direct, 
 and it is hereby declared that the following articles 
 of a new Convention . . . shall, when ratified by the 
 Volksraad of the South African Republic, be substituted
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 105 
 
 for the articles embodied in the Convention of 3rd August, 
 1881." 
 
 Not the articles alone, but the entire convention of 
 1 88 1, was inconvenient to the Boers, and imposed 
 burdens and obligations on the State, from which Paul 
 Kruger, his burghers, and Hollander friends, naturally 
 wished to be relieved ; and, indeed, the most important 
 article of all they had abrogated, as we have seen, 
 during the interval, without the formality of consulting 
 Her Majesty. This was by the law passed by the 
 Volksraad in direct violation of the Convention of 188 1, 
 enlarging the time for an alien to become enfranchised 
 from two to five years. 
 
 But, it must be confessed that these Boers succeeded 
 in obtaining more relief than even they anticipated. 
 Mr. Gladstone and his Ministers agreed to a change of 
 name from the Transvaal State, insisted on in 1881, to 
 that of the South African Republic, thus favouring the 
 contention now put forward that the Transvaal must no 
 longer be considered a vassal State, but an independent 
 Sovereign Power. 
 
 The Boers desired to be relieved of the "burden and 
 obligations " of having a British Resident to intervene 
 in any question between them and natives, and they 
 had also discovered that it might prove extremely 
 "inconvenient" if the Suzerain should exercise her 
 right to move troops through the Transvaal in time of 
 war. But still more onerous was it that the Transvaal 
 State could only conduct its diplomatic intercourse with 
 Foreign Powers through British channels ; therefore, 
 those articles of the Convention of 1881, embracing
 
 io6 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 these stipulations, were all calmly expunged from the 
 Convention of 1884. 
 
 How Mr. Gladstone and his Cabinet came not only to 
 countenance, but also to sanction, these Boer-cum- 
 Hollander pretensions remains a mystery. We can 
 only conclude that Her Majesty's Government were 
 either so weak, or so deaf to all sacred obligations 
 towards others, or so afraid that they lost their heads. 
 Even at this day, with all the faults and failures of 
 Mr. Gladstone's Irish policy before us, one is at a loss 
 to imagine what influences were brought to bear on the 
 Cabinet at that time sufficient to ensure the signal 
 triumph of these Boer and Hollander envoys; Re- 
 member, no change of Ministry had taken place. The 
 men who were eager to tear up the terms and con- 
 ditions imposed by themselves in the Convention of 
 1 88 1, held office in 1884 with one exception. Lord 
 Kimberley was no longer Colonial Secretary, and Lord 
 Derby reigned in his stead. So that those responsible 
 advisers of the Crown could not allege that their policy 
 on this question was contrary to that of another 
 political party who had imposed the terms of the 
 former Convention two and a half years before. 
 
 They possessed a full knowledge of all the facts as 
 reported to them at the time, and since that period, by 
 their own distinguished and trusted officials. They 
 had their own despatches, based on those reports, before 
 them to refer to. They had listened to and had rejected 
 the arguments and allegations which the Boers advanced, 
 and yet they deliberately set aside as valueless their 
 former convictions, and departed from the rules which 
 ordinarily guide English statesmen. In short, this
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 107 
 
 group of politicians sacrificed the rights of every man 
 who had unfortunately trusted to their compact, and 
 surrendered to President Kruger and his advisers the 
 most important conditions, limitations, or reservations, 
 which two and a half years before they had promised, 
 in the name of Her Majesty, that the Boers, and 
 indeed, all the inhabitants of the Transvaal, would be 
 compelled to observe. 
 
 To make my contention perfectly plain, I append, 
 below, the declaration of 188 1, in parallel columns with 
 the preamble of the Convention of 1884, and also those 
 articles of the earlier Convention side by side with what 
 was substituted for them in 1884. By this means every 
 one will be enabled to form his own opinion of the 
 diplomatic victory gained over Her Majesty's " Little 
 Englanders " by the Boer envoys and their distinguished 
 Hollander adviser, who, it is said, drafted the Convention. 
 
 Convention of 1881. 1884. 
 
 Her Majesty's Commis- Whereas the Govern- 
 sioners for the Settlement ment of the Transvaal 
 of the Transvaal territory, State, through its Dele- 
 duly appointed as such by gates, consisting of Ste- 
 a Commission passed under phanus Johannes Paulus 
 the Royal Sign Manual Kruger, President of the 
 and Signet, bearing date said State, Stephanus 
 the 5th of April 1881, do Jacobus Du Toit, Superin- 
 hereby undertake and tendent of Education, and 
 guarantee on behalf of Her Nicholas Jacobus Smit, a 
 Majesty that, from and member of the Volksraad, 
 after the 8th day of Au- have represented that the 
 gust 1 88 1, complete self- Convention signed at Pre-
 
 io8 
 
 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 government, subject to the 
 suzerainty of Her Majesty, 
 her heirs and successors, 
 will be accorded to the 
 inhabitants of the Trans- 
 vaal territory, upon the 
 following terms and con- 
 ditions, and subject to the 
 following reservations and 
 limitations : — 
 
 toria on the 3rd day of 
 August 1 88 1, and ratified 
 by the Volksraad of the 
 said State on the 25th 
 October 1881, contains 
 certain provisions which 
 are inconvenient, and im- 
 poses burdens and obliga- 
 tions from which the said 
 State is desirous to be re- 
 lieved, and that the south- 
 western boundaries fixed 
 by the said Convention 
 should be amended, with 
 a view to promote the 
 peace and good order of 
 the said State, and of the 
 countries adjacent there- 
 to ; and whereas Her 
 Majesty the Queen of the 
 United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland has 
 been pleased to take the 
 said representations into 
 consideration : Now, there- 
 fore. Her Majesty has been 
 pleased to direct, and it is 
 hereby declared, that the 
 following articles of a new 
 Convention, signed on be- 
 half of Her Majesty by 
 Her Majesty's High Com- 
 missioner in South Africa,
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 
 
 109 
 
 the Right Honourable Sir 
 Hercules George Robert 
 Robinson, Knight Grand 
 Cross of the Most Distin- 
 guished Order of Saint 
 Michael and Saint George, 
 Governor of the Colony of 
 the Cape of Good Hope, 
 and on behalf of the 
 Transvaal State (which 
 shall herein-after be called 
 the South African Re- 
 public) by the above- 
 named Delegates, Ste- 
 phanus Johannes Paulus 
 Kruger,Stephanus Jacobus 
 Du Toit, and Nicholas 
 Jacobus Smit, shall, when 
 ratified by the Volksraad 
 of the South African Re- 
 public, be substituted for 
 the articles embodied in 
 the Convention of 3rd 
 August 1881 ; which latter, 
 pending such ratification, 
 shall continue in full force 
 and effect. 
 
 Article II. — Her Majesty 
 reserves to herself, her heirs 
 and successors, {a) the right 
 from time to time to appoint 
 a British Resident in and for 
 the said State, with sucli 
 duties and functions as are 
 
 Article IV. — The South 
 African Republic will con- 
 clude no treaty or engage- 
 ment with any State or nation 
 other than the Orange Free 
 State, nor with any native 
 tribe to the eastward or west-
 
 110 
 
 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 herein-after defined ; (b) the 
 right to move troops through 
 the said State in time of war, 
 or in case of the apprehension 
 of immediate war between the 
 Suzerain Power and any 
 Foreign State or Native 
 Tribe in South Africa ; and 
 (c) the control of the external 
 relations of the said State, 
 including the conclusion of 
 treaties and the conduct of 
 diplomatic intercourse with 
 Foreign Powers, such inter- 
 course to be carried on through 
 Her Majesty's diplomatic and 
 consular officers abroad. 
 
 ward of the Republic, until 
 the same has been approved 
 by Her Majesty the Queen. 
 
 Such approval shall be con- 
 sidered to have been granted 
 if Her Majesty's Government 
 shall not, within six months 
 after receiving a copy of such 
 treaty (which shall be de- 
 livered to them immediately 
 upon its completion), have 
 notified that the conclusion 
 of such treaty is in conflict 
 with the interests of Great 
 Britain or of any of Her Ma- 
 jesty's possessions in South 
 Africa. 
 
 Article HI . — Until altered 
 by the Volksraad, or other 
 competent authority, all laws, 
 whether passed before or after 
 the annexation of the Trans- 
 vaal territory to Her Ma- 
 jesty's dominions, shall, ex- 
 cept in so far as they are 
 inconsistent with or repug- 
 nant to the provisions of this 
 Convention, be and remain in 
 force in the said State in so 
 far as they shall be applicable 
 thereto, provided that no 
 future enactment especially 
 affecting the interest of na- 
 tives shall have any force or 
 effect in the said State, with- 
 out the consent of Her Ma- 
 jesty, her heirs and successors, 
 first had and obtained and 
 signified to the Government 
 
 [No corresponding Article 
 appears.]
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 
 
 III 
 
 of the said State through the 
 British Resident, provided 
 further that in no case will 
 the repeal or amendment of 
 any laws enacted since the 
 annexation have a retrospec- 
 tive effect, so as to invalidate 
 any acts done or liabilities 
 incurred by virtue of such 
 laws. 
 
 Akticle XII. — All persons 
 holding property in the said 
 State on the 8th day of Au- 
 gust 1881 will continue after 
 the said date to enjoy the 
 rights of property which they 
 have enjoyed since the annex- 
 ation. No person who has 
 remained loyal to Her Ma- 
 jesty during the recent hostili- 
 ties shall suffer any molesta- 
 tion by reason of his loyalty, 
 or be liable to any criminal 
 prosecution or civil action for 
 any part taken in connection 
 with such hostilities, and all 
 such persons mil have full 
 liberty to reside in the coun- 
 try, with enjoyment of all 
 civil rights, and protection 
 for their persons and pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Article XIII. — Natives 
 will be allowed to acquire 
 land, but the grant or transfer 
 of such land will, ip every 
 case, be made to and register- 
 ed in the name of the Native 
 
 Article VII.— All persons 
 who held property in the 
 Transvaal on the 8th day of 
 August 1 88 1, and still hold 
 the same, will continue to 
 enjoy the rights of property 
 which they have enjoyed since 
 the i2th April 1877. No per- 
 son who has remained loyal 
 to Her Majesty during the 
 late hostiUties shall suffer any 
 molestation by reason of his 
 loyalty; or be liable to any 
 criminal prosecution or civil 
 action for any part taken in 
 connection with such hostili- 
 ties ; and all such persons 
 will have full liberty to reside 
 in the country, with enjoy- 
 ment of all civil rights, and 
 protection for their persons 
 and property. 
 
 Article XIX.— The Go- 
 vernment of the South African 
 Republic will engage faithfully 
 to fulfil the assurances given, 
 in accordance with the laws 
 of the South African Republic,
 
 112 
 
 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Location Commission, herein- 
 after mentioned, in trust for 
 such natives. 
 
 Article XIV. — Natives will 
 be allowed to move as freely 
 within the country as may be 
 consistent with the require- 
 ments of public order, and to 
 leave it for the purpose of 
 seeking employment else- 
 where or for other lawful 
 purposes, subject always to 
 the pass laws of the said 
 State, as amended by the 
 Legislature of the Province, 
 or as may hereafter be en- 
 acted under the provisions of 
 the Third Article of this Con- 
 vention. 
 
 to the Natives at the Pretoria 
 Pitso by the Royal Commis- 
 sion in the presence of the 
 Triumvirate and with their 
 entire assent, (i) as to the 
 freedom of the natives to buy 
 or otherwise acquire land 
 under certain conditions, (2) 
 as to the appointment of a 
 commission to mark out na- 
 tive 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 pur- 
 pose, under a pass system. 
 
 Article XVI. — The pro- 
 visions of the Fourth Article 
 of the Sand River Convention 
 are hereby re-affirmed, and 
 no slavery or apprenticeship 
 partaking of slavery will be 
 tolerated by the Government 
 of the said State. 
 
 Article VIII. — The South 
 African Republic renews the 
 declaration made in the Sand 
 River Convention, and in the 
 Convention of Pretoria, that 
 no slavery or apprenticeship 
 partaking of slavery will be 
 tolerated by the Government 
 of the said Republic. 
 
 Article XVIII.— The fol- 
 lowing will be the duties and 
 functions of the British Resi- 
 dent : — 
 
 Sub-section i. He will per- 
 form duties and functions 
 analogous to those discharged 
 by a Charge d'Affaires and 
 Consul-General. 
 
 Sub-section 2,. In regard to 
 
 Article III. — If a British 
 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 Repub- 
 lic.
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 113 
 
 natives within tlie Transvaal 
 State he will (a) report to the 
 High Commissioner, as repre- 
 sentative of the Suzerain, as 
 to the working and observ- 
 ance of the provisions of this 
 Convention ; {b) report to the 
 Transvaal authorities any 
 cases of ill-treatment of na- 
 tives or attempts to incite 
 natives to rebellion that may 
 come to his knowledge ; (c) 
 use his influence with the 
 natives in favour of law and 
 order ; and (d) generally per- 
 form such other duties as are 
 by this Convention entrusted 
 to him, and take such steps 
 for the protection of the per- 
 son and property of natives 
 as are consistent with the 
 laws of the land. 
 
 Sub-section 3. In regard to 
 natives not residing in the 
 Transvaal (a) he will report 
 to the High Commissioner 
 and the Transvaal Govern- 
 ment any encroachments re- 
 ported to him as having been 
 made by Transvaal residents 
 upon the land of such natives, 
 and in case of disagreement 
 between the Transvaal Go- 
 vernment and the British 
 Resident as to whether an 
 encroachment has been made, 
 the decision of the Suzerain 
 will be final ; (b) the British 
 Resident will be the medium 
 of communication with native
 
 114 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 chiefs outside tlie Transvaal, 
 and, subject to the approval 
 of the High Commissioner, as 
 representing the Suzerain, he 
 will control the conclusion 
 of treaties with them ; and 
 (c) he will arbitrate upon 
 every dispute between Trans- 
 vaal residents and natives 
 outside the Transvaal (as to 
 acts committed beyond the 
 boundaries of the Transvaal) 
 which may be referred to him 
 by the parties interested. 
 
 Sub-section 4. In regard to 
 communications with foreign 
 powers, the Transvaal Go- 
 vernment will correspond with 
 Her Majesty's Government 
 through the British Resident 
 and the High Commissioner. 
 
 Article XXIV. — The in- 
 dependence of the Swazis 
 within the boundary line of 
 Swaziland, as indicated in the 
 First Article of this Conven- 
 tion, will be fully recognised. 
 
 Article XII. — The inde- 
 pendence of the Swazis, within 
 the boundary line of Swazi- 
 land, as indicated in the first 
 Articleof this Convention, will 
 be fully recognised. 
 
 Article XXV. — No other 
 or higher duties will be im- 
 posed on the importation into 
 the Transvaal State of any 
 article the produce or manu- 
 facture of the dominions and 
 possessions of Her Majesty, 
 from whatever place arriving, 
 than are or may be payable 
 on the like article the produce 
 or manufacture of any other 
 
 Article XIII. — Except in 
 pursuance of any treaty or 
 engagement made as provided 
 in Article IV. of this Conven- 
 tion, no other or higher duties 
 shall be imposed on the im- 
 portation into the South 
 African Republic of any article 
 coming from any part of Her 
 Majesty's dominions than are 
 or may be imposed on the like
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 
 
 "5 
 
 country, nor will any prohibi- 
 tion be maintained or imposed 
 on the importation of any 
 article the produce or manu- 
 facture of the dominions and 
 possessions of Her Majesty, 
 which shall not equally ex- 
 tend to the importation of the 
 like articles being the produce 
 or manufacture of any other 
 country. 
 
 article coming from any other 
 place or country ; nor will any 
 prohibition be maintained or 
 imposed on the importation 
 into the South African Re- 
 public of any article coming 
 from any part of Her Majesty's 
 dominions which shall not 
 ecpally extend to the like 
 article coming from any other 
 place or country. And in like 
 manner the same treatment 
 shall be given to any article 
 coming to Great Britain from 
 the South African Republic 
 as to the Uke article coming 
 from any other place or coun- 
 try. 
 
 These provisions do not pre- 
 clude the consideration of 
 special arrangements as to 
 import duties and commercial 
 relations between the South 
 African Republic and any of 
 Her Majesty's colonies or 
 possessions. 
 
 Article XXVI.— All per- 
 sons, other than natives, con- 
 forming themselves to the 
 laws of the Transvaal State 
 (a) will have full liberty with 
 their families to enter, travel, 
 or reside in any part of the 
 Transvaal State ; (b) they will 
 be entitled to hire or possess 
 houses, manufactures, ware- 
 houses, shops, and premises ; 
 (c) they may carry on their 
 commerce either in person 
 
 Article XIV. — All persons, 
 other than natives, conform- 
 ing 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 
 possesshouses, manufactories, 
 warehouses, shops, and pre- 
 mises ; (c) they may carry on 
 their commerce either in per-
 
 ii6 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 or by any agents whom they 
 may think fit to employ ; 
 (d) they will not be subject, in 
 respect of their person or pro- 
 perty, or in respect of their 
 commerce or industry, to any 
 taxes, whether general or 
 local, other than those which 
 are or may be imposed upon 
 Transvaal citizens. 
 
 Article XXVIL— All in- 
 habitants of the Transvaal 
 shall have free access to the 
 Courts of Justice for the pro- 
 tection and defence of their 
 rights. 
 
 son or by any agents whom 
 they may think fit to employ ; 
 (d) they will not be subject, in 
 respect of their persons or 
 property, or in respect of 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. 
 
 [No corresponding Article 
 appears.] 
 
 With what little respect the Boers regard any con- 
 ditions embodied in a solemn compact, we gather further 
 from their conduct at the time these negotiations were 
 in progress for the substitution of Articles in the Con- 
 vention of 1884, for those assented to in 1881. For 
 example, no boundary line was ever considered sacred, 
 and Transvaal Boers at that very period had trekked 
 over the border into territory under British protection, 
 established themselves therein, and Her Majesty's 
 Government were compelled to send a strong force 
 under Sir Charles Warren to drive them out, the 
 cost of that expedition to the taxpayers of this country 
 being upwards of one million sterling. 
 
 Their triumph over Mr. Gladstone in 1884 was for 
 some time of no real value to the Boers, for, left to 
 themselves, they sank back into the same financial 
 slough which had engulphed them before annexation
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 117 
 
 became a necessity in 1 877. Taxes were not paid and 
 revenue could not be raised. In addition, miners who, 
 during the annexation, had been successfully working 
 goldfields in different parts of the Transvaal, notably 
 in the Barberton, Lydenburg, and Zoutpansberg districts, 
 became distrustful of the Government, and either dis- 
 continued developments or opened up no new ground. 
 
 To such a pitch of depression did the Boers arrive, 
 that it was seriously mooted to ask Her Majesty to 
 again come to their rescue and administer the country. 
 However, about the year 1886, a sudden change came 
 about, without their seeking, which relieved them from 
 the throes of incipient bankruptcy. This was the 
 discovery of gold in payable quantities in Witwaters- 
 rand, and the rush of men consequent on these finds 
 put a very different complexion on the Boers' financial 
 position. Emigrants poured into the district, capital 
 was attracted, and suddenly a city, Johannesburg, 
 sprang up far exceeding in population and importance 
 Pretoria itself. Then came the opportunity of Boer and 
 Hollander, and they were not slow to avail themselves 
 of the chances Dame Fortune threw in their way. 
 Instead of fostering this great industry by passing 
 liberal measures for the common good, they regarded it 
 only as a means whereby the lucky few in power could 
 extort plunder. The Boers in the swim, with the aid of 
 their Hollander subordinates, amassed wealth beyond 
 the dreams of avarice. They looked on the Uitlander, 
 whose money filled their pockets, as a mere instrument 
 sent by the Almighty for their special benefit. Corrup- 
 tion became rampant, and all consideration for Conven- 
 tions or obligations was thrown to the winds the instant
 
 ii8 BOERS AND LITTLE EN GLANDERS 
 
 it stood in the way of Boer and Hollander aggrandise- 
 ment. 
 
 Concessions and monopolies in defiance of the Con- 
 vention were granted in shoals to those who were 
 willing to share profits with the inner ring. At first, 
 whilst the new comers were rapidly making and losing 
 fortunes through wild-cat gambling concerns, little 
 attention was paid to Boer cupidity or impositions, but 
 as soon as matters had sobered down, and this seething 
 community learnt that the extraction of gold even in 
 Witwatersrand must be conducted on business princi- 
 ples, a sudden change set in. 
 
 When it became apparent that honest returns in the 
 shape of dividends must be paid to those shareholders 
 in other countries who had invested mone}' in these 
 mining enterprises, every one naturally looked to the 
 Government not to impose restrictions which would kill 
 the industry. But, here again, Hollander astuteness 
 and Boer cunning were under-estimated. The former 
 went on making hay while the sun shone, the latter 
 through greed, ignorance and race hatred, looked on 
 the Uitlander as his natural prey. In making these 
 statements, however, it is necessary to use discrimina- 
 tion, for my remarks apply mainly to the little circle in 
 office at Pretoria. The Boer outside this coterie has 
 not suf^cient intelligence to enable him to understand 
 how he is being hoodwinked. A sop is thrown to one 
 by the payment of ;^300 per annum as a member of the 
 Second Volksraad, to another by an appointment to a 
 salaried post created especially for him in his district. 
 All each one knows is that the Government at Pretoria 
 pays him, and in consequence he does what is required.
 
 SURRENDER OF 1884 119 
 
 Still the Boer on the Veldt is a factor with which we 
 shall have to reckon. One continuous cry is echoed 
 from Pretoria all throughout the Transvaal. " Your in- 
 dependence is threatened by the Uitlander, be prepared 
 to fight as your fathers did in defence of this sacred 
 cause." By every vile means does the servile Hollander 
 press keep alive race hatred, and one day, not far distant, 
 if great care be not exercised, Mr. Kruger, his Oligarchs 
 and Hollanders, will discover that they have raised a 
 Frankenstein which will devour them. Long ago every 
 shadow of pretence of respecting the Convention 
 vanished. The Boer-cum-Hollander Ring has excluded 
 every outsider from a share in the administration, or a 
 voice on questions of taxation and expenditure, although 
 nine-tenths of the revenue comes out of Uitlanders' 
 pockets. No alien can acquire burgher rights, neither 
 is he free to establish any business in face of a mono- 
 poly granted to others. His children must receive their 
 instruction in the public schools in Dutch ! The press 
 has been muzzled ! 
 
 The right of public meeting is denied ! He can be 
 expelled from the country at the sweet will of the 
 Executive and he has no remedy before the tribunals 
 of Justice. Until the repeal of the immigration law 
 recently announced, he could not move freely in 
 and out of the country without a pass, thus being 
 on the same footing as a Kaffir. And, lastly, the 
 authority of the Supreme Court has been practically 
 subordinated to the whims or rascality of about thirty 
 men, who comprise the Executive and the so-called 
 Conservative majority in the Volksraad. And yet we 
 are told that no steps should be taken by the Suzerain
 
 120 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 to protect the inhabitants of the Transvaal, to whom 
 she guaranteed complete self-government and the enjoy- 
 ment of all civil rights ! 
 
 Still less has any inquiry been made into the treat- 
 ment Kaffirs have received at the hands of the Boers. 
 All Her Majesty's duties towards the unfortunate 
 natives were conveniently ignored in 1884, when the 
 functions of the British Resident were deliberately 
 excluded from the new Convention. This dereliction 
 has been most serious, for every Uitlander as well as 
 Kaffir in the South African Republic is labouring under 
 the effects of Mr. Gladstone's cowardly surrender of 
 supervision over the truculent Boer in his relations to 
 the black man, and at any moment retribution may be 
 exacted. To appreciate this we must examine into the 
 injuries already inflicted on some native tribes, and 
 must remember that others ma}' be exposed any day 
 to similar treatment by these uncivilised Boers.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 
 
 Persons who picture the ordinary Boer as a model of 
 piety, rough and rude, but honest and deeply religious, 
 form a very highly coloured estimate of his character. 
 On the contrary, at heart and in habits he is the same 
 narrow-minded bigot, with the identical notions of his 
 right to enslave the Kaffir, as was his father the 
 Voortrekker. The old Testament is his standard, and 
 he rarely wanders beyond its first four Books. 
 
 Of the doctrines of forgiveness, charity and mercy, 
 as exemplified in Christ's teaching, he is absolutely 
 ignorant, and, had Trooper Halkett been a Boer, our 
 Lord's words would have made no more impression on 
 him than on a rock. 
 
 Boer proneness to enslave the black man was mani- 
 fested by the Sand River Convention, wherein a special 
 clause was inserted to prevent this practice. All to no 
 avail, and again, in 1881, it was deemed imperative, in 
 view of the infractions of the Sand River Convention 
 relating to slavery, again to insert the declaration in 
 the Convention of that date. Once more it was 
 embodied in the Convention of 1884, Article 8 of which 
 runs thus: "The South African Republic renews the
 
 122 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 declaration made in the Sand River Convention and in 
 the Convention of Pretoria, that no slavery will be 
 tolerated by the Government of the said Republic." 
 
 In defiance of this Article, I maintain that in many 
 districts, under the form of apprenticeship, Kaffir 
 children and youths have been over and over again 
 enslaved by the Boers. Let us proceed by steps. In 
 the Blue Book, C 1776, p. 9, presented to both Houses 
 of Parliament in April 1877, there appears a graphic 
 extract from the Cape Argus, dated December 9, 
 1876, descriptive of atrocities committed on Kaffir 
 tribes by the Boers, both in 1868 and at that date. 
 This account corresponds so nearly with what I 
 witnessed with my own e3^es in 1895, that I append a 
 portion of that extract, and later I shall proceed to 
 narrate what has come under my own observation. 
 
