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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80afded --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66343 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66343) diff --git a/old/66343-0.txt b/old/66343-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e73e0b5..0000000 --- a/old/66343-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9820 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of South Africa, vol. II., by Anthony Trollope - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: South Africa, vol. II. - -Author: Anthony Trollope - -Release Date: September 19, 2021 [eBook #66343] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - available at The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, VOL. II. *** - - - - - SOUTH AFRICA. - - VOL. II. - - - - - SOUTH AFRICA. - - BY - ANTHONY TROLLOPE. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES. - VOL. II. - - - _FOURTH EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. - 1878. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, - CITY ROAD. - - - - - CONTENTS OF VOL. II. - - -THE TRANSVAAL. - - -CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - -THE TRANSVAAL.--NEWCASTLE TO PRETORIA 3 - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--ITS HISTORY 26 - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--ANNEXATION 50 - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--PRETORIA 67 - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--ITS CONDITION AND PRODUCTS 89 - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--PRETORIA TO THE DIAMOND FIELDS 112 - -GRIQUALAND WEST. - - -CHAPTER VII. - -GRIQUALAND WEST--WHY WE TOOK IT 137 - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE STORY OF THE DIAMOND FIELDS 161 - - -CHAPTER IX. - -KIMBERLEY 185 - - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE. - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE.--ITS EARLY HISTORY 209 - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE.--PRESENT CONDITION 232 - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE.--BLOEMFONTEIN 256 - - -NATIVE TERRITORIES. - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THABA ’NCHO 275 - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -KRELI AND HIS KAFIRS 286 - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE BASUTOS 310 - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -NAMAQUALAND 320 - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -CONCLUSION 327 - - - - -THE TRANSVAAL. - - - - -SOUTH AFRICA. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--NEWCASTLE TO PRETORIA. - - -THE distance from Newcastle to Pretoria is 207 miles. About 20 miles -north from Newcastle we crossed the borders of what used to be the -Transvaal Republic, but which since the 12th August last,--1877,--forms -a separate British Colony under the dominion of Her Majesty. The -geographical configuration here is remarkable as at the point of contact -between Natal and the Transvaal the boundary of the Orange Free State is -not above two or three miles distant, and that of Zulu Land, which is at -present but ill defined, not very far off;--so that in the event of the -Transvaal being joined to Natal the combined Colonies would hang -together by a very narrow neck of land. - -Of all our dominions the Transvaal is probably the most remote. Its -Capital is 400 miles from the sea, and that distance is not annihilated -or even relieved by any railway. When I left home my main object perhaps -was to visit this remote district, of which I had never heard much and -in which I had been interested not at all, till six months before I -started on my journey. Then the country had been a foreign Republic, -not very stable as was supposed, and assimilated in my mind with some of -the South American Republics which so often change their name and their -condition and in which the stanchest lovers of the Republican form of -Government hardly put much faith. Now I was in the country and was not -only assured myself as to its future security,--but was assured also of -the assurance of all who were concerned. Whether Great Britain had done -right or wrong to annex the Transvaal, every sod of its soil had -instantly been made of double value to its proprietor by the deed which -had been done. - -Here I was in the Transvaal through which at a period long since that of -my own birth lions used to roam at will, and the tribes of the Swazies -and Matabeles used to work their will against each other, unconscious of -the coming of the white man. Now there are no lions in the land,--and, -as far as I could see as I made my journey, very few Natives in the -parts which had really been inhabited by the Dutch. - -I cannot say that the hotels along the road were very good. By the -ordinary travelling Englishman the accommodation would have been -considered very bad;--but we did find places in which we could shelter -ourselves, and beds of some kind were provided for us. A separate -bedroom had become a luxury dear to the imagination and perpetuated by -memory. We were a week on the road from Newcastle and pulled off our -clothes but once,--when we were under the hospitable roof of Mrs. -Swickhard, who keeps a store about half way at a place called Standers -Drift. At one or two places there were little Inns, always called -hotels, and at others we were taken in by farmers or storekeepers. -Sometimes the spot on which we were invited to lie down was so -uninviting as to require the summoning up of a special courage. Twice I -think we were called upon to occupy the same bed,--on which occasions my -age preserved me from the hard ground on which my younger companion had -to stretch himself. He had stories to tell of nocturnal visitors to -which I have ever been inhospital and useless,--the only wild beast that -has ever attacked me being the musquito. Of musquitoes in the Transvaal -I had no experience, and was told that even in summer they are not -violent. We were travelling in September, which is equal in its -circumstances to our March at home. So much for our beds. On our route -we banqueted at times like princes,--but these were the times in which -we camped out in the veld,--the open field side,--and consumed our own -provisions. Never was such tea made as we had. And yet the tea in all -the houses was bad,--generally so bad as to be undrinkable. We had -bought our tea, as other Colonists buy theirs, at Pieter Maritzburg, and -I do not think that the grocer had done anything peculiar for us. But we -were determined that the water should boil, that the proper number of -tea-spoon-fulls should be afforded, and that the tea should have every -chance. We certainly succeeded. And surely never was there such bacon -fried, or such cold tongues extracted from tin pots. It happened more -than once that we were forced by circumstances to breakfast at houses on -the road,--but when we did so we always breakfasted again a few miles -off by the side of some spruit,--Anglice brook,--where our horses could -get water and eat their forage. - -The matter of forage is the main question for all travellers through -these parts of South Africa. Let a man sleep where he may and eat what -he will, he can go on. Let him sleep not at all and eat but little, he -can have himself dragged to his destination. The will within him to -reach a given place carries him safely through great hardships. But it -is not so with your horse,--and is less so in the Transvaal than in any -other country in which I have travelled. We soon learned that our chief -care must be to provide proper food for our team, if we wished to reach -Pretoria,--let alone those further towns, Kimberley and Bloemfontein. -Now there are three modes in which a horse may be fed on such a journey. -He may nibble the grass,--or cut his own bread and butter,--as horses do -successfully in Australia; but if left to that resource he will soon -cease to drag the vehicle after him in South Africa. Or he may be fed -upon mealies. I hope my reader has already learned that maize or Indian -corn is so called in South Africa. Mealies are easily carried, and are -almost always to be purchased along the road. But horses fed upon them -while at fast work become subject to sickness and die upon the journey. -If used at all they should be steeped in water and dried, but even then -they are pernicious except in small quantities. Forage is the only -thing. Now forage consists of corn cut green, wheat or oats or -barley,--dried with the grain in it and preserved in bundles, like hay. -It is cumbrous to carry and it will frequently happen that it cannot be -bought on the road side. But you must have forage, or you will not get -to your journey’s end. We did manage to supply ourselves, sometimes -carrying a large roll of it inside the cart as well as a sack filled -with it outside. Every farmer grows a little of it through the country; -and the storekeepers along the road, who buy it at 3d. a bundle sell it -for a shilling or eighteen pence in accordance with their conscience. -But yet we were always in alarm lest we should find ourselves without -it. A horse requires about six bundles a day to be adequately fed for -continual work. “Have you got forage?” was the first question always -asked when the cart was stopped and one of us descended to enquire as to -the accommodation that might be forthcoming. - -We travelled something over thirty miles a day, always being careful not -to allow the horses to remain at their work above two hours and a half -at a time. Then we would “out-span,”--take the horses out from the -carriage, knee-hobble them and turn them loose with their forage spread -upon the ground. Then all our energies would be devoted to the tea -kettle and the frying pan. - -As we travelled most heartrending accounts reached us of the fate of my -companions from Pieter Maritzburg to Newcastle, who had pursued their -journey by the mail cart to Pretoria. This conveyance is not supposed -absolutely to travel night and day;--nor does it go regularly by day and -stop regularly by night in a Christian fashion, but makes its progress -with such diminished periods of relaxation as the condition of the -animals drawing it may create. If the roads and animals be good, four or -six hours in the twenty-four may be allowed to the weary -passengers;--but if not,--if as at this time they both be very bad, the -periods of relaxation are only those necessary for taking up the mail -bags and catching the animals which are somewhere out on the veld, -hobbled, and biding their time. For the mail cart the road was very bad -indeed, while by our happy luck, for us it was very good. They travelled -through two days and nights of uninterrupted rain by which the roads and -rivers were at once made almost equally impassable; while for us, so -quick are the changes effected, everything had become dry and at the -same time free from dust. From place to place we heard of them,--how the -three unfortunates had walked into one place fifteen miles in advance of -the cart, wet through, carrying their shoes and stockings in their -hands, and had then slept upon the ground till the vehicle had come up, -the mules had been caught, and they had been carried on a mile or two -when they had again been forced to walk. They were at this period two -days late and had been travelling on these conditions for four days and -four nights with the journey yet unfinished before them. Had I been one -of them I think they would have been forced to leave me behind them on -the way side. On the road we met their conveyance coming back. It had -carried them to a certain point and had thence returned. It was a -miserable box on wheels with two mules whose wretched bones seemed to -come through their skin. They could not raise a trot though they had no -load but the black driver, and I presume some mail bags. - -Nor was any one to blame for all this,--except the late Government. For -two years and a half the Contractor had done the work without receiving -his pay. That he should have gone on and done it at all is the -marvel;--but he had persevered spending all that he could make elsewhere -upon the effort. When the annexation came he was paid his arrears in -lump,--very much no doubt to his comfort; but then there were new -tenders and a new contract and it was hardly to be expected that he -should lay out his happily recovered money in providing horses and -conveyances for a month or two. - -I was assured, and I believe truly, that this special journey,--which I -did not take,--was the most unfortunate that had ever occurred on this -unfortunate road. The animals had of course gone down the hill from bad -to worse, and then had come the heavy rain. It seemed to be almost a -direct Providence which had rescued me from its misery. - -As I passed along the road I took every opportunity that came in my way -of entering the houses of the Dutch. I had heard much of the manners of -the Boers, and of their low condition of life. I had been told that they -were altogether unprogressive,--that the Boer farmer of this day was as -his father had been, that so had been the grandfather and the great -grandfather, and that so was the son about to be; that they were -uneducated, dirty in their habits, ignorant of comforts, and -parsimonious in the extreme. These are the main accusations brought -against the Boers as a race, and they are supported by various -allegations in detail;--as that they do not send their children to -school; that large families live in two roomed houses, fathers mothers -sons and daughters sleeping in one chamber; that they never wash, and -wear their clothes day and night without changing them; that they will -live upon the carcases of wild beasts and blesboks which they can shoot -upon the lands so as to reduce their expenditure on food to a -minimum;--that they are averse to neighbours, and that they will pay for -no labour, thus leaving their large farms untilled and to a great extent -unpastured. And added to all this it is said that the Boer is -particularly averse to all change, resolving not only to do as his -father has done before him, but also that his son shall do the like for -the future. - -The reader will probably perceive that these charges indicate an absence -of that civilization which is produced in the world by the congregated -intelligences of many persons. Had Shakespeare been born on a remote -South African farm he would have been Shakespeare still; but he would -not have worn a starched frill to his shirt. The Dutch Boer is what he -is, not because he is Dutch or because he is a Boer, but because -circumstances have isolated him. The Spaniards had probably reached as -luxurious a mode of living as any European people when they achieved -their American possessions, but I have no hesitation in saying that the -Spaniards who now inhabit the ranches and remote farms of Costa Rica or -Columbia are in a poorer condition of life than the Dutch Boers of the -Transvaal. I have seen Germans located in certain unfortunate spots -about the world who have been reduced lower in the order of humanity -than any Dutchmen that I have beheld. And I have been within the houses -of English Free Settlers in remote parts of Australia which have had -quite as little to show in the way of comfort as any Boer’s homestead. - -Such comparisons are only useful as showing that distance from crowded -centres will produce the same falling off in civilization among one -people as among another. The two points of interest in the matter -are,--first the actual condition of these people who have now become -British subjects, and secondly how far there is a prospect of -improvement. I am now speaking of my journey from Natal up to Pretoria. -When commencing that journey, though I had seen many Dutchmen in South -Africa I had seen none of the Boer race; and I was told that those -living near to the road would hardly be fair specimens of their kind. -There was very little on the road to assist in civilizing them and that -little had not existed long. From what I afterwards saw I am inclined to -think that the impressions first made upon me were not incorrect. - -The farmers’ houses generally consisted of two main rooms, with probably -some small excrescence which would serve some of the family as a -sleeping apartment. In the living room there would be a fire-place, and -outside the house, probably at thirty or forty yards’ distance, there -would be a huge oven built. The houses would never be floored, the -uneven ground being sufficiently solid and also sufficiently clean for -the Dutchman’s purposes. There would seldom be a wall-paper or any -internal painting of the woodwork. Two solid deal tables, with solid -deal settees or benches,--not unfrequently with a locker under -them,--would be the chief furniture. There might be a chair or two, but -not more than one or two. There would always be a clock, and a not -insufficient supply of cups, saucers, and basins. Knives, forks, and -spoons would be there. The bed room of course would be a sanctum; but -my curiosity,--or diligence in the performance of the duty on which I -was intent,--enables me to say that there is always a large bedstead, -with a large feather bed, a counterpane, and apparently a pair of -sheets. The traveller in Central America will see but little of such -decencies among the Spanish farmers there. - -Things in the Boer’s house no doubt are generally dirty. An earthen -floor will make everything dirty,--whether in Ireland or in the -Transvaal. The Boer’s dress is dirty,--and also, which is more -important, that of the Boeress. The little Boerlings are all dirty;--so -that, even when they are pretty, one does not wish to kiss them. The -Boers are very prolific, marrying early and living a wholesome, and I -think, a moral life. They are much given to marrying, the widow or the -widower very speedily taking another spouse, so that there will -sometimes be three or four families in the one house. The women have -children very early in life,--but then they have children very late -also; which seems to indicate that their manner of living is natural and -healthy. I have heard them ridiculed for their speedy changes of marital -affection, but it seems to me natural that a man or a woman living far -apart from neighbours should require the comfort of a companion. - -I am quite convinced that they are belied by the allegation which denies -to them all progress in civilization. The continued increase in the -number of British and German storekeepers in the country, who grow rich -on their trade with the Boers, is sufficient of itself to tell one this. -Twenty years since I am assured that it was a common thing for a Boer -to be clad in skins. Now they wear woollen clothing, with calico. I -fancy that the traveller would have to travel very far before he found a -skin-clad Boer. No doubt they are parsimonious;--it might perhaps be -more fair to call them prone to save. I, personally, regard saving as a -mistake, thinking that the improvement of the world generally is best -furthered by a free use of the good things which are earned,--and that -they who do not themselves earn them should, as a rule, not have them. -It is a large question, which my readers would not thank me to discuss -here. But there are two sides to it,--and the parsimony of the Boer who -will eat up the carcase of a wild beast till it be rotten so that he -need not kill a sheep, and may thus be enabled to stock a farm for his -son, will have its admirers in Great Britain,--if not among fathers at -any rate among sons. These people are not great consumers, as are our -farmers. They wear their clothes longer, and stretch their means -further; but that the Boer of to-day consumes very much more than his -father there can be no doubt;--and as little that his sons and daughters -will consume more. - -As to their educational condition I found it very difficult to ascertain -facts. The distance of these homesteads one from another makes school -teaching in many instances impossible. In some cases I found that great -efforts were made, the mother or perhaps the mother’s sister teaching -the children to read. Here and there I heard of boys and girls who were -sent long distances,--at an expense not only for teaching but for -boarding. It has, however, to be acknowledged that the education of the -country is at present very deficient. The country is now ours and when -the first rudiments of stability have been fixed, so that laws may be -administered and taxes collected, then I trust that the rulers of the -Transvaal may find themselves able to do something towards bringing -education nearer to the Boers. - -I have heard the Boers spoken of as a dishonest people. I was once among -certain tradesmen of the Transvaal who asserted that it was impossible -to keep them from pilfering in the shops, one or two of them alleging -that no Boer would make a considerable purchase without relieving the -grief which was natural to him at parting with his money by pocketing -some little article gratis,--a knife, or a tobacco pipe, or perhaps a -few buttons. It was an accusation grievous to hear;--but there arose in -the company one man, also a dealer and an Englishman, who vindicated -their character, alleging that in all parts of the world petty -shop-lifting was so common an offence that the shopkeeper was forced to -take it into account in his calculations, and asserting that the -thieving Boers, few though they might be in number, would leave more -impression on the shopkeeping mind than the very many Boers who would -come in and out without perpetrating any dishonesty. I have heard the -Boers also charged with immorality,--which always means loose conduct -among the women. I am inclined to think,--though I believe but few will -share my opinion,--that social morality will always stand higher in -towns, where people are close to each other and watch narrowly the -conduct one of another, than in far-stretching pastoral districts, where -there is no one to see what is done and to question a neighbour’s -conduct. I do not suppose that feminine delicacy can stand very high -among the Boers of the Transvaal. But on the other hand, as far as I -could learn, illegitimacy is not common; and surely there never was a -people more given to the honourable practice of matrimony. - -I fear that the Boer families have but few recognised amusements. In the -little towns or villages the people are given to dancing, and when they -dance they are very merry; but the Boers do not live in the villages. -The villages are but few in number over a country which is as large as -Great Britain and Ireland put together, and the Boer’s daughter who -lives six or eight miles from her nearest neighbour can have but little -dancing. The young people flirt together when they meet in the Transvaal -as they do in all the parts of the world which I have visited. Their -manner of flirting would probably be thought to be coarse by English -mothers and daughters; but then,--if my readers will remember,--so was -the manner of flirting ascribed to those most charming young ladies -Rosalind and Celia. We can hardly be entitled to expect more refinement -to-day among the Boers of South Africa than among the English of the -time of Queen Elizabeth. They are very great at making love, or -“freying” as they call it, and have their recognised forms for the -operation. A most amusing and clever young lady whom I met on my way up -to Pretoria was kind enough to describe to me at length the proper way -to engage or to attempt to engage the affections of a Boer’s daughter. -The young Boer who thinks that he wants a wife and has made up his mind -to look for one begins by riding round the country to find the article -that will suit him. On this occasion he does not trouble himself with -the hard work of courtship, but merely sees what there is within the -circle to which he extends his inspection. He will have dressed himself -with more than ordinary care so that any impression which he may make -may be favourable, and it is probable that the young ladies in the -district know what he is about. But when he has made his choice, then he -puts on his very best, and cleans his saddle or borrows a new one, and -sticks a feather in his cap, and goes forth determined to carry his -purpose. He takes with him a bottle of sugar plums,--an article in great -favour among the Boers and to be purchased at every store,--with which -to soften the heart of the mother, and a candle. Everything depends upon -the candle. It should be of wax, or of some wax-like composition; but -tallow will suffice if the proposed bride be not of very high standing. -Arrived at the door he enters, and his purpose is known at once. The -clean trowsers and the feather declare it; and the sugar plums which are -immediately brought forth,--and always consumed,--leave not a shadow of -doubt. Then the candle is at once offered to the young lady. If she -refuse it, which my informant seemed to think was unusual, then the -swain goes on without remonstrating and offers it to the next lady upon -his list. If she take it, then the candle is lighted, and the mother -retires, sticking a pin into the candle as an intimation that the young -couple may remain together, explaining their feelings to each other, -till the flame shall have come down to the pin. A little salt, I was -assured, is often employed to make the flame weak and so prolong the -happy hour. But the mother, who has perhaps had occasion to use salt in -her own time, may probably provide for this when arranging the distance -for the pin. A day or two afterwards the couple are married,--so that -there is nothing of the “nonsense” and occasional heartbreak of long -engagements. It is thus that “freying” is carried on among the Boers of -the Transvaal. - -At home in England, what little is known about the Boers of South -Africa,--or I might perhaps more correctly say what little has been told -about them,--has tended to give a low notion of them as a race. And -there is also an impression that the Boer and the English Colonist are -very hostile to each other. I fear that the English Colonist does -despise the Boer, but I have not found reason to think that any such -hostility exists. Let an Englishman be where he may about the surface of -the globe, he always thinks himself superior to other men around him. He -eats more, drinks more, wears more clothes, and both earns and spends -more money. He,--and the American who in this respect is the same as an -Englishman,--always consume the wheat while others put up with the rye. -He feeds on fresh meat, while dried or salt flesh is sufficient for his -neighbours. He expects to be “boss,” while others work under him. This -is essentially so in South Africa where he is constantly brought into -contact with the Dutchman,--and this feeling of ascendancy naturally -produces something akin to contempt. There is no English farmer in South -Africa, who would not feel himself to be vilified by being put on a par -with a Dutch farmer. When an Englishman marries a Boer’s daughter, the -connexion is spoken of almost as a mésalliance. “He made a mistake and -married a Dutchwoman,” I have heard more than once. But, nevertheless, -the feeling does not amount to hostility. The Boer in a tacit way -acknowledges his own inferiority, and is conscious that the Briton is -strong enough and honest enough to do him some service by his proximity. - -The man whom the Dutch Boer does hate is the Hollander, and he is the -man who does in truth despise the Boer. In the Transvaal a Hollander is -the immigrant who has come out new from Holland, whereas the Dutchman is -the descendant of those who came out two centuries since. The Dutchman -is always an Africander, or one who has been born in Africa from white -parents, and he has no sympathy whatever, no feeling of common country, -with the new comer from the old country of his forefathers. The -Hollander who thus emigrates is probably a man of no family, whereas the -old Colonist can go back with his pedigree at least for two centuries -and who thinks very much of his ancestors. The Hollander is educated and -is said to be pedantic and priggish before those who speak his own -language. And in the matter of language these new Dutchmen or Hollanders -complain much of the bad Dutch they hear in the Colony and give great -offence by such complaints. - -The Boers are at present much abused for cowardice, and stories without -end are current in the country as to the manner in which they have -allowed themselves to be scared by the smallest opposition. You will be -told how a posse of twenty men sent to arrest some rebel turned and fled -wildly when the rebel drew forth from his breast and presented to them -a bottle of soda-water;--how they have got one Kafir to fight another on -their behalf and how they have turned and run when it has been expected -that they should support the Kafir and do some fighting on their own -behalf. I fear that of late there has been truth in these stories and -that the pluck shewn by them when they made good their hold upon the -country, has been greatly dimmed by the quiet uneventful tenor of their -present lives. But no one complains so bitterly of the cowardice of the -Boers as the Hollander fresh from Holland. I once ventured to take the -part of the Boers in a discussion on the subject, and referred back to -the courage of Retief, of Potgieter, and of Maritz. There was a -gentleman from Holland in the company, and I own that I thought that -politeness required me to make some defence of his Dutch brethren in his -hearing. But I found myself to be altogether in the wrong. “They are the -vilest set of worthless cowards that the world has ever produced,” said -the Dutchman angrily. I think I may say that there is no sympathy -whatsoever between the old Dutch Colonist, and the newly-arrived -immigrant from Holland. - -We crossed the Vaal river at a place called Standerton or Stander’s -Drift,--drift being Dutch for a ford the word has by common usage become -English in South Africa,--as also has the word spruit for a stream. Here -there resides one General Standers from whom the place is called, an old -man who commanded a party of the Dutch at the battle of Boom Platz, -which was fought between the Boers and the British at a place so called -in the Orange Free State in 1848. If the stories told by the English be -true the Boers did not distinguish themselves by courage on the -occasion. The General is a fine old man, as upright as a maypole and -apparently as strong as an oak, about 80 years of age. He is now a most -loyal subject of the British throne, though there have been days in his -career in which the British name has not been very dear to him. He was -finely courteous to us, and asked us to drink coffee, as do all Boers -when they intend to be civil to their visitors. It should be understood -by travellers that their courtesy is very superior to their coffee. No -allusion is here made to the General’s establishment as we had not time -to partake of his hospitality. At Standerton we found coal burnt, which -had been dug about 30 miles from the place. It was good coal, burning -clearly and without much ash. - -Rising up from the Vaal river to the height of about 500 feet the land -ceases to be hilly and becomes a vast rolling plain for many miles, -without a single tree, and almost without a single enclosure. We saw -numerous herds of deer, the large blesbok and the smaller springbok, -which were near enough to be reached by a rifle. They would stand at -about 400 yards from us and gaze at us. My friend had a smooth-bore gun -with large shot; but could not get near enough to them to make such a -weapon available. The country was very uninteresting,--but capable of -bearing wheat on almost every acre. Wheat however there was none, and -only here and there at very long distances a batch of arable ground -tilled for the purpose of growing forage. I have said that there were -but few enclosures. Enclosures for arable or even pastoral purposes -there were none. Perhaps three or four times in a day a Boer’s farm -would be seen from the road side, distinguished by a small group of -trees, generally weeping willows. This would look like a very small -oasis in a huge desert. Round the house or on one side of it there would -be from six to a dozen acres of land ploughed, with probably a small -orchard and sometimes an attempt at a kitchen garden. There would too be -some ditching and draining and perhaps some slight arrangement for -irrigation. The Boer’s farm-house I have already described. When -questioned the farmer invariably declared that it would not pay him to -extend his agriculture, as he had no labour on which to depend and no -market to which he could carry his wheat. Questions on such subjects -were always answered with the greatest courtesy, and I may almost say -with eagerness. I do not remember that I ever entered a Boer’s house in -which he did not seem glad to see me. - -A farm in the Transvaal is supposed to contain six thousand acres. This -is so much a matter of course that when a man holds less he describes -himself as possessing half a farm, or a quarter of a farm. The land is -all private property,--or nearly so, very little of it remaining in the -hands of the Government on behalf of the people generally,--and having -been divided into these large sections, cannot now be split up into -smaller sections except by sale or inheritance. The consequence has been -and still is very prejudicial to the interests of the country. The farms -are much too large for profitable occupation, and the farmers by the -very extent of their own dominions are kept without the advantages of -neighbourhood. The people are isolated in regard to schools, churches, -and all the amenities of social life. They cannot assist each other in -the employment of labour, or create markets for the produce of one -another by their mutual wants. The boorishness of the Boer is -attributable in a great degree to the number of acres of which he is the -lord. - -As we went along the road we met a detachment of the 13th regiment -marching back from Pretoria to Newcastle. There seemed to be going on a -great moving of troops hither and thither, which no doubt had been made -necessary by the annexation. And these marchings were never made without -accidents of flood and field. On this occasion sixteen waggon-oxen had -died on the road. The soldiers had to carry their tents and belongings -with them, and the bullocks therefore were essential to these movements. -When I saw the big waggons, and the dead oxen, and remembered that every -man there in a red coat had been extracted from our population at home -with the greatest difficulty, and brought to that spot at an enormous -cost, and that this had been done for no British purpose, I own that I -asked myself some questions as to the propriety of our position in the -Transvaal which I found it difficult to answer;--as for instance whether -it is necessary that the troubles of the world at large should be -composed and set to rights by the soldiers of a nation so very little -able to provide an army as Great Britain. But the severity of these -thoughts was much mitigated when the two officers in command walked -across to us while we were outspanning in the veld, and offered us -bitter beer. The Transvaal would never have known even the taste of -bitter beer had it not been for the British army. Talk of a fountain in -the desert! What fountain can be compared to that kettle full of Bass -which the orderly who followed our two new friends carried in his hand. -“Do not look at it,” said the donor as the beverage was poured out. “The -joltings of the journey have marred its brightness. But you will find -that the flavour is all there.” - -The only place on the road worthy to be called a town is Heidelberg and -this does not contain above two or three hundred inhabitants. It is the -capital of a district of the same name of which the entire population is -about 2,000. The district is larger than an ordinary English county, -comprising a compact area about 80 miles long by 60 broad, and yet it is -returned as having no other village within its boundaries except the so -called town of Heidelberg. But the place has an air of prosperity about -it and contains two or three mercantile firms which are really doing a -large business. In these places the shops, or stores, are very much more -extensive than would be any such depôts in English villages of the same -size;--so much so that comfortable fortunes may be made in a -comparatively short time. As the Boers are the chief customers, it is -evident that they are learning to spend their money, and are gradually -departing from the old Boer law that the farm should supply everything -needed for life. - -At Heidelberg we found a good Inn,--a good Inn that is for the -Transvaal:--but the landlord at once told us that he had got no forage. -Our first work therefore was to go about into the town and beg. This we -did successfully, a merchant of the place consenting to let us have -enough for our immediate requirements, out of his private store. But for -this we must have used the reserve supply we carried with us, and have -gone on upon our road to look for more. - -The Inn I have said was good. There was a large room in which a public -table was kept and at which a very good dinner was provided at half-past -six, and a very good breakfast at eight the next morning. There was a -pretty little sitting room within which any lady might make herself -comfortable. The bed and bedroom were clean and sweet. But there was -only one bed tendered for the use of two of us, and a slight feeling -seemed to exist that we were fastidious in requiring more. As more was -not forthcoming my unfortunate companion had to lie upon the ground. - -At Heidelberg we were nearly on the highest table ground of the -Transvaal. From thence there is a descent to Pretoria,--not great indeed -for Pretoria is 4,450 feet above the sea,--but sufficient to produce an -entire change of climate. On the High Veld, as it is called, the -characteristics of the country are all those belonging to the temperate -zone,--such, indeed, as are the characteristics of our own country at -home. Wheat will grow if planted in the late autumn and will ripen in -the summer. But as the hill is turned, down to Pretoria, tropical -influences begin to prevail. Apples are said to thrive well, but so also -do oranges. And wheat will not live through the droughts of the winter -without irrigation. Irrigation for wheat must be costly, and -consequently but little wheat is grown. Wheat sown in the spring is, I -am told, subject to rust. Mealies, or Indian corn, will thrive here, -and almost all kinds of fruit. The gardens produce all kinds of -vegetables, when irrigation is used. - -We descended into Pretoria through a “poort” or opening between the -hills and the little town with its many trees smiled upon us in the sun. -It lies in a valley on a high plateau, just as Grahamstown does, and is -surrounded by low hills. As we were driven into the town I congratulated -myself on having come to the end of my journey. To reach Pretoria had -been my purpose, and now I was at Pretoria. My further troubles would be -confined to my journey home which I intended to commence after a week’s -delay at the capital of our new Colony. Hitherto my work had been not -very uncomfortable and certainly not unprosperous. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--ITS HISTORY. - - -The Transvaal as its name plainly indicates is the district lying north -or beyond the Vaal river. The Orange river as it runs down to the sea -from the Diamond Fields through the inhospitable and little known -regions of Bushmansland and Namaqualand used to be called the Gariep and -is made up of two large rivers which, above their junction, were known -as the Gariep Kye and the Knu Gariep,--the tawny and the orange -coloured. The former which is the larger of the two is now known as the -Vaal, and the latter as the Orange. The Vaal rises in the Drakenberg -mountains and is the northern border of the Orange Free State or -Republic. The country therefore beyond that river received its present -name very naturally. - -This southern boundary of the Transvaal has always been marked clearly -enough, but on every other side there are and have been doubts and -claims which are great difficulties to the administrator of the new -Colony. To the west are the Zulus who are, at this moment, claiming -lands which we also claim. Then above them, to the north-west are the -Portuguese who are not perhaps likely to extend their demands for inland -territory, but who are probably quite as much in doubt as we are as to -any defined boundary between them and the natives.[1] To the north I -think I may say that no one yet knows how far the Transvaal goes. The -maps give the Limpopo river as a boundary, but I think Sir Theophilus -Shepstone will own that Great Britain cannot, should she wish to do so, -make good her claim to lordship over the native races up to the Limpopo -without a considerable amount of ---- arrangement with the tribes. And -yet the matter is one that must be settled with accuracy because of the -hut tax. From the natives living under the protection of the British -Crown in the other colonies of South Africa a direct tax is -levied,--10s. or 14s.,--on each hut occupied, and it is indispensable to -the Government of the new Colony that the same system shall be -introduced there. We cannot govern the country without a revenue, and -from our black subjects this is the only means of collecting a -revenue,--till we begin to make something out of their taste for strong -drinks. It was inaccuracy as to their northern and north-eastern -boundaries which brought the South African or Transvaal Republic to that -ruin which induced us to seize it;--or, in other words, the lands which -the Dutch claimed the natives claimed also, and these claims were so -ambiguous, so progressive, so indefinite, that to have yielded to them -would have been to give up the whole country. Sicocoeni who was the -Chief most specially hostile to the Republic in its last days claimed -even the site on which stood Pretoria the capital, where the Volksraad -or Parliament of the Republic sat. In dealing with the Natives as to -boundaries nothing can be got by yielding. Nor does it seem possible to -trust to abstract justice. Between Sicocoeni and Mr. Burgers, the last -President of the Republic, it would have been impossible for abstract -justice to have drawn a true line so confused had the matter become. It -can only be done by a strong hand, and can only be done well by a strong -hand guided by a desire equally strong to do what is right. As an -Englishman I feel sure that we shall have the one, and, again as -Englishman, I trust that we shall have the other. The habitations of -hundreds of thousands of Natives are concerned. I find that the coloured -population of our new Colony is variously stated at numbers ranging from -250,000 to 800,000. It is all guess work;--but there is no doubt that -the multitude of human beings concerned is very great. Were we to annex -everything included in the Dutch maps of the Transvaal, the true number -would probably be much greater than the larger of those above given. -You, my readers, probably think that the more we include the better for -them, even though they should be made to pay a tax of 10s. a hut. So do -I. But they don’t. They want to be independent,--as are the Zulus down -on the sea coast. It is therefore impossible not to perceive a -difficulty. A line to the North and North-East must be drawn;--but no -possible line will satisfy the natives. To the West and North-West the -matter is probably as doubtful, though not as difficult. The numbers are -fewer and the people less warlike. But to the South-West there is -another problem to be solved. There is a territory North by West of the -Vaal river, including the little town of Bloomhof, which we, by British -award declared to be independent. Governor Keate of Natal was appointed -as arbitrator to draw a line between the Republic and the natives, and -he declared this territory to be a portion of Bechuanaland. But the -Transvaal, rejecting Governor Keate’s award, took the territory and -governed it. Are we now to reject it and give it back to the Bechuanas, -or are we to keep it as part of the annexed Colony? This also will add -something to the difficulty of defining our new possession. - -The history of the European occupation of the Transvaal is the same as -the history of all South Africa during this century. The Dutch have been -ever running away from the English, and the English have sometimes -pursued them and sometimes determined that they should go whither they -would and be no longer accounted as British subjects. They have -certainly been a most stiff-necked people with whom to deal,--and we by -their inability to amalgamate with ourselves have been driven into -vacillations which have not always been very creditable to our good -sense. We have been too masterful and yet not masterful enough. In Natal -as we have seen, we would not allow them to form a Republic or to throw -off their British allegiance. Across the Orange river we have fought -them and reduced them,--at Boom Plaats, as I shall describe when giving -the little history of the Orange Free State,--and then have bid them go -their own way and shift for themselves. - -The Dutch of South Africa have hated our ways, though I do not think -that they have hated us. What they have practically said to us is as -follows. “No doubt you are very fine fellows, and very strong. We do not -intend to pit ourselves against you. We first took and cultivated and -civilized this Cape Colony. But as you want it in God’s name take it and -use it, and do with it as you list. But let us go and do as we list -elsewhere. You don’t like slavery. We do. Let us go and have our slaves -in a new land. We must encounter endless troubles and probably death in -the attempt. But anything will be better to us than your laws and your -philanthropy.” We could not hinder them from going. There was at one -time a desire to hinder them, and the Colonial Attorney General in 1836 -was consulted as to the law on the subject. There was an old Dutch law, -he said, forbidding the Colonists to cross the border; but that could -hardly be brought in force to prevent persons from seeking their -fortunes in other lands. We have already seen in regard to Natal, how -Lieut.-Governor Stockenstrom, when appealed to, declared that he knew of -no law which prevented His Majesty’s subjects from leaving His Majesty’s -dominions and settling elsewhere. That these people must be allowed to -go away with their waggons wheresoever they might choose was evident -enough; but the British rulers could not quite make up their minds -whether it was or was not their duty to go after the wanderers. - -When the Dutch first made their way into the country now called the -Transvaal they were simply on their road to Natal. News had reached them -of the good land of Natal and they endeavoured to get to it by going -northwards across the Orange river. While pursuing their way through -what is now the Free State they encountered a terrible savage named -Mazulekatze, who was at the head of a tribe called the Matabele, with -whom they had to fight to the death. This warrior was a Zulu and had -fought under Chaka the king of the Zulus;--but had quarrelled with his -lord and master and fled out of Zulu Land westwards. Here he seems to -have created the tribe called Matabele, some of whom were Zulus and some -natives and some warriors who had joined him, as being a great fighting -Chief, from other tribes. He was as terrible a savage as Chaka himself, -and altogether “ate up” the less warlike Bechuanas who up to his time -possessed the land thereabouts. This seems to have been the way with -these tribes. They were like water running furiously in a torrent which -in its course is dashed over a rock. The stream is scattered into -infinite spray the particles of which can hardly be distinguished from -the air. But it falls again and is collected into this stream or the -other, changing not its nature but only its name. The Zulus, the -Bechuanas, the Matabeles, and the Kafirs seem to have been formed and -reformed after this fashion without any long dated tribal consistency -among them. When the Dutch came to the Vaal river, groping their way to -Natal, they found Mazulekatze and his Matabeles who was still at war -with some of these Bechuana tribes south of the Vaal river. This was in -1837, the year before the final abolition of slavery which by the law of -1834 was arranged to take place in 1838. The Dutch were nearly -exterminated, but they succeeded in driving Mazulekatze out of the -land. Then there was a quarrel among themselves whether they should -remain in that land or go eastward to the more promising soil of Natal. -They went eastward, and how they fared in Natal has already been told. - -For ten or eleven years after this the “trekking” of the Dutchmen into -the Transvaal was only the onward movement of the most hardy of the -class, the advanced pioneers of freedom, who would prefer to live on -equal terms with the Savage,--if that were necessary,--than to have any -dealings with English law. These were men at that time subject to no -rule. Some were established north and west of the Vaal where -Potchefstrom and Klerksdorp now are; others south and east of the Vaal. -As to the latter there came an order for the appointment over them of -British magistrates from Sir Henry Smith who was then the Governor of -the Cape Colony. This was an offence which could not be borne. Andreas -Pretorius, that most uncompromising, most stiff-necked and self-reliant -of all the Dutchmen, had left Natal in disgust with this Governor and -had settled himself in these parts. He instigated a rebellion against -British authority,--not with the view of at that moment claiming land -north of the Vaal, but of asserting the independence of those who lived -to the south of it. Then came the battle of Boom Plaats and the Orange -Sovereignty,--as will be told in the section of my Work devoted to the -history of the Orange Free State. It was when flying from this battle, -in 1848, that Pretorius crossed the Vaal. “For you there is safety,” he -said to his companions as he started. “For me there is none.” Then he -fled away across the river and a reward of £2,000 was set upon his head. -This I think may be regarded as the beginning of the occupation of the -Transvaal territory by a European or Dutch population. - -A sort of Republic was at once established of which Pretorius was at -first the acknowledged rather than the elected Chief. The most perfect -freedom for the white man,--which was supposed to include perfect -equality,--was to be maintained by a union of their forces against the -Natives of the country. Mazulekatze had been ejected, and the Bechuanas -were again coming in upon their old land. Then there were new troubles -which seemed always to end in the subjection of a certain number of the -Natives to the domestic institutions of the Dutch. The children of those -who rebelled, and who were taken as prisoners, were bound as apprentices -in the families of the Dutch farmers,--and as such were used as slaves. -There can be no doubt that such was the case. All the evidence that -there is on the subject goes to prove it, and the practice was one -entirely in accordance with Dutch sympathies and Dutch manners. It is -often pointed out to an enquirer that the position of the little urchins -who were thus brought into contact with civilization was thereby much -improved. Such an argument cannot be accepted as worth anything until -the person using it is brought to admit that the child so apprenticed is -a slave, and the master a slave-owner. Then the argument is brought back -to the great question whether slavery as an institution is beneficial or -the reverse. But even a Dutchman will generally avoid that position. - -Such was the condition of the territory when the English determined that -they would signify to their runaway subjects that they were regarded as -free to manage themselves as they pleased across the Vaal. Of what use -could it be to follow these Dutchmen beyond that distant river, when, if -so persecuted, they would certainly “trek” beyond the Limpopo? Further -back than the Limpopo were the Zambesi and the Equator. And yet as -matters then stood a certain unpronounced claim was implied by what had -been done between the Orange and the Vaal. A treaty was therefore made -with the people in 1852, and for the making of the treaty Messrs. Hogge -and Owen were despatched as Her Majesty’s Commissioners to meet -Pretorius and a deputation of emigrant farmers, to settle the terms on -which the Republic should be established. There were two clauses of -special interest. One prohibited slavery in the new Republic,--a clause -so easy to put into a treaty, but one of which it is so impossible for -an outside power to exact the fulfilment! Another declared that the -British would make no alliances with the natives north of the Vaal -river,--a clause which we have also found to be very inconvenient. It -would have been better perhaps merely to have told these Boers that if -we found slavery to exist we should make it a casus belli, and to have -bound ourselves to nothing. This would have been “high-handed,”--but -then how much more high-handed have we been since? - -Andreas Pretorius was the first President of the now established and -recognised nationality which, with a weak ambition which has assisted -much in bringing it to its ruin, soon called itself the South African -Republic,--as though it were destined to swallow up not only the Free -State but the British Colonies also. In this, however, Andreas Pretorius -himself had no part. The passion of his soul seems to have been -separation from the British;--not dominion over them. He died within two -years, in July 1853, and his son was elected in his place. The father -was certainly a remarkable man,--the one who of all his class was the -most determined to liberate himself from the thraldom of English -opinions. Mr. Theal in his history[2] of South Africa well describes how -this man had become what he was by a continued reading of the Old -Testament. The sanguinary orders given to the chosen people of the Lord -were to him orders which he was bound to obey as were they. Mr. Theal -quotes a special passage from the twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy, to -which I will refer my reader--“When thou comest nigh unto a city fight -against it.” The Israelites are enjoined either to slay or to enslave. -And Pretorius felt that such were the commands given to him in reference -to those natives among whom his lot had cast him. They were to him the -people of the cities which were “very far off,” and whom he had divine -order to enslave, while the more unfortunate ones who would still fain -occupy the lands on which it suited him and his people to dwell, were -“the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the -Hivites and the Jebusites” whom the Lord had commanded him utterly to -destroy. With such authority before him, and while black labour was so -necessary to the cultivation of the land, how could he doubt about -slavery? In studying the peculiarity of the Dutch character in South -Africa and the aversion of the people to our ways we have always to -remember that they had been brought up for ages in the strictest belief -in the letter of scripture. The very pictures in their bibles were to -them true pictures, because they were there. It was so two hundred years -ago with a large sect in Europe,--from which sect they had sprung. They -had grown in the new land without admixture with the progressing ideas -of Europe. They had neither been enlightened nor contaminated by new -systems of belief, or unbelief. So it has come to pass that an -institution which is so abhorrent to us as to make us feel that the man -who is stained by it must be a godless sinner, is still to them a -condition of things directly authorized and ordered by the Almighty. By -our persistency, by our treaties, by our power, by enforcing upon their -inferior condition as the very trade-mark of our superiority the command -that slavery shall exist no longer, we have driven them to deny it, and -have almost convinced them that slavery is no longer possible. But that -heartfelt hatred of slavery which is now common to all of us in England -has not yet reached the Dutchman of South Africa,--and is hardly as -strong in the bosoms of all British South African Colonists as it might -be. - -After the death of the elder Pretorius the Republic had by no means a -quiet or a bloodless time. The capital was then at Potchefstrom, near -the Vaal, while the enormous territory claimed by it to the north was -almost without government. There are stories of terrible massacres -amidst the records of the Republic,--of fearful revenge inflicted on -the white men by the Savage whose lands had been taken from him, and of -tenfold, hundredfold revenge following quick upon the heads of the -wretched people. “Thou shalt utterly destroy them!” And therefore a -whole tribe was smothered and starved to death within the caves in which -they had taken refuge. We read that, “For years afterwards the supremacy -of the white man was unquestioned in that part of the Transvaal, and we -can easily believe it.”[3] But for some years the Republic hardly had -any other history but that of its contests with the Natives and its -efforts to extend its borders by taking land wherever its scanty -European population could extend itself. The cities “very far off” were -all their legitimate prey. As the people thus followed out their destiny -at great distances the seat of Government was moved from Potchefstrom to -Pretoria, which city was named after the founder of the Republic. - -Upon the death of Andreas Pretorius in 1853 his son became President; -but in 1859 he was elected President of the Free State in the room of -Mr. Bostrof, who had then retired. When at Bloemfontein he advocated -measures for joining the two Republics under the name of the South -African Republic. Already had risen the idea that the Dutch might oust -the English from the continent, not by force of arms but by Republican -sentiment,--an idea however which has never travelled beyond the brains -of a few political leaders in the Transvaal. I do not think that a trace -of it is to be found in the elder Pretorius. Mr. Burgers, the last -President, of whom I shall have to speak presently, was so inflated by -it, that it may be said to have governed all his actions. The idea is -grand, for a South African Dutchman patriotic, and for a Republican -Dutchman not unnatural. But such ideas must depend on their success for -their vindication. When unsuccessful they seem to have been foolish -thoughts, bags of gas and wind, and are held to be proof of the -incompetency of the men who held them for any useful public action. -Neither will Mr. Pretorius junior nor Mr. Burgers ever be regarded as -benefactors of their country or as great statesmen; but the bosoms of -each have no doubt swelled with the aspiration of being called the Dutch -Washington of South Africa. I think I may say that Mr. Brand, who is now -President of the Orange Free State, is imbued with no such vaulting -ambition, whatever may be his ideas on the course of things in the womb -of time. He is mildly contented to be President of the Free State, and -as long as the Free State has a history to be written he will be spoken -of as the man who in the midst of its difficulties made its existence -possible and permanent. - -The Volksraad of the Free State did not sympathise with the views of -their President from the Transvaal, and in 1863 he resigned the place. -He was soon re-elected President of the Northern Republic and remained -in that office till he quarrelled with his own Volksraad or was -quarrelled with by them. He struggled hard and successfully to extend -the bounds of the Empire, and claimed among other lands that tract of -land of which I have already spoken, which is far to the south-west of -the Transvaal, but still to the north or north-west of the Vaal, where -a tribe of the Griquas, a branch of the vast tribe of the Bechuanas, -were living. The question of a boundary in that direction was submitted -to Governor Keate as umpire, and his decision, which was hostile to the -claims of the Republic, was accepted by the President. But the Volksraad -repudiated their President, declaring that he had acted without their -authority, and refused to surrender the land in question. Oddly enough -after this, it is,--or it is not,--at this moment a portion of British -territory. I do not know with what face we can hold it;--but still I -feel sure that we shall not abandon it. Pretorius was so disgusted with -his Volksraad that he resigned his office. This happened in 1872. Mr. -Burgers, the late President, was then elected for a term of five years, -and was sworn into office on 1st July of that year. - -Mr. Burgers, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Capetown, is still a -man in the prime of life and is entitled to be spoken of with that -courtesy which always should be extended to living politicians who have -retired from office. Unless the proof to the contrary be so apparent as -to be glaring,--as to be impossible of refutation,--the motives of such -men should not be impugned. When a man has held high office in his -State,--especially when he has been elected to that office by the voices -of his fellow-citizens,--he is entitled to the merit of patriotism -unless the crime of selfish ambition or unclean hands have been brought -home against him by the voices which elected him. No such charges have -been substantiated against Mr. Burgers, and I shall therefore speak of -him with all the respect which patriotism deserves. He was chosen -because he was supposed to be fit, and I have no reason to doubt that he -strove to do his best for his adopted country. But the capacity of a -Statesman for the office he has filled is always open to remark, whether -he be still in power or shall have retired. In the former case it is -essential to oust an incompetent man from his place, and in the latter -to defend the course by which such a one has been ousted. As a public -man,--one who devotes himself to the service of the people,--is entitled -to the most generous construction of his motives, which should be -regarded as pure and honest till their impurity and dishonesty shall -have been put beyond question,--so is he justly exposed to all that -criticism can say as to the wisdom of his words and deeds. The work on -which he is employed is too important for that good-natured reticence -with which the laches of the insignificant may be allowed to be -shrouded. - -When Mr. Burgers was elected President of the Transvaal Republic he was, -or shortly before had been, a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church in -the Cape Colony, who had differed on matters of creed with the Church to -which he belonged, and had consequently cast off his orders. He was -known as an eloquent enthusiastic man, and was warmly welcomed in the -Transvaal,--where, if ever, a silent, patient, unobtrusive officer was -wanted for the work which had to be done in consolidating the Republic. -The country at the time was very poor. The Treasury was empty,--a paper -currency had been set afloat in 1865, and was of course greatly -depreciated. Taxes were with difficulty collected, and the quarrels with -the natives were incessant. Mr. Burgers succeeded in raising a loan, -and borrowed £60,000, which the bank who lent the money will now receive -from the pockets of tax-payers in England. A considerable portion of -this sum has, I believe, already been repaid out of money voted by the -House of Commons. He established a national flag,--which was we may -suppose a cheap triumph. He had a gold coinage struck, with a -portraiture of himself,--two or three hundred gold pieces worth 20s. -each--which I will not hurt his feelings by calling sovereigns. This -could not have cost much as the coinage was so limited. They were too -all made out of Transvaal gold. He set on foot a most high flown scheme -of education,--of which the details will be given elsewhere and which -might not have been amiss had it not been utterly impracticable. He -attempted to have the public lands surveyed, while he did not in the -least know what the public lands were and had no idea of their limits. -There was to be a new code of laws, before as yet he had judges or -courts. And then he resolved that a railway should at once be made from -Pretoria through the gold fields of the Transvaal down to Delagoa Bay -where the Portuguese have their settlement. For the sake of raising a -loan for this purpose he went in person to Holland,--just when one would -have thought his presence in his own country to be indispensable, and -did succeed in saddling the Republic with a debt of £100,000 for railway -properties,--which debt must now, also, be paid by the British -tax-payers. To all this he added,--so runs the rumour among those who -were his friends in the Republic--many proud but too loudly spoken -aspirations as to the future general destiny of the South African -Republic. His mind seems to have been filled with the idea of competing -with Washington for public admiration. - -In all this there was much for which only the statesman and not the man -must be blamed. The aspirations in themselves were noble and showed that -Mr. Burgers had so far studied his subject as to know what things were -good for a nation. But he had none of that method which should have -taught him what things to put first in bestowing the blessings of -government upon a people. We remember how Goldsmith ridicules the idea -of sending venison to a man who is still without the necessaries of -life. - - “It’s like sending them ruffles when wanting a shirt.” - -It was certainly a shirt, and other of the simplest of garments, which -the people of the Transvaal then wanted;--the ordinary calico shirt of -taxation and the knee-breeches of security for property;--while Mr. -Burgers was bestowing ruffles upon them in the shape of a national flag -and a national gold coinage with his own portrait. Education is -certainly one of the first wants of a people, but education will not be -assisted at all by a law declaring that all schoolmasters shall have -ample incomes, unless there be funds from which such incomes may be -paid. What is so excellent as a good code of laws;--unless indeed it be -some means of enforcing them, without which the best code in the world -must be ineffective? A code of laws is to be had with comparatively -little difficulty,--almost as easily as the flag. There are so many that -an aspiring President need only choose. But that regular system of -obedience to the laws which has to found itself on a well-collected -Revenue, and which is the very essence of government, should come first, -and in such a country as that which Mr. Burgers was called upon to -govern, the establishment of this system should have been the care of -the Governor before he had thought of a new code. Mr. Burgers rushed at -once to the fruition of all the good things which a country can possess -without stopping to see whether they were there, to be enjoyed. Such was -his temperament. Nothing more plainly declares the excessive wealth of -France and of England than the plenty of their gold coinage;--therefore -certainly let us have some gold pieces in the Transvaal. How proud are -the citizens of the United States of their Stars and Stripes! Therefore -let us have a flag. How grand is the education of Prussia! Therefore let -us have schools every where! - -I myself think that the measure most essential for the development of -the resources of the Transvaal is a railway to Delagoa Bay. I cannot -therefore quarrel with Mr. Burgers for holding the same opinion. But it -was characteristic of the enthusiasm of the man that he, leaving his -country in uttermost confusion, should himself rush off to Europe for a -loan,--characteristic of his energy that he should be able to raise, if -not a large sum of money, railway plant representing a large sum--and -characteristic of his imprudence that all this should have been done -without any good result whatever. A railway to a country is a great -luxury, the most comfortable perhaps that it can enjoy; but Mr. Burgers -does not seem to have understood that a nation like a man, should be -able to provide for itself the necessaries of life before it looks for -luxuries. - -As in this I am accusing Mr. Burgers, so also am I defending him from -many of the charges which have been brought against him. His fault -hitherto has been an ambition to make his country great before it had -been made secure; but in what he so did there is no trace of any undue -desire for personal aggrandizement. As a nation rises in the world, so -will its rulers rise. That a President of a young Republic should be -aware of this and feel that as honour and wealth come to his people so -will they come to him, is fair enough. It is but human. I believe that -Mr. Burgers thought more of his country than of himself. That he was -sanguine, unsteady, and utterly deficient in patience and prudence was -the fault of those who elected him rather than of himself. - -All these follies, if they were follies, could have been nothing to us -but for our close proximity to the borders of the Transvaal. While the -gold was being coined and the flag was being stitched, there were -never-ending troubles with the Natives. The question of the right to -territory in a country which was inhabited by native races when it was -invaded by Europeans is one so complex that nothing but superior force -has as yet been able to decide it. The white races have gradually -obtained possession of whatever land they have wanted because they have -been the braver and the stronger people. Philanthropy must put up with -the fact, and justice must reconcile herself to it as best she may. I -venture to express an opinion that to the minds of all just men, who -have turned this matter in their thoughts with painful anxiety, there -has come a solution,--which has by no means satisfied them, but which -has been the only solution possible,--that God Almighty has intended -that it should be as it is. The increasing populations of the civilized -world have been compelled to find for themselves new homes; and that -they should make these homes in the lands occupied by people whose -power of enjoying them has been very limited, seems to have been -arranged----by Destiny. That is the excuse which we make for ourselves; -and if we do not find verbal authority for it in Deuteronomy as do the -Boers, we think that we collect a general authority from the manifested -intention of the Creator. - -But in the midst of all this the attempts to deal justly with the -original occupants of the soil have of late years been incessant. If we -buy the land then it will be ours of right. Or if we surrender and -secure to the Native as much as the Native wants, then are we not a -benefactor rather than a robber? If we succour the weak against the -strong then shall we not justify our position? If in fact we do them -more good than harm may we not have quiet consciences? So we have dealt -with them intending to be just, but our dealings have always ended in -coercion, annexation, dominion and masterdom. - -In these dealings who has been able to fix a price or to decide where -has been the right to sell? A few cattle have been given for a large -territory or even a few beads; and then it has turned out that the -recipient of the cattle or beads has had no title to dispose of the -land. But the purchaser if he be strong-handed will stick to his -purchase. And then come complications as to property which no judge can -unravel. Shall the law of the Native prevail or European, laws? and if -the former who shall interpret it,--a Native or a European? Some years -ago a Zulu king conquered a native tribe which lived on lands which are -now claimed as part of the Transvaal and then sold them for a herd of -cattle to the Dutch Republic. Time went by and the conquered people were -still allowed to live on the land, but the Dutch still claimed it as a -part of their empire. Then there arose a warrior among the tribe which -had been conquered; and the number of the tribe had increased with -peace; and the warrior said that he was then on his own territory and -not there by sufferance. And now that he was brave and strong he -declared that all the land that had once belonged to his tribe should be -his. And so there came war. The warrior was Secocoeni, the son of -Sequani who had been conquered by Dingaan the King of the Zulus, and the -war came up in the time of Mr. Burgers and has been the cause of our -annexation of the Republic. It should have been the first duty of Mr. -Burgers to have settled this affair with Secocoeni. His title to the -land in question was not very good, but he should have held it or -yielded it. If not all he might have yielded some. Or he might have -shown himself able to conquer the Native, as Dutchmen and Englishmen -have done before,--and have consoled himself with such justification as -that I have mentioned. But with his coins and his flags and his railway -he seems to have lost that power of inducing his Dutchmen to fight which -the Dutch leaders before his time have always possessed. There was -fighting and the Dutch had certain native allies, who assisted them -well. The use of such allies has become quite customary in South Africa. -At the very moment in which I am writing we are employing the Fingos -against Kreli and the Galekas in Kafraria. But Mr. Burgers with his -allies could not conquer Secocoeni although he was again and again -rebuked by our Secretary of State at home for the barbarity with which -he carried on the war. It is thus that Lord Carnarvon wrote to our -Governor at the Cape on the 25th January 1877. “I have to instruct you -once more to express to him”--President Burgers,--“the deep regret and -indignation with which H.M. Government view the proceedings of the armed -force which is acting in the name and under the authority of the -Transvaal Government, and that he is rapidly making impossible the -continuance either of those sentiments of respect and confidence towards -him, or of those friendly relations with him as the Chief of a -neighbouring Government, which it was the earnest hope of H.M. -Government to preserve.” This was a nice message for a President to -receive, not when he had quelled the Natives by the “armed force which -is acting in the name and under the authority of the Transvaal -Government,”--and which was undoubtedly the Transvaal army fighting for -the just or unjust claims of the country,--but when that armed force had -run away after an ineffective effort to drive the enemy from his -stronghold! - -Whether Mr. Burgers ever received that message I do not know. It was not -written till a day or two after the arrival of Sir Theophilus Shepstone -at Pretoria,--to which place he had then gone up as British -Commissioner, and could hardly have been handed to the President much -before the final overthrow of his authority. Under these circumstances -we may hope that he was spared the annoyance of reading it. But other -annoyances, some from the same source, must surely have been enough to -crush any man, even one so sanguine as Mr. Burgers. During all the -latter period of his office he was subjected to a continued hail-storm -of reproaches as to slavery from British authorities and British -newspapers. These reached him generally from the Cape Colony, and Mr. -Burgers, who had come from the Cape, must have known his own old Colony -well enough himself to have been sure that if not refuted they would -certainly lead to disaster. I do not believe that Mr. Burgers had any -leaning towards slavery. He was by no means a Boer among Boers, but has -come rather of a younger class of men and from a newer school. But he -could only exist in the Transvaal by means of the Boers, and in his -existing condition could not exert himself for the fulfilment of the -clause of the treaty which forbad slavery. - -Then he had against him a tribe of natives whom he could not conquer, -and at the same time the British Government and British feeling. And he -had not a shilling in the Treasury. Nominal taxes there were;--but no -one would pay them. As they were all direct taxes, it was open to the -people to pay them or to decline to do so. And they declined. As no one -had any confidence in anything, why should any one pay five or ten -pounds to a tax gatherer who had no constable at his back to enforce -payment? No one did do so, and there was not a shilling in the -Treasury. This was the condition of the South African Republic when Sir -Theophilus Shepstone arrived at Pretoria on January 22nd, 1877, with six -or seven other gentlemen from Natal and a guard of 25 mounted -policemen. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--ANNEXATION. - - -I have endeavoured in the last chapter to tell very shortly the story of -the South African Republic and to describe its condition at the moment -when our Secretary of State at home took the unusual step of sending a -British Commissioner,--not with orders to take possession of the land -but with orders which have been held to justify the act when done. I -doubt whether there is a precedent for so high-handed a deed in British -history. It is as though the rulers of Germany were to say that in their -opinion the existence of a Switzerland in Europe was deleterious and -dangerous, and that therefore they would abolish Switzerland as a -Republic, and annex its territory. It will be said that the case would -be different because Switzerland is well governed and prosperous. But -the Germans in such a case would say that they thought otherwise,--which -is what we say here,--and that they therefore took it. It was we who -found fault with the management of that other Republic and we who have -taken possession of the land. It is well that the whole truth as to the -matter should be understood. If we had done this act in compliance with -the expressed wish of the inhabitants generally, that would be a -justification. But it cannot fairly be said that such was the case -here. A nation with a popular parliament can only be held to express its -opinion to another nation by the voice of its parliament;--and the -Volksraad of the Transvaal was altogether opposed to the interference of -Great Britain. I will touch upon this matter again presently when -alluding to the words of the Commission given to the British -Commissioner by the Secretary of State at home;--but I think it must be -acknowledged that no other expression of opinion, unless it be a general -rising of a people, can be taken as national. In nine cases out of ten -petitions ought to be held to mean nothing. They cannot be verified. -They show the energy of the instigators of the petition and not of the -petitioners. They can be signed by those who have and by those who have -not an interest in the matter. The signatures to them can be readily -forged. At home in England the right of petitioning is so dear to us -from tradition that we still cling to it as one of the bulwarks of our -freedom; but there cannot be a statesman, hardly a Member of Parliament -among us, who does not feel that pen and ink and agitating management -have become so common that petitions are seldom now entitled to much -respect. - -It may perhaps be said that we have repeatedly done the same thing in -India. But a little thinking will show that our Indian annexations have -been quite of a different nature. There we have gone on annexing in -opposition to the barbarism and weakness of native rule against which -our presence in India has, from the first, been a protest. Each -annexation has been the result of previous conquest and has been caused -by non-compliance with the demands of the conquerors. In the Transvaal -we have annexed a dominion which was established by ourselves in express -obedience to our own requisitions, which was in the possession of -European rulers, which was altogether independent, and as to the -expediency of annexing which we have had nothing to guide us but our own -judgment and our own will. It is as though a strong boy should say to a -weak one, “It is better that I should have that cricket bat than you,” -and should therefore take it. - -The case will seem to be still stronger if it shall appear, as I think -it will, that Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the Commissioner appointed to -this work, did what he did do without complete authority. It is evident -that there was doubt in the Colonial Office at home. The condition of -the Transvaal was very bad. Slavery was rampant. The Natives were being -encouraged to rebellion. The President was impotent. The Volksraad was -stiff-necked and ignorant. There was no revenue, no order, no obedience. -The Dutch seemed to have forgotten even the way to fight. What were we -to do with such neighbours,--for whose inefficiency we were in a measure -responsible, having ourselves established the Republic? That we must -interfere for our own protection in regard to the Natives seemed to be -necessary. As has been said so often, there was a house on fire next -door to us, in the flames of which we might ourselves be enveloped. -Remonstrances had been frequent and had been altogether ineffectual. The -Republic was drifting,--nay, had drifted into Chaos. If any other people -could have assisted us in putting out the fire, French, Germans, or -Italians,--so that we might not seem to tyrannise,--it would have been -so comfortable! But in South Africa we had none to help us. And then -though this Republic was more than half Dutch it was also only less than -half English. - -Something must be done; and therefore an order was sent out directing -Sir Theophilus Shepstone to go to Pretoria and see what he could do. Sir -Theophilus was and for many years had been Minister for Native Affairs -in the Colony of Natal, and was credited,--no doubt correctly,--with -knowing more about the Natives than any other European in South Africa. -He was a man held in special respect by the King of the Zulus, and the -King of the Zulus was in truth the great power whom both Dutch and -English would dread should the natives be encouraged to rebel. When men -have talked of our South African house being in danger of fire, Cetywayo -the King of the Zulus has been the fire to whom they have alluded. So -Sir Theophilus started on his journey taking his Commission in his -pocket. He took a small body of policemen with him as an escort, but -advisedly not a body that might seem by its number to intimidate even so -weak a Government as that of the South African Republic. - -The writing of the Commission must have been a work of labour, requiring -much thought, and a great weighing of words. It had to be imperative and -yet hemmed in by all precautions; giving clear instruction, and yet -leaving very much to the Commissioner on the spot who would have his -work to do in a distant country not connected with the world by -telegraph wires. The Commission is long and I will not quote it all; -but it goes on to say that “if the emergency should seem to you to be -such as to render it necessary, in order to secure the peace and safety -of Our said Colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere that the said -territories, or any portion or portions of the same, should -_provisionally and pending the announcement of Our pleasure_,{A} be -administered in Our name and on Our behalf, then _and in such case -only_{A} We--” authorize you to annex so much of any such territories as -aforesaid. - -But the caution against such annexing was continued much further. -“Provided first--that”--no such annexation shall be made--“unless you -shall be satisfied that the inhabitants thereof, _or a sufficient number -of them, or the Legislature thereof_[4] desire to become Our subjects, -nor if any conditions unduly limiting Our power and authority are sought -to be imposed. And secondly, that, unless the circumstances are such as -in your opinion to make it necessary to issue a Proclamation forthwith, -no such Proclamation shall be issued by you until the same has been -submitted to and approved by----” the Governor of the Cape Colony, all -whose titles are given at great length. - -Could anything be more guarded, or less likely one would say on the mere -perusal of the document, to lead to an immediate and permanent -annexation of the whole country. The annexation if made at all was to be -provisional only and pending the Queen’s pleasure, and then it was only -to be made if the inhabitants, or a sufficient number of them, or the -Legislature should wish it. What the sufficient number might be was -left to the discretion of the Commissioner. But he was only to do this -in compliance with the wishes of the people themselves. He was to take -temporary possession,--only temporary possession,--of a part of the -Transvaal should the people desire it, and in the event of such a -measure being approved by a distant Governor,--unless the circumstances -were such as to make him think it expedient to do it without such -approval. Such was the nature of the Order, and I think that any one -reading it before the event would have said that it was not intended to -convey an authority for the immediate and permanent annexation of the -whole country. - -But Sir Theophilus, after a sojourn of ten weeks at Pretoria, in which -the question of the annexation was submitted to the Volksraad and in -which petitions and counter-petitions were signed, did annex the whole -country permanently, without any question of provisional occupation, and -without, as far as I have been able to learn, any sanction from the -Governor of the Cape Colony. As to conditions limiting Her Majesty’s -power, the mere allusion to such a condition of things seems to be -absurd now that we know what has been done. “Now therefore I do ... -proclaim and make known that from and after the publication hereof the -territory heretofore known as the South African Republic ... shall be, -and shall be taken to be, British territory.” These are the words which -contain the real purport of the Proclamation issued by Sir Theophilus -Shepstone at Pretoria on 12th April, 1877. Was ever anything so decided, -so audacious, and apparently so opposed to the spirit of the -instructions which the Commissioner had received? When the Secretary of -State received a telegram from Madeira, the nearest telegraph station, -saying that the Transvaal had been annexed, which he did in the -following May, he surely must have been more surprised than any other -man in England at what had been done. - -Was the deed justifiable? Has it been justified by what has occurred -since? And if so how had come about a state of things which had made -necessary a proceeding apparently so outrageous? The only man I have met -in all South Africa who has questioned the propriety of what has been -done is Mr. Burgers, the ousted President. Though I have discussed the -matter wherever I have been, taking generally something of a slant -against Sir Theophilus,--as I must seem to have done in the remarks I -have just made, and to which I always felt myself prompted by the -high-handedness of the proceeding,--I have never encountered even a -doubtful word on the subject, except in what Mr. Burgers said to me. And -Mr. Burgers acknowledged to me, not once or twice only, that the step -which had been taken was manifestly beneficial, to the Natives, to the -English,--and to the Dutch. He thought that Sir Theophilus had done a -great wrong,--but that the wrong done would be of great advantage to -every one concerned. He made various complaints;--that the Natives -around him had been encouraged to rebel in order that an assumed -difficulty might be pleaded;--that no national petition, and indeed no -trustworthy petition, had been sent forward praying for -annexation;--that the deed was uncalled for and tyrannical;--and that -the whole proceeding was one in which the courtesy due to a weaker -nation was neglected and omitted. He then asserted that fresh emigrants -would not flock into a land governed under a European crown as they -would have done into a Republic. But he repeated his admission that for -Dutchmen, Englishmen, and Natives as at present settled in the country, -the British rule would be the best. - -He alleged as to himself that when Sir Theophilus stated to him his -intentions, three courses appeared to be open to him. He might use his -influence and his words in assisting the transference of the country to -the British. This as President of the Republic he could not do;--and the -less so as he did not think that it should be done. Or he might cause -Sir Theophilus and his twenty-five policemen to be marched back over the -border, treating them on their way as unauthorized intruders. This he -would not do, he said, because he knew it to be useless to wage war with -Great Britain. Or he might yield and remonstrate;--yield to power while -he remonstrated against injustice. This, he said, that he did do. The -words and personal bearing of the man recommended themselves to me much. -Whether he is to be regarded as a banished patriot or a willing placeman -must depend on a delicate question which has not as far as I know yet -been answered, though it has been broached,--to which, delicate as it -is, I will refer again before I have ended my story. - -I had not the pleasure of meeting Sir Theophilus and have the less -repugnance therefore to surmise the condition of his mind when he -received the order to go to Pretoria. Had he told me his mind I might -have been unable to publish my own surmises. He knew that the native -races of the Transvaal unless convinced of the superiority of their -white neighbours would ever struggle to prove them inferior,--and that -such inferiority if proved would at once be their death-warrant. The -Natives had long learned to respect the English and to hate the -Dutch;--but even that respect would not restrain them if once they had -asserted their masterhood to a white race. And now this state of things -was at hand. He was aware that though English troops could be supplied -to maintain English authority, English troops would not be lent to fight -the battles of the Dutch. There might, nay there probably would be, a -native triumph just across our borders which he as a minister in Natal -could not interfere to quell,--but which, when a rumour of it should -spread among the Zulus on our border, might induce 300,000 coloured -subjects to think that they could free themselves by a blow from 20,000 -white masters. And he knew the condition which I have attempted to -explain,--that these Dutch people in the Transvaal would not pay a -stiver of tax, that there was in fact no government, that the gaols were -unlocked in order that prisoners might find elsewhere the bread which -their gaolers could not get for them, that the posts could not be -continued because the Contractors were not paid, that no one would part -with a coin which he possessed, that property was unsaleable, that -industry was unprofitable, that life was insecure, that Chaos was come -upon the land. I do not suppose that Sir Theophilus doubted much when he -read the Commission which had been sent to him, or that he thought very -much of all the safeguards and provisions. He probably felt, as did -everybody else, that the South African Republic had from the first been -a failure,--almost a farce,--and that the sooner so expensive a failure -could be brought to an end, the better. If indeed the Volksraad would -have voted their own extermination that would have been very well; but -he could hardly have expected it. As for petitions, and the wish of a -“sufficient number” of the inhabitants,--I should imagine that he must -have been a little indifferent to that. His mind probably was made -up,--with a resolve to give the Volksraad what time might be needed for -their deliberations. They did not deliberate,--only deliberated whether -they would deliberate or not, and then declined even to deliberate. -Whereupon Sir Theophilus said that then and from thenceforth the -Transvaal should be British property. So he put up the Queen’s -flag;--and the Transvaal is and probably will remain British property. - -I have to acknowledge, with all my sympathies strongly opposed to what I -call high-handed political operations, that I think Sir Theophilus was -justified. A case of such a kind must in truth be governed by its own -merits, and cannot be subjected to a fixed rule. To have annexed only a -part of the Transvaal would have been not only useless, but absurd. Not -only would the part which we had spared have been hostile to us, but the -Dutch within our assumed borders would have envied the independence we -had left to others. We shall have trouble enough now in settling our -boundaries with the Natives. We should then have had the worse trouble -of settling them with the Dutch. To have waited for authority from the -Governor of the Cape Colony would have shown a weakness in his own -authority which might have been fatal to Sir Theophilus as he was then -placed. No other Governor could know the condition of the matter as well -as he did. To get the authority needed he must have wasted six weeks -during which it would have been known to every member of the Volksraad -that he was waiting. To carry him through it was needed that the Boers -should understand that when he said that the land should be annexed, -Great Britain was saying so. They did so believe. The President so -believed. And therefore the surrender was made without a struggle. - -So much for Sir Theophilus and his instructions. In the larger matter -which regards Great Britain and her character, we have to enquire -whether this arbitrary act has been justified by what has occurred -since. In discussing this there are at least four parties concerned, if -not more. Mr. Burgers spoke of three, and in South Africa it is natural -that reference should be made to those three only. As regards the -Natives there can be no question. No friend of theirs can wish it to be -otherwise unless they have a friend so foolish as to desire for them an -independence which can be obtained only by the extermination or -banishment of the European races. That the Natives generally respect the -English and do not respect the Dutch is certain. This had come to such a -pitch in the Transvaal that it had produced war,--and that war if -continued would have meant the destruction of the tribe which was waging -it. Permanent success against white men is impossible for Natives in -South Africa. Every war between a tribe and its white neighbours ends in -the destruction of the tribe as an independent people. And here, if -Secocoeni had been successful against the Dutch,--if the English could -have allowed themselves to sit by and see the house all in -flames,--Cetywayo, the King of the Zulus, would at once have been at war -with Secocoeni. As far as the Natives were concerned, it would indeed -have been to “let slip the dogs of war.” It has been one of our great -objects in dealing with the Natives,--perhaps that in accomplishing -which we should be most proud of what we have done,--to save the tribes -from being hounded on to war among themselves by their Chiefs. The Dutch -rule in the Transvaal was an incentive to war which was already -operating. The house was on fire and could only have been put out by us. - -As to the good done to the English of the Transvaal it is hardly -necessary that any arguments should be used. We had abandoned the -country to Dutch rule in 1852, and it was natural that the Dutch should -consider only themselves--and the Natives. After what we had done we -clearly had no right to take back the Transvaal by force in order that -we might protect the interests of Englishmen who were living there. But -it is matter of additional satisfaction that we have been enabled to -re-establish a basis of trade in the country;--for the trade of the -country has been in the hands of English, Germans, or newly arrived -Hollanders, and not in those of the Boers to whom the country was given -up. I do not remember to have found a shop or even an hotel all through -the Transvaal in the hands of a Dutch Boer. - -But the man who has cause to rejoice the most,--and who as far as I -could learn is wide awake to the fact,--is the Boer himself. He is an -owner of land,--and on the first of January 1877 his land was hardly -worth having. Now he can sell it, and such sales are already being made. -He was all astray even as to what duty required of him. Ought he to pay -his taxes when no one around him was paying? Of what use would be his -little contribution? Therefore he did not pay. And yet he had sense -enough to know that when there are no taxes, then there can be no -government. Now he will pay his taxes. Ought he to have fought, when -those wretched Natives, in their audacity, were trying to recover the -land which he had taken from them? Of what use could fighting have been -when he had no recognised leader,--when the next Boer to him was not -fighting? Now he knows that he will have a leader. Why cultivate his -land, or more of it than would feed himself? Why shear his sheep if he -could not sell his wool? Now there are markets for him. It was to this -condition of not paying, not fighting, and not working that he was -coming when British annexation was suggested to him. He could not -himself ask to be expatriated; but it may well be understood that he -should thoroughly appreciate the advantage to himself of a measure for -which as a Dutchman he could not ask. What was wanted was money and the -credit which money gives. England had money and the Boer knew well -enough that English money could procure for him that which a national -flag, and a gold coinage, and a code of laws, and a promised railway -could not achieve. It was almost cruel to ask him to consent to -annexation, but it would have been more cruel not to annex him. - -But the condition of the fourth party is to be considered. That fourth -party is the annexing country. It may be very well for the Natives and -for the Dutch, and for the English in the Transvaal, but how will it -suit the English at home? It became immediately necessary for us to send -a large military force up to the Transvaal, or to its neighbourhood. -Something above two regiments have I believe been employed on the -service, and money has been demanded from Parliament for the purpose of -paying for them. Up to this time England has had to pay about £125,000 -for the sake of procuring that security of which I have spoken. Why -should she pay this for the Boers,--or even for the English who have -settled themselves among the Boers? And then the sum I have named will -be but a small part of what we must pay. Hitherto no violent objection -has been made at home to the annexation. In Parliament it has been -almost as well received by the Opposition as by the Government. No one -has said a word against Lord Carnarvon; and hardly a word has been said -against Sir Theophilus. But how will it be when other and larger sums -are asked for the maintenance of the Transvaal? Surely some one will -then arise and say that such payments are altogether antagonistic to our -colonial policy,--by which our Colonies, as they are required to give -nothing to us, are also required to support themselves. - -The answer to this I think must be that we have been compelled thus to -deviate from our practice and to put our hands deeply into our pockets -by our folly in a former generation. It is because we came to a wrong -judgment of our position in 1852,--when we first called upon the Dutch -Boers to rule themselves,--that we are now, twenty-five years -afterwards, called upon to pay for the mistake that has since occurred. -We then endeavoured to limit our responsibility, saying to ourselves -that there was a line in South Africa which we would not pass. We had -already declined to say the same thing as to Natal and we ought to have -seen and acknowledged that doctrine of the house on fire as clearly then -as we do now. The Dutch who trekked across the Vaal were our subjects as -much as though they were English. Their troubles must ultimately have -become our troubles,--whereas their success, had they been successful, -might have been as troublesome to us as their troubles. We repudiated -two territories, and originated two Republics. The first has come back -upon our hands and we must pay the bill. That is the Transvaal. The -other, which can pay its own bill, will not come back to us even though -we should want it. That is the Orange Free State. I have now answered -the three questions. I think the annexation was justifiable. I think -that it has been justified by the circumstances that have followed it. -And I have given what in my opinion has been the cause for so -disagreeable a necessity. - -There is one other matter to be mentioned,--that delicate matter to -which I have alluded. A report has been spread all through South Africa -that the late President of the South African Republic is to be gratified -by a pension of £750 per annum out of the revenues of Great Britain. I -trust for every one’s sake that that report may not be true. The late -President was the chief officer of his country when the annexation was -made, and I cannot think that it would be compatible with his honour to -receive a pension from the Government of the country which has -annihilated the Republic over which he had been called on to preside. -When he says that he yielded and remonstrated he takes a highly -honourable position and one which cannot be tarnished by any -incapability for ruling which he may have shown. But were he to live -after that as a pensioner on English bounty,--the bounty of the country -which had annihilated his own,--then I think that he had better at least -live far away from the Transvaal, and from the hearing of the sound of a -Dutchman’s voice. - -And why should we pay such a pension? Is it necessary that we should -silence Mr. Burgers? Have we done him an injustice that we should pay -him a compensation for the loss of his office? It is said that we pay -dethroned Indian Princes. But we take the revenues of dethroned Indian -Princes,--revenues which have become their own by hereditary descent. -Mr. Burgers had a month or two more of his Presidency to enjoy, with but -little chance of re-election to an office the stipend of which could not -have been paid for want of means. But this argument ought not to be -required. An expensive and disagreeable duty was forced upon us by a -country which could not rule itself, and certainly we should not -convict ourselves of an injustice by giving a pension to the man whose -incompetence imposed upon us the task. I trust that the rumour though -very general has been untrue. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--PRETORIA. - - -Pretoria itself, the capital of our new country, is a little town, lying -in a basin on a plateau 4,500 feet above the level of the sea,--lat. 25° -45´, S., long. 28° 49´, E. From its latitude it would be considered to -be semitropical, but its altitude above the sea is so great as to make -the climate temperate. In regard to heat and cold it is very -peculiar,--the changes being more rapid and violent than I have -experienced in any other place. I was there during the last days of -September, which would answer to the last days of March on our side of -the equator. The mornings were very fine, but somewhat chilly,--not so -as to make a fire desirable but just to give a little sting to the -water. The noon-day was hot,--not too hot for exercise; but the heat -seemed to increase towards the afternoon, the level rays of the sun -being almost oppressive. Then suddenly there would come an air so cold -that the stranger who had not expected the change and who was wearing -perhaps his lightest clothes would find that he wanted a great coat and -a warm cravat round his neck. It was not till I was about to leave the -place that I became alive to its peculiarities. I caught a cold every -evening in consequence of my ignorance, becoming quite hoarse and -thinking of hot water externally and internally as I went to bed;--but -in the morning I was always quite well again. I was assured, however, -that the climate of Pretoria was one which required great care from its -inhabitants. It is subject to very violent storms, and deaths from -lightning are not uncommon. The hailstorms, when they come, are very -violent, the stones being so large as not unfrequently to batter the -cattle to death. I was glad to find that they were unfrequent, and that -my good fortune saved me from experiencing their effects. “What does a -man do if he be out in the veld?” I asked when I heard these frightful -stories. “Put his saddle over his head,” was the answer, showing much as -to the custom of a people who seldom walk to any distance always having -horses at command. “But if he have not a saddle?” “Ah, then indeed, he -would be badly off.” My informants, for I was told of the hailstorms and -the necessary saddles more than once, seemed to think that in such a -dilemma there would be no hope for a man who, without a saddle, might -chance to be beyond the reach of a roof. I could not, however, learn -that people were often killed. I therefore accepted the Pretorian -hailstones with a grain of salt. - -The first President of the Colony was named Pretorius and hence the name -of the town, which became the capital in the time of his son who was the -second President. The old man was one of the pioneer farmers who first -entered in upon the country under circumstances already described, and -the family now is very numerous in the Transvaal, occupying many farms. -Potchefstroom,--a hundred miles to the south-west of Pretoria,--was the -first capital and is still the bigger town; but President Pretorius the -second thought it well to move the seat of Government more to the centre -of the large district which the Republic was then claiming, and called -the little city Pretoria, after the name of his father. - -I am quite unable to say what is the population of the capital, as those -of whom I inquired could only guess at it from their own point of view. -I should think it might amount to two thousand exclusive of the -military. At the time I was there it was of a very shifting nature, and -will be so for; some months. It has lately become the seat of a British -Government, and people have flocked into it knowing that money will be -flying about. Money has flown about very readily, and there are hands of -course to receive it. Six hundred British soldiers are stationed there -under tents, and soldiers, though their pay is low, are great consumers. -A single British soldier will consume as much purchased provender as a -whole Boer family. But as people are going in, so are they going out. -The place therefore in its present condition is like a caravansary -rather than an established town. All menial services are done by a Kafir -population,--not permanently resident Kafirs who can be counted, but by -a migratory imported set who are caught and used as each master or -mistress of a family may find it possible to catch and use them. “They -always go when you have taught them anything,” one poor lady said to me. -Another assured me that two months of continuous service was considered -a great comfort. And yet they have their domestic jealousies. I dined at -a house at which one of our British soldiers waited at table, an -officer who dined there having kindly brought the much-needed assistance -with him. The dinner was cooked by a Kafir who, as the lady of the house -told me, was very angry because the soldier was allowed to interfere -with the gala arrangements of the day. He did not see why he should not -be allowed to show himself among the company after having undergone the -heat of the fray. These Kafirs at Pretoria, and through all those parts -of the Transvaal which I visited, are an imported population,--the Dutch -having made the land too hot to hold them as residents. The Dutch hated -them, and they certainly have learned to hate the Dutch in return. Now -they will come and settle themselves in Pretoria for a short time and be -good-humoured and occasionally serviceable. But till they settle -themselves there permanently it is impossible to count them as a -resident population. - -Down many of the streets of the town,--down all of them that are on the -slope of the descent,--little rivulets flow, adding much to the -fertility of the gardens and to the feeling of salubrity. Nothing seems -to add so much to the prettiness and comfort of a town as open running -water, though I doubt whether it be in truth the most healthy mode of -providing for man the first necessary of life. Let a traveller, however, -live for a few days but a quarter of a mile from his water supply and he -will learn what is the comfort of a rivulet just at his door-step. Men -who have roughed it in the wilderness, as many of our Colonists have had -to do before they have settled themselves into townships, have learned -this lesson so perfectly that they are inclined, perhaps, to be too fond -of a deluge. For purposes of gardening in such a place as Pretoria -there can be no doubt about the water. The town gardens are large, -fertile, and productive, whereas nothing would grow without irrigation. - -The streets are broad and well laid out, with a fine square in the -centre, and the one fact that they have no houses in them is the only -strong argument against them. To those who know the first struggling -efforts of a colonial town,--who are familiar with the appearance of a -spot on which men have decided to begin a city but have not as yet -progressed far, the place with all its attributes and drawbacks will be -manifest enough. To those who have never seen a city thus struggling -into birth it is difficult to make it intelligible. The old faults of -old towns have been well understood and thoroughly avoided. The old town -began with a simple cluster of houses in close contiguity, because no -more than that was wanted. As the traffic of the day was small, no -provision was made for broad spaces. If a man could pass a man, or a -horse a horse,--or at most a cart a cart,--no more was needed. Of -sanitary laws nothing was known. Air and water were taken for granted. -Then as people added themselves to people, as the grocer came to supply -the earlier tanner, the butcher the grocer, the merchant tailor his -three forerunners, and as a schoolmaster added himself to them to teach -their children, house was adjoined to house and lane to lane, till a -town built, itself after its own devise, and such a London and such a -Paris grew into existence as we who are old have lived to see pulled -down within the period of our own lives. There was no foresight and a -great lack of economy in this old way of city building. - -But now the founder has all these examples before his eyes, and is -grandly courageous in his determination to avoid the evils of which he -has heard and perhaps seen so much. Of course he is sanguine. A founder -of cities is necessarily a sanguine man, or he would not find himself -employed on such a work. He pegs out his streets and his squares -bravely, being stopped by no consideration as to the value of land. He -clings to parallelograms as being simple, and in a day or two has his -chief thoroughfare a mile long, his cross streets all numbered and -named, his pleasant airy squares, each with a peg at each corner, out in -the wilderness. Here shall be his Belgravia for the grandees, and this -his Cheapside and his Lombard Street for the merchants and bankers. We -can understand how pleasant may be the occupation and how pile upon pile -would rise before the eyes of the projector, how spires and minarets -would ascend, how fountains would play in the open places, and pleasant -trees would lend their shade to the broad sunny ways. - -Then comes the real commencement with some little hovel at the corner of -two as yet invisible streets. Other hovels arise always at a distance -from each other and the town begins to be a town. Sometimes there will -be success, but much more often a failure. Very many failures I have -seen, in which all the efforts of the sanguine founder have not produced -more than an Inn, a church, half a dozen stores; and twice as many -drinking booths. And yet there have been the broad streets,--and the -squares if one would take the trouble to make enquiry. Pretoria has not -been a failure. Among recent attempts of the kind Pretoria is now -likely to be a distinguished success. An English Governor is to live -there, and there will be English troops;--I fear, for many years. Balls -will be given at Pretoria. Judges will hold their courts there, and a -Bishop will live in a Pretorian Bishopstowe. But the Pretoria of to-day -has its unknown squares, and its broad ill defined streets about which -houses straggle in an apparently formless way, none of which have as yet -achieved the honours of a second storey. The brooks flow pleasantly, but -sometimes demand an inconvenient amount of jumping. The streets lie in -holes, in which when it rains the mud is very deep. In all such towns as -these mud assumes the force of a fifth element, and becomes so much a -matter of course that it is as necessary to be muddy, as it is to be -smoke-begrimed in London. In London there is soap and water, and in -Pretoria there are, perhaps, clothes-brushes; but a man to be clean -either in one place or the other must always be using his soap or his -clothes-brush. There are many gardens in Pretoria,--for much of the -vacant spaces is so occupied. The time will come in which the gardens -will give place to buildings, but in the mean time they are green and -pleasant-looking. Perhaps the most peculiar feature of the place is the -roses. There are everywhere hedges of roses, hedges which are all -roses,--not wild roses but our roses of the garden though generally less -sweet to the smell. And with the roses, there are everywhere weeping -willows, mourning gracefully over the hitherto unaccomplished -aspirations of the country. This tree, which I believe to have been -imported from St. Helena, has become common to the towns and homesteads -of the Transvaal. To the eye that is strange to them the roses and -weeping willows are very pretty; but, as with everything else in the -world, their very profusion and commonness detracts from their value. -The people of Pretoria think no more of their roses, than do those of -Bermuda of their oleanders. - -In such towns the smallness of the houses is not the characteristic -which chiefly produces the air of meanness which certainly strikes the -visitor, nor is it their distance from each other, nor their poverty; -but a certain flavour of untidiness which is common to all new towns and -which is, I fear, unavoidable. Brandy bottles and sardine boxes meet the -eye everywhere. Tins in which pickled good things have been conveyed -accumulate themselves at the corners. The straw receptacles in which -wine is nowadays conveyed meet the eye constantly, as do paper -shirt-collars, rags, old boots, and fragments of wooden cases. There are -no dust holes and no scavengers, and all the unseemly relics of a hungry -and thirsty race of pioneers are left open to inspection. - -And yet in spite of the mud, in spite of the brandy bottles, in spite of -the ubiquitous rags Pretoria is both picturesque and promising. The -efforts are being made in the right direction, and the cottages which -look lowly enough from without have an air of comfort within. I was -taken by a gentleman to call on his wife,--an officer of our army who is -interested in the gold fields of the Transvaal,--and I found that they -had managed to gather round them within a very small space all the -comforts of civilized life. There was no front door and no hall; but I -never entered a room in which I felt myself more inclined to “rest and -be thankful.” I made various calls, and always with similar results. I -found internal prettinesses, with roses and weeping willows outside -which reconciled me to sardine boxes, paper collars, and straw -liquor-guards. - -In the middle of Pretoria is a square, round which are congregated the -public offices, the banks, hotels, and some of the chief stores, or -shops of the place, and in which are depastured the horses of such -travellers as choose to use the grass for the purpose. Ours, I hope, -were duly fed within their stables; but I used to see them wandering -about, trying to pick a bit of grass in the main square. And here stands -the Dutch Reformed Church,--in the centre,--a large building, and as -ugly as any building could possibly be made. Its clergyman, quite a -young man, called upon me while I was in Pretoria, and told me that his -congregation was spread over an area forty miles round. The people of -the town are regular attendants; for the Dutchman is almost always a -religious father of a family, thinking much of all such services as were -reverenced by his fathers before him. But the real congregation consists -of the people from the country who flock into the Nichtmaal, or Lord’s -Supper, once in three months, who encamp or live in their waggons in the -square round the Church, who take the occasion to make their town -purchases and to perform their religious services at the same time. The -number attending is much too large to enter the church at once, so that -on the appointed Sunday one service succeeds another. The sacrament is -given, and sermons are preached, and friends meet each other, amid the -throng of the waggons. The clergyman pressed me to stay and see it;--but -at this time my heart had begun to turn homewards very strongly. I had -come out to see Pretoria, and, having seen it, was intent upon seeing -London once again. - -There are various other churches,--all of them small edifices,--in the -place, among which there is a place of worship for the Church of -England. And there is a resident English clergyman, a University man, -who if he live long enough and continue to exercise his functions at -Pretoria will probably become the “clergyman of the place.” For such is -the nature of Englishmen. Now that the Transvaal is an English Colony -there can be no doubt but that the English clergyman will become the -“clergyman of the place.” - -I would fain give as far as it may be possible an idea to any intending -emigrant of what may be the cost of living in Pretoria. Houses are very -dear,--if hired; cheap enough if bought. When I was there in September, -1877, the annexation being then four months old, a decent cottage might -be bought for seven or eight hundred pounds, for which a rental of seven -or eight pounds a month would be demanded. A good four-roomed house with -kitchen &c. might be built, land included, for a thousand pounds, the -rent demanded for which would be from £150 to £175 a year. Meat was -about 6d. a pound, beef being cheaper and I think better than mutton. -Butter, quite uneatable, was 2s. a pound. Eggs a shilling a dozen. Fowls -1s. 6d. each. Turkeys, very good, 7s. 6d. to 9s. 6d. each. Coals 10s. a -half hundredweight,--and wood for fuel about £2 for a load of two and a -half tons. These prices for fuel would add considerably to the cost of -living were it not that fires are rarely necessary except for the -purpose of cooking. Bread is quoted at 1s. a loaf of two pounds, but was -I think cheaper when I was there. Potatoes were very dear indeed, the -price depending altogether on the period of the year and on the season. -I doubt whether other vegetables were to be bought in the market, unless -it might be pumpkins. Potatoes and green vegetables the inhabitant of -Pretoria should grow for himself. And he should be prepared to live -without butter. Why the butter of South Africa should be almost always -uneatable, culminating into an acme of filth at Pretoria, I cannot -say;--but such was my experience. After all men and women can live -without butter if other things be in plenty. - -Then comes that difficult question of domestic service. All that the -inhabitant of Pretoria will get in this respect will cost him very much -less than in Europe, very much less indeed than in England, infinitely -less than in London. With us at home the cost of domestic service has -become out of proportion to our expenditure in other respects, partly -because it has become to be thought derogatory to do anything for -ourselves, and partly because our servants have been taught by their -masters and mistresses to live in idle luxury. Probably no man earning -his bread eats so much meat in proportion to the work he does as the -ordinary London footman. This is an evil to those who live in London -from which the inhabitant of Pretoria will find himself free. He will -get a “boy” or perhaps two boys about the house,--never a girl let the -mistress of the family coming out to the Transvaal remember,--to whom -he will pay perhaps 10s. a month and whom he will feed upon mealies. The -“boy’s” wages and diet will cost perhaps £12 per annum. But indeed they -will not cost him so much, for the “boy” will go away, and he will not -be able to get another just when he wants one. These boys he will find -to be useful, good humoured, and trustworthy,--if only he could keep -them. They will nurse his baby, cook his dinner, look after his house, -make his bed, and dig his garden. That is they will half do all these -things,--with the exception of nursing the baby, whom the Kafir is never -known to neglect or injure. The baby perhaps may serve to keep him a -whole twelvemonth, for he is very fond of a white baby. The wife of the -British gentleman who thus settles himself at Pretoria will, at first, -be struck with horror at the appearance of the Kafir, who will probably -wear an old soldier’s jacket with a ragged shirt under it and no other -article of clothing; and she will not at first suffer the Savage to -touch her darling. But she will soon become reconciled to her inmate and -the darling will take as naturally to the Kafir man as though he were -some tendered, best instructed old English nurse out of a thoroughly -well-to-do British family. And very soon she will only regret the -reckless departure of the jet black dependant who had struck her at -first with unmingled disgust. - -Gradually I suppose these people will learn to cling to their work with -some better constancy. I, as a stranger, was tempted to say that better -diet, better usage, and better wages would allure them. But I was -assured that I was wrong in this, and that any attempts in that -direction only spoilt “the Native.” No doubt if you teach a Native to -understand that he is indispensable to your comfort you raise his own -estimation of himself, and may do so in such a manner as to make him -absurdly fastidious. He is still irrational, still a Savage. He has to -be brought by degrees to bend his neck to the yoke of labour and to -learn that continued wages are desirable. That the thing will be done by -degrees I do not at all doubt, and do not think that there is just cause -of dissatisfaction at the rate of the present progress. The new comer to -Pretoria to whom I am addressing myself will doubtless do something -towards perfecting the work. In the meantime his domestic servants will -cost him very much less than they have done in England. - -A man with a wife and family and £500 a year would I think live with -more comfort, certainly with more plenty in Pretoria, than in England. -The inhabitants of Pretoria will demur to this, for it is a matter of -pride to the denizens of every place to think that the necessaries of -life are dearer there than elsewhere. But the cheapness of a place is -not to be reckoned only by what people pay for the articles they use. -The ways of the country, the requirements which fashion makes, the pitch -to which the grandeur of Mrs. Smith has aroused the ambition of Mrs. -Jones, the propensities of a community to broadcloth or to -fustian,--these are the causes of expensive or of economical living. A -gentleman in Pretoria may invite his friends to dinner with no greater -establishment than a Kafir boy to cook the dinner and another to hand -the plates, whereas he does not dare to do so in London without paying -10s. for the assistance of the greengrocer. - -As, however, men with £500 a year will not emigrate in great numbers to -Pretoria it would be more important to say how the labouring man might -live in the Transvaal. With him his condition of life does not depend so -much on what he will have to pay for what he consumes as on the wages -which he may receive. I found that an artizan can generally earn from -10s. to 12s. a day at almost any trade,--if the work of the special -trade be required. But I am far from saying that amidst so small a -community all artizans would find an opening. At the present moment -bricklayers and carpenters are in demand at Pretoria,--and can live in -great plenty on their wages. - -As to workmen, who are not artizans but agricultural labourers, I hardly -think that there is any opening for them in the Transvaal. Though the -farmers all complain that they cannot plough their lands because there -is no labour, yet they will not pay for work. And though the Kafir is -lazy and indifferent, yet he does work sufficiently to prevent the white -man from working. As I have said before the white men will not work -along with the Kafir at the same labour. If there be but a couple of -black men with him he presumes that it is his business to superintend -and not to work. This is so completely the case in the Transvaal that it -is impossible to name any rate of wages as applicable to white rural -labour. Sons work for their fathers or brothers may work together;--but -wages are not paid. The Dutchman has a great dislike to paying wages. - -The capital of the Transvaal is all alive with soldiers. There are 600 -redcoats there, besides artillery, engineers and staff. These men live -under canvas at present, and are therefore very visible. Barracks -however are being built, with officers’ quarters and all the -appurtenances of a regular military station. It was odd enough to me to -see a world of British tents in the middle of a region hazily spoken of -at home six months ago as the South African Republic; but how much -stranger must it be to the Dutch Boers who certainly anticipated no such -advent. I had the honour of being invited to dine at the mess, and found -myself as well entertained as though I had been at Aldershott. When I -was sitting with the officers in their uniform around me it seemed as -though a little block of England had been cut out and transported to the -centre of South Africa. - -It may be as well to say a few words here as elsewhere as to the state -of education in our new Colony. The law on this matter as it stood under -the Republic is the law still. Now, as I write, it is hardly more than -six months since the annexation and there has not been time for changes. -On no subject was the late President with his Cabinet more alive to the -necessity of care and energy, on no subject were there more precise -enactments, and on no subject were the legislative enactments more -pretentious and inefficacious. There are three classes of schools,--the -High Schools, the District Schools, and the Ward Schools, the whole -being under the inspection of a Superintendent General of Education. The -curriculum at the High Schools is very high indeed, including Dutch, -English, French, German, Latin, Greek, geometry, algebra, and all the -ologies, together with logic, music, drawing, and astronomy. The law -enacts that the principal master at a High School shall receive £400 a -year, and the Assistant Masters £250 each;--but even at these salaries -teachers sufficiently instructed could not be found, and when the -Superintendent made his last return there was but one High School in the -Transvaal, and at that school there were but five pupils. At the High -School, the pupils paid 30s. a month, which, presuming there to be two -months of holydays in the year, would give £15 per annum. There would be -therefore £75 towards maintaining a school of which the Head Master -received £400. But the reality of the failure was worse even than this. -The law required that all boys and girls should pay the regular fees, -but in order to keep up the number of pupils gratuitous instruction was -offered. Three months after annexation the five High School pupils had -dwindled down to two, and then the school was closed by order of the -British Governor. The education no doubt was far too advanced for the -public wants; and as it was given by means of the Dutch language only it -did not meet the needs of those who were most likely to make use of it. -For, even while the Transvaal was a Dutch Republic, the English language -was contending for ascendancy with that of the people. In this -contention the President with his Government did his best to make Dutch, -and Dutch only, the language of the country. For this we cannot blame -him. It was naturally his object to maintain the declining nationality -of his country. But the parents and pupils who were likely to profit by -such a school as I have described were chiefly English. - -At the District and Ward schools the nature of the instruction proposed -to be given is lower. The District schools are held in the chief -towns,--such as they are,--and the Ward schools in sub-divisions of the -Districts. They too have failed for the same reasons. They are too -expensive and pretentious. The Salaries,--_i.e._ the lowest salaries -permitted by law,--are £200 and £100 for head masters at the two classes -of schools, and £125 and £30 for assistant masters. According to the -last return there were 236 pupils at the District schools, and 65 at the -Ward schools. The pupils pay varying fees, averaging 7s. a month or -about £3 10s. per annum each. There are six District schools and two -Ward schools, at which the masters’ salaries alone would amount to -£1,700 per annum,--presuming there to be no assistant masters,--while -the total of fees would be about £1,050 per annum. As the Government had -been for many months penniless, it need hardly be explained further that -the schools must have been in a poor condition. The nominal cost to the -State during the last years of the Republic was about £3,500, being more -than £11 per year for each pupil over and above the fees. What was still -due under the head had of course to be paid out of British taxes when -the country was annexed. - -But all this does not show the extent of the evil. The white population -of the country is supposed to be 45,000, of which about a tenth or 4,500 -ought to be at school. The public schools at present show 300. There are -some private schools as to which I could obtain no trustworthy -information; but the pupils educated at them are few in number. - -The average Boer is generally satisfied in regard to education if his -children can be made to read the Bible. To this must be added such a -knowledge of the ritual of the religion of the Dutch Reformed Church as -will enable the children to pass the examination necessary for -confirmation. Until this ceremony has been completed they cannot marry. -So much, by hook or by crook, is attained, and thus the outermost -darkness of ignorance is avoided. But the present law as to education -does not provide for even this moderate amount of religious instruction, -and is therefore, and has been, most unpopular with the Boers. It must -be understood that on all religious matters the late Government was at -loggerheads with the bulk of the population, the President being an -advocate of free-thinking and absolute secularism,--of an education from -which religion should be as far as possible removed; whereas the Boer is -as fanatic, as conservative, and as firmly wedded to the creed of his -fathers as an Irish Roman Catholic Coadjutor. It may, on this account, -be the easier for the Colonial Government to reconcile the population to -some change in the law. - -A few of the better class of farmers, in the difficulty which at present -exists, maintain a schoolmaster in their houses for a year or two, -paying a small salary and entertaining the teachers at their tables. I -have met more than one such a schoolmaster in a Boer’s house. In the -course of my travels I found an Englishman in the family of a Dutchman -who could not speak a word of English,--and was astonished to find so -much instructed intelligence in such a position. Formerly there existed -a class of itinerant schoolmasters in the Transvaal, who went from house -to house carrying with them some rudiments of education, and returning -now and again on their tract to see how the seed had prospered. These -were supported by the Government of the day, but the late Government in -its ambitious desire to effect great things, discontinued this -allowance. It is not improbable that the renewal of some such scheme may -be suggested. - -It will be imperative on the Colonial Government to do something as the -law now existing has certainly failed altogether. But there are great -difficulties. It is not so much that education has to be provided for -the children of a people numbering 45,000;--but that it has to be done -for children dispersed over an area as big as Great Britain and Ireland. -The families live so far apart, owing to the absurdly large size of the -farms, that it is impossible to congregate them in schools. - -When I was at Pretoria I rode out with four companions to see a -wonderful spot called the “Zoutpan” or saltpan. It is 28 miles from the -town and the journey required that we should take out a tent and food, -and that we should sleep in the veld. I was mounted on an excellent -horse who was always trying to run away with me. This tired me much, and -the ground was very hard. While turning myself about upon the ground I -could not but think how comfortable the beds are in London. The saltpan, -however, was worth the visit. That it had been a volcanic crater there -could be no doubt, but unlike all other volcanic craters that I have -seen it was not an aperture on the apex of a mountain. We went north -from Pretoria and crossing through the spurs of the Magaliesberg range -of hills found ourselves upon a plain which after a while became studded -with scrub or thorn bushes. Close to the saltpan, and still on the -plain, we came to the residence of a Boer who gave us water,--the -dirtiest that ever was given me to drink,--with a stable for our horses -and sold us mealies for our animals. As one of our party was a doctor -and as the Boer’s wife was ill, his hospitality was not ill repaid. A -gentle rise of about 200 feet from the house took us to the edge of the -pan, which then lay about 300 feet below us,--so as to look as though -the earthwork around the valley had been merely thrown out of it as -earth might be thrown from any other hole. And this no doubt had been -done,--by the operation of nature. - -The high outside rim of the cup was about 2¼ miles round, with a -diameter of 1,500 yards; and the circle was nearly as perfect as that of -a cup. Down thence to the salt lake at the bottom the inside of the bowl -fell steeply but gradually, and was thickly covered with bush. The -perfect regularity of shape was, to the eye, the most wonderful feature -of the phenomenon. At the bottom to which we descended lay the shallow -salt lake, which at the time of our visit was about half full,--or half -covered, I might better say, in describing the gently shelving bottom of -which not more than a moiety was under water. In very dry weather there -is no water at all,--and then no salt. When full the lake is about 400 -yards across. - -Some enterprising Englishman had put up a large iron pan 36 feet by 20, -and 18 inches deep, with a furnace under it, which, as everything had -been brought out from England at a great cost for land transit, must -have been an expensive operation. But it had been deserted because the -late Government had been unable to protect him in the rights which he -attempted to hire from them. The farmers of the neighbourhood would not -allow themselves to be debarred from taking the salt,--and cared nothing -for the facts that the Government claimed the privilege of disposing of -the salt and that the Englishman had bought the privilege. The -Englishman therefore withdrew, leaving behind him his iron pan and his -furnace, no doubt with some bitter feelings. - -It is probable, I believe, that another Englishman,--or a -Scotchman,--will now commence proceedings there, expecting that Downing -Street will give better security than a Republican President. In the -meantime our friend the Boer pays £50 per annum to the Government, and -charges all comers some small fine per load for what they take. Baskets -are inserted into the water and are pulled up full of slush. This is -deposited on the shore and allowed to drain itself. On the residuum -carbonate of soda rises, with a thick layer, as solid cream on standing -milk;--and below this there is the salt more or less pure,--very nasty, -tasting to me as though it were putrid,--but sufficing without other -operation for the curing of meat and for the use of cattle. I was told -by one of our party that the friable stone which we found all around is -soda-feldspar from which, as it melts in the rain, the salt is brought -down. Here, at this place, there is but one crater;--whereas at other -places of a like nature, as in New Zealand and Central America, I have -seen various mouths crowded together, like disjected fragments of a -great aperture down into the earth. Here there is but the one circle, -and that is as regular as though it had been the work of men’s hands. - -Such saltpans in South Africa are common, though I saw none other but -the one which I have described. The northern district of the Transvaal -is called Zoutpansberg from the number of its saltpans,--and there are -others in other parts of the country. I do not know that there is much -else particularly worthy of notice in the neighbourhood of Pretoria, -unless it be the wonderboom,--a pretty green over-arching tree, which -makes for its visitors a large bower capable of holding perhaps 50 -persons. It is a graceful green tree;--but not very wonderful. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE TRANSVAAL: ITS CONDITION AND PRODUCTS. - - -Among the products of the Transvaal gold must be reckoned first, because -gold in itself is so precious and so important a commodity, that it will -ever force itself into the first rank,--and because notice was first -attracted to the Transvaal in Europe, or at any rate in England, by the -discovery of gold in the country and by the establishment of gold -fields. But I believe that the gold which has hitherto been extracted -from the auriferous deposits of the country has been far from paying the -expenses incurred in finding them and bringing them into the market. -Gold is a product of the earth which will be greedily sought, even when -the seeker lose by his labour. I doubt even whether the Australian gold -would be found to have paid for itself if an accurate calculation were -made. I know that the promoters of Australian gold enterprises and the -shareholders in Australian Gold Companies would attempt to cover me with -ridicule for expressing such an opinion were I to discuss the matter -with them. But these enterprising and occasionally successful people -hardly look at the question all round. Before it can be answered with -accuracy account must be taken not only of all the money lost, but of -the time lost also in unsuccessful search,--and of such failures the -world takes no record. Be that as it may gold has done very much to make -the fortune of the Australian Colonies. This has not been done by the -wealth of the gold-finders. It is only now and then,--and I may say that -the nows and thens are rare,--that we find a gold-seeker who has retired -into a settled condition of wealth as the result of his labours among -the Gold Fields. But great towns have sprung up, and tradesmen have -become wealthy, and communities have grown into compact forms, by the -expenditure which the gold-seekers have created. Melbourne is a great -city and Ballarat is a great city, not because the Victorian -gold-diggers have been rich and successful;--but because the trade of -gold-finding creates a great outlay. If the gold-diggers themselves have -not been rich they have enriched the bankers and the wine-merchants and -the grocers and the butchers and the inn-keepers who have waited upon -them. While one gold-digger starves or lives upon his little capital, -another drinks champagne. Even the first contributes something to the -building up of a country, but the champagne-drinker contributes a great -deal. There is no better customer to the tradesman, no more potent -consumer, than the man who is finding gold from day to day. Gold becomes -common to him, and silver contemptible. - -I say this for the purpose of showing that though the gold trade of the -Transvaal has not as yet been remunerative,--though it may perhaps never -be truly remunerative to the gold-seekers,--it may nevertheless help to -bring a population to the country which will build it up, and make it -prosperous. It will do so in the teeth of the despair and ruin which -unsuccessful speculations create. There is a charm and a power about -gold which is so seductive and inebriating that judgment and calculation -are ignored by its votaries. If there be gold in a country men will seek -it though it has been sought there for years with disastrous effects. It -creates a sanguine confidence which teaches the gold-dreamer to believe -that he will succeed where hundreds have failed. It despises climate, -and reconciles the harshness of manual labour to those who have been -soft of hand and luxurious of habit. I am not now intending to warn the -covetous against the Gold Fields of South Africa;--but am simply -expressing an opinion that though these gold regions have hitherto -created no wealth, though henceforth they should not be the source of -fortune to the speculators, they will certainly serve to bring white -inhabitants into the country. - -Gold as a modern discovery in South Africa was first found at Tatin in -1867. That there had been gold up north, near the Eastern coast, within -the tropics, there can be little doubt. There are those who are -perfectly satisfied that Ophir was here situated and that the Queen of -Sheba came to Solomon’s court from these realms. As I once wrote a -chapter to prove that the Queen of Sheba reigned in the Isle of Ceylon -and that Ophir was Point de Galle, I will not now go into that subject. -It has no special interest for the Transvaal which as a gold country -must sink or swim by its own resources. But Tatin though not within the -Transvaal, is only just without it, being to the north of the Limpopo -river which is the boundary of our Colony in that direction. - -The Limpopo is an unfortunate river as much of its valley with a -considerable district on each side of it is subjected by nature to an -abominable curse,--which population and cultivation will in the course -of years probably remove but which at present is almost fatal to -European efforts at work within the region affected. There is a -fly,--called the Tsetse fly,--which destroys all horses and cattle which -come within the regions which it selects for its own purposes. Why it -should be destructive to a party of horses or to a team of oxen and not -to men has I believe to be yet found out. But as men cannot carry -themselves and their tools into these districts without horses or oxen, -the evil is almost overpowering. The courses of the fly are so well -known as to have, enabled geographers to mark out on the maps the limits -of the Tsetse country. The valley of the Limpopo river may be taken as -giving a general idea of the district so afflicted, the distance of the -fly-invested region varying from half a dozen to 60 and 80 miles from -the river. But towards the East it runs down across the Portuguese -possessions never quite touching the sea but just reaching Zululand. - -Tatin is to the north west of this region, and though the place itself -is not within the fly boundary, all ingress and egress must have been -much impeded by the nuisance. The first discovery there of gold is said -to have been made by Mauch. There has been heavy work carried on in the -district and a quartz-crushing machine was used there. When I was in the -Transvaal these works had been abandoned, but of the existence of gold -in the country around there can be no doubt. In 1868 the same explorer, -Mauch, found gold at a spot considerably to the south east of -this,--south of the Limpopo and the Tsetse district, just north of the -Olifant’s river and in the Transvaal. Then in 1871 Mr. Button found gold -at Marabas Stad, not far to the west of Mauch’s discovery, in the -neighbourhood of which the mines at Eesteling are now being worked by an -English Company. On the Marabas-Stad gold fields a printed report was -made by Captain Elton in 1872, and a considerable sum of money must have -been spent. The Eesteling reef is the only one at present worked in the -neighbourhood. Captain Elton’s report seems to promise much on the -condition that a sufficient sum of money be raised to enable the -district to be thoroughly “prospected” by an able body of fifty -gold-miners for a period of six months. Captain Elton no doubt -understood his subject, but the adequate means for the search suggested -by him have not yet been raised. And, indeed, it is not thus that gold -fields have been opened. The chances of success are too small for men in -cold blood to subscribe money at a distance. The work has to be done by -the gambling energy of men who rush to the spot trusting that they may -individually grasp the gold, fill their pockets with the gold, and thus -have in a few months, perhaps in a few days or hours, a superabundance -of that which they have ever been desiring but which has always been so -hard to get! The great Australian and Californian enterprises have -always been commenced by rushes of individual miners to some favoured -spot, and not by companies floated by subscription. The companies have -come afterwards, but individual enterprise has done the pioneering work. - -In 1873 gold was found in the Lydenburg district which is south of the -Olifant’s river. Here are the diggings called Pilgrim’s Rest, and here -the search for gold is still carried on,--not as I am told with -altogether favourable results. One nugget has been found weighing nearly -18 pounds. Had there been a few more such treasures brought to light the -Lydenburg gold fields would have been famous. There are two crushing -machines now at work, and skilled European miners are earning from 10s. -to 12s. a day. The place is healthy, and though tropical is not within -the tropics. A considerable number of Kafirs are employed at low rates -of wages, but they have not as yet obtained a reputation as good miners. -The white employer of black labour in South Africa does not allow that -the Kafir does anything well. - -Among other difficulties and drawbacks to gold mining in South Africa -the want of fuel for steam is one. Wood of course is used, but I am told -that wood is already becoming scarce and dear. And then the great -distance from the coast, the badness of the roads, and the lack of the -means of carriage exaggerates all the other difficulties. Machinery, -provisions, and the very men themselves have to be brought into the -country at a cost which very materially interferes with the chances of a -final satisfactory result. If there be a railway from Pretoria to -Delagoa Bay,--as at some not very remote date there probably will -be,--then that railway will pass either through or very near to the -Lydenburg district, and in that case the Lydenburg gold fields will -become all alive with mining life. - -Attempts are always made to show what gold fields have done in the way -of produce by Government records of the gold exported. In the second -great exhibition of London we saw an enormous yellow pyramid near the -door, and were told that the gold taken out of Victoria would if -collected make a pyramid of just that size. To enable the makers of the -pyramid to arrive at that result it was necessary that they should know -how much gold had been taken from Victoria. I presume that the records -of the Colony did tell of so much,--but if so the gold found must have -been considerably more. For gold is portable and can be carried away in -a man’s pocket without any record. And as that which was recorded was -taxed, it is probable that very much was taken away, untaxed, in some -private fashion. As to the Transvaal gold a record of that supposed to -be exported has been kept at the Custom House in Natal, which shows but -very poor results. It is as follows:-- - - 1873 £735 - 1874 4,710 - 1875 28,443 - 1876 (first six months) 13,650 - ------- - £47,538 - ------- - -This sum can have done but little more than paid for the necessary -transport of the machinery and other matters which have been carried up -from the coast. It certainly cannot also have paid for the machinery -itself. The bulk of the gold found has, however, been probably carried -down to the coast at Fort Elizabeth or Capetown without any record. - -Such is all that I have to say respecting the Gold Fields of the -Transvaal,--and it is very little. I did not visit them, and had I done -so I do not know that I could have said much more. I conscientiously -inspected many Gold mines in Australia, going down into the bowels of -the earth 500 feet here and 600 feet there at much personal -inconvenience, and some danger to one altogether unused to mining -operations; but I do not know that I did any good by this exercise of -valour and conscience. A man should be a mineralogist to be able to take -advantage of such inspections. Had I visited Pilgrim Rest I could have -said how the men looked who were there working, and might have attempted -to guess whether they were contented with their lot;--but I could have -said nothing as to the success of the place with more accuracy than I do -now. - -The Transvaal is said, and I believe correctly, to be very rich in other -minerals besides gold;--but the travellers in new countries are always -startled by sanguine descriptions of wealth which is not in view. Lead -and cobalt are certainly being worked. Coal is found in beds all along -the eastern boundary of the country, and will probably some day be the -most valuable product of the country. Did I not myself see it burning at -Stander’s Drift? Iron is said to be plentiful in almost every district -of the Colony and has been long used by the natives in making weapons -and ornaments. Copper also has been worked by the natives and is now -found in old pits, where it has been dug to the depth of from 30 to 40 -feet. A variety of copper ornaments are worn by the Kafirs of the -northern parts of the Transvaal who have known how to extract the metal -from the mineral and to smelt it into pure ore. No mining operations in -search of copper have, as I believe, yet been carried on by white men in -the country. At an Agricultural Show which was held in 1876 at -Potchefstroom, the chief town in the southern part of the Transvaal, -prizes were awarded for specimens of the following minerals found in the -country itself. Gold-bearing quartz, alluvial gold, copper, tin, lead, -iron, plumbago, cobalt, and coal. The following is an extract from a -report of the Show, which I borrow from Messrs. Silver’s South African -Guide Book. “We believe there is no other country in the whole world -that could have presented to the public gaze such a variety of minerals -as were seen in the room set apart for their exhibition and which upon -first entering reminded one of a charming museum; and all these minerals -and earthy substances, we are informed, were the products of this -country. We saw gold both quartz and alluvial,--not in small quantities -but pounds in weight; coal by the ton,--silver, iron, lead. We do not -know what to say about this last mineral; but there it was, not in small -lumps, as previously exhibited, but immense quantities of ore, and -molten bars by the hundred.” - -This is somewhat flowery, but I believe the statements to be -substantially true. The metals are all there, but I do not know whether -any of them have yet been so worked as to pay for expenses and to give a -profit. All the good things in the Transvaal seem to be so hard to come -at, that it is like looking and longing for grapes, hanging high above -our reach. But when grapes are really good and plentiful, ladders are at -last procured, and so it will be with the grapes of the Transvaal. - -The ladder which is especially wanted is of course a Railway. President -Burgers among his other high schemes was fully aware of this and made a -journey to Europe during the days of his power with the view of raising -funds for this purpose. Like all his schemes it was unsuccessful, but he -did raise in Holland a sum of £90,958 for this purpose, which has been -expended on railway materials, or perhaps tendered to the Republic in -that shape. These are now lying at Delagoa Bay, and the sum above named -is part of the responsibility which England has assumed in annexing the -Republic. - -The question of a Railway is of all the most vital to the new Colony. -The Transvaal has no seaboard, and no navigable rivers, and no available -outlet for its produce. Pretoria is about 450 miles from Durban, which -at present is the seaport it uses, and the road to Durban is but half -made and unbridged. The traffic is by oxen, and oxen cannot travel in -dry weather because there is no grass for them to eat. They often cannot -travel in wet weather because the rivers are impassable and the mud is -overwhelming. If any country ever wanted a Railway it is the Transvaal. - -But whence shall the money come? Pretoria is about 300 miles distant -from the excellent Portuguese harbour at Delagoa Bay, and it was to this -outlet that President Burgers looked. But an undertaking to construct a -railway through an unsurveyed country at the rate of £1,000 a mile was -manifestly a castle in the air. If the absolute money could have been -obtained, hard cash in hand, the thing could not have been half done. -But President Burgers was one of those men who believe that if you can -only set an enterprise well on foot the gods themselves will look after -its accomplishment,--that if you can expend money on an object other -money will come to look after that which has been expended. But here, in -the Transvaal, he could not get his enterprise on foot; and I fear that -certain railway materials lying at Delagoa Bay, and more or less suited -for the purpose, are all that England has to show for the debt she has -taken upon her shoulders. - -I am not very anxious to offer an opinion as to the best route for a -railway out from the Transvaal to the sea. Ne sutor ultra crepidam;--and -the proper answering of such a question is, I fear, beyond the reach of -my skill. But the reasons I have heard for the Delagoa Bay seem to me to -be strong,--and those against it to be weak. The harbour at the Bay is -very good,--perhaps the only thoroughly good harbour in South Africa, -whereas that at Durban is at present very bad. Expensive operations may -improve it, but little or nothing has as yet been done to lessen the -inconvenience occasioned by its sand-bar. Durban is 450 miles from the -capital of the Transvaal, whereas Delagoa Bay is only two-thirds of that -distance. The land falls gradually from Pretoria to the Bay, whereas in -going to Durban the line would twice have to be raised to high levels. -And then the route to the Bay would run by the Gold Fields, whereas the -other line would go through a district less likely to be productive of -traffic. It is alleged on the other hand that as Delagoa Bay belongs to -the Portuguese, and as the Portuguese will probably be unwilling to part -with the possession, the making of a railway into their territory would -be inexpedient. I cannot see that there is anything in this argument. -The Americans of the United States made a railway across the Isthmus of -Panama with excellent financial results, and in Europe each railway -enterprise has not been stopped by the bounds of the country which it -has occupied. The Portuguese have offered to take some share in the -construction, and by doing so would lessen the effort which the Colony -will be obliged to make. It is also alleged that Lorenço Marques, the -Portuguese town at Delagoa Bay, is very unhealthy. I believe that it is -so. Tropical towns on the sea board are apt to be unhealthy, and Lorenço -Marques though not within the tropics is tropical. But so is Aspenwall, -the terminus of the Panama Railway, unhealthy, being peculiarly subject -to the Chagres fever. But in the pursuit of wealth men will endure bad -climate. That at Delagoa Bay is by no means so bad as to frighten -passengers, though it will probably be injurious to the construction of -the railway. To the ordinary traffic of a constructed railway it will -hardly be injurious at all. - -If the Natal Colony would join the Transvaal in the cost, making the -railway up to its own boundary, then the Natal line would no doubt be -the best. The people of the Transvaal would compensate themselves for -the bad harbour at Durban by the lessening of their own expenditure, and -the line as a whole would be better for British interests in general -than that to the Portuguese coast. But there is but little probability -of this. Natal wants a line from its capital to its coast, and will have -such a line almost by the time that these words are published. But it -cares comparatively little for a line through 175 miles of its country -up to its boundary at Newcastle, over which the traffic would be for the -benefit of the Transvaal rather than for that of Natal. Estcourt and -Newcastle which are in Natal would no doubt be pleased, but Natal will -not spend its money for the sake of Estcourt and Newcastle. - -But when the route for the railway shall have been decided, whence shall -the money come? No one looking at the position of the country will be -slow to say that a railway is so necessary for the purposes of the -Colony that it must expend its first and its greatest energies in -achieving that object. It is as would be the possession of a corkscrew -to a man having a bottle of wine in the desert. There is no getting at -the imprisoned treasure without it. The farms will not be cultivated, -the mines will not be worked, the towns will not be built, the people -will not come without it. President Burgers, prone as he was to build -castles in the air, saw at any rate, when he planned the railway, where -the foundations should be laid for a true and serviceable edifice. But -then we must return to the question,--whence shall the money come? - -Well-to-do Colonies find no difficulty in borrowing money for their own -purposes at a moderate rate of interest,--say 4 per cent. Victoria and -New South Wales have made their railways most successfully, and New -Zealand has shown what a Colony can do in borrowing. But the Transvaal -is not as yet a well-to-do Colony, and certainly could not go into the -money market with any hope of success with the mere offer of her own -security,--such as that security is at this moment. This is so -manifestly the case that no one proposes to do so. Mr. Burgers went home -for the purpose and succeeded only in getting a quantity of -material,--for which, in the end, the British Government will have to -pay probably more than twice the value. - -I think I am justified in saying that the idea among those who are now -managing the Colony is to induce the Government at home to guarantee a -loan,--which means that the Transvaal should be enabled to borrow on the -best security that the world has yet produced, that namely of the -British nation. And perhaps there is something to warrant this -expectation on their part. The annexation, distasteful as the idea is at -home of a measure so high-handed and so apparently unwarrantable, has -been well received. It has been approved by our Secretary of State, who -is himself approved of in what he has caused to be done by Parliament -and the nation. The Secretary of State must feel a tenderness for the -Transvaal, as we all do for any belonging of our own which has turned -out better than we expected. The annexation has turned out so well that -they who are now concerned with its affairs seem to expect that the -British Government and the British Parliament will assent to the giving -of such security. It may be that they are right. Writing when and where -I am now I have no means of knowing how far the need for such a loan -and the undoubted utility of such a railway may induce those who have -the power in their hands to depart from what I believe to be now the -established usage of the mother country in regard to its -Colonies,--viz., that of sanctioning loans only when they can be floated -on the security of the Colony itself. - -If I may venture to express an opinion on the subject, I think that that -usage should be followed in this case. No doubt the making of the -railway would be postponed in this way,--or rather would be accelerated -if the British name and British credit were to be pawned for Transvaal -purpose; but I doubt the justice of risking British money in such a -cause. The Transvaal colonist in making such an application would in -fact be asking for the use of capital at British rates of interest with -the object of making colonial profits. The risk would attach wholly to -the mother country. The profits, if profits should come, would belong -wholly to the Colony. - -Money, too, with nations and with colonies is valued and used on the -same principles as with individuals. When it has been easily got, -without personal labour, proffered lightly without requirement of -responsibility or demand for security, it is spent as easily and too -often is used foolishly. Lend a man money on security and he will know -that every shilling that he spends must come at last out of his own -pocket. If money for the purpose required were at once thrown into the -Transvaal,--as might be the case to-morrow if the British Government -were to secure the loan,--there would immediately arise a feeling that -wealth was being scattered about broadcast, and that a halcyon time had -come in which parsimony and prudence were no longer needed. The thing -would have been too easy,--and easy things are seldom useful and are -never valued. - -At the present moment Great Britain is paying the Transvaal bill. The -marching to and fro of the soldiers, the salaries of the Governors and -other officials, the debts of the late Government, the interests on -loans already made, the sums necessary for the gradual redemption of -loans, I fear even a pension for the late President, are provided or are -to be provided out of British taxes. The country was annexed on 12th -April. On 8th June a letter was written from the Colonial Office to the -Treasury, showing that we had annexed an existing debt of £217,158 for -which we were responsible, and that we had expended £25,000 in marching -troops up to the Transvaal for the sake of giving safety to the -inhabitants and their property. The report then goes on to its natural -purpose. “Lord Carnarvon is of opinion that it may be possible to meet -the more immediate requirements of the moment if their Lordships will -make an advance of £100,000 in aid of the revenues of the Transvaal, _to -be repaid as soon as practicable_. Unless aid is given at once the new -province would be obliged to endeavour to borrow at a ruinously high -rate of interest.” I doubt whether the idea of repayment has taken so -strong a hold of the people in the Transvaal, as it has of the officials -in Downing Street. In a former paragraph of the report the Secretary of -State thus excuses himself for making the application. “It is with -great unwillingness that Lord Carnarvon feels himself compelled to have -recourse to the assistance of the Imperial Treasury in this matter, but -he is satisfied that the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury -will readily acknowledge that in this most difficult case he has had no -alternative. The annexation of the Transvaal with all its consequent -liabilities, political as well as financial, _has been neither coveted -nor sought by him_;”--the italics here and above are my own;--“and it is -only a sincere conviction that this step was necessary in order to -prevent most serious danger to Her Majesty’s Colonies in South Africa -which has persuaded him to approve the late action of Sir T. Shepstone.” - -The £100,000 was advanced, if not without a scruple at least without a -doubt, whatever might be the expectations of the Treasury as to speedy -repayment; and there can be little doubt, I fear, that further advances -will be needed and made before the resources of the country in the shape -of collected taxes will suffice to pay the expenses of the country, -including the gradual redemption of the Dutch loans. But if the country -cannot do this soon the annexation will certainly have been a failure. -Great as is the parliamentary strength of the present Ministry, -Parliament would hardly endure the idea of paying permanently for the -stability and security of a Dutch population out of the British pocket. -I do believe myself that the country will be able to pay its way in the -course of some years;--but I do not believe that the influx of a large -loan on easy terms, the expenditure of which must to a great measure be -entrusted to the Colony, would hasten the coming of this desirable -condition. There would be a feeling engendered,--if that can be said to -be engendered which to some extent already exists,--that “nunky pays for -all.” Neither for Colony nor for Mother Country can it be well that -nunky should either pay or be supposed to pay through the nose. - -When it shall once be known that the Transvaal is paying its own bill, -governing itself and protecting itself out of its own revenues, then the -raising of a sufficient loan for its railway on its own security will -not be difficult. It may even then,--when that day comes,--have to pay a -percentage something higher than it would have to give under a British -guarantee; but the money will be its own, brought into use on its own -security, and will then be treated with respect and used with care. The -Transvaal no doubt wants a railway sorely, but it has no right to expect -that a railway shall be raised for it, as by a magician’s wand. Like -other people, and other countries the Transvaal should struggle hard to -get what it wants, and if it struggles honestly no doubt will have its -railway and will enjoy it when it has it. - -“The Transvaal may in truth be called the ‘corn chamber’ of South -Eastern Africa, for no other Colony or State in this part of the world -produces wheat of such superior quality or offers so many and varied -advantages to farming pursuits.” This is extracted from Mr. Jeppe’s -excellent Transvaal Directory. The words are again somewhat flowery, as -is always the nature of national self-praise as expressed in national -literature. But the capability of the Transvaal for producing wheat is -undoubted; as are also the facts that it has for years past fed -itself,--with casual exceptions which amount to nothing,--and that it -has done something towards feeding the great influx of population which -has been made into the Diamond Fields. It has also continually sent a -certain amount of flour and corn into Natal and over its northern and -western borders for the use of those wandering Europeans, who are -seeking their fortunes among the distant tribes of South Africa. In -estimating the wheat produce of the country these are I know but idle -words. A great deal of wheat,--when the words are written and -printed,--means nothing. It is like saying that a horse is a very good -horse when the owner desires to sell him. The vendor should produce his -statistics as to the horse in the shape of an opinion from a veterinary -surgeon. If Mr. Jeppe had given statistics as to the wheat-produce of -the Transvaal during the last few years it would have been better. -Statistics are generally believed and always look like evidence. But -unless Mr. Jeppe had created them himself, he could not produce -them,--for there are none. I think I may say that a very large portion -of the country,--all of it indeed which does not come under tropical -influences, with the exception of regions which are mountainous or -stoney,--is certainly capable of bearing wheat; but I have no means -whatever of telling the reader what wheat it has already produced. - -It is certain, however, that the cereal produce of the country is -curtailed by most pernicious circumstances against which the very best -of governments though joined by the very best of climates can only -operate slowly. One of these circumstances is the enormous size of the -existing farms. That great colonial quidnunc and speculator in colonial -matters, Gibbon Wakefield, enunciated one great truth when he declared -that all land in new countries should be sold to the new comers at a -price. By this he meant that let the price be what it might land should -not be given away, but should be parted with in such a manner as to -induce in the mind of the incoming proprietor a feeling that he had paid -for it its proper price, and that he should value the land accordingly. -The thing given is never valued as is the thing bought,--as is the thing -for which hard-earned money has been handed over, money which is -surrendered with a pang, and which leaves behind a lasting remorse -unless he who has parted with it can make himself believe that he has at -least got for it its full worth. Now the land in the Transvaal generally -has never been sold,--and yet it has almost entirely become the property -of private occupiers. The Dutchmen who came into the country brought -with them ideas and usages as to the distribution of land from the Gape -Colony, and following their ideas and usages they divided the soil among -themselves adjudging so much to every claimant who came forward as a -certified burgher. The amount determined on as comprising a sufficient -farm for such an individual was 3,000 morgen,--which is something more -than 6,000 acres. The Dutchman in South Africa has ever been greedy of -land, feeling himself to be cribbed, cabined, and confined if a -neighbour be near to him. It was in a great measure because land was not -in sufficient plenty for him that he “trekked” away from the Cape -Colony. Even there 3,000 “morgen” of land had been his idea of a -farm,--which farm was to satisfy his pastoral as well as his much -smaller agricultural needs. When at last he found his way into the -Transvaal and became a free Republican, his first ambition was for land -to fulfil the lust of his heart. The country therefore was divided into -6,000-acre farms,--many of which however contained much more than that -number of acres,--and in many cases more than one farm fell into the -hands of one Dutchman. The consequences are that there is not room for -fresh comers and that nevertheless the land is not a quarter occupied. - -Nor is this the only or perhaps the greatest evil of the system which I -have attempted to describe. The Boer has become solitary, -self-dependent, some would say half savage in his habits. The -self-dependent man is almost as injurious to the world at large as the -idle man. The good and useful citizen is he who works for the comfort of -others and requires the work of others for his own comfort. The Boer -feels a pride in his acres, though his acres may do nothing for him. He -desires no neighbours though neighbours would buy his produce. He -declares he cannot plough his fields because he cannot get labour, but -he will allow no Kafirs to make their kraals on his land. Therefore he -wraps himself up in himself, eats his billetong,--strips of meat dried -in the sun,--and his own flour, and feels himself to be an aristocrat -because he is independent. - -If the farms in the Transvaal could be at once divided, and a moiety -from each owner taken away without compensation, not only would the -country itself be soon improved by such an arrangement, but the farmers -also themselves from whom the land had been taken. Their titles, -however, are good, and they are lords of the soil beyond the power of -any such, arbitrary legislation. But all the influence of government -should be used to favour subdivision. Subdivisions no doubt are made -from day to day. As I went through the country I heard of this man -having half a “plaats,” and that man a quarter. These diminished -holdings had probably arisen from family arrangements, possibly from -sales. Farms frequently are sold,--freehold lands passing from hand to -hand at prices varying from 1s. an acre upwards. Land therefore is very -vile,--what I would call cheap if it were to be found in the market when -wanted and in the quantities wanted. In our Australian Colonies land is -not as a rule sold under 20s. an acre; but it is being sold daily, -because men of small means can always purchase small areas from the -Government, and because the Governments afford easy terms. But the land -in the Transvaal is locked up and unused,--and not open to new comers. -Therefore it is that the produce is small, that the roads are desolate, -and that the country to the eye of the traveller appears like a -neglected wilderness. - -What may be the remedy for this I am not prepared to say after the -sojourn of but a few weeks in the country; but it is probable that a -remedy may be found by making the transfer of land easy and profitable -to the Boers. - -As this land will produce wheat, so will it also other cereals--such as -barley, oats, and Indian corn. Hay, such as we use at home, is unknown. -The food given to stabled cattle is Indian corn or forage, such as I -have before mentioned,--that is young corn, wheat, oats, or barley, cut -before fully grown and dried. This is considered to be the best food -for horses all through South Africa. - -The fruits of the country are very plentiful;--oranges, lemons, figs, -grapes, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, and many others. The climate -is more tropical than ours, so as to give the oranges and lemons, but -not so much so as to exclude pears and apples. - -No doubt it may,--as far as its nature is concerned,--become a land -flowing with milk and honey, if the evil effects of remoteness and of a -bad beginning can be removed. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE TRANSVAAL.--PRETORIA TO THE DIAMOND FIELDS. - - -On the 1st of October I and my friend started from Pretoria for the -Diamond Fields, having spent a pleasant week at the capital of the -Transvaal. There was, however, one regret. I had not seen Sir Theophilus -Shepstone though I had been entertained at his house. He, during the -time, had been absent on one of those pilgrimages which Colonial -Governors make through their domains, and would be absent so long that I -could not afford the time to wait his return. I should much have liked -to discuss with him the question of the annexation, and to have heard -from his own lips, as I had heard from those of Mr. Burgers, a -description of what had passed at the interviews between them. I should -have been glad, also, to have learned from himself what he had thought -of the danger to which the Dutch community had been subject from the -Kafirs and Zulus,--from Secocoeni and Cetywayo,--at the moment of his -coming. But the tale which was not told to me by him was, I think, told -with accuracy by some of those who were with him. I have spoken my -opinion very plainly, and I hope not too confidently of the affair, and -I will only add to that now an assurance of my conviction that had I -been in Sir T. Shepstone’s place and done as he did, I should have been -proud of the way I had served my country. - -We started in our cart with our horses as we thought in grand condition. -While at Pretoria we had been congratulated on the way in which we had -made our purchases and travelled the road surmounting South African -difficulties as though we had been at the work all our lives. We had -refilled our commissariat chest, and with the exception that my -companion had shied a bottle of brandy,--joint property,--at the head of -a dog that would bite him,--not me,--as we were packing the cart, there -had been as yet no misfortune. Our Cape-boy driver had not once been -drunk and nothing material had been lost or broken. We got off at 11 -A.M.; and at half past one P.M.,--having travelled about fifteen miles -in the normal two and a half hours,--we spanned out and shared our lunch -with a very hungry-looking Dutchman who squatted himself on his haunches -close to our little fire. He was herding cattle and seemed to be very -poor and hungry. I imagined him to be some unfortunate who was working -for low wages at a distance from his home. But I found him to be the -lord of the soil, the owner of the herd, and the possessor of a -homestead about a mile distant. I have no doubt he would have given me -what he had to give if I had called at his house. As it was he seemed to -be delighted with fried bacon and biscuits, and was aroused almost to -enthusiasm over a little drop of brandy and water. - -On our road during this day we stopped at an accommodation house, as it -is called in the country,--or small Inn, kept by an Englishman. Here -before the door I saw flying a flag intended to represent the colours -of the Transvaal Dutch Republic. The Englishman, who was rather drunk -and very civil, apologized for this by explaining that he had his own -patriotic feelings, but that as it was his lot in life to live by the -Boers it was necessary that he should please the Boers. This was, -however, the only flag of the Republic which I saw during my journey -through the country, and I am inclined to think that our countryman had -mistaken the signs of the time. I have however to acknowledge in his -favour that he offered to make us a present of some fresh butter. - -We passed that night at the house of a Boer, who was represented to me -as being a man of wealth and repute in the country and as being -peculiarly averse to English rule,--Dutch and republican to his heart’s -core. And I was told soon after by a party who had travelled over the -same road, among whom there were two Dutchmen, that he had been very -uncourteous to them. No man could have been more gracious than he was to -us, who had come in as strangers upon his hospitality, with all our -wants for ourselves our servants and our horses. I am bound to say that -his house was very dirty, and the bed of a nature to make the flesh -creep, and to force a British occupant of the chamber to wrap himself -round with further guards of his own in the shape of rugs and great -coats, rather than divest himself of clothes before he would lay himself -down. And the copious mess of meat which was prepared for the family -supper was not appetising. But nothing could be more grandly courteous -than the old man’s manner, or kinder than that of his wife. With this -there was perhaps something of an air of rank,--just a touch of a -consciousness of superiority,--as there might be with some old Earl at -home who in the midst of his pleasant amenities could not quite forget -his ancestors. Our host could not speak a word of English,--nor we of -Dutch; but an Englishman was in the house,--one of the schoolmasters of -whom I have before spoken,--and thus we were able to converse. Not a -word was said about the annexation;--but much as to the farming -prospects of the country. He had grown rich and was content with the -condition of the land. - -He was heartily abused to us afterwards by the party which contained the -two Dutchmen as being a Boer by name and a boor by nature, as being a -Boer all round and down to the ground. These were not Hollanders from -Holland, but Dutchmen lately imported from the Cape Colony;--and as such -were infinitely more antagonistic to the real Boer than would be any -Englishman out from Europe. To them he was a dirty, ignorant, and -arrogant Savage. To him they were presumptuous, new-fangled, vulgar -upstarts. They were men of culture and of sense and of high standing in -the new country,--but between them and him there were no sympathies. - -I think that the English who have now taken the Transvaal will be able, -after a while, to rule the Boers and to extort from them that respect -without which there can be no comfort between the governors and the -governed;--but the work must be done by English and not by Dutch hands. -The Dutch Boer will not endure over him either a reforming Hollander -from Europe, or a spick-and-span Dutch Africander from the Cape Colony. -The reforming Hollander and the spick-and-span Dutch Africander are very -intelligent people. It is not to be supposed that I am denying them any -good qualities which are to be found in Englishmen. But the Boer does -not love them. - -Soon after starting from our aristocratic friend’s house one of our -horses fell sick. He was the one that kicked,--a bright bay little -pony,--and in spite of his kicking had been the favourite of the team. -We dined that day about noon at a Boer’s house, and there we did all -that we knew to relieve the poor brute. We gave him chlorodyne and -alum,--in accordance with advice which had been given to us for our -behoof along the road,--and when we started we hitched him on behind, -and went the last stage for that day with a unicorn team. Then we gave -him whisky, but it was of no use. That night he could not feed, and -early the next morning he laid himself down when he was brought out of -the stable and died at my feet. It was our first great misfortune. Our -other three horses were not the better or the brighter for all the work -they had done, and would certainly not be able to do what would be -required of them without a fourth companion. - -The place we were now at is called Wonder Fontein, and is remarkable, -not specially for any delightfully springing run of water, but for a -huge cave, which is supposed to go some miles underground. We went to -visit it just at sunset, and being afraid of returning in the dark, had -not time to see all of it that is known. But we climbed down into the -hole, and lit our candles and wandered about for a time. Here and -there, in every direction, there were branches and passages running -under ground which had hitherto never been explored. The son of the Boer -who owned the farm at which we were staying, was with us, and could -guide us through certain ways;--but other streets of the place were -unknown to him, and, as he assured us, had never yet been visited by -man. The place was full of bats, but other animals we saw none. In -getting down, the path was narrow, steep, low and disagreeable -enough;--but when once we were in the cave we could walk without -stooping. At certain periods when the rains had been heavy the caves -would become full of water,--and then they would drain themselves when -the rains had ceased. It was a hideously ugly place; and most -uninteresting were it not that anything not customary interests us to -some extent. The caves were very unlike those in the Cango district, -which I described in the first volume. - -At Wonder Fontein there were six or seven guests besides the very large -family with which the Boer and his wife were blessed, and we could not -therefore have bedrooms apiece;--nor even beds. I and my young friend -had one assigned to us, while the Attorney General of the Colony, who -was on circuit and to whom we had given a lift in our cart to relieve -him for a couple of days of the tedium of travelling with the Judge and -the Sheriff by ox waggon, had a bench assigned to him in a corner of the -room. In such circumstances a man lies down, but does not go to bed. We -lay down,--and got up at break of day, to see our poor little horse die. - -On leaving these farm houses the Boers, if asked, will make a charge for -the accommodation afforded, generally demanding about 5s. for the -supper, a night’s rest, and breakfast if the traveller chooses to wait -for it. Others, English and Germans, will take nothing for their -hospitality. Both the one and the other expect to be paid for what the -horses may consume; and we thought we observed that forage with the -English and Germans was dearer than with the Boers,--so that the cost -came to much the same with the one as with the other. At the English -houses,--or German,--it was possible to go to bed. In a Boer’s -establishment we did not venture to do more than lie down. - -Starting on the following day with our three horses we reached -Potchefstroom, which, though not the capital, is the largest town in the -Transvaal. The road all along had been of the same nature, and the -country nearly of the same kind as that we had seen before reaching -Pretoria. Here and there it was stony,--but for the most part capable of -cultivation. None of it, however, was cultivated with the exception of -small patches round the farm houses. These would be at any rate ten -miles distant one from each other, and probably more. The roads are -altogether unmade, and the “spruits” or streams are unbridged. But the -traffic, though unfrequent, has been sufficient to mark the way and to -keep it free from grass. Travelling in wet weather must often be -impossible,--and in windy weather very disagreeable. We were most -fortunate in avoiding both mud and dust, either of which, to the extent -in which they sometimes prevail in the Transvaal, might have made our -journey altogether impossible. - -At Potchefstroom we found a decent hotel kept by an Englishman,--at -which we could go to bed, though not indulged with the luxury of a room -for each of us. The assizes were going on and we found ourselves to be -lucky in not being forced to have a third with us. Here our first care -was to buy a horse so as once again to complete our team. We felt that -if we loudly proclaimed our want, the price of horses in Potchefstroom -would be raised at once;--and yet it was difficult to take any step -without proclaiming our want. We had only one day to stay in the town, -and could not therefore dally with the difficulty as is generally the -proper thing to do when horse-flesh is concerned. So we whispered our -need into the landlord’s ear and he undertook to stand our -friend,--acknowledging, however, that a horse in a hurry was of all -things the most difficult to be had at Potchefstroom. Nevertheless -within two hours of our arrival an entire team of four horses was -standing in the hotel yard, from which we were to be allowed to choose -one for £30. I had refused to have anything to do with the buying in -regard to terms; but consented to select the one which should be bought, -if we could agree as to price. When I went forth to make the choice I -found that in spite of our secrecy a congregation of horse-fanciers had -come to see what was being done. Four leaner, poorer, skinnier brutes I -never saw standing together with halters round their necks;--but out of -the four I did pick one, guided by the bigness of his leg bones and by -the freedom of his pace. Everybody was against me,--our driver -preferring a younger horse, and the vendor assuring me that in passing -over an old grey animal I was altogether cutting my own throat. But I -was firm, and then left the conclave, desiring my young friend to go -into the money question. - -The seller at first seemed to think that the price was a thing settled. -Had he not told the landlord that we might select one for £30;--and had -not the selection been made? He assumed a look of injured innocence as -though the astute Briton were endeavouring to get the better of the poor -Dutchman most dishonourably. Eventually, however, he consented to accept -£23, and the money was paid. Then came the criticism of the bystanders -thick and hard upon us. £23 for that brute! Was it true that we had -given the man £23 for an animal worth at the most £7 10s.? They had -allowed the seller to have his luck while the sale was going on, but -could not smother their envy when the money was absolutely in his -pocket. However we had our horse, whose capabilities were much better -than his appearance, and who stood to us gallantly in some after -difficulties in which his co-operation was much needed. - -Potchefstroom may probably contain something over 2,000 white -inhabitants. In saying this, however, I have nothing but guess work to -guide me. It is a town covering a very large area, with streets nearly a -mile in length;--but here again there is a great deficiency of houses. -In some of those streets a wanderer might fancy himself to be roaming -through some remote green lane in England, overshadowed through its -whole length by weeping willows. The road way under his feet will be -exactly that of a green lane;--here a rut, and there a meandering path -worn by children’s feet, and grass around him everywhere. Now and again -he will come across a cottage,--hardly more than a cabin,--with half a -dozen dirty children at the door. Such are the back streets at -Potchefstroom. And here too, as at Pretoria, there are hedges of roses, -long rows of crowded rose-bushes round the little houses of the better -class. There are spots so picturesque as almost to make the wanderer -fancy that it would be pleasant to live in a place so pretty, so -retired, and so quiet. But weeping willows and rose hedges would, I -fear, after a time become insufficient, and the wanderer who had chosen -to sojourn here under the influence of these attractions, might wish -himself back in some busier centre of the world’s business. - -Here also there is a great square in the centre of the town, with the -Dutch church in the midst of it,--by no means so ugly as the church at -Pretoria. The square is larger and very much more picturesque,--while -the sardine boxes and paper shirt-collars, so ubiquitous at the newer -town, are less obtrusive. The square when I was there was green with -grass on which horses were grazing, and here and there were stationed -the huge waggons of travellers who had “spanned out” their oxen and were -resting here under the tent coverings erected on their vehicles. The -scene as I saw it would have made an exquisite subject for a Dutch -landscape painter, and was especially Dutch in all its details. - -At one corner of the square the Judge was holding the Court in a large -room next to the Post-office which is kept for that and other public -services. The Judge I had met at Pretoria, and had been much struck by -his youth. One expects a judge to be reverend with years, but this was -hardly more than a boy judge. He had been brought from the Cape Bar to -act as Judge in the Transvaal before the annexation,--when the payment -even of a judge’s salary must have been a matter of much doubt. But the -annexation came speedily and the position of the new comer was made sure -by British authority. He at any rate must approve the great step taken -by Sir Theophilus Shepstone. I was assured when at Pretoria that the -Colony generally had every reason to be satisfied with the choice made -by the Republic. He will no doubt have assistant Judges and become a -Chief Justice before long and may probably live to be the oldest legal -pundit under the British Crown. I went into the Court to look at him -while at work, but was not much edified as the case then before him was -carried on in Dutch. Dutch and English have to be used in the Court as -one or the other language may be needed. An interpreter is present, but -as all the parties concerned in the case, including the Judge and the -jury, were conversant with Dutch, no interpreter was wanted when I was -there. - -From Potchefstroom to Klerksdorp our horses, including the new purchase, -did their work well. Here we found a clean little Inn kept by an -Englishman with a very nice English wife,--who regaled us with lamb and -mint-sauce and boiled potatoes, and provided clean sheets for our -couches. Why such a man, and especially why such a woman, should be at -such a place it is difficult to understand. For Klerksdorp is a town -consisting perhaps of a dozen houses. The mail cart passes but once a -week, and the other traffic on the road is chiefly that of ox-waggons. - -On the following day, a Saturday, we travelled 50 miles, and, with our -horses very tired, reached a spot across the “Maquasie Spruit,” at which -a store or shop is kept and where we remained over the Sunday, -hospitably entertained by the owners of the establishment. Here we were -on land which has been claimed and possessed by the Transvaal Republic; -but which was given over to the Batlapin natives by a division generally -known in the later-day history of South African affairs as the Keate -award. The Batlapins are a branch of the great Bechuana tribe. Mr. Keate -in 1871 was Lieut.