 "In the year 186S, a public meeting was held at 
 Potchefstroom, in the Transvaal, to consider the war 
 then going on with natives in the district of Zoutpans- 
 berg. Some statements were made at that meeting 
 which have a singular relation to what is now going on 
 in the district of Lydenburg. In 1868 innocent blood 
 was shed by commandoes, and Government officers were 
 guilty of treachery. Such things are done again in 
 1876. Lest we should be charged with exaggeration, 
 we shall let our witnesses speak for themselves. First ; 
 as to the atrocities mentioned at the meeting in 1868. 
 One of the speakers was the Rev. Mr. Ludorf, and, 
 according to a report of the proceedings at the meeting, 
 he said, * That on a particular occasion a number of 
 native children, who were too young to be removed,
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 123 
 
 had been collected in a heap, covered with long grass 
 and burnt alive ; other atrocities had also been com- 
 mitted, but these were too horrible to relate.' Called 
 upon to produce proof of this horrible story, the 
 reverend gentleman named his authority in a solemn 
 declaration to the State Attorney. At the same meet- 
 ing, Mr. J. G. Steyn, who had been Landdrost of 
 Potchefstroom, said : ' There now was innocent blood 
 on our hands which had not yet been avenged, and the 
 curse of God rested on the land in consequence,' Mr. 
 Rosalt remarked that ' It was a singular circumstance 
 that in the different Colonial Kaffir wars, as also in the 
 Basuto wars, one did not hear of destitute children 
 being found by the commandoes, and asked how it was 
 that every petty commando that took the field in this 
 Republic invariably found numbers of destitute children. 
 He gave it as his opinion that the present system of 
 apprenticeship was an essential cause of our frequent 
 hostilities with the natives.' Mr. Jan Talyard said, 
 * Children were forcibly taken from their mothers, and 
 were then called destitute, and apprenticed.' Mr. 
 Daniel van Vooren was heard to say, ' If they had to 
 clear the country, and could not have the children they 
 found, he would shoot them.' So much for the state- 
 ments made regarding the sacrifice of innocent blood. 
 As to treachery, Mr. Field-cornet Furstenburg stated 
 that when he was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers 
 the Chief Katse-Kats was told to come down from the 
 mountains ; that he sent one of his subordinates as a 
 proof of amity ; that ivhilst a delay of five days was 
 guaranteed by Conwiandant-General Paul Krugcr, who 
 zvas then in cofutnand, orders were given at the same
 
 124 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 time to attack the natives at break of day, which ivas 
 accordingly done, hut tvJiich resulted in total failure. 
 So much for what was done in 1868. 
 
 "Let us now see what is done in 1876. We would 
 gladly give the names of our authorities here also, but 
 that it might, among other things, place their lives in 
 danger. We hear one gentleman has been threatened 
 because he is supposed to correspond with some news- 
 paper. Another tells us that it is necessary to preserve 
 the closest secrecy at present, and that it is only under 
 the protection of the British Government that the 
 whole truth could be divulged. It is reported in the 
 Natal Colonist, that letters supposed to be for news- 
 papers in the British Colonies are in some cases 
 tampered with in passing through the Transvaal. 
 Under these circumstances it is necessary, apart alto- 
 gether from the ordinary rule of keeping the name of a 
 correspondent secret, that the correspondents in the 
 Transvaal who speak the truth should be guarded from 
 the dangers apparently attached to their position. We, 
 therefore, are compelled to withhold their names, even 
 if we otherwise were disposed to give them, but we 
 pledge ourselves as to the high position and reputation 
 of our informants. Not many weeks ago a friendly 
 kraal was attacked, and women, children, and cattle 
 captured. An order from the President compelled the 
 farmers to release their victims, but threats were uttered 
 that in a short time were put into effect, Kaffir allies 
 were sent to destroy the women and children, and 
 about sixteen were put to death. There is a field-cornet 
 called Abel Erasmus, who recently visited a kraal of 
 friendly natives, when he off-saddled and partook of
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 125 
 
 the hospitality of the people, the chief giving him a 
 goat to slaughter. Thirteen natives were commandeered 
 from this kraal and accompanied an expedition com- 
 manded by Abel Erasmus. On the third day the men 
 were told to go home by Erasmus, as he intended re- 
 turning, and after they were deprived of the ammuni- 
 tion in their possession they went back to their kraal. 
 Not suspecting any danger, they were sleeping in 
 fancied security, when about dawn the next morning 
 Erasmus attacked their kraal, killed three old men who 
 were sitting round a fire, wounded a man and a woman, 
 and took six women and eighteen children prisoners. 
 He also captured a number of cattle, and threatened if 
 more were not given to kill the chief and all his people. 
 It is this same Erasmus who, according to the telegram 
 we publish to-day, has attacked another friendly chief 
 and shed more innocent blood. On this point, there- 
 fore, and it will be noted that we only give examples of 
 what takes place, 1876 is on a par with 1868." 
 
 Mr. Abel Erasmus was not dismissed after these out- 
 rages, and as time passed his zeal met with its reward 
 in his promotion to the important post of Commissioner 
 over the Lydenburg district. I am indebted to leading 
 articles in the Zoiitpansberg Review, published no longer 
 ago than the 5th and 13th of April of the present year, 
 for the exposure of this man's latest atrocities. But 
 before I quote from that journal, it is incumbent on me 
 to draw attention to the manner in which the Conven- 
 tion of 1884 lias been wilfully and contemptuously 
 broken, where the rights guaranteed to Kaffirs are 
 concerned.
 
 126 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 No person who has not hved among natives can 
 form an adequate idea of the injustice done to them, or 
 how often the rights granted them by the Convention 
 have been disregarded. These wrongs have often 
 been inflicted through the stupidity, wilful neglect, or 
 cupidity of minor Government officials, but the Govern- 
 ment itself is to blame for making such injustice possible, 
 and by framing laws in direct opposition to the spirit of 
 the agreement of 1884. Now, Article XIX. of the Con- 
 vention of that date stipulates as clearly as words can 
 express that 
 
 "The Government of the South African Republic 
 will engage faithfully to fulfil the assurances given, in 
 accordance with the laws of the South African Republic, 
 to the natives at the Pretoria Pitso by the Royal Com- 
 mission in the presence of the Triumvirate and with 
 their entire assent, 
 
 " I. As to the freedom of the natives to buy or 
 otherwise 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." 
 
 The Pretoria Pitso referred to took place at the time 
 of the retrocession in 1881, when Sir Owen Lanyon, 
 speaking on behalf of the British Government, addressed
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 127 
 
 the native chiefs and headmen who had assembled from 
 all quarters. He spoke as follows : 
 
 ** Paramount Chiefs^ Chiefs^ and Natives of the 
 Transvaal ! 
 
 " You are called together by us, the representatives 
 of the Queen of England, to be informed what Her 
 Majesty's Government has resolved to do with reference 
 to the future ruling of this country. 
 
 " You are aware that, somewhat more than four 
 years ago, the Transvaal was annexed to the posses- 
 sions 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 an- 
 nexation 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 Govern- 
 ment, 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 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
 
 128 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 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 
 it in one way or another, but the title will be registered 
 to you in the name of three gentlemen who will con- 
 stitute a Native Location Commission. The Com- 
 mission 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 recognise and respect the 
 boundaries as laid down. In the same manner the 
 different tribes will have to respect each other's loca- 
 tions, 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 Conven- 
 tion are carried out in your favour. 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, whenever he has convinced himself that the 
 natives have been maltreated, or whenever any attempt 
 has been made to induce them to rebellion. At the
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 129 
 
 same time he will always 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 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, Africander, 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 repre- 
 sentatives of the burghers regarding the ruHng of the 
 country, and if you desire more explicit information 
 regarding your rights under this agreement, 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 
 
 I
 
 I30 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 taught you that honest labour 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 coloured, will each carry out the work for 
 which they are fit ; when they will unite to forward the 
 interest of the country, and forget for ever differences 
 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. 
 
 " 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 will all go back in peace to your kraals, 
 and acquaint all your friends with the words I have 
 spoken to you this day." 
 
 Practically, the control over natives, and their 
 destinies, is exercised by one man who has recently 
 attracted attention by the part he played in the 
 Jameson raid. This personage is none other than 
 Commandant Cronje, who, as Superintendent of Natives, 
 appears to be endowed with unlimited power.
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 131 
 
 Instead of acting as a Court of Appeal in native 
 cases from the decisions of the Native Commissioners 
 he frequently, during the course of his flying visits 
 through the country, dispenses summary justice without 
 reference to the Courts. It is a matter of notoriety 
 that the present holder of the office has given cause for 
 much dissatisfaction among the natives by the scant 
 attention he pays to their complaints, and by the 
 roughness of his treatment towards them. The other 
 day at Lydenburg he personally inflicted a heavy fine 
 under most unjust circumstances. The case referred 
 to is that of the Paramount Chieftainess of Sikukuni's 
 tribe, Toerometsjani, who has been worried for a con- 
 siderable period on most frivolous pretexts. She was 
 fined ;£i47 los. by Commandant Cronje for not paying 
 taxes, although the money was offered to, and refused 
 by, him ; and this was only one of a long series of 
 persecutions and outrages which this unfortunate 
 woman has undergone. 
 
 It becomes necessary to examine into some of the 
 methods which the Boers have adopted to express their 
 contempt for the article of the Convention, referring to 
 the Pitso at Pretoria in 1881. 
 
 By an Executive resolution of January 21, 1894, 
 rules were published for dealing with native cases 
 before the Native Commissioners, and it was thereby 
 stipulated that no native could employ an agent to 
 appear on his behalf before first obtaining the sanction 
 of the Government. The necessary and farcical course 
 to be followed by the native in such a case is to make 
 application to the Native Commissioner, who in turn
 
 132 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 passes it on to the Superintendent of Natives, who 
 refers the matter to the Executive Council, who, more 
 often than not, refuses the appHcation after due con- 
 sideration. 
 
 It is therefore an ahsurdity to tell the native that the 
 Law Courts are always open to him, as the contrary is 
 the reality, and hundreds of cases have fallen to the 
 ground because the assistance of an agent has been 
 refused, or unobtainable. The native is not generally a 
 good pleader of his own cause after the fashion of the 
 white man, and the services of an agent are absolutely 
 necessary in important cases in order that he be not 
 cheated out of his rights. 
 
 The Special Court consisting of the Native Com- 
 missioner, the Superintendent of Natives, and the 
 Executive is a miserable failure, in which the natives 
 have no confidence, and the High Court is practically 
 closed to them. 
 
 Again, by Law 24 of 1895, an extra personal tax of 
 £,2 was imposed on each native, independent of the 
 ordinary hut-tax in existence at that time. This 
 measure was also not submitted for Her Majesty's 
 approval. 
 
 Law No. 21 of 1895, known as the Squatters' Law, 
 provides that no person may have more than five 
 natives on his farm, so that a native is not at liberty to 
 live where he would be likely to obtain work, for no 
 matter how willing the farmer may be to engage him, 
 he cannot go against the law by having six boys on his 
 farm. There is not much use in pointing out to the 
 native the dignity of labour when he is handicapped in 
 this fashion from obtaining it.
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 133 
 
 According to the Convention (Art. 19, sub-sec. 3) 
 the Government is bound to respect the regulations 
 detailed at the Pretoria Pitso as regards the locations 
 of natives, but this part of the agreement is more 
 honoured in the breach than in the observance, more 
 especially in the manner of surveying, placing beacons, 
 and the custody of the title-deeds. These latter im- 
 portant documents are supposed to be in the hands of 
 the Superintendent of Natives, and might as well have 
 never existed, for all the benefit they are to the native. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to add that this state of affairs 
 is distinctly opposed to Her Majesty's pledges to the 
 native chiefs in the presence of the Triumvirate, Messrs. 
 Kruger, Joubert and Pretorius. 
 
 The whole wide question of the treatment of the 
 Native tribes in the Transvaal demands immediate 
 investigation and settlement. That duty devolves upon 
 Her Majesty in her capacity as Suzerain, and is in 
 accordance with her acknowledged obligations. In the 
 early part of this book it has been shown how the 
 Boers in 1876 and 1877 could not conquer Sikukuni, 
 and that in 1879 Sir Garnet Wolseley was compelled 
 to subdue him. Therefore the fortunes of the para- 
 mount chieftainess of Sikukuni's tribe will, I venture 
 to think, be interesting to British folk. I append the 
 story of her recent sufferings taken from the Zoiitpanshcrg 
 Review of April 13, 1897 • 
 
 " Some five years ago a tribal row occurred between 
 the followers of Geluk and Sikukuni, on account of 
 which the chieftainess or Queen-Regent, Toeromets- 
 jani and her chief indunas were sent to Pretoria with
 
 134 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 her son, the juvenile paramount chief, Sikukuni, who 
 was about to be educated at the Government expense 
 with a view to the better undertaking of his duties 
 when he came of age. Gobalala, the next in rank, was 
 a trusted friend of the chieftainess and acted as her 
 deputy in the location, but was in bad odour with the 
 Native Commissioner, the notorious Abel Erasmus ; 
 while another chief, Golaan, the son of Geluk, aspired 
 to secure the paramount chieftainship for himself, and, 
 Toerometsjani maintains, that he was aided and abetted 
 by the Native Commissioner. Abel Erasmus acted the 
 role of sovereign lord of all the tribe, and was assisted 
 in all his plans and forays by Golaan, who supported 
 him through everything, with an eye to his own future 
 advantage; the majority of the tribe, however, would 
 not acknowledge Golaan as their head. The result of 
 this disturbance was that a number of Sikukuni's 
 people, who were under Gobalala, were sent to gaol at 
 Pretoria, without the slightest attempt at a judicial 
 investigation being made. 
 
 "In January 1896, some natives walked into 
 Pietersburg, a distance of about 100 miles from their 
 location in the Lydenburg district, to ask for assistance, 
 as Gobalala, who was still acting for the absent chief- 
 tainess, and his people were being attacked by Abel 
 Erasmus and his armed burghers, supplemented by a 
 number of natives belonging to the pretender, Golaan. 
 
 "The armed whites, assisted by Golaan's party, then 
 ravaged the country, seizing Gobalala's cattle and 
 goats, and shooting down a number of natives who 
 attempted to flee for their lives. The procedure 
 followed was the sending out of a mounted party under
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 135 
 
 the orders of Erasmus and the command of Schoeman, 
 to disarm any of Gobalala's people they might fall in 
 with. These unfortunates never made any organised 
 resistance, as they had only defended themselves 
 against the attacks of Golaan's people, but many gross 
 acts of cruelty were perpetrated during this disarming 
 process. A few instances may be mentioned to illus- 
 trate the cold-blooded barbarity of these proceedings. 
 A native named Hendrik Morothani, who was a 
 catechist, or following some similar calling, belonged to 
 Gobalala's tribe, and at the time of the disturbances 
 was living at Pretoria, where his chieftainess was also 
 residing, but in an unlucky moment he resolved to visit 
 his location. Before Gobalala came into Erasmus's 
 camp, a party of Golaan's men intercepted Morothani's 
 waggon and shot him and his leader dead, without the 
 slightest provocation, and took his waggon and oxen into 
 Erasmus's camp. When Gobalala arrived on the scene, 
 Erasmus told him of the shooting, and intimated that 
 he was to take it as a warning. The waggon oxen were 
 distributed among Abel Erasmus's party. 
 
 "Again, a party of burghers, assisted as usual by 
 Golaan's men (armed always with Gobalala's surren- 
 dered arms), came up to a native kraal, in which lived a 
 headman named Dingoe, and a few others, which they 
 found deserted by all except the women. They forced 
 the women to disclose the hiding-place of the men, 
 a hole in the side of a hill a short distance from 
 the kraal, and here Dingoe and four or five others 
 were concealed. The party opened fire into this hole ; 
 the natives returned the fire, but could not be dislodged, 
 although one was killed and others wounded. A fire
 
 136 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 was then kindled at the mouth of the hole, and the 
 women were compelled to fetch pots of fat to add fury 
 to the flames. As even this did not succeed, the party 
 rode away. When the natives emerged from their 
 oven they were in a terrible state, their hair, even to 
 the eyelashes, their clothing, and their wounds being 
 all severely burnt. 
 
 " Abel Erasmus and his party then began dividing the 
 spoil gathered in the several forays, each man receiving 
 so many head of cattle, and Gobalala and his men were 
 taken to Lydenburg as prisoners. 
 
 " However, before these disturbances came to an end 
 in this highly dramatic manner, Erasmus summoned 
 another chief, one N'Kwaan, who had taken no part in 
 the fighting, to bring in his men and assist this despotic 
 Native Commissioner. N'Kwaan refused to place 
 himself in the hands of Erasmus on the grounds that 
 he did not live in the location and belonged to neither 
 party, and that he was afraid, as he had previously 
 lodged complaints in Pietersburg against Erasmus for 
 taking more tax-money from him than he was entitled 
 to ; that Erasmus had not given proper receipts for the 
 tax-money he received ; and that during the Magoeba 
 war Erasmus had commanded him to pay an extra ;£2 
 a head as a war-tax, and therefore he knew that if he 
 went he would be made a prisoner, and some pretext 
 found for seizing his cattle. It is necessary to explain 
 that if this unauthorised war-tax was not paid on the 
 first day of demand, the amount was doubled on the 
 second day, trebled on the third, and so on ; and 
 that with regard to the receipts for ordinary taxes, 
 these were made out in such a purposely muddled
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 137 
 
 manner that the same person was often compelled to 
 pay taxes over and over again. Such receipts as 
 'Received from Klaas, and 19 others' were the 
 general rule, bearing only a stamp mark, and no 
 signature. 
 
 "The doubting N'Kwaan went to Pietersburg to 
 seek advice under these circumstances, when it was 
 reported that Abel Erasmus was about to attack him. 
 He caused the whole matter to be reported to General 
 Joubert, stating that he had had nothing whatever to do 
 with the disturbances, and was ready to defend himself in 
 a court of law against any charges that might be brought 
 against him. This letter had a good effect. Erasmus 
 was checkmated, and N'Kwaan was safe — so far. 
 
 ** All these combined circumstances impressed General 
 Joubert, who immediately set out for Lydenburg, 
 where he found the luckless Gobalala and his men in 
 gaol. He sent these to Pretoria to await further inves- 
 tigation, and about a week later the chieftainess 
 Toerometsjani, and her son the youthful paramount 
 chief, Sikukuni, with their headman, were allowed to 
 leave Pretoria for their location. During the time the 
 General was in Lydenburg he appointed a Commission, 
 of which Abel Erasmus was a member, to make a 
 division of the location lands for the sake of peace and 
 order, giving Gobalala's people the one side and those 
 of Golaan the other. When installing the chieftainess, 
 the General said that peace must be maintained, and 
 that he would give them time to get in their crops, after 
 which they must settle on either the one side or the 
 other. The dividing Commission gave the best grounds 
 to Golaan and his people, and much dissatisfaction was
 
 138 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 caused among the other natives who were allotted the 
 less fertile and dried-up portions. Gobalala was re- 
 leased at Pretoria by General Joubert, and a small 
 balance of his cattle that had been recovered was 
 ordered to be restored to the chieftainess. 
 
 " So matters were apparently settled, but were in 
 reality in a worse state than before, for the chieftainess 
 had no grain, as all the crops had been destroyed by 
 the filibusters, and rinderpest, locusts, and drought had 
 completed the havoc. She therefore caused a letter to 
 be written to the new Superintendent of Natives, 
 Commandant Cronje, which had to pass in its official 
 course through the hands of the Native Commissioner, 
 Abel Erasmus, begging for assistance, and asking that 
 the special tax of £2 a head, and the ordinary taxes for 
 that year, be not enforced owing to her poverty- 
 stricken condition. No reply was vouchsafed to this. 
 
 "Later on, the famine pressed so heavily on her 
 people that she asked for Government assistance in 
 mealies, stating that her people were dying from starv- 
 ation. No reply was received. 
 
 " She also wrote to Commandant Cronje asking that 
 Abel Erasmus be removed from the post of Native 
 Commissioner, as he was her enemy, and had killed 
 some of her people, and that his treatment of the 
 natives was one of persecution. This letter, like the 
 others, was sent through Erasmus, and was not 
 answered. 
 
 "When his Honour the President, accompanied by 
 Commandant Cronje, paid his visit to Pietersburg in 
 October last, a party of Sikukuni's people came over 
 from Lydenburg to state their grievances and ask help,
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 139 
 
 and Commandant Cronje said he would go over to 
 Lydenburg and see them there. 
 
 ** Erasmus now gave notice to the natives that he was 
 coming to collect taxes, and his clerk, van der Wall, 
 appeared in the vicinity of the location with a white 
 man from Johannesburg in attendance. The chief- 
 tainess explained that as all her people were starving 
 they could not pay, as they had no money. Van der 
 Wall replied that the gentleman from Johannesburg 
 who was present, would advance the money to pay the 
 taxes if she gave him a sufficient number of men to 
 work at the Rand mines. This she did not care to do, 
 as she was afraid if she took this money that she would 
 place herself in the power of the dreaded Erasmus. 
 She, however, sent messengers to Pietersburg to 
 explain the case, and endeavour to raise the money 
 there. 
 
 " The sum of £1200 was brought from Pietersburg by 
 some well-known residents of that town, and the chief- 
 tainess sent to van der Wall, who was in the location, 
 to come over to her head kraal, and receive his taxes. 
 But he refused absolutely to go to the kraal to take the 
 money. Shortly after this he sent word that he had 
 referred the matter to Pretoria. The bearers of the 
 money waited for eight days, and then returned to 
 Pietersburg. The offer to pay was afterwards renewed, 
 and again refused. 
 
 " In the early part of December, Commandant Cronje, 
 Superintendent of Natives, fulfilled his promise by 
 arriving at the location at Lydenburg and fulfilled it 
 with a vengeance. He was accompanied by Abel 
 Erasmus, Native Commissioner, David Schoeman, Sub-
 
 HO BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Native Commissioner, Winter, an ex-missionary and a 
 factotum of Erasmus, and several other white people. 
 The Superintendent sent for the chieftainess and all 
 her headmen and also for the chief N'Kwaan. He then 
 said that complaints had been laid against her by 
 Abel Erasmus, amongst other things (i) that she had 
 ordered her tribe not to pay money to the tax-collector 
 unless it was paid in her presence. (This she had 
 done in compliance with the terms of the law.) Another 
 complaint (2) against her was that when the rinderpest 
 broke out in her location she did not give proper notice 
 of the fact. (3) That the natives living outside her 
 location made complaints to her of which she took 
 notice. (This referred to some of Golaan's people who 
 through not understanding the new location arrange- 
 ment continued to live in their old quarters.) (4) That 
 some of her petty chiefs had also not reported an out- 
 break of rinderpest. (5) That she had objected to 
 Abel Erasmus as Native Commissioner, and had asked 
 that another be appointed. (6) That she made use of 
 agents, instead of stating her troubles to Abel Erasmus, 
 her Native Commissioner. (This charge was the sore 
 point of the case.) (7) That men living outside her 
 location were also ordered by her not to pay taxes unless 
 in her presence. (This charge is explained by the fact 
 that when N'Kwaan found himself pressed by Erasmus, 
 who threatened to prosecute him under the Squatters' 
 Law, he with another petty chief, came into the location 
 and settled under the chieftainess, but there was no one 
 to point out the position of the beacons, and Erasmus 
 contended that some of them had settled down just 
 outside the boundary.)
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 141 
 
 " Toerometsjani denied the truth of these charges, 
 except those about asking for the removal of Erasmus, 
 and that the taxes should be paid in a regular manner 
 in her presence, according to law. The unexpected 
 result was that, without calling witnesses, or investigat- 
 ing the matter in the slightest degree — and indeed the 
 investigation of these trumped-up charges would have 
 been a sickly farce — the chieftainess was fined £147 los. 
 and all her headmen, to the number of about twenty, 
 zvere ordered to receive twenty-five lashes each. After 
 Commandant Cronje departed the flogging was inflicted. 
 The backs of the innocent victims were severely 
 lacerated, Abel Erasmus flogging one man himself, and 
 Schoeman several others. The humorous Schoeman 
 required each man to say 'dank u baas' after his 
 flogging, and those who refused received an extra lash. 
 The Commandant violated the law of the land, and 
 his subordinates the justice of the Commandant. 
 
 "The chief N'Kwaan, with his crippled interpreter, 
 Jonathan, were also brought up to be flogged. Abel 
 Erasmus took advantage of this opportunity, and told 
 N'Kwaan that some time ago he was fined ;^ioo by 
 Schoeman as some of his girls had spread rinderpest, 
 and that he was also fined £10 for not assisting 
 Erasmus in the trouble with Gobalala, and he now 
 ordered him to pay these fines at once. This was the 
 first word the astounded N'Kwaan had heard of the 
 fines, and he begged for time to pay, but Erasmus said 
 he was only too glad to get hold of him, and both the 
 chief and his interpreter were marched off to gaol, with 
 their hands so tightly tied that their arms became 
 swollen. A Pietersburg agent sent the amount of the
 
 142 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 fines ;^iio, for the release of the prisoners, but the 
 omnipotent Erasmus would not accept it, saying 
 N'Kwaan must stay in gaol for two years, but Jonathan 
 was released. This was a nice finale to an appeal for 
 help, natives being punished on groundless complaints, 
 without evidence, law, or justice. 
 
 ** The above is but one sample of how the natives are 
 treated in one district of the country, and every district 
 has its own tale of persecution to relate. What a 
 mockery are the words of Sir Owen Lanyon to the 
 natives at the time of the retrocession, '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 owners, your interests will never 
 be forgotten or neglected by Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment, or by her representatives in South Africa.' 
 Only sixteen years ago since that promise was made, to 
 be unheeded and forgotten already I " 
 
 As it happens, my acquaintance with Boer warfare 
 against Kaffir tribes was formed in that same district 
 of Zoutpansberg, over which in 1 868, President Kruger 
 then Commandant-General, held command. Zoutpans- 
 berg possesses a fertile soil and varied climate, to an 
 extent unknown in any other portion of the Republic. 
 It stretches northwards to the Chartered Company's bor- 
 der, and eastward to Portuguese territory. It is almost 
 the last home of Kaffirs living together in a tribal state. 
 
 Now, the coach road from Pietersburg, the capital 
 of the province, to Leydsdorp in the " Low Country," 
 a distance of ninety miles, passes through some of the 
 finest scenery to be met with in the Transvaal. On
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 143 
 
 the route, mountains have to be dimbed and descended, 
 deep gorges to be negotiated, and in the rainy season 
 rapid rivers have to be forded. Yet ordinarily, setting 
 aside the dangers incidental to your driver piloting 
 eight mules and the coach at a hand gallop round a 
 bluff, where, if he gets off the track, there are only 
 a few feet between you and eternity, or if on rushing 
 a river he gets stuck, and his passengers and mules 
 run the risk of being drowned, the journey is delightful 
 to a man in good health. 
 