-Governor of Natal, and undertook, at the instance of -the British Government, to make an award between the Transvaal Republic -and the Batlapin Kafirs, whose Chief is and was a man called Gassibone. -I should hardly interest or instruct my readers by going deeply into the -vexed question of the Keate award. To Europeans living in South Africa -it is always abominable that anything should be given up or back to the -natives, and whatever is surrendered to them in the way of territory is -always resumed before long by hook or crook. There is a whole district -of the Transvaal Republic,--a county as we should say,--lying outside or -beyond the “Maquasie Spruit,”--called Bloomhof, with two towns, Bloomhof -and Christiana, each having perhaps a dozen houses,--and this the -Transvaal never did surrender. Governor Keate’s award was repudiated by -the Volksraad of the Transvaal, and a Dutch Landroost,--or -magistrate,--who however is an Englishman, was stationed at Christiana -and still remains there. This was a matter of no great trouble to us -while the Republic stood on its own legs. Though a Governor of ours had -made the award we were not bound to remedy Dutch injustice. But now what -are we to do? Are we to give back the country with its British and Dutch -inhabitants,--a dozen families at Bloomhof and a dozen more at -Christiana,--and the farmers here and there to the dominion of Gassibone -and his Batlapins? I think I may say that most certainly we shall do -nothing of the kind,--but with what excuse we shall escape the necessity -I do not see so clearly. In the meantime there is the Landroost at -Christiana,--now paid with British gold, who before the annexation was -paid with Transvaal notes worth 5s. to the nominal pound. When I talked -to him of Keate’s award and of Gassibone’s line, he laughed at me. -Annexation to British rule with all the beauties of British punctuality -was a great deal too good a thing to be sacrificed to a theory of -justice in favour of such a poor race of unfighting Kafirs as the -Batlapins! I have no doubt that he was right, and that the Transvaal -Colony will maintain a Landroost at Christiana as long as Landroosts -remain in that part of South Africa. - -But the question was a very vital one in that neighbourhood. As I was -passing over the Vaal in a punt to the Orange Free State a Boer who had -heard my name, and who paid me the undeserved compliment of thinking my -opinion on such a matter worth having, consulted me on his peculiar -case. After the Keate award, when by the decision then made the portion -of territory in question had been adjudged to be the property of -Gassibone and his tribe, this Boer had bought land of the Kafirs. The -land so procured had also been distributed by the Transvaal Republican -Government to those claiming it under the law as to burghers’ rights. -The rulers of the Transvaal Republic would not recognise any alienation -of land by contract with the Kafirs. Now, upon the annexation, my friend -had thought that the Keate award would be the law, and that his purchase -from the Kafirs would hold good. There was I, a grey-bearded Englishman -of repute, travelling the country. What did I think of it? I could only -refer him to the Landroost. The Landroost, he said, was against him. -“Then,” said I, “you may be sure that the facts will be against you, for -the Landroost will have the decision in his hands.” He assented to my -opinion as though it had come direct from Minos, merely remarking that -it was very hard upon him. I did not pity him much because it is -probable that he only gave the Kafirs a few head of cattle, and that he -bought the land from Kafirs who had no right of selling it away from -their tribe. At the “Maquasie Spruit,” where we first entered this -debateable land, the storekeepers were also anxious to know what was to -happen to them; but they were Scotchmen and were no doubt quite clear in -their own minds that the entire country would remain British soil. - -The next day we reached Bloomhof and on the day following Christiana. -This last place we entered anything but triumphantly, two of our horses -being so tired that we had to take them off the cart, and walk into the -place driving them before us. Two more days would take us to Kimberley -according to our appointed time, but these two days would be days of -long work. And here we heard for the first time that there was a long -and weary region of sand before us in the portion of the Orange Free -State through which we must pass. It was evident to us that we could not -do it all with our own horses, and therefore we resolved to hire. This -was at first pronounced to be impossible, but the impossibility -vanished. Though there were certainly not more than twelve houses in the -place one belonged to a man who, oddly enough, had two spare horses out -in the veld. He was brought to us, and I shall never forget the look of -dismay and bewilderment which came across his countenance when he was -told that he must decide at once whether he would allow his horses to be -hired. “He must,” he said, as he seated himself near a bottle of Cape -brandy,--“he must have time to think about it!” When he was again -pressed, he groaned and shook himself. The landlord told us that the man -was so poor that his children had nothing to eat but mealies. The money -no doubt was desirable;--but how could he make up his mind in less than -two or three hours to what extent he might so raise his demand as not to -frighten away the customers which Providence had sent him, and yet -secure the uttermost sum after due chaffering and bargaining? At last -words were extracted from him. We should have two horses for sixteen -miles, for----well, say, for the incredibly small sum of £2. We -hurriedly offered him 30s., and he was at last bustled into the -impropriety of agreeing to our terms without taking a night’s rest to -sleep upon it. He was an agonised man as he assented, having been made -to understand that we must then and there make up our minds, whether we -would proceed early on the next day or stay for twenty-four hours to -refresh our own stud. The latter alternative would, however, have been -destructive to us, as our horses had already eaten up all the forage to -be found in Christiana. At seven the next morning two wretched little -ponies were brought in from the veld, one of which was lame. All -Christiana was standing in the street to watch us. I flicked the lame -animal with the driver’s long whip to see if he could trot, and then -pronounced in his favour. I fear I felt that his lameness would not -matter if he could be made to take us as far as “Blignaut’s punt” which -was now his destination. He was harnessed in, and on we went with the -two most infirm of our own team following behind us. We made the stage -with great success,--and whatever may have been the future state of that -pony he went out of harness apparently a much sounder animal than he -went in. From hence, after discussing the matter of Keate’s award with -the injured Dutchmen, we went on across the arid lands of the Orange -Free State to a Boer’s house in the wilderness, where we were assured -that we should be made welcome for that night. Our horses could hardly -take us there;--but they did do it, and we were made welcome. The Boer -was very much like the other Boers of the Transvaal,--a burly, handsome, -dirty man, with a very large, dirty family, and a dirty house,--but all -the manners of the owner of a baronial castle. He also had a private -tutor in his family, a Dutchman who had come out to make money, who knew -German and English, but who had failed in his career, and had undertaken -his present duties at the rate of £12 a month, besides his board and -lodging. I have known English gentlemen who have not paid so highly for -their private tutors. This farm was altogether in the wilderness, the -land around being a sandy, stony desert, and not a shrub, hardly a blade -of grass, being visible. But we knew that our host had grown rich as a -farmer on it, owning in fee about 12,000 acres. - -On the next morning we were up early, but we could not get on without -the Boer’s assistance. One of our horses was again dying or seemed to be -dying. He was a pretty bay pony, the very fellow of the one we had lost -at Wonder Fontein. He had not ate his food all night, and when we took -him out at five in the morning he would do nothing but fall down in the -veld at our feet. He suffered excruciating agonies, groaning and -screaming as we looked at him. We gave him all that we had to -give,--French brandy and Castor oil. But nothing seemed to serve him. -Then there came to us a little Dutchman from a neighbouring waggon who -suggested that we should bleed our poor pony in the ear. The little -Dutchman was accordingly allowed the use of a penknife, and the animal’s -ear was slit. From that moment he recovered,--beginning at once to crop -what grass there was. I have often known the necessity of bleeding -horses for meagrims or staggers, by cutting the animal on the palate of -the mouth. But I had never before heard of operating on a horse’s ear; -and I think I may say that our pony was suffering, not from meagrims or -from staggers, but from cholic. I leave the fact to veterinary surgeons -at home; but our pony, after having almost died and then been bled on -the ear, travelled on with us bravely though without much strength to -help us. - -On this day we did at last reach the Diamond Fields, but our journey was -anything but comfortable. It was very hot and the greater part of the -road was so heavy with sand that we were forced to leave the cart and -walk. The Boer at whose house we had slept, lent us a horse to help us -for the first eight miles. Then we came to a little Dutch roadside -public house, the owner of which provided us with two horses to help us -on to Kimberley,--a distance of 27 miles,--for £2, sending with us a -Kafir boy to lead our tired horses and bring back his own. Eight miles -on we reached a hut in the wilderness where a Dutchman had made a dam, -and he allowed us to water our cattle charging us one and sixpence. From -thence on to Kimberley, through the heavy sand, there was not a drop of -water. We went very slowly ourselves, trudging on foot after the cart; -but the Kafir boy could not keep up with us, and he with the two poor -animals remained out in the veld all night. We did reach the town about -sunset, and I found myself once again restored to the delights of tubs, -telegrams, and bed linen. - -Here we parted with our cart, horses, and harness which,--including the -price of the animal purchased at Potchefstroom,--had cost us -£243,--selling them by auction and realising the respectable sum of £100 -by the sale. The auctioneer endeavoured to raise the speculative energy -of the bidders by telling them that the horses had all been bred at -“Orley Farm” for my own express use, “Orley Farm” being the name of a -novel written by me many years ago;--but I do not know that this romance -much affected the bidding. We had intended to have taken our equipage -on to Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, which is about -80 miles from Kimberley; but my travelling companion was summoned back -to Capetown, and I would not make the journey, or undertake the nuisance -of the sale alone. We were of course told that, as things were at -present, horses were a mere drug at the Diamond Fields, and that a Cape -cart in Kimberley was a thing of no value at all. In my ignorance I -would have taken £10 for my share, and therefore when I heard what the -auctioneer had done for us I almost felt that my fortune had been made -for ever. I certainly think that if the purchaser had seen the team -coming into Kimberley he would have hesitated before he made his last -bid. - -I have endeavoured to give the reader the results so far of my -experience of South African travel. As regards money and time no doubt -both are to some extent sacrificed by the buying and selling of a -private carriage or cart. We had our horses on the road a month. - -They coat us about 7s. 6d. a day each for their keep, or £45 -The expenses of the Cape boy who drove us amounted to about 15 -The cart and horses and harness, as above shown, cost 143 - ---- - Total £203 - ==== - -which, as we were two, must be divided, making our expense £101 10s. -each for about 700 miles. There are public conveyances over the whole -road which would carry a passenger with his luggage for about £40. We -travelled when on the road 30 miles a day on an average, whereas the -public carts make an average of 90. This seems to be all in favour of -the mail carts. And then it has to be acknowledged that the -responsibilities and difficulties of a private team are very wearing. -Horses in South Africa are peculiarly liable to sickness; and, though -they do a very large average of work, seem when tired to be more -incapable of getting over the ground than any other horses. The -necessity of providing forage,--sometimes where no forage is to be -had,--and of carrying large quantities on the cart; the agony of losing -a horse, and the nuisance of having to purchase or hire others; the -continual fear of being left as it were planted in the mud;--all these -things are very harassing, and teach the traveller to think that the -simplicity of the Mail Cart is beautiful. If misfortune happen to a -public conveyance the passenger is not responsible. He may be left -behind, but he always has the satisfaction of demanding from others that -he shall be carried on. On our route we encountered two sets of -travellers who had been left on the road through the laches of the Cart -Contractors; but in both cases the sufferers had the satisfaction of -threatening legal proceedings and of demanding damages. When one’s own -horse dies on the road, or one’s own wheel flies off the axle, there is -nobody to threaten, and personal loss is added to personal misery. All -this seems to be in favour of the simple Mail Cart. - -But there is another side to the question which I attempted to describe -when I told the tale of those unfortunate wretches who were forced to -wander about in the mud and darkness between Newcastle and Pretoria. -Such a journey as those gentlemen were compelled to make would in truth -kill a weakly person. Some of these conveyances travel day and night, -for four, five, or six consecutive days,--or stop perhaps for three or -four hours at some irregular time which can hardly be turned to account -for rest. Such journeys if they do not kill are likely to be -prejudicial, and for the time are almost agonizing. We with our own cart -and horses could get in and out when we pleased, could stop when we -liked and as long as we liked, and encountered no injurious fatigue. In -addition to this I must declare that I never enjoyed my meals more -thoroughly than I did those which we prepared for ourselves out in the -veld. Such comfort, however, must depend altogether on the nature of the -companion whom the traveller may have selected for himself. I had been, -in this respect, most fortunate. We had harassed minds when our horses -became sick or when difficulties arose as to feeding them; but our -bodies were not subjected to torment. - -These are the pros and the cons, as I found them, and which I now offer -for the service of any gentleman about to undertake South African -travel. Ladies, who make long journeys in these parts only when their -husbands or fathers have selected some new and more distant site for -their homes, are generally carried about on ox-waggons, in which they -live and sleep and take their meals. They progress about 16, 20, or -sometimes 24 miles a day, and find the life wearisome and uncomfortable. -But it is sure, and healthy, and when much luggage has to be carried, is -comparatively inexpensive. - -I had by no means finished my overland travels in South Africa on -reaching Kimberley. I had indeed four or five hundred miles still -before me, of which I shall speak as I go on. But I had learned that the -coaches to Bloemfontein, and thence down to Grahamstown were more -Christian in their nature, and more trustworthy than those which had -frightened me in the Transvaal. Partly on this account and partly -because my friend was deserting me I determined to trust myself to -them;--and therefore have given here this record of my experiences as to -a Cape cart and private team of horses. - - - - -GRIQUALAND WEST. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -GRIQUALAND WEST--WHY WE TOOK IT. - - -Griqualand West is the proper, or official, name for that part of South -Africa which is generally known in England as the Diamond Fields, and -which is at the period of my writing,--the latter part of 1877,--a -separate Colony belonging to the British Crown, under the jurisdiction -of the Governor of the Cape Colony, but in truth governed by a resident -administrator. Major Lanyon is now the occupier of the Government House, -and is “His Excellency of Griqualand” to all the Queen’s loyal British -subjects living in and about the mines. This is the present position of -things;--but the British Government has offered to annex the Province to -the Cape Colony, and the Cape Colony has at length agreed to accept the -charge,--subject to certain conditions as to representation and other -details. Those conditions are, I believe, now under consideration, and -if they be found acceptable,--as will probably be the case,--the -Colonial Office at home being apparently anxious to avoid the expense -and trouble of an additional little Colony,--Griqualand West and the -Diamond Fields will become a part of the Cape Colony in the course of -1878. The proposed conditions offer but one member for the Legislative -Council, and four for the Assembly, to join twenty-one members in the -former house, and sixty-eight in the latter. It is alleged very loudly -and perhaps correctly at the Fields that this number is smaller than -that to which the District is entitled if it is to be put on the same -footing with other portions of the great Colony. It is alleged also that -a class of the community which has shewn itself to be singularly -energetic should be treated at any rate not worse than its neighbours -who have been very much more slow in their movements, and less useful by -their industry to the world at large. Whether such remonstrances will -avail anything I doubt much. If they do not, I presume that the -annexation will almost be immediate. - -The history of Griqualand West does not go back to a distant antiquity, -but it is one which has given rise to a singularly large amount of -controversy and hot feeling, and has been debated at home with more than -usual animation and more than usual acerbity. In the course of last year -(1877) the “Quarterly” and the “Edinburgh Reviews” warmed themselves in -a contest respecting the Hottentot Waterboer and his West Griquas, and -the other Hottentot Adam Kok and his East Griquas, till South African -sparks were flying which reminded one of the glorious days of Sidney -Smith and Wilson Croker. Such writings are anonymous, and though one -knows in a certain sense who were the authors, in another sense one is -ignorant of anything except that an old-fashioned battle was carried on -about Kok and Waterboer in our two highly esteemed and reverend -Quarterlies. But as the conduct, not only of our Colonial Office, but -of Great Britain as an administrator of Colonies, was at stake,--as on -one side it was stated that an egregious wrong had been done from -questionable motives, and on the other that perfect state-craft and -perfect wisdom had been combined in the happy manner in which Griqualand -West with its diamonds had become British territory, I thought it might -be of interest to endeavour to get at the truth when I was on the spot. -But I have to own that I have failed in the attempt to find any exact -truth or to ascertain what abstract justice would have demanded. In -order to get at a semblance of truth and justice in the matter it has to -be presumed that a Hottentot Chief has understood the exact nature of a -treaty and the power of a treaty with the accuracy of an accomplished -European diplomate; and it has to be presumed also that the Hottentot’s -right to execute a treaty binding his tribe or nation is as well defined -and as firmly founded as that of a Minister of a great nation who has -the throne of his Sovereign and the constitutional omnipotence of his -country’s parliament at his back. In our many dealings with native -tribes we have repeatedly had to make treaties. These treaties we have -endeavoured to define, have endeavoured to explain; but it has always -been with the conviction that they can be trusted only to a certain very -limited extent. - -The question in dispute is whether we did an injustice to the Orange -Free State by taking possession of Griqualand West in 1871 when diamonds -had already been discovered there and the value of the district had been -acknowledged. At that time it was claimed by the Orange Free State -whose subjects had inhabited the land before a diamond had been found, -and which had levied taxes on the Boers who had taken up land there as -though the country had belonged to the Republic. Since the annexation -has been effected by us we have, in a measure, acknowledged the claim of -the Free State by agreeing to pay to it a sum of £90,000--as -compensation for what injustice we may have done; and we have so far -admitted that the Free State has had something to say for itself. - -The district in question at a period not very remote was as little -valuable perhaps as any land on the earth’s surface lying adjacent to -British territory. The first mention I find of the Griquas is of their -existence as a bastard Hottentot tribe in 1811 when one Adam Kok was -their captain. The word Griqua signifies bastard, and Adam Kok was -probably half Dutchman and half Hottentot. In 1821 Adam Kok was -dismissed or resigned, and Andreas Waterboer was elected in his place. -Kok then went eastwards with perhaps half the tribe, and settled himself -at a place which the reader will find on the map, under the name of -Philipolis, north of the Orange river in the now existing Orange Free -State. Then some line of demarcation was made between Waterboer’s lands -and Kok’s lands, which line leaves the Diamond Fields on one side or--on -the other. Adam Kok then trekked further eastward with the Griquas of -Griqualand East, as they had come to be called, to a territory south of -Natal, which had probably been depopulated by the Zulus. This territory -was then called No Man’s Land, but is now marked on the maps as Adam -Kok’s Land. But he gave some power of attorney enabling an agent to -sell the lands he left behind him, and under this power his lands were -sold to the Orange Free State which had established itself in 1854. The -Free State claims to have bought the Diamond Fields,--diamonds having -been then unknown,--under this deed. But it is alleged that the deed -only empowered the agent to sell the lands in and round Philipolis on -which Adam Kok’s Griquas had been living. It is certain, however, that -Adam Kok had continued to exercise a certain right of sovereignty over -the territory in question after his deposition or resignation, and that -he made over land to the Boers of the Free State by some deed which the -Boers had accepted as giving a good title. It is equally certain that -old Waterboer’s son had remonstrated against these proceedings and had -objected to the coming in of the Boers under Kok’s authority. - -We will now go back to old Andreas Waterboer, who for a Hottentot seems -to have been a remarkably good sort of person, and who as I have said -had been chosen chief of the Griquas when Adam Kok went out. In 1834 Sir -Benjamin D’Urban, that best and most ill-used of Cape Colony Governors, -made a treaty with old Andreas undertaking to recognise him in all his -rights, and obtaining a promise from the Hottentot to assist in -defending the British border from the hordes of savagery to the north. -There was also a clause under which the Hottentot was to receive a -stipend of £150 per annum. This treaty seems to have been kept with -faith on both sides till Waterboer died in December, 1852. The stipend -was punctually paid, and the Hottentot did a considerable quantity of -hard fighting on behalf of the British. On his death his son Nicholas -Waterboer came to reign in his stead. Nicholas is a Christian as was his -father, and is comparatively civilized;--but he is by no means so good a -Christian as was the old man, and his father’s old friends were not at -first inclined to keep up the acquaintance on the same terms. - -Nicholas, no doubt mindful of the annual stipend, asked to have the -treaty renewed in his favour. But other complications had arisen. In -1852 Messrs. Hogge and Owen had acted as Commissioners for giving over -the Transvaal as a separate Republic and in the deed of transference it -was agreed that there should not be any special treaties between the -Cape Colony and the Natives north of the Orange river, as it was thought -that such treaties would interfere with the independence of the -Republic. Poor Nicholas for a time suffered under this arrangement, but -in 1858 a letter was written to him saying that all that had been done -for his father should be done for him,--and the payment of the £150 per -annum was continued though no treaty was made.[5] - -In the mean time, in 1854, the severance had been made of the Orange -Free State from the Colony, the bounds of which were not then settled -with much precision. Had they been declared to be the Orange and the -Vaal rivers in reference to the North, East, and South, the Diamond -Fields would have been included,--or the greater part of the Diamond -Fields. But that would not have settled the question, as England could -not have ceded what she did not possess. Thus there was a corner of land -as there have been many corners in South Africa, respecting which there -was doubts as to ownership. Waterboer alleged that the line which his -father and old Adam Kok had made so long ago as 1821,--with what -geometrical resources they might then have,--gave him a certain -apparently valueless tract of land, and those again who assumed a right -to Adam Kok’s land, asserted that the line gave it to them. The Kokites, -however, had this point in their favour, that they had in some sort -occupied the land,--having sold it or granted leases on it to Dutch -Boers who paid taxes to the Orange Free State in spite of Waterboer’s -remonstrances. - -But the matter at the time was in truth unimportant. Encroachments were -made also into this very district of Griqualand from the other Republic -also. In speaking of the Transvaal I have already described the position -there to which such encroachments had led. A treaty became necessary to -check the Transvaal Boers from establishing themselves on Griqualand, -and the Transvaal authorities with the native Chiefs, and our Governor -at the Cape, agreed that the matter should be referred to an umpire. Mr. -Keate, the Lieut. Governor of Natal, was chosen and the Keate award was -made. But the land in question was not valuable; diamonds had not yet -been found, and the question was not weighty enough to create determined -action. The Transvaal rejected the treaty, and the Transvaal Boers, as -well as those from the Free State, continued to occupy land in -Griqualand West. Now the land of the Transvaal Republic has come back -into our hands, and there is one little difficulty the more to solve. - -Then, in 1869, the first diamond was found on a farm possessed by an -Orange Free State Boer, and in 1871 Nicholas Waterboer, claiming -possession of the land, and making his claim good to British colonial -intellects, executed a treaty ceding to the British the whole district -of Griqualand West,--a tract of land about half as big as Scotland, -containing 17,800 square miles. There had by this time grown up a vast -diamond seeking population which was manifestly in want of government. -Waterboer himself could certainly do nothing to govern the free, -loudspeaking, resolute body of men which had suddenly settled itself -upon the territory which he claimed. Though he considered himself to be -Captain of the Country, he would have been treated with no more respect -than any other Hottentot had he shown himself at the diggings. Yet he no -doubt felt that such a piece of luck having turned up on what he -considered to be his own soil, he ought to get something out of it. So -he made a treaty, ceding the country to Great Britain in 1871. In 1872 -his stipend was raised to £250,--in 1873 to £500; and an agreement has -now been made, dated I think in October 1877, increasing this to £1,000 -a year, with an allowance of £500 to his widow and children after his -death. It was upon this deed that we took possession of Griqualand West -with all its diamonds; but the Orange Free State at once asserted its -claim,--based on present possession and on the purchase of Adam Kok’s -rights. - -I think I shall not be contradicted when I say that amidst such a -condition of things it is very hard to determine where is precisely the -truth and what perfect abstract justice would have demanded. I cannot -myself feel altogether content with the title to a country which we have -bought from a Hottentot for an allowance of £1,000 a year with a pension -of £500 to his wife and children. Much less can I assent to the title -put forward by the Free State in consequence of their negotiation with -Adam Kok’s Agent. The excuse for annexation does not in my mind rest on -such buyings and sellings. I have always felt that my sense of justice -could not be satisfied as to any purchase of territory by civilized from -uncivilized people,--first because the idea of the value of the land is -essentially different in the minds of the two contracting parties; and -secondly because whatever may be the tribal customs of a people as to -land I cannot acknowledge the right of a Chieftain to alienate the -property of his tribe,--and the less so when the price given takes the -form of an annuity for life to one or two individuals. - -The real excuse is to be found in that order of things which has often -in the affairs of our Colonies made a duty clear to us, though we have -been unable to reconcile that duty with abstract justice. When we -accepted the cession of the Province in 1871 the Free State was no doubt -making an attempt to regulate affairs at the Diamond Fields; but it was -but a feeble attempt. The Republic had not at its back the power needed -for saying this shall be law, and that shall be law, and for enforcing -the laws so enacted. And if the claim of Great Britain to the land was -imperfect, so was that of the Free State. The persons most interested in -the matter prayed for our interference, and felt that they could live -only under our Government. There had no doubt been occupation after a -kind. A few Boers here and there had possessed themselves of the lands, -buying them by some shifty means either from the Natives or from those -who alleged that they had purchased them from the Natives. And, as I -have said, taxes were levied. But I cannot learn that any direct and -absolute claim had ever been made to national dominion,--as is made by -ourselves and other nations when on a new-found shore we fly our -national flags. The Dutch had encroached over the border of the Griquas -and then justified their encroachment by their dealings with Adam Kok. -We have done much the same and have justified our encroachment by our -dealings with Nicholas Waterboer. But history will justify us because it -was essentially necessary that an English speaking population of a -peculiarly bold and aggressive nature should be made subject to law and -order. - -The accusation against our Colonial Office of having stolen the Diamond -Fields because Diamonds are peculiarly rich and desirable can not hold -water for an instant. If that were so in what bosom did the passion rise -and how was it to be gratified? A man may have a lust for power as -Alexander had, and Napoleon,--a lust to which many a British Minister -has in former days been a prey; but, even though we might possibly have -a Colonial Secretary at this time so opposed in his ideas to the -existing theories and feelings of our statesmen as to be willing to -increase his responsibilities by adding new Colonies to our long list of -dependencies, I cannot conceive that his ambition should take the shape -of annexing an additional digging population. Has any individual either -claimed or received glory by annexing Griqualand West? From the -operations of such a Province as the Diamond Fields it is not the mother -country that reaps the reward, but the population whether they be -English, Dutch, or Americans,--the difficult task of ruling whom the -mother country is driven to assume. - -It is known to all Englishmen who have watched the course of our -colonial history for the last forty years that nothing can be so little -pleasant to a Secretary of State for the Colonies as the idea of a new -Colony. Though they have accrued to us, one after the other, with -terrible rapidity there has always been an attempt made to reject them. -The Colonial Secretary has been like an old hen to whose large brood -another and another chick is ever being added,--as though her powers of -stretching her wings were unlimited. She does stretch them, like a good -old mother with her maternal instincts, but with most unwilling efforts, -till the bystander thinks that not a feather of protection could be -given to another youngling. But another comes and the old hen stretches -herself still wider,--most painfully. - -New Zealand is now perhaps the pet of our colonial family; and yet what -efforts were made when Lord Normanby and afterwards when Lord John -Russell were at the Colonies to stave off the necessity of taking -possession of the land! But Englishmen had settled themselves in such -numbers on her shores that England was forced to send forth the means of -governing her own children. The same thing happened, as I have attempted -to tell, both in British Kafraria and Natal. The same thing happened the -other day in the Fiji Islands. The same feeling, acting in an inverse -way,--repudiating the chicks instead of taking them in,--induced us to -give over the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to Republicanism. Our -repudiation of the former has lasted but for a quarter of a century, and -there are many now of British race to be found in South Africa who are -confident that we shall have to take the Orange Free State in among the -brood in about the same period from her birth. British rule in distant -parts, much as it is abused, is so precious a blessing that men will -have it, and the old hen is forced to stretch her poor old wings again -and still again. - -This I hold to be the real and unanswerable excuse for what we have done -in Griqualand West and not our treaty with Waterboer. As far as right -devolving from any treaty goes I think that we have the best of it,--but -not so much the best, that even could I recognize those treaties as -conveying all they are held to convey, I should declare our title to be -complete. But, that such treaties are for the most part powerless when -pressure comes, is proved by our own doings and by those of other -nations all round the world. We have just annexed the Transvaal,--with -the approbation of both sides in the House of Commons. Our excuse is -that though the Transvaal was an independent State she was so little -able to take care of herself that we were obliged to enter in upon her, -as the law does on the estate of a lunatic. But how would it have been -if the Transvaal instead of the Orange Free State had been our -competitor for the government of the Diamond Fields? If we can justify -ourselves in annexing a whole Republic surely we should not have -scrupled to take the assumed dependency of a Republic. In such doings we -have to reconcile ourselves to expedience, however abhorrent such a -doctrine may be to us in our own private affairs. Here it was expedient -that a large body, chiefly of Englishmen, should, for their own comfort -and well being, be brought under rule. If in following out the doctrine -any abstract injustice was done, it was not against the Orange Free -State, but against the tribes whom no Waterboer and no Adam Kok could in -truth be authorized to hand over either to British or to Dutch -Republican rule. - -For a while I was minded to go closely into the question of Kok v. -Waterboer and to put forward what might probably have been a crude -expression of the right either of the one Hottentot or of the other to -make over at any rate his power and his privileges of government. But I -convinced myself, when on the spot, that neither could have much right, -and that whatever right either might have, was so far buried in the -obscurity of savagery in general, that I could not possibly get at the -bottom of it so as to form any valid opinion. Books have been written on -the subject, on the one side and on the other, which have not I think -been much studied. Were I to write no more than a chapter on it my -readers would pass it by. The intelligence of England will not engage -itself on unravelling the geographical facts of a line of demarcation -made between two Hottentot Chieftains when the land was comparatively -valueless, and when such line could only be signified by the names of -places of which the exact position can hardly even now be ascertained. -When subsequently I read the report which the Secretary of State for the -Colonies made to the Governor of the Cape Colony on 5 August 1876, -informing the Governor of the terms under which he and the President of -the Orange Free State had agreed to compromise the matter, I was glad to -find that he, in his final discussions with the President, had come to -the same conclusion. I here quote the words in which Lord Carnarvon -expressed himself to Sir Henry Barkly;--and I would say that I fully -agree with him were it not that such testimony might seem to be -impertinent. “At the earlier interviews Mr. Brand repeatedly expressed -his desire to submit proof of the claim preferred by his Government to a -great part of Griqualand West. I had however determined from the first -that there would be no advantage in entering upon such on enquiry. It -was obvious that there could be no prospect of our coming to an -agreement on a question which teemed with local details and personal -contentions.” - -The Secretary of State goes on to explain the circumstances under which -the £90,000 are to be given. I will confess for myself that I should -almost have preferred to have stuck to the territory without paying the -money. If it be our “destiny” to rule people I do not think that we -ought to pay for assuming an office which we cannot avoid. The Secretary -of State in this report strongly reasserts the British right to -Griqualand West,--though he acknowledges that he cannot hope by mere -eloquence to convince President Brand of that right. “As you think you -are wronged,” the Secretary goes on to argue, “we will consent to -compensate the wrong which we feel sure you have not suffered, but which -you think you have endured, so that there need be no quarrel between -us.” Probably it was the easiest way out of the difficulty; but there is -something in it to regret. It must of course be understood that the -£90,000 will not be paid by the British taxpayer, but will be gathered -from the riches of Griqualand West herself. - -On the 27 October 1871 the Diamond Fields were declared to be British -territory. But such a declaration, even had it not been opposed by the -Free State and the friends of the Free State, would by no means have -made the course of British rule plain and simple. There have, from that -day to this, arisen a series of questions to settle and difficulties to -solve which, as they crop up to the enquirer’s mind, would seem to have -been sufficient to have overcome the patience of any Colonial Secretary -even though he had not another Colony on his shoulders. If there was any -Colonial sinner,--Secretary, Governor, or subordinate,--who carried away -by the lust of empire had sought to gratify his ambition by annexing -Griqualand West, he must certainly have repented himself in sackcloth -and ashes before this time (the end of 1877) when the vexed question of -annexation or non-annexation to the Cape Colony is hardly yet settled. -When the territory was first accepted by Great Britain it was done on an -understanding that the Cape Colony should take it and rule it, and pay -for it,--or make it pay for itself. The Colonial Secretary of the day -declared in an official dispatch that he would not consent to the -annexation unless, “the Cape Parliament would personally bind itself to -accept the responsibility of governing the territory which was to be -united to it, together with the entire maintenance of any force which -might be necessary for the preservation of order.” It must be presumed -therefore that the lust for empire did not exist in Downing Street. The -Cape Parliament did so far accede to the stipulation made by the -Secretary of State, as to pass a resolution of assent. They would -agree,--seeing that British rule could not in any other way be obtained. -But an intermediate moment was necessary,--a moment which should admit -of the arrangement of terms,--between the absolute act of assumption by -Great Britain and the annexation by the Colony. That moment has been -much prolonged, and has not yet, as I write, been brought to an end. So -that the lust for rule over the richest diamond fields in the world -seems hardly to be very strong even in the Colony. Though the Parliament -of the Colony had assented to the requisition from Downing Street, it -afterwards,--not unnaturally,--declined to take the matter in hand till -the Government at home had settled its difficulties with the Orange Free -State. The Free State had withdrawn whatever officers it had had on the -Fields, and had remonstrated. That difficulty is now solved;--and the -Cape Colony has passed a bill shewing on what terms it will annex the -territory. The terms are very unpopular in the district,--as indeed is -the idea of annexation to the Cape Colony at all. Griqualand would very -much prefer to continue a separate dependency, with a little Council of -its own. The intention however of the mother country and of the Colony -has been too clearly expressed for doubt on that subject. They are both -determined that the annexation shall take place, and the Colony will -probably be able to dictate the terms. - -But there have been other difficulties sufficient almost to break the -heart of all concerned. Who did the land belong to on which the diamonds -were being found, and what were the rights of the owners either to the -stones beneath the surface, or to the use of the surface for the purpose -of searching? The most valuable spot in the district, called at first -the Colesberg Kopje,--Kopje being little hill,--and now known as the -Kimberley mine, had been on a farm called Vooruitzuit belonging to a -Dutchman named De Beer. This farm he sold to a firm of Englishmen for -the very moderate sum of £6,600,[6]--a sum however which to him must -have appeared enormous,--and the firm soon afterwards sold it to the -Government for £100,000. To this purchase the Government was driven by -the difficulties of the position. Diggers were digging and paying 10s. a -month for their claims to the owners of the soil, justifying themselves -in that payment by the original edict of the Free State, while the -owners were claiming £10 a month, and asserting their right to do as -they pleased with their own property. The diggers declared their purpose -of resisting by force any who interfered with them;--and the owners of -the soil were probably in league with the diggers, so as to enhance the -difficulties, and force the Government to purchase. The Government was -obliged to buy and paid the enormous sum of £100,000 for the farm. Many -stories could be told of the almost inextricable complexities which -attended the settlement of claims to property while the diggers were -arming and drilling and declaring that they would take the law into -their own hands if they were interfered with in their industry. - -In 1872 the population had become so great,--and, as was natural in such -circumstances, so unruly,--that the Governor of the Cape Colony, who is -also High Commissioner for all our South African territories, was -obliged to recommend that a separate Lieutenant Governor should be -appointed, and Mr. Southey who had long held official employment in the -Cape Colony was sent to fill the place. Here he remained till 1875, -encumbered by hardships of which the difficulty of raising a sufficient -revenue to pay the expenses of the place was not the least. Diamonds -were being extracted worth many millions, but the diamonds did not come -into the pocket of the Government. In such localities the great source -of revenue,--that which is generally most available,--is found in the -Custom duties levied on the goods consumed by the diggers. But here, -though the diggers consumed manfully, the Custom duties levied went -elsewhere. Griqualand West possessed no port and could maintain no -cordon of officers to prevent goods coming over her borders without -taxation. The Cape Colony which has been so slow to annex the land got -the chief advantages from the consumption of the Diamond Fields, sharing -it, however, with Natal. Mr. Southey is said to have had but thirty -policemen with him to assist in keeping the peace, and was forced to ask -for the assistance of troops from the Cape. Troops were at last sent -from Capetown,--at an expense of about £20,000 to Griqualand West. -During all this time it may easily be conceived that no British -aggressor had as yet obtained the fruition of that rich empire for which -he is supposed to have lusted when annexing the country. - -The Lieutenant Governor with his thirty policemen,--and the sudden -influx of about 300 soldiers from the Cape--was found to be too -expensive for the capabilities of the place. “In 1875,” says the -Colonial Office List for 1877, “the condition of the finances rendered -it necessary to reduce the civil establishment, and the office of -Lieutenant Governor, as well as that of Secretary to Government, was -discontinued, and an administrator appointed.” That administrator has -been Major Lanyon who has simply been a Lieutenant Governor with a -salary somewhat less than that of his predecessor. That the difficulty -of administering the affairs of the Colony have been lessened during his -period of office, may in part be due to circumstances and the more -settled condition of men’s minds. But with such a task as he has had not -to have failed is sufficient claim for praise. There have been no -serious outrages since he reached the Fields. - -Annexation to the Cape Colony will probably take place. But what will -come next? The Province does not want annexation;--but specially wants -an adequate, we may say a large share in the constituencies of the joint -Colonies should annexation be carried out. I sympathise with Griqualand -West in the first feeling. I do not think that the diggers of the -Diamond Fields will be satisfied with legislation carried on at -Capetown. I do not think that a parliamentary majority at Capetown will -know how to manage the diggers. Kimberley is so peculiar a place, and so -likely to shew its feeling of offence against the Government if it be -offended, that I fear it will be a very thorn in the side of any -possible Cape Colony Prime Minister. That Downing Street should wish to -make over to the Colony the rich treasure, which we are told has been -acquired with so much violence and avarice, I am not surprised,--though -such annexation must be prejudicial to that desire for South African -Confederation which is now strong in Colonial Office bosoms;--but that -the Colony should accept the burden while she already possesses that -which generally makes such burdens acceptable,--viz., the Custom duties -on the goods consumed by the people,--is to me a marvel. It may be that -the Cape Parliament was induced to give its first assent by the strongly -expressed wishes of the Secretary of State at home, and that it can -hardly now recede from the promise it then made. - -But in regard to the share which Griqualand claims in the two -legislative Houses of the future combined Colonies I cannot at all wish -her to prevail. It may be natural that a community should desire to be -largely represented without looking forward to all the circumstances by -which such representation may be affected. The population of the Diamond -Fields is supposed to consist of about 15,000 whites and 30,000 natives. -Of the latter number about 12,000 are men employed in the mines. The -other 18,000 natives who are living on their own lands may he eliminated -from our present enquiry. Of the 15,000 white persons we will say that a -half are men who would be entitled to vote under the present franchise -of the Cape Colony. The number would shew a very large proportion of -adult males, but a digging population will always have an excessive -population of men. But the 12,000 natives would, with a very small -deduction on account of women, all be enabled to claim a right to be -registered. - -The Cape Colony franchise is given to all men with certain -qualifications. One qualification, and that the broadest,--is that a man -shall be earning wages at the rate of £25 a year and his diet. And he -must either have been born a British subject, or born in a Dutch South -African territory taken over by the British Government. The latter -clause was inserted no doubt with the intention of saving from exclusion -any men then still living who might have been born when the Cape of Good -Hope was a Dutch Colony; but in justice must be held to include also -those born in the Transvaal when the Transvaal was a Dutch Republic. The -meaning is that all shall vote, who are otherwise qualified, who have -been born English subjects or have become English subjects by annexation -from Dutch rule. The majority of the Kafirs now working at the Diamond -Fields have been born in the Transvaal; some indeed at Natal, some few -in Zululand which is not English, and some few beyond the Limpopo, on -native territory which has never been either Dutch or English. But the -great majority are from the distant parts of the Transvaal;--and, with a -Kafir as with a white man who should assert himself to be born an -English subject or a Transvaalian, the onus probandi would be with those -who objected to, or denied, the claim. Every Kafir about the mines earns -at the lowest 10s. a week, or £26 10s. per annum and his diet, and it -would be found I think impossible to reject their claim to be registered -as voters if their names were brought up on the lists. - -There will be those at home who will say,--why should they not vote if -they are industrious labourers earning wages at so high a rate? But no -white man who has been in South Africa and knows anything of South -Africa will say that. A very eminent member of the House of Commons,--a -friend of my own whom I respect as a politician as highly as any man of -the present day,--gently murmured a complaint in discussing the South -African permissive bill as to the statement which had been made by the -Secretary of State “that until the civilization of the Natives -throughout South Africa had made considerable progress it would be -desirable that they should not have direct representation in the -Legislative Assembly of the Union;”--that is in the Confederated Union -sanctioned by the permissive bill. My friend’s philanthropic feelings -were hurt by the idea that the coloured man should be excluded from the -franchise. But the suggestion contained in this speech that the Kafir -should have a vote is received by Europeans in South Africa simply with -a smile. Were it granted and could it be generally used at the will and -in accordance with the judgment of the Kafir himself all Europeans -would at once leave the country, and South Africa would again become the -prey of the strongest handed among the Natives then existing. That -Englishmen should live under a policy devised or depending upon Negroes -I believe to be altogether impossible. Nor will such an attempt be made. -Let the law say what it will as to suffrage that state of things will be -avoided,--if not otherwise, then by force. - -It is not that I think that the Kafirs about the Diamond Fields will at -once swarm to the poll as soon as the franchise of the Cape Colony shall -make it possible for them to do so. That is not the way the evil will -shew itself. They will care nothing for the franchise and will not be at -the trouble to understand its nature. But certain Europeans will -understand it,--politicians not of the first class,--and they will -endeavour to use for their own purposes a privilege which will have been -thoughtlessly conferred. Such politicians will not improbably secure -election by Kafir votes, and will cause to be done exactly that which -the most respectable employers of labour in the place will think most -prejudicial to the interests of the place. And after a while the Negroes -of Griqualand West will learn the powers which they possess as have the -Negroes of the Southern American States, and thus there will spring up a -contest as to the party in which is to be vested the political power of -the district. I do not doubt how the contest would end. The white men -would certainly prevail however small might be their numbers, and -however great the majority of the Kafirs. But I am sure that no part of -South Africa would willingly subject itself to the possibility of such -a condition. I think that the franchise of the Cape Colony has been,--I -will not say fixed too low, but arranged injudiciously in regard to the -population of the Colony itself;--but I am even more strongly of opinion -that that franchise is not at all adapted to the population of the -Diamond Fields. Considering the nature of the task it may be doubted -whether the country of the diamonds would not be best ruled as a Crown -Colony. - -At the present moment, pending annexation, the Government is carried on -by an administrator with a Council of seven besides himself,--eight in -all. Four are appointed and enjoy salaries, while four are elected and -are not paid. If necessary for a majority the administrator has two -votes. But a quorum of five is necessary of which quorum two must be -elected members. The consequence is that unless two of the elected -members are staunch to the Government, every thing is liable to be -brought to a stand still. One or two elected members take up their hats -and walk out,--and all business is at an end for the day. This, to say -the least of it, is awkward. The evil would be much remedied, if it were -required that in forming the quorum of five one elected member would be -sufficient. Out of eight a quorum of four might be held to suffice of -which one might be an elected member. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE STORY OF THE DIAMOND FIELDS. - - -The first known finding of a diamond in South Africa was as recent as -1867;--so that the entire business which has well nigh deluged the world -of luxury with precious stones and has added so many difficulties to the -task of British rule in South Africa is only now,--in 1877,--ten years -old. Mr. Morton, an American gentleman who lectured on the subject -before the American Geographical Society in the early part of 1877 tells -us that “Across a mission map of this very tract printed in 1750 is -written, ‘Here be Diamonds;’”--that the Natives had long used the -diamonds for boring other stones, and that it was their practice to make -periodical visits to what are now the Diamond Fields to procure their -supply. I have not been fortunate enough to see such a map, nor have I -heard the story adequately confirmed, so as to make me believe that any -customary search was ever made here for diamonds even by the Natives. I -am indeed inclined to doubt the existence of any record of South African -diamonds previous to 1867, thinking that Mr. Morton must have been led -astray by some unguarded assertion. Such a map would be most interesting -if it could be produced. For all British and South African -purposes,--whether in regard to politics, wealth, or geological enquiry -the finding of the diamond in 1867 was the beginning of the affair. - -And this diamond was found by accident and could not for a time obtain -any credence. It is first known to have been seen at the house of a -Dutch farmer named Jacobs in the northern limits of the Cape Colony, and -South of the Orange river. It had probably been brought from the bed of -the stream or from the other side of the river. The “other side” would -be, in Griqualand West, the land of diamonds. As far as I can learn -there is no idea that diamonds have been deposited by nature in the soil -of the Cape Colony proper. At Jacobs’ house it was seen in the hands of -one of the children by another Boer named Van Niekerk, who observing -that it was brighter and also heavier than other stones, and thinking it -to be too valuable for a plaything offered to buy it. But the child’s -mother would not sell such a trifle and gave it to Van Niekerk. From Van -Niekerk it was passed on to one O’Reilly who seems to have been the -first to imagine it to be a diamond. He took it to Capetown where he -could get no faith for his stone, and thence back to Colesberg on the -northern extremity of the Colony where it was again encountered with -ridicule. But it became matter of discussion and was at last sent to Dr. -Atherstone of Grahamstown who was known to be a geologist and a man of -science. He surprised the world of South Africa by declaring the stone -to be an undoubted diamond. It weighed over 21 carats and was sold to -Sir P. Wodehouse, the then Governor of the Colony, for £500.[7] - -In 1868 and 1869 various diamonds were found, and the search for them -was no doubt instigated by Van Niekerk’s and O’Reilly’s success;--but -nothing great was done nor did the belief prevail that South Africa was -a country richer in precious stones than any other region yet -discovered. Those which were brought to the light during these two years -may I believe yet be numbered, and no general belief had been created. -But some searching by individuals was continued. The same Van Niekerk -who had received the first diamond from the child not unnaturally had -his imagination fired by his success. Either in 1868 or 1869 he heard of -a large stone which was then in the hands of a Kafir witch-doctor from -whom he succeeded in buying it, giving for it as the story goes all his -sheep and all his horses. But the purchase was a good one,--for a -Dutchman’s flocks are not often very numerous or very valuable,--and he -sold the diamond to merchants in the neighbourhood for £11,200. It -weighed 83 carats, and is said to be perfect in all its appointments as -to water, shape, and whiteness. It became known among diamonds and was -christened the Star of South Africa. After a law suit, during which an -interdict was pronounced forbidding its exportation or sale, it made its -way to the establishment of Messrs. Hunt and Rosskill from whom it was -purchased for the delight of a lovely British Countess. - -Even then the question whether this part of South Africa was -diamondiferous[8] had not been settled to the satisfaction of persons -who concern themselves in the produce and distribution of diamonds. -There seems to have been almost an Anti-South African party in the -diamond market, as though it was too much to expect that from a spot so -insignificant as this corner of the Orange and Vaal rivers should be -found a rival to the time-honoured glories of Brazil and India. It was -too good to believe,--or to some perhaps too bad,--that there should -suddenly come a plethora of diamonds from among the Hottentots. - -It was in 1870 that the question seems to have got itself so settled -that some portion of the speculative energy of the world was enabled to -fix itself on the new Diamond Fields. In that year various white men set -themselves seriously to work in searching the banks of the Vaal up and -down between Hebron and Klipdrift,--or Barkly as it is now called, and -many small parcels of stones were bought from Natives who had been -instigated to search by what they had already heard. The operations of -those times are now called the “river diggings” in distinction to the -“dry diggings,” which are works of much greater magnitude carried on in -a much more scientific manner away from the river,--and which certainly -are in all respects “dry” enough. But at first the searchers confined -themselves chiefly to the river bed and to the small confluents of the -river, scraping up into their mining cradles the shingles and dirt they -had collected, and shaking and washing away the grit and mud, till they -could see by turning the remaining stones over with a bit of slate on a -board whether Fortune had sent on that morning a peculiar sparkle among -the lot. - -I was taken up to Barkly “on a picnic” as people say; and a very nice -picnic it was,--one of the pleasantest days I had in South Africa. The -object was to shew me the Vaal river, and the little town which had been -the capital of the diamond country before the grand discovery at -Colesberg Kopje had made the town of Kimberley. There is nothing -peculiar about Barkly as a South African town, except that it is already -half deserted. There may be perhaps a score of houses there most of -which are much better built than those at Kimberley. They are made of -rough stone, or of mud and whitewash; and, if I do not mistake, one of -them had two storeys. There was an hotel,--quite full although the place -is deserted,--and clustering round it were six or seven idle gentlemen -all of whom were or had been connected with diamonds. I am often struck -by the amount of idleness which persons can allow themselves whose -occupations have diverged from the common work of the world. - -When at Barkly we got ourselves and our provisions into a boat so that -we might have our picnic properly, under the trees at the other side of -the river,--for opposite to Barkly is to be found the luxury of trees. -As we were rowed down the river we saw a white man with two Kafirs -poking about his stones and gravel on a miner’s ricketty table under a -little tent on the beach. He was a digger who had still clung to the -“river” business; a Frenchman who had come to try his luck there a few -days since. On the Monday previous,--we were told,--he had found a 13 -carat white stone without a flaw. This would be enough perhaps to keep -him going and almost to satisfy him for a month. Had he missed that one -stone he would probably have left the place after a week. Now he would -go on through days and days without finding another sparkle. I can -conceive no occupation on earth more dreary,--hardly any more -demoralizing than this of perpetually turning over dirt in quest of a -peculiar little stone which may turn up once a week or may not. I could -not but think, as I watched the man, of the comparative nobility of the -work of a shoemaker who by every pull at his thread is helping to keep -some person’s foot dry. - -After our dinner we walked along the bank and found another “river” -digger, though this man’s claim might perhaps be removed a couple of -hundred yards from the water. He was an Englishman and we stood awhile -and talked to him. He had one Kafir with him to whom he paid 7s. a week -and his food, and he too had found one or two stones which he shewed -us,--just enough to make the place tenable. He had got upon an old -digging which he was clearing out lower. He had, however, in one place -reached the hard stone at the bottom, in, or below, which there could -be no diamonds. There was however a certain quantity of diamondiferous -matter left, and as he had already found stones he thought that it might -pay him to work through the remainder. He was a most good-humoured -well-mannered man, with a pleasant fund of humour. When I asked him of -his fortune generally at the diggings, he told us among other things -that he had broken his shoulder bone at the diggings, which he displayed -to us in order that we might see how badly the surgeon had used him. He -had no pain to complain of,--or weakness; but his shoulder had not been -made beautiful. “And who did it?” said the gentleman who was our -Amphytrion at the picnic and is himself one of the leading practitioners -of the Fields. “I think it was one Dr. ----,” said the digger, naming our -friend whom no doubt he knew. I need not say that the doctor loudly -disclaimed ever having had previous acquaintance with the shoulder. - -The Kafir was washing the dirt in a rough cradle, separating the stones -from the dust, and the owner, as each sieve-full was brought to him, -threw out the stones on his table and sorted them through with the -eternal bit of slate or iron formed into the shape of a trowel. For the -chance of a sieve-full one of our party offered him half a crown,--which -he took. I was glad to see it all inspected without a diamond, as had -there been anything good the poor fellow’s disappointment must have been -great. That halfcrown was probably all that he would earn during the -week,--all that he would earn perhaps for a month. Then there might come -three or four stones in one day. I should think that the tedious -despair of the vacant days could hardly be compensated by the triumph of -the lucky minute. These “river” diggers have this in their favour,--that -the stones found near the river are more likely to be white and pure -than those which are extracted from the mines. The Vaal itself in the -neighbourhood of Barkly is pretty,--with rocks in its bed and islands -and trees on its banks. But the country around, and from thence to -Kimberley, which is twenty-four miles distant, is as ugly as flatness, -barrenness and sand together can make the face of the earth. - -The commencement of diamond-digging as a settled industry was in 1872. -It was then that dry-digging was commenced, which consists of the -regulated removal of ground found to be diamondiferous and of the -washing and examination of every fraction of the soil. The district -which we as yet know to be so specially gifted extends up and down the -Vaal river from the confluence of the Modder to Hebron, about 75 miles, -and includes a small district on the east side of the river. Here, -within 12 miles of the river, and within a circle of which the diameter -is about 2½ miles, are contained all the mines,--or dry diggings,--from -which have come the real wealth of the country. I should have said that -the most precious diamond yet produced, one of 288 carats, was found -close to the river about 12 miles from Barkly. This prize was made in -1872. - -It is of the dry diggings that the future student of the Diamond Fields -of South Africa will have to take chief account. The river diggings were -only the prospecting work which led up to the real mining -operations,--as the washing of the gullies in Australia led to the -crushing of quartz and to the sinking of deep mines in search of -alluvial gold. Of these dry diggings there are now four, Du Toit’s Pan, -Bultfontein, Old De Beers,--and Colesberg Kopje or the great Kimberley -mine, which though last in the Field has thrown all the other diamond -mines of the world into the shade. The first working at the three first -of these was so nearly simultaneous, that they may almost be said to -have been commenced at once. I believe however that they were in fact -opened in the order I have given. - -Bultfontein and Du Toit’s Pan were on two separate Boer farms, of which -the former was bought the first,--as early as 1869,--by a firm who had -even then had dealings in diamonds and who no doubt purchased the land -with reference to diamonds. Here some few stones were picked from the -surface, but the affair was not thought to be hopeful. The diamond -searchers still believed that the river was the place. But the Dutch -farmer at Du Toit’s Pan, one Van Wyk, finding that precious stones were -found on his neighbour’s land, let out mining licences on his own land, -binding the miners to give him one fourth of the value of what they -found. This however did not answer and the miners resolved to pay some -small monthly sum for a licence, or to “jump” the two farms altogether. -Now “jumping” in South African language means open stealing. A man -“jumps” a thing when he takes what does not belong to him with a tacit -declaration that might makes right. Appeal was then made to the -authorities of the Orange Free State for protection;--and something was -done. But the diggers were too strong, and the proprietors of the farms -were obliged to throw open their lands to the miners on the terms which -the men dictated. - -The English came,--at the end of 1871,--just as the system of dry -digging had formed itself at these two mines, and from that time to this -Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein have been worked as regular diamond mines. -I did not find them especially interesting to a visitor. Each of them is -about two miles distant from Kimberley town, and the centre of the one -can hardly be more than a mile distant from the centre of the other. -They are under the inspection of the same Government officer, and might -be supposed to be part of one and the same enterprise were it not that -there is a Mining Board at Du Toit’s Pan, whereas the shareholders at -Bultfontein have abstained from troubling themselves with such an -apparatus. They trust the adjustment of any disputes which may arise to -the discretion of the Government Inspector. - -At each place there is a little village, very melancholy to look at, -consisting of hotels or drinking bars, and the small shops of the -diamond dealers. Everything is made of corrugated iron and the whole is -very mean to the eye. There had been no rain for some months when I was -there, and as I rode into Du Toit’s Pan the thermometer shewed over 90 -in the shade, and over 150 in the sun. While I was at Kimberley it rose -to 96 and 161. There is not a blade of grass in the place, and I seemed -to breathe dust rather than air. At both these places there seemed to be -a “mighty maze,”--in which they differ altogether from the Kimberley -mine which I will attempt to describe presently. Out of the dry dusty -ground, which looked so parched and ugly that one was driven to think -that it had never yet rained in those parts, were dug in all directions -pits and walls and roadways, from which and by means of which the dry -dusty soil is taken out to some place where it is washed and the debris -examined. Carts are going hither and thither, each with a couple of -horses, and Kafirs above and below,--not very much above or very much -below,--are working for 10s. a week and their diet without any feature -of interest. What is done at Du Toit’s Pan is again done at Bultfontein. - -At Du Toit’s Pan there are 1441 mining claims which are possessed by 214 -claimholders. The area within the reef,--that is within the wall of -rocky and earthy matter containing the diamondiferous soil,--is 31 -acres. This gives a revenue to the Griqualand Government of something -over £2,000 for every three months. In the current year,--1877,--it will -amount to nearly £9,000. About 1,700 Kafirs are employed in the mine and -on the stuff taken out of it at wages of 10s. a week and their -diet,--which, at the exceptionally high price of provisions prevailing -when I was in the country, costs about 10s. a week more. The wages paid -to white men can hardly be estimated as they are only employed in what I -may call superintending work. They may perhaps be given as ranging from -£3 to £6 a week. The interesting feature in the labour question is the -Kafir. This black man, whose body is only partially and most grotesquely -clad, and who is what we mean when we speak of a Savage, earns more than -the average rural labourer in England. Over and beyond his board and -lodging he carries away with him every Saturday night 10s. a week in -hard money, with which he has nothing to do but to amuse himself if it -so pleases him. - -At Bultfontein there are 1,026 claims belonging to 153 claimholders. The -area producing diamonds is 22 acres. The revenue derived is £6,000 a -year, more or less. About 1,300 Kafirs are employed under circumstances -as given above. The two diggings have been and still are successful, -though they have never reached the honour and glory and wealth and -grandeur achieved by that most remarkable spot on the earth’s surface -called the Colesberg Kopje, the New Rush, or the Kimberley mine. - -I did not myself make any special visit to the Old De Beer mine. De Beer -was the farmer who possessed the lands called Vooruitzuit of the -purchase of which I have already spoken, and he himself, with his sons, -for awhile occupied himself in the business;--but he soon found it -expedient to sell his land,--the Old De Beer mine being then -established. As the sale was progressing a lady on the top of a little -hill called the Colesberg Kopje poked up a diamond with her parasol. Dr. -Atherstone who had visited the locality had previously said that if new -diamond ground were found it would probably be on this spot. In -September 1872 the territory of Griqualand West became a British Colony, -and at that time miners from the whole district were congregating -themselves at the hill, and that which was at once called the “New Rush” -was established. In Australia where gold was found here or there the -miners would hurry off to the spot and the place would be called this -or that “Rush.” - -The New Rush, the Colesberg Kopje,--pronounced Coppy,--and the Kimberley -mine are one and the same place. It is now within the town of -Kimberley,--which has in fact got itself built around the hill to supply -the wants of the mining population. Kimberley has in this way become the -capital and seat of Government for the Province. As the mine is one of -the most remarkable spots on the face of the earth I will endeavour to -explain it with some minuteness, and I will annex a plan of it which as -I go on I will endeavour also to explain. - -The Colesberg hill is in fact hardly a hill at all,--what little summit -may once have entitled it to the name having been cut off. On reaching -the spot by one of the streets from the square you see no hill but are -called upon to rise over a mound, which is circular and looks to be no -more than the debris of the mine though it is in fact the remainder of -the slight natural ascent. It is but a few feet high and on getting to -the top you look down into a huge hole. This is the Kimberley mine. You -immediately feel that it is the largest and most complete hole ever made -by human agency. - -At Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein the works are scattered. Here -everything is so gathered together and collected that it is not at first -easy to understand that the hole should contain the operations of a -large number of separate speculators. It is so completely one that you -are driven at first to think that it must be the property of one -firm,--or at any rate be entrusted to the management of one director. -It is very far from being so. In the pit beneath your feet, hard as it -is at first to your imagination to separate it into various enterprises, -the persons making or marring their fortunes have as little connection -with each other as have the different banking firms in Lombard Street. -There too the neighbourhood is very close, and common precautions have -to be taken as to roadway, fires, and general convenience. - -You are told that the pit has a surface area of 9 acres;--but -for your purposes as you will care little for diamondiferous or -non-diamondiferous soil, the aperture really occupies 12 acres. The -slope of the reef around the diamond soil has forced itself back over an -increased surface as the mine has become deeper. The diamond claims -cover 9 acres. - -You stand upon the marge and there, suddenly, beneath your feet lies the -entirety of the Kimberley mine, so open, so manifest, and so uncovered -that if your eyes were good enough you might examine the separate -operations of each of the three or four thousand human beings who are at -work there. It looks to be so steep down that there can be no way to the -bottom other than the aerial contrivances which I will presently -endeavour to explain. It is as though you were looking into a vast bowl, -the sides of which are smooth as should be the sides of a bowl, while -round the bottom are various marvellous incrustations among which ants -are working with all the usual energy of the ant-tribe. And these -incrustations are not simply at the bottom, but come up the curves and -slopes of the bowl irregularly,--half-way up perhaps in one place, while -on another side they are confined quite to the lower deep. The pit is -230 feet deep, nearly circular, though after awhile the eye becomes -aware of the fact that it is oblong. At the top the diameter is about -300 yards of which 250 cover what is technically called “blue,”--meaning -diamondiferous soil. Near the surface and for some way down, the sides -are light brown, and as blue is the recognised diamond colour you will -at first suppose that no diamonds were found near the surface;--but the -light brown has been in all respects the same as the blue, the colour of -the soil to a certain depth having been affected by a mixture of iron. -Below this everything is blue, all the constructions in the pit having -been made out of some blue matter which at first sight would seem to -have been carried down for the purpose. But there are other colours on -the wall which give a peculiar picturesqueness to the mines. The top -edge as you look at it with your back to the setting sun is red with the -gravel of the upper reef, while below, in places, the beating of rain -and running of water has produced peculiar hues, all of which are a -delight to the eye. - -As you stand at the edge you will find large high-raised boxes at your -right hand and at your left, and you will see all round the margin -crowds of such erections, each box being as big as a little house and -higher than most of the houses in Kimberley. These are the first -recipients for the stuff that is brought up out of the mine. And behind -these, so that you will often find that you have walked between them, -are the whims by means of which the stuff is raised, each whim being -worked by two horses. Originally the operation was done by -hand-windlasses which were turned by Kafirs,--and the practice is -continued at some of the smaller enterprises;--but the horse whims are -now so general that there is a world of them round the claim. The stuff -is raised on aerial tramways,--and the method of an aerial tramway is as -follows. Wires are stretched taught from the wooden boxes slanting down -to the claims at the bottom,--never less than four wires for each box, -two for the ascending and two for the descending bucket. As one bucket -runs down empty on one set of wires, another comes up full on the other -set. The ascending bucket is of course full of “blue.” The buckets were -at first simply leathern bags. Now they have increased in size and -importance of construction,--to half barrels and so upwards to large -iron cylinders which sit easily upon wheels running in the wires as they -ascend and descend and bring up their loads, half a cart load at each -journey. - -As this is going on round the entire circle it follows that there are -wires starting everywhere from the rim and converging to a centre at the -bottom, on which the buckets are always scudding through the air. They -drop down and creep up not altogether noiselessly but with a gentle -trembling sound which mixes itself pleasantly with the murmur from the -voices below. And the wires seem to be the strings of some wonderful -harp,--aerial or perhaps infernal,--from which the beholder expects that -a louder twang will soon be heard. The wires are there always of course, -but by some lights they are hardly visible. The mine is seen best in the -afternoon and the visitor looking at it should stand with his back to -the setting sun;--but as he so stands and so looks he will hardly be -aware that there is a wire at all if his visit be made, say on a -Saturday afternoon, when the works are stopped and the mine is mute. - -When the world below is busy there are about 3,500 Kafirs at work,--some -small proportion upon the reef which has to be got into order so that it -shall neither tumble in, nor impede the work, nor overlay the -diamondiferous soil as it still does in some places; but by far the -greater number are employed in digging. Their task is to pick up the -earth and shovel it into the buckets and iron receptacles. Much of it is -loosened for them by blasting which is done after the Kafirs have left -the mine at 6 o’clock. You look down and see the swarm of black ants -busy at every hole and corner with their picks moving and shovelling the -loose blue soil. - -But the most peculiar phase of the mine, as you gaze into its one large -pit, is the subdivision into claims and portions. Could a person see the -sight without having heard any word of explanation it would be -impossible, I think, to conceive the meaning of all those straight cut -narrow dikes, of those mud walls all at right angles to each other, of -those square separate pits, and again of those square upstanding blocks, -looking like houses without doors or windows. You can see that nothing -on earth was ever less level than the bottom of the bowl,--and that the -black ants in traversing it, as they are always doing, go up and down -almost at every step, jumping here on to a narrow wall and skipping -there across a deep dividing channel as though some diabolically -ingenious architect had contrived a house with 500 rooms, not one of -which should be on the same floor, and to and from none of which should -there be a pair of stairs or a door or a window. In addition to this it -must be imagined that the architect had omitted the roof in order that -the wires of the harp above described might be brought into every -chamber. The house has then been furnished with picks, shovels, planks, -and a few barrels, populated with its black legions, and there it is for -you to look at. - -At first the bottom of the bowl seems small. You know the size of it as -you look,--and that it is nine acres, enough to make a moderate -field,--but it looks like no more than a bowl. Gradually it becomes -enormously large as your eye dwells for a while on the energetic -business going on in one part, and then travels away over an infinity of -subdivided claims to the work in some other portion. It seems at last to -be growing under you and that soon there will be no limit to the variety -of partitions on which you have to look. You will of course be anxious -to descend and if you be no better than a man there is nothing to -prevent you. Should you be a lady I would advise you to stay where you -are. The work of going up and down is hard, everything is dirty, and the -place below is not nearly so interesting as it is above. One firm at the -mine, Messrs. Baring Gould, Atkins, & Co. have gone to the expense of -sinking a perpendicular shaft with a tunnel below from the shaft to the -mine,--so as to avoid the use of the aerial tramway; and by Mr. Gould’s -kindness I descended through his shaft. Nevertheless there was some -trouble in getting into the mine and when I was there the labour of -clambering about from one chamber to another in that marvellously broken -house was considerable - -[Illustration: - -_PLAN and Valuation of -KIMBERLEY MINE. -1876._ -] - -and was not lessened by the fact that the heat of the sun was about 140. -The division of the claims, however, became apparent to me and I could -see how one was being worked, and another left without any present -digging till the claim-owner’s convenience should be suited. But there -is a regulation compelling a man to work if the standing of his “blue” -should become either prejudicial or dangerous to his neighbours. There -is one shaft,--that belonging to the firm I have mentioned; and one -tramway has been cut down by another firm through the reef and -circumjacent soil so as to make an inclined plane up and down to the -mine. - -On looking at the accompanying plan the reader will see that the ground -was originally divided into 801 claims with some few double numbers to -claims at the east end of the mine;--but in truth nearly half of those -have never been of value, consisting entirely of reef, the -diamondiferous matter, the extent of which has now been ascertained, not -having travelled so far. There are in truth 408 existing claims. The -plan, which shews the locality of each claim as divided whether of worth -or of no worth, shews also the rate at which they are all valued for -purposes of taxation. To ascertain the rated value the reader must take -any one of the sums given in red figures and multiply it by the number -of subdivisions in the compartment to which those figures are attached. -For instance at the west end is the lowest figure,--£100, and as there -are 37 marked claims in this compartment, the rated value of the -compartment is £3,700. This is the poorest side of the mine and probably -but few of the claims thus marked are worked at all. The richest side -of the mine is towards the south, where in one compartment there are 12 -claims each rated at £5,500, so that the whole compartment is supposed -to be worth £66,000. The selling value is however much higher than that -at which the claims are rated for the purpose of taxation. - -But though there are but 408 claims there are subdivisions in regard to -property very much more minute. There are shares held by individuals as -small as one-sixteenth of a claim. The total property is in fact divided -into 514 portions, the amount of which of course varies extremely. Every -master miner pays 10s. a month to the Government for the privilege of -working whether he own a claim or only a portion of a claim. In working -this the number of men employed differs very much from time to time. -When I was there the mine was very full, and there were probably almost -4,000 men in it and as many more employed above on the stuff. When the -“blue” has come up and been deposited in the great wooden boxes at the -top it is then lowered by its own weight into carts, and carried off to -the “ground” of the proprietor. Every diamond digger is obliged to have -a space of ground somewhere round the town,--as near his whim as he can -get it,--to which his stuff is carted and then laid out to crumble and -decompose. This may occupy weeks, but the time depends on what may be -the fall of rain. If there be no rain, it must be watered,--at a very -considerable expense. It is then brought to the washing, and is first -put into a round puddling trough where it is broken up and converted -into mud by stationary rakes which work upon the stuff as the trough -goes round. The stones of course fall to the bottom, and as diamonds -are the heaviest of stones they fall with the others. The mud is -examined and thrown away,--and then the stones are washed, and rewashed, -and sifted, and examined. The greater number of diamonds are found -during this operation;--but the large gems and those therefore of by far -the greatest value are generally discovered while the stuff is being -knocked about and put into the buckets in the mine. - -It need hardly be said that in such an operation as I have described the -greatest care is necessary to prevent stealing and that no care will -prevent it. The Kafirs are the great thieves,--to such an extent of -superexcellence that white superintendence is spoken of as being the -only safeguard. The honesty of the white man may perhaps be indifferent, -but such as it is it has to be used at every point to prevent, as far as -it may be prevented, the systematized stealing in which the Kafirs take -an individual and national pride. The Kafirs are not only most willing -but most astute thieves, feeling a glory in their theft and thinking -that every stone stolen from a white man is a duty done to their Chief -and their tribe. I think it may be taken as certain that no Kafir would -feel the slightest pang of conscience at stealing a diamond, or that any -disgrace would be held to attach to him among other Kafirs for such a -performance. They come to the Fields instructed by their Chiefs to steal -diamonds and they obey the orders like loyal subjects. Many of the Kafir -Chiefs are said to have large quantities of diamonds which have been -brought to them by their men returning from the diggings;--but most of -those which are stolen no doubt find their way into the hands of -illicit dealers. I have been told that the thefts perpetrated by the -Kafirs amount to 25 per cent. on the total amount found;--but this I do -not believe. - -The opportunities for stealing are of hourly occurrence and are of such -a nature as to make prevention impossible. These men are sharpsighted as -birds and know and see a diamond much quicker than a white man. They -will pick up stones with their toes and secrete them even under the eyes -of those who are watching them. I was told that a man will so hide a -diamond in his mouth that no examination will force him to disclose it. -They are punished when discovered with lashes and imprisonment,--in -accordance with the law on the matter. No employer is now allowed to -flog his man at his own pleasure. And the white men who buy diamonds -from Kafirs are also punished when convicted, by fine and imprisonment -for the simple offence of buying from a Kafir; but with flogging also if -convicted of having instigated a Kafir to steal. Nevertheless a -lucrative business of this nature is carried on, and the Kafirs know -well where to dispose of their plunder though of course but for a small -proportion of its value. - -Ten shillings a week and their food were the regular wages here as -elsewhere. This I found to be very fluctuating, but the money paid had -rarely gone lower for any considerable number of men than the -above-named rate. The lowest amount paid has been 7s. 6d. a week. -Sometimes it had been as high as 20s. and even 30s. a week. A good deal -of the work is supplied by contract, certain middlemen undertaking to -provide men with all expenses paid at £1 a week. When mealies have -become dear from drought,--there being no grass for oxen on the -route,--no money can be made in this way. Such was the case when I was -in Griqualand West. It is stated by Mr. Oats, an engineer, in his -evidence given to the Committee on the Griqualand West Annexation Bill, -in June 1877--that the annual amount of wages paid at Kimberley had -varied from £600,000 to £1,600,000 a year. Nearly the whole of this had -gone into the hands of the Kafirs. - -Perhaps the most interesting sight at the mine is the escaping of the -men from their labour at six o’clock. Then, at the sound of some -welcomed gong, they begin to swarm up the sides close at each other’s -heels apparently altogether indifferent as to whether there be a path or -no. They come as flies come up a wall, only capering as flies never -caper,--and shouting as they come. In endless strings, as ants follow -each other, they move, passing along ways which seem to offer no hold to -a human foot. Then it is that one can best observe their costume in -which a jacket is never absent but of which a pair of trowsers rarely -forms a portion. A soldier’s red jacket or a soldier’s blue jacket has -more charms than any other vestment. They seem always to be good -humoured, always well-behaved,--but then they are always thieves. And -yet how grand a thing it is that so large a number of these men should -have been brought in so short a space of time to the habit of receiving -wages and to the capacity of bargaining as to the wages for which they -will work. I shall not, however, think it so grand a thing if any one -addresses them as the free and independent electors of Kimberley before -they have got trowsers to cover their nakedness. - -I must add also that a visitor to Kimberley should if possible take an -opportunity of looking down upon the mine by moonlight. It is a weird -and wonderful sight, and may almost be called sublime in its peculiar -strangeness. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -KIMBERLEY. - - -Having described the diamond mines in the Kimberley district I must say -a word about the town of Kimberley to which the mines have given birth. -The total population as given by a census taken in 1877 was 13,590, -shewing the town to be the second largest in South Africa. By joining to -this Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein which are in fact suburbs of -Kimberley we get a total urban population of about 18,000. Of these -nearly 10,000 are coloured, and something over 8,000 are Europeans. -Among the Europeans two-fifths are females, and of course there is the -ordinary population of children--with the coloured people the females -are about 1 to 7. Of the adult male population two-thirds are of -coloured races,--Kafirs for the most part,--and one-third is European. -At present both the one and the other are a shifting people;--but the -Kafirs shift much the quickest. Each man remains generally only six or -eight months on the Fields and then returns home to his tribe. This mode -of life, however, is already somewhat on the decrease, and as the love -of making money grows, and as tribal reverence for the Chieftains dies -out, the men will learn to remain more constantly at their work. Unless -the diamonds come to an end all together,--which one cannot but always -feel to be possible,--the place will become a large town with a settled -Kafir population which will fall gradually into civilized ways of life. -There is no other place in South Africa where this has been done, or for -many years can be done to the same extent. I mention this here because -it seems to be so essentially necessary to remember that South Africa is -a land not of white but of black men, and that the progress to be most -desired is that which will quickest induce the Kafir to put off his -savagery and live after the manner of his white brethren. - -Throughout the whole country which the English and the Dutch between -them have occupied as their own, the Kafirs are the superiors in numbers -in much greater proportion than that stated above in reference to the -town of Kimberley;--but these numbers are to be found, not in towns, but -out in their own hitherto untouched districts, where they live -altogether after their old ways, where the Kafirs of to-day are as were -the Kafirs of fifty years ago. And even with those who have come under -our dominion and who live to some degree intermixed with us, the greater -proportion still follow their old customs of which idleness and -dependence on the work of women for what is absolutely necessary to -existence, may be said to be the most prominent. The work of civilizing -as it has been carried out by simple philanthropy or by religion is -terribly slow. One is tempted sometimes to say that nothing is done by -religion and very little by philanthropy. But love of money works very -fast. In Griqualand West, especially in the Diamond Fields, and above -all at Kimberley, it is not only out in the wilds, by the river sides, -on the veld, and in their own kraals, that the black men outnumber the -white; but in the streets of the city also and in the work shops of the -mine. And here they are brought together not by the spasmodic energy of -missionaries or by the unalluring attraction of schools but by the -certainty of earning wages. The seeker after diamonds is determined to -have them because the making of his fortune depends upon them; and the -Kafir himself is determined to come to Kimberley because he has learned -the loveliness of 10s. a week paid regularly into his hand every -Saturday night. - -Who can doubt but that work is the great civilizer of the world,--work -and the growing desire for those good things which work only will bring? -If there be one who does he should come here to see how those dusky -troops of labourers, who ten years since were living in the wildest -state of unalloyed savagery, whose only occupation was the slaughter of -each other in tribal wars, each of whom was the slave of his Chief, who -were subject to the dominion of most brutalizing and cruel -superstitions, have already put themselves on the path towards -civilization. They are thieves no doubt;--that is they steal diamonds -though not often other things. They are not Christians. They do not yet -care much about breeches. They do not go to school. But they are -orderly. They come to work at six in the morning and go away at six in -the evening. They have an hour in the middle of the day, and know that -they have to work during the other hours. They take their meals -regularly and, what is the best of all, they are learning to spend -their money instead of carrying it back to their Chiefs. - -Civilization can not come at once. The coming I fear under any -circumstances must be slow. But this is the quickest way towards it that -has yet been found. The simple teaching of religion has never brought -large numbers of Natives to live in European habits; but I have no doubt -that European habits will bring about religion. The black man when he -lives with the white man and works under the white man’s guidance will -learn to believe really what the white man really believes himself. -Surely we should not expect him to go faster. But the missionary has -endeavoured to gratify his own soul by making here and there a model -Christian before the pupil has been able to understand any of the -purposes of Christianity. I have not myself seen the model Christian -perfected; but when I have looked down into the Kimberley mine and seen -three or four thousand of them at work,--although each of them would -willingly have stolen a diamond if the occasion came,--I have felt that -I was looking at three or four thousand growing Christians. - -Because of this I regard Kimberley as one of the most interesting places -on the face of the earth. I know no other spot on which the work of -civilizing a Savage is being carried on with so signal a success. The -Savages whom we have encountered in our great task of populating the -world have for the most part eluded our grasp by perishing while we have -been considering how we might best deal with them. Here, in South -Africa, a healthy nation remains and assures us by its prolific -tendency that when protected from self-destruction by our fostering care -it will spread and increase beneath our hands. But what was to be done -with these people? Having found that they do not mean to die, by what -means might we instruct them how to live? Teach them to sing hymns, and -all will be well. That is one receipt. Turn them into slaves, and make -them work. That is another receipt. Divide the land with them, and let -them live after their own fashions;--only subject to some little control -from us. That was a third. The hymns have done nothing. The slavery was -of course impossible. And that division of land has been, perhaps not -equally futile, but insufficient for the growing needs of the -people;--insufficient also for our own needs. Though we abuse the Kafir -we want his service, and we want more than our share of his land. But -that which no effort of intelligence could produce has been brought -about by circumstances. The Diamond Fields have been discovered and now -there are ten thousand of these people receiving regular wages and quite -capable of rushing to a magistrate for protection if they be paid a -shilling short on Saturday night. - -This the diamonds have done, and it is the great thing which they have -done. We have fair reason to believe that other similar industries will -arise. There are already copper mines at work in Namaqualand, on the -western coast of South Africa, in which the Natives are employed, and -lead mines in the Transvaal. There are gold fields in the Transvaal at -which little is now being done, because the difficulties of working them -are at present overwhelming. But as years roll quickly on these, too, -will become hives of coloured labour, and in this way Kimberleys will -arise in various parts of the continent. - -I cannot say that Kimberley is in other respects an alluring -town;--perhaps as little so as any town that I have ever visited. There -are places to which men are attracted by the desire of gain which seem -to be so repulsive that no gain can compensate the miseries incidental -to such an habitation. I have seen more than one such place and have -wondered that under any inducement men should submit themselves, their -wives and children to such an existence. I remember well my impressions -on reaching Charles Dickens’ Eden at the junction of the Ohio and -Mississippi rivers and my surprise that any human being should have -pitched his tent in a place so unwholesome and so hideous. I have found -Englishmen collected on the Musquito Coast, a wretched crew; and having -been called on by untoward Fate and a cruel Government to remain a week -at Suez have been driven to consider whether life would have been -possible there for a month. During my sojourn at Kimberley, though I was -the recipient of the kindest hospitality and met two or three whom I -shall ever remember among the pleasant acquaintances of my life,--yet -the place itself was distasteful to me in the extreme. When I was there -the heat was very great, the thermometer registering 160 in the sun, and -97 in the shade. I was not absolutely ill, but I was so nearly ill that -I was in fear the whole time. Perhaps having been in such personal -discomfort, I am not a fair judge of the place. But an atmosphere -composed of dust and flies cannot be pleasant,--of dust so thick that -the sufferer fears to remove it lest the raising of it may aggravate the -evil, and of flies so numerous that one hardly dares to slaughter them -by the ordinary means lest their dead bodies should be noisome. When a -gust of wind would bring the dust in a cloud hiding everything, a cloud -so thick that it would seem that the solid surface of the earth had -risen diluted into the air, and when flies had rendered occupation -altogether impossible, I would be told, when complaining, that I ought -to be there, in December say, or February,--at some other time of the -year than that then present,--if I really wanted to see what flies and -dust could do. I sometimes thought that the people of Kimberley were -proud of their flies and their dust. - -And the meat was bad, the butter uneatable, vegetables a -rarity,--supplied indeed at the table at which I sat but supplied at a -great cost. Milk and potatoes were luxuries so costly that one sinned -almost in using them. A man walking about with his pocket full of -diamonds would not perhaps care for this; but even at Kimberley there -are those who have fixed incomes,--an unfortunate Deputy Governor or the -like,--to whom sugar at 2s. 6d. a pound and other equally necessary -articles in the same proportion, must detract much from the honour and -glory of the position. When I was there “transport,” no doubt, was -unusually high. Indeed, as I arrived, there were muttered threats that -“transport” would be discontinued altogether unless rain would come. For -the understanding of this it must be known that almost everything -consumed at Kimberley has to be carried up from the coast, five hundred -miles, by ox-waggons, and that the oxen have to feed themselves on the -grasses along the road. When there has been a period of drought there -are no grasses, and when there are no grasses the oxen will die instead -of making progress. Periods of drought are by no means uncommon in South -Africa. When I was at Kimberley there had been a period of drought for -many months. There had, indeed, been no rain to speak of for more than a -year. As one consequence of this the grocers were charging 2s. 6d. a -pound for brown sugar. Even the chance of such a state of things -militates very much against the comfort of a residence. - -I do not think that there is a tree to be seen within five miles of the -town. When I was there I doubt whether there was a blade of grass within -twenty miles, unless what might be found on the very marge of the low -water of the Vaal river. Every thing was brown, as though the dusty dry -uncovered ugly earth never knew the blessing of verdure. To ascertain -that the roots of grass were remaining one had to search the ground. -There is to be a park; and irrigation has been proposed so that the park -may become green;--but the park had not as yet progressed beyond the -customary brown. In all Kimberley and its surroundings there was nothing -pretty to meet the eye;--except, indeed, women’s faces which were as -bright there as elsewhere. It was a matter of infinite regret to me that -faces so bright should be made to look out on a world so ugly. - -The town is built of corrugated iron. My general readers will probably -not have seen many edifices so constructed. But even in England -corrugated iron churches have been erected, when the means necessary for -stone buildings have been temporarily wanting; and I think I have seen -the studios of photographers made of the same material. It is probably -the most hideous that has yet come to man’s hands;--but it is the most -portable and therefore in many localities the cheapest,--in some -localities the only material possible. It is difficult to conceive the -existence of a town in which every plank used has had to be dragged five -hundred miles by oxen; but such has been the case at Kimberley. Nor can -bricks be made which will stand the weather because bricks require to be -burned and cannot well be burned without fuel. Fuel at Kimberley is so -expensive a luxury that two thoughts have to be given to the boiling of -a kettle. Sun-burned bricks are used and form the walls of which the -corrugated iron is the inside casing; but sun-burned bricks will not -stand the weather and can only be used when they are cased. Lath and -plaster for ceilings there is little or none. The rooms are generally -covered with canvas which can be easily carried. But a canvas ceiling -does not remain long clean, or even rectilinear. The invincible dust -settles upon it and bulges it, and the stain of the dust comes through -it. Wooden floors are absolutely necessary for comfort and cleanliness; -but at Kimberley it will cost £40 to floor a moderate room. The -consequence is that even people who are doing well with their diamonds -live in comfortless houses, always meaning to pack up and run after this -year, or next year, or perhaps the year after next. But if they have -done ill with their diamonds they remain till they may do better; and -if they have done well then there falls upon them the Auri sacra fames. -When £30,000 have been so easily heaped together why not have -£60,000;--and when £60,000 why not £100,000? And then why spend money -largely in this state of trial, in a condition which is not intended to -be prolonged,--but which is prolonged from year to year by the desire -for more? Why try to enjoy life here, this wretched life, when so soon -there is a life coming which is to be so infinitely better? Such is -often the theory of the enthusiastic Christian,--not however often -carried out to its logical conclusions. At such a place as Kimberley the -theory becomes more lively; but the good time is postponed till the -capacity for enjoying it is too probably lost. - -The town of Kimberley is chiefly notable for a large square,--as large -perhaps as Russell Square. One or two of the inhabitants asked me -whether I was not impressed by the grandeur of its dimensions so as to -feel that there was something of sublimity attached to it! “I thought it -very ugly at first,” said one lady who had been brought out from England -to make her residence among the diamonds;--“but I have looked at it now -till I have to own its magnificence.” I could not but say that -corrugated iron would never become magnificent in my eyes. In Kimberley -there are two buildings with a storey above the ground, and one of these -is in the square. This is its only magnificence. There is no pavement. -The roadway is all dust and holes. There is a market place in the midst -which certainly is not magnificent. Around are the corrugated iron shops -of the ordinary dealers in provisions. An uglier place I do not know -how to imagine. When I was called upon to admire it, I was lost in -wonder; but acknowledged that it was well that necessity should produce -such results. - -I think that none of the diamond dealers live in the square. The various -diamond shops to which I was taken were near the mine, or in the streets -leading down from the mine to the square. These were little counting -houses in which the dealers would sit, generally two together, loosely -handling property worth many thousands of pounds. I was taken to them to -see diamonds, and saw diamonds without stint. It seemed that one partner -would buy while another would sort and pack. Parcel after parcel was -opened for me with almost as little reserve as was exhibited when -Lothair asked for pearls. Lothair was an expected purchaser; while the -diamond dealer knew that nothing was to be made by me. I could not but -think how easy it would be to put just one big one into my pocket. The -dealers, probably, were careful that I did nothing of the kind. The -stones were packed in paper parcels, each parcel containing perhaps from -fifty to two hundred according to their size. Then four or five of these -parcels would be fitted into a paper box,--which would again be enclosed -in a paper envelope. Without other safeguard than this the parcels are -registered and sent by post, to London, Paris, or Amsterdam as the case -may be. By far the greater number go to London. The mails containing -these diamonds then travel for six days and six nights on mail carts to -Capetown,--for four-fifths of the way without any guard, and very -frequently with no one on the mail cart except the black boy who drives -it. The cart travels day and night along desolate roads and is often -many miles distant from the nearest habitation. Why the mails are not -robbed I cannot tell. The diamond dealers say that the robber could not -get away with his plunder, and would find no market for it were he to do -so. They, however, secure themselves by some system of insurance. I -cannot but think that the insurers, or underwriters, will some day find -themselves subjected to a heavy loss. A great robbery might be effected -by two persons, and the goods which would be so stolen are of all -property the most portable. Thieves with a capital,--and thieves in -these days do have capital,--might afford to wait, and diamonds in the -rough can not be traced. I should have thought that property of such -immense value would have paid for an armed escort. The gold in -Australia, which is much less portable, is always accompanied by an -escort.[9] - -I was soon sick of looking at diamonds though the idea of holding ten or -twenty thousand pounds lightly between my fingers did not quite lose its -charm. I was however disgusted at the terms of reproach with which most -of the diamonds were described by their owners. Many of them were “off -colours,” stones of a yellowish hue and therefore of comparatively -little value, or stones with a flaw, stones which would split in the -cutting, stones which could not be cut to any advantage. There were -very many evil stones to one that was good, so that nature after all did -not appear to have been as generous as she might have been. And these -dealers when the stones are brought to them for purchase, have no -certain standard of value by which to regulate their transactions with -their customers. The man behind the counter will take the stones, one by -one, examine them, weigh them, and then make his offer for the parcel. -Dealing in horses is precarious work,--when there is often little to -shew whether an animal be worth £50, or £100, or £150. But with diamonds -it must be much more so. A dealer offers £500 when the buyer has perhaps -expected £2,000! And yet the dealer is probably nearest to the mark. The -diamonds at any rate are bought and sold, and are sent away by post at -the rate of about £2,000,000 in the year. In 1876 the registered export -of diamonds from Kimberley amounted in value to £1,414,590, and reached -773 pounds avoirdupois in weight. But it is computed that not above -three quarters of what are sent from the place are recorded in the -accounts that are kept. There is no law to make such record necessary. -Any one who has become legally possessed of a diamond may legally take -it or send it away as he pleases. - -The diamond dealers whom I saw were the honest men, who keep their heads -well above water, and live in the odour of diamond sanctity, dealing -only with licensed diggers and loving the law. But there are diamond -dealers who buy from the Kafirs,--or from intermediate rogues who -instigate the Kafirs to steal. These are regarded as the curse of the -place, and, as may be understood, their existence is most injurious to -the interests of all who traffic honestly in this article. The law is -very severe on them, imprisoning them, and subjecting them to lashes if -in any case it can be proved that a delinquent has instigated a Kafir to -steal. One such dealer I saw in the Kimberley gaol, a good-looking young -man who had to pass I think two years in durance among black thieves and -white thieves because he had bought dishonestly. I pitied him because he -was clean. But I ought to have pitied him the less because having been -brought up to be clean he, nevertheless, had become a rogue. - -Next to diamond dealing the selling of guns used to be the great trade -in Kimberley, the purchasers being Kafirs who thus disposed of their -surplus wages. But when I was there the trade seemed to have come to an -end, the Kafirs, I trust, having found that they could do better with -their money than buy guns,--which they seldom use with much precision -when they have them. There was once a whole street devoted to this -dealing in guns, but the gun shops had been converted to other purposes -when I was there. Great complaint had been made against the Government -of Griqualand West for permitting the unreserved sale of guns to the -Kafirs, and attempts have been made by the two Republics--of the -Transvaal and the Orange Free State--to stop the return of men when so -armed. The guns were taken away from those who had not a pass, and such -passes were rarely given. Now they may travel through the Transvaal with -any number of guns, as the British authorities do not stop them. Why it -has come to pass that the purchases are no longer made I do not -understand. Whether the trade should or should not have been stopped I -am not prepared to say. We have not hesitated to prevent the possession -of arms in Ireland when we have thought that the peace of the country -might be endangered by them. I do not think that the peace of South -Africa has been endangered by the guns which the Kafirs have owned, or -that guns in the hands of Kafirs have been very fatal to us in the still -existing disturbance. But yet the Kafirs are very numerous and the white -men are comparatively but a handful! I would have a Kafir as free to -shoot a buck as a white man. And yet I feel that the Kafir must be kept -in subjection. The evil, if it be an evil, has now been done, for guns -are very numerous among the Kafirs. - -There can hardly be a doubt that Kimberley and the diamond fields have -been of great service to the black men who obtain work. No doubt they -are thieves,--as regards the diamonds,--but their thievery will -gradually be got under by the usual processes. To argue against -providing work for a Kafir because a Kafir may steal is the same as to -say that housemaids should not be taught to write lest they should learn -to forge. That argument has been used, but does not now require -refutation. And there can be as little doubt that the finding of -diamonds has in a commercial point of view been the salvation of South -Africa. The Orange Free State, of which “The Fields” at first formed a -part, and which is closely adjacent to them, has been so strengthened by -the trade thus created as to be now capable of a successful and -permanent existence,--a condition of things which I think no observer -of South African affairs would have considered to be possible had not -Kimberley with its eighteen thousand much-consuming mouths been -established on its border. As regards the Cape Colony generally, if -quite the same thing need not be said, it must be acknowledged that its -present comparative success is due almost entirely to the diamonds,--or -rather to the commercial prosperity caused by the consumption in which -diamond finders and their satellites have been enabled to indulge. The -Custom duties of the Cape Colony in 1869, before the diamond industry -existed, were less than £300,000.[10] In 1875 that sum had been very -much more than doubled. And it must be remembered that this rapid -increase did not come from any great increase of numbers. The -diamond-digging brought in a few white men no doubt, but only a few in -comparison with the increase in revenue. There are but 8,000 Europeans -in the diamond fields altogether. Had they all been new comers this -would have been no great increase to a population which now exceeds -700,000 persons. The sudden influx of national wealth has come from the -capability for consumption created by the new industry. White men -looking for diamonds can drink champagne. Black men looking for diamonds -can buy clothes and guns and food. It is not the wealth found which -directly enriches the nation, but the trade created by the finding. It -was the same with the gold in Australia. Of the national benefit arising -from the diamonds there can be no doubt. Whether they have been equally -beneficial to those who have searched for them and found them may be a -matter of question. - -What fortunes have been made in this pursuit no one can tell. If they -have been great I have not heard of them. There can be no doubt that -many have ruined themselves by fruitless labours, and that others who -have suddenly enriched themselves have been unable to bear their -prosperity with equanimity. The effect of a valuable diamond upon a -digger who had been working perhaps a month for nothing was in the early -days almost maddening. Now, as with gold in Australia, the pursuit has -settled itself down to a fixed industry. Companies have been formed. -Individuals are not suddenly enriched by the sudden finding of a stone. -Dividends are divided monthly and there is something approaching to a -fixed rate of finding from this claim or from that, from this side of -the mine or from the other. There is less of excitement and consequently -less of evil. Men are no longer prone to the gambler’s condition of mind -which induces an individual to think that he,--he specially,--will win -in opposition to all established odds and chances, and prompts him to -anticipate his winning by lavish expenditure,--to waste it when it does -come by such puerile recourses as shoeing a horse with gold or drinking -champagne out of a bucket. The searching for gold and diamonds has -always had this danger attached to it,--that the money when it has come -has too frequently not been endeared to the finder by hard continuous -work. It has been “easy come and easy gone.” This to some degree is -still the case. There is at Kimberley much more of gambling, much more -of champagne, much more of the rowdy exhilaration coming from sudden -money, than at older towns of the same or much greater population, or of -the same or much greater wealth. But the trade of Kimberley is now a -settled industry and as such may be presumed to be beneficent to those -who exercise it. - -Nevertheless there is a stain sticking to the diamonds,--such a stain as -sticks to gold, which tempts one to repeat the poet’s caution:-- - - Aurum irrepertum, et sio melius situm - Cum terra celat, spernere fortior, - Quam cogere humanos in usus. - -It would be untrue to say that he who works to ornament the world is -necessarily less noble than the other workman who supplies it with what -is simply useful. The designer of a room-paper ranks above the man who -hangs it,--and the artist whose picture decorates the wall is much above -the designer of the paper. Why therefore should not the man who finds -diamonds be above the man who finds bread? And yet I feel sure that he -is not. It is not only the thing procured but the manner of procuring it -that makes or mars the nobility of the work. If there be an employment -in which the labourer has actually to grovel in the earth it is this -search for diamonds. There is much of it in gold-seeking, but in the -search after diamonds it is all grovelling. Let the man rise as high as -he may in the calling, be the head of the biggest firm at Kimberley, -still he stands by and sees the grit turned,--still he picks out the -diamonds from the other dirt with his own fingers, and carries his -produce about with him in his own pocket. If a man be working a coal -mine, though he be himself the hardest worked as well as the head -workman in the business, he is removed from actual contact with the -coal. But here, at Kimberley, sharp prying eyes are wanted, rather than -an intelligence fitted for calculations, and patience in manipulating -dirt than skill in managing men or figures. - -And the feeling engendered,--the constant recollection that a diamond -may always be found,--is carried so far that the mind never rests from -business. The diamond-seeker cannot get out of his task and take himself -calmly to his literature at 4 P.M. or 5 or 6. This feeling runs through -even to his wife and children, teaching them that dirt thrice turned may -yet be turned a fourth time with some hope of profit. Consequently -ladies, and children, do turn dirt instead of making pretty needle-work -or wholesome mud pies. When I heard of so much a dozen being given to -young bairns for the smallest specks of diamonds, specks which their -young eyes might possibly discover, my heart was bitterly grieved. How -shall a child shake off a stain which has been so early incurred? And -when ladies have told me, as ladies did tell me,--pretty clever -well-dressed women,--of hours so passed, of day after day spent in the -turning of dust by their own fingers because there might still be -diamonds among the dust, I thought that I could almost sooner have seen -my own wife or my own girl with a broom at a street crossing. - -There is not so much of this now as there was, and as years roll on,--if -the diamonds still be to be found,--there will be less and less. If the -diamonds still be there in twenty years’ time,--as to which I altogether -decline to give my opinion,--a railway will have been carried on to -Kimberley, and planks will have been carried up, and perhaps bricks from -some more favoured locality, and possibly paving stones, so that the -town shall be made to look less rowdy and less abominable. And pipes -will be laid on from the Vaal river, and there will be water carts. And -with the dust the flies will go into abeyance. And trees will have been -planted. And fresh butter will be made. And there will be a library and -men will have books. And houses will have become pleasant, so that a -merchant may love to sit at home in his own verandah,--which he will -then afford to have broad and cool and floored. And as the nice things -come the nasty habits will sink. The ladies will live far away from the -grit, and small diamonds will have become too common to make it worth -the parents’ while to endanger their children’s eyes. Some mode of -checking the Kafir thieves will perhaps have been found,--and the -industry will have sunk into the usual grooves. Nothing, however, will -tend so much to this as the lessening of the value of diamonds. The -stone is at present so precious that a man’s mind cannot bear to think -that one should escape him. - -I should be doing injustice to Kimberley and to those who have managed -Kimberley if I did not say that very great struggles have been made to -provide it with those institutions which are peculiarly needed for the -welfare of an assembled population. Churches are provided -plentifully,--at one of which, at any rate, sermons are to be heard much -in advance of those which I may call the sermon at sermon par. I could -have wished however that the clergymen who preached them had not worn a -green ribbon. And there are hospitals, which have caused infinite labour -and are now successful;--especially one which is nearly self-supporting -and is managed exquisitely by one of those ladies who go out into the -world to do good wherever good may be done. I felt as I spoke to her -that I was speaking to one of the sweet ones of the earth. To bind up a -man’s wounds, or to search for diamonds among the dirt! There is a wide -difference there certainly. - -I could have wished that the prison had been better,--that is more -prisonly,--with separate rooms for instance for those awaiting trial and -those committed. But all this will be done within those twenty next -coming years. And I know well how difficult it is to get money to set -such things afloat in a young community. - - - - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE.--ITS EARLY HISTORY. - - -The history of the origin of the Orange Free State, as a certain -district of South Africa is called, is one which when really written -will not I think redound to the credit of England. This I say not -intending to accuse any British statesman of injustice,--much less of -dishonesty. In all that has been done by the Colonial office in -reference to the territory in question the attempt to do right has from -first to last been only too anxious and painstaking. But as is generally -the case when over anxiety exists in lieu of assured conviction, the -right course has not been plainly seen, and the wrong thing has been -done and done, perhaps, in a wrong manner. - -Our system of government by Cabinets is peculiarly open to such mistakes -in reference to Colonial matters. At the Foreign office, as is well -known, there is a prescribed course of things and whether Lord Granville -be there or Lord Derby the advice given will probably be the same. At -the Home office the same course is followed whether the gentleman there -be a Liberal or a Conservative, and if one dispenser of the Queen’s -prerogative be more prone than another to allow criminals to escape, the -course of Government is not impeded by his proclivities. But in looking -back at the history of the Colonies during the last fifty years we see -the idiosyncrasies of the individual ministers who have held the office -of Secretary of State rather than a settled course of British action, -and we are made to feel how suddenly the policy of one minister may be -made to give way to the conscientious convictions of another. Hence -there have come changes each of which may be evidence of dogged -obstinacy in the mind of some much respected Statesman, but which seem -to be proof of vacillation in the nation. - -It would be thought that a colonizing nation like Great Britain,--now -the only colonizing nation in existence,--should have a policy of -colonization. The Americans of the United States have such a policy, -though they do not colonize in our sense. They will not colonize at all -beyond their own continent, so that all the citizens of their Republic -may be brought into one homogeneous whole. The Spaniards and Dutch who -have been great Colonists have a colonial policy,--which has ever -consisted in getting what can be got for the mother country. Among -ourselves, with all that we have done and all that we are doing, we do -not yet know whether it is our intention to limit or to extend our -colonial empire; we do not yet know whether we purpose to occupy other -lands or to protect in their occupation those who now hold them; we do -not yet know whether as a nation we wish our colonial dependants to -remain always loyal to the British Crown or whether we desire to see -them start for themselves as independent realms. All we do know is that -with that general philanthropy and honesty without which a British -Cabinet cannot now exist we want to do good and to avoid doing evil. But -when we look back, and, taking even three liberal Colonial Secretaries, -see the difference of opinion on colonial matters of such men as Lord -Glenelg, Lord Grey, and Lord Granville, we have to own that our colonial -policy must vacillate. - -Are we to extend or are we not to extend our colonial empire? That was a -question on which some years ago it did seem that our Statesmen had come -to a decision. The task we had taken upon us was thought to be already -more than enough for our strength, and we would not stretch our hands -any further. If it might be practicable to get rid of some of the least -useful of our operations it would be well to do so. That dream of a -settled purpose has, however, been very rudely broken. The dreamers have -never been able to act upon it as a policy. It will not be necessary to -do more than name the Fiji Islands,--not the last but one of the last of -our costly acquirements,--to show how unable the Colonial office at home -has been to say, “so far will we go but no farther.” Had the Colonial -office recognised it as a policy that wherever Englishmen settle -themselves in sufficient numbers to make a disturbance if they be not -governed, then government must go after them, then the Fiji Islands -might have been accepted as a necessity. But there is no such policy -even yet;--though the annexation of the Transvaal will go far to -convince men that such must be our practice. - -It is because of our vacillation in South Africa,--vacillation which has -come from the varying convictions of varying Ministers and -Governors,--that I say that the history of the Orange Free State will -not be creditable to our discernment and statesmanship. Much heavier -accusations have been brought against our Colonial office in reference -to the same territory by Dutch, American, and by English censors. It has -been said that we have been treacherous, tyrannical, and dishonest. To -none of these charges do I think that the Colonial office is fairly -subject; and though I cannot acquit every Governor of craft,--or perhaps -of tyranny,--I think that there has on the whole been an anxious desire -on the part of the emissaries from Downing Street to do their duty to -their country. But there has been a want of settled purpose as to the -nature and extent of the duties which fell upon England when she became -mistress of the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. - -There are some who think that we might have confined ourselves to Table -Mountain and Simon’s Bay, drawing a rampart across the isthmus which -divides the Cape from the mainland,--so as to have kept only a station -for the protection of our East India intercourse. But as the Dutch whom -we took upon ourselves to govern had already gone far inland when we -arrived, that would hardly have been possible, and a restriction so -selfish would have been contrary to our instincts. Others would have -limited our power at various boundaries,--especially towards the East, -where were the Kafir tribes, an evident source of coming trouble, should -we meddle with them. The Orange river as a northern boundary did seem to -offer a well-defined geographical limit, which would still allow us -enormous scope for agricultural and pastoral energy within its southern -banks and give sufficient room for every immigrant of whatever nation, -and for every Africander who wished to live under British rule, to find -a home within its borders. - -But, as has been told before, the Dutch fled away across the Orange -river as soon as they began to feel the nature of British rule. Then -arose the question, which we have never yet been quite able to answer. -When they went was it our duty to go after them,--not to hinder them -from going but to govern them whither they went? Certainly not; we said, -when they went only in such numbers as to cause us no disturbance by -their removal. But how was it to be when they threatened, without any -consent of ours, to erect a separate nationality on our borders? They -tried it first in Natal, threatening us not only with the rivalry of -their own proposed Republic, but with the hostile support of Holland. -This was not to be allowed and we sent 250 men, very insufficiently, to -put down the New Republic. We did, however, put it down at last. - -But the Dutch were determined to go out from us. Our ways were not their -ways. I am now speaking of a period nearly half a century back and of -the following quarter of a century. Our philanthropy disgusted them, and -was to their minds absolutely illogical,--not to be reconciled to that -custom of our nation of landing here and there and taking the land away -from the natives. The custom to them was good enough and seemed to be -clearly the intention of God Almighty. It was the purpose of Providence -that white men should use the land which was only wasted while in the -possession of black men;--and, no doubt, the purpose of Providence also -that black men should be made to work. But that attempt to strike down -the Native with the right hand and to salve the wound with the left was -to the Dutchman simply hypocritical. “Catch the nigger and make him -work.” That was the Dutchman’s idea. “Certainly;--if you can agree about -wages and other such matters,” said the British Authorities. -“Wages,--with this Savage; with this something more but very little more -than a monkey! Feed him, and perhaps baptize him; but at any rate get -work out of him,” said the Dutchman. Of course the Dutchman was -disgusted. And then the slaves had been manumitted. I will not go into -all that again; but I think it must be intelligible that the British -philanthropical system of government was an hypocritical abomination to -the Dutchman who knew very well that in spite of his philanthropy the -Englishman still kept taking the land;--land upon land. - -It was natural that the Dutchman should go across the Orange River, and -natural too that the English governor should not quite know how to treat -him when he had gone. But it would have been well if some certain policy -of treatment could have been adopted. Many think that had we not -interfered with him in Natal, had we never established what was called -an Orange River Sovereignty subject to British rule, a Dutch-speaking -nation would have been formed between our Cape Colony and the swarming -native tribes, which would have been a protecting barrier for us and -have ensured the security of our Colony. I myself do not agree with -this. I think that a Dutch Republic if strong enough for this, -stretching from the confluence of the Vaal and Orange rivers down to the -shores of Natal would have been a neighbour more difficult to deal with -than Kafir tribes. My opinion on such a subject goes for very -little;--and there would at any rate have been a policy. Or, when we had -after much hesitation forbidden the Dutch to form a Republic in Natal -and had declared that country to be one among Her Majesty’s possessions, -we might have clung to the South African theory which was then -promulgated. In that case we should have recognized the necessity of -treating those wandering warlike patriarchs as British subjects and have -acknowledged to ourselves that whither they went thither we must go -after them. This, too, would have been a policy. But this we have not -done. At first we went after them. Then we abandoned them. And now that -they are altogether out of our hands in the Free State we are hankering -after them again. It is impossible not to see that the ideas as to -Colonial extension entertained by the late Duke of Newcastle are -altogether different from those held by Lord Carnarvon;--and that the -Colonial office lacks traditions. - -In some respects the history of the Orange Free State has been similar -to that of the Transvaal. Its fate has been very different,--a -difference which has resulted partly from the characters of the men -employed, partly from their external circumstances in regard to the -native tribes which have been near to them. Mr. Boshof and Mr. Brand -have been very superior as Statesmen to Mr. Pretorius and Mr. Burgers, -and the Basutos under Moshesh their Chief,--though they almost -succeeded in destroying the Orange Republic,--were at last less -dangerous, at any rate very much less numerous, than Cetywayo and the -Zulus. - -The Dutch when they first crossed the Orange River asked whether they -might go, and were then told that the law offered no impediment. “I am -not aware,” said Lieutenant Governor Stockenstrom in answer to a -deputation which appealed to him on the subject, “of any law which -prevents any of His Majesty’s subjects from leaving his dominions and -settling in another country; and such a law, if it did exist, would be -tyrannical and oppressive.” That was in 1835. It was in 1837 that the -migration across the river really began, when many of the wanderers -first found their way down to Natal. Some however settled directly -across the Orange River, where however they soon fell into difficulties -requiring government. While there was fighting with hostile tribes far -north across the Vaal, and while Dingaan was endeavouring to exterminate -the white men in Natal, the farmers across the Orange quarrelled in a -milder way with the bastard Hottentots and Griquas whom they found -there. But there were many troubles. When the Dutch declared themselves -to be supreme,--in reference to the Natives rather than the -British,--there came a British judge across the river, who happened then -to be on circuit in the neighbourhood, and told them that they were all -British subjects. But his assertion was very soon repudiated by the -Governor, Sir George Napier,--for at that time the idea was prevalent at -the Colonial office that England’s hands should be stretched no -further. This, however, did not stand long, and the next Governor, Sir -Peregrine Maitland, found himself compelled by growing troubles to -exercise authority across the rivers. He did not take possession of the -country, but established a resident at the little town of Bloemfontein. -The resident was to keep the peace between the Dutch and the various -tribes;--but had no commission to govern the country. The British had -found it impossible to allow the Dutch to drive the Natives from their -land,--and equally impossible to allow the Natives to slaughter the -Dutch. But yet we were very loth to declare the country British -territory. - -It was in 1848 that Sir Harry Smith, who was then in Natal, whither he -had gone intending if possible to conciliate the Dutch would-be -Republicans in that country, at last found himself compelled to claim -for the mother country sovereignty over the region between the Orange -and the Vaal rivers, and this proclamation he had to support by arms. -Pretorius, who had become the leader of the Dutch in Natal, and who on -account of personal slights to himself was peculiarly hostile to the -English, came over the Drakenburg mountains, and put himself at the head -of his countrymen between the rivers. He gathered together an army,--a -commando, as it was then called in South African language,--and coming -near to Bloemfontein ordered Major Warden, the British Resident, to move -himself off into the Cape Colony south of the river with all that he had -about him of soldiers and officials. This the Major did, and then -Pretorius prepared himself to encounter with his Boers the offended -majesty of Great Britain in arms. The reader will perhaps remember that -the Dutch had done the same thing in Natal,--and had at first been -successful. - -Then, on 29th August, 1848, was fought the battle of Boom Plats half-way -between the Orange River and Bloemfontein. Sir Harry Smith, the -Governor, had come himself with six or seven hundred English soldiers -and were joined by a small body of Griquas,--who were as a matter of -course hostile to the Dutch. There were collected together about a -thousand Dutch farmers all mounted. They were farmers, ready enough to -fight, but not trained soldiers. More English were killed or wounded -than Dutch. A dozen Dutchmen fell, and about four times that number of -English. But the English beat the Dutch. This decided the fate of that -territory for a short time,--and it became British under the name of the -Orange River Sovereignty. Pretorius with his friends trekked away north, -crossed the Vaal River, and there founded the Transvaal Republic,--as -has been told elsewhere. A reward of £2,000 was offered for his -apprehension;--an offer which might have been spared and which was -happily made in vain. - -Major Warden was reinstated as governing Resident, and the British power -was supposed to be so well consolidated that many colonists who had -hitherto remained contented on the south of the river now crossed it to -occupy the lands which the followers of Pretorius had been compelled to -desert. But the British were not very strong. The Basutos, a tribe of -Natives who have now for some years lived in the odour of loyal sanctity -and are supposed to be a pattern to all other Natives, harassed the -Europeans continually. War had to be proclaimed against them. Basuto -Land will be found in the map lying to the north of Kafraria, to the -south east of the Orange Free State, south west of Natal, and north-east -of the Cape Colony,--to which it is bound only by a narrow neck, and of -which it now forms a part. How it became British shall be told -hereafter;--but at the time of which I am now writing, about 1850, it -was very Anti-British, and gave poor Major Warden and the Dutchmen who -were living under his rule a great deal of trouble. - -Then, in 1851, the Sovereignty was declared to be to all intents and -purposes a separate Colony,--such as is the Transvaal at this moment. A -Lieutenant Governor was appointed, who with the assistance of a council -was empowered to make laws,--but with a proviso that such laws should -not be binding upon Natives. To speak sooth British laws are not -absolutely binding upon the Natives in any of the South African -Colonies. In the Cape Colony or in Natal a Native may buy a wife,--or -ten wives. There has always been the acknowledged impossibility of -enforcing Africans to live at once after European habits. But here, in -this new Colony which we had at last adopted, there was to be something -peculiarly mild in our dealings with the black men. There was to be no -interference with acts done within the limits of the jurisdiction of any -native Chief. The Lieutenant Governor or “Resident was instructed to -maintain the government of the native Chiefs over their people and lands -in the utmost integrity.”[11] It is odd enough that from this territory, -on which the British Governor or British Colonial Secretary of the day -was so peculiarly anxious to defend the Natives from any touch of -European tyranny, all the native tribes have been abolished, and here -alone in South Africa the European master is fettered by no native -difficulty;--is simply served by native servants. The native locations -were to be peculiarly sacred;--but every Native has been scared away. -The servants and workmen are foreigners who have come into the land in -search of wages and food. The remarkable settlement at Thaba ’Ncho, of -which I shall speak in a following chapter, is no contradiction to this -statement, as the territory of the Baralongs of which Thaba ’Ncho is the -capital is not a portion of the Orange Free State. - -But with all our philanthropy we could not make things run smoothly in -our new Colony. Moshesh and the Basutos would have grievances and would -fight. The Governor of the Cape, who should have had no trouble with a -little Colony which had a Governor of its own, and a Council, and -instructions of a peculiarly philanthropic nature in regard to the -Natives, was obliged to fight with these Basutos on behalf of the little -Colony. This cost money,--of which the people in England heard the -facts. It was really too much that after all that we had done we should -be called upon to pay more money for an uncomfortable internal Province -in South Africa which was not of the slightest use to us, which added no -prestige to our name, and of which we had struggled hard to avoid the -possession. There was nothing attractive about it. It was neither -fertile nor pretty,--nor did it possess a precious metal of any kind as -far as we knew. It was inhabited by Dutch who disliked us,--and by a -most ungrateful horde of fighting Natives. Why,--why should we be -compelled to go rushing up to the Equator, crossing river after river, -in a simple endeavour to do good, when the very people whom we wanted to -serve continually quarrelled with us,--and made us pay through the nose -for all their quarrels? - -It seems to have been forgotten then,--it seems often to have been -forgotten,--that the good people and the peaceable people have to pay -for the bad people and the quarrelsome people. There would appear to be -a hardship in this;--but if any one will look into it he will see that -after all the good people and the peaceable have much the best of it, -and that the very money which they are called upon to pay in this way is -not altogether badly invested. They obtain the blessing of security and -the feeling, not injurious to their peace of mind, of having obtained -that security by their own exertions. - -But the idea of paying money and getting nothing for it does create -irritation. At home in England the new Colony was not regarded with -favour. In 1853 we had quite enough of fighting in hand without having -to fight the Basutos in defence of the Dutch, or the Dutch in defence of -the Basutos. The Colonial Secretary of that time was also War minister -and may well have had his hands full. It was decided that the Orange -Free State should be abandoned. We had claimed the Dutch as our subjects -when they attempted to start for themselves in Natal, and had subjugated -them by force of arms. Then we had repudiated them in the nearer region -across the Orange. Then again we had claimed them and had again -subjugated them by force of arms. Now we again repudiated them. In 1854 -we executed, and forced them to accept, a convention by which we handed -over the Government of the country to them,--to be carried on after -their own fashion. But yet it was not to be carried on exactly as they -pleased. There was to be no Slavery. They were to be an independent -people, living under a Republic; but they were not to be allowed to -force labour from the Natives. To see that this stipulation was carried -out it would have been necessary for us to maintain magistrates all over -the country;--or spies rather than magistrates, as such magistrates -could have had no jurisdiction. The Republic, however, assented to a -treaty containing this clause in regard to slavery. - -In 1854 we got rid of our Orange River Sovereignty, Sir George Clerk -having been sent over from England to make the transfer;--and we -congratulated ourselves that we had now two independent Republics -between us and the swarming hordes of the north. I cannot say how soon -there came upon Downing Street a desire to resume the territory, but -during the following troubles with the Basutos such a feeling must, one -would say, have arisen. When the Diamond Fields were discovered it is -manifest that the independence of the Orange Free State was very much in -our way. When we were compelled by the run of circumstances to have -dealings with native tribes which in 1854 seemed to us to be too remote -from our borders to need thought, we must have regretted a certain -clause in the convention by which,--we did not indeed bind ourselves to -have no dealings with natives north of the Vaal river, but in which we -declared that we had no “wish or intention” to enter into such treaties. -No doubt that clause was intended to imply only that we had at that time -no hidden notion of interference with the doings of the proposed -Republic by arrangements with its native neighbours,--no notion of which -it was to be kept in the dark. To think the contrary would be to suppose -that the occupants of the Colonial Office at home were ignorant of -language and destitute of honesty. But there soon came troubles from the -clause which must have caused many regrets in the bosoms of Secretaries -and Under Secretaries. Now at any rate we are all sure that Downing -Street must repent her liberality, and wish,--ah, so fruitlessly,--that -Sir George Clerk had never been sent upon that expedition. With a -Permissive South Africa Confederation Bill carried after infinite -trouble, and an independent State in the middle of South Africa very -little inclined to Confederation, the present holder of the Colonial -seals[12] cannot admire much the peculiar virtue which in 1854 induced -his predecessor to surrender the Orange territory to the Dutch in -opposition to the wish of all the then inhabitants of the country. - -For the surrender was not made to please the people of the country. Down -in Natal the Dutch had wanted a Republic. Up in the Sovereignty, as it -was then called, they also had wanted a Republic when old Pretorius was -at their head. But since that time there had come troubles with the -Basutos,--troubles which were by no means ended,--and the Dutch were now -willing enough to put up with dependence and British protection. The -Dutch have been so cross-grained that the peculiar colonial virtue of -the day has never been able to take their side. “We have come here only -because you have undertaken to govern us and protect us,” said those of -the Dutch who had followed and not preceded us across the Orange. And it -was impossible to contradict them. I do not think that any body could -now dispassionately inquire into the circumstances of South Africa -without calling in question the wisdom of the Government at home in -abandoning the control of the territory north of the Orange River. - -But the Republic was established. For some years it had a most troubled -life. Mr. Boshof was elected the first President and retained that -office till 1859. He seems to have been a man of firmness and wisdom, -but to have found his neighbours the Basutos to be almost too much for -him. There was war with this tribe more or less during his whole time. -There was a branch of the tribe of the Basutos living on a territory in -the Free State,--a people whom I will describe more at length in a -following chapter,--over whom and over whose property Moshesh the Chief -of the Basutos claimed sovereignty; but it was impossible for the Free -State to admit the claim as it could itself only exist by dictating -boundaries and terms to the Baralongs,--which they were willing enough -to receive as being a protection against their enemies the Basutos. - -In 1860 Mr. Pretorius became President of the Free State,--the son of -the man who had been the first President of the Transvaal,--and the man -himself who was President of the Transvaal before Mr. Burgers. But the -difficulties were altogether beyond his power, and in 1863 he resigned. -Then Mr. Brand was appointed, the gentleman who now holds the office and -who will hold it probably, if he lives, for many years to come. His -present condition, which is one of complete calm, is very much at -variance with the early years of his Presidency. I should hardly -interest my reader if I were to attempt to involve them in the details -of this struggle. It was a matter of life and death to the young -Republic in which national death seemed always to be more probable than -national life. The State had no army and could depend only on the -efforts of its burghers and volunteers,--men who were very good for a -commando or a spasmodic struggle, men who were well used to sharp -skirmishes in which they had to contend in the proportion of one to ten -against their black enemies. But this war was maintained for four years, -and the burghers and volunteers who were mostly married men could not -long remain absent from home. And when a peace was made at the instance -of the Governor of the Cape Colony and boundaries established to which -Moshesh agreed, the sons of Moshesh broke out in another place, and -everything was as bad as before. All the available means of the Free -State were spent. Blue-backs as they were called were printed, and the -bankers issued little scraps of paper,--“good-fors,” as they were -called,--representing minute sums of money. Trade there was none and the -farmers had to fight the Basutos instead of cultivating their land. At -that time the condition of the Free State was very bad indeed. I think -I may say that its preservation was chiefly due to the firmness of Mr. -Brand. - -At length the Basutos were so crushed that they were driven to escape -the wrath of their Dutch enemies by imploring the British to take them -in as subjects. In March 1868 this was done,--by no means with the -consent of the Free State which felt that it ought to dictate terms and -to take whatever territory it might desire from its now conquered -enemy and add such territory to its own. This was the more desirable -as the land of the Basutos was peculiarly good and fit for -cultivation,--whereas that of the Orange Free State was peculiarly bad, -hardly admitting cultivation at all without the expensive process of -irrigation. The English at last made a boundary line, to which the Free -State submitted. By this a considerable portion of the old Basuto land -was given up to them. This they have held ever since under the name of -the Conquered Territory. Its capital is called Ladybrand, and its -possession is the great pride of the Republic. In completing this story -I must say that the Republic has been most unexpectedly able to redeem -every inch of paper money which it created, and now, less than ten years -after a war which quite exhausted and nearly destroyed it, the Orange -Free State stands unburdened by a penny of public debt. This condition -has no doubt come chiefly from its good luck. Diamonds were found, and -the Diamond Fields had to be reached through the Free State. Provisions -of all sorts were required at the Diamond Fields, and thus a market was -created for everything that could be produced. There came a sudden -influx of prosperity which enabled the people to bear taxation,--and in -this way the blue-backs were redeemed. - -There were other troubles after 1869;--but the little State has floated -through them all. Its chief subsequent trouble has been the main cause -of its prosperity. The diamonds were found and the Republic claimed the -territory on which they were being collected. On that subject I have -spoken in a previous chapter, and I need not again refer to the details -of the disagreement between Great Britain and the Republic. But it may -be as well to point out that had that quarrel ended otherwise than it -did, the English of the Diamond Fields would certainly have annexed the -Dutch of the Free State, instead of allowing the Dutch of the Free State -to annex them;--and then England would have obtained all the country -between the Orange and the Vaal instead of only that small but important -portion of it in which the diamonds lie. To imagine that Kimberley with -all its wealth would have allowed itself to be ruled by a Dutch -Volksraad at the little town of Bloemfontein, is to suppose that the -tail can permanently wag the dog, instead of the dog wagging the tail. -Diamond diggers are by no means people of a kind to submit quietly to -such a condition of things. It was bitter enough for the Volksraad to -abandon the idea of making laws for so rich and strong a -population,--bitter perhaps for Mr. Brand to abandon the idea of -governing them. But there can now, I think, be no doubt that it was -better for the Free State that Griqualand West and Kimberley should be -separated from it,--especially as Mr. Brand was sent home to England by -his parliament,--where he probably acquired softer feelings than -heretofore towards a nationality with which he had been so long -contending, and where he was able to smooth everything by inducing the -Secretary of State to pay £90,000 by way of compensation to his own -Government. I should think that Mr. Brand looking back on his various -contentions with the British, on the Basuto wars and the Griqualand -boundary lines, must often congratulate himself on the way he has -steered his little bark. There can be no doubt that his fellow citizens -in the Republic are very proud of his success. - -Since Mr. Brand returned from London in 1876 nothing material has -happened in the history of the Free State. In regard to all states it is -said to be well that nothing material should happen to them. This must -be peculiarly so with a Republic so small, and of which the success and -the happiness must depend so entirely on its tranquillity. That it -should have lived through the Basuto wars is astonishing. That it should -not continue to live now that it is protected on all sides from the -possibility of wars by the contiguity of British territory would be as -astonishing. It seems to be expected by some politicians in England that -now, in the days of her prosperity, the Republic will abandon her -independence and ask to be received once more under the British ægis. I -cannot conceive anything to be less probable, nor can I see any cause -for such a step. But I will refer again to this matter when attempting -to describe the present condition of the country. - -In this little sketch I have endeavoured to portray the Colonial -Ministers at home as actuated by every virtue which should glow within -the capacious bosom of a British Statesman. I am sure that I have -attributed no sinister motive, no evil idea, no blindness to honesty, no -aptitude for craft to any Secretary of State. There are I think no less -than eleven of them still living, all of whom the British public regards -as honourable men who have deserved well of their country. I can -remember almost as many more of whom the same may be said, who are now -at peace beyond the troubles of the Native Question. I will endeavour to -catalogue the higher public virtues by which they have endeared -themselves to their country,--only remarking that those virtues have -not, each of them, held the same respective places in the bosoms of all -of them. A sensitiveness to the greatness and glory of England,--what we -may perhaps call the Rule Britannia feeling,--which cannot endure the -idea that the British foot should ever go back one inch! Is it not -national ardour such as this which recommends our Statesmen to our love? -And then there has been that well-weighed economy which has been -acquired in the closet and used in the House of Commons, without which -no minister can really be true to his country. To levy what taxes be -needed, but to take care that no more is spent than is needed;--is not -that the first duty of a Cabinet Minister? But it has been England’s -destiny to be the arbiter of the fate of hundreds of millions of dusky -human beings,--black, but still brethren,--on distant shores. The Queen -has a hundred coloured subjects to one that is white. It has been the -peculiar duty of the Colonial Minister to look after and to defend the -weakest of these dark-skinned brothers; and this has had to be done in -the teeth of much obloquy! Can any virtue rank higher than the -performance of so sacred a duty? And then of how much foresight have our -ministers the need? How accurately must they read the lessons which -history and experience should teach them if Great Britain is to be saved -from a repetition of the disgrace which she encountered before the -American Colonies declared themselves independent? When we find a man -who can look forward and say to himself,--“while we can hold these -people, for their own content, to their own welfare, so long we will -keep them; but not a moment longer for any selfish aggrandisement of our -own;”--when we find a Statesman rising to that pitch, how fervently -should we appreciate the greatness of the man, and how ready should we -be to acknowledge that he has caught the real secret of Colonial -administration. - -These splendid qualities have so shone over our Colonial office that the -sacred edifice is always bright with them. They scintillate on the brows -of every Assistant Secretary, and sit as a coronet on the shining locks -of all the clerks. But unfortunately they are always rotatory, so that -no one virtue is ever long in the ascendant. Rule Britannia! and the -Dutch Member of Parliament has to walk out of his Volksaal and touch his -hat to an English Governor. Downing Street and the Treasury have agreed -to retrench! Then the Dutch Member of Parliament walks back again. We -will at any rate protect the Native! Then the Boer’s wife hides the -little whip with which she is accustomed to maintain discipline over -her apprenticed nigger children. Let these people go forth and govern -themselves! Then the little whip comes out again. Among all these -British virtues what is a bewildered Dutch Colonist to do? If one virtue -would remain always in the ascendant,--though I might differ or -another,--there would be an intelligible policy. If they could be made -to balance each other,--as private virtues do in private bosoms when the -owners of those bosoms are possessed of judgment,--then the policy would -assuredly be good. But while one virtue is ever in the ascendant, but -never long there, the Dutch Colonist, and the English, are naturally -bewildered by the rotation. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE.--PRESENT CONDITION. - - -Sir George Grey, who was at that time Governor of the Cape of Good Hope -writing to Lord John Russell on 17th November 1855,--Lord John having -then been Secretary of State for the Colonies,--expresses himself in the -following glowing terms as to the region of which I am now writing. “The -territory of the Orange Free State forms one of the finest pastoral -countries I have ever seen. There is no district of country in Australia -which I have visited which throughout so great an extent of territory -affords so uniformly good a pastoral country.” A short time previous to -this, Sir George Clerk, when he was about to deliver the State up to the -Government of the Dutch, declared,--or at any rate is popularly reported -to have declared,--that the land was a “howling wilderness.” I think -that the one colonial authority was quite as far astray as the other. -Sir George Grey had ever a way with him of contending for his point -either by strong language or by strong action. He was at one time -Governor of South Australia, but perhaps never travelled as far north as -the Salt Bush country of that Colony. The Colony in his time was in its -infancy and was not known as far north as the pastoral district in -question. I do not know whether Sir George ever visited the Riverina in -New South Wales, or the Darling Downs in Queensland. Had he done -so,--and had he then become as well acquainted with the pastoral -properties of land as he has since become,--he would hardly with all his -energy have ventured upon such an assertion. It will be only necessary -for any investigator to look at the prices of Australian and South -African wool to enable him to form an opinion on the subject. The -average price in London of medium Australian wool in 1877 was 1s. 6d. a -pound, and that of South African wool of the same class 1s. 1d. a pound. -In both countries it is common to hear that the land should be stocked -at about the rate of 3 sheep to the acre; but in Australia patches of -land which will bear heavier stocking occur much more numerously than in -South Africa. The Orange Free State has not yet arrived at the ponderous -glory of full statistics so that I cannot give the amount of the wool -produced, nor can I divide her wool from that of the Cape Colony, -through which it is sent to England without special record. But I feel -sure that no one who knows the two countries will venture to compare the -flocks of the Free State with those of either of the four great -Australian Colonies, or with the flocks of New Zealand. - -But if Sir George Grey spoke too loudly in one direction Sir George -Clerk spoke very much too loudly in the other. He was probably struck by -the desolate and unalluring appearance of the lands to the north of the -Orange. They are not picturesque. They are not well-timbered. They are -not even well-watered. If Sir George Clerk saw them in a drought, as I -did, he certainly did not look upon a lovely country. But it is a -country in which men may earn easy bread by pastoral and agricultural -pursuits; in which with a certain amount of care,--which has to show -itself mainly in irrigation,--the choicest fruits of the earth can be -plenteously produced; in which the earth never refuses her increase if -she be asked for it with many tears. A howling wilderness certainly it -is not. But Sir George Clerk when he described the country was anxious -to excuse the conduct of Great Britain in getting rid of it, while Sir -George Grey was probably desirous of showing how wrong Great Britain had -been on the occasion. - -I do not know that I ever travelled across a less attractive country -than the Orange Free State, or one in which there is less to gratify the -visitor who goes to see things and not to see men and women. And the men -and women are far between; for over an area presumed to include 70,000 -square miles, a solid block of territory about 300 miles long by 120 -miles broad, there are probably not more than 30,000 white people, and -half that number of coloured people. The numbers I know are computed to -be greater by the officials of the Free State itself,--but no census has -been taken, and with customary patriotism they are perhaps disposed to -overestimate their own strength. They, however, do not give much above -half an inhabitant to every square mile. It must be remembered that in -the Free State the land is all occupied;--but that it is occupied at the -rate I have described. I altogether deny that the Free State is a -howling wilderness, but I do not recommend English autumn tourists to -devote their holydays to visiting the land, unless they have become very -tired indeed of their usual resorts. - -The farmer in the Orange Free State is generally a Dutch Boer,--but by -no means always so. During my very short visit I came across various -Englishmen who were holding or who had held land there,--Africanders -perhaps, persons who had been born from British parents in the Gape -Colony,--but altogether British as distinguished from Dutch. In the -towns the shopkeepers are I think as generally English as the farmers -are Dutch in the country. We hear of the Republic as an essentially -Dutch country;--but I think that if a man about to live there had to -choose the possession of but one of the two languages, English would be -more serviceable to him of the two. In another twenty years it certainly -will be so. - -I travelled from the Diamond Fields to Bloemfontein and thence through -Smithfield to the Orange River at Aliwal North. I also made a short -excursion from Bloemfontein. In this way I did not see the best district -of the country which is that which was taken from the Basutos,--where -the town of Ladybrand now is,--which is good agricultural land, capable -of being sown and reaped without artificial irrigation. The normal Dutch -farmer of the Republic, such as I saw him, depends chiefly upon his -flocks which are very small as compared with those in Australia,--three -or four thousand sheep being a respectable pastoral undertaking for one -man. He deals in agriculture also, not largely, but much more generally -than his Australian brother. In Australia the squatter usually despises -agriculture, looking upon it as the fitting employment for a little -free-selector,--who is but a mean fellow in his estimation. He grows no -more than he will use about his place for his own cattle. The flour to -be consumed by himself and his men he buys. And as his horses are not -often corn-fed a very few acres of ploughed land suffices for his -purpose. The Dutch patriarch makes his own bread from the wheat he has -himself produced. The bread is not white, but it is so sweet that I am -inclined to say I have never eaten better. And he sells his -produce,--anything which he can grow and does not eat himself. The -Australian woolgrower sells nothing but wool. The Dutch Boer will send -peas twenty miles to market, and will sell a bundle of forage,--hay made -out of unripened oats or barley,--to any one who will call at his place -and ask for it. - -A strong Boer will probably have thirty, forty or perhaps fifty acres of -cultivated land round his house,--including his garden. And he will -assuredly have a dam for holding and husbanding his rain water. He would -almost better be without a house than without a dam. Some spot is chosen -as near to his homestead as may be,--towards which there is something, -be it ever so slight, of a fall of ground. Here a curved wall or stoned -bank is made underlying the fall of ground, and above it the earth is -hollowed out,--as is done with a haha fence, only here it is on larger -and broader dimensions,--and into this artificial pond when it is so -made the rain water is led by slight watercourses along the ground -above. From the dam, by other watercourses, the contents are led hither -and thither on to the land and garden as required,--or into the house. -It is the Boer’s great object thus to save enough water to last him -through any period of drought that may come;--an object which he -generally attains as far as his sheep, and cattle, and himself are -concerned;--but in which he occasionally fails in reference to his -ground. I saw more than one dam nearly dry as I passed through the -country, and heard it asserted more than once that half a day’s rain -would be worth a hundred pounds to the speaker. - -The Boer’s house consists of a large middle chamber in which the family -live and eat and work,--but do not cook. There is not usually even a -fireplace in the room. It is very seldom floored. I do not know that I -ever saw a Boer’s house floored in the Free State. As the planks would -have had to be brought up four hundred miles by oxen, this is not -wonderful. The Boer is contented with the natural hard earth as it has -been made for him. The furniture of his room is good enough for all -domestic purposes. There are probably two spacious tables, and settees -along the walls of which the seats are made of ox-riems, and open -cupboards in the corners filled not sparingly with crockery. And there -is always a pile of books in a corner of the room,--among which there is -never one not of a religious tendency. There is a large Dutch Bible, and -generally half a dozen Dutch hymn-books, with a smaller Bible or two, -and not improbably an English prayer-book and English hymn-book if any -of the younger people are affecting the English language. The younger -members of the family generally are learning English and seem to be very -much better off in regard to education than are their relations in the -Transvaal. - -Opening out of the living room there are generally bedrooms to the right -and left,--probably two at one end and one at the other,--of which the -best will be surrendered to the use of any respectable stranger who may -want such accommodation. It matters not who may be the normal occupant -of the room. He or she,--or more probably they,--make way for the -stranger, thinking no more of surrendering a bedroom than we do of -giving up a chair. The bedroom is probably close and disagreeable, -lacking fresh air, with dark suspicious corners of which the stranger -would not on any account unravel the mysteries. Behind the centre -chamber there is a kitchen to which the stranger does not probably -penetrate. I have however been within the kitchen of a Dutch Boeress and -have found that as I was to eat what came out of it, I had better not -have penetrated so far. It will be understood that a Dutch Boer’s house -never has an upper storey. - -The young men are large strapping youths, and well made though awkward -in their gait. The girls can hardly be said to be good-looking though -there is often a healthy bloom about them. One would be inclined to say -that they marry and have children too young were it not that they have -so many children, and afterwards become such stout old matrons. Surely -no people ever attended less to the fripperies and frivolities of dress. -The old men wear strong loose brown clothes well bestained with work. -The old women do the same. And so do the young men, and so do the young -women. There seems to be extant among them no taste whatever for -smartness. None at any rate is exhibited about their own homesteads. -There are always coloured people about, living in adjacent huts,--very -probably within the precincts of the same courtyard. For with the white -children there are always to be seen black children playing. Nor does -there seem to be any feeling of repugnance at such intercourse on the -part of any one concerned. As such children grow up no doubt they are -required to work, but I have never seen among the Dutch any instance of -personal cruelty to a coloured person;--nor, during my travels in South -Africa, did any story of such cruelty reach my ear. The Dutchman would I -think fain have the black man for his slave,--and, could he have his way -in this, would not probably be over tender. But the feeling that the -black man is not to be personally ill-used has I think made its way so -far, that at any rate in the Orange Free State such ill-usage is -uncommon. - -In regard to the question of work, I found that in the Free State as in -all the other provinces and districts of the country so much of the work -as is done for wages is invariably done by coloured people. On a farm I -have seen four young men working together,--as far as I could see on -equal terms,--and two have been white and two black; but the white lads -were the Boer’s sons, while the others were his paid servants. Looking -out of a window in a quiet dreary little town in the Free State I saw -opposite to me two men engaged on the plastering of a wall. One was a -Kafir and the other probably was a west coast Negro. Two or three passed -by with loads on their shoulders. They were Bechuanas or Bastard -Hottentots. I strolled out of the village to a country house where a -Fingo was gardener and a Bushman was working under him. Out in the -street the two men who had driven the coach were loafing round it. They -were Cape Boys as they are called,--a coloured people who came from St. -Helena and have white blood in their veins. I had dined lately and had -been waited upon by a Coolie. Away in the square I could see bales of -wool being handled by three Basutos. A couple of Korannas were -pretending to drive oxen through the street but were apparently going -where the oxen led them. Then came another Hottentot with a yoke and -pair of buckets on his shoulder. I had little else to do and watched the -while that I was there;--but I did not see a single white man at work. I -heard their voices,--some Dutch, though chiefly English; but the voices -were the voices of masters and not of men. Then I walked round the place -with the object of seeing, and nowhere could I find a white man working -as a labourer. And yet the Orange Free State is supposed to be the one -South African territory from which the black man has been expelled. The -independent black man who owned the land has been expelled,--but the -working black man has taken his place, allured by wages and diet. - -The Dutch Boer does not love to pay wages,--does not love to spend money -in any way,--not believing in a return which is to come, or possibly may -come, from an outlay of capital in that direction. He prefers to keep -what he has and to do what can be done by family labour. He will, -however, generally have a couple of black men about his place, whose -services he secures at the lowest possible rate. Every shilling so paid -is grudged. He has in his heart an idea that a nigger ought to be made -to work without wages. - -In the Free State as in the Transvaal I found every Boer with whom I -came in contact, and every member of a Boer’s family, to be courteous -and kind. I never entered a house at which my hand was not grasped at -going in and coming out. This may be a bore, when there are a dozen in -family all shaking hands on both occasions; but it is conclusive -evidence that the Boer is not a churl. He admits freedoms which in more -civilized countries would be at once resented. If you are hungry or -thirsty you say so, and hurry on the dinner or the cup of tea. You -require to be called at four in the morning and suggest that there shall -be hot coffee at that hour. And he is equally familiar. He asks your -age, and is very anxious to know how many children you have and what is -their condition in the world. He generally boasts that he has more than -you have,--and, if you yourself be so far advanced in age, that he has -had grandchildren at a younger age than you. “You won’t have a baby born -to you when you are 67 years old,” an old Boer said to me exulting. When -I expressed a hope that I might be saved from such a fate, he chuckled -and shook his head, clearly expressing an opinion that I would fain have -a dozen children if Juno and the other celestials concerned would only -be so good to me. His young wife sat by and laughed as it was all -explained to her by the daughter of a former marriage who understood -English. This was customary Boer pleasantness intended by the host for -the delectation of his guest. - -I was never more convinced of anything than that those people, the Dutch -Boers of the Free State, are contented with their present condition and -do not desire to place themselves again under the dominion of England. -The question is one of considerable importance at the present moment as -the permissive bill for the suggested Confederation of the South African -districts has become law, and as that Confederation can hardly take -place unless the Free State will accept it. The Free State is an -isolated district in South Africa, now surrounded on all sides by -British territory, by no means rich, not populous, in which the Dutch -and English languages prevail perhaps equally, and also Dutch and -English habits of life. It would appear therefore at first sight to be -natural that the large English Colonies should swallow up and assimilate -the little Dutch Republic. But a close view of the place and of the -people,--and of the circumstances as they now exist and would exist -under Dutch rule,--have tended to convince me that such a result is -improbable for at any rate some years to come. - -In the Orange Free State the Volksraad or Parliament is -plenipotentiary,--more so if it be possible than our Parliament is with -us because there is but one Chamber and because the President has no -veto upon any decision to which that Chamber may come. The Volksraad is -elected almost exclusively by the rural interest. There are 54 members, -who are returned, one for each chief town in a district, and one for -each Field-Cornetcy,--the Field-Cornetcies being the divisions into -which the rural districts are divided for police and military purposes. -Of these towns, such as they are, there are 13, and from them, if from -any part of the State, would come a desire for English rule. But they, -with the exception of the capital, can hardly be said to be more than -rural villages. It is in the towns that the English language is taught -and spoken,--that English tradesmen live, and that English modes of life -prevail. The visitor to Bloemfontein, the capital, will no doubt feel -that Bloemfontein is more English than Dutch. But Bloemfontein returns -but one member to the Yolksraad. From the rural districts there are 41 -members, all of whom are either Boers or have been returned by Boers. -Were the question extended to the division even of the 13 town members I -do not doubt but that the present state of things would be -maintained,--so general is the feeling in favour of the independence of -the Republic. But seeing that the question rests in truth with the -country members, that the country is essentially a farmer’s country, a -country which for all purposes is in the hands of the Dutch Boers, it -seems to me to be quite out of the question that the change should be -voted by the legislature of the country. - -An Englishman, or an Africander with an English name and an English -tongue, is under the constitution as capable of being elected as a -Dutchman. A very large proportion of the wealth of the country is in -English hands. The large shopkeepers are generally English; and I think -that I am right in saying that the Banks are supported by English, or at -any rate, by Colonial capital. And yet, looking through the names of the -present Volksraad, I find but two that are English,--and the owner of -one of them I believe to be a Dutchman. How can it be possible that -such a House should vote away its own independence? It is so impossible -that there can be no other way of even bringing the question before the -House than that of calling upon it for a unanimous assertion of its will -in answer to the demand, or request, or suggestion now made by Great -Britain. - -Nor can I conceive any reason why the Volksraad should consent to the -proposed change. To a nationality labouring under debt, oppressed by -external enemies, or unable to make the property of its citizens secure -because of external disorders, the idea of annexing itself to a strong -power might be acceptable. To have its debts paid, its frontiers -defended, and its rebels controlled might be compensation for the loss -of that self-rule which is as pleasant to communities as it is to -individuals. Such I believe is felt to be the case by the most Dutch of -the Dutch Boers in the Transvaal. But the Orange Free State does not owe -a penny. Some years since it had been so impoverished by Basuto wars -that it was reduced to the enforced use of paper money which sank to -half its nominal value. Had England then talked of annexation the Boers -might have listened to her offer. But the enormous trade produced by the -sudden influx of population into the Diamond Fields created a wealth -which has cured this evil. The bluebacks,--as the Orange Free State -banknotes were called,--have been redeemed at par, and the Revenue of -the country is amply sufficient for its modest wants. Enemies it has -none, and from its position can have none,--unless it be England. Its -own internal affairs are so quiet and easily regulated that it is hardly -necessary to lock a door. No annexation could make a Boer more secure -in the possession of his own land and his own chattels than he is at -present. - -It may of course be alleged that if the State were to join her lot with -that of the Cape Colony or of a wide South African Confederation, she -would increase her own wealth by sharing that of the larger nationality -of which she would become a part,--and that the increase of national -wealth would increase the means of the individuals forming the nation. -This, however, is an argument which, even though it were believed, would -have but little effect on the minds of a class of men who are peculiarly -fond of self-government but are by no means desirous of a luxurious mode -of life. It is often said that the Boer is fond of money. He is -certainly averse to spending it and will grasp at it when it comes -absolutely in his way; but he is the last man in the world to trust to -its coming to him from a speculative measure of which he sees the -certain immediate evil much more clearly than the possible future -advantage. - -There is one source of public wealth from which the Orange Free State is -at present debarred by the peculiarity of its position, and of which it -would enjoy its share were it annexed to the Cape Colony or joined in -some federation with it. But I hope that no British or Colonial -Statesman has trusted to force the Republic to sacrifice herself for the -sake of obtaining justice in this respect. If, as I think, wrong is -being done to the Orange Free State in this matter that wrong should be -remedied for the sake of justice, and not maintained as a weapon to -enforce the self-annihilation of a weak neighbour. On whatever produce -from the world at large the Free State consumes, the Free State receives -no Custom duties. The duties paid are levied by the Cape Colony, and are -spent by it as a portion of its own revenues. The Free State has no -seaboard and therefore no port.