 On leaving Haenetsburg the road stretches for a 
 considerable distance through treeless undulating Veldt, 
 but if one is travelling after the first spring rains, the 
 grass will be found a vivid green, save where it is 
 carpeted by innumerable flowers, whilst in every dell 
 may be descried large tree ferns spreading their graceful 
 fronds, one of the features of that region. On reaching 
 the summit, and before descending, the coach is halted 
 to allow heavy steel slippers to be adjusted to the hind 
 wheels, for the way for some miles thence is perilously 
 steep. 
 
 But whilst this short stoppage is made we can look 
 around, and no man who has once been there can ever 
 forget the magnificent panorama presented to him. On 
 his left, extending for miles along the mountain slopes, 
 lie the Woodbush forests, looking in the magnificent 
 distance like an array of English parks, whilst below 
 them again is a glorious, broken, wooded landscape, 
 with here and there the bright gleam of a river, and 
 stretching away to the horizon. On the right, rise the 
 bold escarped peaks of the Drakensburg range, whilst 
 in front can be perceived a narrow, coloured thread,
 
 144 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 winding round and over a green lower range of hills, 
 indicating the road the coach must traverse ere it 
 reaches its destination. 
 
 On the top of one of these hills stood the kraal of 
 Mashuti, a minor Kaffir chief. You approached his 
 town through a picturesque gorge, climbing as you 
 proceeded ; the road on each side shaded by large trees 
 with here and there a wild banana spreading its broad 
 leaves, giving a semi-tropical appearance to the scene. 
 Embowered as it was, a traveller could form no idea of 
 the extent of this kraal from the rapid glimpse obtain- 
 able of the roofs of the huts, but it was always a 
 cheerful feature of the journey to see the small nude 
 black children, who, having no fear of the Englishman, 
 would show themselves and cheer the occupants of the 
 vehicle as it passed swiftly along. 
 
 Mashuti's people were peaceful and industrious ; 
 they cultivated mealies over a large area which he and 
 his folk had occupied for generations, and they pos- 
 sessed a considerable number of cattle, sheep, and 
 goats. They menaced no one, and never interfered 
 with the few Boer farmers in their vicinity. But in 
 1894, they had to reckon with Boer cupidity and greed. 
 Longing eyes had been cast on their herds and lands 
 by unscrupulous Field-cornets and others ; the usual 
 game began, unjust demands for hut taxes which were 
 resented ; then followed lying representations to Pre- 
 toria, only too eagerly listened to, as to the dangerous 
 character of the tribe. A commando was sent against 
 them. Naturally they attempted to defend their 
 hearths and homes, but in the end were almost wiped 
 out, their lands confiscated and their cattle, under
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 145 
 
 the name of loot, apportioned amongst their mur- 
 derers. 
 
 The attack was made just before the rainy season 
 commenced and the survivors of this poor tribe vv^ere 
 driven to seek what shelter they could with other 
 Kaffirs, or to die of starvation and exposure, as 
 numbers did, on the Veldt. When last I passed 
 Mashuti's kraal, though some time had elapsed since 
 the slaughter, I could still see vestiges of calcined clay 
 huts, and innumerable bullet marks on the stones. 
 
 Successful in this raid on Mashute, the same gang 
 adopted similar measures towards neighbouring tribes 
 in the Woodbush, whose chiefs were Magoeba and 
 Madjadjie. Here, owing to the nature of the country, 
 and the thick bush or forests into which the Kaffirs 
 retired, their task was not so easy. But a large com- 
 mando was raised, and so-called forts were built at 
 great expense a long distance from the Kaffir strong- 
 hold. No one ever dreamed for an instant that these 
 forts were necessary, or that the few wretched Kaffirs 
 being hunted, at most 800 men, armed only with 
 assegais and a few obsolete muskets, would ever 
 attack them, but the pretence served its purpose to 
 obtain for each man on commando £1^ per month 
 and a share of loot. I shall never forget as long as 
 I hve the appearance of these cowardly loafers, who 
 would have taken a lease in perpetuity of their position, 
 when on two occasions whilst their supposed operations 
 were in progress I passed by these so-called forts. 
 
 Ultimately, however, the scandal became too grave 
 even for the Boer Government, and a strong contingent 
 of Swazis, thanks to Great Britain, who for years past 
 
 K
 
 146 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 had been hereditary enemies of the Woodbush tribes 
 was organised and sent against them. Within a fort- 
 night they accomplished what for months the vahant 
 Boers had failed to do. No check was imposed on 
 the indiscriminate slaughter which ensued, Magoeba 
 was slain and decapitated, and the poor wretches who 
 escaped wounded, maimed, or dying, scattered them- 
 selves over the Low Country. 
 
 It was publicly stated by the Zoutpansberg press at 
 the time, that numbers of children were taken by the 
 Boers, under the guise of making them apprentices, 
 and though I have no personal knowledge on that 
 head, still I have sufficient reliable hearsay evidence 
 to convince me of its accuracy. However, I myself 
 caused shelter and food to be given to more than one 
 batch of these miserable creatures, amongst them 
 being women and children, some of them wounded. 
 A pathetic incident connected with these massacres 
 remains to be told. Not once during the fighting did 
 the Kaffirs cut the telegraph wires or stop the coach, 
 though they could have done either at any time. 
 Their reason was that they regarded coach and tele- 
 graph as being " Englishman's property " and not as 
 belonging to the Boers. 
 
 Had the terms imposed by the Convention of 188 1 
 been adhered to, and the functions of the British 
 Resident at Pretoria been maintained, these murders 
 and robberies would never have occurred, but as we 
 know, Mr. Gladstone, in 1884, agreed with President 
 Kruger that to safeguard the lives, persons, and 
 property of natives, was not obligatory on Her 
 Majesty.
 
 BOER TREATMENT OF THE KAFFIR 147 
 
 But then Kaffirs are not Christian Armenians, 
 Bulgarians, or Levantine scum, whose practical Chris- 
 tianity bears as much affinity to the teachings of Christ 
 as does that of a Chinaman, so that this powerful 
 reason may, perchance, have influenced Mr, Gladstone 
 and his colleagues. At any rate, the righteous restraint 
 put on the Boers, mainly by Sir Evelyn Wood, who 
 knew his men, was removed, and the Article of the 
 Convention establishing the duties of a British Resident 
 towards natives obliterated, as one of the "certain 
 provisions which are inconvenient and imposes burdens 
 and obligations from which the said State desires to 
 be relieved." 
 
 This, too, in the face of the clause inserted in the 
 Sand River Convention, their own conditions imposed 
 in 1 88 1, and again reiterated in the Convention of 
 1884, which they were about to sign. And still some 
 men are to be found who squirm at the phrase " unctuous 
 rectitude " 1 !
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE HOLLANDER 
 
 President Burgers had paid a visit to Europe prior to 
 1877, with the joint object of obtaining money, and of 
 arousing different nationaHties to take an interest in 
 the Transvaal State. He naturally spent some time in 
 Holland, the land whence his ancestors originally 
 sprang, and whose language was the official tongue of 
 himself and his fellow countrymen. Stimulated by his 
 descriptions, and by hopes held out of future wealth to 
 be gained in the Transvaal, several Hollanders emigrated 
 to South Africa, and some were inducted into official 
 posts at Pretoria. That they soon took an active part in 
 Boer politics we have learnt from Sir T. Shepstone's 
 narrative. Nor did they cease their zealous propaganda 
 against British rule, nor fail to aid President Kruger in 
 his secret agitation after his return from England in 
 1879, for though they took no part in fighting us, 
 Hollanders were ever present in council to direct and 
 suggest the tactics to be pursued, in order to enable 
 the Boers to accomplish their purpose. With all his 
 shrewdness and natural ability, Paul Kruger is in- 
 capable of presenting his views in a manner intelligible 
 to educated men without assistance, and thus, perhaps
 
 THE HOLLANDER 149 
 
 unconsciously, he has daily learnt to rely more and 
 more on skilled Hollander advice, until at last both he 
 and his Boer Executive have become absolute puppets 
 in the hands of this grasping group. 
 
 The progress in this direction has been slow but 
 certain. Let us trace it. 
 
 When hostilities had ceased and the convention was 
 duly signed, it became necessary for these peasant 
 Boers, many of whom could not write their own names, 
 to give practical effect to the self-government which Her 
 Majesty had guaranteed to the inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal State. Obviously their mode of life and 
 ignorance of all departmental details, as well as of the 
 administration of justice, unfitted them for the perform- 
 ance of their part of the compact. Recent events had 
 caused them to mistrust, with few exceptions, the 
 cultured Afrikanders of the Cape Colony, Natal, and 
 the Orange Free State, many of whom by training and 
 experience were admirably qualified to fill either the 
 highest executive or other posts. It was further out of 
 question that an Englishman could be admitted to 
 share their confidence or their councils. 
 
 One Hollander lawyer resident in the country, Dr. 
 Jorrisen, as we have seen, had taken a prominent part 
 with President Kruger, firstly in opposing the annexa- 
 tion, and secondly in the negotiations with Sir Evelyn 
 Wood, and he had naturally not only greatly influenced 
 the Triumvirate but had aided them by his legal 
 knowledge. 
 
 It is not strange, therefore, that they looked to 
 Holland to supply them with men capable of assuming 
 those functions which in every State appertain to
 
 ISO BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 the management or control of governmental require- 
 ments. 
 
 As a result, Hollanders were gradually introduced 
 into the country, and soon monopolised the public 
 service. More especially was such the case after the 
 visit of President Kruger to Europe at the beginning of 
 1884; for on that visit he met with, and engaged the 
 services of an astute and clever Hollander, Dr. Leyds, 
 whose personality next to that of the President himself 
 has loomed large in the subsequent history of the 
 Transvaal State. From the advent of Dr. Leyds to 
 Pretoria, we can trace what may be aptly termed the 
 Hollander invasion, and the carrying out of the tacit 
 but well understood Hollander policy, viz. : that the 
 form of government of the South African Republic must 
 be an oligarchy composed of ignorant Boers who must in 
 turn be ruled by Hollanders, to the material advantage of 
 the latter. 
 
 Ever soft and suave and outwardly deferential to the 
 Boers, the Hollander official never loses an opportunity 
 of adroitly suggesting to their narrow minds, the 
 injuries which he alleges have been inflicted on them 
 by the British. By means of flattering phrases, deftly 
 turned, appealing to their patriotic vanity or courage, 
 he worms himself into their good graces. This he is 
 enabled to do the more readily as it forms no part of the 
 Hollander's policy to thrust himself forward as the 
 chief of a State Department, such as Railways or 
 Mines. The figure-head must be an uneducated Boer, 
 whose want of knowledge affords the staff every chance 
 to act as they please, and to enrich themselves. 
 
 It will be found also in nine cases out of ten where
 
 THE HOLLANDER 151 
 
 retrogressive or vindictive measures have been passed 
 by the Volksraad in defiance of the Convention, that 
 these have been secretly inspired by one or more of the 
 Hollander clique. And so cleverly was this managed, 
 that the dull-witted Boers have been brought to believe 
 the idea sprang from their own slow brains. Again, 
 when any friction occurs, occasioned now and then by 
 petty legislative oppression, but generally by some 
 flagrant act of injustice aimed at Uitlanders' interests, 
 the Hollander is always there to insinuate that here is 
 another proof of British duplicity and treason. 
 
 When President Kruger returned home in 1884, 
 after his celebrated victory over Mr. Gladstone and 
 Lord Derby, his country was in a state of absolute 
 bankruptcy, and there was then little scope for the 
 display of the talent for intrigue which Dr. Leyds has 
 since manifested. In fact, so hopeless was the financial 
 position considered, that more than once it was 
 seriously debated by many leading Boers to ask Her 
 Majesty to resume control of the Government. 
 
 However, with the discovery of gold on the Wit- 
 watersrand and the consequent impetus given to the 
 development of that portion of the Transvaal, mainly by 
 Englishmen and Afrikanders from Kimberley and Bar- 
 berton, a mighty change took place. Hollanders saw 
 their opportunity and they took advantage of it to the 
 full. Mining laws had to be altered to suit the rapidly 
 growing advance of immigrants and capitalists, and a 
 number of new posts had necessarily to be created, and 
 additions to be made to the higher and lower magis- 
 tracy. 
 
 It was soon decided by the capitalists interested in
 
 152 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 the goldfields, that more rapid and cheaper means of 
 communication than that which a coach or ox waggon 
 supphed must be provided, so with the enterprise 
 characteristic of the energetic spirits in Cape Colony, 
 headed by Mr. Rhodes, a railway was pushed through 
 the Orange Free State to the Vaal River. These men, 
 moreover, found the money, some ;if 700,000, when the 
 Boers had no credit, for its extension to Johannesburg 
 and Pretoria. Here was a splendid chance for wary 
 Hollanders to create for themselves a monopoly of all 
 railway construction and working in the South African 
 Republic. Their labours resulted in the concessions 
 granted to the Netherlands Railway with its enormous 
 privileges, high tariffs, impudent disregard of the rights 
 of the great community whose servant it ought to be, 
 and generally the corrupt influence which it has exer- 
 cised, and still continues through its officials. 
 
 Once a monopoly had been granted, the door was 
 naturally opened for the creation of others, and on the 
 principle that you may as well be hanged for a sheep 
 as a lamb, there was no stint in the number of con- 
 cessions, arranged chiefly by the agency of complacent 
 Hollanders. Neither has there been any concealment 
 of the breaches repeatedly made of the Convention, 
 though these have led to untold injustice and to the loss 
 and suffering of the community. Take, for example, 
 the dynamite concession. 
 
 No sane person could imagine that in a land where 
 scientific mining has attained to a pitch of greater 
 perfection than in any other country, the sole right to 
 manufacture explosives, the most important article 
 necessary for the extraction of ore and protection of
 
 THE HOLLANDER 153 
 
 human life, is enjoyed by one ring of monopolists. And 
 yet such is the case. No factory can be erected for the 
 fabrication of explosives except by Mr. Lippert, a 
 German, and those interested with him in his con- 
 cession. Not a single ingredient used in their cart- 
 ridges is manufactured in the Republic, all are imported 
 separately from Europe, and are mixed at the Company's 
 works. 
 
 For a long time the article supplied by these mono- 
 polists was so inferior and uncertain in its action that 
 many lives were lost consequent on its use. Personally 
 I shall never forget the horrid appearance which the 
 bodies of dead and mangled Kaffirs presented when 
 hauled up the shaft of a mine to the surface after an 
 explosion, the result of one of Messrs. Lippert and 
 Company's defective cartridges. 
 
 But it is as a drag on the wheels of progress that the 
 Hollander excels, and it is only right that we should 
 consider his attitude towards the important question of 
 education. For a long time a fight has been going on 
 to compel children of different nationalities to receive 
 instruction in public schools, through the sole medium 
 of the Dutch language. Great indignation has been 
 aroused by this stupid attempt to stifle knowledge, and 
 especially among the English population, who 
 enormously outnumber all others, and who know that 
 any Englishman can travel from the Vaal to the 
 Limpopo without once being called on as a necessity to 
 speak Dutch. Somehow it seems to be accepted as 
 gospel that these educational restrictions have been 
 imposed by the Boers themselves out of a misguided 
 spirit of patriotism, and a determination to make the
 
 154 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Dutch language paramount. There is no more reason 
 for this behef than is there to suppose that all plead- 
 ings, evidence and procedure, in the courts of justice 
 are conducted in Dutch purely to expedite business. 
 
 No ; here the work of the wily Hollanders is only 
 too plain. At this hour the Chief of the Education 
 Department, the most bitter opponent of liberal in- 
 struction and sternest upholder of the system, is a 
 Hollander. Nor is the motive for their conduct far to 
 seek. These worthies, who have temporarily left the 
 dykes of Holland and have become the political 
 advisers of a few obstinate farmers at present dignified 
 with the title of a government, know only too well that 
 if they wish to return to their native land with a good 
 store of guelders they must retard as long as possible 
 their inevitable expulsion. Over the present generation 
 of uneducated Boers they have succeeded in obtaining 
 sway, and it is a subtle point in the game to keep the 
 rising generation also as ignorant as possible. 
 
 In the large towns such as Johannesburg and 
 Pretoria this is somewhat difficult, but we must not 
 forget that more than three-fourths of the Burgher 
 population is scattered over the Veldt. 
 
 Railways. 
 
 In few directions has the Hollander displayed to a 
 greater extent his rooted aversion to all progress than 
 in the construction of railways by others. 
 
 Working ever in the interests of the Netherlands 
 Company, this ring of Dutch officials have set their 
 wits to work to wreck or impede every railway enter-
 
 THE HOLLANDER 155 
 
 prise in which they have no part, although in each 
 instance had not the Netherlands Company declined to 
 avail itself of its privilege to construct such roads on 
 its own account the concession would not have been 
 sanctioned. 
 
 Apart from the Netherlands Railway concessions 
 two others have been granted, one to a Belgian 
 syndicate, who afterwards formed a company to con- 
 struct a line from Komati Poort, the station within the 
 Transvaal on the Portuguese frontier to Leydsdorp, 
 thus opening up the rich gold and mineral districts of 
 the Murchison Range, Klein Letaba, Silati, Woodbush 
 and Haenetsburg. These regions are also very fertile, 
 and contain a large Kaffir population. 
 
 The circumstances under which this concession was 
 obtained were such that to-day no legislator is anxious 
 to refer to them, because officials and members of the 
 Raad were bribed in the most unblushing manner ; in 
 short, never did the Volksraad sanction a more flagrant 
 piece of jobbery. This line should have been finished 
 long ago, but all work has been abandoned on it for 
 upwards of two years, and the portion already con- 
 structed will have to be again almost entirely rebuilt. 
 Meanwhile, interest is being paid at the rate of 4 per 
 cent, on the bonded debt of the road, or say ;^8o,ooo 
 per annum, a sum almost equal to the entire revenue of 
 the country previous to 1877, and this interest is at 
 present forthcoming out of the funds furnished by the 
 debenture holders themselves. Some time ago a 
 quarrel arose between the Government and the Com- 
 pany, and Railway Commissioner Smit was despatched 
 to Belgium to settle the difficulty. This functionary,
 
 156 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 who is bound body and soul to the Hollander faction, 
 commenced legal proceedings against the concessionaires 
 in the Belgian Courts, and these may be expected to be 
 concluded about the Greek Kalends. No one for a 
 moment believes in the sincerity of the litigation, it is 
 regarded as a red herring dragged across the trail, so as 
 to distract attention from the shortcomings of certain 
 highly placed personages at Pretoria. Numbers of 
 capitalists, prospectors and others, relying on the pro- 
 mise that the line would be made at once, spent large 
 sums in exploration and in sinking shafts on these Low 
 Country goldfields. Thousands of claims were pegged 
 out, and from licences on the Murchison range alone 
 the Government for the last four years has been receiv- 
 ing an average of ;^ 14,000 per annum. 
 
 Now, alas ! many poor fellows who have clung with 
 desperation to properties in which they have such faith 
 have been driven to abandon them and the district as 
 well. Were the line constructed, goods could reach 
 the Range at a cheaper rate than to any other goldfield 
 in the Transvaal, the distance from Delagoa Bay 
 being about 250 miles. At present, every article, 
 from a crowbar to a tin of condensed milk, has 
 to be brought by way of Johannesburg or Pretoria, 
 at a cost in carriage from thence of at least ;^20 
 per ton. 
 
 But this is not all. Owing to the rinderpest, no 
 transport could be obtained for a long time, and even 
 now only with the greatest difficulty. An almost 
 unprecedented drought last year caused the Kaffirs' 
 cattle to die of starvation, and ruined their mealie 
 gardens, whilst myriads of locusts ate up any crops
 
 THE HOLLANDER 157 
 
 that could be saved by irrigation. For months the 
 poorer Boers and the entire Kaffir population have 
 been starving, attempting to sustain life on roots, 
 locusts, and the carcases of their dead animals. 
 Hundreds of men, women, and children, have died 
 from sheer hunger, although they possessed money and 
 could have purchased food had it been there. Their 
 lives lie at the door of each knavish Hollander and 
 corrupt Boer at Pretoria who, to serve his own ends, 
 or to conceal his guilt, has impeded the construction 
 of the Silati line 1 Had the railway been made, or 
 partially finished, say through the Tsetse fly country, 
 two or three cargoes of mealies could have been sent 
 from the United States or Argentina through Delagoa 
 Bay, and these lives would have been spared. 
 
 Neither must it be supposed that the authorities at 
 Pretoria have been ignorant of the situation, or of 
 public feeling in the Low Country respecting this 
 railway. Three years ago, and several times since, 
 public meetings were held at Leydsdorp, attended by 
 burghers, claim holders, and tradesfolk, and petitions 
 clearly setting forth their grievances, were sent to the 
 Executive Government and the Volksraad. I myself 
 and Mr. McQueen were elected at one of the meetings 
 as delegates to the Government at Pretoria to represent 
 the views of these burghers. 
 
 Promises were lavishly made us by President Kruger 
 and the Executive, that the works would be commenced 
 shortly, and as a sort of sop, a Hollander engineer, 
 Mr. Mooyen, who was an employe of the Netherlands 
 Company, and well known as the cleverest railway 
 obstructionist in Africa, was sent down to study the
 
 158 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 best route for the future line. This was about a year 
 ago, but up to now nothing further has been attempted. 
 In the meantime, the Boers and Kaffirs may starve, 
 the patient, long-suffering prospector be ruined, the 
 capitalist fleeced, and the foreign shareholders in every 
 company whose properties are located in these districts 
 sacrificed. 
 
 The other railway is a line from Pretoria to Pieters- 
 burg, and will be eventually the great Transvaal Trunk 
 line to the north. It will pass through a part of 
 Waterburg and Zoutpansberg, and will open up not 
 only large proclaimed goldfields, but also the most 
 extensive grain lands of the Transvaal. For strategic 
 purposes it is invaluable, as the only Kaffir tribes 
 within the borders of the State now to be feared, are 
 located to the north of Pietersburg, within forty miles 
 or so of the proposed terminus. Here again, rinder- 
 pest, drought, locusts, and consequent famine, have 
 caused frightful mortality amid the poorer Boers and 
 Kaffirs, and brought to the verge of financial ruin many 
 hitherto opulent farmers. 
 
 It will not be gainsaid that in any community calling 
 itself civilised, every effort would have been made, on 
 humanitarian grounds alone, to push on rapidly the 
 construction of such a line during the favourable 
 season of the year. But no such sentiments influence 
 the Hollander faction at Pretoria, and their friend 
 Railway Commissioner Smit. 
 
 Recently, President Kruger made a journey over the 
 ground to be traversed by this road, and at every 
 stopping-place his burghers clamorously urged on him 
 the imperative necessity for its construction. He saw
 
 THE HOLLANDER 159 
 
 with his own eyes the fearful condition of the country 
 and inhabitants, and in reply to numerous deputations, 
 both at Pietersburg and Nylstroom, he promised that 
 the line should be pushed on forthwith. But in these 
 cases the President proposes, and Commissioner Smit, 
 aided by his technical engineer, Mr. Mooyen, disposes 1 
 For even whilst President Kruger was at Pietersburg 
 he was informed by Mr. Wright, the contractor, who 
 is supported by all the burghers in the two provinces 
 mentioned, that he (Mr. Wright) had just received a 
 notification from Commissioner Smit warning him that 
 he proceeded at his own peril with the work on any 
 section other than the first, until Mr. Mooyen had given 
 his approval. And this, after all the surveys had been 
 made and the plans deposited ! 
 
 President Kruger told Mr. Wright to go on with the 
 construction and he would protect him. But behold, 
 a few weeks later, Mr. Wright was again informed by 
 Commissioner Smit that he was doing the work at his 
 own risk, and consequently the plucky Englishman 
 had perforce to discharge 800 men and suspend 
 operations. Zoutpansberg and Waterberg burghers, 
 however, are now factors in the Transvaal ; they 
 immediately rallied round the persecuted contractor, 
 and demanded the resumption of work with such 
 insistence at Pretoria that Railway Commissioner 
 Smit and his Hollander wire-pullers felt it prudent to 
 modify their arrogant pretensions, lest worse might 
 follow. 
 
 The sole object of this unprincipled obstruction is 
 to freeze out an English contractor, and preclude 
 an enterprising English company from efficiently
 
 i6o BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 managing a railway within the South African Republic. 
 Nevertheless, there is a formidable section of the more 
 intelligent Boers who are becoming alive to these 
 transparent devices. Grim, stern experience has taught 
 them that a means of transport other than by ox or 
 mule waggon must be found. They see that railways 
 increase the value of their farms, and that their produce 
 can be quickly conveyed to markets where there is an 
 unlimited demand for everything they can grow. They 
 are becoming galled by the Hollander and many resent 
 his tutelage. As an example I append the speech of 
 Mr. Jan de Beer on this railway obstruction in the First 
 Volksraad on February 3rd last. 
 
 " Mr. Mooyen, Technical Inspector, £gSO. 
 
 " Mr. Jan de Beer wished to have this item erased 
 altogether, for the person who filled the situation at 
 present seemed to do his utmost to prevent the 
 building of the Zoutpansberg Railway. The people of 
 Waterberg and Zoutpansberg suffered under the ob- 
 struction of the Technical Engineer. It was terrible to 
 see people in the North dying of hunger, while the 
 building of the railway was prevented by the arbitrary 
 conduct of the Technical Engineer. This was not to 
 be suffered any longer. He would request the member 
 of the Executive (Mr. Kock) who was present, to take 
 notice of what he said, for he was tired of writing to 
 the Executive. He did not blame the Railway Com- 
 missioner as much as the Technical Engineer, who 
 without any justifiable cause was crushing the people 
 in the famine-stricken North under his heel. It was a 
 shame that the Government should not be able to
 
 THE HOLLANDER i6i 
 
 compel this Hollander, who was an impossible man, to 
 be reasonable. If the speaker could take him in his 
 fist and hurl him back to Holland he would do so, and 
 would be rendering his district a great service. He 
 had with his own eyes seen old people creeping about 
 the district looking for food. Because the contractor 
 for the line was not a Hollander, he was obstructed in 
 every possible way by Mr. Mooyen. How was it that 
 railways were formerly expeditiously constructed without 
 a technical engineer? The item must be absolutely 
 erased. Two years had passed now, and not a yard of 
 the line had been constructed. He felt for the 
 suffering people in Waterberg and in Zoutpansberg 
 keenly, and would pray honorary members of the Raad 
 to hearken to him, and meet their dire wants by speedy 
 railway construction. He intended handing in a 
 motion, re the matter. 
 
 " Mr. Tosen remarked that the item, irrespective of 
 the person who filled the position, was on the Order. 
 The question was if the situation v;as desirable. He 
 certainly thought it was. 
 
 " Mr. Jan de Meyer said that he could fully agree with 
 the facts brought forward by the member for Waterberg. 
 He also blamed the technical engineer that poor people 
 had to eat leaves, &c., in the north in order to sustain 
 life. That the line had not yet been started, was due 
 to arbitrary obstruction on the part of the technical 
 engineer." 
 
 Stranger still, a large number of Boers from Waterberg, 
 Rustenberg and Zoutpansberg, have trekked into Rho- 
 desia, where they are settling on farms, preferring the 
 
 L
 
 1 62 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 just rule of the Chartered Company to the vagaries of 
 the men at Pretoria. To President Kruger, and even to 
 Dr. Leyds, this exodus is far from satisfactory. Burghers 
 can now be ill spared, much less when of their own 
 free will they are moving into the country of the man 
 whom his Honour stupidly regards as the Boer's mortal 
 enemy. 
 
 Now the Boer, despite his sluggish ignorant nature, 
 has deep down in his heart one great passion which 
 quicker brains than his can readily rouse. This 
 sentiment is best expressed by one word — Independence. 
 In reality he is only harking back, through his training 
 and traditions, to those first motives and aspirations 
 which prompted his fathers to trek into the wilderness. 
 Independence, as he understands the phrase, is his aim 
 and goal. Only manifest to him that some obstacle is 
 being placed in the way of his reaching this cherished 
 object, and he is ready and willing to fight his 
 aggressor to the death. The cute Hollanders readily 
 grasped this sentimental note in the Boer's character, 
 and they have played on it for all it is worth. Slowly 
 but surely they have made themselves necessary to 
 these rude peasants, until to-day they control the entire 
 direction of affairs, internal and external. 
 
 We cannot blink the situation, for at this hour 
 Hollander influence is paramount in the South African 
 Republic. They are the Uitlanders' deadliest enemy 
 and, far beyond the Boers, with two or three notable 
 exceptions, they are responsible for the later violations 
 of the Conventions. There can be no peaceful concord 
 between Boer and Uitlander in the Transvaal until the 
 Hollander power and influence are shattered. It is
 
 THE HOLLANDER 163 
 
 they who have built up the present despotic rule, 
 fostered an illiterate oligarchy, intrigued with a foreign 
 State, and indoctrinated the ignorant peasant on the 
 Veldt with the belief that his independence is imperilled. 
 Should war break out, these Hollanders would not be 
 met with in the field. On the contrary, the slow-witted 
 Boer would be found raking their chestnuts out of the 
 fire. Every breach of the Conventions has been either 
 suggested or supported by this self-interested group. 
 Every repressive or retrograding measure passed by 
 the Volksraad has been drafted and insidiously 
 carried by them. In fact, the Uitlander inhabitants of 
 the Transvaal are to-day indebted mainly to this 
 Hollander ring for the iniquitous gigantic monopolies, 
 restrictions on education, shameful pass laws, muzzling 
 of the Press, denial of the franchise, obstacles to 
 railway construction, tampering with justice, and every 
 other outrage on decency, impeding a human being from 
 the enjoyment of his civil rights.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 
 
 The question will be asked, and rightly so, by every 
 one who has read up to this point — what remedy do 
 you suggest in face of these present difficulties ? My 
 answer is simple and direct. Let justice be done. 
 Uphold the Suzerainty imposed, and the guarantee 
 given in the name of Her Majesty in 1881, and demand 
 from the Boer Government that the Articles substi- 
 tuted in 1884 for those of the former Convention be 
 maintained and fulfilled. Perform that duty, late in 
 the day though it is, towards the inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal which the Conventions and their provisions 
 involve. Deeds we demand now, not words ! 
 
 If our so-called statesmen would only appreciate 
 how tired the world is growing of torrents of words, 
 and how for the past sixteen years Boers and 
 Hollanders have discounted these periodical outbreaks 
 of British politicians, and have played their own game 
 of bluff with impunity, then there might be some hope. 
 Sir Alfred Milner's arrival should be hailed with feel- 
 ings of profound gratitude, not only because a strong 
 tactful man is required at the helm of Cape Colony
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 165 
 
 to-day, but also because a movement is being made at 
 last by the Imperial Government, 
 
 True, the relief comes from an unexpected quarter, 
 yet it is none the less valuable, since Her Majesty's 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Chamberlain, 
 was in 1881 and 1884 a member of Mr, Gladstone's 
 Cabinet when the humiliating peace was made, and the 
 subsequent surrender to the Boers took place. He, of 
 all men of the present Government, possesses the 
 knowledge of what was intended to be granted as a 
 measure of justice to the inhabitants of the Transvaal 
 by those Conventions. 
 
 Neither can it with fairness be imputed to Mr. 
 Chamberlain that he has changed front in the matter. 
 Assuming that he acquiesced in the policy of the 
 Cabinet of 1881, and that he was a consenting party 
 to the substitution of the Articles of 1884, assuredly 
 the scope and intent of each Convention must be 
 patent to his mind. Every person endowed with 
 common sense will understand that, in demanding from 
 the Boer Government the due observance of these 
 Conventions, Her Majesty's Ministers are to-day simply 
 complying with a sacred duty undertaken by the 
 Crown towards the inhabitants of the Transvaal State, 
 There can be nothing aggressive or improper in this 
 attitude, and the Boers, if honestly disposed, have no 
 grounds for resisting such a reasonable request. On 
 the other hand, if this corrupt Oligarchy is determined 
 to brave the Suzerain and ridicule the Conventions as 
 it has done hitherto, then the only argument applicable 
 is that of armed force, and the rule of the Boer will be 
 for ever swept aside in the South African Republic.
 
 i66 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Prejudice, tyranny, greed, and insult can be toler- 
 ated no longer by free men in a free land, despite the 
 petty spite of Little Englanders, like Sir William 
 Vernon Harcourt. This prominent politician was also 
 a member of Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet in 1881 and 
 1884, and he has recently, contrary to his wishes, done 
 this country a great service by rousing the national 
 spirit on Imperial questions which involve the preser- 
 vation of our honour and duties to our kinsfolk in 
 South Africa. 
 
 For his political reputation, it would be more seemly 
 did this descendant of the Plantagenets observe a 
 severe leticence on matters associated with the aban- 
 donment of the colonists after Majuba, as these anti- 
 patriotic outbursts, for purely party purposes, only 
 increase the contempt with which Englishmen regard 
 his vapourings. Instead of trying to hamper the 
 Government and belittle England before the world, he 
 could, as an ex-law-officer of the Crown, do his 
 country and his Sovereign yeoman service were he to 
 point out that only under the Convention of 1881 does 
 Her Majesty derive her right of Suzerainty over the 
 South African Republic, and that the word Suzerain is 
 not even mentioned in the Convention of 1884 — 
 especially as now the situation has become grave 
 indeed. 
 
 Within the past few months, the Boer has armed 
 himself to the teeth at Uitlanders' expense. He has 
 imported from Germany many mercenaries instructed 
 in the handling of heavy and light artillery, and skilled 
 in the latest military tactics. He has built forts in 
 well-chosen positions, and all this time, with the full
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 167 
 
 knowledge of what has been going on, our sapient 
 rulers have folded their arms, blandly smiled, or 
 indulged in that now famous platitude : " We are, and 
 ever will be, the paramount power in South Africa ! " 
 A lovely sonorous phrase which can always be relied 
 on to bring down the British gallery ! But men in 
 South Africa have suffered too long from placing con- 
 fidence in this kind of froth, and they now require 
 deeds ! They have not forgotten the asseverations of 
 the present Commander-in-Chief, then Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley, in 1880, that the Transvaal would be 
 " under British rule as long as the sun shone, and 
 until rivers ran backward ! " Nor yet, that within a 
 year of that distinguished prophecy, Mr. Gladstone, 
 aided by some of those who are so valiant on paper 
 to-day, broke his own and all other pledges, caused us 
 to scuttle out of the country, and handed over all the 
 residents therein white and black to the tender mercies 
 of a few illiterate Boers and astute Hollanders. 
 
 The blame for this present state of affairs in the 
 South African Republic lies mainly at the door of Her 
 Majesty's Government, for the Boer has been taught 
 by us to despise our strength and our diplomacy. He 
 began to do this from the fatal moment when, after 
 Majuba, Mr. Gladstone and his Ministers, in spite of 
 Sir Evelyn Wood's advice, ordered that officer to make 
 a humiliating peace. Step by step, the Boer's con- 
 tempt for us has increased in proportion to our sur- 
 render of every principle insisted on in the first 
 Convention. Our want of firmness and backbone has 
 been his opportunity, and, as we know, prompted by 
 his wily Hollander allies, he has ultimately set at
 
 1 68 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 defiance every important Article which was retained in 
 that disgraceful document, the Convention of 1884. Ay, 
 and even before that Convention was signed we have 
 seen how deliberately the spirit and intention of the 
 former one of 1881 was violated in the matter of the 
 franchise. Had Her Majesty's Ministers insisted on the 
 due observance of those Articles, we should not have 
 now to deplore a Jameson raid, and the world at large 
 would have been spared the unsavoury spectacle of 
 our national dirty linen being publicly washed by 
 Little Englanders in the tub of a Parhamentary Com- 
 mittee. This supineness, weakness, or indifference on 
 the part of Her Majesty's Government — call it by 
 whatever name you may — has had far-reaching con- 
 sequences in other directions, for thereby a few 
 unscrupulous capitalists have persuaded the Boer 
 Government to go further than even they otherwise 
 would have done. 
 
 These individuals openly winked at many breaches 
 of the Conventions so long as they were profiting 
 themselves. Only too well have Transvaal officials 
 learnt that the terms of the articles were to be subser- 
 vient to the personal interests of those who were ready 
 and willing to pay a bribe for that privilege, and thus 
 it has come about that huge monopolies, which are 
 gigantic frauds on the rest of the communit}', have been 
 granted to those who would agree to share the plunder 
 with one or more persons in authority. The situation 
 has also fostered a group of crawling plutocrats, who 
 now profess great friendship for the Transvaal 
 Government, and who appear happily oblivious of the 
 fact that every shady step by which each has climbed
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 169 
 
 the ladder of wealth is known to Mr. Kruger and his 
 Hollander satellites. Were it not repugnant to one's 
 sense of decency, it would be amusing to watch how 
 these sycophants debase themselves for greed before 
 the ignorant peasant legislators at Pretoria. As soon 
 as one of the tribe rushes off to the seat of government, 
 with proffers of service and protestations of zeal, 
 another one speeds after him with the intent, in 
 gambling parlance, of "going one better." 
 
 The next day, cablegrams descriptive of what took 
 place at alleged interviews appear in our newspapers, 
 generally through the medium of the Anglo-Boer sub- 
 sidised journal in this country, only to be corrected, 
 or their accuracy officially denied, a day or two later. 
 
 But outside these small groups of corrupting Uit- 
 landers and grasping Boers and Hollanders are the 
 masses of the foreign population resident in the 
 country, suffering from outrageous restrictions on their 
 persons and property. And again, beyond these, are 
 the thousands of investors who from all parts of the 
 world have sent their money to develop the South 
 African Republic, and enrich the Boers themselves. 
 In addition, there are the thousands of oppressed 
 natives. 
 
 It is on behalf of these classes, then, that Her 
 Majesty's Government should act, and quickly. 
 Already, as we know, much valuable time has been 
 lost, and more especially as, since the deplorable raid 
 and Johannesburg fiasco, the Hollander has become 
 master of the situation. No longer have we to deal 
 only with stubborn and ignorant Boers. Clever un- 
 scrupulous foreigners now pull the strings, and life has
 
 lyo BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 been made intolerable to all outsiders by these greedy, 
 money-grubbing cormorants. Daily, almost hourly, is 
 some dull-witted lout on the Veldt roused to believe 
 that what he holds so dear, his independence, is 
 threatened by the hated " rooineck," and at any 
 moment he may be urged to commit some rash act 
 which will provoke a conflict. 
 
 The ordinary Boer on the Veldt to-day holds pre- 
 cisely the same narrow-minded religious views as did 
 his father or grandfather, the Voortrekker. The black 
 man, in his eyes, was born to be a hewer of wood 
 and drawer of water, and on these lines he treats 
 him, whilst the ever-to-be-condemned Englishman he 
 regards as his natural antagonist. Lazy, shiftless, and 
 dirty in his habits, but endowed with an abundant 
 stock of cunning, he has greatly degenerated. The 
 younger generation, too, have lost the accuracy of 
 aim which distinguished their fathers, and the reason 
 of this is because there is no longer any game. 
 
 Those multitudinous herds of different kinds of 
 buck, from the diminutive klipspringer to the lordly 
 eland, have vanished almost as rapidly as has the bison 
 from the North American Continent. Consequently a 
 Boer now neither needs, nor has he the opportunity of 
 judging distances by firing at a moving object. 
 
 In spite of being provided with a rifle and ammuni- 
 tion at the expense of the Government, I maintain that 
 the young Boers can shoot no better than an average 
 squad of an English volunteer company. On more 
 than one occasion I have seen a number fire in suc- 
 cession at a target, and they have been invariably 
 beaten by Englishmen who entered into competition
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 171 
 
 with them. I do not for a moment desire to disparage 
 the shooting of Boers who learnt the art before the 
 game disappeared. There are many of these still left 
 skilled in the handling of a rifle, but when I am told 
 that Boers generally are the best rifle shots in the 
 world, I am bold enough to allege from my own 
 experience that such a statement is absolute non- 
 sense. 
 
 Another idea which seems to have taken hold of 
 the public mind is that Witwatersrand is the only 
 valuable portion of the South African Republic, but 
 this is not accurate, for the narrow district of the 
 Rand, which has suddenly jumped into prominence, is 
 not by any means the only region where gold and 
 other minerals are located. It is one section of the 
 vast highly mineralised area of the Republic, but as 
 this limited space has attracted a large portion of the 
 surplus wealth of Europe, other parts have been com- 
 paratively neglected. 
 
 With their accustomed short-sightedness the Boers 
 and Hollanders have come to regard the Rand, thanks 
 to Uitlander enterprise, as the chief field in which to 
 practise extortion, and at the same time they have 
 placed every obstacle in the way of the development 
 of any other district, though more favourably situated. 
 So much so that legislative enactments have been 
 largely directed against the rapidly growing alien 
 population at this special centre. In their desire for 
 greed they forgot that minerals form only a small 
 portion of the country's assets, and that by frustrating 
 railway communication and the building of roads and 
 bridges, their obtuseness would affect the revenue and
 
 172 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 prosperity of the entire community. Outside transport 
 riding, the Boers on the Veldt have only one occupa- 
 tion, agriculture, though carried out in a perfunctory 
 manner, and unless these men can carry their produce 
 to market their labour is valueless. Now what has 
 happened ? Rinderpest, locusts, drought, and famine 
 have recently swept over the country — transport-riding 
 has gone. Cattle have vanished, horse-sickness has 
 prevailed, and the patient donkey is the only draught 
 animal to be relied on. Agriculture, therefore, cannot 
 be pursued unless railways are quickly built. Already 
 Mr. Rhodes has pushed his railway system from Cape 
 Town nearly to Buluwayo, thus rendering Rhodesia 
 independent of grain supplies from the South African 
 Republic, and of the route through the Transvaal, the 
 one which, from its shortness and easy gradients, has 
 hitherto enabled the Boers to control the traffic to 
 Charterland. 
 
 Instead of an enlightened perception ol these 
 advantages, the Government officials at Pretoria place 
 every hindrance in the way of opening up their own 
 roads and markets, stifle the industry of their own 
 kith and kin, and prevent the Uitlander from develop- 
 ing the agricultural or mineral resources of the 
 Republic. 
 
 Would such a state of affairs be tolerated by any 
 civilised country ? Take, for instance, the situation of 
 Johannesburg to-day. Here is a town containing 
 50,000 white inhabitants, who have to rely for their 
 supply of fruit, forage, vegetables, and meat on the 
 Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and Natal, and these 
 supplies have to be brought a distance of from 200 to
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 173 
 
 800 miles, whereas if railway communication were 
 afforded, the entire city could obtain all its food 
 requirements grown on Transvaal soil within a radius 
 of 200 miles. 
 
 Imagine what this means to the Boer inhabitants 
 alone, and setting aside consequent reduction of cost 
 of living in Johannesburg itself. 
 
 I have taken this as an isolated instance, but the 
 same doctrine applies to Pretoria and every other 
 centre of population. Every human being knows that 
 in all countries where a gold rush has attracted 
 humanity, the ultimate prosperity of the country has 
 been established by the necessity of feeding the 
 persons engaged in that pursuit, and that as a rule 
 the "Auri sacra fames" sinks into insignificance com- 
 pared with the solid wealth acquired by the cultivation 
 of the soil. Witness, in our own day, California and 
 Australia. 
 
 So will it be in the Transvaal. Thousands of acres 
 can be irrigated and brought under cultivation, and the 
 produce thereof conveyed to market, showing a good 
 margin of profit with which no outside territory can 
 compete. Only roads and railways are required. 
 
 In the history of modern times, there is no picture 
 so illustrative of what a few bold determined men can 
 accomplish by the exercise of unlimited impudence, in 
 the face of a great paramount Power, as that which the 
 South African Republic now holds up to the world's 
 view. For, be it recorded that the entire number who 
 have controlled and brought about this condition of 
 affairs have not exceeded in number more than fifty 
 persons. This inner ring dominates the liberties and
 
 174 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 enjoyment of civil rights of more than 6o,000 beings, 
 many of them highly educated, and all resident in the 
 country, sets at defiance Her Majesty as Suzerain, and 
 laughs at her guarantee. Personally I must confess 
 that I have a certain amount of respect for the 
 audacity and dogged perseverance of President Kruger 
 and his associates. His "holy humbug" has been the 
 most powerful weapon in his armoury, and the only 
 persons on whom his hypocritical cant has had no 
 effect are the equally righteous Hollanders who now 
 have Stephanus Johannis Paulus Kruger and his 
 ignorant Boer Executive fairly in their grip. 
 
 In dealing with the present position, it must be 
 remembered that no Boer in South Africa has dis- 
 played throughout his career such contempt for agita- 
 tion by constitutional means as Paul Kruger. He has 
 been in the thick of every fight, both as promoter and 
 participant, whether against another section of his own 
 race, or against the authority of the Crown, and had 
 he not brought about a crisis by his deliberate viola- 
 tion of Uitlanders' rights, his manner and aggressive 
 Dopper theological views would three years ago have 
 landed Transvaal Boers in the throes of a sectarian 
 civil war. 
 
 When a man has arrived at the firm belief that 
 every act of his life is inspired by Divine Will — and 
 this is the state of mental beatitude to which Mr. 
 Kruger has brought himself — it is a somewhat difficult 
 task to convince him that he can do wrong. Judging 
 him by his own standard of ethics, we need not be 
 surprised at the levity which he has displayed in 
 tearing up any compact to which he had assented,
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 175 
 
 when it stood in the way of his gaining his ends. Did 
 not the Almighty direct Jacob in his transactions with 
 Laban, when the latter had deceived him ? And so 
 to-day is not He guiding His Transvaal servant through 
 the snares laid by evil-minded Rooinecks ? 
 
 There is no better example afforded of President 
 Kruger's patient determination to reach his goal and 
 our weakness than that suppHed by Swaziland. In 
 the Conventions of 1881 and 1884, it was made a 
 great feature that Swaziland was to remain indepen- 
 dent of the Boers ; and justly so, when our pledges to 
 these natives are remembered, and their loyal be- 
 haviour to the Crown. Their adhesion to us, and 
 propinquity to them, only excited the Boers, however, 
 and covetous eyes were always cast by President 
 Kruger and his Boer circle on Swazi territory. He 
 knew that he had only to wait, play his cards properly, 
 and the Swazis would drop into his hands like a ripe 
 pear. By ceaseless representations, offers of liberality 
 to Uitlanders within his borders since 1884, he at 
 length wearied or humbugged Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment into handing over to his Boers the whole of 
 Swaziland. But not content with this — for his ambi- 
 tion has ever been to extend the South African 
 Republic to the sea-coast — he has made a bold attempt 
 to get a grip on Amatongaland, and thus attain his 
 long cherished desire. One can only marvel, con- 
 sidering the fate of all other Articles of these Conven- 
 tions, that Her Majesty's advisers have not surrendered 
 to the Republic this strip of littoral, " with a view to 
 promote the peace and good order of the said State, 
 and of the countries adjacent thereto."
 
 176 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 Recollect that Paul Kruger's object is that of the old 
 Voortrekker : the independence of the Boer race free 
 from foreign interference, and anything which stands 
 in the way of realising that ideal must be swept 
 aside. 
 
 His last move to obtain a strong offensive and 
 defensive alliance with the Orange Free State is only 
 another part of his scheme to fuse South Africa under 
 Boer control. What other interpretation, too, can be 
 put on the offer to Free Staters of burgher rights in 
 the Transvaal. He has persistently refused on all 
 occasions to enter into any fair commercial union with 
 the Colonies on the question of customs duties and 
 railway tariffs. He and his Hollanders have been 
 secretly intriguing with Germany to obtain German 
 interference on behalf of the South African Republic, 
 and numbers of military Germans have been recently 
 imported into their service. Within the past twelve 
 months more than one and a half millions sterling has 
 been spent on arms, ammunition, and construction of 
 forts, and ;^I50,0CXD on secret service. During the 
 same period President Kruger, in open violation of the 
 Conventions, has caused his complaisant Raad to pass 
 laws authorising the expulsion of aliens from the 
 country without recourse to the Courts of Justice, 
 muzzling the Press, compelling white immigrants to 
 provide themselves with a pass, and, lastly, he has 
 endeavoured to prevent the judges of the High Court 
 from interpreting the law according to the Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 But long before the Jameson raid, as we know, 
 these Conventions were systematically broken, and as
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 177 
 
 Her Majesty's Government took no interest in the 
 matter, save to truckle to the fifty Boers and 
 Hollanders above mentioned, the Uitlander inhabitants 
 of the country attempted to obtain justice for them- 
 selves. The story of that sad fiasco will long be 
 remembered. But perhaps it will be convenient here 
 to refresh our memories with some provisions of the 
 Conventions which had been violated before those 
 events occurred : 
 
 First, the franchise laws had been so modified as 
 to exclude every alien for ever from acquiring burgher 
 rights to the extent of giving him a vote to elect a 
 member of the first Raad. 
 
 Secondly, monopolies had been created and con- 
 cessions granted in direct opposition to Art. 14 of the 
 Convention of 1884, which gives the right to "all 
 persons to hire or possess houses, manufactories, 
 warehouses, shops, and premises ; they may carry on 
 their commerce either in person, or by any agents 
 whom they may think fit to employ." 
 
 Thirdly, the right of the alien to bring into the 
 country all goods and merchandise on the same terms 
 as the inhabitants of other States had been outraged 
 by the closing of the drifts. Art. 13. 
 
 Fourthly, the enjoyment of all civil rights had been 
 interfered with when the right of public meeting was 
 withdrawn, and when the education of children of 
 foreigners had to be conducted in Dutch. 
 
 Fifthly, taxes were levied on Uitlanders far heavier 
 than on Boers in contravention of Article 14. In fact, 
 every dodge that a grasping greedy group of extor- 
 
 M
 
 T78 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 tionists could practise to gain money had been 
 resorted to. 
 
 But here I am constrained to state that I have no 
 sympathy with those men who embarked on what is 
 called the Jameson raid. A more foolish, impotent, 
 harebrained enterprise was never undertaken. Every 
 person interested in the Transvaal has suffered from 
 this act of idiocy, the only effect of it having been to 
 play into the hands of Boers and Hollanders, and 
 enable them to aggravate the situation fifty-fold. It 
 affords one no solatium to be told that, had the expedi- 
 tion proved successful, all would have benefited. 
 From the outset, any man acquainted with the Trans- 
 vaal outside Johannesburg must have known that 
 success under the circumstances was a physical im- 
 possibility. No revolution of any kind should have 
 been attempted without the overthrow of the present 
 Boer Government being assured beyond the possibility 
 of doubt. And I maintain, such was the feeling of 
 trepidation amongst the Boer and Hollander clique just 
 before the raid, when I was in Pretoria, that if Dr. 
 Jameson's ill-starred expedition had not started, the 
 Boer Government would not only have never passed 
 their recent obnoxious and hurtful measures, but they 
 would have granted many reforms which the Uit- 
 landers then sought. 
 
 I have had a little personal experience of revolu- 
 tions, having survived five in different republics, and 
 I have travelled over a great part of the Transvaal, so 
 that I am enabled to form some opinion of Boer 
 military resources, of their ability to mobilise rapidly,
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 179 
 
 and of the probable chances of conquest a force such 
 as Jameson's might reasonably hope to possess. The 
 Briton is not built for a revolutionist, unless he has 
 been deeply wronged and his passions and patriotism 
 are thoroughly roused, then he becomes dangerous. 
 In this case, to aid the semi-disciplined youths who 
 accompanied Jameson, there was in Johannesburg a 
 comparatively unarmed cosmopolitan mob, without a 
 leader to take the field, and divided in opinion even on 
 the question of grievances. I firmly believe that five 
 hundred resolute men, well mounted and armed, acting 
 quickly and secretly, could then have seized Pretoria 
 before the Boers had time to assemble. Another body 
 of at least three thousand strong should have held 
 Johannesburg, and all approaches by rail or road, and 
 then Jameson's small force might have produced a 
 considerable moral effect. But they had not the 
 organisation, or the men, or the arms wherewith to do 
 this ; they neglected to strike, their supposed secrets 
 were blabbed, and Mr. Kruger and his farmer friends 
 only waited for "the tortoise to put out its head." 
 We know the sequel, and what this rash folly has 
 entailed, not only on residents and investors in Trans- 
 vaal enterprises, but also on the residents and 
 investors in Rhodesia. Had Dr. Jameson never 
 crossed the border, in all probability we should have 
 seen no Kaffir war, with its loss of life and concomi- 
 tant horrors in Matabeleland and Mashonaland. 
 
 Besides, this untimely adventure seriously damaged 
 the Uitlanders' cause in the eyes of those intelligent 
 progressive Boers and burghers forming the minority 
 in the First Raad, who for some time had manfully
 
 i8o BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 opposed Kruger and his Hollanders. Some alienated 
 themselves entirely, while others maintained a circum- 
 spect silence, for fear their advocacy should be vv'ilfully 
 misinterpreted. Hence, since the raid, President 
 Kruger has been able practically to stifle all opposition 
 to his dictatorial commands. 
 