[13] Her sugar, and tea, and whisky come -to her through Capetown, or Fort Elizabeth, or East London, and there -the Custom duties are collected,--and retained. I need hardly point out -to English readers that the Custom duties of a country form probably the -greatest and perhaps the least objectionable portion of its revenue. It -will be admitted, at any rate, that to such extent as a country chooses -to subject its people to an increased price of goods by the addition of -Custom duties to the cost of production, to that extent the revenue of -the consuming country should be enriched. If I, an individual in -England, have to pay a shilling on the bottle of French wine which I -drink, as an Englishman I am entitled to my share of the public -advantage coming from that shilling. But the Republican of the Orange -Free State pays the shilling while the Colonist of the Cape has the -spending of it. I hope, I say, that we on the south side of the Orange -River do not cling to this prey with any notion that by doing so we can -keep a whip hand over our little neighbour the Republic. - -Two allegations are made in defence of the course pursued. It is said -that the goods are brought to the ports of the Colony by Colonial -merchants and are resold by them to the traders of the Orange Free -State, so as to make it impossible for the Colony to know what is -consumed within her own borders and what beyond. Goods could not -therefore be passed through in bond even if the Cape Government would -permit it. They go in broken parcels, and any duties collected must -therefore be collected at the ports whence the goods are distributed. -But this little difficulty has been got over in the intercourse between -Victoria and New South Wales. A considerable portion of the latter -Colony is supplied with its seaborne goods from Melbourne, which is the -Capital and seaport of Victoria. Victoria collects the duties on those -goods, and, having computed their annual amount, pays a certain lump sum -to New South Wales in lieu of the actual duties collected. Why should -not the Cape Colony settle with the Orange Republic in the same way? - -The other reason put forward for withholding the amount strikes me as -being--almost mean. I have heard it put forward only in conversation, -and I am bringing no charge against any Statesman in the Cape Colony by -saying this. I trust that the argument has had no weight with any -Statesman at the Cape. The Cape Colony makes the roads over which the -goods are carried up to the Free State. She does do so,--and the -railroads. But she collects toll on the former, and charges for carriage -on the latter. And she enjoys all the money made by the continued -traffic through her territory. And she levies the port duties, which no -one begrudges her. I felt it to be a new thing to be informed that a -country was so impoverished by being made the vehicle for traffic from -the sea to the interior that it found itself compelled to reimburse -itself by filching Custom Duties.[14] England might just as well claim -the customs of the Cape Colony because she protects the seas over which -the goods are carried. - -But the Orange Free State can carry on her little business even without -the aid of Custom Duties, and will certainly not be driven back into the -arms of the mother who once repudiated her by the want of them. She can -pay her modest way; and while she can do so the Boer of the Volksraad -will certainly not be induced to give up the natural delight which he -takes in ruling his own country. The Free State might send perhaps six -members to the central Congress of a South African Federation, where -they would be called upon to hear debates, which they would be unable to -share or even to understand because spoken in a foreign language. They -would be far from their farms and compelled to live in a manner -altogether uncomfortable to them. Is it probable that for this privilege -they will rob themselves of the honour and joy they now have in their -own Parliament? In his own Parliament the Boer is close, phlegmatic, by -no means eloquent, but very firm. The two parliamentary ideas most -prominent in his mind are that he will vote away neither his -independence nor his money. It is very hard to get from him a sanction -for any increased expenditure. It would I think be impossible to get -from him sanction for a measure which would put all control over -expenditure out of his own hands. “We will guard as our choicest -privilege that independence which Her Majesty some years since was -pleased to bestow upon us.” It is thus that the Boer declares -himself,--somewhat sarcastically,--when he is asked whether he does not -wish to avail himself of the benefit of British citizenship. - -Somewhat sarcastically;--for he is well aware that when England -repudiated him,--declaring that she would have nothing to do with him -across the Orange River, she did so with contempt and almost with -aversion. And he is as well aware that England now wants to get him back -again. The double consciousness is of a nature likely to beget sarcasm. -“You thought nothing of me when I came here a poor wanderer, daring all -dangers in order that I might escape from your weaknesses, your -absurdities, your mock philanthropies,--when I shook off from the sole -of my foot the dust of a country in which the black Savage was preferred -to the white Colonist; but now,--now that I have established myself -successfully,--you would fain have me back again so that your broad -borders may be extended, and your widened circle made complete. But, by -the Providence of God, after many difficulties we are well as we -are;--and therefore we are able to decline your offers.” That is the -gist of what the Boer is saying when he tells us of the independence -bestowed upon him by Her Majesty. - -Thinking as I do that Great Britain was wrong when she repudiated the -Orange Free State in 1854, believing that there was then a lack of -patience at the Colonial Office and that we should have been better -advised had we borne longer with the ways of the Dutch, I must still -acknowledge here that they were a provoking people, and one hard to -manage. Omitting small details and some few individual instances of -misrule, I feel that when the Dutch complained of us they complained of -what was good in our ways and not of what was evil. It was with this -conviction that we repudiated both the Transvaal and the other younger -but more stable Republic. Good excuses can be made for what we did,--not -the worst of which is the fact that a people whom we desired to rule -themselves, have ruled themselves well. But we did repudiate them, and I -do not know with what face we can ask them to return to us. If the offer -came from them of course we could assent; but that offer will hardly be -made. - -We could certainly annex the Republic by force,--as we have done the -Transvaal. If we were to send a High Commissioner to Bloemfontein with -thirty policemen and an order that the country should be given up to us, -I do not know that President Brand and the Volksraad could do better -than comply,--with such loudest remonstrance as they might make. “The -Republic cannot fight Great Britain,” President Brand might say, as -President Burgers said when he apologised for the easy surrender of his -Republic. But there are things which a nation can not do and hold up its -head, and this would be one of them. There could be no excuse for such -spoliation. It is not easy to justify what we have done in the -Transvaal. If there be any laws of right and wrong by which nations -should govern themselves in their dealings with other nations it is hard -to find the law in conformity with which that act was done. But for that -act expediency can be pleaded. We have taken the Transvaal not that we -might strengthen our own hands, not that we might round our own borders, -not that we might thus be enabled to carry out the policy of our own -Cabinet,--but because by doing so we have enabled Englishmen, Dutchmen! -and natives to live one with another in comfort. There does seem to have -been at any rate expedience to justify us in the Transvaal. But no such -plea can be put forward in reference to the Free State. There a quiet -people are being governed after their own fashion. There a modest people -are contented with the fruition of their own moderate wealth. There a -secure and well ordered people are able to live without fear. I cannot -see any reason for annexing them;--or any other excuse beyond that -spirit of spoliation which has so often armed the strong against the -weak, but which England among the strong nations has surely repudiated. - -The Legislature of the Orange Republic consists, as I have said, of a -single House called the Volksraad, which is elected for four years, of -which one half goes out at the end of every two years, so that the -change is not made all at once as with us, half the House being -dissolved at the end of one period of two years, and half at the end of -another. The members are paid 20s. a day while the House is sitting. The -House elects its own Speaker, at the right hand of whom the President -has a chair. This he may occupy or not as he pleases; but when he is -not there it is expected that his place shall be filled by the -Government Secretary. The President can speak when he likes but cannot -vote. The House can, if it please, desire him to withdraw, but, I was -informed, had never yet exercised its privilege in this respect. - -The President is elected for a term of five years and may, under the -present Constitution, be re-elected for any number of terms. The present -President has now nearly served his third term, and will no doubt be -re-elected next year. But there is a bill now before the Volksraad by -which the renewal of the President’s term is to be confined to a single -reappointment. One re-election only will be allowed. This change has -received all the sanction which one Session can give it. The period of -the term is also to be curtailed from five to four years. It is -necessary however that such a change in the Constitution shall be passed -by the House in three consecutive Sessions, and on each occasion by a -three-fourth majority. It is understood also that the bill if passed -will not debar the existing President from one re-election after the -change. President Brand therefore will be enabled to serve for five -terms, and should he live to do so will thus have been the Head of the -Executive of the Free State for a period of twenty-four years,--which is -much longer than the average reign of hereditary monarchs. His last term -will in this case have been shortened one year by the new law. It would -be I think impossible to overrate the value of his services to the -country which adopted him. He was a member of Assembly in the Cape -Colony when he was elected, of which House his father was then Speaker. -A better choice could hardly have been made. It is to his patience, his -good sense, his exact appreciation of both the highness and the lowness -of the place which he has been called on to occupy, that the Republic -has owed its security. I have expressed an opinion as to the -qualifications of President Burgers for a similar position. It is -because President Brand has been exactly the reverse of President -Burgers, that he is now trusted by the Volksraad and loved by the -people. It would be hard to find a case in which a man has shewn himself -better able to suit himself to peculiar duties than has been done by the -President of this little Republic. - -The right of voting in the Free State belongs to the burghers, and the -burghers are as follows;-- - - 1. All white male persons born in the State. - - 2. All white male persons who have resided one year in the State, - and are registered owners of property to the value of £150. - - 3. All white male persons who have lived for three consecutive - years in the State. - -Those however who are included in the 2nd and 3rd clauses will not be -recognized as burghers unless they produce to the State President a -certificate of good conduct from the authorities of their last place of -abode and a written promise of allegiance to the State. - -Burghers who have attained the age of 16, and all who at a later age -shall have acquired citizenship are bound to enrol themselves under -their respective field-cornets and to be liable to burgher duty,--which -means fighting,--till they be 60 years old. - -Burghers of 18 are entitled to vote for Field Cornets and Field -Commandants. To vote for a member of the Volksraad or for the President -a burgher must be 21, must have been born in the State,--when no -property qualification is necessary,--or must be the registered owner of -property to the value of £150, or be the lessor of a property worth £36 -per annum; or have a yearly income of £200, or possess moveable property -worth £300. - -From this it will be seen that the parliamentary system of the Republic -is protected from a supposed evil by a measure of precaution which would -be altogether inadmissible in any Constitution requiring the sanction of -the British Crown. No coloured person can vote for a Member of -Parliament. However expedient it may be thought by Englishmen to exclude -Kafirs or Zulus from voting till such changes shall have been made in -their habits as to make them fit for the privilege, the restrictions -made for that purpose must with us be common both to the coloured and to -the white population. We all feel that no class legislation as to the -privilege of voting should be adopted and that in giving or withholding -qualification no allusion should be made to race or colour. But the -Dutch of the Free State have no such scruple. They at once proclaim that -this privilege shall be confined to those in whose veins European blood -runs pure. I will here say nothing as to the comparative merits of -British latitude or of Dutch restraint, but I will ask my readers to -consider whether it be probable that a people who have not scrupled to -make for themselves such a law of exclusion will willingly join -themselves to a nationality which is absolutely and vehemently opposed -to any exclusion based on colour. - -In the Free State the executive power is in the hands of the President -in which he is assisted by a Council of five, of whom two are official. -There is now a bench of three judges who go circuit, and there is a -magistrate or Landroost sitting in each of the thirteen districts and -deciding both civil and criminal cases to a certain extent. The religion -and education of the State will both require a few words from me, but -they will come better when I am speaking of Bloemfontein, the capital. - -The Revenue of the country is something over £100,000 a year, and the -expenditure has for many years been kept within the Revenue. It has been -very fluctuating, having sunk below £60,000 in 1859 when the war with -the Basutos had crippled all the industries of the country and had -forced the burghers to spend their time in fighting instead of -cultivating their lands and looking after their sheep. There is nothing, -however, that the Boer hates so much as debt, and the Boer of the -Volksraad has been very careful to free his country from that incubus. - -Land in the Orange Free State is very cheap, an evil condition of things -which has been produced by the large grants of land which were made to -the original claimants. The average value throughout the State may now -be fixed at about 5s. an acre. It is said that in the whole State there -are between six and seven thousand farms. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -BLOEMFONTEIN. - - -Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Republic, is a pleasant little -town in the very centre of the country which we speak of as South -Africa, about a hundred miles north of the Orange River, four hundred -north of Port Elizabeth whence it draws the chief part of its supplies, -and six hundred and eighty north east of Capetown. It is something above -a hundred miles from Kimberley which is its nearest neighbour of any -importance in point of size. It is about the same distance from Durban, -the seaport of Natal, as it is from Port Elizabeth;--and again about the -same distance from Pretoria the capital of the Transvaal. It may -therefore be said to be a remote town offering but little temptations to -its inhabitants to gad about to other markets. The smaller towns within -the borders of the Republic are but villages containing at most not more -than a few hundred inhabitants. I am told that Bloemfontein has three -thousand; but no census has as yet been taken, and I do not know whether -the number stated is intended to include or exclude the coloured -population,--who as a rule do not live in Bloemfontein but at a -neighbouring hamlet, devoted to the use of the natives, called Wray -Hook. I found Bloemfontein a pleasant place when I was there, but one -requiring much labour and trouble both in reaching and leaving. For a -hundred miles on one side and a hundred on the other I saw hardly a -blade of grass or a tree. It stands isolated in the plain,--without any -suburb except the native location which I have named,--with as clearly -defined a boundary on each side as might be a town built with a pack of -cards, or one of those fortified citadels with barred gates and -portcullises which we used to see in picture books. After travelling -through a country ugly, dusty and treeless for many weary hours the -traveller at last reaches Bloemfontein and finds himself at rest from -his joltings, with his bones not quite dislocated, in the quiet little -Dutch capital, wondering at the fate which has led him to a spot on the -world’s surface, so far away, apparently so purposeless, and so unlike -the cities which he has known. - -I heard of no special industry at Bloemfontein. As far as I am aware -nothing special is there manufactured. It is needful that a country -should have a Capital, and therefore the Orange Free State has -Bloemfontein. I was told that some original Boer named Bloem first -settled there by the side of the stream in which water runs when there -has been rain, and that hence has come the name. But the little town has -thriven with a success peculiarly its own. Though it would seem to have -no raison d’etre just there where it stands,--though it has been -encouraged and fostered by no peculiar fertility, adorned with no scenic -beauty, enriched by no special gifts of water or of metals, even though -the population has not grown beyond that of the suburb of some European -town, still it carries its metropolitan honours with a good air, and -shocks no one by meanness, dirt, or poverty. It certainly is not very -grand, but it is grand enough. If there be no luxury, everything is -decent. The members of the Volksraad are not carried about in gorgeous -equipages, but when they have walked slowly to their Chamber they behave -themselves there with decorum. There is nothing pretentious in -Bloemfontein,--nothing to raise a laugh at the idea that a town with so -small a population should call itself a capital. - -It is a town, white and red, built with plastered walls or of -brick,--with a large oblong square in the centre; with four main streets -running parallel to each other and with perhaps double that number of -cross streets. The houses are generally but one storey high, though this -is not so invariably the case as at Kimberley. I do not remember, -however, that I was ever required to go up-stairs,--except at the -schools. The supply of water is I am assured never-failing, though in -dry weather it has to be drawn from tanks. A long drought had prevailed -when I reached the place, and the bed of the riverlet had been dry for -many days; but the supply of water seemed to be sufficient. Fuel is very -scarce and consequently dear. This is of the less importance as but -little is wanted except for the purpose of cooking. - -At one extreme end of the town are the public buildings in which the -Volksraad is held and the judges sit. Here also are the offices of the -President and the Secretary. Indeed all public business is here carried -on. The edifice has but the ground floor with a clock tower rising from -the centre. It is long and roomy and to my eye handsome in its white -neatness. I have heard it laughed at and described as being like a -railway station. It seems to be exactly that which such a Capital and -such a Republic would require. The Volksraad was not sitting when I was -there and I therefore could only see the beautiful arm-chairs which have -lately been imported at a considerable expense for the use of the -Members;--£13 10s. a chair I think I was told! It is impossible to -conceive that gentlemen who have been accommodated with such chairs -should wilfully abandon any of the dignity attached to them. For a -central parliament the chairs may be fitting, but would be altogether -out of place in a small provincial congress. Except the churches and the -schools there are not any public buildings of much note in -Bloemfontein,--unless the comfortable residence of the President may be -so called. This belongs to the State but is not attached to the House of -Parliament. - -My residence when I was at Bloemfontein was at the Free State Hotel, and -I do not know that I was ever put up much better. Two circumstances -militated against my own particular comfort, but they were circumstances -which might probably recommend the house to the world at large. I was -forced to take my meals in public at stated hours;--and I had a great -deal too much put before me to eat. I am bound, however, to say that all -I had given to me was good, though at that time it must have been very -difficult to supply such luxuries. The butter had to be bought at 5s. -6d. a pound, but was as plentiful as though the price had been only a -shilling,--and it was good which I had not found to be the case -elsewhere in South Africa. What was paid for the peas and beans and -cauliflowers I don’t know; but I did know that the earth around was dry -and parched and barren everywhere,--so that I was almost ashamed to eat -them. These details may be of interest to some readers of my pages, as -the place of which I am speaking is becoming at present the sanitorium -to which many an English consumptive patient is sent. Such persons, at -any rate when first reaching Bloemfontein, are obliged to find a home in -an hotel, and will certainly find one well provided at the Free State. -It commended itself to me especially because I found no difficulty in -that very serious and often troublesome matter of a morning tub. - -Bloemfontein is becoming another Madeira, another Algiers, another Egypt -in regard to English sufferers with weak chests and imperfect lungs. It -seems to the ignorant as though the doctors were ever seeking in -increased distance that relief for their patients which they cannot find -in increased skill. But a dry climate is now supposed to be necessary -and one that shall be temperate without great heat. This certainly will -be found at Bloemfontein, and perhaps more equably so through the entire -year than at any other known place. The objection to it is the expense -arising from the distance and the great fatigue to patients from the -long overland journey. Taking the easiest mode of reaching the capital -of the Free State the traveller must be kept going six weary days in a -Cobb’s coach, being an average of about thirteen hours a day upon the -road. This is gradually and very slowly becoming lightened by the -opening of bits of the railway from Fort Elizabeth; but it win be some -years probably before the coaching work can be done in less than five -days. The road is very rough through the Catberg and Stromberg -mountains,--so that he who has made the journey is apt to think that he -has done something considerable. All this is so much against an invalid -that I doubt whether they who are feeble should be sent here. There can -I imagine be no doubt that the air of the place when reached is in the -highest degree fit for weak lungs. - -There is at present a difficulty felt by those who arrive suddenly at -Bloemfontein in finding the accommodation they desire. The hotel, as I -have said above, is very good; but an hotel must of its nature be -expensive and can hardly afford the quiet which is necessary for an -invalid. Nor during my sojourn there did I once see a lady sitting at -table. There is no reason why she should not do so, but the practice did -not seem as yet to have become common. I am led by this to imagine that -a house comfortably kept for the use of patients would well repay a -medical speculator at Bloemfontein. It should not be called a -sanitarium, and should if possible have the name of the doctor’s wife on -the brass plate on the door rather than that of the doctor. And the -kitchen should be made to do more than the dispensary,--which should be -kept a little out of sight. And there should be fiddles and novels and -plenty of ribbons. If possible three or four particularly healthy guests -should be obtained to diminish the aspect of sickness which might -otherwise make the place gloomy. If this could be done, and the coach -journey somewhat lightened, then I think that the dry air of -Bloemfontein might be made very useful to English sufferers. - -In reference to the fatigue, tedium, and expense of the coach -journey,--a seat to Bloemfontein from the Fort Elizabeth railway costs -£18, and half a crown a pound extra is charged for all luggage beyond a -small bag,--it may be as well to say that in the treaty by which £90,000 -have been given by Great Britain to the Free State to cover any damage -she may have received as to the Diamond Fields, it is agreed that an -extra sum of £15,000 shall be paid to the Free State if she shall have -commenced a railway with the view of meeting the Colonial railway within -a certain period. As no Dutchman will throw over a pecuniary advantage -if it can be honestly obtained, a great effort will no doubt be made to -secure this sum. It may be difficult to decide, when the time comes, -what constitutes the commencement of a railway. It appears impossible -that any portion of a line shall be opened in the Free State till the -entire line shall have been completed from the sea to the borders of the -State, as every thing necessary for the construction of a line, -including wooden sleepers, must be conveyed overland. As the bulk so to -be conveyed will necessarily be enormous it can only be carried up by -the rail as the rail itself progresses. And there must be difficulty -even in surveying the proposed line till it be known actually at what -point the colonial line will pass the Orange River or which of the -colonial lines will first reach it. Nevertheless I feel assured that the -Dutchman will get his £15,000. When an Englishman has once talked of -paying and a Dutchman has been encouraged to think of receiving! the -money will probably pass hands. - -A railway completed to Bloemfontein would double the value of all -property there and would very soon double the population of the town. -Everything there used from a deal plank or a bar of iron down to a pair -of socks or a pound of sugar, has now to be dragged four hundred miles -by oxen at an average rate of £15 a ton. It is not only the sick and -weakly who are prevented from seeking the succour of its climate by the -hardness of the journey, but everything which the sick and weakly can -require is doubled in price. If I might venture to give a little advice -to the Volksraad I would counsel them to open the purse strings of the -nation, even though the purse should be filled with borrowed money, so -that there should be no delay on their part in joining themselves to the -rest of the world. They should make their claim to the £15,000 clear and -undoubted. - -At present there is no telegraph to Bloemfontein, though the line of -wires belonging to the Cape Colony passes through a portion of the State -on its way to Kimberley,--so that there is a telegraph station at -Fauresmith, a town belonging to the Republic. An extension to the -capital is much wanted in order to bring it within the pale of modern -civilization. - -The schools at Bloemfontein are excellent, and are peculiarly -interesting as showing the great steps by which the English language is -elbowing out the Dutch, This is so marked that though I see no necessity -for a political Confederation in South Africa I think I do see that -there will soon be a unity of language. I visited all the schools that -are supported or assisted by Government, as I did also those which have -been set on foot by English enterprise. In the former almost as fully as -in the latter English seemed to be the medium of communication between -scholar and teacher. In all the public schools the Head Teacher was -either English or Scotch. The inspector of schools for the Republic is a -Scotch gentleman, Mr. Brebner, who is giving himself heart and soul to -the subject he has in hand and is prospering admirably. Even in the -infant school I found that English was the language of the great -majority of the children. In the upper schools, both of the boys and -girls, I went through the whole establishment, visiting the bedrooms of -the pupils. As I did so I took the opportunity of looking at the private -books of the boys and girls. The books which I took off the shelves were -all without exception English. When I mentioned this to one of the -teachers who was with me in the compartment used by a lad who had well -provided himself with a little library, he made a search to show me that -I was wrong, and convicted me by finding--a Dutch dictionary. I pointed -out that the dictionary joined to the fact that the other books were -English would seem to indicate that the boy was learning Dutch rather -than reading it. I have no hesitation in saying that in these Dutch -schools,--for Dutch they are as being supported in a Dutch Republic by -grants of Dutch money voted by an exclusively Dutch Volksraad,--English -is the more important language of the two and the one the best -understood. - -I say this rather in a desire to tell the truth than in a spirit of -boasting. I do not know why I should wish that the use of my own tongue -should supersede that of the native language in a foreign country. And -the fact as I state it will go far with some thinkers to prove the -arguments to have been ill-founded with which I have endeavoured to shew -that the Republic will retain her independence. Such persons will say -that this preference for the English language will surely induce a -preference for English Government. To such persons I would reply first -that the English language was spoken in the United States when they -revolted. And I would then explain that the schools of which I am -speaking are all in the capital, which is undoubtedly an English town -rather than Dutch. In the country, from whence come the Members of the -Volksraad, the schools are probably much more Dutch, though by no means -so Dutch as are the Members themselves. The same difference prevails in -all things in which the urban feeling or the rural feeling is exhibited. -Nothing can be more Dutch than the Volksraad. Many members, I was -assured, cannot speak a word of English. The debates are all in Dutch. -But the President was chosen from a British community, having been a -member of the Cape House of Assembly, and the Government Secretary was -imported from the same Colony,--and the Chief Justice. As I have said -above the Inspector of Schools is a Scotchman. The Boers of the Orange -Free State have been too wise to look among themselves for occupants for -these offices. But they believe themselves to be perfectly capable of -serving their country as legislators. Nothing can be better than these -public schools in Bloemfontein, giving another evidence of the great -difference which existed in the internal arrangements of the two -Republics. Large grants of public money have been made for the support -of the Free State schools. In 1875 £18,000 was voted for this purpose, -and in 1876 £10,000. Money is also set aside for a permanent educational -fund which is to be continued till the amount in hand is £176,800. This -it is thought will produce an income sufficient for the required -purpose. - -There are two thoroughly good English schools for pupils of the better, -or at any rate, richer class, as to which it has to be said that they -are set on foot and carried on by ladies and gentlemen devoted to High -Church doctrines. I could not speak of these schools fairly without -saying so. Having so liberated my conscience I may declare that their -pupils are by no means drawn specially from that class and that as far -as I could learn nothing is inculcated to which any Protestant parent -would object. When I was at Bloemfontein the President had a daughter at -the girls’ school and the President is a Member of the Dutch Reformed -Church. The Government Secretary had four daughters at the same school. -There was at least one Roman Catholic educated there. It is in fact a -thoroughly good school and as such of infinite value in that far distant -place. The cost of board and education is £60 for each girl, which with -extra charges for music and other incidental expenses becomes £80 in -most cases. I thought this to be somewhat high; but it must be -remembered that the 400 miles and the bullock wagons affect even the -price of schools. The boys’ school did not seem to have been so -prosperous, the number educated being much less than at the other. The -expense is about the same and the advantages given quite as great. At -both establishments day scholars are taken as well as boarders. The -result is that Bloemfontein in respect to climate and education offers -peculiar advantages to its residents. It is not necessary to send a -child away either for English air or for English teaching. - -In church matters Bloemfontein has a footing which is peculiarly its -own. The Dutch Reformed Church is the Church of the people. There are -18,--only 18,--congregations in the State, of which 16 receive -Government support. The worshippers of the Free State must, it is -feared, be called upon to travel long distances to their churches. As a -rule those living in remote places, have themselves taken by their -ox-wagons into the nearest town once in three months for the -Nichtmaal,--that is for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; and on -these occasions the journey there and back, together with a little -holyday-making in the town, takes a week or ten days. In this there is -nothing singular, as it is the custom of the Dutch in South Africa,--but -the Anglican Church in Bloemfontein is peculiar. There is a Bishop of -Bloemfontein, an English Bishop, consecrated I think with the assistance -of an English Archbishop, appointed at any rate with the general -sanction and approval of the English Church. The arrangement has no -doubt been beneficial and is regarded without disfavour by the ruling -powers of the State in which it has been made;--but there is something -singular in the position which we as a people have assumed. We first -repudiate the country and then we take upon ourselves to appoint a high -church dignitary whom we send out from England with a large -accompaniment of minor ecclesiastics. In the United States they have -bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church as well as of the Roman -Catholic. But they are not Bishops of the Church of England. Here, in -Bloemfontein, the Church is English, and prays for the Queen before the -President,--for which latter it sometimes does pray and sometimes does -not. I attended the Cathedral service twice and such was my experience. - -This is strange to an Englishman who visits the Republic prepared to -find it a nationality of itself,--what in common language we may call a -foreign country. There are English bishops also among savage nations,--a -bishop for instance of Central Africa who lives at present at Zanzibar. -But in the Free State we are among a civilized people who are able to -manage their own affairs. I am very far from finding fault. The Church -in Bloemfontein has worked very well and done much good. But in -acknowledging this I think we ought to acknowledge also that very much -is due to the forbearance of the Boers. - -The Bishop of Bloemfontein with his numerous staff gives to the town a -special ecclesiastical hue. It is quite true that his presence and their -presence adds to the importance of the place, and that their influence -is exercised all for good. The clergymen as a set are peculiarly -clerical. Were I to call them High Church it might be supposed that I -were accusing them of a passion for ribbons. I did see a ribbon or two -but not vehemently pronounced. There is a Home too, to which the girls’ -school is attached,--which has attracted various young ladies who have -come as assistants to the good work. The Bishop too has attracted -various young men in orders. There has I think been some gentle feeling -of disappointment in serious clerical minds at Bloemfontein created by -the natural conclusion brought about by this state of things. All the -clerical young men, who were perhaps intended to be celebate, had when I -was at Bloemfontein become engaged to all the clerical young -ladies,--from whom also something of the same negative virtue may have -been expected. There has, I think, been something of a shock! I was -happy enough to meet some of the gentlemen and some of the ladies, and -am not at all surprised at the happy result which has attended their -joint expatriation. - -The stranger looking at Bloemfontein, and forgetting for a while that it -is the capital of a country or the seat of a Bishop, will behold a -pretty quiet smiling village with willow trees all through it, lying in -the plain,--with distinct boundaries, most pleasing to the eye. Though -it lies in a plain still there are hills close to it,--a little hill on -the east on which there is an old fort and a few worn-out guns which -were brought there when the English occupied the country, and a higher -one to the west which I used to mount when the sun was setting, because -from the top I could look down upon the place and see the whole of it. -The hill is rocky and somewhat steep and, with a mile of intervening -ground, takes half an hour in the ascent. The view from it on an evening -is peculiarly pleasing. The town is so quiet and seems to be so happy -and contented, removed so far away from strife and want and disorder, -that the beholder as he looks down upon it is tempted to think that the -peace of such an abode is better than the excitement of a Paris, a -London, or a New York. I will not say that the peace and quiet can be -discerned from the hill top, but he who sits there, knowing that the -peace and quiet are lying beneath him, will think that he sees them. - -Nor will I say that Bloemfontein is itself peculiarly beautiful. It has -no rapid rivers running through it as has the capital of the Tyrol, no -picturesqueness of hills to make it lovely as has Edinburgh, no glory of -buildings such as belongs to Florence. It is not quaint as Nuremberg, -romantic as Prague, or even embowered in foliage as are some of the -Dutch villages in the western province of the Cape Colony. But it has a -completeness and neatness which makes it very pleasant to the eye. One -knows that no one is over-hungry there, or over-worked. The work indeed -is very light. Friday is a half holyday for everybody. The banks close -at one o’clock on Saturday. Three o’clock ends the day for all important -business. I doubt whether any shop is open after six. At eight all the -servants,--who of course are coloured people,--are at home at their own -huts in Wray Hook. No coloured person is allowed to walk about -Bloemfontein after eight. This, it may be said, is oppressive to them. -But if they are expelled from the streets, so also are they relieved -from their work. At Wray Hook they can walk about as much as they -please,--or go to bed. - -There is much in all this which is old-fashioned,--contrary to our -ideas of civilization, contrary to our ideas of liberty. It would also -be contrary to our ideas of comfort to have no one to wait upon us after -eight o’clock. But there is a contentment and general prosperity about -Bloemfontein which is apt to make a dweller in busy cities think that -though it might not quite suit himself, it would be very good for -everybody else. And then there comes upon him a question of conscience -as he asks himself whether it ought not to be very good for him also. - - - - -NATIVE TERRITORIES. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THABA ’NCHO. - - -The name written above is to be pronounced Tabaancho and belongs to one -of the most interesting places in South Africa. Thaba ’Ncho is a native -town in which live about 6,000 persons of the Baralong tribe under a -Chief of their own and in accordance with their own laws. There is -nothing like this elsewhere on the continent of South Africa, or, as I -believe, approaching it. Elsewhere it is not the custom of the South -African Natives to live in towns. They congregate in kraals, more or -less large,--which kraals are villages surrounded generally by a fence, -and containing from three or four huts up to perhaps a couple of -hundred. Each hut has been found to contain an average of something less -than four persons. But Thaba ’Ncho is a town, not fenced in, with -irregular streets, composed indeed of huts, but constructed with some -idea of municipal regularity. There has been no counting of these -people, but from what information I could get I think I am safe in -saying that as many as 6,000 of them live at Thaba ’Ncho. There are not -above half-a-dozen European towns in South Africa which have a greater -number of inhabitants, and in the vicinity of Thaba ’Ncho there are -other Baralong towns or villages,--within the distance of a few -miles,--containing from five hundred to a thousand inhabitants each. -They possess altogether a territory extending about 35 miles across each -way, and within this area fifteen thousand Natives are located, living -altogether after their own fashion and governed in accordance with their -own native laws. - -Their position is the more remarkable because their territory is -absolutely surrounded by that of the Orange Free State,--as the -territory of the Orange Free State is surrounded by the territories of -Great Britain. The Republic which we know as the Free State is as it -were an island within the ocean of the British Colonies, and the land of -the Baralongs is again an island circled by the smaller sea of the -Republic. And this is still more remarkable from the fact that whereas -the Natives have been encouraged on all sides to make locations on -British territory they have been altogether banished as a land-holding -independent people from the Free State. Throughout the British Colonies -of South Africa the number of the Natives exceeds that of the Europeans -by about eight to one. In the Republic the Europeans exceed the Natives -by two to one. And the coloured people who remain there,--or who have -emigrated thither, which has been more generally the case,--are the -servants employed in the towns and by the farmers. And yet, in spite of -this, a separate nation of 15,000 persons lives quietly and, I must say, -upon the whole prosperously within the Free State borders, altogether -hemmed in, but in no way oppressed. - -It would take long to explain how a branch of the great tribe of the -Bechuanas got itself settled on this land,--on this land, and probably -on much more;--how they quarrelled with their cousins the Basutos, who -had also branched off from the Bechuanas; and how in the wars between -the Free State and the Basutos, the Baralongs, having sided with the -Dutch, have been allowed to remain. It is a confused story and would be -interesting to no English reader. But it may be interesting to know that -there they are, established in their country by treaty, with no fear on -their part that they will be swallowed up, and with no immediate -intention on the part of the circumambient Dutchmen of swallowing them. - -I went to visit the Chief, accompanied by Mr. Höhne the Government -Secretary from Bloemfontein, and was very courteously received. I stayed -during my sojourn at the house of Mr. Daniel the Wesleyan Minister where -I was very comfortably entertained, finding him in a pretty cottage -surrounded by flowers, and with just such a spare bedroom as we read of -in descriptions of old English farmhouses. There was but one spare -bedroom; but, luckily for us, there were two Wesleyan Ministers. And as -the other Wesleyan Minister also had a spare bedroom the Government -Secretary went there. In other respects we divided our visit, dining at -the one house and breakfasting at the other. There is also a clergyman -of the Church of England at Thaba ’Ncho; but he is a bachelor and we -preferred the domestic comforts of a family. Mr. Daniel does, I think, -entertain all the visitors who go to Thaba ’Ncho, as no hotel has as yet -been opened in the city of the Baralongs. - -Maroco is the Chief at present supreme among the Baralongs, an old man, -very infirm by reason of weakness in his feet, who has not probably -many more years of royalty before him. What few Europeans are living in -the place have their houses low on the plain, while the huts of the -Natives have been constructed on a hill. The word Thaba means hill in -Maralong language,--in which language also the singular Maralong becomes -Baralong in the plural. The King Maroco is therefore “the Maralong” par -excellence;--whereas he is the King of the Baralongs. The Europeans -living there,--in addition to the Ministers,--are three or four -shopkeepers who supply those wants of the Natives with which an approach -to civilization has blessed them. We walked up the hill with Mr. Daniel -and had not been long among the huts when we were accosted by one Sapena -and his friends. Now there is a difficulty with these people as to the -next heir to the throne,--which difficulty will I fear be hard of -solving when old King Maroco dies. His son by his great wife married in -due order a quantity of wives among whom one was chosen as the “great -wife” as was proper. In a chapter further on a word or two will be found -as to this practice. But the son who was the undoubted heir died before -his great wife had had a child. She then went away, back to the -Bechuanas from whom she had come, and among whom she was a very royal -Princess, and there married Prince Sapena. This marriage was blessed -with a son. But by Bechuana law, by Baralong law also,--and I believe by -Jewish law if that were anything to the purpose,--the son of the wife of -the heir becomes the heir even though he be born from another father. -These people are very particular in all matters of inheritance, and -therefore, when it began to be thought that Maroco was growing old and -near his time, they sent an embassy to the Bechuanas for the boy. He had -arrived just before my visit and was then absent on a little return -journey with the suite of Bechuanas who had brought him. By way of final -compliment he had gone back with them a few miles so that I did not see -him. But his father Sapena had been living for some time with the -Baralongs, having had some difficulties among the Bechuanas with the -Royal Princess his wife, and, being a man of power and prudence, had -become half regent under the infirm old Chief. There are fears that when -Maroco dies there may be a contest as to the throne between Sapena and -his own son. Should the contest amount to a war the Free State will -probably find it expedient to settle the question by annexing the -country. - -Sapena is a well built man, six feet high, broad in the shoulders, and -with the gait of a European. He was dressed like a European, with a -watch and chain at his waistcoat, a round flat topped hat, and cord -trowsers, and was quite clean. Looking at him as he walks no one would -believe him to be other than a white man. He looks to be about thirty, -though he must be much older. He was accompanied by three or four young -men who were all of the blood royal, and who were by no means like to -him either in dress or manner. He was very quiet, answering our -questions in few words, but was extremely courteous. He took us first -into a large hut belonging to one of the family, which was so -scrupulously clean as to make me think for a moment that it was kept as -a show hat; but those which we afterwards visited, though not perhaps -equal to the first in neatness, were too nearly so to have made much -precaution necessary. The hut was round as are all the huts, but had a -door which required no stooping. A great portion of the centre,--though -not quite the centre,--was occupied by a large immoveable round bin in -which the corn for the use of the family is stored. There was a chair, -and a bed, and two or three settees. If I remember right, too, there was -a gun standing against the wall. The place certainly looked as though -nobody was living in it. Sapena afterwards took us to his own hut which -was also very spacious, and here we were seated on chairs and had Kafir -beer brought to us in large slop-bowls. The Kafir beer is made of Kafir -corn, and is light and sour. The Natives when they sit down to drink -swallow enormous quantities of it. A very little sufficed with me, as -its sourness seemed to be its most remarkable quality. There were many -Natives with us but none of them drank when we did. We sat for ten -minutes in Sapena’s house, and then were taken on to that of the King. I -should say however that in the middle of Sapena’s hut there stood a -large iron double bedstead with mattras which I was sure had come from -Mr. Heal’s establishment in Tottenham Court Road. - -Round all these huts,--those that is belonging to the royal family and -those no doubt of other magnates,--there is a spacious courtyard -enclosed by a circular fence of bamboo canes, stuck into the ground -perpendicularly, standing close to each other and bound together. The -way into the courtyard is open, but the circle is brought round so as -to overlap the entrance and prevent the passer-by from looking in. It is -not, I imagine, open to every one to run into his neighbour’s -courtyard,--especially into those belonging to royalty. As we were going -to the King’s Palace the King himself met us on the road surrounded by -two or three of his councillors. One old councillor stuck close to him -always, and was, I was told, never absent from his side. They had been -children together and Maroco cannot endure to be without him. We had our -interview out in the street, with a small crowd of Baralongs around us. -The Chief was not attired at all like his son’s wife’s husband. He had -an old skin or kaross around him, in which he continually shrugged -himself as we see a beggar doing in the cold, with a pair of very old -trowsers and a most iniquitous slouch hat upon his head. There was -nothing to mark the King about his outward man;--and, as he was dressed, -so was his councillor. But it is among the “young bloods” of a people -that finery is always first to be found. - -Maroco shook hands with each of us twice before he began to talk, as did -all his cortege. Then he told us of his bodily ailments,--how his feet -were so bad that he could hardly walk, and how he never got any comfort -anywhere because of his infirmity. And yet he was standing all the time. -He sent word to President Brand that he would have been in to see him -long ago,--only that his feet were so bad! This was probably true as -Maroco, when he goes into Bloemfontein, always expects to have his food -and drink found for him while there, and to have a handsome present to -carry back with him. He grunted and groaned, poor old King, and then -told Sapena to take us to his hut, shaking hands with us all twice -again. We went to his hut, and there sitting in the spacious court we -found his great wife. She was a woman about forty years of age, but -still remarkably handsome, with brilliant quick eyes, of an olive rather -than black colour. She wore a fur hat or cap,--somewhat like a pork-pie -hat,--which became her wonderfully; and though she was squatting on the -ground with her knees high and her back against the fence,--not of all -attitudes the most dignified,--still there was much of dignity about -her. She shook hands with us, still seated, and then bade one of the -girls take us into the hut. There was nothing in this especial, except -that a portion of it was screened off by furs, behind which we did not -of course penetrate. All these huts are very roomy and perfectly light. -They are lofty, so that a man cannot touch the roof in the centre, and -clean. Into the ordinary Kafir hut the visitor has to creep,--and when -there he creeps out at once because of the heat, the smell, and the -smoke. These were of course royal huts, but the huts of all the -Baralongs are better than those of the Kafirs. - -The King or Chief administers justice sitting outside in his Court with -his Councillors round him; and whatever he pronounces, with their -assistance,--that is law. His word without theirs would be law too,--but -would be law probably at the expense of his throne or life if often so -pronounced. There are Statutes which are well understood, and a Chief -who persistently ignored the Statutes would not long be Chief. For all -offences except one the punishment is a fine,--so many cattle. This if -not paid by the criminal must be paid by the criminal’s family. It may -be understood therefore how disagreeable it must be to be nearly -connected by blood with a gay Lothario or a remorseless Iago. The result -is that Lotharios and Iagos are apt to come to sudden death within the -bosoms of their own families. Poisoning among the Baralongs is common, -but no other kind of violence. The one crime beyond a fine,--which has -to be expiated by death from the hand of an executioner,--is rebellion -against the Chief. For any mutiny Death is the doom. At the time of my -visit Sapena was exercising the chief authority because of Maroco’s -infirmity. Everything was done in Maroco’s name, though Sapena did it. -As to both,--the old man and the young,--I was assured that they were -daily drunk. Maroco is certainly killing himself by drink. Sapena did -not look like a drunkard. - -President Brand assured me that in nothing that they do are these people -interfered with by the Free State or its laws. If there be thieving over -the border of the Free State the Landroost endeavours to settle it with -the Chief who is by no means averse to summary extradition. But there is -not much of such theft, the Baralongs knowing that their independence -depends on their good behaviour. “But a bloody Chief,”--I asked the -President,--“such as Cetywayo is represented to be among the Zulus! If -he were to murder his people right and left would that be allowed by -your Government?” He replied that as the Baralongs were not given to -violent murder, there would never probably be a case requiring decision -on this point. In my own mind I have no doubt but that if they did -misbehave themselves badly they would be at once annexed. - -Maroco and all his family, and indeed the great body of the people, are -heathen. There is a sprinkling of Christianity, sufficient probably to -justify the two churches, but I doubt whether Thaba ’Ncho is peculiarly -affected by missionary zeal. There are schools there, and, as it -happened, I did hear some open air singing,--in the open air because the -chapel was under repair. But I was not specially invited “to hear our -children sing a hymn,” as was generally the case where the missionary -spirit was strong. At Thaba ’Ncho the medical skill of the pastor seemed -to be valued quite as much as his theological power. There was no other -doctor, and as Mr. Daniel attended them without fee it is not surprising -that much of his time was occupied in this manner. - -I have mentioned the extent of the land belonging to the people. On the -produce of this land they live apparently without want. They cultivate -much of it, growing mealies, or maize, and Kafir corn. They also have -flocks of cattle and sheep,--and earn some money by the sale of wool. -But it seems to me that so large a number of people, living on such an -extent of land, which of course is not closely cultivated, may be -subject at any time to famine. If so they could apply only to the Free -State for assistance, and such assistance, if given to any extent, would -probably lead to annexation. The distribution of the land is altogether -in the hands of the Chief who apportions it as he pleases, but never, it -seems, withdraws that which has been given, without great cause. It is -given out to sub-tribes and again redistributed among the people. - -That it cannot as yet have been found to be scanty I gather from the -fact that on the road between Thaba ’Ncho and Bloemfontein I found an -intelligent Scotch Africander settled on a farm within the territory of -the Baralongs. Here he had built for himself a comfortable house, had -made an extensive garden,--with much labour in regard to -irrigation,--and had flocks and herds and corn. I questioned him as to -his holding of the land and he told me that it had been given to him -without rent or payment of any kind by Maroco, because he was a friend -of the tribe. But he perfectly understood that he held it only during -Maroco’s pleasure, which could not be valid for a day after Maroco’s -death. Nevertheless he was going on with his irrigation and spoke of -still extended operations. When I hinted that Maroco was mortal, he -admitted the precarious nature of his tenure, but seemed to think that -the Baralongs would never disturb him. No doubt he well understood his -position and was aware that possession is nine points of the law among -the Baralongs as it is among the English or Scotch. Even should the -territory be annexed, as must ultimately be its fate, his possession -will probably be strengthened by a freehold grant. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -KRELI AND HIS KAFIRS. - - -At the time in which I am writing this chapter Kreli and his sons -suppose themselves to be at war with the Queen of England. The Governor -of the Gape Colony, who has been so far troubled in his serenity as to -have felt it expedient to live away from his house for the last three or -four months near to the scene of action, supposes probably that he has -been called upon to put down a most unpleasant Kafir disturbance. He -will hardly dignify the affair with the name of a war. When in Ireland -the Fenians were put down by the police without direct military -interference we felt that there had been a disagreeable row,--but -certainly not a civil war, because the soldiers had not been employed. -And yet we should hardly have been comfortable while the row was going -on had we not known that there were soldiers at hand in Ireland. For -some months it was much the same with Kreli and his rebellious Kafirs. -In South Africa there was comfort in feeling that there were one or two -regiments near the Kei River,--at head quarters, with a General and -Commissaries and Colonels at King Williamstown, where the Governor is -also stationed, and that there were soldiers also at East London, on the -coast, ready for an emergency should the emergency come. But the -fighting up to that time had been done by policemen and -volunteers,--and it was hoped that it might be so to the end. Towards -the close of November 1877 the end was thought to have almost come; -though there were even then those who believed that when we had subdued -the Galekas who are Kreli’s peculiar people, the Gaikas would rise -against us. They are Sandilli’s people and live on this, or the western, -side of the Kei territory, round about King Williamstown in what we call -British Kafraria. Many hundreds of them are working for wages within the -boundaries of what was formerly their own territory. I cannot but think -that had the Gaikas intended to take part with their Transkeian brethren -they would not have waited till Kreli and his Galekas had been so nearly -beaten. But now we know that an ending to this trouble so happy as that -which was at first anticipated has not been quite accomplished. British -troops have entered the territory on the other side of the Kei, and are -at present probably engaged in putting down some remnant of the Galekas. - -There is nothing more puzzling in South Africa than the genealogy and -nomenclature of the Kafir tribes, and nothing, perhaps, less interesting -to English readers. In the first place the authorities differ much as to -what is a Kafir. In a book now before me on Kafir Laws and Customs, -written by various hands and published in 1858 by Colonel Maclean who -was Governor of British Kafraria, we are told that “The general -designation of Kafraria has been given to the whole territory extending -from the Great Fish River to Delagoa Bay.” This would include Natal and -all Zululand. But if there be one native doctrine more stoutly -enunciated in and about Natal than another, it is that the Zulus and -Kafirs are a different people. The same passage, however, goes on to say -that, properly speaking, that territory only should be included which is -occupied by the Amaxosa and Abatembu tribes, the Amampondo and the -Amazulu being--different. An English reader must be requested to reject -as surplusage for his purpose the two first syllables in all these -native names when they take the shape of Ama or Aba or Amam. They are -decorous, classical, and correct as from Kafir scholars, but are simply -troublesome among simple people who only want to know a little. The Amam -Pondos, so called from one Pondo a former chief, are familiarly called -Pondos. The Aba Tembus,--from Tembu a chief thirteen or fourteen chiefs -back from the present head of the tribe,--are Tembus. They have been -also nick-named Tambookies, an appellation which they themselves do not -acknowledge, but which has become common in all Kafir dissertations. The -Amaxosas, who among the Kafirs are certainly the great people of all, in -the same way are Xosas, from Xosa a chief eleven chiefs back from Kreli. -But these Xosas, having been divided, have taken other names,--among -which the two principal are the Galekas of which Kreli is king, from -Galeka Kreli’s great-grandfather; and the Gaikas, of which Sandilli is -chief,--from Gaika, Sandilli’s father. But the student may encounter -further difficulty here as he will find this latter name learnedly -written as Ngqika, and not uncommonly spelt as Ghika. The spelling I -have adopted is perhaps a little more classical than the latter and -certainly less pernicious than the former. - -But though, as above stated, one of the authors of the book from which I -have quoted has eliminated the Pondos as well as the Zulus from the -Kafirs, thus leaving the descendants of Xosa and of Tembu to claim the -name between them, I find in the same book a genealogical table, -compiled by another author who includes the Pondos among the Kafirs, and -derives the Galekas, Ghikas, Pondos, and Tembus from one common ancestor -whom he calls Zwidi, who was fifteen chiefs back from Kreli, and whom we -may be justified in regarding as the very Adam of the Kafir race since -we have no information of any Kafir before him. - -The Galekas, the Pondos, and Tembus will be found in the map in their -proper places on the eastern side of the Kei River; and, as being on the -eastern side of the Kei River, they were not British subjects when this -chapter was written. When the reader shall have this book in his hand -they may probably have been annexed. The Gaikas, I am afraid he will not -find on the map. As they have been British subjects for the last -twenty-five years the spaces in the map of the country in which they -live have been wanted for such European names as Frankfort and King -Williamstown. Those however whom I have named are the real -Kafirs,--living near the Kei whether on one side of the river or the -other. The sharp-eyed investigating reader will also find a people -called Bomvana, on the sea coast, north of the Galekas. They are a -sub-tribe, under Kreli, who have a sub-chief, one Moni, and Moni and the -Bomvanas seem to have been troubled in their mind, not wishing to wage -war against the Queen of England, and yet fearing to disobey the -behests of their Great Chief Kreli. - -It will thus be seen that the Kafirs do not occupy very much land in -South Africa, though their name has become better known than that of any -South African tribe,--and though every black Native is in familiar -language called a Kafir. The reason has been that the two tribes, the -Gaikas and the Galekas, have given us infinitely more trouble than any -other. Sandilli with his Gaikas have long been subjected, though they -have never been regarded as quiet subjects, such as are the Basutos and -the Fingos. There has ever been a dread, as there was notably in 1876, -that they would rise and rebel. The alarmists since this present affair -of Kreli commenced have never ceased to declare that the Gaikas would -surely be up in arms against us. But, as a tribe, they have not done so -yet,--partly perhaps because their Chief Sandilli is usually drunk. The -Galekas, however, have never been made subject to us. - -But the Galekas and Kreli were conquered in the last Kafir war, and the -tribe had been more than decimated by the madness of the people who in -1857 had destroyed their own cattle and their own corn in obedience to a -wonderful prophecy. I have told the story before in one of the early -chapters of my first volume. Kreli had then been driven with his people -across the river Bashee to the North,--where those Bomvanas now are; and -his own territory had remained for a period vacant. Then arose a -question as to what should be done with the land, and Sir Philip -Wodehouse, who was then Governor of the Cape Colony, proposed that it -should be given out in farms to Europeans. But at that moment economy -and protection for the Natives were the two virtues shining most -brightly at the Colonial Office, and, as such occupation was thought to -require the presence of troops for its security, the Secretary of the -day ordered that Kreli should be allowed to return. Kreli was badly off -for land and for means of living across the Bashee, and was very urgent -in requesting permission to come back. If he might come back and reign -in a portion of his old land he would be a good neighbour. He was -allowed to come back;--and as a Savage has not kept his word badly till -this unfortunate affair occurred. - -Among the printed papers which I have at hand as to this rebellion one -of the last is the following government notice;-- - - “KING WILLIAMSTOWN, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. - - “_13th November, 1877._ - - “Applications will be received by the Honourable the Commissioner - of Crown Lands and Public Works for grants of Land in the - Westernmost portion of Galekaland, formerly known as Kreli’s - country, between the Cogha and Kei Rivers, from those willing to - settle in that country. The condition of the grants,--which will be - limited in size to 300 acres,--include immediate settlement and - bonâ fide occupation, and may be ascertained----&c. &c.” - -Thus, in 1877, we are again attempting to do that which was recommended -twenty years before. On this occasion I presume that no sanction from -the Colonial Office at home was needed, as at the date of the notice -such sanction could hardly have been received. This is a matter which I -do not profess to understand, but the present Governor of the Cape -Colony,--who in this war acts as High Commissioner and in that capacity -is not responsible to his Ministers,--is certainly not the man to take -such a step without proper authority. I hope we are not counting our -chickens before they are hatched. I feel little doubt myself but that -the hatching will at last be complete. - -Though the disturbance has hardly been a war,--if a war, it would have -to be reckoned as the sixth Kafir war,--it may be well to say a few -words as to its commencement. To do so it will be necessary to bring -another tribe under the reader’s notice. These are the Fingos, who among -South African natives are the special friends of the Britisher,--having -precedence in this respect even of the Basutos. They appear to have been -originally,--as originally, at least, as we can trace them -back,--inhabitants of some portion of the country now called Natal, and -to have been driven by Chaka, the great King of the Zulus, down among -the Galekas. Here they were absolutely enslaved, and in the time of -Hintsa, the father of Kreli, were called the Kafirs’ dogs. Their -original name I do not know, but Fingo means a dog. After one of the -Kafir wars, in 1834, they were taken out from among the Galekas by -British authority, relieved from the condition of slavery, and settled -on locations which were given to them. They were first placed near the -coast between the Great Fish River and the Keiskamma; but many were -subsequently moved up to a district which they still occupy, across the -Kei, and close to their old masters the Galekas,--but on land which was -under British government and which became part of British Kafraria. Here -they have been as good as their old masters,--and as being special -occupants of British favour perhaps something better. They have been a -money-making people, possessing oxen and waggons, and going much ahead -of other Kafirs in the way of trade. And as they grew in prosperity, so -probably they grew in pride. They were still Fingos;--but not a Fingo -was any longer a Galeka’s dog,--which was a state of things not -agreeable to the Galekas. This too must have been the more intolerable -as the area given up to the Fingos in this locality comprised about -2,000 square miles, while that left to the Galekas was no more than -1,600: The Galekas living on this curtailed territory were about 66,600 -souls, whereas only 50,000 Fingos drew their easier bread from the -larger region. In August last the row began by a quarrel between the -Galekas and the Fingos. There was a beer-drinking together on the -occasion of a Fingo wedding to which certain Galekas had been invited. -The guests misbehaved themselves, and the Fingos drove them away. Upon -that a body of armed Galekas returned, and a tribal war was started. But -the Fingos as being British subjects were not empowered to conduct a war -on their own account. It was necessary that we should fight for them or -that there should be no fighting. The Galekas were armed,--as they might -choose to arm themselves, or might be able; while the Fingos could only -possess such arms as we permitted them to use. It thus became necessary -that we should defend them. - -When it came to this pass Kreli, the old Chief, is supposed to have been -urgent against any further fighting. Throughout his long life whatever -of misfortune he had suffered, had come from fighting with the English, -whatever of peace he had enjoyed had come from the good will of the -English. Nor do I think that the Galekas as a body were anxious for a -war with the English though they may have been ready enough to bully the -Fingos. They too had much to lose and nothing to gain. Ambition probably -sat lightly with them, and even hatred for the Fingos by that time must -nearly have worn itself out among the people. But the Chief had sons, -and there were other Princes of the blood royal. With such as they -ambition and revenge linger longer than with the mass. Quicquid delirunt -reges plectuntur Achivi. The Kafirs had to fight because royal blood -boiled high. The old King in his declining years was too weak to -restrain his own sons,--as have been other old Kings. Arms having been -taken up against the Fingos were maintained against the protectors of -the Fingos. It might be that after all the long prophesied day had now -come for driving the white men out of South Africa. Instead of that the -day has probably at last come for subjugating the hitherto unsubjugated -Kafirs. - -I have before me all the details of the “war” as it has been carried on, -showing how in the first battle our one gun came to grief after having -been fired seven times, and how the Fingos ran away because the gun had -come to grief;--how in consequence of this five of our mounted -policemen and one officer were killed by the Galekas; how in the next -engagement the Fingos behaved much better,--so much better as to have -been thanked for their gallantry; and how from that time to this we have -driven poor old Kreli about, taking from him his cattle and his -country,--determined if possible to catch him but not having caught him -as yet. Colonial history will no doubt some day tell all this at length; -but in a work so light as mine my readers perhaps would not thank me for -more detailed circumstances. - -On the 5th of October, when the affair was becoming serious, the -Governor of the Gape, who is also High Commissioner for the management -of the natives, issued a proclamation in which he sets forth Kreli’s -weakness or fault. “Kreli,” he says, “either had not the will or the -power to make his people keep the peace,” and again--“The Chief Kreli -having distinctly expressed his inability to punish his people, or to -prevent such outrages for the future, Commandant Griffith has been -directed to advance into Kreli’s country, to put down by force, if -necessary, all attempts to resist the authority of the British -Government or to molest its subjects, and to exact full reparation for -the injuries inflicted on British subjects by Kreli’s people.” - -Read by the assistance of South African commentaries this means that -Kreli’s country is to be annexed, and for such reading the later -proclamation as to 300-acre farms adds an assured light. That it will be -much better so, no one doubts. Let the reader look at the map and he -cannot doubt. Can it be well that a corner, one little corner should be -kept for independent Kafirs,--not that Kafirs unable to live with the -British might run into it as do the American Indians into the Indian -Territory or the Maories of New Zealand into the King-County there;--but -that a single tribe may entertain dreams of independence and dreams of -hostility? Whether we have done well or ill by occupying South Africa, I -will not now stop to ask. But if ill, we can hardly salve our -consciences by that little corner. And yet that little corner has always -been the supposed focus of rebellion from which the scared colonist has -feared that war would come upon him. Of what real service can it be to -leave to the unchecked dominion of Kafir habits a tract of 1,600 square -miles when we have absorbed from the Natives a territory larger than all -British India. We have taken to ourselves in South Africa within this -century an extent of land which in area is the largest of all Her -Majesty’s dominions, and have been wont to tell ourselves that as -regards the Natives it is all right because we have left them their own -lands in Kafraria Proper. Let the Briton who consoles himself with this -thought,--and who would still so console himself,--look at the strip on -the map along the coast, an inch long perhaps and an inch deep; and then -let him measure across the continent from the mouth of the Orange River -to the mouth of the Tugela. It makes a Briton feel like the American who -would not swear to the two hundredth duck. - -We have not caught Kreli yet. When we have, if we should catch him, I do -not in the least know what we shall do with him. There is a report which -I do not believe that the Governor has threatened him with Robben -Island. Robben Island is a forlorn isle lying off Capetown which has -been utilized for malefactors and lunatics. Langalibalele has a -comfortable farm house on the Gape Flats where he has a bottle of wine -and a bottle of beer allowed him a day,--and where he lives like a -second Napoleon at a second St. Helena. I trust that nothing of the kind -will be done with Kreli. There is an absurdity about it which is -irritating. It is as though we were playing at Indian princes among the -African black races. The man himself has not risen in life beyond the -taste for squatting in his hut with a dozen black wives around him and a -red blanket over his shoulders. Then we put him into a house where he -squats on a chair instead, and give him wine and beer and good clothes. -When we take the children of such a one and do something in the way of -educating them, then the expenditure of money is justified. Many -Kafirs,--many thousand Kafirs have risen above squatting in huts and red -blankets; but they are the men who have learned to work, as at the -Kimberley mine, and not the Chiefs. The only excuse for such treatment -as that which Langalibalele receives, which Kreli if caught would -probably receive, is that no one knows what else to propose. I am almost -inclined to think it better that Kreli should not be caught. Prisoners -of that nature are troublesome. What a blessing it was to France when -Marshal Bazaine escaped. - -I was told before leaving the Cape that the trouble would probably not -cost above £50,000. So cheap a disturbance certainly should not be -called a war. The cattle taken would probably be worth the money;--and -then the 300-acre farms, if they are ever allotted, will it is presumed -be of some value. But now I fear that £50,000 will not pay half the -bill. There is no luxury on earth more expensive than the British -soldier. - -It is well that we should annex Kreli’s country;--but there is something -for the lovers of the picturesque to regret in that the Kafir should no -longer have a spot on which he can live quite in accordance with his own -habits, in which there shall be no one to bid him cover his nakedness. -Though by degrees the really independent part of Kafraria Proper has -dwindled down to so small dimensions, there has always been the feeling -that the unharassed unharnessed Kafir had still his own native wilds in -which to disport himself as he pleased, in which the Chief might rule -over his subjects, and in which the subjects might venerate their Chiefs -without the necessity of obeying any white man. On behalf of such lovers -of the picturesque it should be explained that in making the Kafirs -subject to Great Britain, Great Britain interferes but very little with -their habits of life. There is hardly any interference unless as an -introduction of wages among them may affect them. The Gaika who has been -subjugated has been allowed to marry as many wives as he could get as -freely as the hitherto unsubjugated Galeka. Unless he come into the -European towns breeches have not been imposed upon him, and indeed not -then with any rigorous hand. The subject Kafirs are indeed made to pay -hut tax,--10s. a hut in the Cape Colony and 14s. in Natal; but this is -collected with such ease as to justify me in saying that they are a -people not impatient of taxation. The popular idea seems to be that the -10s. demanded has to be got as soon as possible from some European -source,--by a week’s work, by the sale of a few fowls, or perhaps in -some less authorized manner. A sheep or two taken out of the nearest -white man’s flock will thoroughly indemnify the native for his tax. - -But their habits of life remain the same, unless they be openly -renounced and changed by the adoption of Christianity; or until work -performed in the service of the white man gradually induces the workman -to imitate his employer. I think that the latter cause is by far the -more operative of the two. But even that must be slow, as a population -to be counted by millions can not be taught to work all at once. - -A short catalogue of some of the most noticeable of the Kafir habits may -be interesting. I have taken my account of them from the papers -published under Colonel Maclean’s name. As polygamy is known to be the -habit of Kafirs, usages as to Kafir marriages come first in interest. A -Kafir always buys his wife, giving a certain number of cattle for her as -may be agreed upon between him and the lady’s father. These cattle go to -the father, or guardian, who has the privilege of selling the young -lady. A man therefore to have many wives must have many cattle,--or in -other words much wealth, the riches of a Kafir being always vested in -herds of oxen. Should a man have to repudiate his wife, and should he -show that he does so on good ground, he can recover the cattle he has -paid for her. Should a man die without children by a wife, the cattle -given for her may be recovered by his heirs. But should a woman leave -her husband before she had had a child, he may keep the cattle. Should -only one child have been born when the husband dies, and the woman be -still young and marriageable, a part of the cattle can be recovered. I -have known it to be stated,--in the House of Commons and -elsewhere,--that wives are bought and sold among the Kafirs. Such an -assertion gives a wrong idea of the custom. Wives are bought, but are -never sold. The girl is sold, that she may become a wife; but the -husband cannot sell her. The custom as it exists is sufficiently -repulsive. As the women are made to work,--made to do all the hard work -where European habits have not been partially introduced,--a wife of -course is valuable as a servant. To call them slaves is to give a false -representation of their position. A wife in England has to obey her -husband, but she is not his slave. The Kafir wife though she may hoe the -land while the husband only fights or searches for game, does not hold a -mean position in her husband’s hut. But the old are more wealthy than -the young, and therefore the old and rich buy up the wives, leaving no -wives for the young men,--with results which may easily be understood. -The practice is abominable,--but we shall not alter it by conceiving or -spreading false accounts of it. In regard to work it should be -understood that the men even in their own locations are learning to -become labourers and to spare the women. The earth used to be turned -only by the hoe, and the hoe was used by the women. Ploughs are now -quite common among the Kafirs, and the ploughing is done by men. - -There is no system of divorce; but a man may repudiate his wife with or -without reason, getting back the cattle or a part of them. A wife often -leaves her husband, through ill-usage or from jealousy,--in which case -the cattle remain with the husband and, if not as yet paid in full, can -be recovered. According to law not only the cattle agreed upon but the -progeny of the cattle can be recovered;--but it seldom happens that more -than the original number are obtained. When there is a separation the -children belong to the father. - -When a man has many wives he elects one as his “great wife,”--who may -not improbably be the youngest and last married. The selection is -generally made in accordance with the rank of the woman. Her eldest son -is the heir. Then he makes a second choice of a “right hand -wife,”--whose eldest son is again the heir of some portion of the -property which during the father’s life has been set apart for the right -hand house. If he be rich he may provide for other children, but the -customs of his tribe do not expect him to do so. If he die without -having made such selections, his brothers or other relatives do it for -him. - -A husband may beat his wife,--but not to death. If he do that he is -punished for murder,--by a fine. If he knock out her eye, or even her -tooth, he is fined by the Chief. The same law prevails between parents -and children as long as the child remains domiciled in the parents’ -family. A father is responsible for all that his child does, and must -pay the fines inflicted for the child’s misdeeds;--unless he has -procured the outlawing of his child, which he can do if the child has -implicated him in many crimes and caused him to pay many fines. Near -relations of criminals must pay, when the criminals are unable to do so. - -Kafir lands are not sold or permanently alienated. Any man may occupy -unoccupied land and no one but the Chief can disturb him. Should he quit -the land he has occupied, and another come upon it, he can recover the -use of the land he has once cultivated. - -Murder is punished by a fine,--which seems to be of the same amount -whatever be the circumstances of the murder. The law makes no difference -between premeditated and unpremeditated murder,--the injury done being -considered rather than the criminality of the doer. A husband would be -fined for murder if he killed an adulteress, let the proof have been -ever so plain. Even for accidental homicide a Chief will occasionally -fine the perpetrator,--though in such case the law does not hold him to -be guilty. For adultery there is a fine of cattle, great or small in -accordance with the rank of the injured husband. Rape is fined, the -cattle going to the husband, if the woman be married. If a girl be -seduced, the seducer is fined,--perhaps three head of cattle. The young -man probably has not got three head of cattle. Then his older friends -pay for him. Among Kafir customs there are some which might find -approbation with a portion of our European communities. It cannot, at -any rate, be said that the Kafirs have a bloody code. - -All theft is punished by a fine of cattle, the fine being moderated if -the property stolen be recovered. But the fine is great or small -according to the rank of the injured person. If a Chief have been robbed -general confiscation of every thing is the usual result of detection. -The fine is paid to the injured person. A Chief cannot be prosecuted for -theft by one of his own tribe. The children of Chiefs are permitted to -steal from people of their own tribe, and no action can be brought -against them. Should one be taken in the fact of so stealing and be -whipped, or beaten, all the property of the whipper or beater may be -confiscated by the Chief. There was a tribe some years ago in which -there were so many royal offshoots, that not a garden, not a goat was -safe. A general appeal was made to the paramount Chief and he decided -that the privilege should in future be confined to his own immediate -family. - -For wilful injury a man has to pay the full amount of damage; but for -accidental injury he pays nothing. This seems to be unlike the general -Kafir theory of law. There is no fine for trespass; the idea being that -as all lands are necessarily and equally open, the absence of any -recovery on account of damage is equal to all. When fencing has become -common this idea will probably vanish. If cattle that are trespassing be -driven off and injured in the driving, fines can be recovered to the -amount of the damage done. - -When illness comes a doctor is to be employed. Should death ensue -without a doctor a fine is imposed,--which goes to the Chief. - -There are many religious rites and ceremonies and many laws as to -cleanness and uncleanness; but it would hardly interest the reader were -I to describe them at length. At the age of puberty, or what is so -considered among the Kafirs, both boys and girls go through certain -rites by which they are supposed to be introduced to manhood and -woman-hood. There is much in these ceremonies which is disgusting and -immoral, and it has been the anxious endeavours of missionaries to cause -their cessation. But such cessation can only come by the gradual -adoption of European manners. Where the Kafirs have lived in close -connexion with the Europeans many of these customs have already been -either mitigated or abandoned. - -When a child dies but little notice is taken of the circumstance. Among -adults, the dying man or woman, when known to be dying, is taken away to -die in a ditch. So at least the Rev. Mr. Dugmore says in one of the -papers from which I am quoting. When death has occurred the family -become unclean and unable to mix in society for a certain period. It -used to be the custom to cast the dead body forth to be devoured by -beasts, the privilege of burial being only accorded to the Chiefs. But -now all are buried under the ground, a hole being dug not far from the -hut. The funeral of a Chief is attended with many ceremonies, his arms -and ornaments being buried with him. Friends are appointed to watch by -the grave,--for longer or lesser periods according to the rank of the -deceased. If he have been a great Chief, the period is sometimes a year, -during which the watchers may do nothing but watch. These watchers, -however, become sacred when the watch is done. Cattle are folded upon -the grave which may never after be slaughtered;--nor can anything be -done with their increase till the last of the original cattle have died. -The grave of the Chief becomes a sanctuary at which an offender may -take refuge. The death of the Chief is made known to all other Chiefs -around,--who shave their heads and abstain for a time from the use of -milk. From all which it may be seen that a Kafir Chief is considered to -be a very big person. - -Justice is administered by the Chief assisted by Councillors. The Chief, -however, is not absolutely bound by the advice of his Councillors. He is -compelled to some adhesion to justice or to the national laws by the -knowledge that his tribe will dwindle and depart from him if he gives -unbearable offence. Cases of gross injustice do occur;--but on the whole -the Kafir Chiefs have endeavoured to rule in accordance with Kafir -customs. A certain amount of arbitrary caprice the people have been -willing to endure;--but they have not been as long-suffering as the -Zulus under Dingaan,--nor as the Romans under Nero. Disobedience to a -Chief is punished by a fine;--but the crime has been unpopular in the -tribes, and though doubtless committed daily under the rose is one of -which a Kafir does not wish to have been thought guilty. The very -essence of Kafir customs and Kafir life is reverence for the Chief. - -I cannot close this short catalogue of Kafir customs without alluding to -witch-doctors and rain-makers. Witch-doctoring is employed on two -occasions--1st, when a true but of course mistaken desire exists in a -kraal or family village to find out who is tormenting the community by -making some member or members of it ill,--and, 2nd, when some Chief has -a desire to get rid of a political enemy, or more probably to obtain the -cattle of a wealthy subject. In either case a priest is called in who -with many absurd ceremonies goes about the work of selecting or -“smelling out” a victim, whom of course he has in truth selected before -the ceremonies are commenced. In the former case, after much howling and -beating of drums, he names the unfortunate one, who is immediately -pounced upon and tormented almost to death; and at last forced, in his -own defence, to own to some kind of witchcraft. His cattle are seized -which go to the Chief,--and then after a while he is purified and put -upon his legs again, impoverished indeed, and perhaps crippled, but a -free man in regard to the Devil which is supposed to have been driven -out of him. In the second case the treatment is the same;--only that the -man whose wealth is desired, or whose political conduct has been -objectionable, does not often recover. - -The rain-maker is used only in time of drought, when the Chief sends to -him desiring that he will make rain, and presenting him with a head of -cattle to assist him in the operation. The profession is a dangerous -one, as the Chief is wont to sacrifice the rain-maker himself if the -rain is postponed too long. It is the rain-maker’s trade to produce -acceptable excuses till the rain shall come in its natural course. It is -not expected till the bones of the ox shall have been burned after -sacrifice,--which may be about the third day. Then it may be asserted -that the beast was not good enough, or unfortunately of an unacceptable -colour; and there is some delay while a second beast comes. Then it is -alleged that there is manifestly a witch interfering, and the -witch-doctoring process takes place. It is bad luck indeed if rain do -not come by this time;--but, should it not come soon after the -witch-doctor’s victim has gone through his torments, then the rain-maker -is supposed to be an impostor, and he is at once drowned by order of the -Chief. Mr. Warner, from whose notes this account is taken, says that the -professional rain-maker was not often a long lived man. - -I did not myself visit the Transkeian territory, but in passing from -East London to Durban the small steamer which carried me ran so near the -land that I was enabled to see the coast scenery as well as though I -were in a rowing boat just off the shore. We could see the Kafirs -bathing and the cattle of the Kafirs roaming upon the hills. It is by -far the prettiest bit of coast belonging to South Africa. The gates of -St. John, as the rocks forming the mouth of the river are called, are -peculiarly lovely. When I was there the rebellion had not been -commenced, but even then I thought it a pity that English vessels should -not be able to run in among that lovely paradise of hills and rocks and -waters. - -I insert here a table of the population of the Transkeian tribes, giving -the estimated numbers of the people and the supposed number of fighting -men which each tribe contains. They are all now regarded as Kafirs -except the inhabitants of Adam Kok’s Land and the district called the -Gatberg, who are people that have migrated from the west. - - -ESTIMATED POPULATION OF THE TRANSKEIAN TERRITORIES. - -+---------------------------------+--------------+--------------+ -| | Total | Fighting | -| | Population. | Men. | -+---------------------------------+--------------+--------------+ -| Fingos | 45,000 | 7,000 | -| Idutywa Reserve | 17,000 | 3,000 | -| Emigrant Tembus | 40,000 | 7,000 | -| Tembus (Tembuland Proper) | 60,000 | 10,000 | -| Gatberg {Bastards, 1,000} | 6,000 | 1,000 | -| {Basutos, 5,000} | | | -| Griqualand East, or {including} | 40,000 | 7,000 | -| Adam Kok’s Land {the Bacas} | | | -| Galekas (Kreli) | 66,000 | 11,000 | -| Bomvanas (Moni) | 15,000 | 2,000 | -| Pondomisi | 12,000 | 2,000 | -| Pondos | 200,000 | 30,000 | -| | --------- | ------- | -| Total Transkei | 501,000 | 80,000 | -+---------------------------------+--------------+--------------+ - - The number of fighting men has been arrived at by taking one-sixth - of the total population. - -The number here will be seen to amount to 500,000, whereas the Galekas -of whom alone we are speaking when we talk of the hostile Kafirs across -the Kei are not in this return given as being more than 66,000. It must -always be remembered that there has been no census taken of these tribes -and that many of these numbers are estimated by little more than guess -work. The Fingos and the mixed inhabitants of the district called the -Idutywa Reserve are already British subjects. The Tembus are not so -nominally; but are for the most part obedient to British magistrates who -live among them. The inhabitants of the Gatberg are natives who live -there because the place is vacant for them,--also with a British -magistrate. They certainly cannot be regarded as an independent tribe. -The Griquas of Adam Kok’s Land are bastard Hottentots who have been -moved west from one locality to another, and now inhabit a country which -used to be called No Man’s Land and which was probably cleared of its -old inhabitants by Chaka, the great Zulu king. They are British -subjects. Of the Galekas and Bomvanas I have said enough. The Pondomisi -are a small tribe of independent Kafirs among whom a British magistrate -lives. Then we come to the Pondos, the most numerous tribe of all,--so -much so that the reader will be inclined to say that, while the Pondos -remain independent, Kafraria cannot become English. But the Pondos are a -very much less notorious people than the Galekas,--and constitute a -tribe who will probably be willing to annex themselves when the Bomvanas -and Galekas are annexed. Their present condition is rather remarkable. -The person most dominant among them is one Mrs. Jenkins, the widow of a -missionary, who is said to rule them easily, pleasantly, and prudently. -Mrs. Jenkins, however, cannot live for ever. But it is thought that the -Pondos will of their own accord become British subjects even during the -reign of Mrs. Jenkins. The mouth of the St. John’s River is in the -country of the Pondos, and it would be greatly to the benefit of South -Eastern Africa generally that a harbour for the purposes of commerce -should be opened on that portion of the coast. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE BASUTOS. - - -Of the Basutos I have said something in my attempt to tell the story of -the Orange Free State; but the tribe still occupy so large a space in -South Africa and has made itself so conspicuous in South African affairs -as to require some further short mention for the elucidation of South -African history. They are a people who have been moved, up and down, -about South Africa and have thus travelled much, who have come to be -located on the land they now hold partly as refugees and partly as -conquerors, who thirty years ago had a great Chief called Moshesh of -whom some have asserted that he was a Christian, and others that he was -a determined Savage, who are still to be found in various parts of South -Africa, and who perhaps possess in their head-quarters of Basuto Land -the very best agricultural soil on the continent. There are at present -supposed to be about 127,000 of them settled on this land, among whom -there would be according to the general computation about 21,000 -fighting warriors. The fighting men are estimated to be a sixth of the -whole tribe,--so that every adult male not incapacitated by age or -misfortune is counted as a fighting man. To imagine, however, that if -the Basutos were to go to war they could bring an army of 20,000 men -into the field, would be to pay an unmerited compliment to their power -of combination, to their commissariat supplies, and to their general -patriotism. But as in late years they have bought a great many ploughs, -as they are great growers of corn, and as they have become lovers of -trade, lovers of money, growers of wool, and friends of the English,--as -they are loyal English subjects,--we will not be indignant with them on -account of any falling off in their military capacity. - -The Basutos are not Kafirs or Zulus. They are a branch of the Bechuanas -a large tribe or rather race of Natives whose own territory lies west of -the Transvaal, and between that and the great Kalahari Desert. I have -already spoke of the Baralongs of Thaba ’Ncho as having come out from -among the same race. Were I to say much of the Bechuanas I should find -myself wandering again all over South Africa. I will therefore not -pursue them further, merely remarking that they too are become -irrepressible, and that before long we shall find ourselves compelled to -annex one branch of them after another in connection with Griqualand -West and the Diamond Fields. - -The first record, in date, which I have read of the Basutos is in a -simple volume written by a Missionary, the Rev. E. Cassalis, who was one -of a party of French Protestants sent out nearly 50 years ago from Paris -to the Cape with the double object of comforting the descendants of the -French emigrants and of converting the Natives. It was the fate of M. -Cassalis,--who though he writes in English I presume to have been a -Frenchman,--to establish a mission at a place called Moriah in -Basutoland in 1833, and to write a book about Basuto Manners. He does -not really tell us very much about the people, as, with laudable -enthusiasm, he is more intent on the ways of Providence than on the -details of history. If hardships and misfortunes come he recognises them -as precious balms. If they are warded off he sees the special mercy of -the Lord to him and his flock. The hyænas were allowed to take his -sheep, but an “inexorable lion,” who made the “desert echo with the -majestic sounds of his voice,” was not permitted by Providence to touch -himself. Something, however, is to be gleaned from his tale. The people -among whom he had come were harassed terribly by enemies. They were -continually attacked by Moselekatze, the Chief of the Matabeles, whom M. -Cassalis calls Zulus;[15]--and also by roaming bands of the Korannas, a -tribe of Bedouin South African Savages, only one degree, if one degree, -better than the Bushmen. With these Moshesh was always fighting, -entrenching himself when hard pressed on a high rock called Thaba Bosio -or Thaba Bosigo, from whence he would hurl down stones upon his -assailants very much to their dismay. The Basutos seem to have been a -brave people, but reduced by their enemies to very hard straits, so that -they were driven by want, in those comparatively modern days,--for we -are speaking of a period within the lifetime of the father of the -existing Chief of the tribe,--to have resort to cannibalism for -support. - -It has been asserted, with general truth, that cannibalism has not been -a vice of South African Natives. It was not found among the Hottentots, -nor even among the Bushmen except with rare instances, nor among the -Kafirs or Zulus. There is no reason to believe that the Basutos brought -the practice with them from among their ancestors the Bechuanas. But -there is ample evidence that they practised it during the time of their -wars with the Matabeles and Korannas, and reason to suppose that it has -been carried on in a hidden, shame-faced way, in opposition to the -endeavours of their Chiefs, down to within a very modern date. M. -Cassalis tells us the stories of cannibalism which he had heard from -Natives on his arrival in the country, and, giving 1820 as a date, says -that Moshesh put an end to these horrors. He acknowledges in a note that -he has been accused of inventing these details for the sake “of giving a -dramatic interest to our recital,”--and goes on to declare that when he -was in the country, “there were thirty or forty villages the entire -population of which is composed of those who were formerly cannibals and -who make no secret of their past life.” Had I read all this without -light from subsequent record, I should have felt that M. Cassalis was a -writer far too simple and too honest to have invented anything for the -sake of “dramatic interest:”--but that he was a man who might have been -hoaxed even by thirty or forty villages. Having been taught to believe -that Cannibalism had not prevailed in South Africa, I think I might have -doubted the unaided testimony of the French missionary. But there is a -testimony very much subsequent which I cannot doubt. - -In November 1869 there appeared a paper in “Once a Week” called -“Ethnological Curiosities from South Africa.” From whom it was supplied -to that periodical neither do I know,--nor does the gentleman by whom -the body of the paper was written. The assumed name of “Leyland” is -there given to that gentleman, without any authority for the change, and -it is told that he had contributed the narrative to the Ethnological -Society and had called it a visit to the Cannibal Caves. This is true; -but the name of the gentleman was Mr. Bowker who was the first -Government Agent in Basutoland. He was not at all sorry to see his paper -reappearing in so respectable a periodical, but has never known how it -reached “Once a Week,” or why he was called Mr. Leyland. This is not of -much general interest; but he goes on to describe how he, and a party -with him, were taken by guides up the side of a mountain, and by a -difficult pathway into a cave. The date is not given, but the visit -occurred in 1868. The cavern is then described as being black with the -smoke of fires, and the floor as being strewn with the bones of human -beings,--chiefly those of women and children. “The marrow bones were -split into small pieces, the rounded joints alone being left unbroken. -Only a few of these bones were charred by fire, showing that the -prevailing taste had been for boiled rather than for roast meat.” Again -he says, “I saw while at the cavern unmistakeable evidence that the -custom has not been altogether abandoned, for among the numerous bones -were a few that appeared very recent. They were apparently those of a -tall bony individual with a skull hard as bronze. In the joints of -these bones the marrow and fatty substances were still evident, showing -but too plainly that many months had not elapsed since he met his fate.” -This was as late as 1868. - -Again. “There are still a good many old Cannibals in existence. On the -day that we visited the cavern I was introduced to one of them, who is -now living not very far from his former dwelling-place. He is a man of -about sixty, and, not to speak from prejudice, one of the most God-lost -looking ruffians that I ever beheld in my life. In former days when he -was a young man dwelling in the cavern, he captured during one of his -hunting expeditions three young women. From these he selected the -best-looking as a partner for life. The other two went to stock his -larder.” - -This comes from a gentleman who saw the ghastly remains, who well knows -the people of whom he is speaking, and who from his official position -has had better means of knowing than any other European. They come, too, -from a gentleman who is still alive to answer for his story should a -doubt be thrown upon it. His idea is that a certain number of the -Basutos had been driven into the terrible custom by famine caused by -continued wars, and had afterwards carried it on from addiction to the -taste which had been thus generated. M. Cassalis, who was right enough -in saying that the Basutos were Cannibals, was wrong only in supposing -that his disciple Moshesh had been able to suppress the abomination. -There is, however, reason to believe that it has now been suppressed. - -The noble simplicity of individual missionaries as to the success of -their own efforts is often charming and painful at the same -time;--charming as shewing their complete enthusiasm, and painful when -contrasted with the results. M. Cassalis tells us how Moshesh used to -dine with him in the middle of the day, on Sunday, because, having come -down from his mountain to morning service, he could not go up the hill -for dinner, and so be back again in time for afternoon prayers. Moshesh -used to have his dinner inside the missionary’s house, and the rest of -the congregation from the mountain would remain outside, around, not -wasting their time, but diligently learning to read. And yet I fear that -there are not many Christians now on the mountain, which is still well -known as Thaba Bosigo. - -But Moshesh though he was not a Christian was a great Chief, and -gradually under him the Basutos became a great tribe. Probably their -success arose from the fact that the land on which they lived was -fertile. The same cause has probably led to their subsequent -misfortunes,--the fertility of the land having offered temptation to -others. Their mountains and valleys became populated, and,--as the -mountains and valleys of a still uncivilized race,--very rich. But there -arose questions of boundaries, which so often became questions of -robbery. I have already told how Maroco the Chief of the Baralongs at -Thaba ’Ncho held that the land he occupied was his by right of purchase, -and how Moshesh had declared that he had never sold an inch of his land. -Moshesh was very fond of allegory in his arguments. The Baralongs were -certainly living on land that had belonged to the Basutos; but Moshesh -declared that, “he had lent them the cow to milk; they could use her; -but he could not sell the cow.” For the full understanding of this it -must be known that no Kafir, no Zulu, no Basuto can bear the idea of -selling his cattle. And then the Boers of the Free State who had settled -upon Basutoland, would have it that they owned the land. There came days -of terrible fighting between the Basutos and the Boers,--and of renewed -fighting between the Basutos and other tribes. One can imagine that they -should again have been driven by famine to that cannibalism of which Mr. -Bowker saw the recent marks. They were at a very low ebb at Thaba -Bosigo, being at last almost eaten up by President Brand, and the Boers. -Then they asked for British intervention, and at last, in 1868, Sir -Philip Wodehouse issued a proclamation in which he declared them to be -British subjects. A line of boundary was established between them and -the Orange Republic, giving the Orange Republic the “Conquered -Territory” which they still call by that objectionable name, but leaving -to the Basutos the possession of a rich district which seems to be -sufficient for their wants. The Orange Republic, or Free State, did not -at all like what was done by the British. Their politicians still -insisted that Great Britain was precluded by treaty from concerning -itself with any native tribe north of the Orange River. It tried to make -the most of its position,--naturally enough. Perhaps it did make the -most of its position, for it now holds the peaceable possession of a -great portion of the land of its late enemies, and no longer has a -single hostile nation on its borders. We may say that the possibility of -a hostile nation has passed away. Nothing can be more secure than the -condition of the Orange Republic since Great Britain has secured her -borders. There was a convention at Aliwal North, and the boundary line -was permanently settled on March 12, 1869. - -Since that time the Basutos have been a peculiarly flourishing people, -living under the chieftainship of a junior Moshesh, but undoubted -subjects of the Queen of England. Their territory is a part of the Cape -Colony, which they help to support by the taxes they pay. Their hut tax, -at the rate of 10s. a hut amounts to £4,000 a year. Why it should not -come to more I do not understand, as, according to the usual calculation -of four to a hut, there should be about 32,000 huts among them, which -would give £16,000. They also contribute £2,000 a year in other taxes. -In the year ended 30 June, 1876, they were governed, instructed, and -generally provided for at the rate of £7,644 15s. 1d. As their revenue -is hardly £5,000, this would shew a serious deficiency,--but they who do -the finance work for Basutoland have a very large balance in hand, -amounting, after the making up of all deficiencies at the date above -named, to £22,577 4s. These figures are taken from the last published -financial Report of the Cape of Good Hope. I need not tell an -experienced reader that no book or document is produced so -unintelligible to an uninitiated reader as an official financial report. -Why should Basutoland with a revenue of £5,000 a year have a Treasury -Balance of £22,577 4s.? Every clerk concerned in the getting up of that -report no doubt knows all about it. It is not perhaps intended that any -one else should understand it. I have said above that the Basutos are -governed and instructed. Alas, no! Under the general head of -expenditure, education is a conspicuous detail; but it is followed by no -figures. It seems to be admitted that something should be expended for -the teaching of the Basutos; but that the duty so acknowledged is not -performed. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -NAMAQUALAND. - - -A glance at the map of South Africa will shew two regions on the Western -side of the Continent to which the name of Namaqualand is given, north -and south of the Orange River. The former is Great Namaqualand and -cannot as yet be said to form a part of the British Empire. But as it at -present belongs to nobody, and is tenanted,--as far as it is tenanted at -all,--by a very sparse sprinkling of Hottentots, Bushmen, and Korannas, -and as it is undoubtedly metalliferous, it is probable that it will be -annexed sooner or later.[16] Copper has been found north of the Orange -River and that copper will not long be left undisturbed. North of Great -Namaqualand is Damaraland, whence too have come tokens of copper and -whisperings of gold. Even to these hard hot unfertile sandy regions -Dutch farmers have trekked in order that they might live solitary, -unseen, and independent. We need not, however, follow them at present to -a country which is almost rainless and almost uninhabited, and for which -we are not as yet responsible. Little Namaqualand, south of the Orange -River, is one of the electoral divisions of the Cape Colony, and to that -I will confine the few remarks which I will make as to this -uncomfortable district. - -It is for its copper and for its copper alone that Little Namaqualand is -of any real value. On looking at the printed reports of the Commissioner -and Magistrate for the division, made in 1874, 1875, and 1876, I find -nothing but misfortune mentioned,--except in regard to the copper mines. -“1874,” says the report for that year, “has been a very bad year.” -“There has, so to say, been no corn in the land.” “One person after -thrashing out his corn obtained three pannicans.” Poor farmers! “Living -is very expensive, and were it not for the tram line”--a railroad made -by the Copper Company nearly to Springbok Fontein, which is the seat of -government and the magistrate’s residence,--“we would have been on the -verge of starvation.” Poor magistrate! Then the report goes on. “The -Ookiep mine is steadily progressing.” “The yield of ore during the year -has been 10,000 tons.” It is pretty nearly as bad in 1875. “The rain -came late in the year, and the yield in corn was very small.” “It is -almost impossible to describe the poverty in which the poorer classes -exist in a severe drought.” And a severe drought is the normal condition -of the country in which the fall of rain and dew together does not -exceed five inches in the year. But the copper enterprise was -flourishing. “The Ookiep mine,” says the same report, “has been steadily -progressing, its yield being now 1,000 tons per month.” In 1876 rural -matters were not much better. “The water supply all over the country -has much decreased, and the farmers have been put to great straits in -consequence.” But there is comfort in the copper. “The Ookiep mine still -continues in the same flourishing condition.” What most raises our -surprise in this is that there should be farmers at all in such a -country as Namaqualand. - -The following is Mr. Theal’s description of the district. “A long narrow -belt, twenty thousand square miles in extent, it presents to the eye -nothing but a dismal succession of hill and gorge and sandy plain, all -bare and desolate.” “A land of drought and famine, of blinding glare and -fiery blast,--such is the country of the Little Namaquas. From time -immemorial it has been the home of a few wretched Hottentots who were -almost safe in such a desert from even European intruders. Half a dozen -missionaries and two or three score of farmers were the sole -representatives of civilization among these wandering Savages. One -individual to about three square miles was all that the land was capable -of supporting.” - -But there is copper in the regions near the coast and consequently -Little Namaqualand is becoming an important and a rich district. Before -the Dutch came the Hottentots had found copper here and had used it for -their ornaments. In 1683, when the Dutch government was still young and -the Dutch territory still small, an expedition was sent by the Dutch -Governor in search of copper to the very region in which the Cape Copper -Company is now carrying on its works. But the coast was severe and the -land hard to travellers, and it was found difficult to get the ore down -to the sea. The Dutch therefore abandoned the undertaking and the copper -was left at rest for a century and a half. The first renewed attempt was -made in 1835, and that was unsuccessful. It was not till 1852 that the -works were commenced which led to the present flourishing condition of -the South African copper mines. - -For some few years after this there seems to have been a copper mania in -South Africa,--as there was a railway mania in England, and a gold mania -in Australia, and a diamond mania in Griqualand West. People with a -little money rushed to the country and lost that little. And those who -had none rushed also to the copper mines and failed to enrich themselves -as they had expected. In 1863 Messrs. Phillips and King, who had -commenced their work in 1852, established the company which is still -known as the Cape Copper Mining Company,--and that company has been -thoroughly successful altogether, through the Ookiep mine to which the -magistrate in all the reports from which I have quoted has referred as -the centre and source of Namaqualand prosperity. - -About four hundred miles north-west of the Cape and forty-five miles -south of the Orange River there is a little harbour called Port Nolloth -in Robben Bay. The neighbourhood is described as being destitute of all -good things. The country in this neighbourhood is sandy and barren, and -without water. We are told that water may be obtained by digging in the -sand, but that when obtained it is brackish. But here is the outlet for -South African copper, and therefore the little port is becoming a place -of importance. Sailing vessels come from Swansea for the ore, and about -once a fortnight a little steamer comes here from Capetown bringing -necessaries of life to its inhabitants and such comforts as money can -give in a place so desolate and hideous. - -From hence there is a railway running 60 miles up to the foot of the -mountains constructed by the Copper Mining Company for the use of their -men and for bringing down the ore to the coast. This railway goes to -Great Ookiep mine, which is distant but a few miles from the miserable -little town called Springbok Fontein, which is the capital of the -district. The Ookiep mine is thus described in the Gazeteer attached to -Messrs. Silver’s South African Guide Book. It is “one of the most -important copper mines in existence, its annual production of very rich -ore being nearly 7,000 tons;”--since that was written the amount has -been considerably increased;--“and the deeper the shafts are sunk the -more extensive appears the area of ore producing ground. The mine is now -sunk to a depth of 80 fathoms, but exhibits no sign of decreasing -production.” “These Ookiep ores are found in Europe to be easier smelted -than the ores of any other mines whatever, and the deposit of copper ore -in the locality seems quite unlimited.” - -There have been various other mines tried in the vicinity, and there can -be no doubt from the indications of copper which are found all around -that the working of copper in the district will before long be carried -very much further than at present. But up to this time the Ookiep mine -is the only one that has paid its expenses and given a considerable -profit. During the copper fury various attempts were made all of which -failed. The existing Company, which has been as a whole exceedingly -prosperous, has made many trials at other spots none of which according -to their own report have been altogether successful. I quote the -following extracts from the report made by its own officers and -published by the Company in 1877. “The operations at Spectakel Mine have -been attended with almost unvarying ill fortune.” “It is thought that -the Kilduncan centre has had fair trial and as the ground looks -unpromising the miners have been withdrawn.” “Although yielding -quantities of low class ore the workings at Narrap have not so far -proved remunerative.” “The levels at Karolusberg have also failed to -reveal anything valuable.” “A good deal of preparatory work has been -done at this place,”--Nabapeep. “This may be regarded as the most -promising trial mine belonging to the Company.” These are all the -adventures yet made except that of the Ookiep mine, but that alone has -been so lucky that the yield in 1876 amounted to “10,765 tons of 21 -cwt., nett dry weight, averaging 28½? per cent.” This perhaps, to the -uninitiated mind may give but a hazy idea of the real result of the -speculation. But when we are told that only £7 a share has been paid up, -and that £4 per annum profit has been paid on each share, in spite of -the failure of other adventures, then the success of the great Ookiep -mine looms clear to the most uninstructed understanding. - -There can be no doubt but that Namaqualand will prove to be one of the -great copper producing countries of the earth; and as little, I fear, -that it is in all other respects one of the most unfortunate and -undesirable. I have spoken to some whose duties have required them to -visit Springbok Fontein or to frequent Port Nolloth, and they have all -spoken of their past experiences without expressing any wish to revisit -those places. Missionaries have gone to this land as elsewhere, striving -to carry Christianity among, perhaps, as low a form of humanity as there -is on the earth,--with the exception of the quickly departing Australian -aboriginal. They have probably done something, if only a little, both -towards raising the intellect and relieving the wants of those among -whom they have placed themselves. But the Bushmen and the Korannas are -races very hopeless. Men who have been called upon by Nature to live in -so barren a region,--a country almost destitute of water and therefore -almost destitute of grass, can hardly be expected to raise themselves -above the lowest habits and the lowest tastes incident to man. If -anything can give them a chance of rising in the world it will be such -enterprise as that of the Cape Mining Company, and such success as that -of the Ookiep mine. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -CONCLUSION. - - -I have now finished my task and am writing my last chapter as I make my -way home across the Bay of Biscay. It has been laborious enough but has -been made very pleasant by the unvarying kindness of every one with whom -I have come in contact. My thanks are specially due to those who have -travelled with me or allowed me to travel with them. I have had the good -fortune never to have been alone on the road,--and thus that which would -otherwise have been inexpressibly tedious has been made pleasant. I must -take this last opportunity of repeating here, what I have said more than -once before, that my thanks in this respect are due to the Dutch as -warmly as to the English. I am disposed to think that a wrong impression -as to the so-called Dutch Boer of South Africa has become common at -home. It has been imagined by some people,--I must acknowledge to have -received such an impression myself,--that the Boer was a European who -had retrograded from civilization, and had become savage, barbarous, and -unkindly. There can be no greater mistake. The courtesies of life are as -dear to him as to any European. The circumstances of his secluded life -have made him unprogressive. It may, however, be that the same -circumstances have maintained with him that hospitality for strangers -and easy unobtrusive familiarity of manners, which the contests and -rapidity of modern life have banished from us in Europe. The Dutch Boer, -with all his roughness, is a gentleman in his manners from his head to -his heels. - -When a man has travelled through a country under beneficent auspices, -and has had everything shewn to him and explained to him with frank -courtesy, he seems to be almost guilty of a breach of hospitality if, on -his coming away, he speaks otherwise than in glowing terms of the -country where he has been so received. I know that I have left behind me -friends in South Africa who, when they shall have read my book or shall -hear how I have spoken of their Institutions, will be ill satisfied with -me. I specially fear this in regard to the Cape Colony where I can go on -all fours neither with the party in power who think that parliamentary -forms of Government must be serviceable for South Africa, because they -have been proved to be so for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; nor -with those opposed to them who would fain keep the native races in -subjection by military power. I would make the Kafir in all respects -equal to the white man;--but I would give him no voting power till he is -equal to the white man in education as in other things. - -It will be brought against me as an accusation that I have made my -enquiries and have written my book in a hurry. It has been done -hurriedly. Day by day as I have travelled about the continent in the -direction indicated in its pages I have written my book. The things -which I have seen have been described within a few hours of my seeing -them. The words that I have heard have been made available for what -they were worth,--as far as it was within my power to do so,--before -they were forgotten. A book so written must often be inaccurate; but it -may possibly have something in it of freshness to atone for its -inaccuracies. In writing such a book a man has for a time to fill -himself exclusively with his subject,--to make every thought that he has -South African for the time, to give all his energy to the work in hand, -to talk about it, fight about it, think about it, write about it, and -dream about it. This I have endeavoured to do, and here is the result. -To spend five years in studying a country and then to come home and -devote five more to writing a book about it, is altogether out of my -way. The man who can do it will achieve much more than I shall. But had -I ever attempted it in writing other books I should have failed worse -than I have done. Had I thought of it in regard to South Africa my book -would never have been written at all. - -I fancy that I owe an apology to some whom I have answered rather -shortly when they have scolded me for not making a longer stay in their -own peculiar spots. “You have come to write a book about South Africa -and you have no right to go away without devoting a day to my ----” sugar -plantation, or distillery, or whatever the interesting enterprise may -have been. “You have only been three days in our town and I don’t think -you are doing us justice.” It has been hard to answer these accusations -with a full explanation of all the facts,--including the special -fact,--unimportant to all but one or two, that South Africa with all its -charms is not so comfortable at my present age as the arm-chair in my -own book room. But in truth the man who has an interesting enterprise of -his own or who patriotically thinks that his own town only wants to be -known to be recognized as a Paradise among municipalities would, if -their power were as great as their zeal, render such a task as that I -have undertaken altogether impossible. The consciousness of their own -merit robs them of all sense of proportion. Such a one will acknowledge -that South Africa is large;--but South Africa will not be as large to -him as his own mill or his own Chamber of Commerce, and he will not -believe that eyes seeing other than his eyes can be worthy of any -credit. I know that I did not go to see this gentleman’s orchard as I -half promised, or the other gentleman’s collection of photographs, and I -here beg their pardons and pray them to remember how many things I had -to see and how many miles I had to travel. - -That I have visited all European South Africa I cannot boast. The -country is very large. We may say so large as to be at present -limitless. We do not as yet at all know our own boundaries. But I -visited the seat of Government in each district, and, beyond the -Capitals, saw enough of the life and ways of each of them to justify me, -I hope, in speaking of their condition and their prospects. I have also -endeavoured to explain roughly the way in which each of these districts -became what it now is. In doing this I have taken my facts partly from -those who have gone before me in writing the history of South -Africa,--whose names I have mentioned in my introductory -chapter,--partly from official records, and partly from the words of -those who witnessed and perhaps bore a share in the changes as they -were made. The first thing an Englishman has to understand in the story -of South Africa is the fact that the great and almost unnatural -extension of our colonization,--unnatural when the small number of -English emigrants who have gone there is considered,--has been produced -by the continued desire of the Dutch farmers to take themselves out of -the reach of English laws, and English feelings. The abolition of -slavery was the great cause of this,--though not the only cause; and the -abolition of slavery in British dominions is now only forty years old. -Since that time Natal, the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and -Griqualand West have sprung into existence, and they were all, in the -first instance, peopled by sturdy Dutchmen running away from the to them -disgusting savour of Exeter Hall. They would encounter anything, go -anywhere, rather than submit to British philanthropy. Then we have run -after them with our philanthropy in our hands,--with such results as I -have endeavoured to depict in these pages. - -This is the first thing that we shall have to understand,--but as the -mind comes to dwell on the subject it will not be the chief thing. It -must be the first naturally. To an Englishman the Cape of Good Hope, and -Natal, and now the Transvaal are British Colonies,--with a British -history, short or long. The way in which we became possessed of these -and the manner in which they have been ruled; the trouble or the glory -which have come to us from them; the success of them or the failure in -affording homes for our ever-increasing population;--these are the -questions which must affect us first. But when we learn that in those -South African Colonies though we may not have succeeded in making homes -for many English,--not even comparatively for many Europeans,--we have -become the arbiters of the homes, the masters of the destinies, of -millions of black men; when we recognize the fact that here we have -imposed upon us the duty of civilizing, of training to the yoke of -labour and releasing from the yoke of slavery a strong, vital, -increasing and intelligent population; when this becomes plain to us, as -I think it must become plain,--then we shall know that the chief thing -to be regarded is our duty to the nations over which we have made -ourselves the masters. - -South Africa is a country of black men,--and not of white men. It has -been so; it is so; and it will continue to be so. In this respect it is -altogether unlike Australia, unlike the Canadas, and unlike New Zealand. -And, as it is unlike them, so should it be to us a matter of much purer -gratification than are those successful Colonies. There we have gone -with our ploughs and with our brandy, with all the good and with all the -evil which our civilization has produced, and throughout the lands the -native races have perished by their contact with us. They have withered -by commune with us as the weaker weedy grasses of Nature’s first -planting wither and die wherever come the hardier plants, which science -added to nature has produced. I am not among those who say that this has -been caused by our cruelty. It has often been that we have struggled our -very best to make our landing on a shore an unmixed blessing to those to -whom we have come. In New Zealand we strove hard for this;--but in New -Zealand the middle of the next century will probably hear of the -existence of some solitary last Maori. It may be that this was -necessary. All the evidence we have seems to show that it was so. But it -is hardly the less sad because it was necessary. In Australia we have -been successful. We are clothed with its wools. Our coffers are filled -with its gold. Our brothers and our children are living there in -bounteous plenty. But during the century that we have been there we have -caused the entire population of a whole continent to perish. It is -impossible to think of such prosperity without a dash of suffering, -without a pang of remorse. - -In South Africa it is not so. The tribes which before our coming were -wont to destroy themselves in civil wars have doubled their population -since we have turned their assagais to ploughshares. Thousands, ten -thousands of them, are working for wages. Even beyond the realms which -we call our own we have stopped the cruelties of the Chiefs and the no -less fatal superstitions of the priests. The Kafir and the Zulu are free -men, and understand altogether the privileges of their freedom. In one -town of 18,000 inhabitants, 10,000 of them are now receiving 10s. a week -each man, in addition to their diet. Here at any rate we have not come -as a blighting poison to the races whom we have found in the country of -our adoption. This I think ought to endear South Africa to us. - -But it must at the same time tell us that South Africa is a black -country and not a white one;--that the important person in South Africa -is the Kafir and the Zulu, the Bechuana and the Hottentot;--not the -Dutchman or the Englishman. On the subject of population I have already -shewn that the information at my command is a little confused. Such -confusion cannot be avoided when only estimates are made. But if I take -credit for 340,000 white people in South Africa, I certainly claim as -many as the country holds;--and I am probably within the mark if I say -that our direct influence extends over 3,000,000 of Natives. What is the -number of British subjects cannot even be estimated, because we do not -know our Transvaal limits. There are also whole tribes to the -North-West, in Bechuanaland, Damaraland, and Namaqualand anxious to be -annexed but not yet annexed. To all those we owe the duty of protection, -and all of them before long will be British subjects. As in India or -Ceylon, where the people are a coloured people, Asiatic and not -European, it is our first duty to govern them so that they may prosper, -to defend them from ill-usage, to teach them what we know ourselves, to -make them free, so in South Africa it is our chief duty to do the same -thing for the Natives there. The white man is the master, and the master -can generally protect himself. He can avail himself of the laws, and -will always have so many points in his favour that a paternal government -need not be much harassed on his account. Compared with the Native he is -numerically but one to ten. But in strength, influence, and capacity he -has ten to one the best of it. - -What is our duty to the Kafir or Zulu? There are so many views of our -duty! One believes that we have done the important thing if we teach him -to sing hymns. Another would give him back,--say a tenth of the land -that has been taken away from him, and then leave him. A third, the most -confident of them all, thinks that everything hangs on “a rod of -iron,”--between which and slavery the distance is very narrow. The rod -of iron generally means compelled work, the amount of wages to be -settled by the judgment of the master. A fourth would give him a -franchise and let him vote for a Member of Parliament,--which of course -includes the privilege of becoming a Member of Parliament, and of -becoming Prime Minister if he can get enough of his own class to back -him. - -I am afraid that I cannot agree altogether with any of these four. The -hymns, which as I speak of them include all religious teaching, have as -yet gone but a very little way. Something has been done,--that something -having shewn itself rather in a little book-learning than in -amelioration of conduct as the result of comprehended Christianity. But -the work will progress. In its way it is good, though the good done is -so little commensurate with the missionary labour given and the -missionary money spent! - -The land scheme,--the giving up of locations to the people,--is good -also to some extent if it be unmixed with such missionary attempts as -some which I have attempted to describe as existing in the western -province of the Cape Colony. There is a certain justice in it, and it -enables the people to fall gradually into the way of working for wages. -It has on the other hand the counterbalancing tendency of teaching the -people to think that they can live idle on their own land,--as used to -be the case with the Irishmen who held a couple of acres of ground. - -“The iron rod” is to me abominable. It means always some other treatment -for the coloured man than that which is given to the white man. There -can be no good done till the two stand before the law exactly on the -same ground. The “iron-rodder” desires to get work out of the black -man;--and so do I, and so does every friend of the black man. The -question is how the work shall be got out of them. “Make him work,” says -the iron-rodder. “There he is, idle, fat as a pig on stolen mutton, and -doing nothing; with thews and sinews by which I could be made so -comfortable, if only I could use them.” “But how are you entitled to his -work?” is the answer readiest at hand. “Because he steals my cattle,” -says the iron-rodder, generally with a very limited amount of truth and -less of logic. Because his cattle have been stolen once or twice he -would subject the whole race to slavery,--unconscious that the slave’s -work, if he could get it, would in the long run be very much less -profitable to him than the free labour by which, in spite of all his -assertions to the contrary, he does till his land, and herd his cattle, -and shear his sheep and garner his wealth. - -Then comes the question of the franchise. He who would give the black -man a vote is generally the black man’s most advanced friend, the direct -enemy of the iron-rodder, and is to be found in London rather than in -South Africa. To such a one I would say certainly let the black man have -the franchise on the same terms as the white man. In broadening or -curtailing the privilege of voting there should be no expressed -reference to colour. The word should not appear in any Act of any -Parliament by which the franchise is regulated. If it be so expressed -there cannot be that equality before the law without which we cannot -divest ourselves of the sin of selfish ascendancy. But the franchise may -be so regulated that the black man cannot enjoy it till he has -qualified himself,--as the white man at any rate ought to qualify -himself. Exclusion of this nature was intended when the existing law of -the Cape Colony was passed. A man cannot vote till he has become a fixed -resident, and shall be earning 10s. a week wages and his diet. When this -scale was fixed it was imagined that it would exclude all but a very -small number of Kafirs. But a few years has so improved the condition of -the Kafirs that many thousands are now earning the wages necessary for a -qualification. “Then by all means let them vote,” will say the friend of -the Negro in Exeter Hall or the House of Commons,--perhaps without -giving quite time enough to calculating the result. Does this friend of -the Negro in his heart think that the black man is fit to assume -political ascendancy over the white;--or that the white man would remain -in South Africa and endure it? The white man would not remain, and if -the white man were gone, the black man would return to his savagery. -Very much has been done;--quite as much probably as we have a right to -expect from the time which has been employed. But the black man is not -yet civilized in South Africa and, with a few exceptions, is not fit for -political power. The safeguard against the possible evil of which I have -spoken is the idea that the Kafir is not as yet awake to the meaning of -political power and therefore will not exercise the privilege of voting -when it is given to him. It may be so at present, but I do not relish -the political security which is to come, not from the absence of danger -but from the assumed ignorance of those who might be dangerous. An -understanding of the nature of the privilege will come before fitness -for its exercise;--and then there may be danger. Thus we are driven back -to the great question whether a country is fit for parliamentary -institutions in which the body of the population is unfit for the -privilege of voting. - -Our duty to the Kafir of course is to civilize him,--so to treat him -that as years roll on he will manifestly be the better for our coming to -his land. I do not think that missionaries will do this, or fractions of -land,--little Kafrarias, as it may be, separated off for their uses. The -present position of Kreli and his Galekas who were to have dwelt in -peace on their own territory across the Kei, is proof of this. The iron -rod certainly will not do it. Nor will the franchise. But equality of -law, equality of treatment, will do it;--and, I am glad to say, has -already gone far towards doing it. The Kafir can make his own contract -for his own labour the same as a white man;--can leave his job of work -or take it as independently as the white workman;--but not more so. -Encouraged by this treatment he is travelling hither and thither in -quest of work, and is quickly learning that order and those wants which -together make the only sure road to civilization. - -The stranger in South Africa will constantly be told that the coloured -man will not work, and that this is the one insuperable cause by which -the progress of the country is impeded. It will be the first word -whispered into his ear when he arrives, and the last assurance hurled -after him as he leaves the coast. And yet during his whole sojourn in -the country he will see all the work of the world around him done by -the hands of coloured people. It will be so in Capetown far away from -the Kafirs. It will be so on the homesteads of the Dutch in the western -province. It will be so in the thriving commercial towns of the eastern -province. From one end of Natal to the other he will find that all the -work is done by Zulus. It will be the same in the Transvaal and the same -even in the Orange Free State. Even there whenever work is done for -wages it is done by coloured hands. When he gets to the Diamond Fields, -he will find the mines swarming with black labour. And yet he will be -told that the “nigger” will not work! - -The meaning of the assertion is this;--that the “nigger” cannot be made -to work whether he will or no. He will work for a day or two, perhaps a -week or two, at a rate of wages sufficient to supply his wants for -double the time, and will then decline, with a smile, to work any longer -just then,--let the employer’s need be what it may. Now the employer has -old European ideas in his head, even though he may have been born in the -Colony. The poor rural labourer in England must work. He cannot live for -four days on the wages of two. If he were to decline there would be the -poor house, the Guardians, and all the horrors of Bumbledom before him. -He therefore must work. And that “must,” which is known to exist as to -the labouring Englishman and labouring Frenchman, creates a feeling that -a similar necessity should coerce the Kafir. Doubtless it will come to -be so. It is one of the penalties of civilization,--a penalty, or, shall -we say, a blessing. But, till it does come, it cannot be -assumed,--without a retrogression to slavery. Men in South Africa, the -employers of much labour and the would-be employers of more, talk of the -English vagrancy laws,--alleging that these Kafirs are vagrants, and -should be treated as vagrants would be treated in England;--as though -the law in England compelled any man to work who had means of living -without work. The law in England will not make the Duke of ---- work; nor -will it make Hodge work if Hodge has 2s. a day of his own to live on and -behaves himself. - -This cry as to labour and the want of labour, is in truth a question of -wages. A farmer in England will too often feel that the little profit of -his farm is being carried away by that extra 2s. a week which the state -of the labour market compels him to pay to his workmen. The rise of -wages among the coloured people in South Africa has been much quicker -than it ever was in England. In parts of Natal a Zulu may still be hired -for his diet of Indian corn and 7s. a month. In Kafraria, about King -Williamstown, men were earning 2s. 6d. a day when I was there. I have -seen coloured labourers earning 4s. 6d. a day for the simple duty of -washing wool. All this has to equalize itself, and while it is doing so, -of course there is difficulty. The white man thinks that the solution of -the difficulty should be left to him. It is disparaging to his pride -that the black man should be so far master of the situation as to be -able to fix his own wages. - -In the meantime, however, the matter is fixed. The work is done by black -men. They plough, they reap; they herd and shear the sheep; they drive -the oxen; they load the waggons; they carry the bricks; they draw the -water; they hew the wood; they brush the clothes; they clean the boots; -they run the posts; they make the roads; they wait at table; they cook -the food; they wash the wool; they press the grapes; they kill the beef -and mutton; they dig the gardens; they plaster the walls; they feed the -horses;--and they find the diamonds. A South African farmer and a South -African wool grower and a South African shopkeeper will all boast that -South Africa is a productive country. If it be so she is productive -altogether by means of black labour. - -Another allegation very common in the mouth of the “iron-rodders” is -that the Kafir--steals. “A nasty beastly thief that will never leave -your cattle alone.” The eastern province Cape Colony farmer seems to -think that he of all men ought to be made exempt by some special law -from the predatory iniquities of his neighbours. I fear the Kafir does -occasionally steal sheep and cattle. Up in the Diamond Fields he steals -diamonds,--the diamonds, that is, which he himself finds. The -accusations which I have heard against Kafirs, as to stealing, begin and -end here. It is certainly the case that a man used to the ways of the -country will leave his money and his jewelry about among Kafirs, with a -perfect sense of security, who will lock up everything with the greatest -care when some loafing European is seen about. I remember well how I was -warned to be careful about my bag at the little Inn in Natal, because a -few British soldiers had quartered themselves for the night in front of -the house. The Innkeeper was an Englishman, and probably knew what he -was talking about. - -The Kafirs ought not to steal cattle. So much may be admitted. And if -everything was as it ought to be there would be no thieves in London. -But perhaps of all dishonest raids the most natural is that made by a -Savage on beasts which are running on the hills which used to belong to -his fathers. Wealth to him is represented by cattle, and the wealth of -his tribe all came from its land. To drive cattle has to his mind none -of the meanness of stealing. How long is it since the same feeling -prevailed among Englishmen and Scotchmen living on the borders? It is -much the same in regard to diamonds. They are found in the ground, and -why should not the treasures of the ground be as free to the Kafir as to -his employer? I am using the Kafir’s argument;--not my own. I know, as -does my reader, and as do the angry white men in South Africa, that the -Kafir has contracted for wages to give up what he finds to his employer. -I know that the employer has paid for a license to use the bit of land, -and that the Kafir has not. I know that a proper understanding as to -meum and tuum would prevent the Kafir from secreting the little stone -between his toes. But there is much of this which the Kafir cannot yet -have learned. Taking the honesty and the dishonesty of the Kafir -together, we shall find that it is the former which is remarkable. - -The great question of the day in England as to the countries which I -have just visited is that of Confederation. The Permissive Bill which -was passed last Session,--1877,--entitles me to say that it is the -opinion of the Government at home that such Confederation should be -consummated in South Africa within the next three or four years. Then -there arise two questions,--whether it is practicable, and if -practicable whether it is expedient. I myself with such weak voice as I -possess have advocated Australian Confederation. I have greatly rejoiced -at Canadian Confederation. My sympathies were in favour of West Indian -Confederation. I left England hoping that I might advocate South African -Confederation. But, alas, I have come to think it inexpedient,--and, if -expedient, still impracticable. A Confederation of States implies some -identity of interests. In any coming together of Colonies under one -flag, one Colony must have an ascendancy. Population will give this, and -wealth,--and the position of the chosen capital. It clearly was so in -Canada. In South Africa that preponderance would certainly be with the -Cape Colony. I cannot conceive any capital to be possible other than -Capetown. Then arises the question whether the other provinces of South -Africa can improve their condition by identifying themselves with the -Cape Colony. They who know Natal will I think agree with me that Natal -will never consent to send ten legislators to a Congress at Capetown -where they would be wholly inefficient to prevent the carrying of -measures agreeable to the Constitution of the Cape Colony but averse to -its own theory of Government. I have described the franchise of the Cape -Colony. I am well aware that Confederation would not compel one State to -adopt the same franchise as another. But Natal will never willingly put -herself into the same boat with a Colony in which the negro vote may in -a few years become predominant over the white. In Natal there are -320,000 coloured people to 20,000 white. She might still exclude the -coloured man from her own hustings as she does now; but she will hardly -allow her own poor ten members of a common Congress to be annihilated -by the votes of members who may not improbably be returned by coloured -persons, and who may not impossibly be coloured persons themselves. - -With the Transvaal the Government at home may do as it pleases. At the -present moment it is altogether at the disposal of the Crown. If the -Cape Colony would consent to take it the Transvaal can be annexed -to-morrow without any ceremony of Confederation. The Cape Colony would -in the first place probably desire to be secured from any repayment of -the debts of the late Republic. This would not be Confederation, though -in this way the Cape Colony, which will soon have swallowed up -Griqualand West, would be enabled to walk round the Free State. But the -Boers of the Transvaal would, if consulted, be as little inclined to -submit themselves to the coloured political influence of the Cape as -would the people of Natal. What should they do in a Parliament of which -they do not understand the language? Therefore I think Confederation to -be inexpedient. - -But though the Cape Colony were to walk round the Free State so as to -join the Transvaal,--though it were even to walk on and reach the -Eastern Sea by including Natal,--still it would only have gone round the -Free State and not have absorbed it. I understand that Confederation -without the Free State would not be thought sufficiently complete to -answer the purpose of the Colonial Office at home. And as I think that -the Free State will not confederate, for reasons which I have given when -writing about the Free State, I think that Confederation is -impracticable. - -It is again the great question of coloured races,--the question which -must dominate all other questions in South Africa. Confederation of -adjacent Colonies may be very good for white men who can rule -themselves, and yet not suit the condition of territories in which -coloured men have to be ruled under circumstances which may be -essentially different in different States. - -Looking back at our dominion over South Africa which has now lasted for -nearly three quarters of a century I think that we have cause for -national pride. We have on the whole been honest and humane, and the -errors into which we have fallen have not been greater than the extreme -difficulty of the situation has made, if not necessary, at any rate -natural. When we examine the operations of different Governors as they -have succeeded each other, and read the varying instructions with which -those Governors have been primed from the Colonial Office, it is -impossible not to see that the peculiar bias of one Secretary of State -succeeding to that of another has produced vacillations. There has been -a want of what I have once before ventured to call “official tradition.” -The intention of Great Britain as to her Colonies as expressed by -Parliament has not been made sufficiently plain for the guidance of the -Colonial Office. This shewed itself perhaps more signally than elsewhere -in Lord Glenelg’s condemnation of Sir Benjamin D’Urban at the close of -the third Kafir war in 1835, when he enunciated a policy which was not -compatible with the maintenance of British authority in South -Africa,--which had to be speedily revoked,--but which could not be -revoked till every Kafir had been taught that England, across the seas, -was afraid of him. Again I think that by vacillating policy we foolishly -forced upon the Dutch the necessity of creating Republics, first across -the Vaal and then between the Vaal and the Orange, when, but a short -time before, we had refused them permission to do the same thing in -Natal. I myself think that there should have been no Republic;--that in -the Transvaal, and in the Orange State, as in Natal, we should have -recognized the necessity of providing Government for our migrating -subjects. - -But in all this there has been no lust of power, no dishonesty. There -has been little, if anything, of mean parsimony. In that matter of the -Diamond Fields as to which the accusations against the Colonial Office -have been the heaviest, I feel assured not only of the justice but of -the wisdom of what was done. Had we not assumed the duty of government -at Kimberley, Kimberley would have been ungovernable. - -But the question which is of all the one of moment is the condition of -the coloured races. Just now there is still continued among a small -fraction of them a disturbance which the opponents of the present -Government in the Cape Colony delight to call a War. In spite of this, -throughout the length and breadth of South Africa,--even in what is -still called Kreli’s country,--the coloured man has been benefitted by -our coming. He has a better hut, better food, better clothing, better -education, more liberty, less to fear and more to get, than he had when -we came among him, or that he would have enjoyed had we not come. If -this be so, we ought to be contented with what our Government has done. - - - - -INDEX. - - -THE CAPE COLONY. - -Acres under cultivation, i. 232 - - -Bain’s Kloof, i. 130 - -Bathurst, i. 177 - -Bowker, Mr., i. 93 - -Brandy, i. 232 - -British troops, i. 194 - - -Caledon, i. 156 - -Caledon Missionary Institution, i. 150 - -Cango Caves, i. 117 - -Cape Carta, i. 185 - -Cape Smoke, i. 116 - -Capetown, i. 68 - -Catberg, i. 226 - -Cathedral, The, i. 73 - -Ceres, i. 133 - -Cogman’s Pass, i. 145 - -Confederation, i. 49 - -Constantia, i. 82 - - -Debe Nek, i. 193 - -Diamonds found, i. 44 - -Diaz, Bartholomew, i. 10 - -D’Urban, Sir Benjamin, i. 37 - -Dutch and English Languages, i. 32 - -Dutch, as divided from English, i. 56 - -Dutch, First condition of, i. 13 - - -East London, i. 202 - -Education of Kafirs, i. 209 - -English occupation, i. 25 - -Esselin, M., i. 136 - - -Feathers, manner of selling, i. 163 - -Federation, i. 49 - -Fort Brown, i. 186 - -Franchise, The, i. 89 - -French, Coming of, i. 20 - - -George, i. 103 - -Germans, in British Kafraria, i. 184 - -Glenelg, Lord, i. 37 - -Grahamstown, i. 167 - - -Healdtown, i. 187, 211 - -Hot Spring, i. 139 - -Hottentots, Manumission of, i. 33 - -Hottentots, their name, i. 16 - -Hunting a buck, i. 155 - -Hunting in Kafraria, i. 190 - - -“Iron Rod” School, i. 227 - -Irrigation, i. 143, 232 - - -Kafir Chiefs, i. 199 - -Kafir Famine, i. 43 - -Kafir Hymns, i. 213 - -Kafir Labour, i. 178 - -Kafir Schools, i. 207 - -Kafir War, 1st, i. 29 - - “ 2nd, i. 36 - - “ 3rd, i. 36 - - “ 4th, i. 39 - - “ 5th, i. 41 - -Kafirs at school, i. 221 - -Kafirs, Treatment of, i. 182 - -Kafraria, British, i. 181 - -Kalk Bay, i. 81 - -Karoo, The, i. 115 - -King Williamstown, i. 198 - -Knysna, The, i. 105 - - -Legislative Assembly, i. 95 - -Legislative Council, i. 87 - -Library, The Capetown, i. 74 - -Lovedale, i. 217 - - -Malmesbury, i. 122 - -Mitchell’s Pass, i. 131 - -Molteno, Mr., i. 95 - -Montague Pass, i. 113 - -Mossel Bay, i. 99 - -Mountains, i. 141 - -Mounted Police, i. 201 - -Museum, The, i. 73 - - -Observatory, The, i. 78 - -Oodtahoorn, i. 115 - -Orange Free State, i. 52 - -Ostriches, i. 170 - - -Paarl, The, i. 123 - -Pacaltsdorp, i. 111 - -Panmure, i. 206 - -Parliamentary Government, i. 45, 90 - -Peeltown, i. 223 - -Population of South Africa, i. 51, 234 - -Port Alfred, i. 176 - -Port Elizabeth, i. 160 - -Portuguese, The, i. 10 - -Provinces, i. 47 - - -Queenstown, i. 226 - - -Railways, i. 48, 79, 123 - -Riebeek, Jan van, i. 13 - -Robertson, i. 145 - - -Sandilli, Chief of the Gaikas, i. 198 - -Siwani, i. 199 - -Slagter’s Nek, i. 30 - -Slavery, Abolition of, i. 33 - -Slaves, First landed, i. 14 - -Slaves, their manumission, i. 35 - -Solomon, Mr. Saul, i. 96 - -Somerset, East, i. 157 - -Stellenbosch, i. 157 - -Swellendam, i. 148 - - -Tradouw, The, i. 149 - - -Uitenhage, i. 163 - - -Vasco da Gama, i. 11 - -Vines, i. 232 - - -Wages, i. 235 - -Wagon-makers’ valley, i. 130 - -Wheat, i. 231 - -Wine, i. 127, 232 - -Wool, i. 228 - -Wool-washing, i. 101 - -Worcester, i. 135 - -Wynberg, i. 80 - - -Zonnebloom, i. 211 - - -NATAL. - -Apollo, i. 279 - - -Bar, The sand bar at Durban, i. 264 - -Bathing, i. 298 - -Berea, The, i. 275 - - -Cathedral, The, i. 284 - -Cetywayo, i. 307 - -Chaka, the Zulu Chief, i. 243, 306 - -Coal, i. 352 - -Colenso, Bishop, i. 258, 284 - -Coolie Labour, i. 270 - - -Delagoa Bay, i. 307 - -Dingaan, the Zulu Chief, i. 247, 307 - -Durban, i. 243 - -Dutch, The. How they entered Natal, i. 246 - - -Estcourt, i. 348 - -Executive, The, i. 295 - -Expense of living, i. 287 - - -Farewell, Mr., i. 243 - -Farmer, English, i. 299 - - -German village, i. 300 - -Glenelg, Lord, i. 251 - -Greyton, i. 304 - - -Kafir Labour, i. 273 - - -Langalibalele, i. 258, 311, 327 - -Legislative Council, Members of, i. 260 - -Legislature, The, i. 295 - - -Maritz, Gerrit, i. 245 - -Missionaries, The, i. 311 - - -Newcastle, i. 344, 349 - - -Park, The, i. 276 - -Pieter Maritzburg, i. 285 - -Pine, Sir B., Second Governor, i. 258 - -Pinetown, i. 283 - -Population, i. 277 - -Potgieter, Hendrick, i. 245 - -Pretorius, Andreas, i. 256 - - -Railways, i. 265 - -Retief, Pieter, i. 247 - - -Soldiers in Natal, i. 292 - -Speaking, After dinner, i. 291 - -Sugar, i. 267 - - -Travelling, Difficulties of, i. 340 - -Trees, Planting of, i. 302 - - -Volksraad, The, i. 255 - - -War declared with the Dutch, i. 252 - -West, Mr., First Governor, i. 256 - -Wolseley, Sir Garnet; his coming, i. 260 - - -York, Emigrants from, i. 258 - - -Zulu dress, i. 318 - -Zulu honesty, i. 322 - -Zulu Labour, i. 273, 323 - -Zululand, i. 313 - -Zulus, i. 306 - -Zulus, Scarcity of, i. 347 - - -THE TRANSVAAL. - -Annexation, Effects of, ii. 61 - -Apprentices, ii. 33 - - -Blignaut’s punt, ii. 127 - -Bloomhof, ii. 123 - -Boers, ii. 9 - -Boundaries, ii. 26 - -Burgers, Mr., ii. 39, 47, 65 - - -Carnarvon, Lord, to Mr. Burgers, ii. 47 - -Christiana, ii. 123 - -Coal, ii. 20, 96 - -Copper, ii. 96 - -Cost of Living, ii. 77 - - -Dishonesty, ii. 14 - -Domestic service, ii. 77 - -Dutchmen, old and new, ii. 115 - - -Education, ii. 13, 81 - -Eersteling, ii. 93 - -Elton, Captain, ii. 93 - - -Farmers’ houses, ii. 11 - -Farms, The size of, ii. 21 - -Freying, ii. 15 - -Fruits, ii. 111 - - -Gardens, ii. 71 - -Gold, ii. 90 - - -Heidelberg, ii. 23 - -Hollander, The, ii. 18 - -House on fire, ii. 52 - - -Keate’s award, ii. 39, 123 - -Klerksdorp, ii. 32 - - -Land, Division of, ii. 108 - -Loan, Proposed, for railway, ii. 101 - -Lydenburg district, ii. 94 - - -Marabas Stad, ii. 93 - -Mazulekatze, ii. 31 - - -Nichtmaal, The, ii. 75 - - -Pilgrim’s Rest, ii. 94 - -Potchefstroom, ii. 32, 118 - -Pretoria, ii. 25, 67 - -Pretorius, Andreas, or the elder, ii. 32, 68 - -Pretorius, M. W., the younger, ii. 37, 69 - -Proclamation, The, ii. 55 - - -Railways, ii. 98 - - -Saltpan, The, ii. 86 - -Secocoeni, ii. 46 - -Shepstone, Sir Theophilus, ii. 47, 53 - -Slavery, ii. 35 - -Standees Drift, ii. 4, 19 - - -Tatin, ii. 91 - -Taxes not paid, ii. 48 - -Transvaal, Condition of, ii. 52, 89 - -Transvaal Mails, ii. 8 - -Troops in the Transvaal, ii. 22 - - -Wheat, ii. 107 - -Wonder Fontein, ii. 116 - -GRIQUALAND WEST. - -Annexation to Cape Colony, ii. 151 - - -Barkly, ii. 164 - -Brand, Mr., ii. 150 - -British rule--a blessing, ii. 148 - -Bultfontein, ii. 169 - - -Churches at Kimberley, ii. 206 - -Colesberg Kopje, ii. 163, 169 - -Custom Duties, Increase of, ii. 200 - - -De Beer, ii. 163 - -Diamond dealers, ii. 196 - -Diamond Fields a separate Colony, ii. 137, 151 - -Diamond-stealing, ii. 182, 197 - -Diamonds, how sent to Europe, ii. 195 - -Diamonds, imperfect, ii. 202 - -Diamonds, Notice of, in 1760, ii. 161 - -Diamonds--Off colours, ii. 196 - -Du Toit’s Pan, ii. 169 - - -Franchise, The, ii. 167 - - -Guns, Sale of, ii. 198 - - -Hebron, ii. 164 - -Hospitals at Kimberley, ii. 205 - - -Jacobs, Mr., ii. 162 - - -Kimberley, ii. 173, 186 - -Kimberley Mine, ii. 169, 172, 174 - -Klipdrift, ii. 164 - -Kok, Adam, ii. 138 - - -Lanyon, Major, ii. 137 - - -Mine, Subdivision of, ii. 177 - -Modder, The, ii. 168 - -Morton, Mr., ii. 161 - - -New Hush, The, ii. 173 - -No Man’s Land, ii. 140 - - -Old De Beers, ii. 169 - -Orange Free State: its claims, ii. 139; - compensation given, ii. 140 - -O’Reilly, Mr., ii. 162 - - -Population, ii. 166 - -Prison at Kimberley, ii. 206 - - -Religion for Kafirs, ii. 188 - -River diggings, ii. 167 - - -Southey, Mr., ii. 164 - -Star of South Africa, ii. 163 - - -Vaal, The, ii. 168 - -Van Niekerk, Mr., ii. 162 - -Van Wyk, Mr., ii. 169 - -Vooruitzuit Farm, ii. 153, 172 - - -Waterboer, Andreas, ii. 140, 141 - -Waterboer, Nicholas, ii. 138, 144 - -Work for Kafirs, ii. 187 - - -THE ORANGE FREE STATE. - -Baralongs, The, ii. 224 - -Basutos, ii. 218, 224 - -Bloemfontein, ii. 217, 236, 266, 261 - -Boers, The, ii. 235, 241 - -Boom Plats, Battle of, ii. 218 - -Boshof, Mr., ii. 216, 224 - -Boundaries of the Cape Colony, ii. 212 - -Brand, Mr., ii. 215, 226, 227, 262 - -Burgers, Mr., ii. 216 - - -Cetywayo, ii. 216 - -Churches, ii. 267 - -Clerk, Sir George, ii. 223, 232 - -Custom Duties, ii. 246 - - -Dams for water, ii. 236 - -Difficulties of the State, ii. 225 - - -English language, ii. 235, 265 - -Executive, The, ii. 255 - - -Fiji Islands, ii. 211 - -Franchise, The, ii. 253 - -Grey, Sir George, ii. 232 - - -Hotel, The, ii. 259 - - -Independence, Love of, ii. 243, 249 - -Irrigation, ii. 237 - - -Maitland, Sir Peregrine, ii. 217 - -Ministers, Colonial, ii. 229 - -Moshef, ii. 215, 224 - - -Napier, Sir George, ii. 216 - -Nichtmaal, The, ii. 267 - - -Pretorius, Mr., ii. 215, 217, 224 - -Public offices, ii. 258 - - -Railway, Proposed, ii. 263 - - -Schools, ii. 263 - -Sovereignty, The, established, ii. 219; - abandoned, ii. 221 - - -Telegraph wires, ii. 263 - -Treaty, Our, with the Free State, ii. 223 - - -Vacillation of our policy, ii. 210 - -Volksraad, The, ii. 243, 251 - - -Warden, Major, ii. 217 - - -NATIVE TERRITORIES. - -Aliwal North, Convention at, ii. 318 - - -Baralong Law, ii. 282 - -Baralong, The tribe, ii. 275, 311 - -Basutos, The, ii. 277, 308, 310 - -Bechuanas, The, ii. 276, 311 - -Bomvanas, The, ii. 289, 308 - -Bowker, Mr., ii. 314 - -British Kafraria, ii. 287 - -Burial of a Chief, ii. 304 - -Bushmen, ii. 313, 326 - - -Cannibalism, ii. 313 - -Casselin, M., ii. 313 - -Cogha, The River, ii. 291 - -Conquered Territory, ii. 317 - -Copper, ii. 321 - -Cultivation of land, ii. 284 - - -Damaraland, ii. 320 - -Daniel, Mr., ii. 277 - - -East London, ii. 286 - -Expense of the wars, ii. 297 - - -Fingos, The, ii. 292, 308 - - -Gaikas, ii. 287, 298 - -Galekaland, Occupation of, ii. 291 - -Galekas, ii. 287, 298, 308 - -Gatberg, The, ii. 307 - -Great Fish River, ii. 287, 292 - -Griquas--Bastards, ii. 308 - - -Hintsa, ii. 292 - -Höhne, Mr., ii. 277 - -Hottentots, ii. 320 - -Huts at Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 279 - - -Jenkins, Mrs., ii. 309 - -Justice, Administration of, ii. 305 - - -Kafir habits, ii. 299 - -Kafir, What is a, ii. 287 - -Kafraria, ii. 287 - -Keiskamma, The, ii. 292 - -Kei, The River, ii. 286, 291 - -King Williamstown, ii. 286 - -Kok’s, Adam, Land, ii. 307 - -Korannas, ii. 320, 326 - -Kreli, ii. 286, 291, 294 - - -Langalibalele, ii. 297 - - -Maralong, The, language, ii. 278 - -Maroco, The Baralong Chief, ii. 277, 281, 316 - -Moni, a sub chief, ii. 289 - -Moriah, ii. 312 - -Moshesh, ii. 315 - - -Namaqualand, ii. 320 - -Ngquika, ii. 288 - - -Ookiep Mine, ii. 321, 324 - - - -Phillips and King, Messrs., ii. 323 - -Poisoning, ii. 283 - -Pondomisi, ii. 308 - -Pondos, ii. 288, 308 - -Population of Transkeian districts, ii. 308 - -Port Nolloth, ii. 323 - - -Rain-makers, ii. 306 - -Robben Island, ii. 296 - - -Sandilli, ii. 287 - -Sapena, The Assistant Chief, ii. 278 - -Scotchman at Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 285 - -South Africa--British annexation, ii. 296 - -Springbok Fontein, ii. 321 - -St. John River, ii. 307, 309 - - -Tambookies, ii. 288 - -Taxes in Basutoland, ii. 318 - -Tembus, ii. 288, 308 - -Thaba Bosio, ii. 312 - -Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 275, 311 - -Theal, Mr., his description of Namaqualand, ii. 322 - -Transkeian Territory, ii. 307 - - -Witch-doctors, ii. 306 - -Wodehouse, Sir P., ii. 290, 317 - - -Xosas, ii. 288 - - -Zwidi, ii. 289 - - - THE END. - - - PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD, LONDON. - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[1] In 1864 by a treaty between the Portuguese and the Republic the -Lobombo range of mountains was agreed upon as a boundary between -them, but I am not aware that the natives living to the east of these -mountains were ever made a party to this treaty. - -[2] Vol. ii. p. 164. - -[3] “South Africa,” by John Noble, p. 173 B. - -[4] The Italics are my own. - -[5] I believe he did receive the stipend all through. - -[6] The purchasers were in treaty for De Beer’s farm at the time when -the first diamond was found by a lady’s parasol on the little hill -where is now the Kimberley mine, and £600 was added to the purchase -money in consequence. It is calculated that diamonds to the value of -£12,000,000 have since been extracted from the mine. - -[7] I find the story told with slight variation by different persons. -I have taken the version published in the second edition of Messrs. -Silver’s Handbook, having found ample reason to trust the accuracy of -that compilation. See p. 378 of that volume. - -[8] This is an abominable word, coined as I believe for the use of the -British Diamond Fields;--but it has become so common that it would be -affectation to avoid the use of it. - -[9] Since this was written a mail steamer with a large amount of these -diamonds among the mails has gone to the bottom of the sea. The mails, -and with the mails, the diamonds have been recovered; but in such a -condition that they cannot be recognised and given up to the proper -owners. They are lying at the General Post Office, and how to dispose -of them nobody knows. - -[10] In 1869 the amount was £295,661. In 1875 it was £735,380. In 1869 -the total revenue was £580,026. In 1875 it was £1,602,918; the increase -being nearly to three-fold. The increase in the expenditure was still -greater;--but that only shews that the Colony found itself sufficiently -prosperous to be justified in borrowing money for the making of -railroads. The reader must bear in mind that these Custom Duties were -all received and pocketed by the Cape Colony, though a large proportion -of them was levied on goods to be consumed in the Diamond Fields. As -I have stated elsewhere, the Cape Colony has in this respect been a -cormorant, swallowing what did not rightfully belong to her. - -[11] Mr. Theal’s “History of South Africa,” vol. ii. p. 147. - -[12] Lord Carnarvon was Colonial Secretary when this was written. - -[13] Nevertheless there is a beautifully self-asserting clause in a -treaty made in 1876 between the Orange Free State and Portugal, which -provides--“That ships sailing under the flag of the Orange Free State -shall in every respect enjoy the same treatment and shall not be liable -to higher duties than Portuguese vessels.” - -[14] What I have said here as to duties levied say at Fort Elizabeth -on goods for the Orange Free State applies equally to goods for the -Transvaal landed in Natal at Durban. - -[15] Moselekatze himself was no doubt a Zulu; but the Matabeles whom he -ruled were probably a people over whom he had become master when he ran -away from Zululand. - -[16] The Legislature of the Cape of Good Hope has already taken steps -towards the annexation of this territory by sending a Commissioner -north of the Orange River, both to Great Namaqualand and Damaraland to -ascertain the wish of the natives. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, VOL. 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II., by Anthony Trollope</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: South Africa, vol. II.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Anthony Trollope</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 19, 2021 [eBook #66343]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, VOL. II. ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i">{i}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="c">SOUTH AFRICA<br /> -—<br /> -VOL. II.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii">{ii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii">{iii}</a></span> </p> - -<h1> -SOUTH AFRICA.</h1> - -<p class="c"> -BY<br /> -ANTHONY TROLLOPE.<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -IN TWO VOLUMES.<br /> -VOL. II.<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>FOURTH EDITION.</i><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -LONDON:<br /> -CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY.<br /> -1878.<br /> -<br /> -(<i>All rights reserved.</i>)<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv">{iv}</a></span><br /><br /> - -<small> - -LONDON:<br /> -PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED,<br /> -CITY ROAD.<br /></small> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v">{v}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS_OF_VOL_II" id="CONTENTS_OF_VOL_II"></a>CONTENTS OF VOL. II.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#THE_TRANSVAAL">THE TRANSVAAL.</a></big></th></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Newcastle to Pretoria</span> </td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_3">3</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Its History</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_26">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Annexation</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_50">50</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Pretoria</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_67">67</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Its Condition and Products</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_89">89</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi">{vi}</a></span></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Transvaal.—Pretoria to the Diamond Fields</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_112">112</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#GRIQUALAND_WEST">GRIQUALAND WEST.</a></big></th></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Griqualand West—why we took it</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Story of the Diamond Fields</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_161">161</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Kimberley</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_185">185</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#THE_ORANGE_FREE_STATE">THE ORANGE FREE STATE.</a></big></th></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Orange Free State.—Its early History</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_209">209</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Orange Free State.—Present Condition</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_232">232</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Orange Free State.—Bloemfontein</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_256">256</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#NATIVE_TERRITORIES">NATIVE TERRITORIES.</a></big></th></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">{vii}</a></span></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thaba ’Ncho</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_275">275</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Kreli and his Kafirs</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_286">286</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Basutos</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_310">310</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Namaqualand</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_320">320</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Conclusion</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_327">327</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">{viii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="THE_TRANSVAAL" id="THE_TRANSVAAL"></a>THE TRANSVAAL.</h2> - -<h2><a name="SOUTH_AFRICA" id="SOUTH_AFRICA"></a>SOUTH AFRICA.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL.—NEWCASTLE TO PRETORIA.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> distance from Newcastle to Pretoria is 207 miles. About 20 miles -north from Newcastle we crossed the borders of what used to be the -Transvaal Republic, but which since the 12th August last,—1877,—forms -a separate British Colony under the dominion of Her Majesty. The -geographical configuration here is remarkable as at the point of contact -between Natal and the Transvaal the boundary of the Orange Free State is -not above two or three miles distant, and that of Zulu Land, which is at -present but ill defined, not very far off;—so that in the event of the -Transvaal being joined to Natal the combined Colonies would hang -together by a very narrow neck of land.</p> - -<p>Of all our dominions the Transvaal is probably the most remote. Its -Capital is 400 miles from the sea, and that distance is not annihilated -or even relieved by any railway. When I left home my main object perhaps -was to visit this remote district, of which I had never heard much and -in which I had been interested not at all, till six months before I -started on my journey. Then the country had been a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> foreign Republic, -not very stable as was supposed, and assimilated in my mind with some of -the South American Republics which so often change their name and their -condition and in which the stanchest lovers of the Republican form of -Government hardly put much faith. Now I was in the country and was not -only assured myself as to its future security,—but was assured also of -the assurance of all who were concerned. Whether Great Britain had done -right or wrong to annex the Transvaal, every sod of its soil had -instantly been made of double value to its proprietor by the deed which -had been done.</p> - -<p>Here I was in the Transvaal through which at a period long since that of -my own birth lions used to roam at will, and the tribes of the Swazies -and Matabeles used to work their will against each other, unconscious of -the coming of the white man. Now there are no lions in the land,—and, -as far as I could see as I made my journey, very few Natives in the -parts which had really been inhabited by the Dutch.</p> - -<p>I cannot say that the hotels along the road were very good. By the -ordinary travelling Englishman the accommodation would have been -considered very bad;—but we did find places in which we could shelter -ourselves, and beds of some kind were provided for us. A separate -bedroom had become a luxury dear to the imagination and perpetuated by -memory. We were a week on the road from Newcastle and pulled off our -clothes but once,—when we were under the hospitable roof of Mrs. -Swickhard, who keeps a store about half way at a place called Standers -Drift. At one or two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> places there were little Inns, always called -hotels, and at others we were taken in by farmers or storekeepers. -Sometimes the spot on which we were invited to lie down was so -uninviting as to require the summoning up of a special courage. Twice I -think we were called upon to occupy the same bed,—on which occasions my -age preserved me from the hard ground on which my younger companion had -to stretch himself. He had stories to tell of nocturnal visitors to -which I have ever been inhospital and useless,—the only wild beast that -has ever attacked me being the musquito. Of musquitoes in the Transvaal -I had no experience, and was told that even in summer they are not -violent. We were travelling in September, which is equal in its -circumstances to our March at home. So much for our beds. On our route -we banqueted at times like princes,—but these were the times in which -we camped out in the veld,—the open field side,—and consumed our own -provisions. Never was such tea made as we had. And yet the tea in all -the houses was bad,—generally so bad as to be undrinkable. We had -bought our tea, as other Colonists buy theirs, at Pieter Maritzburg, and -I do not think that the grocer had done anything peculiar for us. But we -were determined that the water should boil, that the proper number of -tea-spoon-fulls should be afforded, and that the tea should have every -chance. We certainly succeeded. And surely never was there such bacon -fried, or such cold tongues extracted from tin pots. It happened more -than once that we were forced by circumstances to breakfast at houses on -the road,—but when we did so we always breakfasted again a few miles -off by the side of some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> spruit,—Anglice brook,—where our horses could -get water and eat their forage.</p> - -<p>The matter of forage is the main question for all travellers through -these parts of South Africa. Let a man sleep where he may and eat what -he will, he can go on. Let him sleep not at all and eat but little, he -can have himself dragged to his destination. The will within him to -reach a given place carries him safely through great hardships. But it -is not so with your horse,—and is less so in the Transvaal than in any -other country in which I have travelled. We soon learned that our chief -care must be to provide proper food for our team, if we wished to reach -Pretoria,—let alone those further towns, Kimberley and Bloemfontein. -Now there are three modes in which a horse may be fed on such a journey. -He may nibble the grass,—or cut his own bread and butter,—as horses do -successfully in Australia; but if left to that resource he will soon -cease to drag the vehicle after him in South Africa. Or he may be fed -upon mealies. I hope my reader has already learned that maize or Indian -corn is so called in South Africa. Mealies are easily carried, and are -almost always to be purchased along the road. But horses fed upon them -while at fast work become subject to sickness and die upon the journey. -If used at all they should be steeped in water and dried, but even then -they are pernicious except in small quantities. Forage is the only -thing. Now forage consists of corn cut green, wheat or oats or -barley,—dried with the grain in it and preserved in bundles, like hay. -It is cumbrous to carry and it will frequently happen that it cannot be -bought on the road side. But you must have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> forage, or you will not get -to your journey’s end. We did manage to supply ourselves, sometimes -carrying a large roll of it inside the cart as well as a sack filled -with it outside. Every farmer grows a little of it through the country; -and the storekeepers along the road, who buy it at 3d. a bundle sell it -for a shilling or eighteen pence in accordance with their conscience. -But yet we were always in alarm lest we should find ourselves without -it. A horse requires about six bundles a day to be adequately fed for -continual work. “Have you got forage?” was the first question always -asked when the cart was stopped and one of us descended to enquire as to -the accommodation that might be forthcoming.</p> - -<p>We travelled something over thirty miles a day, always being careful not -to allow the horses to remain at their work above two hours and a half -at a time. Then we would “out-span,”—take the horses out from the -carriage, knee-hobble them and turn them loose with their forage spread -upon the ground. Then all our energies would be devoted to the tea -kettle and the frying pan.</p> - -<p>As we travelled most heartrending accounts reached us of the fate of my -companions from Pieter Maritzburg to Newcastle, who had pursued their -journey by the mail cart to Pretoria. This conveyance is not supposed -absolutely to travel night and day;—nor does it go regularly by day and -stop regularly by night in a Christian fashion, but makes its progress -with such diminished periods of relaxation as the condition of the -animals drawing it may create. If the roads and animals be good, four or -six hours in the twenty-four may be allowed to the weary -passengers;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span>—but if not,—if as at this time they both be very bad, the -periods of relaxation are only those necessary for taking up the mail -bags and catching the animals which are somewhere out on the veld, -hobbled, and biding their time. For the mail cart the road was very bad -indeed, while by our happy luck, for us it was very good. They travelled -through two days and nights of uninterrupted rain by which the roads and -rivers were at once made almost equally impassable; while for us, so -quick are the changes effected, everything had become dry and at the -same time free from dust. From place to place we heard of them,—how the -three unfortunates had walked into one place fifteen miles in advance of -the cart, wet through, carrying their shoes and stockings in their -hands, and had then slept upon the ground till the vehicle had come up, -the mules had been caught, and they had been carried on a mile or two -when they had again been forced to walk. They were at this period two -days late and had been travelling on these conditions for four days and -four nights with the journey yet unfinished before them. Had I been one -of them I think they would have been forced to leave me behind them on -the way side. On the road we met their conveyance coming back. It had -carried them to a certain point and had thence returned. It was a -miserable box on wheels with two mules whose wretched bones seemed to -come through their skin. They could not raise a trot though they had no -load but the black driver, and I presume some mail bags.</p> - -<p>Nor was any one to blame for all this,—except the late Government. For -two years and a half the Contractor had done the work without receiving -his pay. That he should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span> have gone on and done it at all is the -marvel;—but he had persevered spending all that he could make elsewhere -upon the effort. When the annexation came he was paid his arrears in -lump,—very much no doubt to his comfort; but then there were new -tenders and a new contract and it was hardly to be expected that he -should lay out his happily recovered money in providing horses and -conveyances for a month or two.