 In common fairness, however, both to Dr. Jameson 
 and his followers, and to the leaders of the so-called 
 revolt in Johannesburg, we should not forget that the 
 rising had been entirely provoked by President Kruger 
 and his Government. Petitions and remonstrances, 
 instead of producing a beneficial effect, were treated 
 at Pretoria with ridicule and contumely. Moreover, 
 Her Majesty's Government maintained that discreet 
 reserve for which they are famous when British 
 interests in South Africa are imperilled, so that at last, 
 goaded by tyranny and insult of every kind, they were 
 driven to take this foolish step without due provision 
 or preparation. 
 
 But these errors or mistakes, or what they have 
 subsequentl}' brought in their train, have only ren- 
 dered it more imperative on Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment to take action now. They were the sinners 
 when Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues, through Lord 
 Kimberley, in 1881, gave the Boers to understand it 
 was no part of the policy of Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment to extend British territory in South Africa, and 
 afterwards, when in 1884 they wilfully eliminated 
 from the Convention the main conditions which Her 
 Majesty as Suzerain had imposed, so as to guarantee 
 complete self-government to all inhabitants of the 
 Transvaal State.
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY i8i 
 
 It is most difficult to write on any subject connected 
 with South Africa without bringing into prominence 
 the name of Mr. Rhodes, the man so pre-eminently 
 associated both with its immediate past, present, and 
 future. I do not propose to add much to the many 
 reams which have been written of and about this 
 gentleman. I have never spoken to Mr. Rhodes in my 
 life, I have never held a share in the Chartered 
 Company or in any Rhodesian enterprise or in any 
 concern with which his name is connected, so that any 
 opinion which I may have formed respecting him and 
 his works cannot be ascribed, as is the fashion nowa- 
 days, to pecuniary influence. 
 
 Without hesitation then, I state that I look on Mr. 
 Rhodes as being one of the greatest of living English- 
 men. Mistakes he has made, and he has frankly 
 admitted them. He has acquired immense wealth, and 
 has not used it to gratify his own selfish pleasures, but 
 as a means to carry out one of the boldest and most 
 colossal enterprises which the brain of an ambitious 
 man ever conceived. 
 
 What, may one ask, would have been the position of 
 Cape Colony to-day, with the fortunes of which he has 
 allied himself, without Mr. Rhodes ? And what about 
 these extensions of British colonial possessions of which 
 our politicians now express themselves to be so proud ! 
 Is it nothing to have, within ten years, occupied for 
 the Crown, rescued from barbarism and opened up to 
 trade, a stretch of country equal in extent to the area 
 of France and Germany? Is it nothing to have pushed 
 through British territorj^railway communication, which, 
 according to Sir James Siveright, no mean authority,
 
 1 82 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 will enable Cape Colony to pay six per cent, on twenty 
 millions sterling, even if the traffic through the Orange 
 Free State fails ? Is it nothing that this man has done 
 more than any other person living to conciliate the 
 Dutch and English races in South Africa, so as to weld 
 them in one firm bond as loyal subjects of Her 
 Majesty ? 
 
 That Mr. Rhodes is fit to rank with the bravest, his 
 recent conduct testifies, as witness his courageous 
 entry into the Matoppo Hills to pacify a horde of 
 savage Kaffirs, and to stop further bloodshed. And that 
 he is merciful and forgiving, his instructions to Lord 
 Grey to buy up to ;^5o,ooo worth of mealies on his 
 responsibility, and distribute them amongst the star\'ing 
 natives, bears silent but eloquent tribute. 
 
 Compare this man and his policy with that of 
 Mr. Gladstone and his Ministers in 1881, before you 
 attempt to pass judgment on him ! 
 
 Take up the map of Africa at that date and look at 
 the rich country then under the protection of the 
 Crown, which they have since surrendered to the Boers, 
 despite the Conventions, then place that map alongside 
 the map of Africa of to-day and see how much territory 
 Mr. Rhodes has added to the Empire. And whilst you 
 do this, may those memorable words ring in your ears, 
 written by Lord Kimberleyin 1 881, when Mr. Gladstone's 
 Cabinet were preparing to leave all British subjects, 
 white or black indiscriminately, to their fate : " Her 
 Majesty's Government are averse on general grounds 
 of policy to the extension of British territory in South 
 Africa." 
 
 The name of Mr. Rhodes is in all men's mouths, and
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 183 
 
 how he was adding to and consolidating the Empire 
 whilst these valiant Little Englanders were trying their 
 utmost to disintegrate it, is matter of common know- 
 ledge. 
 
 It is my humble opinion that in the time to come, 
 when the eminent personages who formed Mr. Glad- 
 stone's Ministry in 1881 and 1884 have become a 
 lingering memory, the name of Mr. Rhodes will be oft 
 recalled with pride by young and old, dwellers in the 
 land which bears his name, and still further beyond the 
 seas, wherever the English language is spoken, he will 
 be remembered as one of the best and bravest of the 
 " old Lion's whelps." 
 
 Instead of being antagonistic to the South African 
 Republic, I feel assured that Mr. Rhodes has all along 
 laboured to bring the Transvaal Boers to consent to an 
 honest commercial union on the question of customs 
 and railway tariffs, and it was only in 1894, at an 
 interview with President Kruger, where the latter lost 
 his temper and expressed himself in violent terms, that 
 Mr. Rhodes felt his task to be absolutely impossible. 
 
 Some opinion of the ingratitude of this Boer and 
 Hollander ring, and their machinations, may be formed 
 from Mr. Rhodes's evidence on March 5th, before the 
 Parliamentary Committee, and I assert that a man who 
 could not be influenced by such considerations would 
 be superhuman. 
 
 " You said in your evidence on Tuesday, in answer 
 to Mr. Bigham, that you believed the Netherlands 
 Railway was practically only in name an independent 
 railway ? — Yes.
 
 1 84 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 "You understood the Government controlled it? — 
 Yes. 
 
 " I wish to ask you whether the policy on that rail- 
 way during the year 1896 was resented by Cape 
 Colony ? — You mean in reference to raising their rates 
 upon us and also the difficulties they threw in the way 
 of our traffic ? 
 
 " Yes ? — I remember a telegram of Sir James Sive- 
 right, who was in our Cabinet. It was dated June 13 
 and was sent to the manager of the Netherlands Com- 
 pany. He said, ' My sole object is to urge you that 
 this colony is not receiving that fair treatment which I 
 maintain it has a right, according to solemn treaty 
 obligations, to expect in handling of its traffic with 
 South African Republic' And then, of course, after 
 that we had the trouble of the raising of the carriage. 
 After we had lent them the money they put the tariff 
 up so much. I must point out that actually when they 
 raised the tariff against us it was an infringement of 
 the arrangement between the Raad and the Nether- 
 lands Company. When the Raad gave the Nether- 
 lands Company their concession they naturally put in 
 a schedule of the upper limit of charges. Then in 
 order to shut our trade out they charged a tariff in 
 excess of that which had been arranged, and Kruger 
 actually sanctioned this increased tariff against British 
 goods, which was raised by the Netherlands Company 
 against us, and that of course caused tremendous 
 friction. 
 
 " Then the President had to intervene to enable the 
 company to put its rates up ? — Exactly. 
 
 "And without his intervention the company would
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAV^ 185 
 
 not under its contract have been able to put them up ? 
 — No, because the rates were beyond the tariff arranged 
 by the State, and the arrangement to allow us to come 
 into the State was nominally with the Netherlands 
 Company. I remember there was a report in 1894. It 
 showed that the total importations to the Transvaal were 
 in March 1894 — via Cape Colony 75 per cent., via Natal 
 15 per cent., and via Delagoa 9 per cent. In April 
 1894, however, under the embarrassments created by 
 the Netherlands Company these importations were — via 
 Cape Colony 62 per cent., via Natal 18 per cent., and 
 via Delagoa 18 per cent. 
 
 " This was going on some time ? — Yes. But we also 
 had checks and difficulties in connection with the traffic, 
 and afterwards came our heavy differences with them 
 when they raised the rates. 
 
 " This heavy difference, as you call it, arose, did it 
 not, when the Delagoa Bay line was opened in that 
 year, 1894? — Yes. 
 
 " That was the occasion for putting up these rates ? 
 —Yes. 
 
 " I see that Sir James Siveright expostulated. Did 
 you take any measures in that year to resent this policy 
 of the Netherlands Railway, a policy which was only 
 made possible, as you told us, by the President ? — 
 When I came down from the north I came to Delagoa 
 Bay and called at Pretoria and saw the President, and 
 I told him it was contrary to the spirit of our agree- 
 ment that he should go and raise the rates beyond the 
 rates allowed by the Raad, and he said he had the 
 right to do it. I said, ' This is really breaking the spirit 
 of the convention.' I said, * It is most unfair, we lent
 
 1 86 BOERS AND LITTLE EN GLANDERS 
 
 you ;^700,CXX) when you could get it from no one else, 
 and the result of that was that the Rothschilds lent you 
 a million and a half to complete the Delagoa Bay line, 
 and as soon as you have got that you break the spirit 
 of this convention and raise the rates against us.' I 
 said, ' If you do not look out you will have the whole 
 of South Africa against you ; you are a very strong 
 man, but there are feelings aroused against you in 
 Cape Colony, in the north, and the feeling of your 
 own people is so strongly against you that you will 
 not be able to stand against them.' I warned him very 
 clearly. 
 
 "That was in 1894?— Yes. 
 
 " And as a matter of fact those rates were not enforced 
 in 1894? — They were in 1895. 
 
 "They were enforced on January i, 1895 ? — Yes. 
 
 Another attack on Uitlander rights in 1895 roused 
 the indignation of the entire South African community. 
 This was the closing of the Drifts on the frontier of the 
 Orange Free State. For some time, mine-owners and 
 merchants at Johannesburg had been driven by the 
 extortions of Mr. Kruger and his Hollanders to have 
 their goods carried from the Vaal River by ox-waggon 
 in competition with the Netherlands Railway, so he 
 proceeded to close the roads against that means of 
 transport, only admitting produce from the Orange 
 Free State to pass through. This procedure was such 
 an outrageous violation of the Conventions that Her 
 Majesty's Government at last put its foot down, and the 
 strong remonstrances from the Colonial Office had the
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 187 
 
 desired effect. President Kruger withdrew his pro- 
 clamation. 
 
 Recently, with commendable promptness, Her 
 Majesty's Government has decided to strengthen our 
 garrisons in South Africa, and the firm attitude of 
 Mr. Chamberlain has already brought about, within the 
 past few days, one salutary result at any rate. 
 
 Finding that we are in earnest and do not intend to 
 shirk our national responsibilities, the Volksraad at 
 Pretoria has been induced to repeal one of the most 
 obnoxious laws recently passed, the Act affecting 
 immigrants, and this too by a vote of twenty against 
 three. It is fair to assume, therefore, that when further 
 pressure is brought to bear, other measures which have 
 been sanctioned, flagrantly violating Articles of the 
 Convention, will also be repealed. But vigilance must 
 not be relaxed. Above all, outside arbitration as to 
 what constitutes an infraction of an Article cannot be 
 entertained. The issues involved in the faithful ob- 
 servance of the Articles substituted in 1884 are so 
 simple and so obvious that no arbitration on any point 
 is necessary. Those Articles were for the benefit of all, 
 and cannot be overridden or set aside by a vindictive 
 minority for their own ends. But even if the occasion 
 for arbitration on any question should arise to which 
 these articles relate. Her Majesty as Suzerain can be 
 the only arbitrator, inasmuch as all disputes must be 
 between one section of the inhabitants and another ; 
 and the section feeling itself aggrieved can rightfully call 
 on the Suzerain to decide their differences and enforce 
 Her guarantee against the offender. 
 
 Let Her Majesty's Government adopt the same
 
 1 88 BOERS AND LITTLE ENGLANDERS 
 
 firmness in every other direction where Articles of the 
 Convention have been similarly ruthlessly broken. If 
 this be done, we shall be treated to a good many pious 
 ejaculations and canting allusions to the Old Testament 
 no doubt, but the Boer Hollander coterie will adopt a 
 different tone very quickly. They are perfectly con- 
 versant with the fact that their recent high-handed 
 outrages of decency have estranged from them the 
 sympathy of the British and French public now so 
 largely interested in the Transvaal, and they have 
 arrived at the conclusion that although the German 
 Emperor may send frothy telegrams, he dare not move 
 a man to aid them against the Suzerain authority in 
 South Africa. President Kruger has had ample oppor- 
 tunities of learning what is the power of England should 
 her strength be put forth, and if he once sees we are in 
 earnest, he will give way. It behoves Her Majesty's 
 advisers, however, to remember that there is at this 
 hour as much difference between his promises and his 
 performances as there was at the time he was treating 
 either with Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet, British officials 
 and the Royal Commissioners, or when he was 
 Commandant-General in Zoutpansberg. 
 
 What reason then can be alleged for further delay ? 
 Is it not a hard petrified fact that the Articles of the 
 Conventions have been openly defied ? Does not the 
 whole world know that the administration of justice has 
 been reduced to a mere mockery and farce, the personal 
 liberty and rights of some 60,000 aliens imperilled, and 
 millions of capital invested in the Transvaal endangered 
 by a few dishonest and illiterate peasants, assisted by 
 a batch of still more unscrupulous foreign Dutch ?
 
 THE SITUATION TO-DAY 189 
 
 Let Her Majesty's Government continue to strengthen 
 our military forces at all strategic points, and show the 
 Boers that at last Great Britain is serious, and if need 
 be that Her Majesty's guarantee will be enforced by 
 Her Majesty's troops. Then I feel sure the game 01 
 bluff will cease, wiser councils will prevail, war will be 
 averted and reforms granted satisfactory to all parties. 
 But these steps must be taken promptly. Remember 
 that the terrible mistakes made over a series of years 
 are not to be corrected in a day, and that each of these 
 ignorant farmers on the Veldt has the idea firmly 
 impressed in his mind that on more than one occasion 
 the Boers have vanquished the entire British power. 
 To those not interested, the position must appear 
 farcical, but any day the farce may develop into tragedy, 
 and only a prompt resolute stand taken by the Suzerain 
 can avert bloodshed.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 No. 122. 
 
 SirT. Shepstone, K.C.M.G., to the Earl of Carnarvon. 
 {Received May 26, 1877.) 
 
 Government House, Pretoria, Transvaal, 
 
 April 17, 1877. 
 My Lord, 
 
 On Thursday last, the 12th instant, I found myself 
 in a position to issue the proclamations necessary for annexing 
 the South African Republic, commonly known as the Transvaal, 
 to Her Majesty's dominions, and for assuming the administra- 
 tion thereof in virtue of the powers conferred upon me by 
 Her Majesty's Commission, dated Balmoral, the 5th day of 
 October, 1876. I enclose printed copies of these two pro- 
 clamations, and my address to the people, for your Lordship's 
 information, and, I hope, approval. These documents describe 
 the considerations which chiefly induced me to take this step. 
 The facts showing the perilous and utterly deplorable condi- 
 tion of the Government and country could, with perfect truth, 
 have been stated in much stronger language ; indeed, they 
 had been more strongly stated by Mr. Burgers himself in 
 speeches addressed to the Volksraad by him as President, 
 extracts from which I have used in my address to the 
 people. 
 
 2. Every step I have taken towards the accomplishment of 
 my object was taken with the knowledge of the President. I 
 thought it my duty to be perfectly open and frank with him
 
 192 APPENDIX 
 
 from the beginning, and on the last occasion of my meeting 
 him in Executive Council he took the opportunity to acknow- 
 ledge and thank me for what he was good enough to call 
 my considerate and frank behaviour to him and the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 3. After this meeting, and in compliance with a request 
 made thereat, I addressed the letter of the 9th April (copy 
 annexed) informing Mr. Burgers of my intention. He sub- 
 sequently called upon me, and informed me that he should be 
 bound to make a protest, the draft of which he read to me. 
 I agreed with Mr. Burgers, that from his point of view he 
 could take no other course, and you will observe that the 
 wording of the protest is as moderate as was compatible with 
 the object it was intended to attain. 
 
 4. On Wednesday, the nth instant, the Attorney-General 
 and Chief Clerk came and officially read the protest to me, 
 and at the same time handed in a resolution of the Executive 
 Council (copy of each herewith enclosed), from which it 
 appeared that in addition to the protest a mission to Her 
 Majesty's Government, and contingently to other Govern- 
 ments which had acknowledged the independence of the 
 State, had been determined upon. The resolution appointed 
 the Attorney-General, E. J. P. Jorissen, LL.D., and Mr. Paul 
 Kruger, Vice-President, to be members of this mission, with 
 power to add a third person, if required. I received these 
 papers, but as they contained nothing to induce me to change 
 the view I had taken of my duty, I said that while I recog- 
 nised the propriety of their discharging what they conceived 
 to be incumbent upon them, I must ask them to do the same 
 with regard to me; they expressed their acquiescence, and 
 the interview, which had been friendly throughout, ended. 
 
 5. Mr. Burgers called upon me shortly afterwards and ex- 
 plained to me the object of these documents. 
 
 6. The following day, at 11 a.m., Mr. Osborne, Secretary of 
 the mission, accompanied by seven other gentlemen of my 
 staff, whose names appear on the margin, walked down to 
 Church Square, and in front of the public offices read my 
 proclamations to a small crowd of the inhabitants, mostly 
 English, by whom, of course, the most hearty cheers were 
 given for Her Majesty. Mr. Burgers' protest and proclamation
 
 APPENDIX 193 
 
 were immediately afterwards read by Mr. Juta, one of the 
 members of the Executive Government, and were received in 
 respectful silence. No excitement whatever followed. 
 
 7. Mr. Burgers' proclamation, translation of which I enclose, 
 informed the people that the Government had decided to 
 submit under protest, mentioned the intention to send a 
 mission to Europe, and called upon all Government officers, 
 burghers, and other inhabitants to avoid violent word or deed 
 whereby the mission might be rendered fruitless ; and, on the 
 contrary, exhorted them to assist in carrying out the decision 
 of the Government and in the maintenance of order. 
 
 8. Every effort had been made during the previous fortnight 
 by, it is said, educated Hollanders residing at the seat of 
 Government, and who had but lately arrived in the country, 
 to rouse the fanaticism of the Boers, and to induce them to 
 offer "bloody" resistance to what it was known I intended to 
 do. The Boers were appealed to in the most inflammatory 
 language by printed manifestoes and memorials ; agents were 
 sent out to excite them by violent speeches at public meetings, 
 and every possible means were used to intimidate individuals 
 and stifle the expression of real opinion ; it was urged that I 
 had but a small escort, which could easily be overpowered, 
 and that there would be no difficulty in putting the mission 
 across the border; but, as I had judged from the first, the 
 daily accumulating pressure and personal distress which the 
 circumstances of the country were bringing upon them had 
 created in the minds of the people a conviction that the State 
 did not possess inherent vitality enough to relieve them, and 
 that the only prospect of relief lay in accepting my proposal. 
 Every intelligent man, from the highest to the lowest, with 
 whom I discussed the question frankly admitted this, and 
 those who opposed my mission because of their positions in 
 the State were equally frank in the expression in that direction 
 of their personal opinions. I know, therefore, that in spite of 
 the efforts to create opposition there was at bottom no feeling 
 strong enough to nourish it ; and my judgment has been so 
 far confirmed by the fact that from the moment that the pro- 
 clamation was published to this, opposition has been gradually 
 dying away and the disposition to accept the situation growing 
 apace. 
 
 N
 
 194 APPENDIX 
 
 9. Immediately after the issue of the proclamation Mr. 
 Burgers addressed the asFembled officials, and, in taking 
 leave of them, urged them to loyally serve the new Govern- 
 ment. He directed Mr. Swart, the State Secretary, to hand 
 over formally to me the key of the offices, a direction which 
 he (Mr. Swart) at once came to the house I occupy to 
 comply with, and upon his doing so I handed it back to his 
 charge. 
 
 10. The officers of the late Republic, including every member 
 of the Executive Council except Mr. Paul Kruger, one of the 
 delegates appointed to go to Europe, have all signified in 
 writing their willingness to serve under the new form of 
 Government. There has not been time for the notification 
 of the intentions of the Landdrosts and others in charge of 
 districts at a distance to reach me, but I have good reason to 
 believe that all will follow the example of their officers at the 
 seat of Government. 
 
 11. With regard to the protest and the points urged in the 
 minute of the Executive Council I have very little to say. My 
 proclamation and address to the people show clearly the state 
 of the country, and the impossibility of my leaving it without 
 at once precipitating its destruction, first, by the anarchy and 
 civil war it would at once have produced, and, next, by the 
 attacks from natives which that anarchy would at once have 
 invited. I dared not, therefore, entertain such a thought. 
 None of the points urged by the Executive Council are left 
 unanswered in the documents I have issued ; none show the 
 existence of any hope in the Councillors themselves that the 
 country could raise itself by means within itself from its 
 depressed condition, and they afford no certain prospect for 
 the future, except the annihilation of the State and the placing 
 of all the white communities of South Africa in the utmost 
 peril. 
 
 12. The protest, the minute and decision of the Executive 
 Council, as well as the proclamation by Mr. Burgers, were 
 necessary to calm strong feelings here and there, but the 
 great value of them has been that of furnishing an excuse to 
 the great body of the people to accept quietly what they feel 
 is the only means of saving themselves and the country. 
 
 13. In the resolution or minute of the Executive Council
 
 APPENDIX 195 
 
 my act is described as one of " violence." It seems to ine to 
 be necessary only to state that the Transvaal is about the 
 same size as Great Britain and Ireland put together ; that it 
 is believed to contain a population of 40,000 whites and 
 800,000 natives; that I entered this territory with my per- 
 sonal staff only, and an escort of 25 Natal mounted policemen, 
 on 4th January, and, after slow progress, reached Pretoria, 
 the capital, on 22nd January last ; that I have never hesitated, 
 during these three months and more, to explain to both the 
 Government and the people the condition of the State, and 
 the only remedy that appeared to me capable of saving it 
 from immediate ruin ; that I have again and again expressed 
 my willingness to at once withdraw, if any plan, or action, or 
 latent power in the country could be shown me by which its 
 independence could be maintained, and the danger to its 
 neighbours be averted, but without result ; that I have in- 
 variably been, and still am, treated with the utmost deference 
 and respect by all classes of the people ; and that the only 
 means by which I could have used violence in carrying out what 
 I have done — i.e., Her Majesty's troops — were four weeks' 
 march from me, in the colony of Natal, and cannot be here, 
 even now, within a fortnight, or very nearly a month after the 
 issue of my proclamation, and of my having assumed the 
 Government. These facts will, I think, show your lordship 
 conclusively that I have acted in accordance with the real 
 convictions and feelings of the people, and that, for an officer, 
 accompanied as I was, by a staff of twelve gentlemen, and an 
 escort of twenty-five men, openly and avowedly to attempt to 
 subvert the government of a country, and place himself at its 
 head against the true wishes of such a people, would have 
 been an act of madness. 
 
 14. There is also another expression in the same document, 
 regarding which I wish to make a few remarks. The natives 
 are spoken of as a " common enemy " to the whites ; this 
 may have been the case in the Transvaal under its late form 
 of government, and the history of past transactions with the 
 coloured races will probably support this view, but I desire to 
 state my conviction, earnestly and deliberately based upon 
 an experience of forty-two years' duration, that this need not 
 be the case, and will not be the case under Her Majesty's
 
 196 APPENDIX 
 
 rule; that these people are, as compared with the Zulu race, 
 unwarlike, and inclined to peaceful industry ; that, in their 
 readiness to adopt civilised ideas and habits, they are also 
 unlike the Zulus, who are a proud, conservative people, and 
 are naturally opposed to the encroachments of civilisation. 
 
 15. I feel sure that there will be but little difficulty in 
 ruling the large native population which this country con- 
 tains ; justice and firmness, a conviction that their wrongs 
 will be righted, and their rights protected, will make them 
 good and obedient subjects, and open to philanthropists a 
 door to their benevolent operations that will lead them more 
 safely and easily to Central Africa than any base of action 
 that has hitherto been open to them. 
 
 16, To avoid all unnecessary irritation, I thought it best to 
 defer the formal raising of the flag until the arrival of the 
 troops, when the act can be accompanied by becoming and 
 necessary formalities ; in the meanwhile the republican flag 
 has ceased to be hoisted, and the Union Jack flies from the 
 flag-staff at the house which I occupy. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) T. SHEPSTONE, 
 Her Majesty's Special Commissioner and Administrator 
 of the Transvaal Government. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Earl ok Carnarvon, &c. &c. 
 
 P. S. — I have not had time to offer any explanations re- 
 garding the different points in my proclamation annexing the 
 country, upon which I have, upon suggestions made to mc, 
 pledged the faith of Her Majesty's Government. I shall en- 
 deavour to do so at an early opportunity. 
 
 (Signed) T. S.
 
 APPENDIX 197 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 Resolution of the Executive Council, dated the 
 nth 0/ April, 1877.— Art. 7. 
 
 On the Order, 
 
 Despatch from Her British Majesty's Special Commis- 
 sioner, dated the gtii of April 1877, giving notice that his 
 Excellency has decided to proclaim without delay British 
 authority over the South African Republic. It is resolved :— 
 
 That whereas Her British Majesty's Government, by the 
 Convention of Sand River, 1852, has solemnly pledged the 
 independence of the people to the north of the Vaal River, 
 and that whereas the Government of the South African 
 Republic is not aware of ever having given any reason for a 
 hostile action on the part of Her Majesty's Government, nor 
 any grounds for such an act of violence. 
 
 That whereas this Government has ever shown its readiness, 
 and is still prepared, to do all which in justice and equity may 
 be demanded, and also to remove all causes of dissatisfaction 
 that may exist. Whereas also the Government has repeatedly 
 expressed its entire willingness to enter into such treaties or 
 agreements with Her Majesty's Government as may be con- 
 sidered necessary for the general protection of the white 
 population of South Africa, and is prepared punctually to 
 execute such agreements : And whereas according to public 
 statements of Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies, Lord Carnarvon, there exists no desire on the part 
 of the British Government to force the people of the South 
 African Republic against their wish under the authority of the 
 British Government : And whereas the people, by memorials 
 or otherwise, have by a large majority plainly stated that 
 they are averse to it : And whereas this Government is aware 
 that it is not in a condition to maintain the rights and inde- 
 pendence of the people with the sword against the superior 
 power of Great Britain, and, moreover, has no desire in any 
 way to take any steps by which the white inhabitants of South 
 Africa would be divided, in the face of the common enemj', 
 against each other, or might come in hostile contact with each
 
 198 APPENDIX 
 
 other, to the great danger of the entire Christian population 
 of South Africa, without having iirst employed all means to 
 secure in a peaceful way and by friendly mediation the rights 
 of the people, therefore the Government protests most strongly 
 against this act of Her Majesty's Special Commissioner. 
 
 It is also further resolved to send without delay a commis- 
 sion of delegates to Europe and America, with full power and 
 instruction to add to their number a third person if required, 
 in order to endeavour, in the first place, to lay before Her 
 Majesty's Government the desire and wishes of the people, 
 and in case this might not have the desired effect, which this 
 Government would deeply regret, and cannot as yet believe, 
 then to appeal to the friendly assistance and intercession of 
 other Powers, particularly of those who have acknowledged 
 the independence of this State. As members of this Commis- 
 sion are appointed the Honourable the Attorney-General, 
 Dr. E. J. P. Jorissen, and S. J. P. Kruger, Vice-President of 
 the South African Republic. 
 
 Proclamation. 
 
 (Tmnslatiofi.) 
 
 Whereas Her British Majesty's Special Commissioner, 
 Sir Theophilus Shepstone, in spite of my solemn protest 
 presented yesterday against his Excellency's intention, com- 
 municated to me by letter, dated 9th April, has thought fit to 
 carry out that intention, and has this day proclaimed the 
 authority of Her British Majestj^'s Government over the South 
 African Republic. 
 
 And whereas the Government has in the first place resolved 
 to submit under protest, in order meanwhile to send a 
 mission, in the persons of the Honourable S. J. P. Kruger and 
 E. P. Jorissen, to Europe and America, in order thus to 
 defend the rights of the people, and to endeavour in a 
 peaceable way to settle the matter : 
 
 So it is that I, Thomas Francois Burgers, State President 
 of the South African Republic, by this, in the name and by 
 the advice of the Executive Council, command all officials, 
 burghers, and inhabitants to refrain from any word or deed of
 
 APPENDIX 199 
 
 violence whereby the mission may be made fruitless. And I 
 exhort all burghers and inhabitants to help, maintain, and 
 support the resolutions of the Government for the preservation 
 of order and the prevention of bloodshed. 
 
 (Signed) THOS. BURGERS, 
 
 State President. 
 Government Office, Pretoria, 
 
 12/A April, 1877. 
 
 Letter from Mr. Kruger. 
 
 (TranslatioH.) 
 
 Kaalfontein, November 29, 1880. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I BEG to inform you herewith that I have submitted 
 an account of our interview of this morning to the assembled 
 people. 
 
 We have agreed upon holding a general meeting of the 
 people on 8th December next. 
 
 I hope and trust, as I informed you and as you agreed to, 
 that the Government will place no obstacle in the way by 
 summonses, writs of execution, or any military movements. 
 
 Should it happen, however, that movements are taken on 
 your part, I must distinctly inform you I shall not be respon- 
 sible for the consequences. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) S. J. P. KRUGER. 
 The Honourable G. Hudson, 
 Government Secretary. 
 
 Mr. Hudson's Answer to Mr. Kruger's Letter. 
 
 PoTCHEFSTROOM, November 30, 1880. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of yesterday's date received by me at 1.25 p.m. 
 to-day.
 
 200 APPENDIX 
 
 I clearly placed before the committee my contention that no 
 Government worthy of the name would submit to be called 
 upon to suspend the operation of the law. In the form in 
 which you placed matters before me, you threw upon the 
 Government the responsibility of what might arise from any 
 precipitate action on its part. The Government is fully aware 
 of and prepared to accept the responsibility of its course of 
 action. 
 
 Major Clarke has now been appointed Special Commissioner 
 for the district of Potchefstroom, to whom further corre- 
 spondence if necessary may be addressed. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE HUDSON, 
 
 Colonial Secretaty. 
 
 S. J. Paul Kruger, Esq., 
 Kaalfotitei?i, 
 
 Report of Mr. Hudson, Colotiial Secretary to His 
 Excellency Sir Owen Lanyon, K.C.M.G., C.B. 
 
 Potchefstroom, December i, 1880 
 
 Your Excellency, 
 
 Following my letters of the 26th and 28th ultimo, I 
 have the honour to report that Potchefstroom is still in a 
 disturbed state, and the inhabitants appear to view matters as 
 critical. On Monday I left this at 8 a.m. for Kaalfontein to 
 meet Mr. Paul Kruger and Boer Committee. I took with me 
 only a special constable named Ribas, who drove me. I may 
 here mention that on Friday last Captain Raaf went out to 
 notify, if he should desire it, my willingness to meet 
 Mr. Kruger, and was rather roughly handled, being met some 
 distance from the laager, searched, and an attempt was made 
 to lead him and his horse in. On his return he told me that 
 he thought at one time they would have seized and kept him 
 there, and he did not care to advise me to go out, I told him 
 I must go according to arrangement. 
 
 The Boer laager is about twenty miles from here. When 
 about two miles from it an escort of two men met us and took
 
 APPENDIX 20I 
 
 us into camp, where I should say about 400 men were 
 gathered. Ribas informs me he counted 618 horses and 
 mules, but there were many more. 
 
 I met with a very sullen reception, and Mr. Paul Kriiger 
 appeared nervous and very anxious that I should keep out of 
 sight of the " volk " (people) as much as possible. Mr. Kriiger 
 then took me into a room, where a meeting between about ten 
 persons and myself took place. The interview here began : — 
 
 Mr. Kruger : I hurried down from Rustenburg hearing that 
 matters were serious, but I now find them more so than I 
 expected. In fact, I don't know what to think of it. The 
 committee had been working with the people, and arrange- 
 ments had been made for a meeting on gth January 1881, and 
 now the Government has upset the whole thing. I and others 
 are now doing our best for a peaceable arrangement, but if 
 the Government precipitates matters I will wash my hands of 
 all responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : I have come here to meet Mr. Kruger with a 
 like object, and I think I can claim to have the best interests 
 of the country at heart. I am a colonist, and came up here 
 in the hope that I might promote South African interests. I 
 am equally anxious with Mr. Kruger to assist in preventing 
 any disturbance, and would strongly urge upon those for whom 
 warrants are out to surrender and trust themselves to the 
 mercy of the Government. 
 
 Mr. Kruger : Why, when the people are protesting, and a 
 meeting notified for gth January, which the committee are trying 
 to make pass off peaceably, does the Government worry them 
 by tax collecting, executions, &c. The Government should 
 have waited till then. 
 
 Mr. Hudson ; Surely, Mr. Kriiger, you cannot suppose that 
 any Government would consent to suspend the operation of 
 the law because of some meeting that was supposed to be 
 held. The law must take its course. 
 
 Mr. Kruger : The Government has precipitated matters, the 
 people are impatient, and matters are now serious. Had the 
 Government waited, the committee would have laid before the 
 people on gth January Mr. Gladstone's proposals, and have 
 been prepared to have taken action on them, and matters 
 peaceably arranged.
 
 202 APPENDIX 
 
 Mr. Hudson : The Government has received no information 
 from the committee of the object of the meeting, or any 
 intimation that any proposals from Mr. Gladstone had been 
 received, or were to be discussed ; at least I never heard of it. 
 
 Mr. Kruger : Everything has been published, so that every 
 one might read what was going on, and so long as the people 
 protested the Government should not harass them. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : As I have said before, the Government 
 cannot suspend any of its legitimate functions. As regards 
 the collection of taxes, why should one pay and not another ? 
 As a Government we are merely carrjdng out the laws of the 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Bodenstein : Why should taxes not be allowed to be 
 received under protest till this meeting ? 
 
 Mr. Hudson: Because I never yet heard of a Government 
 receiving taxes under a protest, such as you propose ; it could 
 not do so. It might lead you to entertain the idea that if the 
 country were given back the money would have to be 
 returned to you by the British Government. 
 
 Mr. Kruger : It is not the British Government, or the 
 EngUsh people, it is acts of the Government and the mis- 
 representations of Sir Bartle Frere, Wolseley, and Lanyon 
 that have brought matters to this state. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : I am not aware of any act of this Government 
 which could justify the present defiance to law and order, 
 and as to the alleged misrepresentations, I do not understand 
 what is meant. 
 
 Mr. Cronj6 : Are you aware of what took place between 
 Bezuidenhout and the Landdrost of Potchefstroom, and all 
 the circumstances which have led to the present difficulties ? 
 
 Mr. Hudson : I am not aware of the particulars ; the 
 Government is under the impression that everything has been 
 done according to law, if any injustice has been done to 
 Mr. Bezuidenhout, he has redress by law, or a representation 
 to Government. When I get back to Pretoria I will make 
 inquiries, though, as I have intimated, he could appeal to a 
 higher court. 
 
 Mr. Cronj6 : I would like to state the case. Mr. Bezuiden- 
 hout was served with a tax notice to pay £7.1 5s. He ap- 
 peared at the office of the Landdrost of Potchefstroom, and
 
 APPENDIX 203 
 
 told him he was willing to pay £1^, which was all that could 
 legally be demanded. The Landdrost refused to receive it, 
 but said Bezuidenhout must pay £2"] 5s., but he declined to do 
 so. He was then summoned for £2^ 5s., and appeared, 
 presenting his last receipts, and tendered again £1^. The 
 Landdrost answered as before. Bezuidenhout flatly refused 
 to pay. Subsequently judgment was given for £iiif with £8 
 costs, and the waggon was attached for the £id^. If this 
 matter is looked into, it will be seen how illegally the Govern- 
 has acted. , 
 
 Mr. Hudson : The Government is not aware of the case as 
 you have stated it, and I cannot say more than I have already 
 said. 
 
 Mr. Fonche : Why did the Government adopt such an 
 unusual course as to send troops down to execute the arrest ? 
 
 Mr. Hudson : There was not a single soldier sent down or 
 used to carry out the process of the law. Special constables 
 only were used, and they were resisted. 
 
 Mr. Bodenstein : Why were no summonses issued in the 
 usual way ? Had that been done, the present difficulties 
 would not have occurred ; the troops coming down made the 
 difficulty. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : I understand from Mr. Cronje that summonses 
 were issued, but that is a judicial matter, and if any wrong 
 has been done, it can be righted in the usual way. I have 
 come to urge you to settle matters quietly, and hope you will 
 urge upon those for whom warrants are out to give them- 
 selves up ; these points are only personal ones. 
 
 Mr. Kruger: Why, while the people are protesting generally, 
 do the Government try to stop them ? The committee were 
 working for peace, and do not want bloodshed, and if the 
 Government had allowed the people's committee to act it 
 might have been different. Even now, tlie Government have 
 arrested the printer, Mr. Celliers, who published their protests ; 
 why did the Government do that ? Matters have arrived at 
 the state now that I do not know how much further they will 
 go (here a member or person in the room said to Mr. Kruger, 
 " Yes you do, or else you know," and put his hands round his 
 neck, indicating as I understood, that he would, have a halter 
 round his neck).
 
 204 APPENDIX 
 
 Mr. Hudson : The Government has never interfered with 
 the peaceful efforts or intentions of the committee. Surely 
 the Government has a right as much as private persons to 
 take notice of defamatory articles. The courts and the laws 
 of the country will decide whether Mr. Celliers or the 
 Government is right, so I don't see that any person can 
 object to an appeal to them, if disposed to make it. 
 
 Mr. Kruger : The people are a protesting people, and should 
 not be hindered in their words. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : Is there anything you wish me to convey to 
 the Government ? 
 
 Mr. Kruger : We must now speak to the people, it is their 
 matter, and we can do nothing. I came to prevent bloodshed, 
 and to shorten the time of the meeting, and wrote a letter to 
 the Landdrost, with our minutes, which have not been 
 forwarded. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : Will you let me have a copy ? 
 
 Mr. Kruger : No, I cannot give you a copy, it is of no use, 
 they are cancelled. The Government has taken its course, 
 issued summonses, writs, and brought troops, and I must let 
 the people now decide. We are now calling them up, and 
 will determine what we will do ; but if the Government inter- 
 feres or does anything to exasperate them, I wash my hands 
 of all responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Hudson : The Government is equally anxious with 
 yourself for a satisfactory settlement of this matter. As you 
 are calling the people up the matter will now soon be settled. 
 I can say no more than to express my earnest hope that the 
 decision you arrive at will be the right one. 
 
 Here the interview ended. 
 
 I was escorted back for about one mile from the laager by 
 three mounted Boers. 
 
 On Tuesday I received the enclosed letter from Mr. Paul 
 Kriiger, to which I sent a reply. (Copy herewith.) 
 
 The political results which would appear to have arisen out 
 of this case require, I think, that Government should inves- 
 tigate it. I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE HUDSON. 
 Colonial Secretary. 
 
 His Excellency Sir OWEN Lanyon, K.C.M.G., C.B.
 
 APPENDIX 205 
 
 Instructions. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley lo 
 Sir Hercules Robinson, G.C.M.G. 
 
 Downing Street, March 31, 1881. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 You have received from Sir Evelyn Wood a state- 
 ment of the conditions agreed upon between him and the 
 leaders of the Transvaal Boers on the 21st March, and I have 
 now the honour to acquaint you that the Queen has approved 
 of the appointment of yourself, Sir E. Wood, and Sir H. de 
 ViUiers to be Her Majesty's Commissioners for considering 
 and advising upon the final agreements for the settlement of 
 the affairs of the Transvaal. 
 
 I shall shortly transmit to you a Commission under the 
 Queen's sign manual and signet for the appointment of the 
 Commissioners, but as the first duties of the Commissioners 
 will be those of inquiry and discussion, and some time must 
 elapse before any formal action on their part will be required, 
 the Commission will have been able to enter without delay 
 upon the consideration of the matter referred to it. You will 
 preside at the meetings of the Commission, and in your 
 absence Sir E. Wood has precedence of Sir H. de ViUiers. 
 
 I have communicated to President Brand by telegraph the 
 hope of Her Majesty's Government that he will be able to be 
 present; as representing a friendly State, at the proceedings 
 of the Royal Commission, and I understand that he proposes 
 to apply to the Volksraad for the leave necessary to enable 
 him to go beyond the Free State for that purpose. 
 
 It has been agreed that the Commissioners should meet 
 such representatives as the Boers may select to express their 
 views, and should fully discuss with them the questions which 
 have to be settled. 
 
 The Commissioners will make such arrangements for the 
 time and place of their meetings as may be most convenient 
 to all parties. 
 
 It may be desirable that the Commission should in the 
 first instance address itself to the principal points referred to
 
 2o6 APPENDIX 
 
 in the general terms of settlement agreed to by Sir E. Wood 
 with the Boer leaders, a summary of which is contained in 
 his telegram to me of the 21st March,* and to some extent 
 further explained in subsequent telegraphic correspondence. 
 I may recapitulate them briefly, as follows : 
 
 The Transvaal State is to enjoy complete self-government 
 under the suzerainty of the Queen ; the control of its rela- 
 tions with foreign Powers being reserved to the British 
 Government. 
 
 A British Resident may be appointed at the capital of the 
 Transvaal State, with such functions as Her Majesty's 
 Government may determine on the recommendation of the 
 Commission. 
 
 The Commission is to consider provisions for the protection 
 of native interests. 
 
 The Commission is further to consider whether any portion, 
 within certain limits, mentioned in my telegram to Sir E. 
 Wood, of March 17,! should be severed from the country 
 now included in the Transvaal Province. 
 
 There is to be no molestation for political opinion either 
 way, and a complete amnesty is to be accorded to all who 
 have taken part in the present war, excepting only persons 
 who have committed or are directly responsible for acts 
 contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. 
 
 Immunity from civil process is guaranteed to the Boer 
 leaders individually and collectivelj-for acts done in reference 
 to the war until self-government is accorded, and the question 
 of compensation to either side for acts not justified by neces- 
 sities of war is remitted to the Commission to judge what acts 
 were justified. 
 
 Besides these principal points there are some other matters 
 referred to in the agreement entered into by Sir E. Wood, as 
 reported in his telegrams to me, and there are further points 
 not mentioned by him which will have to be provided for in 
 the final settlement. Of the latter the most important are 
 the determination of a boundary line in the territory known 
 as the Keate Award, the payment of the pubhc debt of the 
 Province and the recognition of all lawful acts done by the 
 
 * No. 123 of [C. 2837] March 1881. 
 t No. IIS of [C. 2837] March 1881.
 
 APPENDIX 207 
 
 Government during the British occupation. I will deal in 
 order with the various points to which I have referred. 
 
 Entire freedom of action will be accorded to the Transvaal 
 Government so far as is not inconsistent with the rights 
 expressly reserved to the suzerain Power. The term 
 suzerainty has been chosen as most conveniently describing 
 superiority over a State possessing independent rights of 
 government subject to reservations with reference to certain 
 specified matters. 
 
 The most material of these reserved rights is the control of 
 the external relations of the future Transvaal State, which 
 will be vested in the British Government, including, of course, 
 the conclusion of treaties and the conduct of diplomatic inter- 
 course with foreign Powers. 
 
 As regards communication with foreign Governments, it 
 will probably be found most convenient that the Transvaal 
 Government should correspond on such matters with Her 
 Majesty's Government through the Resident and the High 
 Commissioner. 
 
 There remains for consideration under this head the 
 manner in which the relations with the independent native 
 tribes beyond the frontier should be conducted. The general 
 superintendence of these relations would seem naturally to 
 fall within the functions of the British Resident under the 
 direction of the High Commissioner. It will be for the Royal 
 Commissioners, after examination of the whole question, to 
 recommend what should be the precise limits of the powers 
 assigned to the Resident in regard to this important matter. 
 You will bear in mind that the objects to be aimed at are to 
 preserve the peace of the frontier and to maintain a course of 
 policy conducive generally to the interests and tranquillity of 
 the whole of South Africa, and that Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment have no desire to interfere with the local administration 
 beyond what may be indispensable for the furtherance of these 
 objects. 
 
 A still more difficult question will be to determine what 
 provisions shall be made for the protection of the interests of 
 the natives who dwell within the present territorial limits of 
 the Transvaal. The districts vary greatly in circumstances, 
 but they may be divided into three categories : —
 
 2o8 APPENDIX 
 
 (i) Districts which have been really occupied by wliite 
 settlement, such as Pretoria, Heidelberg, Middleburg, and 
 Potchefstroom, where the white settlers are not much out- 
 numbered by the natives, and where the authority of the 
 Republican Government was thoroughly established before 
 the annexation. 
 
 (2) Districts like Lydenburg, where the white settlements are 
 surrounded by native tribes vastly preponderating in numbers, 
 which either refused to recognise the rule of the Boers or give 
 it but imperfect obedience. In the northern part of this district 
 is Sikukuni's tribe, which we found at war with the Boers and 
 practically independent, and which was reduced to submission 
 by the operations of Sir Garnet Wolseley. 
 
 (3) Such districts as Zoutpansberg, where the native popula- 
 tion is estimated at nearly 365,000 souls, whilst the white 
 settlers are said to number only about 800, and where the 
 authority of the RepubUc was at the time of the annexation 
 scarcely acknowledged. It is true the Boers laid claim to the 
 country and formerly held possession of parts of it, but they 
 had been gradually pushed back by the natives, who had 
 virtually regained their independence. The difficulty of deal- 
 ing satisfactorily with the districts in the two last categories 
 led Her Majesty's Government to think that it might be found 
 expedient to sever from the Transvaal the eastern portion of 
 the territory now composed within its limits, taking the Vaal 
 River and a line drawn from the Vaal northward near the 
 30th degree of longitude as the new boundary. This would, 
 however, include a part of the district of Middelburg, and it 
 will be probably sufficient to consider the question as limited 
 to the severance of the districts of Wakkerstroom, Utrecht, 
 Lydenburg, and Zoutpansberg. The district of Waterberg 
 resembles that of Zoutpansberg in the vast numerical supe- 
 riority of the natives, but its position is such that it could not 
 form a part of a separate British province, and as far as I am 
 aware the natives had not driven back the Boer settlers in the 
 same way as in Zoutpansberg. I will, however, refer to this 
 district further on in connection with Zoutpansberg. 
 
 To deal first with the Wakkerstroom and Utrecht dis- 
 tricts. 
 There would be one obvious advantage in retaining these
 
 APPENDIX 209 
 
 districts under British rule, inasmuch as they would separate 
 the Transvaal State from Zululand, and prevent the recur- 
 rence of those dangerous border disputes between the Boers 
 and the Zulus which were in large measure the cause of the 
 Zulu war. Moreover, the existence of another authority on 
 the Zulu border would render it extremely difficult for the 
 British Government to maintain that influence with the Zulu 
 Chiefs which is essential for the maintenance of peace in 
 Zululand, and for the success of the settlement of that country 
 made by Sir Garnet Wolseley. 
 
 The same reasons apply to that part of Lydenburg known 
 as New Scotland, by retaining which as British the Swazis 
 would in great measure be kept apart from the Boer frontier. 
 If strong objections were raised on the part of the Boers to 
 the severance from the Transvaal of the whole of Wakker- 
 stroom, so much only might be retained as would be necessary 
 to maintain the communications between Natal and the 
 British territory further northward, but the Vaal River would 
 form the most natural and convenient boundary. 
 
 With regard to the Lydenburg district apart from New 
 Scotland, the arguments in favour of maintaining British rule 
 over it are that the population is stated to contain an increas- 
 ing British element principally at the Gold Fields, that the 
 native population vastly outnumber the white inhabitants, 
 being estimated at 123,300 as compared with 1578, and that 
 having subdued Sikukuni's tribe, which occupies an important 
 part of the district, we are under peculiar obligations to make 
 provision for its fair treatment. 
 
 On the other hand, the Lydenburg district could scarcely 
 be annexed to Natal, and as a separate British Province it 
 would form an inconvenient narrow strip of territory, which 
 would probably for some time to come not pay its own 
 expenses. Lastly, Her Majesty's Government are averse, on 
 general grounds of policy, to the extension of British territory in 
 South Africa. 
 
 A most important consideration will be the wishes of the 
 settlers themselves, and you will be careful to ascertain in the 
 fullest manner whether they would willingly accept the con- 
 tinuance of British rule, if it should be determined to retain 
 any of the territory to which I have referred. 
 
 O
 
 2IO APPENDIX 
 
 If Sikukuni's country is not retained under British rule or 
 declared to be an independent native district, it might be 
 advisable that some special conditions should be made as to 
 its relations with the Transvaal State, and should it be 
 ultimately decided that no territory should intervene between 
 the Transvaal State and Zululand or Swaziland, it will be 
 necessary that the Transvaal Government should distinctly 
 recognise the boundaries of Zululand and Swaziland as lately 
 defined, and the independence of the latter, over whom the 
 Republic appears to have claimed an undefined supremacy 
 before the annexation, though it was not acknowledged by the 
 Swazis. 
 
 I now pass to Zoutpansberg. I incline to the opinion that 
 the most satisfactory arrangement as to this district would be 
 that it should be left to the native tribes. 
 
 I should be glad if some similar arrangement could have 
 been made as to Waterberg, but the reasons for leaving the 
 district to the native tribes do not appear to be so strong as 
 in the case of Zoutpansberg, and as the Boers have been 
 informed that it was not the intention of Her Majesty's 
 Government that territory should be severed from the Trans- 
 vaal, west of the 30th degree of longitude, the question does 
 not stand on the same footing- 
 It should be remembered, however, that the severance of 
 the districts principally inhabited by natives would have the 
 effect of lessening the necessity for interference for the pro- 
 tection of the natives within the territories of the Transvaal 
 State, and such a measure might, therefore, recommend itself 
 to the Boers as diminishing the occasion for action on the 
 part of the British Government with regard to their internal 
 affairs. It is on every account desirable that interference in 
 those affairs should be confined to the fewest possible points, 
 and those points should be clearly defined and embodied in 
 the final settlement ainongst the conditions upon which the 
 Government of the country is handed over. The subject is 
 one especially requiring examination on the spot, but I may 
 mention one or two points as indicating the nature of the 
 provisions which might be made, as for example, the stipula- 
 tions that no law should be enacted forbidding the natives to 
 hold land, and that they should be allowed to move as freely
 
 APPENDIX 211 
 
 within the country as may be consistent with the requirements 
 of public order, and to leave it for the purpose of seeking 
 employment elsewhere. 
 
 The provision in the Sand River Convention against slavery, 
 in any form, must be re-affirmed. Perhaps on some matters 
 of especial importance affecting the natives it might be pro- 
 vided that the suzerain Power should have a veto upon any 
 new legislation. Whatever provisions are made, it would be 
 one of the duties of the British Resident to report to the High 
 Commissioner as to their working and observance. 
 
 It is scarcely to be hoped that political passions will im- 
 mediately calm down, and Her Majesty's Government are 
 bound to take care that those who have been faithful to the 
 British cause during the late war shall not suffer any detri- 
 ment in consequence of their loyalty. Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment have agreed to a complete amnesty to those who have 
 taken part with the Boers, and the Boers, on their side, have 
 engaged that no one shall suffer molestation on account of 
 his political opinions. It will be your duty to lay down full 
 and explicit conditions for securing to those who have been 
 loyal to Her Majesty, whether of English or Dutch origin, full 
 liberty to reside in the country, with enjoyment of all civil 
 rights and protection for their persons and property. 
 
 You will make every effort to bring to justice those who are 
 accused of the murder of Captain Elliot, and Mr. Barber, or 
 of any similar acts, and you will call on the Boer leaders, in 
 accordance with their engagement to Sir Evelyn Wood, to 
 afford you their assistance in tracing out and arresting the 
 offenders. 
 
 Having thus gone through the principal points arising out 
 of the agreement between Sir E. Wood and the Boers, I will 
 proceed to notice the other matters to which I have referred. 
 
 You will find the question of the territory known as the 
 " Keate Award " somewhat fully discussed in my Despatch of 
 the 27th May last,* to the late Sir G. Pomeroy Colley. It 
 was my intention on receiving his report to instruct him to 
 determine such a new boundary as might in present circum- 
 stances appear to be the fairest to all parties, and best 
 calculated to preserve the peace on the western frontier of 
 » No. 5 of [C. 2586] June 1880.
 