</p> - -<p>I was assured, and I believe truly, that this special journey,—which I -did not take,—was the most unfortunate that had ever occurred on this -unfortunate road. The animals had of course gone down the hill from bad -to worse, and then had come the heavy rain. It seemed to be almost a -direct Providence which had rescued me from its misery.</p> - -<p>As I passed along the road I took every opportunity that came in my way -of entering the houses of the Dutch. I had heard much of the manners of -the Boers, and of their low condition of life. I had been told that they -were altogether unprogressive,—that the Boer farmer of this day was as -his father had been, that so had been the grandfather and the great -grandfather, and that so was the son about to be; that they were -uneducated, dirty in their habits, ignorant of comforts, and -parsimonious in the extreme. These are the main accusations brought -against the Boers as a race, and they are supported by various -allegations in detail;—as that they do not send their children to -school; that large families live in two roomed houses, fathers mothers -sons and daughters sleeping in one chamber; that they never wash, and -wear their clothes day and night without changing them; that they will -live upon the carcases of wild beasts<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span> and blesboks which they can shoot -upon the lands so as to reduce their expenditure on food to a -minimum;—that they are averse to neighbours, and that they will pay for -no labour, thus leaving their large farms untilled and to a great extent -unpastured. And added to all this it is said that the Boer is -particularly averse to all change, resolving not only to do as his -father has done before him, but also that his son shall do the like for -the future.</p> - -<p>The reader will probably perceive that these charges indicate an absence -of that civilization which is produced in the world by the congregated -intelligences of many persons. Had Shakespeare been born on a remote -South African farm he would have been Shakespeare still; but he would -not have worn a starched frill to his shirt. The Dutch Boer is what he -is, not because he is Dutch or because he is a Boer, but because -circumstances have isolated him. The Spaniards had probably reached as -luxurious a mode of living as any European people when they achieved -their American possessions, but I have no hesitation in saying that the -Spaniards who now inhabit the ranches and remote farms of Costa Rica or -Columbia are in a poorer condition of life than the Dutch Boers of the -Transvaal. I have seen Germans located in certain unfortunate spots -about the world who have been reduced lower in the order of humanity -than any Dutchmen that I have beheld. And I have been within the houses -of English Free Settlers in remote parts of Australia which have had -quite as little to show in the way of comfort as any Boer’s homestead.</p> - -<p>Such comparisons are only useful as showing that distance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> from crowded -centres will produce the same falling off in civilization among one -people as among another. The two points of interest in the matter -are,—first the actual condition of these people who have now become -British subjects, and secondly how far there is a prospect of -improvement. I am now speaking of my journey from Natal up to Pretoria. -When commencing that journey, though I had seen many Dutchmen in South -Africa I had seen none of the Boer race; and I was told that those -living near to the road would hardly be fair specimens of their kind. -There was very little on the road to assist in civilizing them and that -little had not existed long. From what I afterwards saw I am inclined to -think that the impressions first made upon me were not incorrect.</p> - -<p>The farmers’ houses generally consisted of two main rooms, with probably -some small excrescence which would serve some of the family as a -sleeping apartment. In the living room there would be a fire-place, and -outside the house, probably at thirty or forty yards’ distance, there -would be a huge oven built. The houses would never be floored, the -uneven ground being sufficiently solid and also sufficiently clean for -the Dutchman’s purposes. There would seldom be a wall-paper or any -internal painting of the woodwork. Two solid deal tables, with solid -deal settees or benches,—not unfrequently with a locker under -them,—would be the chief furniture. There might be a chair or two, but -not more than one or two. There would always be a clock, and a not -insufficient supply of cups, saucers, and basins. Knives, forks, and -spoons would be there. The bed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> room of course would be a sanctum; but -my curiosity,—or diligence in the performance of the duty on which I -was intent,—enables me to say that there is always a large bedstead, -with a large feather bed, a counterpane, and apparently a pair of -sheets. The traveller in Central America will see but little of such -decencies among the Spanish farmers there.</p> - -<p>Things in the Boer’s house no doubt are generally dirty. An earthen -floor will make everything dirty,—whether in Ireland or in the -Transvaal. The Boer’s dress is dirty,—and also, which is more -important, that of the Boeress. The little Boerlings are all dirty;—so -that, even when they are pretty, one does not wish to kiss them. The -Boers are very prolific, marrying early and living a wholesome, and I -think, a moral life. They are much given to marrying, the widow or the -widower very speedily taking another spouse, so that there will -sometimes be three or four families in the one house. The women have -children very early in life,—but then they have children very late -also; which seems to indicate that their manner of living is natural and -healthy. I have heard them ridiculed for their speedy changes of marital -affection, but it seems to me natural that a man or a woman living far -apart from neighbours should require the comfort of a companion.</p> - -<p>I am quite convinced that they are belied by the allegation which denies -to them all progress in civilization. The continued increase in the -number of British and German storekeepers in the country, who grow rich -on their trade with the Boers, is sufficient of itself to tell one this. -Twenty years since I am assured that it was a common thing for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> Boer -to be clad in skins. Now they wear woollen clothing, with calico. I -fancy that the traveller would have to travel very far before he found a -skin-clad Boer. No doubt they are parsimonious;—it might perhaps be -more fair to call them prone to save. I, personally, regard saving as a -mistake, thinking that the improvement of the world generally is best -furthered by a free use of the good things which are earned,—and that -they who do not themselves earn them should, as a rule, not have them. -It is a large question, which my readers would not thank me to discuss -here. But there are two sides to it,—and the parsimony of the Boer who -will eat up the carcase of a wild beast till it be rotten so that he -need not kill a sheep, and may thus be enabled to stock a farm for his -son, will have its admirers in Great Britain,—if not among fathers at -any rate among sons. These people are not great consumers, as are our -farmers. They wear their clothes longer, and stretch their means -further; but that the Boer of to-day consumes very much more than his -father there can be no doubt;—and as little that his sons and daughters -will consume more.</p> - -<p>As to their educational condition I found it very difficult to ascertain -facts. The distance of these homesteads one from another makes school -teaching in many instances impossible. In some cases I found that great -efforts were made, the mother or perhaps the mother’s sister teaching -the children to read. Here and there I heard of boys and girls who were -sent long distances,—at an expense not only for teaching but for -boarding. It has, however, to be acknowledged that the education of the -country is at present very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> deficient. The country is now ours and when -the first rudiments of stability have been fixed, so that laws may be -administered and taxes collected, then I trust that the rulers of the -Transvaal may find themselves able to do something towards bringing -education nearer to the Boers.</p> - -<p>I have heard the Boers spoken of as a dishonest people. I was once among -certain tradesmen of the Transvaal who asserted that it was impossible -to keep them from pilfering in the shops, one or two of them alleging -that no Boer would make a considerable purchase without relieving the -grief which was natural to him at parting with his money by pocketing -some little article gratis,—a knife, or a tobacco pipe, or perhaps a -few buttons. It was an accusation grievous to hear;—but there arose in -the company one man, also a dealer and an Englishman, who vindicated -their character, alleging that in all parts of the world petty -shop-lifting was so common an offence that the shopkeeper was forced to -take it into account in his calculations, and asserting that the -thieving Boers, few though they might be in number, would leave more -impression on the shopkeeping mind than the very many Boers who would -come in and out without perpetrating any dishonesty. I have heard the -Boers also charged with immorality,—which always means loose conduct -among the women. I am inclined to think,—though I believe but few will -share my opinion,—that social morality will always stand higher in -towns, where people are close to each other and watch narrowly the -conduct one of another, than in far-stretching pastoral districts, where -there is no one to see what is done and to question a neigh<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span>bour’s -conduct. I do not suppose that feminine delicacy can stand very high -among the Boers of the Transvaal. But on the other hand, as far as I -could learn, illegitimacy is not common; and surely there never was a -people more given to the honourable practice of matrimony.</p> - -<p>I fear that the Boer families have but few recognised amusements. In the -little towns or villages the people are given to dancing, and when they -dance they are very merry; but the Boers do not live in the villages. -The villages are but few in number over a country which is as large as -Great Britain and Ireland put together, and the Boer’s daughter who -lives six or eight miles from her nearest neighbour can have but little -dancing. The young people flirt together when they meet in the Transvaal -as they do in all the parts of the world which I have visited. Their -manner of flirting would probably be thought to be coarse by English -mothers and daughters; but then,—if my readers will remember,—so was -the manner of flirting ascribed to those most charming young ladies -Rosalind and Celia. We can hardly be entitled to expect more refinement -to-day among the Boers of South Africa than among the English of the -time of Queen Elizabeth. They are very great at making love, or -“freying” as they call it, and have their recognised forms for the -operation. A most amusing and clever young lady whom I met on my way up -to Pretoria was kind enough to describe to me at length the proper way -to engage or to attempt to engage the affections of a Boer’s daughter. -The young Boer who thinks that he wants a wife and has made up his mind -to look for one begins by riding round the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> country to find the article -that will suit him. On this occasion he does not trouble himself with -the hard work of courtship, but merely sees what there is within the -circle to which he extends his inspection. He will have dressed himself -with more than ordinary care so that any impression which he may make -may be favourable, and it is probable that the young ladies in the -district know what he is about. But when he has made his choice, then he -puts on his very best, and cleans his saddle or borrows a new one, and -sticks a feather in his cap, and goes forth determined to carry his -purpose. He takes with him a bottle of sugar plums,—an article in great -favour among the Boers and to be purchased at every store,—with which -to soften the heart of the mother, and a candle. Everything depends upon -the candle. It should be of wax, or of some wax-like composition; but -tallow will suffice if the proposed bride be not of very high standing. -Arrived at the door he enters, and his purpose is known at once. The -clean trowsers and the feather declare it; and the sugar plums which are -immediately brought forth,—and always consumed,—leave not a shadow of -doubt. Then the candle is at once offered to the young lady. If she -refuse it, which my informant seemed to think was unusual, then the -swain goes on without remonstrating and offers it to the next lady upon -his list. If she take it, then the candle is lighted, and the mother -retires, sticking a pin into the candle as an intimation that the young -couple may remain together, explaining their feelings to each other, -till the flame shall have come down to the pin. A little salt, I was -assured, is often employed to make the flame weak and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> so prolong the -happy hour. But the mother, who has perhaps had occasion to use salt in -her own time, may probably provide for this when arranging the distance -for the pin. A day or two afterwards the couple are married,—so that -there is nothing of the “nonsense” and occasional heartbreak of long -engagements. It is thus that “freying” is carried on among the Boers of -the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>At home in England, what little is known about the Boers of South -Africa,—or I might perhaps more correctly say what little has been told -about them,—has tended to give a low notion of them as a race. And -there is also an impression that the Boer and the English Colonist are -very hostile to each other. I fear that the English Colonist does -despise the Boer, but I have not found reason to think that any such -hostility exists. Let an Englishman be where he may about the surface of -the globe, he always thinks himself superior to other men around him. He -eats more, drinks more, wears more clothes, and both earns and spends -more money. He,—and the American who in this respect is the same as an -Englishman,—always consume the wheat while others put up with the rye. -He feeds on fresh meat, while dried or salt flesh is sufficient for his -neighbours. He expects to be “boss,” while others work under him. This -is essentially so in South Africa where he is constantly brought into -contact with the Dutchman,—and this feeling of ascendancy naturally -produces something akin to contempt. There is no English farmer in South -Africa, who would not feel himself to be vilified by being put on a par -with a Dutch farmer. When an Englishman marries a Boer’s daughter, the -con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span>nexion is spoken of almost as a mésalliance. “He made a mistake and -married a Dutchwoman,” I have heard more than once. But, nevertheless, -the feeling does not amount to hostility. The Boer in a tacit way -acknowledges his own inferiority, and is conscious that the Briton is -strong enough and honest enough to do him some service by his proximity.</p> - -<p>The man whom the Dutch Boer does hate is the Hollander, and he is the -man who does in truth despise the Boer. In the Transvaal a Hollander is -the immigrant who has come out new from Holland, whereas the Dutchman is -the descendant of those who came out two centuries since. The Dutchman -is always an Africander, or one who has been born in Africa from white -parents, and he has no sympathy whatever, no feeling of common country, -with the new comer from the old country of his forefathers. The -Hollander who thus emigrates is probably a man of no family, whereas the -old Colonist can go back with his pedigree at least for two centuries -and who thinks very much of his ancestors. The Hollander is educated and -is said to be pedantic and priggish before those who speak his own -language. And in the matter of language these new Dutchmen or Hollanders -complain much of the bad Dutch they hear in the Colony and give great -offence by such complaints.</p> - -<p>The Boers are at present much abused for cowardice, and stories without -end are current in the country as to the manner in which they have -allowed themselves to be scared by the smallest opposition. You will be -told how a posse of twenty men sent to arrest some rebel turned and fled -wildly when the rebel drew forth from his breast and presented to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> them -a bottle of soda-water;—how they have got one Kafir to fight another on -their behalf and how they have turned and run when it has been expected -that they should support the Kafir and do some fighting on their own -behalf. I fear that of late there has been truth in these stories and -that the pluck shewn by them when they made good their hold upon the -country, has been greatly dimmed by the quiet uneventful tenor of their -present lives. But no one complains so bitterly of the cowardice of the -Boers as the Hollander fresh from Holland. I once ventured to take the -part of the Boers in a discussion on the subject, and referred back to -the courage of Retief, of Potgieter, and of Maritz. There was a -gentleman from Holland in the company, and I own that I thought that -politeness required me to make some defence of his Dutch brethren in his -hearing. But I found myself to be altogether in the wrong. “They are the -vilest set of worthless cowards that the world has ever produced,” said -the Dutchman angrily. I think I may say that there is no sympathy -whatsoever between the old Dutch Colonist, and the newly-arrived -immigrant from Holland.</p> - -<p>We crossed the Vaal river at a place called Standerton or Stander’s -Drift,—drift being Dutch for a ford the word has by common usage become -English in South Africa,—as also has the word spruit for a stream. Here -there resides one General Standers from whom the place is called, an old -man who commanded a party of the Dutch at the battle of Boom Platz, -which was fought between the Boers and the British at a place so called -in the Orange Free State in 1848. If<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> the stories told by the English be -true the Boers did not distinguish themselves by courage on the -occasion. The General is a fine old man, as upright as a maypole and -apparently as strong as an oak, about 80 years of age. He is now a most -loyal subject of the British throne, though there have been days in his -career in which the British name has not been very dear to him. He was -finely courteous to us, and asked us to drink coffee, as do all Boers -when they intend to be civil to their visitors. It should be understood -by travellers that their courtesy is very superior to their coffee. No -allusion is here made to the General’s establishment as we had not time -to partake of his hospitality. At Standerton we found coal burnt, which -had been dug about 30 miles from the place. It was good coal, burning -clearly and without much ash.</p> - -<p>Rising up from the Vaal river to the height of about 500 feet the land -ceases to be hilly and becomes a vast rolling plain for many miles, -without a single tree, and almost without a single enclosure. We saw -numerous herds of deer, the large blesbok and the smaller springbok, -which were near enough to be reached by a rifle. They would stand at -about 400 yards from us and gaze at us. My friend had a smooth-bore gun -with large shot; but could not get near enough to them to make such a -weapon available. The country was very uninteresting,—but capable of -bearing wheat on almost every acre. Wheat however there was none, and -only here and there at very long distances a batch of arable ground -tilled for the purpose of growing forage. I have said that there were -but few enclosures.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> Enclosures for arable or even pastoral purposes -there were none. Perhaps three or four times in a day a Boer’s farm -would be seen from the road side, distinguished by a small group of -trees, generally weeping willows. This would look like a very small -oasis in a huge desert. Round the house or on one side of it there would -be from six to a dozen acres of land ploughed, with probably a small -orchard and sometimes an attempt at a kitchen garden. There would too be -some ditching and draining and perhaps some slight arrangement for -irrigation. The Boer’s farm-house I have already described. When -questioned the farmer invariably declared that it would not pay him to -extend his agriculture, as he had no labour on which to depend and no -market to which he could carry his wheat. Questions on such subjects -were always answered with the greatest courtesy, and I may almost say -with eagerness. I do not remember that I ever entered a Boer’s house in -which he did not seem glad to see me.</p> - -<p>A farm in the Transvaal is supposed to contain six thousand acres. This -is so much a matter of course that when a man holds less he describes -himself as possessing half a farm, or a quarter of a farm. The land is -all private property,—or nearly so, very little of it remaining in the -hands of the Government on behalf of the people generally,—and having -been divided into these large sections, cannot now be split up into -smaller sections except by sale or inheritance. The consequence has been -and still is very prejudicial to the interests of the country. The farms -are much too large for profitable occupation, and the farmers by the -very extent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> their own dominions are kept without the advantages of -neighbourhood. The people are isolated in regard to schools, churches, -and all the amenities of social life. They cannot assist each other in -the employment of labour, or create markets for the produce of one -another by their mutual wants. The boorishness of the Boer is -attributable in a great degree to the number of acres of which he is the -lord.</p> - -<p>As we went along the road we met a detachment of the 13th regiment -marching back from Pretoria to Newcastle. There seemed to be going on a -great moving of troops hither and thither, which no doubt had been made -necessary by the annexation. And these marchings were never made without -accidents of flood and field. On this occasion sixteen waggon-oxen had -died on the road. The soldiers had to carry their tents and belongings -with them, and the bullocks therefore were essential to these movements. -When I saw the big waggons, and the dead oxen, and remembered that every -man there in a red coat had been extracted from our population at home -with the greatest difficulty, and brought to that spot at an enormous -cost, and that this had been done for no British purpose, I own that I -asked myself some questions as to the propriety of our position in the -Transvaal which I found it difficult to answer;—as for instance whether -it is necessary that the troubles of the world at large should be -composed and set to rights by the soldiers of a nation so very little -able to provide an army as Great Britain. But the severity of these -thoughts was much mitigated when the two officers in command walked -across to us while we were outspanning in the veld, and offered us -bitter beer. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> Transvaal would never have known even the taste of -bitter beer had it not been for the British army. Talk of a fountain in -the desert! What fountain can be compared to that kettle full of Bass -which the orderly who followed our two new friends carried in his hand. -“Do not look at it,” said the donor as the beverage was poured out. “The -joltings of the journey have marred its brightness. But you will find -that the flavour is all there.”</p> - -<p>The only place on the road worthy to be called a town is Heidelberg and -this does not contain above two or three hundred inhabitants. It is the -capital of a district of the same name of which the entire population is -about 2,000. The district is larger than an ordinary English county, -comprising a compact area about 80 miles long by 60 broad, and yet it is -returned as having no other village within its boundaries except the so -called town of Heidelberg. But the place has an air of prosperity about -it and contains two or three mercantile firms which are really doing a -large business. In these places the shops, or stores, are very much more -extensive than would be any such depôts in English villages of the same -size;—so much so that comfortable fortunes may be made in a -comparatively short time. As the Boers are the chief customers, it is -evident that they are learning to spend their money, and are gradually -departing from the old Boer law that the farm should supply everything -needed for life.</p> - -<p>At Heidelberg we found a good Inn,—a good Inn that is for the -Transvaal:—but the landlord at once told us that he had got no forage. -Our first work therefore was to go about<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> into the town and beg. This we -did successfully, a merchant of the place consenting to let us have -enough for our immediate requirements, out of his private store. But for -this we must have used the reserve supply we carried with us, and have -gone on upon our road to look for more.</p> - -<p>The Inn I have said was good. There was a large room in which a public -table was kept and at which a very good dinner was provided at half-past -six, and a very good breakfast at eight the next morning. There was a -pretty little sitting room within which any lady might make herself -comfortable. The bed and bedroom were clean and sweet. But there was -only one bed tendered for the use of two of us, and a slight feeling -seemed to exist that we were fastidious in requiring more. As more was -not forthcoming my unfortunate companion had to lie upon the ground.</p> - -<p>At Heidelberg we were nearly on the highest table ground of the -Transvaal. From thence there is a descent to Pretoria,—not great indeed -for Pretoria is 4,450 feet above the sea,—but sufficient to produce an -entire change of climate. On the High Veld, as it is called, the -characteristics of the country are all those belonging to the temperate -zone,—such, indeed, as are the characteristics of our own country at -home. Wheat will grow if planted in the late autumn and will ripen in -the summer. But as the hill is turned, down to Pretoria, tropical -influences begin to prevail. Apples are said to thrive well, but so also -do oranges. And wheat will not live through the droughts of the winter -without irrigation. Irrigation for wheat must be costly, and -consequently but little wheat is grown. Wheat sown in the spring is, I -am<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> told, subject to rust. Mealies, or Indian corn, will thrive here, -and almost all kinds of fruit. The gardens produce all kinds of -vegetables, when irrigation is used.</p> - -<p>We descended into Pretoria through a “poort” or opening between the -hills and the little town with its many trees smiled upon us in the sun. -It lies in a valley on a high plateau, just as Grahamstown does, and is -surrounded by low hills. As we were driven into the town I congratulated -myself on having come to the end of my journey. To reach Pretoria had -been my purpose, and now I was at Pretoria. My further troubles would be -confined to my journey home which I intended to commence after a week’s -delay at the capital of our new Colony. Hitherto my work had been not -very uncomfortable and certainly not unprosperous.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL.—ITS HISTORY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> Transvaal as its name plainly indicates is the district lying north -or beyond the Vaal river. The Orange river as it runs down to the sea -from the Diamond Fields through the inhospitable and little known -regions of Bushmansland and Namaqualand used to be called the Gariep and -is made up of two large rivers which, above their junction, were known -as the Gariep Kye and the Knu Gariep,—the tawny and the orange -coloured. The former which is the larger of the two is now known as the -Vaal, and the latter as the Orange. The Vaal rises in the Drakenberg -mountains and is the northern border of the Orange Free State or -Republic. The country therefore beyond that river received its present -name very naturally.</p> - -<p>This southern boundary of the Transvaal has always been marked clearly -enough, but on every other side there are and have been doubts and -claims which are great difficulties to the administrator of the new -Colony. To the west are the Zulus who are, at this moment, claiming -lands which we also claim. Then above them, to the north-west are the -Portuguese who are not perhaps likely to extend their demands for inland -territory, but who are probably quite as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> much in doubt as we are as to -any defined boundary between them and the natives.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> To the north I -think I may say that no one yet knows how far the Transvaal goes. The -maps give the Limpopo river as a boundary, but I think Sir Theophilus -Shepstone will own that Great Britain cannot, should she wish to do so, -make good her claim to lordship over the native races up to the Limpopo -without a considerable amount of —— arrangement with the tribes. And -yet the matter is one that must be settled with accuracy because of the -hut tax. From the natives living under the protection of the British -Crown in the other colonies of South Africa a direct tax is -levied,—10s. or 14s.,—on each hut occupied, and it is indispensable to -the Government of the new Colony that the same system shall be -introduced there. We cannot govern the country without a revenue, and -from our black subjects this is the only means of collecting a -revenue,—till we begin to make something out of their taste for strong -drinks. It was inaccuracy as to their northern and north-eastern -boundaries which brought the South African or Transvaal Republic to that -ruin which induced us to seize it;—or, in other words, the lands which -the Dutch claimed the natives claimed also, and these claims were so -ambiguous, so progressive, so indefinite, that to have yielded to them -would have been to give up the whole country. Sicocoeni who was the -Chief most specially hostile to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> Republic in its last days claimed -even the site on which stood Pretoria the capital, where the Volksraad -or Parliament of the Republic sat. In dealing with the Natives as to -boundaries nothing can be got by yielding. Nor does it seem possible to -trust to abstract justice. Between Sicocoeni and Mr. Burgers, the last -President of the Republic, it would have been impossible for abstract -justice to have drawn a true line so confused had the matter become. It -can only be done by a strong hand, and can only be done well by a strong -hand guided by a desire equally strong to do what is right. As an -Englishman I feel sure that we shall have the one, and, again as -Englishman, I trust that we shall have the other. The habitations of -hundreds of thousands of Natives are concerned. I find that the coloured -population of our new Colony is variously stated at numbers ranging from -250,000 to 800,000. It is all guess work;—but there is no doubt that -the multitude of human beings concerned is very great. Were we to annex -everything included in the Dutch maps of the Transvaal, the true number -would probably be much greater than the larger of those above given. -You, my readers, probably think that the more we include the better for -them, even though they should be made to pay a tax of 10s. a hut. So do -I. But they don’t. They want to be independent,—as are the Zulus down -on the sea coast. It is therefore impossible not to perceive a -difficulty. A line to the North and North-East must be drawn;—but no -possible line will satisfy the natives. To the West and North-West the -matter is probably as doubtful, though not as difficult. The numbers are -fewer and the people less war<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span>like. But to the South-West there is -another problem to be solved. There is a territory North by West of the -Vaal river, including the little town of Bloomhof, which we, by British -award declared to be independent. Governor Keate of Natal was appointed -as arbitrator to draw a line between the Republic and the natives, and -he declared this territory to be a portion of Bechuanaland. But the -Transvaal, rejecting Governor Keate’s award, took the territory and -governed it. Are we now to reject it and give it back to the Bechuanas, -or are we to keep it as part of the annexed Colony? This also will add -something to the difficulty of defining our new possession.</p> - -<p>The history of the European occupation of the Transvaal is the same as -the history of all South Africa during this century. The Dutch have been -ever running away from the English, and the English have sometimes -pursued them and sometimes determined that they should go whither they -would and be no longer accounted as British subjects. They have -certainly been a most stiff-necked people with whom to deal,—and we by -their inability to amalgamate with ourselves have been driven into -vacillations which have not always been very creditable to our good -sense. We have been too masterful and yet not masterful enough. In Natal -as we have seen, we would not allow them to form a Republic or to throw -off their British allegiance. Across the Orange river we have fought -them and reduced them,—at Boom Plaats, as I shall describe when giving -the little history of the Orange Free State,—and then have bid them go -their own way and shift for themselves.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Dutch of South Africa have hated our ways, though I do not think -that they have hated us. What they have practically said to us is as -follows. “No doubt you are very fine fellows, and very strong. We do not -intend to pit ourselves against you. We first took and cultivated and -civilized this Cape Colony. But as you want it in God’s name take it and -use it, and do with it as you list. But let us go and do as we list -elsewhere. You don’t like slavery. We do. Let us go and have our slaves -in a new land. We must encounter endless troubles and probably death in -the attempt. But anything will be better to us than your laws and your -philanthropy.” We could not hinder them from going. There was at one -time a desire to hinder them, and the Colonial Attorney General in 1836 -was consulted as to the law on the subject. There was an old Dutch law, -he said, forbidding the Colonists to cross the border; but that could -hardly be brought in force to prevent persons from seeking their -fortunes in other lands. We have already seen in regard to Natal, how -Lieut.-Governor Stockenstrom, when appealed to, declared that he knew of -no law which prevented His Majesty’s subjects from leaving His Majesty’s -dominions and settling elsewhere. That these people must be allowed to -go away with their waggons wheresoever they might choose was evident -enough; but the British rulers could not quite make up their minds -whether it was or was not their duty to go after the wanderers.</p> - -<p>When the Dutch first made their way into the country now called the -Transvaal they were simply on their road to Natal. News had reached them -of the good land of Natal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> and they endeavoured to get to it by going -northwards across the Orange river. While pursuing their way through -what is now the Free State they encountered a terrible savage named -Mazulekatze, who was at the head of a tribe called the Matabele, with -whom they had to fight to the death. This warrior was a Zulu and had -fought under Chaka the king of the Zulus;—but had quarrelled with his -lord and master and fled out of Zulu Land westwards. Here he seems to -have created the tribe called Matabele, some of whom were Zulus and some -natives and some warriors who had joined him, as being a great fighting -Chief, from other tribes. He was as terrible a savage as Chaka himself, -and altogether “ate up” the less warlike Bechuanas who up to his time -possessed the land thereabouts. This seems to have been the way with -these tribes. They were like water running furiously in a torrent which -in its course is dashed over a rock. The stream is scattered into -infinite spray the particles of which can hardly be distinguished from -the air. But it falls again and is collected into this stream or the -other, changing not its nature but only its name. The Zulus, the -Bechuanas, the Matabeles, and the Kafirs seem to have been formed and -reformed after this fashion without any long dated tribal consistency -among them. When the Dutch came to the Vaal river, groping their way to -Natal, they found Mazulekatze and his Matabeles who was still at war -with some of these Bechuana tribes south of the Vaal river. This was in -1837, the year before the final abolition of slavery which by the law of -1834 was arranged to take place in 1838. The Dutch were nearly -exterminated, but they succeeded in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> driving Mazulekatze out of the -land. Then there was a quarrel among themselves whether they should -remain in that land or go eastward to the more promising soil of Natal. -They went eastward, and how they fared in Natal has already been told.</p> - -<p>For ten or eleven years after this the “trekking” of the Dutchmen into -the Transvaal was only the onward movement of the most hardy of the -class, the advanced pioneers of freedom, who would prefer to live on -equal terms with the Savage,—if that were necessary,—than to have any -dealings with English law. These were men at that time subject to no -rule. Some were established north and west of the Vaal where -Potchefstrom and Klerksdorp now are; others south and east of the Vaal. -As to the latter there came an order for the appointment over them of -British magistrates from Sir Henry Smith who was then the Governor of -the Cape Colony. This was an offence which could not be borne. Andreas -Pretorius, that most uncompromising, most stiff-necked and self-reliant -of all the Dutchmen, had left Natal in disgust with this Governor and -had settled himself in these parts. He instigated a rebellion against -British authority,—not with the view of at that moment claiming land -north of the Vaal, but of asserting the independence of those who lived -to the south of it. Then came the battle of Boom Plaats and the Orange -Sovereignty,—as will be told in the section of my Work devoted to the -history of the Orange Free State. It was when flying from this battle, -in 1848, that Pretorius crossed the Vaal. “For you there is safety,” he -said to his companions as he started. “For me there is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> none.” Then he -fled away across the river and a reward of £2,000 was set upon his head. -This I think may be regarded as the beginning of the occupation of the -Transvaal territory by a European or Dutch population.</p> - -<p>A sort of Republic was at once established of which Pretorius was at -first the acknowledged rather than the elected Chief. The most perfect -freedom for the white man,—which was supposed to include perfect -equality,—was to be maintained by a union of their forces against the -Natives of the country. Mazulekatze had been ejected, and the Bechuanas -were again coming in upon their old land. Then there were new troubles -which seemed always to end in the subjection of a certain number of the -Natives to the domestic institutions of the Dutch. The children of those -who rebelled, and who were taken as prisoners, were bound as apprentices -in the families of the Dutch farmers,—and as such were used as slaves. -There can be no doubt that such was the case. All the evidence that -there is on the subject goes to prove it, and the practice was one -entirely in accordance with Dutch sympathies and Dutch manners. It is -often pointed out to an enquirer that the position of the little urchins -who were thus brought into contact with civilization was thereby much -improved. Such an argument cannot be accepted as worth anything until -the person using it is brought to admit that the child so apprenticed is -a slave, and the master a slave-owner. Then the argument is brought back -to the great question whether slavery as an institution is beneficial or -the reverse. But even a Dutchman will generally avoid that position.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span></p> - -<p>Such was the condition of the territory when the English determined that -they would signify to their runaway subjects that they were regarded as -free to manage themselves as they pleased across the Vaal. Of what use -could it be to follow these Dutchmen beyond that distant river, when, if -so persecuted, they would certainly “trek” beyond the Limpopo? Further -back than the Limpopo were the Zambesi and the Equator. And yet as -matters then stood a certain unpronounced claim was implied by what had -been done between the Orange and the Vaal. A treaty was therefore made -with the people in 1852, and for the making of the treaty Messrs. Hogge -and Owen were despatched as Her Majesty’s Commissioners to meet -Pretorius and a deputation of emigrant farmers, to settle the terms on -which the Republic should be established. There were two clauses of -special interest. One prohibited slavery in the new Republic,—a clause -so easy to put into a treaty, but one of which it is so impossible for -an outside power to exact the fulfilment! Another declared that the -British would make no alliances with the natives north of the Vaal -river,—a clause which we have also found to be very inconvenient. It -would have been better perhaps merely to have told these Boers that if -we found slavery to exist we should make it a casus belli, and to have -bound ourselves to nothing. This would have been “high-handed,”—but -then how much more high-handed have we been since?</p> - -<p>Andreas Pretorius was the first President of the now established and -recognised nationality which, with a weak ambition which has assisted -much in bringing it to its ruin, soon called itself the South African -Republic,—as though it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> were destined to swallow up not only the Free -State but the British Colonies also. In this, however, Andreas Pretorius -himself had no part. The passion of his soul seems to have been -separation from the British;—not dominion over them. He died within two -years, in July 1853, and his son was elected in his place. The father -was certainly a remarkable man,—the one who of all his class was the -most determined to liberate himself from the thraldom of English -opinions. Mr. Theal in his history<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> of South Africa well describes how -this man had become what he was by a continued reading of the Old -Testament. The sanguinary orders given to the chosen people of the Lord -were to him orders which he was bound to obey as were they. Mr. Theal -quotes a special passage from the twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy, to -which I will refer my reader—“When thou comest nigh unto a city fight -against it.” The Israelites are enjoined either to slay or to enslave. -And Pretorius felt that such were the commands given to him in reference -to those natives among whom his lot had cast him. They were to him the -people of the cities which were “very far off,” and whom he had divine -order to enslave, while the more unfortunate ones who would still fain -occupy the lands on which it suited him and his people to dwell, were -“the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the -Hivites and the Jebusites” whom the Lord had commanded him utterly to -destroy. With such authority before him, and while black labour was so -necessary to the cultivation of the land, how could he doubt about -slavery? In studying the peculiarity<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> of the Dutch character in South -Africa and the aversion of the people to our ways we have always to -remember that they had been brought up for ages in the strictest belief -in the letter of scripture. The very pictures in their bibles were to -them true pictures, because they were there. It was so two hundred years -ago with a large sect in Europe,—from which sect they had sprung. They -had grown in the new land without admixture with the progressing ideas -of Europe. They had neither been enlightened nor contaminated by new -systems of belief, or unbelief. So it has come to pass that an -institution which is so abhorrent to us as to make us feel that the man -who is stained by it must be a godless sinner, is still to them a -condition of things directly authorized and ordered by the Almighty. By -our persistency, by our treaties, by our power, by enforcing upon their -inferior condition as the very trade-mark of our superiority the command -that slavery shall exist no longer, we have driven them to deny it, and -have almost convinced them that slavery is no longer possible. But that -heartfelt hatred of slavery which is now common to all of us in England -has not yet reached the Dutchman of South Africa,—and is hardly as -strong in the bosoms of all British South African Colonists as it might -be.</p> - -<p>After the death of the elder Pretorius the Republic had by no means a -quiet or a bloodless time. The capital was then at Potchefstrom, near -the Vaal, while the enormous territory claimed by it to the north was -almost without government. There are stories of terrible massacres -amidst the records of the Republic,—of fearful revenge inflicted on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> -the white men by the Savage whose lands had been taken from him, and of -tenfold, hundredfold revenge following quick upon the heads of the -wretched people. “Thou shalt utterly destroy them!” And therefore a -whole tribe was smothered and starved to death within the caves in which -they had taken refuge. We read that, “For years afterwards the supremacy -of the white man was unquestioned in that part of the Transvaal, and we -can easily believe it.”<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> But for some years the Republic hardly had -any other history but that of its contests with the Natives and its -efforts to extend its borders by taking land wherever its scanty -European population could extend itself. The cities “very far off” were -all their legitimate prey. As the people thus followed out their destiny -at great distances the seat of Government was moved from Potchefstrom to -Pretoria, which city was named after the founder of the Republic.</p> - -<p>Upon the death of Andreas Pretorius in 1853 his son became President; -but in 1859 he was elected President of the Free State in the room of -Mr. Bostrof, who had then retired. When at Bloemfontein he advocated -measures for joining the two Republics under the name of the South -African Republic. Already had risen the idea that the Dutch might oust -the English from the continent, not by force of arms but by Republican -sentiment,—an idea however which has never travelled beyond the brains -of a few political leaders in the Transvaal. I do not think that a trace -of it is to be found in the elder Pretorius. Mr. Burgers, the last -President, of whom I shall have to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> speak presently, was so inflated by -it, that it may be said to have governed all his actions. The idea is -grand, for a South African Dutchman patriotic, and for a Republican -Dutchman not unnatural. But such ideas must depend on their success for -their vindication. When unsuccessful they seem to have been foolish -thoughts, bags of gas and wind, and are held to be proof of the -incompetency of the men who held them for any useful public action. -Neither will Mr. Pretorius junior nor Mr. Burgers ever be regarded as -benefactors of their country or as great statesmen; but the bosoms of -each have no doubt swelled with the aspiration of being called the Dutch -Washington of South Africa. I think I may say that Mr. Brand, who is now -President of the Orange Free State, is imbued with no such vaulting -ambition, whatever may be his ideas on the course of things in the womb -of time. He is mildly contented to be President of the Free State, and -as long as the Free State has a history to be written he will be spoken -of as the man who in the midst of its difficulties made its existence -possible and permanent.</p> - -<p>The Volksraad of the Free State did not sympathise with the views of -their President from the Transvaal, and in 1863 he resigned the place. -He was soon re-elected President of the Northern Republic and remained -in that office till he quarrelled with his own Volksraad or was -quarrelled with by them. He struggled hard and successfully to extend -the bounds of the Empire, and claimed among other lands that tract of -land of which I have already spoken, which is far to the south-west of -the Transvaal, but still to the north<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> or north-west of the Vaal, where -a tribe of the Griquas, a branch of the vast tribe of the Bechuanas, -were living. The question of a boundary in that direction was submitted -to Governor Keate as umpire, and his decision, which was hostile to the -claims of the Republic, was accepted by the President. But the Volksraad -repudiated their President, declaring that he had acted without their -authority, and refused to surrender the land in question. Oddly enough -after this, it is,—or it is not,—at this moment a portion of British -territory. I do not know with what face we can hold it;—but still I -feel sure that we shall not abandon it. Pretorius was so disgusted with -his Volksraad that he resigned his office. This happened in 1872. Mr. -Burgers, the late President, was then elected for a term of five years, -and was sworn into office on 1st July of that year.</p> - -<p>Mr. Burgers, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Capetown, is still a -man in the prime of life and is entitled to be spoken of with that -courtesy which always should be extended to living politicians who have -retired from office. Unless the proof to the contrary be so apparent as -to be glaring,—as to be impossible of refutation,—the motives of such -men should not be impugned. When a man has held high office in his -State,—especially when he has been elected to that office by the voices -of his fellow-citizens,—he is entitled to the merit of patriotism -unless the crime of selfish ambition or unclean hands have been brought -home against him by the voices which elected him. No such charges have -been substantiated against Mr. Burgers, and I shall therefore speak of -him with all the respect which patriotism<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> deserves. He was chosen -because he was supposed to be fit, and I have no reason to doubt that he -strove to do his best for his adopted country. But the capacity of a -Statesman for the office he has filled is always open to remark, whether -he be still in power or shall have retired. In the former case it is -essential to oust an incompetent man from his place, and in the latter -to defend the course by which such a one has been ousted. As a public -man,—one who devotes himself to the service of the people,—is entitled -to the most generous construction of his motives, which should be -regarded as pure and honest till their impurity and dishonesty shall -have been put beyond question,—so is he justly exposed to all that -criticism can say as to the wisdom of his words and deeds. The work on -which he is employed is too important for that good-natured reticence -with which the laches of the insignificant may be allowed to be -shrouded.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Burgers was elected President of the Transvaal Republic he was, -or shortly before had been, a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church in -the Cape Colony, who had differed on matters of creed with the Church to -which he belonged, and had consequently cast off his orders. He was -known as an eloquent enthusiastic man, and was warmly welcomed in the -Transvaal,—where, if ever, a silent, patient, unobtrusive officer was -wanted for the work which had to be done in consolidating the Republic. -The country at the time was very poor. The Treasury was empty,—a paper -currency had been set afloat in 1865, and was of course greatly -depreciated. Taxes were with difficulty collected, and the quarrels with -the natives were incessant. Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> Burgers succeeded in raising a loan, -and borrowed £60,000, which the bank who lent the money will now receive -from the pockets of tax-payers in England. A considerable portion of -this sum has, I believe, already been repaid out of money voted by the -House of Commons. He established a national flag,—which was we may -suppose a cheap triumph. He had a gold coinage struck, with a -portraiture of himself,—two or three hundred gold pieces worth 20s. -each—which I will not hurt his feelings by calling sovereigns. This -could not have cost much as the coinage was so limited. They were too -all made out of Transvaal gold. He set on foot a most high flown scheme -of education,—of which the details will be given elsewhere and which -might not have been amiss had it not been utterly impracticable. He -attempted to have the public lands surveyed, while he did not in the -least know what the public lands were and had no idea of their limits. -There was to be a new code of laws, before as yet he had judges or -courts. And then he resolved that a railway should at once be made from -Pretoria through the gold fields of the Transvaal down to Delagoa Bay -where the Portuguese have their settlement. For the sake of raising a -loan for this purpose he went in person to Holland,—just when one would -have thought his presence in his own country to be indispensable, and -did succeed in saddling the Republic with a debt of £100,000 for railway -properties,—which debt must now, also, be paid by the British -tax-payers. To all this he added,—so runs the rumour among those who -were his friends in the Republic—many proud but too loudly spoken<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> -aspirations as to the future general destiny of the South African -Republic. His mind seems to have been filled with the idea of competing -with Washington for public admiration.</p> - -<p>In all this there was much for which only the statesman and not the man -must be blamed. The aspirations in themselves were noble and showed that -Mr. Burgers had so far studied his subject as to know what things were -good for a nation. But he had none of that method which should have -taught him what things to put first in bestowing the blessings of -government upon a people. We remember how Goldsmith ridicules the idea -of sending venison to a man who is still without the necessaries of -life.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"> -“It’s like sending them ruffles when wanting a shirt.” -</div></div> - -<p class="nind">It was certainly a shirt, and other of the simplest of garments, which -the people of the Transvaal then wanted;—the ordinary calico shirt of -taxation and the knee-breeches of security for property;—while Mr. -Burgers was bestowing ruffles upon them in the shape of a national flag -and a national gold coinage with his own portrait. Education is -certainly one of the first wants of a people, but education will not be -assisted at all by a law declaring that all schoolmasters shall have -ample incomes, unless there be funds from which such incomes may be -paid. What is so excellent as a good code of laws;—unless indeed it be -some means of enforcing them, without which the best code in the world -must be ineffective? A code of laws is to be had with comparatively -little difficulty,—almost as easily as the flag. There are so many that -an aspiring President need only<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> choose. But that regular system of -obedience to the laws which has to found itself on a well-collected -Revenue, and which is the very essence of government, should come first, -and in such a country as that which Mr. Burgers was called upon to -govern, the establishment of this system should have been the care of -the Governor before he had thought of a new code. Mr. Burgers rushed at -once to the fruition of all the good things which a country can possess -without stopping to see whether they were there, to be enjoyed. Such was -his temperament. Nothing more plainly declares the excessive wealth of -France and of England than the plenty of their gold coinage;—therefore -certainly let us have some gold pieces in the Transvaal. How proud are -the citizens of the United States of their Stars and Stripes! Therefore -let us have a flag. How grand is the education of Prussia! Therefore let -us have schools every where!</p> - -<p>I myself think that the measure most essential for the development of -the resources of the Transvaal is a railway to Delagoa Bay. I cannot -therefore quarrel with Mr. Burgers for holding the same opinion. But it -was characteristic of the enthusiasm of the man that he, leaving his -country in uttermost confusion, should himself rush off to Europe for a -loan,—characteristic of his energy that he should be able to raise, if -not a large sum of money, railway plant representing a large sum—and -characteristic of his imprudence that all this should have been done -without any good result whatever. A railway to a country is a great -luxury, the most comfortable perhaps that it can enjoy; but Mr. Burgers -does not seem to have understood that a nation like a man,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> should be -able to provide for itself the necessaries of life before it looks for -luxuries.</p> - -<p>As in this I am accusing Mr. Burgers, so also am I defending him from -many of the charges which have been brought against him. His fault -hitherto has been an ambition to make his country great before it had -been made secure; but in what he so did there is no trace of any undue -desire for personal aggrandizement. As a nation rises in the world, so -will its rulers rise. That a President of a young Republic should be -aware of this and feel that as honour and wealth come to his people so -will they come to him, is fair enough. It is but human. I believe that -Mr. Burgers thought more of his country than of himself. That he was -sanguine, unsteady, and utterly deficient in patience and prudence was -the fault of those who elected him rather than of himself.</p> - -<p>All these follies, if they were follies, could have been nothing to us -but for our close proximity to the borders of the Transvaal. While the -gold was being coined and the flag was being stitched, there were -never-ending troubles with the Natives. The question of the right to -territory in a country which was inhabited by native races when it was -invaded by Europeans is one so complex that nothing but superior force -has as yet been able to decide it. The white races have gradually -obtained possession of whatever land they have wanted because they have -been the braver and the stronger people. Philanthropy must put up with -the fact, and justice must reconcile herself to it as best she may. I -venture to express an opinion that to the minds of all just<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span> men, who -have turned this matter in their thoughts with painful anxiety, there -has come a solution,—which has by no means satisfied them, but which -has been the only solution possible,—that God Almighty has intended -that it should be as it is. The increasing populations of the civilized -world have been compelled to find for themselves new homes; and that -they should make these homes in the lands occupied by people whose -power of enjoying them has been very limited, seems to have been -arranged——by Destiny. That is the excuse which we make for ourselves; -and if we do not find verbal authority for it in Deuteronomy as do the -Boers, we think that we collect a general authority from the manifested -intention of the Creator.</p> - -<p>But in the midst of all this the attempts to deal justly with the -original occupants of the soil have of late years been incessant. If we -buy the land then it will be ours of right. Or if we surrender and -secure to the Native as much as the Native wants, then are we not a -benefactor rather than a robber? If we succour the weak against the -strong then shall we not justify our position? If in fact we do them -more good than harm may we not have quiet consciences? So we have dealt -with them intending to be just, but our dealings have always ended in -coercion, annexation, dominion and masterdom.</p> - -<p>In these dealings who has been able to fix a price or to decide where -has been the right to sell? A few cattle have been given for a large -territory or even a few beads; and then it has turned out that the -recipient of the cattle or beads has had no title to dispose of the -land. But the purchaser if<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> he be strong-handed will stick to his -purchase. And then come complications as to property which no judge can -unravel. Shall the law of the Native prevail or European, laws? and if -the former who shall interpret it,—a Native or a European? Some years -ago a Zulu king conquered a native tribe which lived on lands which are -now claimed as part of the Transvaal and then sold them for a herd of -cattle to the Dutch Republic. Time went by and the conquered people were -still allowed to live on the land, but the Dutch still claimed it as a -part of their empire. Then there arose a warrior among the tribe which -had been conquered; and the number of the tribe had increased with -peace; and the warrior said that he was then on his own territory and -not there by sufferance. And now that he was brave and strong he -declared that all the land that had once belonged to his tribe should be -his. And so there came war. The warrior was Secocoeni, the son of -Sequani who had been conquered by Dingaan the King of the Zulus, and the -war came up in the time of Mr. Burgers and has been the cause of our -annexation of the Republic. It should have been the first duty of Mr. -Burgers to have settled this affair with Secocoeni. His title to the -land in question was not very good, but he should have held it or -yielded it. If not all he might have yielded some. Or he might have -shown himself able to conquer the Native, as Dutchmen and Englishmen -have done before,—and have consoled himself with such justification as -that I have mentioned. But with his coins and his flags and his railway -he seems to have lost that power of inducing his Dutchmen to fight which -the Dutch leaders before his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> time have always possessed. There was -fighting and the Dutch had certain native allies, who assisted them -well. The use of such allies has become quite customary in South Africa. -At the very moment in which I am writing we are employing the Fingos -against Kreli and the Galekas in Kafraria. But Mr. Burgers with his -allies could not conquer Secocoeni although he was again and again -rebuked by our Secretary of State at home for the barbarity with which -he carried on the war. It is thus that Lord Carnarvon wrote to our -Governor at the Cape on the 25th January 1877. “I have to instruct you -once more to express to him”—President Burgers,—“the deep regret and -indignation with which H.M. Government view the proceedings of the armed -force which is acting in the name and under the authority of the -Transvaal Government, and that he is rapidly making impossible the -continuance either of those sentiments of respect and confidence towards -him, or of those friendly relations with him as the Chief of a -neighbouring Government, which it was the earnest hope of H.M. -Government to preserve.” This was a nice message for a President to -receive, not when he had quelled the Natives by the “armed force which -is acting in the name and under the authority of the Transvaal -Government,”—and which was undoubtedly the Transvaal army fighting for -the just or unjust claims of the country,—but when that armed force had -run away after an ineffective effort to drive the enemy from his -stronghold!</p> - -<p>Whether Mr. Burgers ever received that message I do not know. It was not -written till a day or two after the arrival of Sir Theophilus Shepstone -at Pretoria,—to which place he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> had then gone up as British -Commissioner, and could hardly have been handed to the President much -before the final overthrow of his authority. Under these circumstances -we may hope that he was spared the annoyance of reading it. But other -annoyances, some from the same source, must surely have been enough to -crush any man, even one so sanguine as Mr. Burgers. During all the -latter period of his office he was subjected to a continued hail-storm -of reproaches as to slavery from British authorities and British -newspapers. These reached him generally from the Cape Colony, and Mr. -Burgers, who had come from the Cape, must have known his own old Colony -well enough himself to have been sure that if not refuted they would -certainly lead to disaster. I do not believe that Mr. Burgers had any -leaning towards slavery. He was by no means a Boer among Boers, but has -come rather of a younger class of men and from a newer school. But he -could only exist in the Transvaal by means of the Boers, and in his -existing condition could not exert himself for the fulfilment of the -clause of the treaty which forbad slavery.</p> - -<p>Then he had against him a tribe of natives whom he could not conquer, -and at the same time the British Government and British feeling. And he -had not a shilling in the Treasury. Nominal taxes there were;—but no -one would pay them. As they were all direct taxes, it was open to the -people to pay them or to decline to do so. And they declined. As no one -had any confidence in anything, why should any one pay five or ten -pounds to a tax gatherer who had no constable at his back to enforce -payment? No one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> did do so, and there was not a shilling in the -Treasury. This was the condition of the South African Republic when Sir -Theophilus Shepstone arrived at Pretoria on January 22nd, 1877, with six -or seven other gentlemen from Natal and a guard of 25 mounted -policemen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL.—ANNEXATION.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I have</span> endeavoured in the last chapter to tell very shortly the story of -the South African Republic and to describe its condition at the moment -when our Secretary of State at home took the unusual step of sending a -British Commissioner,—not with orders to take possession of the land -but with orders which have been held to justify the act when done. I -doubt whether there is a precedent for so high-handed a deed in British -history. It is as though the rulers of Germany were to say that in their -opinion the existence of a Switzerland in Europe was deleterious and -dangerous, and that therefore they would abolish Switzerland as a -Republic, and annex its territory. It will be said that the case would -be different because Switzerland is well governed and prosperous. But -the Germans in such a case would say that they thought otherwise,—which -is what we say here,—and that they therefore took it. It was we who -found fault with the management of that other Republic and we who have -taken possession of the land. It is well that the whole truth as to the -matter should be understood. If we had done this act in compliance with -the expressed wish of the inhabitants generally, that would be a -justification. But it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> cannot fairly be said that such was the case -here. A nation with a popular parliament can only be held to express its -opinion to another nation by the voice of its parliament;—and the -Volksraad of the Transvaal was altogether opposed to the interference of -Great Britain. I will touch upon this matter again presently when -alluding to the words of the Commission given to the British -Commissioner by the Secretary of State at home;—but I think it must be -acknowledged that no other expression of opinion, unless it be a general -rising of a people, can be taken as national. In nine cases out of ten -petitions ought to be held to mean nothing. They cannot be verified. -They show the energy of the instigators of the petition and not of the -petitioners. They can be signed by those who have and by those who have -not an interest in the matter. The signatures to them can be readily -forged. At home in England the right of petitioning is so dear to us -from tradition that we still cling to it as one of the bulwarks of our -freedom; but there cannot be a statesman, hardly a Member of Parliament -among us, who does not feel that pen and ink and agitating management -have become so common that petitions are seldom now entitled to much -respect.</p> - -<p>It may perhaps be said that we have repeatedly done the same thing in -India. But a little thinking will show that our Indian annexations have -been quite of a different nature. There we have gone on annexing in -opposition to the barbarism and weakness of native rule against which -our presence in India has, from the first, been a protest. Each -annexation has been the result of previous conquest and has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> been caused -by non-compliance with the demands of the conquerors. In the Transvaal -we have annexed a dominion which was established by ourselves in express -obedience to our own requisitions, which was in the possession of -European rulers, which was altogether independent, and as to the -expediency of annexing which we have had nothing to guide us but our own -judgment and our own will. It is as though a strong boy should say to a -weak one, “It is better that I should have that cricket bat than you,” -and should therefore take it.</p> - -<p>The case will seem to be still stronger if it shall appear, as I think -it will, that Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the Commissioner appointed to -this work, did what he did do without complete authority. It is evident -that there was doubt in the Colonial Office at home. The condition of -the Transvaal was very bad. Slavery was rampant. The Natives were being -encouraged to rebellion. The President was impotent. The Volksraad was -stiff-necked and ignorant. There was no revenue, no order, no obedience. -The Dutch seemed to have forgotten even the way to fight. What were we -to do with such neighbours,—for whose inefficiency we were in a measure -responsible, having ourselves established the Republic? That we must -interfere for our own protection in regard to the Natives seemed to be -necessary. As has been said so often, there was a house on fire next -door to us, in the flames of which we might ourselves be enveloped. -Remonstrances had been frequent and had been altogether ineffectual. The -Republic was drifting,—nay, had drifted into Chaos. If any other people -could have assisted us in putting out the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> fire, French, Germans, or -Italians,—so that we might not seem to tyrannise,—it would have been -so comfortable! But in South Africa we had none to help us. And then -though this Republic was more than half Dutch it was also only less than -half English.</p> - -<p>Something must be done; and therefore an order was sent out directing -Sir Theophilus Shepstone to go to Pretoria and see what he could do. Sir -Theophilus was and for many years had been Minister for Native Affairs -in the Colony of Natal, and was credited,—no doubt correctly,—with -knowing more about the Natives than any other European in South Africa. -He was a man held in special respect by the King of the Zulus, and the -King of the Zulus was in truth the great power whom both Dutch and -English would dread should the natives be encouraged to rebel. When men -have talked of our South African house being in danger of fire, Cetywayo -the King of the Zulus has been the fire to whom they have alluded. So -Sir Theophilus started on his journey taking his Commission in his -pocket. He took a small body of policemen with him as an escort, but -advisedly not a body that might seem by its number to intimidate even so -weak a Government as that of the South African Republic.</p> - -<p>The writing of the Commission must have been a work of labour, requiring -much thought, and a great weighing of words. It had to be imperative and -yet hemmed in by all precautions; giving clear instruction, and yet -leaving very much to the Commissioner on the spot who would have his -work to do in a distant country not connected with the world by -telegraph wires. The Commission is long and I will not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span> quote it all; -but it goes on to say that “if the emergency should seem to you to be -such as to render it necessary, in order to secure the peace and safety -of Our said Colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere that the said -territories, or any portion or portions of the same, should -<i>provisionally and pending the announcement of Our pleasure</i>, -<a name="FNanchor_4a_4a" id="FNanchor_4a_4a"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> be -administered in Our name and on Our behalf, then <i>and in such case -only</i> -<a name="FNanchor_4b_4b" id="FNanchor_4b_4b"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> We—” authorize you to annex so much of any such territories as -aforesaid.</p> - -<p>But the caution against such annexing was continued much further. -“Provided first—that”—no such annexation shall be made—“unless you -shall be satisfied that the inhabitants thereof, <i>or a sufficient number -of them, or the Legislature thereof</i> -<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> desire to become Our subjects, -nor if any conditions unduly limiting Our power and authority are sought -to be imposed. And secondly, that, unless the circumstances are such as -in your opinion to make it necessary to issue a Proclamation forthwith, -no such Proclamation shall be issued by you until the same has been -submitted to and approved by——” the Governor of the Cape Colony, all -whose titles are given at great length.</p> - -<p>Could anything be more guarded, or less likely one would say on the mere -perusal of the document, to lead to an immediate and permanent -annexation of the whole country. The annexation if made at all was to be -provisional only and pending the Queen’s pleasure, and then it was only -to be made if the inhabitants, or a sufficient number of them, or the -Legislature should wish it. What the sufficient number<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> might be was -left to the discretion of the Commissioner. But he was only to do this -in compliance with the wishes of the people themselves. He was to take -temporary possession,—only temporary possession,—of a part of the -Transvaal should the people desire it, and in the event of such a -measure being approved by a distant Governor,—unless the circumstances -were such as to make him think it expedient to do it without such -approval. Such was the nature of the Order, and I think that any one -reading it before the event would have said that it was not intended to -convey an authority for the immediate and permanent annexation of the -whole country.</p> - -<p>But Sir Theophilus, after a sojourn of ten weeks at Pretoria, in which -the question of the annexation was submitted to the Volksraad and in -which petitions and counter-petitions were signed, did annex the whole -country permanently, without any question of provisional occupation, and -without, as far as I have been able to learn, any sanction from the -Governor of the Cape Colony. As to conditions limiting Her Majesty’s -power, the mere allusion to such a condition of things seems to be -absurd now that we know what has been done. “Now therefore I do ... -proclaim and make known that from and after the publication hereof the -territory heretofore known as the South African Republic ... shall be, -and shall be taken to be, British territory.” These are the words which -contain the real purport of the Proclamation issued by Sir Theophilus -Shepstone at Pretoria on 12th April, 1877. Was ever anything so decided, -so audacious, and apparently so opposed to the spirit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> of the -instructions which the Commissioner had received? When the Secretary of -State received a telegram from Madeira, the nearest telegraph station, -saying that the Transvaal had been annexed, which he did in the -following May, he surely must have been more surprised than any other -man in England at what had been done.</p> - -<p>Was the deed justifiable? Has it been justified by what has occurred -since? And if so how had come about a state of things which had made -necessary a proceeding apparently so outrageous? The only man I have met -in all South Africa who has questioned the propriety of what has been -done is Mr. Burgers, the ousted President. Though I have discussed the -matter wherever I have been, taking generally something of a slant -against Sir Theophilus,—as I must seem to have done in the remarks I -have just made, and to which I always felt myself prompted by the -high-handedness of the proceeding,—I have never encountered even a -doubtful word on the subject, except in what Mr. Burgers said to me. And -Mr. Burgers acknowledged to me, not once or twice only, that the step -which had been taken was manifestly beneficial, to the Natives, to the -English,—and to the Dutch. He thought that Sir Theophilus had done a -great wrong,—but that the wrong done would be of great advantage to -every one concerned. He made various complaints;—that the Natives -around him had been encouraged to rebel in order that an assumed -difficulty might be pleaded;—that no national petition, and indeed no -trustworthy petition, had been sent forward praying for -annexation;—that the deed was uncalled for and tyrannical;—and that -the whole pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span>ceeding was one in which the courtesy due to a weaker -nation was neglected and omitted. He then asserted that fresh emigrants -would not flock into a land governed under a European crown as they -would have done into a Republic. But he repeated his admission that for -Dutchmen, Englishmen, and Natives as at present settled in the country, -the British rule would be the best.</p> - -<p>He alleged as to himself that when Sir Theophilus stated to him his -intentions, three courses appeared to be open to him. He might use his -influence and his words in assisting the transference of the country to -the British. This as President of the Republic he could not do;—and the -less so as he did not think that it should be done. Or he might cause -Sir Theophilus and his twenty-five policemen to be marched back over the -border, treating them on their way as unauthorized intruders. This he -would not do, he said, because he knew it to be useless to wage war with -Great Britain. Or he might yield and remonstrate;—yield to power while -he remonstrated against injustice. This, he said, that he did do. The -words and personal bearing of the man recommended themselves to me much. -Whether he is to be regarded as a banished patriot or a willing placeman -must depend on a delicate question which has not as far as I know yet -been answered, though it has been broached,—to which, delicate as it -is, I will refer again before I have ended my story.</p> - -<p>I had not the pleasure of meeting Sir Theophilus and have the less -repugnance therefore to surmise the condition of his mind when he -received the order to go to Pretoria. Had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> he told me his mind I might -have been unable to publish my own surmises. He knew that the native -races of the Transvaal unless convinced of the superiority of their -white neighbours would ever struggle to prove them inferior,—and that -such inferiority if proved would at once be their death-warrant. The -Natives had long learned to respect the English and to hate the -Dutch;—but even that respect would not restrain them if once they had -asserted their masterhood to a white race. And now this state of things -was at hand. He was aware that though English troops could be supplied -to maintain English authority, English troops would not be lent to fight -the battles of the Dutch. There might, nay there probably would be, a -native triumph just across our borders which he as a minister in Natal -could not interfere to quell,—but which, when a rumour of it should -spread among the Zulus on our border, might induce 300,000 coloured -subjects to think that they could free themselves by a blow from 20,000 -white masters. And he knew the condition which I have attempted to -explain,—that these Dutch people in the Transvaal would not pay a -stiver of tax, that there was in fact no government, that the gaols were -unlocked in order that prisoners might find elsewhere the bread which -their gaolers could not get for them, that the posts could not be -continued because the Contractors were not paid, that no one would part -with a coin which he possessed, that property was unsaleable, that -industry was unprofitable, that life was insecure, that Chaos was come -upon the land. I do not suppose that Sir Theophilus doubted much when he -read the Commission which had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span> been sent to him, or that he thought very -much of all the safeguards and provisions. He probably felt, as did -everybody else, that the South African Republic had from the first been -a failure,—almost a farce,—and that the sooner so expensive a failure -could be brought to an end, the better. If indeed the Volksraad would -have voted their own extermination that would have been very well; but -he could hardly have expected it. As for petitions, and the wish of a -“sufficient number” of the inhabitants,—I should imagine that he must -have been a little indifferent to that. His mind probably was made -up,—with a resolve to give the Volksraad what time might be needed for -their deliberations. They did not deliberate,—only deliberated whether -they would deliberate or not, and then declined even to deliberate. -Whereupon Sir Theophilus said that then and from thenceforth the -Transvaal should be British property. So he put up the Queen’s -flag;—and the Transvaal is and probably will remain British property.</p> - -<p>I have to acknowledge, with all my sympathies strongly opposed to what I -call high-handed political operations, that I think Sir Theophilus was -justified. A case of such a kind must in truth be governed by its own -merits, and cannot be subjected to a fixed rule. To have annexed only a -part of the Transvaal would have been not only useless, but absurd. Not -only would the part which we had spared have been hostile to us, but the -Dutch within our assumed borders would have envied the independence we -had left to others. We shall have trouble enough now in settling our -boundaries with the Natives. We should then have had the worse<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> trouble -of settling them with the Dutch. To have waited for authority from the -Governor of the Cape Colony would have shown a weakness in his own -authority which might have been fatal to Sir Theophilus as he was then -placed. No other Governor could know the condition of the matter as well -as he did. To get the authority needed he must have wasted six weeks -during which it would have been known to every member of the Volksraad -that he was waiting. To carry him through it was needed that the Boers -should understand that when he said that the land should be annexed, -Great Britain was saying so. They did so believe. The President so -believed. And therefore the surrender was made without a struggle.</p> - -<p>So much for Sir Theophilus and his instructions. In the larger matter -which regards Great Britain and her character, we have to enquire -whether this arbitrary act has been justified by what has occurred -since. In discussing this there are at least four parties concerned, if -not more. Mr. Burgers spoke of three, and in South Africa it is natural -that reference should be made to those three only. As regards the -Natives there can be no question. No friend of theirs can wish it to be -otherwise unless they have a friend so foolish as to desire for them an -independence which can be obtained only by the extermination or -banishment of the European races. That the Natives generally respect the -English and do not respect the Dutch is certain. This had come to such a -pitch in the Transvaal that it had produced war,—and that war if -continued would have meant the destruction of the tribe which was waging -it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> Permanent success against white men is impossible for Natives in -South Africa. Every war between a tribe and its white neighbours ends in -the destruction of the tribe as an independent people. And here, if -Secocoeni had been successful against the Dutch,—if the English could -have allowed themselves to sit by and see the house all in -flames,—Cetywayo, the King of the Zulus, would at once have been at war -with Secocoeni. As far as the Natives were concerned, it would indeed -have been to “let slip the dogs of war.” It has been one of our great -objects in dealing with the Natives,—perhaps that in accomplishing -which we should be most proud of what we have done,—to save the tribes -from being hounded on to war among themselves by their Chiefs. The Dutch -rule in the Transvaal was an incentive to war which was already -operating. The house was on fire and could only have been put out by us.</p> - -<p>As to the good done to the English of the Transvaal it is hardly -necessary that any arguments should be used. We had abandoned the -country to Dutch rule in 1852, and it was natural that the Dutch should -consider only themselves—and the Natives. After what we had done we -clearly had no right to take back the Transvaal by force in order that -we might protect the interests of Englishmen who were living there. But -it is matter of additional satisfaction that we have been enabled to -re-establish a basis of trade in the country;—for the trade of the -country has been in the hands of English, Germans, or newly arrived -Hollanders, and not in those of the Boers to whom the country was given -up. I do not remember to have found a shop or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span> even an hotel all through -the Transvaal in the hands of a Dutch Boer.</p> - -<p>But the man who has cause to rejoice the most,—and who as far as I -could learn is wide awake to the fact,—is the Boer himself. He is an -owner of land,—and on the first of January 1877 his land was hardly -worth having. Now he can sell it, and such sales are already being made. -He was all astray even as to what duty required of him. Ought he to pay -his taxes when no one around him was paying? Of what use would be his -little contribution? Therefore he did not pay. And yet he had sense -enough to know that when there are no taxes, then there can be no -government. Now he will pay his taxes. Ought he to have fought, when -those wretched Natives, in their audacity, were trying to recover the -land which he had taken from them? Of what use could fighting have been -when he had no recognised leader,—when the next Boer to him was not -fighting? Now he knows that he will have a leader. Why cultivate his -land, or more of it than would feed himself? Why shear his sheep if he -could not sell his wool? Now there are markets for him. It was to this -condition of not paying, not fighting, and not working that he was -coming when British annexation was suggested to him. He could not -himself ask to be expatriated; but it may well be understood that he -should thoroughly appreciate the advantage to himself of a measure for -which as a Dutchman he could not ask. What was wanted was money and the -credit which money gives. England had money and the Boer knew well -enough that English money could procure for him that which a national<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> -flag, and a gold coinage, and a code of laws, and a promised railway -could not achieve. It was almost cruel to ask him to consent to -annexation, but it would have been more cruel not to annex him.</p> - -<p>But the condition of the fourth party is to be considered. That fourth -party is the annexing country. It may be very well for the Natives and -for the Dutch, and for the English in the Transvaal, but how will it -suit the English at home? It became immediately necessary for us to send -a large military force up to the Transvaal, or to its neighbourhood. -Something above two regiments have I believe been employed on the -service, and money has been demanded from Parliament for the purpose of -paying for them. Up to this time England has had to pay about £125,000 -for the sake of procuring that security of which I have spoken. Why -should she pay this for the Boers,—or even for the English who have -settled themselves among the Boers? And then the sum I have named will -be but a small part of what we must pay. Hitherto no violent objection -has been made at home to the annexation. In Parliament it has been -almost as well received by the Opposition as by the Government. No one -has said a word against Lord Carnarvon; and hardly a word has been said -against Sir Theophilus. But how will it be when other and larger sums -are asked for the maintenance of the Transvaal? Surely some one will -then arise and say that such payments are altogether antagonistic to our -colonial policy,—by which our Colonies, as they are required to give -nothing to us, are also required to support themselves.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span></p> - -<p>The answer to this I think must be that we have been compelled thus to -deviate from our practice and to put our hands deeply into our pockets -by our folly in a former generation. It is because we came to a wrong -judgment of our position in 1852,—when we first called upon the Dutch -Boers to rule themselves,—that we are now, twenty-five years -afterwards, called upon to pay for the mistake that has since occurred. -We then endeavoured to limit our responsibility, saying to ourselves -that there was a line in South Africa which we would not pass. We had -already declined to say the same thing as to Natal and we ought to have -seen and acknowledged that doctrine of the house on fire as clearly then -as we do now. The Dutch who trekked across the Vaal were our subjects as -much as though they were English. Their troubles must ultimately have -become our troubles,—whereas their success, had they been successful, -might have been as troublesome to us as their troubles. We repudiated -two territories, and originated two Republics. The first has come back -upon our hands and we must pay the bill. That is the Transvaal. The -other, which can pay its own bill, will not come back to us even though -we should want it. That is the Orange Free State. I have now answered -the three questions. I think the annexation was justifiable. I think -that it has been justified by the circumstances that have followed it. -And I have given what in my opinion has been the cause for so -disagreeable a necessity.</p> - -<p>There is one other matter to be mentioned,—that delicate matter to -which I have alluded. A report has been spread<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> all through South Africa -that the late President of the South African Republic is to be gratified -by a pension of £750 per annum out of the revenues of Great Britain. I -trust for every one’s sake that that report may not be true. The late -President was the chief officer of his country when the annexation was -made, and I cannot think that it would be compatible with his honour to -receive a pension from the Government of the country which has -annihilated the Republic over which he had been called on to preside. -When he says that he yielded and remonstrated he takes a highly -honourable position and one which cannot be tarnished by any -incapability for ruling which he may have shown. But were he to live -after that as a pensioner on English bounty,—the bounty of the country -which had annihilated his own,—then I think that he had better at least -live far away from the Transvaal, and from the hearing of the sound of a -Dutchman’s voice.