 212 APPENDIX 
 
 the Transvaal. Sir G. Colley had unfortunately not made 
 any official report of the result of his visit to this territory, 
 but I have reason to believe that he was of opinion that it 
 was out of the question now to maintain the line laid down in 
 1 87 1, by Lieutenant-Governor Keate, and that he would have 
 recommended a new line, leaving a considerable part of the 
 territory to the Transvaal. It will be for you to consider 
 what line should be adopted, and you will, I have no doubt, 
 derive valuable information and assistance from Lieut.- 
 Colonel Moysey, R.E., the Special Commissioner in the 
 Keate Award district. It may be found desirable to annex 
 some part of this territory to Griqualand West or to the 
 Orange Free State, but this must depend upon considerations 
 which I am unable from want of local knowledge fullj' to 
 appreciate. I will only add that this border has been so long 
 in an unsettled condition that it is urgently necessary that 
 the frontier line should be definitely fixed with as little delay 
 as possible. 
 
 On reference to the constitution of the former South 
 African Republic I find that there are articles which appear 
 to infringe upon the principle of religious toleration. I am 
 not aware that any actual impediment was placed by the 
 State in the way of the free exercise of their religion by per- 
 sons not belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church ; but to 
 prevent any misconception on the point it will be well to pro- 
 vide for the unrestricted exercise of their religion by all 
 denominations within the future Transvaal State. 
 
 The Commission will have to consider the arrangements to 
 be made for the assumption by the Transvaal State of the 
 debt incurred in connection with the administration of the 
 affairs of the country, whether by the South African Republic 
 before the annexation, or by the Provincial Government 
 subsequently. 
 
 I may refer you on this point to the declaration made by 
 the Boer leaders in their proclamation of the i6th December 
 last,* that the " lawful expenditure lawfully incurred for the 
 necessary expenses of the country by the intermediate Gov- 
 ernment will be acknowledged." 
 
 There will also be other financial arrangements to be con- 
 * Paragraph 35, page 8 of [C. 2794] February 1880.
 
 APPENDIX 213 
 
 sidered in connection with the transfer of responsiblities and 
 liabilities to the future Transvaal State, including such pro- 
 vision as is usually made on these occasions, for compensating 
 any permanent officers displaced by the change of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 I need scarcely say that it will be expected that full security 
 for the continued enjoyments of their rights shall be guaran- 
 teed to all holders of property in the Transvaal, after the 
 establishment of the new Government. I cannot doubt that 
 the necessary undertaking will be readily given, and it will be 
 for the Commission to consider and recommend the terms 
 in which such undertaking should be framed. Provisions will 
 also be required for securing to British subjects complete 
 freedom of trade to and through the Transvaal, on the same 
 footing as citizens of the Transvaal State. I shall transmit 
 to you a copy of a treaty now in force, which will be of use to 
 the Commission in considering the stipulations to be entered 
 into on this subject. 
 
 With regard to the formal style and designation of the 
 future Transvaal State, I am disposed to think that instead 
 of reviving the name " South African Republic " (which never 
 was appropriate, having regard to the fact that there were 
 two Republics in South Africa) it would be preferable to 
 adopt the name " Transvaal State." Before the annexation 
 the country was very commonly spoken of as the Transvaal, 
 and it would be convenient, as in the case of the Orange Free 
 State, to describe it by the river which forms its southern 
 boundary. 
 
 I shall from time to time address to you instructions upon 
 any further point which may arise. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) KIMBERLEY. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinsox. 
 
 Telegram from Sir H. Robinson, Newcastle, to the 
 
 Earl of Kimberley. 
 
 May 22nd, 1881, Eastern Boundary. — We have fully dis- 
 cussed the question relating to the Eastern Boundary with the 
 Boer leaders, and they think that the great majority of the
 
 214 APPENDIX 
 
 settlers will not willingly accept the continuance of British 
 rule over any part of the Transvaal. The leaders say that at 
 Langs Nek they consented to leave the question to a Com- 
 mission for the sake of peace and in the full confidence that 
 we should not find it necessary to retain any part of the 
 territory. They aver that they do not recede from their 
 agreement, but they anticipate difficulty in securing the 
 acquiescence of the people and think that if a retention of 
 territory is insisted on it will leave a rankling sore behind. In 
 their evidence, and in a letter which they have laid before us, 
 they deprecate the retention of any part of the country by us 
 on the grounds that it would be unjust, opposed to their 
 interests, distasteful to their national feelings, and unnecessary 
 from our point of view, inasmuch as a British Resident 
 possessing comprehensive powers would, in their opinion, be 
 able efficiently to protect native interests within the country 
 as well as upon the frontiers. Sir E. Wood entirely dissents 
 from this view, and is of opinion that we should at all risks 
 retain at least the country south of the Drakensberg range for 
 the reasons which he will explain to you in a separate 
 message. Sir H. de Villiers and I think that there is now no 
 course free from objection, and that we can only choose that 
 which presents the fewest disadvantages. If we give back the 
 whole of the country the troubles which Sir E. Wood 
 anticipates may arise, but if we retain any part of it we think 
 that we shall have a half rebellious white population in the 
 part retained and a dissatisfied Transvaal State alongside. 
 We think that under these circumstances the evils of retaining 
 a part will be greater than the risks of giving up the whole, 
 and we think that the latter may perhaps be lessened by 
 conferring stringent powers upon the British Resident and 
 giving an ultimate appeal on frontier disputes to Her Majesty's 
 Government, whose decision in such cases the Boer leaders 
 acknowledge is to be final. Sir H. de Villiers and I are of 
 opinion also that the giving up of the whole country would 
 facilitate the settlement of the other questions which have 
 been referred to the Commission, and that the chances of the 
 successful operation of such settlement would be increased by 
 the prevention of future agitation. President Brand concurs 
 in this view and tells me he is convinced that further trouble
 
 APPENDIX 215 
 
 is inevitable should any part of the country be retained by us. 
 It will now be for you to decide the line we should adopt, and, 
 since further negotiations turn on this point, an early decision 
 is necessary. If you agree with Sir E. Wood's view the 
 maintenance of a considerable force in the country will be 
 imperative for some time to come, assuming that an arrange- 
 ment upon such a basis can be made at all, which we think 
 very doubtful. If you concur in giving up the whole Sir H. 
 de VilHers and I are of opinion that the concession should be 
 conditional upon the powers of the British Resident being 
 made such as we may consider it necessary to assign to him. 
 
 Telegram Jrom Sir Evelyn Wood to the 
 Earl of Kimberley. 
 
 May 22, 1881. — Sir Hercules Robinson's telegram of to-day. 
 I dissent behaving the balance of disadvantages is on the 
 other side, and that we have carried concession to the utmost 
 limit compatible with future peace. 
 
 My telegram of 14th March expressing my view of boundary, 
 was not approved, and the present recommendation is a 
 compromise for the existing situation. The Resident, what- 
 ever powers are given to him, will not be able to stop native 
 reprisals for Boer trespasses, which from need of pasturage in 
 winter are inevitable, and I am convinced we should at all 
 risks, so long as the Imperial Government has any responsi- 
 bility here, retain at least the country south of Komati River, 
 and on the eastern watershed of the Drakensberg. This 
 would involve separation from the Transvaal of about six 
 thousand square miles out of about forty thousand contained 
 outside the line mentioned in your telegram of 17th March. 
 The policy of that telegram was fully understood by the Boers 
 when making peace, and they admit I informed them that I, 
 for my part, would do my best to prevent their ruling territory 
 adjoining large native tribes. I do not share the fear of 
 strenuous opposition from the Boers in the district concerned, 
 and I believe leaders now purposely exaggerate the vehemence 
 of their followers. The Swazi king reports the resisted pres- 
 sure put upon him by the Boer leaders to rise against us
 
 2i6 APPENDIX 
 
 during the war. Under your instructions of 25th March I 
 informed all natives that the Royal Commission would have 
 the settlement of what land east of the 30th degree was to be 
 retained. I believe complete withdrawal will affect pre- 
 judicially our moral power over all natives in south-east 
 Africa. 
 
 The Zulu war of two years ago was caused mainly by the 
 inabihty of the Boers to control their frontier affairs. Their 
 separation now from the Zulus is essential for the prevention 
 of intrigues which will be fatal to the tranquillity of the 
 Zulus, and to the safety of Natal. As regards the military 
 question, I address the War Secretary. 
 
 Telegram /row/ the Earl of Kimberley to 
 Sir H. Robinson, Newcastle. 
 
 May 30, 1881. — We have given careful consideration to 
 telegrams of the 22nd and 23rd from you and Wood, as to 
 Transvaal boundary, and we agree with you and Sir H. de 
 Villiers that, for the reasons stated in your telegram, no part 
 of the Transvaal should be retained as British territory 
 against the will of the Boers ; powers being reserved to 
 British Government as you propose, with respect to frontier 
 disputes ; and it being a condition that Boers fully recognise 
 the independence of the Swazis, and the boundaries of 
 Swaziland and Zululand, as lately defined under the authority 
 of Her Majesty's Government. 
 
 Blue Book, C 3114, Februarv 1882. 
 
 Convention, 1881. 
 
 Her Majesty's Commissioners for the settlement of the 
 Transvaal Territory, duly appointed as such by a Commission 
 passed under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet, bearing date 
 5th of April 1881, do hereby undertake and guarantee on behalf 
 of Her Majesty that from and after the 8th day of August 1881, 
 omplete self-government, subject to the Suzerainty of Her
 
 APPENDIX 417 
 
 Majesty, her heirs and successors, will be accorded to the 
 inhabitants of the Transvaal territory, upon the following 
 terms and conditions, and subject to the following reservations 
 and limitations : — 
 
 Article i. — The said Territory, to be hereinafter called the 
 Transvaal State, will embrace the land lying between the 
 following boundaries, to wit : 
 
 Beginning from the point where the north-eastern boundary 
 line of Griqualand West meets the Vaal River, up the course 
 of the Vaal River to the point of junction with it of the Klip 
 River ; thence up the course of the Klip River to the point of 
 junction with it of the stream called Gansvlei ; thence up the 
 Gansvlei stream to its source in the Drakensberg ; thence to 
 a beacon in the boundary of Natal, situated immediately 
 opposite and close to the source of the Gansvlei stream ; 
 thence in a north-easterly direction along the ridge of the 
 Drakensoerg, dividing the waters flowing into the Gansvlei 
 stream from the waters flowing into the sources of the Buffalo, 
 to a beacon on a point where this mountain ceases to be a 
 continuous chain ; thence to a beacon on a plain to the north- 
 east of the last described beacon ; thence to the nearest 
 source of a small stream called " Division Stream " ; thence 
 down this division stream, which forms the southern boundary 
 of the farm Sandfontein, the property of Messrs. Meek, to its 
 junction with the Coldstream ; thence down the Coldstream to 
 its junction with the Buffalo or Umzinyati River; thence 
 down the course of the Buffalo River to the junction with it of 
 the Blood River ; thence up the course of the Blood River to 
 the junction with it of Lyn Spruit or Dudusi ; thence up the 
 Dudusi to its source; thence 80 yards to Bea. I., situated on 
 a spur of the N'Qaba-Ka-hawana Mountains; thence 80 yards 
 to the N'Sonto River; thence down the N'Sonto River to its 
 junction with the White Umvulozi River; thence up the 
 White Umvulozi River to a white rock where it rises ; thence 
 800 yards to Kambula Hill (Bea. II.) ; thence to the source of 
 the Pemvana River, where the road from Kambula Camp to 
 Burgers' Lager crosses ; thence down the Pemvana River to 
 its junction with the Bivana River ; thence down the Bivana 
 River to its junction with the Pongolo River; thence down the 
 Pongolo River to where it passes through the Libombo
 
 2i8 APPENDIX 
 
 Range ; thence along the summits of the Libombo Range to 
 the northern point of the N'Yawos Hill in that range 
 (Bea. XVI.); thence to the northern peak of the Inkwakweni 
 Hills (Bea. XV.); thence to Sefunda, a rocky knoll detached 
 from and to the north-east end of the White Koppies, and to 
 the south of the Muzana River (Bea. XIV.) ; thence to a point 
 on the slope near the crest of Matanjeni, which is the name 
 given to the south-eastern portion of the Mahamba Hills 
 (Bea. XIII.) ; thence to the N'gwangwana, a double-pointed 
 hill (one point is bare, the other wooded, the beacon being on 
 the former), on the left bank of the Assegai River and upstream 
 of the Dadusa Spruit (Bea. XII.); thence to the southern 
 point of Bendita, a rocky knoll in a plain between the Little 
 Hlozane and Assegai Rivers (Bea. XI.) ; thence to the 
 highest point of Suluka Hill, round the eastern slopes of 
 which flows the Little Hlozane, also called Ludaka or 
 Mudspruit (Bea. X.) ; thence to the beacon known as 
 " Viljoen's," or N'Duko Hill; thence to a point north-east of 
 Derby House, known as Magwazidili's Beacon ; thence to the 
 Igaba, a small knoll on the Ungwempisi River, also called 
 "Joubert's Beacon," and known to the natives as " Piet's 
 Beacon " (Bea. IX.) ; thence to the highest point of the 
 N'Dhlovudwalili or Houtbosch, a hill on the northern bank 
 of the Ungwempisi River (Bea. VIII.) ; thence to a beacon on 
 the only flat-topped rock, about lo feet high, and about 30 
 yards in circumference at its base, situated on the south side 
 of the Lamsamane range of hills, and overlooking the valley 
 of the great Usuto River; this rock being 45 yards north of 
 the road from Camden and Lake Banagher to the forests on 
 the Usuto River (sometimes called Sandhlanas Beacon) 
 (Bea. VII.); thence to the Gulungwana or Ibubulundi, four 
 smooth bare hills, the highest in that neighbourhood, situated 
 to the south of the Umtuli River (Bea. VI.) ; thence to a flat- 
 topped rock, eight feet high, on the crest of the Busuku, a low 
 rocky range south-west of the Impulazi River (Bea. V.); 
 thence to a low bare hill on the north-east of, and overlooking 
 the Impulazi River, to the south of it being a tributary of the 
 Impulazi, with a considerable waterfall, and the road from the 
 river passing 200 yards to the north-west of the beacon 
 (Bea. IV,) ; thence to the highest point of the Mapumula
 
 APPENDIX 219 
 
 range, the watershed of the Little Usutu River on the north, 
 and the Umpulazi River on the south, the hill, the top of 
 which is a bare rock, falling abruptly towards the Little 
 Usuto (Bea. III.) ; thence to the western point of a double- 
 pointed rocky hill, precipitous on all sides, called Makwana, 
 its top being a bare rock (Bea. IL); thence to the top of a 
 rugged hill of considerable height, falhng abruptly to the 
 Komati River, this hill being the northern extremity of the 
 Isilotwani range, and separated from the highest peak of the 
 ranke Inkomokasi (a sharp cone) by a deep neck (Bea. L). 
 (On a ridge in the straight line between Beacons L and IL is 
 an intermediate beacon.) From Beacon I. the boundary runs 
 to a hill across the Komati River, and thence along the crest 
 of the range of hills known as the Makongwa, which ruus 
 north-east and south-west, to Kamhlubana Peak ; thence in 
 a straight line to Mananga, a point in the Libombo range, 
 and thence to the nearest point in the Portuguese frontier on 
 the Libombo range ; thence along the summits of the Libombo 
 range to the middle of the poort where the Komati River 
 passes through it, called the lowest Komati Poort ; thence in 
 a north by easterly direction to Pokioens Kop, situated on the 
 north side of the Olifant's River, where it passes through the 
 ridges ; thence about north-north-west to the nearest point of 
 Serra di Chicundo; and thence to the junction of the Pafuri 
 River with the Limpopo or Crocodile River : thence up the 
 course of the Limpopo River to the point where the Marique 
 River falls into it. Thence up the course of the Marique 
 River to " Derde Poort," where it passes through a low range 
 of hills, called Sikwane, a beacon (No. 10) being erected on 
 the spur of said range near to, and westward of, the banks of 
 the river ; thence, in a straight line, through this beacon to a 
 beacon (No. 9) erected on the top of the same range, about 
 1700 yards distant from beacon No. 10; thence, in a straight 
 line, to a beacon (No. 8) erected on the highest point of an 
 isolated hill, called Dikgagong, or " Wildebeest Kop," situated 
 south-eastward of, and about 3^ miles distance from a high 
 hill, called Moripe; thence, in a straight line, to a beacon 
 (No. 7) erected on the summit of an isolated hill or " koppie," 
 forming the eastern extremity of the range of hills called 
 Moshweu, situated to the northward of, and about two miles
 
 220 APPENDIX 
 
 distant from, a large isolated hill, called Chukudu-Chochwa ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 6) erected on the 
 summit of a hill, forming part of the same range, Moshwen ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 5) erected on the 
 summit of a pointed hill in the same range ; thence, in a 
 straight line, to a beacon (No. 4) erected on the summit of the 
 western extremity of the same range ; thence, in a straight 
 line, to a beacon (No. 3) erected on the summit of the 
 northern extremity of a low, bushy hill, or " koppie," near to 
 and eastward of the Notwane River; thence, in a straight 
 line, to the junction of the stream called Metsi-Mashwane 
 with the Notwane River (No. 2) ; thence, up the course of the 
 Notwane River to Sengoma, being the Poort where the river 
 passes through the Dwarsberg range ; thence, as described in 
 the Award given by Lieutenant - Governor Keate, dated 
 October 17, 1871, by Pitlanganyane (narrow place), Deboaganka 
 or Schaapkuil, Sibatoul (bare place), and Maclase, to 
 Ramatlabama, a pool on a spruit north of the Molopo River. 
 From Ramatlabama the boundary shall run to the summit of 
 an isolated hill, called Leganka ; thence, in a straight line, 
 passing north-east of a Native Station, near " Buurman's 
 Drift," on the Molopo River, to that point on the road from 
 Mosiega to the old drift, where a road turns out through the 
 Native Station to the new drift below ; thence to " Buurman's 
 Old Drift ; " thence, in a straight line, to a marked and 
 isolated clump of trees near to and north-west of the dwelling- 
 house of C. Austin, a tenant on the farm " Vleifontein," 
 No. 17 ; thence, in a straight line, to the north-western corner 
 beacon of the farm " Mooimeisjesfontein," No. 30 ; thence, 
 along the western line of the said farm " Mooimeisjesfontein," 
 and in prolongation thereof, as far as the road leading from 
 " Ludik's Drift," on the Molopo River, past the homestead of 
 " Mooimeisjesfontein," towards the Salt Pans near Hart 
 River ; thence, along the said road, to a point thereon, eight 
 miles north of the dwelling of Gouws, at a Salt Pan ; thence, 
 in a straight line, to a point one mile due west of the more 
 northerly Pan, measured from its western edge ; thence, in a 
 straight Une, to the most westerly beacon of the farm Rietpan, 
 No. 150 ; thence along the line of the said farm to the drift on 
 the Hart River, near the ruined house, known as " Lieben-
 
 APPENDIX 221 
 
 berg's"; thence down the Hart River to the drift about 
 two-and-a-half miles below Mamusaand opposite the dwelling- 
 house of Theodore Doms; thence, in a straight line, to the 
 summit of an isolated hill, known as " Koppie Enkel," situated 
 between the Vaal and Hart Rivers, and about 36 miles from 
 Mamusa, and about 18 miles north of the village of Christiana ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to that point on the north-east 
 boundary of Griqualand West as beaconed by Mr. Surveyor 
 Ford, where two farms, registered as Nos. 72 and 75, do meet, 
 about raid way between the Vaal and Hart Rivers, measured 
 along the said boundary of Griqualand West ; thence to the 
 first point where the north-east boundary of Griqualand West 
 meets the Vaal River. 
 
 Article 2. — Her Majesty reserves to herself, her heirs and 
 successors, (a) the right from time to time to appoint a British 
 Resident in and for the said State, with such duties and 
 functions as are hereinafter defined ; {b) the right to move troops 
 through the said State in time of war, or in case of the 
 apprehension of immediate war between the suzerain Power 
 and any foreign State, or Native tribe in South Africa ; and 
 (c) the control of the external relations of the said State, 
 including the conclusion of treaties, and the conduct of 
 diplomatic intercourse with foreign Powers, such intercourse 
 to be carried on through Her Majesty's diplomatic and 
 consular officers abroad. 
 
 Article 3. — Until altered by the Volksraad or other 
 competent authority, all laws, whether passed before or after 
 the annexation of the Transvaal Territory to Her Majesty's 
 dominions, shall, except in so far as they are inconsistent 
 with, or repugnant to, the provisions of this Convention, be 
 and remain in force in the said State, in so far as they shall 
 be applicable thereto : Provided that no future enactment 
 specially affecting the interests of Natives shall have any force 
 or effect in the said State without the consent of Her Majesty, 
 her heirs and successors, first had and obtained and signified 
 to the Government of the said State through the British 
 Resident : Provided further, that in no case will the repeal or 
 amendment of any laws which have been enacted since the 
 Annexation have a retrospective effect so as to invalidate any 
 acts done or liabilities incurred by virtue of such laws.
 
 222 APPENDIX 
 
 Article 4. — On the 8th day of August, 1881, the Govern- 
 ment of the said State, together with all rights and obligations 
 thereto appertaining, and all State property taken over at the 
 time of annexation, save and except munitions of war, will be 
 handed over to 
 
 Messrs. Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 
 Martinus Wessel Pretorius, and 
 Petrus Jacobus Joubert, 
 
 or the survivor or survivors of them, who will forthwith cause 
 a Volksraad to be elected and convened ; and the Volksraad 
 thus elected and convened will decide as to the further 
 administration of the Government of the said State. 
 
 Article 5. — All sentences passed upon persons who may be 
 convicted of offences contrary to the rules of civilised warfare, 
 committed during the recent hostilities, will be duly carried 
 out, and no alteration or mitigation of such sentences will be 
 made or allowed by the Government of the Transvaal State 
 without Her Majesty's consent, conveyed through the British 
 Resident. In case there shall be any prisoners in any of the 
 gaols of the Transvaal State, whose respective sentences of 
 imprisonment have been remitted in part by Her Majesty's 
 Administrator, or other officer administering the Government, 
 such remission will be recognised and acted upon by the 
 future Government of the said State. 
 
 Article 6. — Her Majesty's Government will make due 
 compensation for all losses or damage sustained by reason of 
 such acts as are in the 8th Article hereinafter specified, which 
 may have been committed by Her Majesty's forces during the 
 recent hostilities, except for such losses or damage as may 
 already have been compensated for, and the Government of 
 the Transvaal State will make due compensation for all losses 
 or damage sustained by reason of such acts as are in the 8th 
 Article hereinafter specified, which may have been committed 
 by the people who were in arms against Her Majesty during 
 the recent hostilities, except for such losses or damage as may 
 already have been compensated for. 
 
 Article 7. — The decision of all claims for compensation, as 
 in the last preceding article mentioned, will be referred to a 
 sub-commission, consisting of the Honourable George Hudson,
 
 APPENDIX 223 
 
 the Honourable Jacobus Petrus de Wet, and the Honourable 
 John Gilbert Kotz6. 
 
 In case one or more of such Sub-Commissioners shall be 
 unable or unwilling to act, the remaining Sub-Commissioner 
 or Sub- Commissioners will, after consultation with the 
 Government of the Transvaal State, submit for the approval 
 of Her Majesty's High Commissioner, the names of one or 
 more persons to be appointed by him, to fill the place or places 
 thus vacated. 
 
 The decision of the said Sub-Commissioners, or of a 
 majority of them, will be final. 
 
 The said Sub- Commissioners will enter upon and perform 
 their duties with all convenient speed. They will, before 
 taking evidence, or ordering evidence to be taken, in respect 
 of any claim, decide whether such claim can be entertained 
 at all under the rules laid down in the next succeeding article. 
 
 In regard to claims which can be so entertained, the Sub- 
 Commissioners will, in the first instance, afford every facility 
 for an amicable arrangement as to the amount payable in 
 respect of any claim, and only in cases in which there is no 
 reasonable ground for believing that an immediate amicable 
 arrangement can be arrived at, will they take evidence, or 
 order evidence to be taken. 
 
 For the purpose of taking evidence and reporting thereon, 
 the Sub-Commissioners may appoint deputies, who will with- 
 out delay submit records of the evidence and their reports to 
 the Sub-Commissioners. 
 
 The Sub-Commissioners will arrange their sittings, and the 
 sittings of their deputies, in such a manner as to afford the 
 greatest convenience to the parties concerned and their 
 witnesses. In no case will costs be allowed to either side, 
 other than the actual and reasonable expenses of witnesses 
 whose evidence is certified by the Sub-Commissioners to have 
 been necessary. Interest will not run on the amount of any 
 claim except as hereinafter provided for. 
 
 The said Sub-Commissioners will forthwith, after deciding 
 upon any claim, announce their decision to the Government 
 against which the award is made, and to the claimant. 
 
 The amount of remuneration payable to the Sub-Com- 
 missioners and their deputies will be determined by the High
 
 224 APPENDIX 
 
 Commissioner after all the claims have been decided upon. 
 The British Government and the Government of the Transvaal 
 State will pay proportionate shares of the said remuneration, 
 and of the expenses of the Sub-Commissioners and their 
 deputies, according to the amounts awarded against them 
 respectively. 
 
 Article 8. — For the purpose of distinguishing claims to be 
 accepted from those to be rejected the Sub-Commissioners 
 will be guided by the following rules, viz. : — Compensation 
 will be allowed for losses or damage sustained by reason of 
 the following acts committed during the recent hostilities, 
 viz. : — (a) commandeering, seizure, confiscation, or destruction 
 of property, or damage done to property ; (b) violence done 
 or threats used by persons in arms. 
 
 In regard to acts under (a), compensation will be allowed 
 for direct losses only. 
 
 In regard to acts falling under (b), compensation will be 
 allowed for actual losses of property, or actual injury to the 
 same, proved to have been caused by its enforced abandonment. 
 
 No claims for indirect losses, except such as are in this 
 Article specially provided for, will be entertained. 
 
 No claims which have been handed in to the Secretary of 
 the Royal Commission after the ist day of July 1881, will be 
 entertained, unless the Sub-Commissioners shall be satisfied 
 that the delay was reasonable. 
 
 When claims for loss of property are considered, the Sub- 
 Commissioners will require distinct proof of the existence of 
 the property, and that it neither has reverted, nor will revert, 
 to the claimant. 
 
 Article g. — The Government of the Transvaal State will 
 pay and satisfy the amount of every claim awarded against it 
 within one month after the Sub-Commissioners shall have 
 notified their decision to the said Government, and in default 
 of such payment the said Government will pay interest at the 
 rate of six per cent, per annum from the date of such default ; 
 but Her Majesty's Government may, at any time before such 
 payment, pay the amount, with interest, if any, to the claimant 
 in satisfaction of his claim, and may add the sum thus paid 
 to any debt which may be due by the Transvaal State to Her 
 Majesty's Government, as hereinafter provided for.
 
 APPENDIX 225 
 
 Article 10. — The Transvaal State will be liable for the 
 balance of the debts for which the South African Republic 
 was Uable at the date of annexation, to wit : the sum of 
 ^48,000 in respect of the Cape Commercial Bank Loan, and 
 ;^85,667 in respect of the Railway Loan, together with the 
 amount due on 8th August 1881, on account of the Orphan 
 Chamber debt which now stands at ;f27,226 15s., which debts 
 will be a first charge upon the revenues of the State. The 
 Transvaal State will moreover be liable for the lawful expen- 
 diture lawfully incurred for the necessary expenses of the 
 Province since annexation, to wit : the sum of ;{'265,ooo, which 
 debt, together with such debts as may be incurred by virtue 
 of the gth Article, will be a second charge upon the revenues 
 of the State. 
 
 Article ii. — The debts due as aforesaid by the Transvaal 
 State to Her Majesty's Government will bear interest at the 
 rate of three and a half per cent., and any portion of such 
 debt as may remain unpaid on 8th August, 1882, shall be repay- 
 able by a payment for interest and sinking fund of six pounds 
 and ninepence per /"loo per annum, which will extinguish the 
 debt in twenty-five years. The said payment of six pounds 
 and ninepence per ;rioo shall be payable half-yearly, in 
 British currency, on the 8th February and 8th August in each 
 year: provided always that the Transvaal State shall pay, 
 in reduction of the said debt the sum of /"loOjOoo before 
 8th August, 1882, and shall be at liberty at the close of any 
 half-year to pay off the whole or any portion of the out- 
 standing debt. 
 
 Article 12. — All persons holding property in the said 
 State on the 8th day of August, 1 881, will continue to enjoy 
 the rights of property which they have enjoyed since the 
 annexation. No person who has remained loyal to Her 
 
 Majesty during the recent hostilities shall suffer any molesta- 
 tion by reason of his loyalty ; or be hable to any criminal 
 prosecution or civil action for any part taken in connection 
 
 with such hostilities ; and all such persons will have full 
 
 liberty to reside in the country, with enjoyment of all civil 
 
 rights, and protection for their persons and property. 
 
 Article iz- — Natives will be allowed to acquire land, but 
 
 the grant or transfer of such land will in every case be made
 
 226 APPENDIX 
 
 to and registered in the name of the Native Location Com- 
 mission herein-after mentioned, in trust for such natives. 
 
 Article 14. — Natives will be allowed to move as freely 
 within the country as may be consistent with the require- 
 ments of public order, and to leave it for the purpose of seek- 
 ing employment elsewhere, or for other lawful purposes, 
 subject always to the Pass Laws of the said State, as amended 
 by the Legislature of the Province, or as may hereafter be 
 enacted, under the provisions of the 3rd Article of this Con- 
 vention. 
 
 Article 15. — The provisions of the 4th Article of the Sand 
 River Convention are hereby re-affirmed, and no slavery or 
 apprenticeship partaking of slavery will be tolerated by the 
 Government of the said State. 
 
 Article 16. — There will continue to be complete freedom 
 of religion and protection from molestation for all denomina- 
 tions, provided the same be not inconsistent with morality 
 and good order ; and no disability shall attach to any person 
 in regard to rights of property by reason of the religious 
 opinions which he holds. 
 
 Article 17. — The British Resident will receive from the 
 Government of the Transvaal State such assistance and sup- 
 port as can by law be given to him for the due discharge of 
 his functions. He will also receive every assistance for the 
 proper care and preservation of the graves of such of Her 
 Majesty's forces as have died in the Transvaal ; and, if need 
 be, for the expropriation of land for the purpose. 
 
 Article 18. — The following will be the duties and functions 
 of the British Resident : — 
 
 (i) He will perform duties and functions analogous to 
 those discharged by a Charge d' Affaires and Consul 
 General. 
 (2) In regard to natives within the Transvaal State he will, 
 (a) report to the High Commissioner, as representa- 
 tive of the Suzerain, as to the working and obser- 
 vance of the provisions of this Convention ; (b) report 
 to the Transvaal authorities any cases of ill-treatment 
 of natives, or attempts to incite natives to rebellion, 
 that may come to his knowledge ; (c) use his influence 
 with the natives in favour of law and order ; and
 
 APPENDIX 227 
 
 (d) generally perform such other duties as are by this 
 Convention entrusted to him, and take such steps 
 for the protection of the persons and property of 
 natives as are consistent with the laws of the land. 
 
 (3) In regard to natives not residing in the Transvaal, 
 
 (a) he will report to the High Commissioner and the 
 Transvaal Government any encroachments reported 
 to him as having been made by Transvaal residents 
 upon the land of such natives, and in case of dis- 
 agreement between the Transvaal Government and 
 the British Resident, as to whether an encroachment 
 had been made, the decision of the Suzerain will be 
 final, (b) The British Resident will be the medium 
 of communication with native chiefs outside the 
 Transvaal, and, subject to the approval of the High 
 Commissioner, as representing the suzerain, he will 
 control the conclusion of treaties with them, and 
 (c) he will arbitrate upon every dispute between 
 Transvaal residents and natives outside the Trans- 
 vaal (as to acts committed beyond the boundaries of 
 the Transvaal) which may be referred to him by the 
 parties interested. 
 
 (4) In regard to communications with foreign Powers, the 
 
 Transvaal Government will correspond with Her 
 Majesty's Government through the British Resident 
 and the High Commissioner. 
 Article 19. — The Government of the Transvaal State will 
 strictly adhere to the boundaries defined in the first Article of 
 this Convention, and will do its utmost to prevent any of its 
 inhabitants from making any encroachment upon lands 
 beyond the said State. The Royal Commission will forth- 
 with appoint a person who will beacon off the boundary line 
 between Ramatlabama and the point where such line first 
 touches the Griqualand West boundary, midway between the 
 Vaal and Hart rivers. The person so appointed will be in- 
 structed to make an arrangement between the owners of the 
 farms " Grootfontein " and " Vallefontein " on the one hand 
 and the Barolong authorities on the other, by which a fair 
 share of the water supply of the said farms shall be allowed 
 to flow undisturbed to the said Barolongs.
 
 228 APPENDIX 
 
 Article 20. — All grants or titles issued at any time by the 
 Transvaal Government in respect of land outside the boun- 
 dary of the Transvaal State, as defined in Article i, shall be 
 considered invalid and of no effect, except in so far as any 
 such grant or title relates to land that falls within the boun- 
 dary of the Transvaal State ; and all persons holding any 
 such grant so considered invalid and of no effect will receive 
 from the Government of the Transvaal State such compensa- 
 tion, either in land or in money, as the Volksraad shall 
 determine. In all cases in which any native chiefs or other 
 authorities outside the said boundaries have received any 
 adequate consideration from the Government of the former 
 South African Republic for land excluded from the Transvaal 
 by the first Article of this Convention, or where permanent 
 improvements have been made on the land, the British Resi- 
 dent will, subject to the approval of the High Commissioner, 
 use his influence to recover from the native authorities fair 
 compensation for the loss of the land thus excluded, or of the 
 permanent improvements thereon. 
 
 Article 21. — Forthwith, after the taking effect of this Con- 
 vention, a Native Location Commission will be constituted, 
 consisting of the President (or in his absence the Vice- 
 President) of the State, or some one deputed by him, the 
 Resident, or some one deputed by him, and a third person to 
 be agreed upon by the President (or the Vice-President, as 
 the case may be) and the Resident ; and such Commission 
 will be a standing body for the performance of the duties 
 herein-after mentioned. 
 
 Article 22. — The Native Location Commission will re- 
 serve to the native tribes of the State such locations as they 
 may be fairly and equitably entitled to, due regard being had 
 to the actual occupation of such tribes. The Native Loca- 
 tion Commission will clearly define the boundaries of such 
 locations, and for that purpose will, in every instance, first of 
 all ascertain the wishes of the parties interested in such land. 
 In case land already granted in individual titles shall be re- 
 quired for the purpose of any location, the owners will receive 
 such compensation, either in other land or in money, as the 
 Volksraad shall determine. After the boundaries of any 
 location have been fixed, no fresh grant of land within such
 
 APPENDIX 229 
 
 location will be made, nor will the boundaries be altered 
 without the consent of the Location Commission. No fresh 
 grants of land will be made in the districts of Waterberg, 
 Zoutpansberg, and Lydenburg, until the locations in the said 
 districts respectively shall have been defined by the said 
 Commission. 
 
 Article 23. — If not released before the taking effect of this 
 Convention, Sikukuni, and those of his followers who have 
 been imprisoned with him, will be forthwith released, and the 
 boundaries of his location will be defined by the Native 
 Location Commission in the manner indicated in the last 
 preceding Article. 
 
 Article 24. — The independence of the Swazis, within the 
 boundary line of Swaziland, as indicated in the first article of 
 this Convention, will be fully recognised. 
 
 Article 25. — No other or higher duties will be imposed on 
 the importation into the Transvaal State of any article, the 
 produce or manufacture of the dominions and possessions of 
 Her Majesty, from whatever place arriving, than are or may 
 be payable on the like article, the produce or manufacture of 
 any other country, nor will any prohibition be maintained or 
 imposed on the importation of any article, the produce or 
 manufacture of the dominions and possessions of Her Majesty, 
 which shall not equally extend to the importation of the like 
 articles, being the produce or manufacture of any other 
 country. 
 
 Article 26. — All persons other than Natives conforming 
 themselves to the laws of the Transvaal State {a) will have 
 full liberty, with their families, to enter, travel, or reside in 
 any part of the Transvaal State ; (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 agents 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 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.
 
 230 APPENDIX 
 
 Article 28. — All persons, other than natives, who estab- 
 lished their domicile in the Transvaal between the 12th day 
 of April 1877 and the date when this convention comes into 
 effect, and who shall within 12 months after such last-mentioned 
 date have their names registered by the British Resident, shall 
 be exempt from all compulsory military service whatever. The 
 Resident shall notify such registration to the Government of 
 the Transvaal State. 
 
 Article 29. — Provision shall hereafter be made by a 
 separate instrument for the mutual extradition of criminals, 
 and also for the surrender of deserters from Her Majesty's 
 forces. 
 
 Article 30. — All debts contracted since the annexation will 
 be payable in the same currency in which they may have been 
 contracted. 
 
 All uncancelled postage and other revenue stamps issued 
 by the Government since the annexation will remain valid, 
 and will be accepted at their present value by the future 
 Government of the State. All licences duly issued since the 
 annexation will remain in force during the period for which 
 they may have been issued. 
 
 Article 31. — No grants of land which may have been 
 made, and no transfers or mortgages which may have been 
 passed since the date of annexation, will be invalidated by 
 reason merely of their having been made or passed after such 
 date. 
 
 All transfers to the British Secretary for Native Affairs in 
 trust for natives will remain in force, the Native Location 
 Commission taking the place of such Secretary for Native 
 Affairs. 
 
 Article 32. — This Convention will be ratified by a newly 
 elected Volksraad within the period of three months after its 
 execution, and in default of such ratification this convention 
 shall be null and void. 
 
 Article 33. — Forthwith after the ratification of this 
 Convention, as in the last preceding article mentioned, 
 all British troops in Transvaal territory will leave the
 
 APPENDIX 231 
 
 same, and the mutual delivery of munitions of war will be 
 carried out. 
 
 Signed at Pretoria, this 3rd day of August, 1881. 
 
 HERCULES ROBINSON, -^ 
 
 President and High Commissioner. 
 EVELYN WOOD, Major-General, 
 
 Officer Administering the Government. 
 J. H. DE VILLIERS. 
 
 
 We, the undersigned, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 
 Martinus Wessel Pretorius, and Petrus Jacobus Joubert, as 
 representatives of the Transvaal Burghers, do hereby agree 
 to all the above conditions, reservations, and limitationsi 
 under which self-government has been restored to the inhabi- 
 tants of the Transvaal territory, subject to the suzerainty of 
 Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, and we agree to 
 accept the Government of the said territory, with all rights 
 and obHgations thereto appertaining, on the 8th day of August, 
 i88i,andwe promise and undertake that this convention shall 
 be ratified by a newly elected Volksraad of the Transvaal 
 State within three months from this date. 
 
 Signed at Pretoria, this 3rd day of August, 1881. 
 
 S. J. P. KRUGER. 
 M. W. PRETORIUS. 
 P. J. JOUBERT. 
 
 Blue Book, C 3914, 1884. 
 
 A Convention between Her Majesty the Queen 
 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 
 Ireland and the South African Republic. 
 
 Whereas the Government of the Transvaal State, through 
 its Delegates, consisting of Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 
 President of the said State, Stephanus Jacobus Du Toit, 
 Superintendent of Education, and Nicholas Jacobus Smit, a 
 member of the Volksraad, have represented that the Con- 
 vention signed at Pretoria on the 3rd day of August 1881,
 
 232 APPENDIX 
 
 and ratified by the Volksraad of the said State on the 25th 
 October 1881, contains certain provisions which are incon- 
 venient, and imposes burdens and obligations from which the 
 said State is desirous to be relieved, and that the south- 
 western boundaries fixed by the said Convention should be 
 amended, with a view to promote the peace and good order 
 of the said State, and of the countries adjacent thereto ; and 
 whereas Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland has been pleased to take the said 
 representations into consideration. Now, therefore, Her 
 Majesty has been pleased to direct, and it is hereby declared, 
 that the following Articles of a new Convention, signed on 
 behalf of Her Majesty by Her Majesty's High Commissioner 
 in South Africa, the Right Honourable Sir Hercules George 
 Robert Robinson, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distin- 
 guished order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor 
 of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and on behalf of 
 the Transvaal State (which shall herein-after be called the 
 South African Republic) by the above-named Delegates, 
 Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, Stephanus Jacobus Du 
 Toit, and Nicholas Jacobus Smit, shall, when ratified by the 
 Volksraad of the South African Republic, be substituted for 
 the articles embodied in the Convention of 3rd August 1881 ; 
 which latter, pending such ratification, shall continue in full 
 force and effect. 
 
 ARTICLES. 
 
 Article i. — The Territory of the South African Republic 
 will embrace the land lying between the following boundaries, 
 to wit:* 
 
 Article 2. — The Government of the South African Republic 
 will strictly adhere to the boundaries defined in the first 
 Article of this Convention, and will do its utmost to prevent 
 any of its inhabitants from making any encroachments upon 
 lands beyond the said boundaries. The Government of the 
 South African Republic will appoint Commissioners upon the 
 eastern and western borders whose duty it will be strictly to 
 
 * These boundaries are almost identical with those specified in the 
 Convention of i88i, and therefore are not reproduced.
 
 APPENDIX 233 
 
 guard against irregularities and all trespassing over the boun- 
 daries. Her Majesty's Government will, if necessary, appoint 
 Commissioners in the native territories outside the eastern 
 and western borders of the South African Republic to maintain 
 order and prevent encroachments. 
 
 Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the 
 South African Republic will each appoint a person to proceed 
 together to beacon off the amended south-west boundary as 
 described in Article i of this Convention ; and the President 
 of the Orange Free State shall be requested to appoint a 
 referee to whom the said persons shall refer any questions on 
 which they may disagree respecting the interpretation of the 
 said Article, and the decision of such referee thereon shall be 
 final. The arrangement already made, under the terms of 
 Article 19 of the Convention of Pretoria of the 3rd August 
 1881, between the owners of the farms Grootfontein and Vallei- 
 fontein on the one hand, and the Barolong authorities on the 
 other, by which a fair share of the water supply of the said 
 farms shall be allowed to flow undisturbed to the said Baro* 
 longs, shall continue in force. 
 
 Article 3. — If a British 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 4. — The South African Republic will conclude no 
 treaty or engagement with any State or nation other than the 
 Orange Free State, nor with any native tribe to the eastward 
 or westward of the Republic, until the same has been approved 
 by Her Majesty the Queen. 
 
 Such approval shall be considered to have been granted if 
 Her Majesty's Government shall not, within six months after 
 receiving a copy of such treaty (which shall be delivered to 
 them immediately upon its completion), have notified that the 
 conclusion of such treaty is in conflict with the interests of 
 Great Britain or of any of Her Majesty's possessions in South 
 Africa. 
 
 Article 5. — The South African Republic will be liable for 
 any balance which may still remain due of the debts for which 
 it was liable at the date of Annexation, to wit, the Cape 
 Commercial Bank Loan, the Railway Loan, and the Orphan
 
 234 APPENDIX 
 
 Chamber Debt, which debts will be a first charge upon the 
 revenues of the Republic. The South African Republic will 
 moreover be liable to Her Majesty's Government for /"250,ooo, 
 which will be a second charge upon the revenues of the 
 Republic. 
 
 Article 6. — The debt due as aforesaid by the South 
 African Republic to Her Majesty's Government will bear 
 interest at the rate of three and a half per cent, from the date 
 of the ratification of this Convention, and shall be repayable 
 by a payment for interest and Sinking Fund of six pounds and 
 ninepence per /"loo per annum, which will extinguish the debt 
 in twenty-five years. The said payment of six pounds and 
 ninepence per ;^ioo shall be payable half-yearly, in British 
 currency, at the close of each half-year from the date of such 
 ratification : Provided always that the South African Republic 
 shall be at liberty at the close of any half-year to pay off the 
 whole or any portion of the outstanding debt. 
 
 Interest at the rate of three and a half per cent, on the debt 
 as standing under the Convention of Pretoria shall as hereto- 
 fore be paid to the date of the ratification of this Convention. 
 
 Article 7. — AU persons who held property in the 
 Transvaal on *he 8th day of August 1881, and still hold the 
 same, will continue to enjoy the rights of property which they 
 have enjoyed since the 12th April 1877. 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 prosecution or civil action for any part taken in 
 connexion with such hostilities ; and all such persons will 
 have full liberty to reside in the country, with enjoyment of 
 all civil rights, and protection for their persons and pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Article 8. — The South African Republic 'renews the 
 declaration made in the Sand River Convention, and in the 
 Convention of Pretoria, that no slavery or apprenticeship 
 partaking of slavery will be tolerated by the Government of 
 the said Republic. 
 
 Article 9. — There will continue to be complete freedom 
 of religion and protection from molestation for all denomina- 
 tions, provided the same be not inconsistent with morality 
 and good order ; and no disability shall attach to any person
 
 APPENDIX 235 
 
 in regard to rights of property by reason of the religious 
 opinions which he holds. 
 
 Article 10. — The British Officer appointed to reside in the 
 South African Republic will receive every assistance from the 
 Government of the said Republic in making due provision for 
 the proper care and preservation of the graves of such of Her 
 Majesty's Forces as have died in the Transvaal ; and if need 
 be, for the appropriation of land for the purpose. 
 
 Article ii. — All grants or titles issued at any time by the 
 Transvaal Government in respect of land outside the boundary 
 of the South African Republic, as defined in Article i, shall 
 be considered invalid and of no effect, except in so far as any 
 such grant or title relates to lands that falls within the 
 boundary of the South African Republic ; and all persons 
 holding any such grant so considered invalid and of no effect 
 will receive from the Government of the South African 
 Republic such compensation, either in land or in money, as 
 the Volksraad shall determine. In all cases in which any 
 Native Chiefs or other authorities outside the said boundaries 
 have received any adequate consideration from the Govern- 
 ment of the South African Republic for land excluded from 
 the Transvaal by the first Article of this Convention, or where 
 permanent improvements have been made on the land, the 
 High Commissioner will recover from the native authorities 
 fair compensation for the loss of the land thus excluded, or of 
 the permanent improvements thereon. 
 
 Article 12. — The independence of the Swazis, within the 
 boundary line of Swaziland, as indicated in the first Article of 
 this Convention, will be fully recognised. 
 
 Article 13. — Except in pursuance of any treaty or 
 engagement made as provided in Article 4 of this Convention, 
 no other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation 
 into the South African Republic of any article coming from 
 any part of Her Majesty's dominions than are or may be 
 imposed on the like article coming from any other place or 
 country ; nor will any prohibition be maintained or imposed 
 on the importation into the South African Republic of any 
 part of Her Majesty's dominions which shall not equally 
 extend to the like article coming from any other place or 
 country. And in like manner the same treatment shall be
 
 236 APPENDIX 
 
 given to any article coming to Great Britain from the South 
 African Republic as to the like article coming from any other 
 place or country. 
 
 These provisions do not preclude the consideration of 
 special arrangements as to import duties and commercial re- 
 lations between the South African Republic and any of Her 
 Majesty's colonies or possessions. 
 
 Article 14. — All persons, other than 'natives, conforming 
 themselves to the lava's 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 agents whom they may think fit to 
 employ ; (d) they will not be subject, in respect of their 
 persons or propertj', or in respect of 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 15. — All persons, other than natives, who 
 established their domicile in the Transvaal between the 12th 
 day of April 1S77 and the Sth August 1881, and who within 
 twelve months after such last-mentioned date have had their 
 names registered by the British Resident, shall be exempt 
 from all compulsory military service whatever. 
 
 Article 16. — Provision shall hereafter be made by a sepa- 
 rate instrument for the mutual extradition of criminals, and 
 also for the surrender of deserters from Her Majesty's Forces. 
 
 Article 17. — All debts contracted between the 12th April 
 1877 and the Sth August 1881 will be payable in the same 
 currency in which they may have been contracted. 
 
 Article 18, — No grants of land which may have been 
 made, and no transfers or mortgages which may have been 
 passed between the 12th April 1877 and 8th August 1881, will 
 be invalidated by reason merely of their having been made or 
 passed between such dates. 
 
 All transfers to the British Secretary for Native Affairs in 
 trust for natives will remain in force, an officer of the South 
 African Republic taking the place of such Secretary for 
 Native Affairs.
 
 APPENDIX 237 
 
 Article ig. — The Government of the South African Re- 
 public will engage faithfully to fulfil the assurances given, in 
 accordance with the laws in the South African Republic, to 
 the natives at the Pretoria Pitso by the Royal Commission in 
 the presence of the Triumvirate and with their entire assent, 
 (i) as to the freedom of the natives to buy or otherwise 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. 
 
 Article 20. — This Convention will be ratified by a Volksraad 
 of the South African Republic within the period of six months 
 after its execution, and in default of such ratification this Con- 
 vention shall be null and void. 
 
 Signed in duplicate in London this 27th day of February 
 1884. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 HERCULES ROBINSON, 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 S. J. P. KRUGER. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 S. J. DU TOIT, 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 M. J. SMIT.
 
 INDEX 
 
 {The numerals refer to the page) 
 
 Annexation of 1877, 10, 18 
 Appendix, 191 
 
 Bankruptcy of the Republic, 21 
 
 Beelaerts van Blockland, 102 
 
 Boer-cum- Hollander Ring, 119 
 
 Boer Rebellion of 1880, 45 
 
 Boer Shooting, 170 
 
 Brand (President of Orange Free State), 51, 57 
 
 Burgers, T., 8, 10, 16, 17, 23, 25, 27, 31, 42, 148 
 
 Chamberlain, J., 165 
 Commissioners, Royal, 61, 88, 96 
 Concessions, 117, 153 
 Cronjfe, Commandant, 130, 138 
 Convention of 1881, 73, 107 
 Convention of 1884, 99, 107, 121, 126 
 Conventions, Infractions of, 177 
 
 " Dank u Baas," 141 
 Drifts, Closing of, 186 
 Dutch Language, 153 
 
 Erasmus, A., 124, 125, 134 
 Exodus of 1835, 5 
 Expulsion of Aliens, 176 
 
 Foreign Powers, Communication with, 95 
 Franchise to all Inhabitants, 96
 
 240 INDEX 
 
 Gladstone, W. E., 17, 54, 61, 71, 73, 76, 78, 80, 81, 100, 102, 
 
 105, 106, 116, 120, 146, 147, 151, 165-167, 180, 182, 188 
 Gold Discovery, 117 
 Grondwet (Constitution), 8 
 
 Hollander, The, 148 
 Hollanders, Introduction of, 25 
 
 Jameson's Raid, 178 
 
 Jorissen, E. J. P., 31, 46, 55, 58, 88, 93, 98, 149 
 
 Joubert, P., 46, 53-55, 57-59. 61. 93. 127, 133, 137, 138 
 
 Kaffir Treatment by Boers, 121 
 
 Keate Award, 66 
 
 Kruger, S. J. P., 4, 7-9, 25, 31-34, 36-38, 40. 46, 50-52,55-57 
 59, 61, 87, 88, 93, 96, 98-100, 102, 105, 107, 119, 123, 127, 
 133, 142, 146, 149-151. 157-159. 162, 169, 174, 179, 184, 186, 
 188 
 
 Leyds, Dr., 150, 151, 162 
 Low Country, 142 
 
 Monopolies, 117, 153 
 
 Origin of the S. A. Republic, i 
 
 Petition of the Lo}'al Boers, 74, 77 
 
 Pitso at Pretoria, 126, 131 
 
 Pretoria Pitso, 126, 131 
 
 Pretorius, M., 55, 57-59, 61, 93, 127, 133 
 
 Railways, 154, 172, 184 
 Rhodes, Cecil, 152, 172, 181 
 
 Sand River Treaty of 1852, 5, 14, 77 
 Schlickman, von, 10, 11 
 Squatter's Law of 1895, 132 
 Suzerainty, Definition of, 56, 82, 83, 93 
 Swaziland, 175
 
 INDEX 
 
 241 
 
 Taxation Difficulties, 36 
 To-day's Situation, 164 
 Transport, Cost of, 156 
 
 UlTLANDERS, Il8 
 
 VoLKSRAAD, Institution of, in 1849, 5 
 
 WoLSELEY, Sir Garnet, 35, 75, 77, 133, 167 
 
 Wood, Sir Evelyn, 53-59, 61, 64, 80, 83-84, 88, 96, 98, 147, 
 
 149. 167 
 Wood, Sir Evelyn's, Statement of Dissent, 64 
 
 Zulu Subjugation in 1879, 35 
 
 Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &' Co. 
 London <5r> Edinburgh
 
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