</p> - -<p>And why should we pay such a pension? Is it necessary that we should -silence Mr. Burgers? Have we done him an injustice that we should pay -him a compensation for the loss of his office? It is said that we pay -dethroned Indian Princes. But we take the revenues of dethroned Indian -Princes,—revenues which have become their own by hereditary descent. -Mr. Burgers had a month or two more of his Presidency to enjoy, with but -little chance of re-election to an office the stipend of which could not -have been paid for want of means. But this argument ought not to be -required. An expensive and disagreeable duty was forced upon us by a -country which could not rule itself, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> certainly we should not -convict ourselves of an injustice by giving a pension to the man whose -incompetence imposed upon us the task. I trust that the rumour though -very general has been untrue.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL.—PRETORIA.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Pretoria</span> itself, the capital of our new country, is a little town, lying -in a basin on a plateau 4,500 feet above the level of the sea,—lat. 25° -45´, S., long. 28° 49´, E. From its latitude it would be considered to -be semitropical, but its altitude above the sea is so great as to make -the climate temperate. In regard to heat and cold it is very -peculiar,—the changes being more rapid and violent than I have -experienced in any other place. I was there during the last days of -September, which would answer to the last days of March on our side of -the equator. The mornings were very fine, but somewhat chilly,—not so -as to make a fire desirable but just to give a little sting to the -water. The noon-day was hot,—not too hot for exercise; but the heat -seemed to increase towards the afternoon, the level rays of the sun -being almost oppressive. Then suddenly there would come an air so cold -that the stranger who had not expected the change and who was wearing -perhaps his lightest clothes would find that he wanted a great coat and -a warm cravat round his neck. It was not till I was about to leave the -place that I became alive to its peculiarities. I caught a cold every -evening in consequence of my ignorance, becom<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span>ing quite hoarse and -thinking of hot water externally and internally as I went to bed;—but -in the morning I was always quite well again. I was assured, however, -that the climate of Pretoria was one which required great care from its -inhabitants. It is subject to very violent storms, and deaths from -lightning are not uncommon. The hailstorms, when they come, are very -violent, the stones being so large as not unfrequently to batter the -cattle to death. I was glad to find that they were unfrequent, and that -my good fortune saved me from experiencing their effects. “What does a -man do if he be out in the veld?” I asked when I heard these frightful -stories. “Put his saddle over his head,” was the answer, showing much as -to the custom of a people who seldom walk to any distance always having -horses at command. “But if he have not a saddle?” “Ah, then indeed, he -would be badly off.” My informants, for I was told of the hailstorms and -the necessary saddles more than once, seemed to think that in such a -dilemma there would be no hope for a man who, without a saddle, might -chance to be beyond the reach of a roof. I could not, however, learn -that people were often killed. I therefore accepted the Pretorian -hailstones with a grain of salt.</p> - -<p>The first President of the Colony was named Pretorius and hence the name -of the town, which became the capital in the time of his son who was the -second President. The old man was one of the pioneer farmers who first -entered in upon the country under circumstances already described, and -the family now is very numerous in the Transvaal, occupying many farms. -Potchefstroom,—a hundred miles to the south-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span>west of Pretoria,—was the -first capital and is still the bigger town; but President Pretorius the -second thought it well to move the seat of Government more to the centre -of the large district which the Republic was then claiming, and called -the little city Pretoria, after the name of his father.</p> - -<p>I am quite unable to say what is the population of the capital, as those -of whom I inquired could only guess at it from their own point of view. -I should think it might amount to two thousand exclusive of the -military. At the time I was there it was of a very shifting nature, and -will be so for; some months. It has lately become the seat of a British -Government, and people have flocked into it knowing that money will be -flying about. Money has flown about very readily, and there are hands of -course to receive it. Six hundred British soldiers are stationed there -under tents, and soldiers, though their pay is low, are great consumers. -A single British soldier will consume as much purchased provender as a -whole Boer family. But as people are going in, so are they going out. -The place therefore in its present condition is like a caravansary -rather than an established town. All menial services are done by a Kafir -population,—not permanently resident Kafirs who can be counted, but by -a migratory imported set who are caught and used as each master or -mistress of a family may find it possible to catch and use them. “They -always go when you have taught them anything,” one poor lady said to me. -Another assured me that two months of continuous service was considered -a great comfort. And yet they have their domestic jealousies. I dined at -a house at which one of our British soldiers waited<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> at table, an -officer who dined there having kindly brought the much-needed assistance -with him. The dinner was cooked by a Kafir who, as the lady of the house -told me, was very angry because the soldier was allowed to interfere -with the gala arrangements of the day. He did not see why he should not -be allowed to show himself among the company after having undergone the -heat of the fray. These Kafirs at Pretoria, and through all those parts -of the Transvaal which I visited, are an imported population,—the Dutch -having made the land too hot to hold them as residents. The Dutch hated -them, and they certainly have learned to hate the Dutch in return. Now -they will come and settle themselves in Pretoria for a short time and be -good-humoured and occasionally serviceable. But till they settle -themselves there permanently it is impossible to count them as a -resident population.</p> - -<p>Down many of the streets of the town,—down all of them that are on the -slope of the descent,—little rivulets flow, adding much to the -fertility of the gardens and to the feeling of salubrity. Nothing seems -to add so much to the prettiness and comfort of a town as open running -water, though I doubt whether it be in truth the most healthy mode of -providing for man the first necessary of life. Let a traveller, however, -live for a few days but a quarter of a mile from his water supply and he -will learn what is the comfort of a rivulet just at his door-step. Men -who have roughed it in the wilderness, as many of our Colonists have had -to do before they have settled themselves into townships, have learned -this lesson so perfectly that they are inclined, perhaps, to be too fond -of a deluge. For purposes of gar<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span>dening in such a place as Pretoria -there can be no doubt about the water. The town gardens are large, -fertile, and productive, whereas nothing would grow without irrigation.</p> - -<p>The streets are broad and well laid out, with a fine square in the -centre, and the one fact that they have no houses in them is the only -strong argument against them. To those who know the first struggling -efforts of a colonial town,—who are familiar with the appearance of a -spot on which men have decided to begin a city but have not as yet -progressed far, the place with all its attributes and drawbacks will be -manifest enough. To those who have never seen a city thus struggling -into birth it is difficult to make it intelligible. The old faults of -old towns have been well understood and thoroughly avoided. The old town -began with a simple cluster of houses in close contiguity, because no -more than that was wanted. As the traffic of the day was small, no -provision was made for broad spaces. If a man could pass a man, or a -horse a horse,—or at most a cart a cart,—no more was needed. Of -sanitary laws nothing was known. Air and water were taken for granted. -Then as people added themselves to people, as the grocer came to supply -the earlier tanner, the butcher the grocer, the merchant tailor his -three forerunners, and as a schoolmaster added himself to them to teach -their children, house was adjoined to house and lane to lane, till a -town built, itself after its own devise, and such a London and such a -Paris grew into existence as we who are old have lived to see pulled -down within the period of our own lives. There was no foresight and a -great lack of economy in this old way of city building.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span></p> - -<p>But now the founder has all these examples before his eyes, and is -grandly courageous in his determination to avoid the evils of which he -has heard and perhaps seen so much. Of course he is sanguine. A founder -of cities is necessarily a sanguine man, or he would not find himself -employed on such a work. He pegs out his streets and his squares -bravely, being stopped by no consideration as to the value of land. He -clings to parallelograms as being simple, and in a day or two has his -chief thoroughfare a mile long, his cross streets all numbered and -named, his pleasant airy squares, each with a peg at each corner, out in -the wilderness. Here shall be his Belgravia for the grandees, and this -his Cheapside and his Lombard Street for the merchants and bankers. We -can understand how pleasant may be the occupation and how pile upon pile -would rise before the eyes of the projector, how spires and minarets -would ascend, how fountains would play in the open places, and pleasant -trees would lend their shade to the broad sunny ways.</p> - -<p>Then comes the real commencement with some little hovel at the corner of -two as yet invisible streets. Other hovels arise always at a distance -from each other and the town begins to be a town. Sometimes there will -be success, but much more often a failure. Very many failures I have -seen, in which all the efforts of the sanguine founder have not produced -more than an Inn, a church, half a dozen stores; and twice as many -drinking booths. And yet there have been the broad streets,—and the -squares if one would take the trouble to make enquiry. Pretoria has not -been a failure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> Among recent attempts of the kind Pretoria is now -likely to be a distinguished success. An English Governor is to live -there, and there will be English troops;—I fear, for many years. Balls -will be given at Pretoria. Judges will hold their courts there, and a -Bishop will live in a Pretorian Bishopstowe. But the Pretoria of to-day -has its unknown squares, and its broad ill defined streets about which -houses straggle in an apparently formless way, none of which have as yet -achieved the honours of a second storey. The brooks flow pleasantly, but -sometimes demand an inconvenient amount of jumping. The streets lie in -holes, in which when it rains the mud is very deep. In all such towns as -these mud assumes the force of a fifth element, and becomes so much a -matter of course that it is as necessary to be muddy, as it is to be -smoke-begrimed in London. In London there is soap and water, and in -Pretoria there are, perhaps, clothes-brushes; but a man to be clean -either in one place or the other must always be using his soap or his -clothes-brush. There are many gardens in Pretoria,—for much of the -vacant spaces is so occupied. The time will come in which the gardens -will give place to buildings, but in the mean time they are green and -pleasant-looking. Perhaps the most peculiar feature of the place is the -roses. There are everywhere hedges of roses, hedges which are all -roses,—not wild roses but our roses of the garden though generally less -sweet to the smell. And with the roses, there are everywhere weeping -willows, mourning gracefully over the hitherto unaccomplished -aspirations of the country. This tree, which I believe to have been -imported from St. Helena, has become common to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> towns and homesteads -of the Transvaal. To the eye that is strange to them the roses and -weeping willows are very pretty; but, as with everything else in the -world, their very profusion and commonness detracts from their value. -The people of Pretoria think no more of their roses, than do those of -Bermuda of their oleanders.</p> - -<p>In such towns the smallness of the houses is not the characteristic -which chiefly produces the air of meanness which certainly strikes the -visitor, nor is it their distance from each other, nor their poverty; -but a certain flavour of untidiness which is common to all new towns and -which is, I fear, unavoidable. Brandy bottles and sardine boxes meet the -eye everywhere. Tins in which pickled good things have been conveyed -accumulate themselves at the corners. The straw receptacles in which -wine is nowadays conveyed meet the eye constantly, as do paper -shirt-collars, rags, old boots, and fragments of wooden cases. There are -no dust holes and no scavengers, and all the unseemly relics of a hungry -and thirsty race of pioneers are left open to inspection.</p> - -<p>And yet in spite of the mud, in spite of the brandy bottles, in spite of -the ubiquitous rags Pretoria is both picturesque and promising. The -efforts are being made in the right direction, and the cottages which -look lowly enough from without have an air of comfort within. I was -taken by a gentleman to call on his wife,—an officer of our army who is -interested in the gold fields of the Transvaal,—and I found that they -had managed to gather round them within a very small space all the -comforts of civilized life. There was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> front door and no hall; but I -never entered a room in which I felt myself more inclined to “rest and -be thankful.” I made various calls, and always with similar results. I -found internal prettinesses, with roses and weeping willows outside -which reconciled me to sardine boxes, paper collars, and straw -liquor-guards.</p> - -<p>In the middle of Pretoria is a square, round which are congregated the -public offices, the banks, hotels, and some of the chief stores, or -shops of the place, and in which are depastured the horses of such -travellers as choose to use the grass for the purpose. Ours, I hope, -were duly fed within their stables; but I used to see them wandering -about, trying to pick a bit of grass in the main square. And here stands -the Dutch Reformed Church,—in the centre,—a large building, and as -ugly as any building could possibly be made. Its clergyman, quite a -young man, called upon me while I was in Pretoria, and told me that his -congregation was spread over an area forty miles round. The people of -the town are regular attendants; for the Dutchman is almost always a -religious father of a family, thinking much of all such services as were -reverenced by his fathers before him. But the real congregation consists -of the people from the country who flock into the Nichtmaal, or Lord’s -Supper, once in three months, who encamp or live in their waggons in the -square round the Church, who take the occasion to make their town -purchases and to perform their religious services at the same time. The -number attending is much too large to enter the church at once, so that -on the appointed Sunday one service succeeds another. The sacrament is -given, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> sermons are preached, and friends meet each other, amid the -throng of the waggons. The clergyman pressed me to stay and see it;—but -at this time my heart had begun to turn homewards very strongly. I had -come out to see Pretoria, and, having seen it, was intent upon seeing -London once again.</p> - -<p>There are various other churches,—all of them small edifices,—in the -place, among which there is a place of worship for the Church of -England. And there is a resident English clergyman, a University man, -who if he live long enough and continue to exercise his functions at -Pretoria will probably become the “clergyman of the place.” For such is -the nature of Englishmen. Now that the Transvaal is an English Colony -there can be no doubt but that the English clergyman will become the -“clergyman of the place.”</p> - -<p>I would fain give as far as it may be possible an idea to any intending -emigrant of what may be the cost of living in Pretoria. Houses are very -dear,—if hired; cheap enough if bought. When I was there in September, -1877, the annexation being then four months old, a decent cottage might -be bought for seven or eight hundred pounds, for which a rental of seven -or eight pounds a month would be demanded. A good four-roomed house with -kitchen &c. might be built, land included, for a thousand pounds, the -rent demanded for which would be from £150 to £175 a year. Meat was -about 6d. a pound, beef being cheaper and I think better than mutton. -Butter, quite uneatable, was 2s. a pound. Eggs a shilling a dozen. Fowls -1s. 6d. each. Turkeys, very good, 7s. 6d. to 9s. 6d. each. Coals 10s. a -half hundredweight,—and wood<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> for fuel about £2 for a load of two and a -half tons. These prices for fuel would add considerably to the cost of -living were it not that fires are rarely necessary except for the -purpose of cooking. Bread is quoted at 1s. a loaf of two pounds, but was -I think cheaper when I was there. Potatoes were very dear indeed, the -price depending altogether on the period of the year and on the season. -I doubt whether other vegetables were to be bought in the market, unless -it might be pumpkins. Potatoes and green vegetables the inhabitant of -Pretoria should grow for himself. And he should be prepared to live -without butter. Why the butter of South Africa should be almost always -uneatable, culminating into an acme of filth at Pretoria, I cannot -say;—but such was my experience. After all men and women can live -without butter if other things be in plenty.</p> - -<p>Then comes that difficult question of domestic service. All that the -inhabitant of Pretoria will get in this respect will cost him very much -less than in Europe, very much less indeed than in England, infinitely -less than in London. With us at home the cost of domestic service has -become out of proportion to our expenditure in other respects, partly -because it has become to be thought derogatory to do anything for -ourselves, and partly because our servants have been taught by their -masters and mistresses to live in idle luxury. Probably no man earning -his bread eats so much meat in proportion to the work he does as the -ordinary London footman. This is an evil to those who live in London -from which the inhabitant of Pretoria will find himself free. He will -get a “boy” or perhaps two boys about the house,—never a girl let the -mistress of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> the family coming out to the Transvaal remember,—to whom -he will pay perhaps 10s. a month and whom he will feed upon mealies. The -“boy’s” wages and diet will cost perhaps £12 per annum. But indeed they -will not cost him so much, for the “boy” will go away, and he will not -be able to get another just when he wants one. These boys he will find -to be useful, good humoured, and trustworthy,—if only he could keep -them. They will nurse his baby, cook his dinner, look after his house, -make his bed, and dig his garden. That is they will half do all these -things,—with the exception of nursing the baby, whom the Kafir is never -known to neglect or injure. The baby perhaps may serve to keep him a -whole twelvemonth, for he is very fond of a white baby. The wife of the -British gentleman who thus settles himself at Pretoria will, at first, -be struck with horror at the appearance of the Kafir, who will probably -wear an old soldier’s jacket with a ragged shirt under it and no other -article of clothing; and she will not at first suffer the Savage to -touch her darling. But she will soon become reconciled to her inmate and -the darling will take as naturally to the Kafir man as though he were -some tendered, best instructed old English nurse out of a thoroughly -well-to-do British family. And very soon she will only regret the -reckless departure of the jet black dependant who had struck her at -first with unmingled disgust.</p> - -<p>Gradually I suppose these people will learn to cling to their work with -some better constancy. I, as a stranger, was tempted to say that better -diet, better usage, and better wages would allure them. But I was -assured that I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> wrong in this, and that any attempts in that -direction only spoilt “the Native.” No doubt if you teach a Native to -understand that he is indispensable to your comfort you raise his own -estimation of himself, and may do so in such a manner as to make him -absurdly fastidious. He is still irrational, still a Savage. He has to -be brought by degrees to bend his neck to the yoke of labour and to -learn that continued wages are desirable. That the thing will be done by -degrees I do not at all doubt, and do not think that there is just cause -of dissatisfaction at the rate of the present progress. The new comer to -Pretoria to whom I am addressing myself will doubtless do something -towards perfecting the work. In the meantime his domestic servants will -cost him very much less than they have done in England.</p> - -<p>A man with a wife and family and £500 a year would I think live with -more comfort, certainly with more plenty in Pretoria, than in England. -The inhabitants of Pretoria will demur to this, for it is a matter of -pride to the denizens of every place to think that the necessaries of -life are dearer there than elsewhere. But the cheapness of a place is -not to be reckoned only by what people pay for the articles they use. -The ways of the country, the requirements which fashion makes, the pitch -to which the grandeur of Mrs. Smith has aroused the ambition of Mrs. -Jones, the propensities of a community to broadcloth or to -fustian,—these are the causes of expensive or of economical living. A -gentleman in Pretoria may invite his friends to dinner with no greater -establishment than a Kafir boy to cook the dinner and another to hand -the plates, whereas he does not dare to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span> do so in London without paying -10s. for the assistance of the greengrocer.</p> - -<p>As, however, men with £500 a year will not emigrate in great numbers to -Pretoria it would be more important to say how the labouring man might -live in the Transvaal. With him his condition of life does not depend so -much on what he will have to pay for what he consumes as on the wages -which he may receive. I found that an artizan can generally earn from -10s. to 12s. a day at almost any trade,—if the work of the special -trade be required. But I am far from saying that amidst so small a -community all artizans would find an opening. At the present moment -bricklayers and carpenters are in demand at Pretoria,—and can live in -great plenty on their wages.</p> - -<p>As to workmen, who are not artizans but agricultural labourers, I hardly -think that there is any opening for them in the Transvaal. Though the -farmers all complain that they cannot plough their lands because there -is no labour, yet they will not pay for work. And though the Kafir is -lazy and indifferent, yet he does work sufficiently to prevent the white -man from working. As I have said before the white men will not work -along with the Kafir at the same labour. If there be but a couple of -black men with him he presumes that it is his business to superintend -and not to work. This is so completely the case in the Transvaal that it -is impossible to name any rate of wages as applicable to white rural -labour. Sons work for their fathers or brothers may work together;—but -wages are not paid. The Dutchman has a great dislike to paying wages.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span></p> - -<p>The capital of the Transvaal is all alive with soldiers. There are 600 -redcoats there, besides artillery, engineers and staff. These men live -under canvas at present, and are therefore very visible. Barracks -however are being built, with officers’ quarters and all the -appurtenances of a regular military station. It was odd enough to me to -see a world of British tents in the middle of a region hazily spoken of -at home six months ago as the South African Republic; but how much -stranger must it be to the Dutch Boers who certainly anticipated no such -advent. I had the honour of being invited to dine at the mess, and found -myself as well entertained as though I had been at Aldershott. When I -was sitting with the officers in their uniform around me it seemed as -though a little block of England had been cut out and transported to the -centre of South Africa.</p> - -<p>It may be as well to say a few words here as elsewhere as to the state -of education in our new Colony. The law on this matter as it stood under -the Republic is the law still. Now, as I write, it is hardly more than -six months since the annexation and there has not been time for changes. -On no subject was the late President with his Cabinet more alive to the -necessity of care and energy, on no subject were there more precise -enactments, and on no subject were the legislative enactments more -pretentious and inefficacious. There are three classes of schools,—the -High Schools, the District Schools, and the Ward Schools, the whole -being under the inspection of a Superintendent General of Education. The -curriculum at the High Schools is very high indeed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> including Dutch, -English, French, German, Latin, Greek, geometry, algebra, and all the -ologies, together with logic, music, drawing, and astronomy. The law -enacts that the principal master at a High School shall receive £400 a -year, and the Assistant Masters £250 each;—but even at these salaries -teachers sufficiently instructed could not be found, and when the -Superintendent made his last return there was but one High School in the -Transvaal, and at that school there were but five pupils. At the High -School, the pupils paid 30s. a month, which, presuming there to be two -months of holydays in the year, would give £15 per annum. There would be -therefore £75 towards maintaining a school of which the Head Master -received £400. But the reality of the failure was worse even than this. -The law required that all boys and girls should pay the regular fees, -but in order to keep up the number of pupils gratuitous instruction was -offered. Three months after annexation the five High School pupils had -dwindled down to two, and then the school was closed by order of the -British Governor. The education no doubt was far too advanced for the -public wants; and as it was given by means of the Dutch language only it -did not meet the needs of those who were most likely to make use of it. -For, even while the Transvaal was a Dutch Republic, the English language -was contending for ascendancy with that of the people. In this -contention the President with his Government did his best to make Dutch, -and Dutch only, the language of the country. For this we cannot blame -him. It was naturally his object to maintain the declining nationality -of his country. But the parents<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span> and pupils who were likely to profit by -such a school as I have described were chiefly English.</p> - -<p>At the District and Ward schools the nature of the instruction proposed -to be given is lower. The District schools are held in the chief -towns,—such as they are,—and the Ward schools in sub-divisions of the -Districts. They too have failed for the same reasons. They are too -expensive and pretentious. The Salaries,—<i>i.e.</i> the lowest salaries -permitted by law,—are £200 and £100 for head masters at the two classes -of schools, and £125 and £30 for assistant masters. According to the -last return there were 236 pupils at the District schools, and 65 at the -Ward schools. The pupils pay varying fees, averaging 7s. a month or -about £3 10s. per annum each. There are six District schools and two -Ward schools, at which the masters’ salaries alone would amount to -£1,700 per annum,—presuming there to be no assistant masters,—while -the total of fees would be about £1,050 per annum. As the Government had -been for many months penniless, it need hardly be explained further that -the schools must have been in a poor condition. The nominal cost to the -State during the last years of the Republic was about £3,500, being more -than £11 per year for each pupil over and above the fees. What was still -due under the head had of course to be paid out of British taxes when -the country was annexed.</p> - -<p>But all this does not show the extent of the evil. The white population -of the country is supposed to be 45,000, of which about a tenth or 4,500 -ought to be at school. The public schools at present show 300. There are -some private<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> schools as to which I could obtain no trustworthy -information; but the pupils educated at them are few in number.</p> - -<p>The average Boer is generally satisfied in regard to education if his -children can be made to read the Bible. To this must be added such a -knowledge of the ritual of the religion of the Dutch Reformed Church as -will enable the children to pass the examination necessary for -confirmation. Until this ceremony has been completed they cannot marry. -So much, by hook or by crook, is attained, and thus the outermost -darkness of ignorance is avoided. But the present law as to education -does not provide for even this moderate amount of religious instruction, -and is therefore, and has been, most unpopular with the Boers. It must -be understood that on all religious matters the late Government was at -loggerheads with the bulk of the population, the President being an -advocate of free-thinking and absolute secularism,—of an education from -which religion should be as far as possible removed; whereas the Boer is -as fanatic, as conservative, and as firmly wedded to the creed of his -fathers as an Irish Roman Catholic Coadjutor. It may, on this account, -be the easier for the Colonial Government to reconcile the population to -some change in the law.</p> - -<p>A few of the better class of farmers, in the difficulty which at present -exists, maintain a schoolmaster in their houses for a year or two, -paying a small salary and entertaining the teachers at their tables. I -have met more than one such a schoolmaster in a Boer’s house. In the -course of my travels I found an Englishman in the family of a Dutchman -who could not speak a word of English,—and was astonished to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> find so -much instructed intelligence in such a position. Formerly there existed -a class of itinerant schoolmasters in the Transvaal, who went from house -to house carrying with them some rudiments of education, and returning -now and again on their tract to see how the seed had prospered. These -were supported by the Government of the day, but the late Government in -its ambitious desire to effect great things, discontinued this -allowance. It is not improbable that the renewal of some such scheme may -be suggested.</p> - -<p>It will be imperative on the Colonial Government to do something as the -law now existing has certainly failed altogether. But there are great -difficulties. It is not so much that education has to be provided for -the children of a people numbering 45,000;—but that it has to be done -for children dispersed over an area as big as Great Britain and Ireland. -The families live so far apart, owing to the absurdly large size of the -farms, that it is impossible to congregate them in schools.</p> - -<p>When I was at Pretoria I rode out with four companions to see a -wonderful spot called the “Zoutpan” or saltpan. It is 28 miles from the -town and the journey required that we should take out a tent and food, -and that we should sleep in the veld. I was mounted on an excellent -horse who was always trying to run away with me. This tired me much, and -the ground was very hard. While turning myself about upon the ground I -could not but think how comfortable the beds are in London. The saltpan, -however, was worth the visit. That it had been a volcanic crater there -could be no doubt, but unlike all other volcanic craters that I have -seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> it was not an aperture on the apex of a mountain. We went north -from Pretoria and crossing through the spurs of the Magaliesberg range -of hills found ourselves upon a plain which after a while became studded -with scrub or thorn bushes. Close to the saltpan, and still on the -plain, we came to the residence of a Boer who gave us water,—the -dirtiest that ever was given me to drink,—with a stable for our horses -and sold us mealies for our animals. As one of our party was a doctor -and as the Boer’s wife was ill, his hospitality was not ill repaid. A -gentle rise of about 200 feet from the house took us to the edge of the -pan, which then lay about 300 feet below us,—so as to look as though -the earthwork around the valley had been merely thrown out of it as -earth might be thrown from any other hole. And this no doubt had been -done,—by the operation of nature.</p> - -<p>The high outside rim of the cup was about 2¼ miles round, with a -diameter of 1,500 yards; and the circle was nearly as perfect as that of -a cup. Down thence to the salt lake at the bottom the inside of the bowl -fell steeply but gradually, and was thickly covered with bush. The -perfect regularity of shape was, to the eye, the most wonderful feature -of the phenomenon. At the bottom to which we descended lay the shallow -salt lake, which at the time of our visit was about half full,—or half -covered, I might better say, in describing the gently shelving bottom of -which not more than a moiety was under water. In very dry weather there -is no water at all,—and then no salt. When full the lake is about 400 -yards across.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span></p> - -<p>Some enterprising Englishman had put up a large iron pan 36 feet by 20, -and 18 inches deep, with a furnace under it, which, as everything had -been brought out from England at a great cost for land transit, must -have been an expensive operation. But it had been deserted because the -late Government had been unable to protect him in the rights which he -attempted to hire from them. The farmers of the neighbourhood would not -allow themselves to be debarred from taking the salt,—and cared nothing -for the facts that the Government claimed the privilege of disposing of -the salt and that the Englishman had bought the privilege. The -Englishman therefore withdrew, leaving behind him his iron pan and his -furnace, no doubt with some bitter feelings.</p> - -<p>It is probable, I believe, that another Englishman,—or a -Scotchman,—will now commence proceedings there, expecting that Downing -Street will give better security than a Republican President. In the -meantime our friend the Boer pays £50 per annum to the Government, and -charges all comers some small fine per load for what they take. Baskets -are inserted into the water and are pulled up full of slush. This is -deposited on the shore and allowed to drain itself. On the residuum -carbonate of soda rises, with a thick layer, as solid cream on standing -milk;—and below this there is the salt more or less pure,—very nasty, -tasting to me as though it were putrid,—but sufficing without other -operation for the curing of meat and for the use of cattle. I was told -by one of our party that the friable stone which we found all around is -soda-feldspar from which, as it melts<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> in the rain, the salt is brought -down. Here, at this place, there is but one crater;—whereas at other -places of a like nature, as in New Zealand and Central America, I have -seen various mouths crowded together, like disjected fragments of a -great aperture down into the earth. Here there is but the one circle, -and that is as regular as though it had been the work of men’s hands.</p> - -<p>Such saltpans in South Africa are common, though I saw none other but -the one which I have described. The northern district of the Transvaal -is called Zoutpansberg from the number of its saltpans,—and there are -others in other parts of the country. I do not know that there is much -else particularly worthy of notice in the neighbourhood of Pretoria, -unless it be the wonderboom,—a pretty green over-arching tree, which -makes for its visitors a large bower capable of holding perhaps 50 -persons. It is a graceful green tree;—but not very wonderful.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL: ITS CONDITION AND PRODUCTS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Among</span> the products of the Transvaal gold must be reckoned first, because -gold in itself is so precious and so important a commodity, that it will -ever force itself into the first rank,—and because notice was first -attracted to the Transvaal in Europe, or at any rate in England, by the -discovery of gold in the country and by the establishment of gold -fields. But I believe that the gold which has hitherto been extracted -from the auriferous deposits of the country has been far from paying the -expenses incurred in finding them and bringing them into the market. -Gold is a product of the earth which will be greedily sought, even when -the seeker lose by his labour. I doubt even whether the Australian gold -would be found to have paid for itself if an accurate calculation were -made. I know that the promoters of Australian gold enterprises and the -shareholders in Australian Gold Companies would attempt to cover me with -ridicule for expressing such an opinion were I to discuss the matter -with them. But these enterprising and occasionally successful people -hardly look at the question all round. Before it can be answered with -accuracy account must be taken not only of all the money lost, but of -the time lost also in unsuccessful search,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span>—and of such failures the -world takes no record. Be that as it may gold has done very much to make -the fortune of the Australian Colonies. This has not been done by the -wealth of the gold-finders. It is only now and then,—and I may say that -the nows and thens are rare,—that we find a gold-seeker who has retired -into a settled condition of wealth as the result of his labours among -the Gold Fields. But great towns have sprung up, and tradesmen have -become wealthy, and communities have grown into compact forms, by the -expenditure which the gold-seekers have created. Melbourne is a great -city and Ballarat is a great city, not because the Victorian -gold-diggers have been rich and successful;—but because the trade of -gold-finding creates a great outlay. If the gold-diggers themselves have -not been rich they have enriched the bankers and the wine-merchants and -the grocers and the butchers and the inn-keepers who have waited upon -them. While one gold-digger starves or lives upon his little capital, -another drinks champagne. Even the first contributes something to the -building up of a country, but the champagne-drinker contributes a great -deal. There is no better customer to the tradesman, no more potent -consumer, than the man who is finding gold from day to day. Gold becomes -common to him, and silver contemptible.</p> - -<p>I say this for the purpose of showing that though the gold trade of the -Transvaal has not as yet been remunerative,—though it may perhaps never -be truly remunerative to the gold-seekers,—it may nevertheless help to -bring a population to the country which will build it up, and make<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> it -prosperous. It will do so in the teeth of the despair and ruin which -unsuccessful speculations create. There is a charm and a power about -gold which is so seductive and inebriating that judgment and calculation -are ignored by its votaries. If there be gold in a country men will seek -it though it has been sought there for years with disastrous effects. It -creates a sanguine confidence which teaches the gold-dreamer to believe -that he will succeed where hundreds have failed. It despises climate, -and reconciles the harshness of manual labour to those who have been -soft of hand and luxurious of habit. I am not now intending to warn the -covetous against the Gold Fields of South Africa;—but am simply -expressing an opinion that though these gold regions have hitherto -created no wealth, though henceforth they should not be the source of -fortune to the speculators, they will certainly serve to bring white -inhabitants into the country.</p> - -<p>Gold as a modern discovery in South Africa was first found at Tatin in -1867. That there had been gold up north, near the Eastern coast, within -the tropics, there can be little doubt. There are those who are -perfectly satisfied that Ophir was here situated and that the Queen of -Sheba came to Solomon’s court from these realms. As I once wrote a -chapter to prove that the Queen of Sheba reigned in the Isle of Ceylon -and that Ophir was Point de Galle, I will not now go into that subject. -It has no special interest for the Transvaal which as a gold country -must sink or swim by its own resources. But Tatin though not within the -Transvaal, is only just without it, being to the north of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> Limpopo -river which is the boundary of our Colony in that direction.</p> - -<p>The Limpopo is an unfortunate river as much of its valley with a -considerable district on each side of it is subjected by nature to an -abominable curse,—which population and cultivation will in the course -of years probably remove but which at present is almost fatal to -European efforts at work within the region affected. There is a -fly,—called the Tsetse fly,—which destroys all horses and cattle which -come within the regions which it selects for its own purposes. Why it -should be destructive to a party of horses or to a team of oxen and not -to men has I believe to be yet found out. But as men cannot carry -themselves and their tools into these districts without horses or oxen, -the evil is almost overpowering. The courses of the fly are so well -known as to have, enabled geographers to mark out on the maps the limits -of the Tsetse country. The valley of the Limpopo river may be taken as -giving a general idea of the district so afflicted, the distance of the -fly-invested region varying from half a dozen to 60 and 80 miles from -the river. But towards the East it runs down across the Portuguese -possessions never quite touching the sea but just reaching Zululand.</p> - -<p>Tatin is to the north west of this region, and though the place itself -is not within the fly boundary, all ingress and egress must have been -much impeded by the nuisance. The first discovery there of gold is said -to have been made by Mauch. There has been heavy work carried on in the -district and a quartz-crushing machine was used there. When I was in the -Transvaal these works had been abandoned, but of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span> existence of gold -in the country around there can be no doubt. In 1868 the same explorer, -Mauch, found gold at a spot considerably to the south east of -this,—south of the Limpopo and the Tsetse district, just north of the -Olifant’s river and in the Transvaal. Then in 1871 Mr. Button found gold -at Marabas Stad, not far to the west of Mauch’s discovery, in the -neighbourhood of which the mines at Eesteling are now being worked by an -English Company. On the Marabas-Stad gold fields a printed report was -made by Captain Elton in 1872, and a considerable sum of money must have -been spent. The Eesteling reef is the only one at present worked in the -neighbourhood. Captain Elton’s report seems to promise much on the -condition that a sufficient sum of money be raised to enable the -district to be thoroughly “prospected” by an able body of fifty -gold-miners for a period of six months. Captain Elton no doubt -understood his subject, but the adequate means for the search suggested -by him have not yet been raised. And, indeed, it is not thus that gold -fields have been opened. The chances of success are too small for men in -cold blood to subscribe money at a distance. The work has to be done by -the gambling energy of men who rush to the spot trusting that they may -individually grasp the gold, fill their pockets with the gold, and thus -have in a few months, perhaps in a few days or hours, a superabundance -of that which they have ever been desiring but which has always been so -hard to get! The great Australian and Californian enterprises have -always been commenced by rushes of individual miners to some favoured -spot, and not by companies floated by sub<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span>scription. The companies have -come afterwards, but individual enterprise has done the pioneering work.</p> - -<p>In 1873 gold was found in the Lydenburg district which is south of the -Olifant’s river. Here are the diggings called Pilgrim’s Rest, and here -the search for gold is still carried on,—not as I am told with -altogether favourable results. One nugget has been found weighing nearly -18 pounds. Had there been a few more such treasures brought to light the -Lydenburg gold fields would have been famous. There are two crushing -machines now at work, and skilled European miners are earning from 10s. -to 12s. a day. The place is healthy, and though tropical is not within -the tropics. A considerable number of Kafirs are employed at low rates -of wages, but they have not as yet obtained a reputation as good miners. -The white employer of black labour in South Africa does not allow that -the Kafir does anything well.</p> - -<p>Among other difficulties and drawbacks to gold mining in South Africa -the want of fuel for steam is one. Wood of course is used, but I am told -that wood is already becoming scarce and dear. And then the great -distance from the coast, the badness of the roads, and the lack of the -means of carriage exaggerates all the other difficulties. Machinery, -provisions, and the very men themselves have to be brought into the -country at a cost which very materially interferes with the chances of a -final satisfactory result. If there be a railway from Pretoria to -Delagoa Bay,—as at some not very remote date there probably will -be,—then that railway will pass either through or very near to the -Lydenburg district,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span> and in that case the Lydenburg gold fields will -become all alive with mining life.</p> - -<p>Attempts are always made to show what gold fields have done in the way -of produce by Government records of the gold exported. In the second -great exhibition of London we saw an enormous yellow pyramid near the -door, and were told that the gold taken out of Victoria would if -collected make a pyramid of just that size. To enable the makers of the -pyramid to arrive at that result it was necessary that they should know -how much gold had been taken from Victoria. I presume that the records -of the Colony did tell of so much,—but if so the gold found must have -been considerably more. For gold is portable and can be carried away in -a man’s pocket without any record. And as that which was recorded was -taxed, it is probable that very much was taken away, untaxed, in some -private fashion. As to the Transvaal gold a record of that supposed to -be exported has been kept at the Custom House in Natal, which shows but -very poor results. It is as follows:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td>1873</td><td class="rt">£735</td></tr> -<tr><td>1874</td><td class="rt">4,710</td></tr> -<tr><td>1875</td><td class="rt">28,443</td></tr> -<tr><td>1876 (first six months)</td><td class="rt">13,650</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt" -style="border-top:1px solid black; -border-bottom:3px double black;">£47,538</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">This sum can have done but little more than paid for the necessary -transport of the machinery and other matters which have been carried up -from the coast. It certainly cannot also have paid for the machinery -itself. The bulk of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> the gold found has, however, been probably carried -down to the coast at Fort Elizabeth or Capetown without any record.</p> - -<p>Such is all that I have to say respecting the Gold Fields of the -Transvaal,—and it is very little. I did not visit them, and had I done -so I do not know that I could have said much more. I conscientiously -inspected many Gold mines in Australia, going down into the bowels of -the earth 500 feet here and 600 feet there at much personal -inconvenience, and some danger to one altogether unused to mining -operations; but I do not know that I did any good by this exercise of -valour and conscience. A man should be a mineralogist to be able to take -advantage of such inspections. Had I visited Pilgrim Rest I could have -said how the men looked who were there working, and might have attempted -to guess whether they were contented with their lot;—but I could have -said nothing as to the success of the place with more accuracy than I do -now.</p> - -<p>The Transvaal is said, and I believe correctly, to be very rich in other -minerals besides gold;—but the travellers in new countries are always -startled by sanguine descriptions of wealth which is not in view. Lead -and cobalt are certainly being worked. Coal is found in beds all along -the eastern boundary of the country, and will probably some day be the -most valuable product of the country. Did I not myself see it burning at -Stander’s Drift? Iron is said to be plentiful in almost every district -of the Colony and has been long used by the natives in making weapons -and ornaments. Copper also has been worked by the natives and is now -found in old pits, where it has been dug to the depth of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span> from 30 to 40 -feet. A variety of copper ornaments are worn by the Kafirs of the -northern parts of the Transvaal who have known how to extract the metal -from the mineral and to smelt it into pure ore. No mining operations in -search of copper have, as I believe, yet been carried on by white men in -the country. At an Agricultural Show which was held in 1876 at -Potchefstroom, the chief town in the southern part of the Transvaal, -prizes were awarded for specimens of the following minerals found in the -country itself. Gold-bearing quartz, alluvial gold, copper, tin, lead, -iron, plumbago, cobalt, and coal. The following is an extract from a -report of the Show, which I borrow from Messrs. Silver’s South African -Guide Book. “We believe there is no other country in the whole world -that could have presented to the public gaze such a variety of minerals -as were seen in the room set apart for their exhibition and which upon -first entering reminded one of a charming museum; and all these minerals -and earthy substances, we are informed, were the products of this -country. We saw gold both quartz and alluvial,—not in small quantities -but pounds in weight; coal by the ton,—silver, iron, lead. We do not -know what to say about this last mineral; but there it was, not in small -lumps, as previously exhibited, but immense quantities of ore, and -molten bars by the hundred.”</p> - -<p>This is somewhat flowery, but I believe the statements to be -substantially true. The metals are all there, but I do not know whether -any of them have yet been so worked as to pay for expenses and to give a -profit. All the good things in the Transvaal seem to be so hard to come -at, that it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> like looking and longing for grapes, hanging high above -our reach. But when grapes are really good and plentiful, ladders are at -last procured, and so it will be with the grapes of the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>The ladder which is especially wanted is of course a Railway. President -Burgers among his other high schemes was fully aware of this and made a -journey to Europe during the days of his power with the view of raising -funds for this purpose. Like all his schemes it was unsuccessful, but he -did raise in Holland a sum of £90,958 for this purpose, which has been -expended on railway materials, or perhaps tendered to the Republic in -that shape. These are now lying at Delagoa Bay, and the sum above named -is part of the responsibility which England has assumed in annexing the -Republic.</p> - -<p>The question of a Railway is of all the most vital to the new Colony. -The Transvaal has no seaboard, and no navigable rivers, and no available -outlet for its produce. Pretoria is about 450 miles from Durban, which -at present is the seaport it uses, and the road to Durban is but half -made and unbridged. The traffic is by oxen, and oxen cannot travel in -dry weather because there is no grass for them to eat. They often cannot -travel in wet weather because the rivers are impassable and the mud is -overwhelming. If any country ever wanted a Railway it is the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>But whence shall the money come? Pretoria is about 300 miles distant -from the excellent Portuguese harbour at Delagoa Bay, and it was to this -outlet that President Burgers looked. But an undertaking to construct a -railway through<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> an unsurveyed country at the rate of £1,000 a mile was -manifestly a castle in the air. If the absolute money could have been -obtained, hard cash in hand, the thing could not have been half done. -But President Burgers was one of those men who believe that if you can -only set an enterprise well on foot the gods themselves will look after -its accomplishment,—that if you can expend money on an object other -money will come to look after that which has been expended. But here, in -the Transvaal, he could not get his enterprise on foot; and I fear that -certain railway materials lying at Delagoa Bay, and more or less suited -for the purpose, are all that England has to show for the debt she has -taken upon her shoulders.</p> - -<p>I am not very anxious to offer an opinion as to the best route for a -railway out from the Transvaal to the sea. Ne sutor ultra crepidam;—and -the proper answering of such a question is, I fear, beyond the reach of -my skill. But the reasons I have heard for the Delagoa Bay seem to me to -be strong,—and those against it to be weak. The harbour at the Bay is -very good,—perhaps the only thoroughly good harbour in South Africa, -whereas that at Durban is at present very bad. Expensive operations may -improve it, but little or nothing has as yet been done to lessen the -inconvenience occasioned by its sand-bar. Durban is 450 miles from the -capital of the Transvaal, whereas Delagoa Bay is only two-thirds of that -distance. The land falls gradually from Pretoria to the Bay, whereas in -going to Durban the line would twice have to be raised to high levels. -And then the route to the Bay would run by the Gold Fields, whereas<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span> the -other line would go through a district less likely to be productive of -traffic. It is alleged on the other hand that as Delagoa Bay belongs to -the Portuguese, and as the Portuguese will probably be unwilling to part -with the possession, the making of a railway into their territory would -be inexpedient. I cannot see that there is anything in this argument. -The Americans of the United States made a railway across the Isthmus of -Panama with excellent financial results, and in Europe each railway -enterprise has not been stopped by the bounds of the country which it -has occupied. The Portuguese have offered to take some share in the -construction, and by doing so would lessen the effort which the Colony -will be obliged to make. It is also alleged that Lorenço Marques, the -Portuguese town at Delagoa Bay, is very unhealthy. I believe that it is -so. Tropical towns on the sea board are apt to be unhealthy, and Lorenço -Marques though not within the tropics is tropical. But so is Aspenwall, -the terminus of the Panama Railway, unhealthy, being peculiarly subject -to the Chagres fever. But in the pursuit of wealth men will endure bad -climate. That at Delagoa Bay is by no means so bad as to frighten -passengers, though it will probably be injurious to the construction of -the railway. To the ordinary traffic of a constructed railway it will -hardly be injurious at all.</p> - -<p>If the Natal Colony would join the Transvaal in the cost, making the -railway up to its own boundary, then the Natal line would no doubt be -the best. The people of the Transvaal would compensate themselves for -the bad harbour at Durban by the lessening of their own expenditure, and -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> line as a whole would be better for British interests in general -than that to the Portuguese coast. But there is but little probability -of this. Natal wants a line from its capital to its coast, and will have -such a line almost by the time that these words are published. But it -cares comparatively little for a line through 175 miles of its country -up to its boundary at Newcastle, over which the traffic would be for the -benefit of the Transvaal rather than for that of Natal. Estcourt and -Newcastle which are in Natal would no doubt be pleased, but Natal will -not spend its money for the sake of Estcourt and Newcastle.</p> - -<p>But when the route for the railway shall have been decided, whence shall -the money come? No one looking at the position of the country will be -slow to say that a railway is so necessary for the purposes of the -Colony that it must expend its first and its greatest energies in -achieving that object. It is as would be the possession of a corkscrew -to a man having a bottle of wine in the desert. There is no getting at -the imprisoned treasure without it. The farms will not be cultivated, -the mines will not be worked, the towns will not be built, the people -will not come without it. President Burgers, prone as he was to build -castles in the air, saw at any rate, when he planned the railway, where -the foundations should be laid for a true and serviceable edifice. But -then we must return to the question,—whence shall the money come?</p> - -<p>Well-to-do Colonies find no difficulty in borrowing money for their own -purposes at a moderate rate of interest,—say 4 per cent. Victoria and -New South Wales have made their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span> railways most successfully, and New -Zealand has shown what a Colony can do in borrowing. But the Transvaal -is not as yet a well-to-do Colony, and certainly could not go into the -money market with any hope of success with the mere offer of her own -security,—such as that security is at this moment. This is so -manifestly the case that no one proposes to do so. Mr. Burgers went home -for the purpose and succeeded only in getting a quantity of -material,—for which, in the end, the British Government will have to -pay probably more than twice the value.</p> - -<p>I think I am justified in saying that the idea among those who are now -managing the Colony is to induce the Government at home to guarantee a -loan,—which means that the Transvaal should be enabled to borrow on the -best security that the world has yet produced, that namely of the -British nation. And perhaps there is something to warrant this -expectation on their part. The annexation, distasteful as the idea is at -home of a measure so high-handed and so apparently unwarrantable, has -been well received. It has been approved by our Secretary of State, who -is himself approved of in what he has caused to be done by Parliament -and the nation. The Secretary of State must feel a tenderness for the -Transvaal, as we all do for any belonging of our own which has turned -out better than we expected. The annexation has turned out so well that -they who are now concerned with its affairs seem to expect that the -British Government and the British Parliament will assent to the giving -of such security. It may be that they are right. Writing when and where -I am now I have no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> means of knowing how far the need for such a loan -and the undoubted utility of such a railway may induce those who have -the power in their hands to depart from what I believe to be now the -established usage of the mother country in regard to its -Colonies,—viz., that of sanctioning loans only when they can be floated -on the security of the Colony itself.</p> - -<p>If I may venture to express an opinion on the subject, I think that that -usage should be followed in this case. No doubt the making of the -railway would be postponed in this way,—or rather would be accelerated -if the British name and British credit were to be pawned for Transvaal -purpose; but I doubt the justice of risking British money in such a -cause. The Transvaal colonist in making such an application would in -fact be asking for the use of capital at British rates of interest with -the object of making colonial profits. The risk would attach wholly to -the mother country. The profits, if profits should come, would belong -wholly to the Colony.</p> - -<p>Money, too, with nations and with colonies is valued and used on the -same principles as with individuals. When it has been easily got, -without personal labour, proffered lightly without requirement of -responsibility or demand for security, it is spent as easily and too -often is used foolishly. Lend a man money on security and he will know -that every shilling that he spends must come at last out of his own -pocket. If money for the purpose required were at once thrown into the -Transvaal,—as might be the case to-morrow if the British Government -were to secure the loan,—there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> would immediately arise a feeling that -wealth was being scattered about broadcast, and that a halcyon time had -come in which parsimony and prudence were no longer needed. The thing -would have been too easy,—and easy things are seldom useful and are -never valued.</p> - -<p>At the present moment Great Britain is paying the Transvaal bill. The -marching to and fro of the soldiers, the salaries of the Governors and -other officials, the debts of the late Government, the interests on -loans already made, the sums necessary for the gradual redemption of -loans, I fear even a pension for the late President, are provided or are -to be provided out of British taxes. The country was annexed on 12th -April. On 8th June a letter was written from the Colonial Office to the -Treasury, showing that we had annexed an existing debt of £217,158 for -which we were responsible, and that we had expended £25,000 in marching -troops up to the Transvaal for the sake of giving safety to the -inhabitants and their property. The report then goes on to its natural -purpose. “Lord Carnarvon is of opinion that it may be possible to meet -the more immediate requirements of the moment if their Lordships will -make an advance of £100,000 in aid of the revenues of the Transvaal, <i>to -be repaid as soon as practicable</i>. Unless aid is given at once the new -province would be obliged to endeavour to borrow at a ruinously high -rate of interest.” I doubt whether the idea of repayment has taken so -strong a hold of the people in the Transvaal, as it has of the officials -in Downing Street. In a former paragraph of the report the Secretary of -State thus excuses himself for making the appli<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span>cation. “It is with -great unwillingness that Lord Carnarvon feels himself compelled to have -recourse to the assistance of the Imperial Treasury in this matter, but -he is satisfied that the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury -will readily acknowledge that in this most difficult case he has had no -alternative. The annexation of the Transvaal with all its consequent -liabilities, political as well as financial, <i>has been neither coveted -nor sought by him</i>;”—the italics here and above are my own;—“and it is -only a sincere conviction that this step was necessary in order to -prevent most serious danger to Her Majesty’s Colonies in South Africa -which has persuaded him to approve the late action of Sir T. Shepstone.”</p> - -<p>The £100,000 was advanced, if not without a scruple at least without a -doubt, whatever might be the expectations of the Treasury as to speedy -repayment; and there can be little doubt, I fear, that further advances -will be needed and made before the resources of the country in the shape -of collected taxes will suffice to pay the expenses of the country, -including the gradual redemption of the Dutch loans. But if the country -cannot do this soon the annexation will certainly have been a failure. -Great as is the parliamentary strength of the present Ministry, -Parliament would hardly endure the idea of paying permanently for the -stability and security of a Dutch population out of the British pocket. -I do believe myself that the country will be able to pay its way in the -course of some years;—but I do not believe that the influx of a large -loan on easy terms, the expenditure of which must to a great measure be -entrusted to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> Colony, would hasten the coming of this desirable -condition. There would be a feeling engendered,—if that can be said to -be engendered which to some extent already exists,—that “nunky pays for -all.” Neither for Colony nor for Mother Country can it be well that -nunky should either pay or be supposed to pay through the nose.</p> - -<p>When it shall once be known that the Transvaal is paying its own bill, -governing itself and protecting itself out of its own revenues, then the -raising of a sufficient loan for its railway on its own security will -not be difficult. It may even then,—when that day comes,—have to pay a -percentage something higher than it would have to give under a British -guarantee; but the money will be its own, brought into use on its own -security, and will then be treated with respect and used with care. The -Transvaal no doubt wants a railway sorely, but it has no right to expect -that a railway shall be raised for it, as by a magician’s wand. Like -other people, and other countries the Transvaal should struggle hard to -get what it wants, and if it struggles honestly no doubt will have its -railway and will enjoy it when it has it.</p> - -<p>“The Transvaal may in truth be called the ‘corn chamber’ of South -Eastern Africa, for no other Colony or State in this part of the world -produces wheat of such superior quality or offers so many and varied -advantages to farming pursuits.” This is extracted from Mr. Jeppe’s -excellent Transvaal Directory. The words are again somewhat flowery, as -is always the nature of national self-praise as expressed in national -literature. But the capability of the Transvaal for producing wheat is -undoubted; as are also the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span> facts that it has for years past fed -itself,—with casual exceptions which amount to nothing,—and that it -has done something towards feeding the great influx of population which -has been made into the Diamond Fields. It has also continually sent a -certain amount of flour and corn into Natal and over its northern and -western borders for the use of those wandering Europeans, who are -seeking their fortunes among the distant tribes of South Africa. In -estimating the wheat produce of the country these are I know but idle -words. A great deal of wheat,—when the words are written and -printed,—means nothing. It is like saying that a horse is a very good -horse when the owner desires to sell him. The vendor should produce his -statistics as to the horse in the shape of an opinion from a veterinary -surgeon. If Mr. Jeppe had given statistics as to the wheat-produce of -the Transvaal during the last few years it would have been better. -Statistics are generally believed and always look like evidence. But -unless Mr. Jeppe had created them himself, he could not produce -them,—for there are none. I think I may say that a very large portion -of the country,—all of it indeed which does not come under tropical -influences, with the exception of regions which are mountainous or -stoney,—is certainly capable of bearing wheat; but I have no means -whatever of telling the reader what wheat it has already produced.</p> - -<p>It is certain, however, that the cereal produce of the country is -curtailed by most pernicious circumstances against which the very best -of governments though joined by the very best of climates can only -operate slowly. One of these circum<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span>stances is the enormous size of the -existing farms. That great colonial quidnunc and speculator in colonial -matters, Gibbon Wakefield, enunciated one great truth when he declared -that all land in new countries should be sold to the new comers at a -price. By this he meant that let the price be what it might land should -not be given away, but should be parted with in such a manner as to -induce in the mind of the incoming proprietor a feeling that he had paid -for it its proper price, and that he should value the land accordingly. -The thing given is never valued as is the thing bought,—as is the thing -for which hard-earned money has been handed over, money which is -surrendered with a pang, and which leaves behind a lasting remorse -unless he who has parted with it can make himself believe that he has at -least got for it its full worth. Now the land in the Transvaal generally -has never been sold,—and yet it has almost entirely become the property -of private occupiers. The Dutchmen who came into the country brought -with them ideas and usages as to the distribution of land from the Gape -Colony, and following their ideas and usages they divided the soil among -themselves adjudging so much to every claimant who came forward as a -certified burgher. The amount determined on as comprising a sufficient -farm for such an individual was 3,000 morgen,—which is something more -than 6,000 acres. The Dutchman in South Africa has ever been greedy of -land, feeling himself to be cribbed, cabined, and confined if a -neighbour be near to him. It was in a great measure because land was not -in sufficient plenty for him that he “trekked” away from the Cape -Colony. Even there 3,000 “morgen” of land had been his idea<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span> of a -farm,—which farm was to satisfy his pastoral as well as his much -smaller agricultural needs. When at last he found his way into the -Transvaal and became a free Republican, his first ambition was for land -to fulfil the lust of his heart. The country therefore was divided into -6,000-acre farms,—many of which however contained much more than that -number of acres,—and in many cases more than one farm fell into the -hands of one Dutchman. The consequences are that there is not room for -fresh comers and that nevertheless the land is not a quarter occupied.</p> - -<p>Nor is this the only or perhaps the greatest evil of the system which I -have attempted to describe. The Boer has become solitary, -self-dependent, some would say half savage in his habits. The -self-dependent man is almost as injurious to the world at large as the -idle man. The good and useful citizen is he who works for the comfort of -others and requires the work of others for his own comfort. The Boer -feels a pride in his acres, though his acres may do nothing for him. He -desires no neighbours though neighbours would buy his produce. He -declares he cannot plough his fields because he cannot get labour, but -he will allow no Kafirs to make their kraals on his land. Therefore he -wraps himself up in himself, eats his billetong,—strips of meat dried -in the sun,—and his own flour, and feels himself to be an aristocrat -because he is independent.</p> - -<p>If the farms in the Transvaal could be at once divided, and a moiety -from each owner taken away without compensation, not only would the -country itself be soon improved by such an arrangement, but the farmers -also themselves from whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span> the land had been taken. Their titles, -however, are good, and they are lords of the soil beyond the power of -any such, arbitrary legislation. But all the influence of government -should be used to favour subdivision. Subdivisions no doubt are made -from day to day. As I went through the country I heard of this man -having half a “plaats,” and that man a quarter. These diminished -holdings had probably arisen from family arrangements, possibly from -sales. Farms frequently are sold,—freehold lands passing from hand to -hand at prices varying from 1s. an acre upwards. Land therefore is very -vile,—what I would call cheap if it were to be found in the market when -wanted and in the quantities wanted. In our Australian Colonies land is -not as a rule sold under 20s. an acre; but it is being sold daily, -because men of small means can always purchase small areas from the -Government, and because the Governments afford easy terms. But the land -in the Transvaal is locked up and unused,—and not open to new comers. -Therefore it is that the produce is small, that the roads are desolate, -and that the country to the eye of the traveller appears like a -neglected wilderness.</p> - -<p>What may be the remedy for this I am not prepared to say after the -sojourn of but a few weeks in the country; but it is probable that a -remedy may be found by making the transfer of land easy and profitable -to the Boers.</p> - -<p>As this land will produce wheat, so will it also other cereals—such as -barley, oats, and Indian corn. Hay, such as we use at home, is unknown. -The food given to stabled cattle is Indian corn or forage, such as I -have before mentioned,—that is young corn, wheat, oats, or barley, cut -before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> fully grown and dried. This is considered to be the best food -for horses all through South Africa.</p> - -<p>The fruits of the country are very plentiful;—oranges, lemons, figs, -grapes, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, and many others. The climate -is more tropical than ours, so as to give the oranges and lemons, but -not so much so as to exclude pears and apples.</p> - -<p>No doubt it may,—as far as its nature is concerned,—become a land -flowing with milk and honey, if the evil effects of remoteness and of a -bad beginning can be removed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANSVAAL.—PRETORIA TO THE DIAMOND FIELDS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">On</span> the 1st of October I and my friend started from Pretoria for the -Diamond Fields, having spent a pleasant week at the capital of the -Transvaal. There was, however, one regret. I had not seen Sir Theophilus -Shepstone though I had been entertained at his house. He, during the -time, had been absent on one of those pilgrimages which Colonial -Governors make through their domains, and would be absent so long that I -could not afford the time to wait his return. I should much have liked -to discuss with him the question of the annexation, and to have heard -from his own lips, as I had heard from those of Mr. Burgers, a -description of what had passed at the interviews between them. I should -have been glad, also, to have learned from himself what he had thought -of the danger to which the Dutch community had been subject from the -Kafirs and Zulus,—from Secocoeni and Cetywayo,—at the moment of his -coming. But the tale which was not told to me by him was, I think, told -with accuracy by some of those who were with him. I have spoken my -opinion very plainly, and I hope not too confidently of the affair, and -I will only add to that now an assurance of my conviction that had I -been in Sir T. Shepstone’s place and done as he did,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span> I should have been -proud of the way I had served my country.</p> - -<p>We started in our cart with our horses as we thought in grand condition. -While at Pretoria we had been congratulated on the way in which we had -made our purchases and travelled the road surmounting South African -difficulties as though we had been at the work all our lives. We had -refilled our commissariat chest, and with the exception that my -companion had shied a bottle of brandy,—joint property,—at the head of -a dog that would bite him,—not me,—as we were packing the cart, there -had been as yet no misfortune. Our Cape-boy driver had not once been -drunk and nothing material had been lost or broken. We got off at 11 -<small>A.M.</small>; and at half past one <small>P.M.</small>,—having travelled about fifteen miles -in the normal two and a half hours,—we spanned out and shared our lunch -with a very hungry-looking Dutchman who squatted himself on his haunches -close to our little fire. He was herding cattle and seemed to be very -poor and hungry. I imagined him to be some unfortunate who was working -for low wages at a distance from his home. But I found him to be the -lord of the soil, the owner of the herd, and the possessor of a -homestead about a mile distant. I have no doubt he would have given me -what he had to give if I had called at his house. As it was he seemed to -be delighted with fried bacon and biscuits, and was aroused almost to -enthusiasm over a little drop of brandy and water.</p> - -<p>On our road during this day we stopped at an accommodation house, as it -is called in the country,—or small Inn, kept by an Englishman. Here -before the door I saw flying a flag<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> intended to represent the colours -of the Transvaal Dutch Republic. The Englishman, who was rather drunk -and very civil, apologized for this by explaining that he had his own -patriotic feelings, but that as it was his lot in life to live by the -Boers it was necessary that he should please the Boers. This was, -however, the only flag of the Republic which I saw during my journey -through the country, and I am inclined to think that our countryman had -mistaken the signs of the time. I have however to acknowledge in his -favour that he offered to make us a present of some fresh butter.</p> - -<p>We passed that night at the house of a Boer, who was represented to me -as being a man of wealth and repute in the country and as being -peculiarly averse to English rule,—Dutch and republican to his heart’s -core. And I was told soon after by a party who had travelled over the -same road, among whom there were two Dutchmen, that he had been very -uncourteous to them. No man could have been more gracious than he was to -us, who had come in as strangers upon his hospitality, with all our -wants for ourselves our servants and our horses. I am bound to say that -his house was very dirty, and the bed of a nature to make the flesh -creep, and to force a British occupant of the chamber to wrap himself -round with further guards of his own in the shape of rugs and great -coats, rather than divest himself of clothes before he would lay himself -down. And the copious mess of meat which was prepared for the family -supper was not appetising. But nothing could be more grandly courteous -than the old man’s manner, or kinder than that of his wife. With this -there was perhaps something of an air of rank,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span>—just a touch of a -consciousness of superiority,—as there might be with some old Earl at -home who in the midst of his pleasant amenities could not quite forget -his ancestors. Our host could not speak a word of English,—nor we of -Dutch; but an Englishman was in the house,—one of the schoolmasters of -whom I have before spoken,—and thus we were able to converse. Not a -word was said about the annexation;—but much as to the farming -prospects of the country. He had grown rich and was content with the -condition of the land.</p> - -<p>He was heartily abused to us afterwards by the party which contained the -two Dutchmen as being a Boer by name and a boor by nature, as being a -Boer all round and down to the ground. These were not Hollanders from -Holland, but Dutchmen lately imported from the Cape Colony;—and as such -were infinitely more antagonistic to the real Boer than would be any -Englishman out from Europe. To them he was a dirty, ignorant, and -arrogant Savage. To him they were presumptuous, new-fangled, vulgar -upstarts. They were men of culture and of sense and of high standing in -the new country,—but between them and him there were no sympathies.</p> - -<p>I think that the English who have now taken the Transvaal will be able, -after a while, to rule the Boers and to extort from them that respect -without which there can be no comfort between the governors and the -governed;—but the work must be done by English and not by Dutch hands. -The Dutch Boer will not endure over him either a reforming Hollander -from Europe, or a spick-and-span Dutch Afri<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span>cander from the Cape Colony. -The reforming Hollander and the spick-and-span Dutch Africander are very -intelligent people. It is not to be supposed that I am denying them any -good qualities which are to be found in Englishmen. But the Boer does -not love them.</p> - -<p>Soon after starting from our aristocratic friend’s house one of our -horses fell sick. He was the one that kicked,—a bright bay little -pony,—and in spite of his kicking had been the favourite of the team. -We dined that day about noon at a Boer’s house, and there we did all -that we knew to relieve the poor brute. We gave him chlorodyne and -alum,—in accordance with advice which had been given to us for our -behoof along the road,—and when we started we hitched him on behind, -and went the last stage for that day with a unicorn team. Then we gave -him whisky, but it was of no use. That night he could not feed, and -early the next morning he laid himself down when he was brought out of -the stable and died at my feet. It was our first great misfortune. Our -other three horses were not the better or the brighter for all the work -they had done, and would certainly not be able to do what would be -required of them without a fourth companion.</p> - -<p>The place we were now at is called Wonder Fontein, and is remarkable, -not specially for any delightfully springing run of water, but for a -huge cave, which is supposed to go some miles underground. We went to -visit it just at sunset, and being afraid of returning in the dark, had -not time to see all of it that is known. But we climbed down into the -hole, and lit our candles and wandered about for a time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span> Here and -there, in every direction, there were branches and passages running -under ground which had hitherto never been explored. The son of the Boer -who owned the farm at which we were staying, was with us, and could -guide us through certain ways;—but other streets of the place were -unknown to him, and, as he assured us, had never yet been visited by -man. The place was full of bats, but other animals we saw none. In -getting down, the path was narrow, steep, low and disagreeable -enough;—but when once we were in the cave we could walk without -stooping. At certain periods when the rains had been heavy the caves -would become full of water,—and then they would drain themselves when -the rains had ceased. It was a hideously ugly place; and most -uninteresting were it not that anything not customary interests us to -some extent. The caves were very unlike those in the Cango district, -which I described in the first volume.</p> - -<p>At Wonder Fontein there were six or seven guests besides the very large -family with which the Boer and his wife were blessed, and we could not -therefore have bedrooms apiece;—nor even beds. I and my young friend -had one assigned to us, while the Attorney General of the Colony, who -was on circuit and to whom we had given a lift in our cart to relieve -him for a couple of days of the tedium of travelling with the Judge and -the Sheriff by ox waggon, had a bench assigned to him in a corner of the -room. In such circumstances a man lies down, but does not go to bed. We -lay down,—and got up at break of day, to see our poor little horse die.</p> - -<p>On leaving these farm houses the Boers, if asked, will make a charge for -the accommodation afforded, generally demand<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span>ing about 5s. for the -supper, a night’s rest, and breakfast if the traveller chooses to wait -for it. Others, English and Germans, will take nothing for their -hospitality. Both the one and the other expect to be paid for what the -horses may consume; and we thought we observed that forage with the -English and Germans was dearer than with the Boers,—so that the cost -came to much the same with the one as with the other. At the English -houses,—or German,—it was possible to go to bed. In a Boer’s -establishment we did not venture to do more than lie down.</p> - -<p>Starting on the following day with our three horses we reached -Potchefstroom, which, though not the capital, is the largest town in the -Transvaal. The road all along had been of the same nature, and the -country nearly of the same kind as that we had seen before reaching -Pretoria. Here and there it was stony,—but for the most part capable of -cultivation. None of it, however, was cultivated with the exception of -small patches round the farm houses. These would be at any rate ten -miles distant one from each other, and probably more. The roads are -altogether unmade, and the “spruits” or streams are unbridged. But the -traffic, though unfrequent, has been sufficient to mark the way and to -keep it free from grass. Travelling in wet weather must often be -impossible,—and in windy weather very disagreeable. We were most -fortunate in avoiding both mud and dust, either of which, to the extent -in which they sometimes prevail in the Transvaal, might have made our -journey altogether impossible.</p> - -<p>At Potchefstroom we found a decent hotel kept by an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> Englishman,—at -which we could go to bed, though not indulged with the luxury of a room -for each of us. The assizes were going on and we found ourselves to be -lucky in not being forced to have a third with us. Here our first care -was to buy a horse so as once again to complete our team. We felt that -if we loudly proclaimed our want, the price of horses in Potchefstroom -would be raised at once;—and yet it was difficult to take any step -without proclaiming our want. We had only one day to stay in the town, -and could not therefore dally with the difficulty as is generally the -proper thing to do when horse-flesh is concerned. So we whispered our -need into the landlord’s ear and he undertook to stand our -friend,—acknowledging, however, that a horse in a hurry was of all -things the most difficult to be had at Potchefstroom. Nevertheless -within two hours of our arrival an entire team of four horses was -standing in the hotel yard, from which we were to be allowed to choose -one for £30. I had refused to have anything to do with the buying in -regard to terms; but consented to select the one which should be bought, -if we could agree as to price. When I went forth to make the choice I -found that in spite of our secrecy a congregation of horse-fanciers had -come to see what was being done. Four leaner, poorer, skinnier brutes I -never saw standing together with halters round their necks;—but out of -the four I did pick one, guided by the bigness of his leg bones and by -the freedom of his pace. Everybody was against me,—our driver -preferring a younger horse, and the vendor assuring me that in passing -over an old grey animal I was altogether cutting my own throat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> But I -was firm, and then left the conclave, desiring my young friend to go -into the money question.</p> - -<p>The seller at first seemed to think that the price was a thing settled. -Had he not told the landlord that we might select one for £30;—and had -not the selection been made? He assumed a look of injured innocence as -though the astute Briton were endeavouring to get the better of the poor -Dutchman most dishonourably. Eventually, however, he consented to accept -£23, and the money was paid. Then came the criticism of the bystanders -thick and hard upon us. £23 for that brute! Was it true that we had -given the man £23 for an animal worth at the most £7 10s.? They had -allowed the seller to have his luck while the sale was going on, but -could not smother their envy when the money was absolutely in his -pocket. However we had our horse, whose capabilities were much better -than his appearance, and who stood to us gallantly in some after -difficulties in which his co-operation was much needed.</p> - -<p>Potchefstroom may probably contain something over 2,000 white -inhabitants. In saying this, however, I have nothing but guess work to -guide me. It is a town covering a very large area, with streets nearly a -mile in length;—but here again there is a great deficiency of houses. -In some of those streets a wanderer might fancy himself to be roaming -through some remote green lane in England, overshadowed through its -whole length by weeping willows. The road way under his feet will be -exactly that of a green lane;—here a rut, and there a meandering path -worn by children’s feet, and grass around him everywhere. Now and again -he will come<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span> across a cottage,—hardly more than a cabin,—with half a -dozen dirty children at the door. Such are the back streets at -Potchefstroom. And here too, as at Pretoria, there are hedges of roses, -long rows of crowded rose-bushes round the little houses of the better -class. There are spots so picturesque as almost to make the wanderer -fancy that it would be pleasant to live in a place so pretty, so -retired, and so quiet. But weeping willows and rose hedges would, I -fear, after a time become insufficient, and the wanderer who had chosen -to sojourn here under the influence of these attractions, might wish -himself back in some busier centre of the world’s business.</p> - -<p>Here also there is a great square in the centre of the town, with the -Dutch church in the midst of it,—by no means so ugly as the church at -Pretoria. The square is larger and very much more picturesque,—while -the sardine boxes and paper shirt-collars, so ubiquitous at the newer -town, are less obtrusive. The square when I was there was green with -grass on which horses were grazing, and here and there were stationed -the huge waggons of travellers who had “spanned out” their oxen and were -resting here under the tent coverings erected on their vehicles. The -scene as I saw it would have made an exquisite subject for a Dutch -landscape painter, and was especially Dutch in all its details.</p> - -<p>At one corner of the square the Judge was holding the Court in a large -room next to the Post-office which is kept for that and other public -services. The Judge I had met at Pretoria, and had been much struck by -his youth. One expects a judge to be reverend with years, but this was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> -hardly more than a boy judge. He had been brought from the Cape Bar to -act as Judge in the Transvaal before the annexation,—when the payment -even of a judge’s salary must have been a matter of much doubt. But the -annexation came speedily and the position of the new comer was made sure -by British authority. He at any rate must approve the great step taken -by Sir Theophilus Shepstone. I was assured when at Pretoria that the -Colony generally had every reason to be satisfied with the choice made -by the Republic. He will no doubt have assistant Judges and become a -Chief Justice before long and may probably live to be the oldest legal -pundit under the British Crown. I went into the Court to look at him -while at work, but was not much edified as the case then before him was -carried on in Dutch. Dutch and English have to be used in the Court as -one or the other language may be needed. An interpreter is present, but -as all the parties concerned in the case, including the Judge and the -jury, were conversant with Dutch, no interpreter was wanted when I was -there.</p> - -<p>From Potchefstroom to Klerksdorp our horses, including the new purchase, -did their work well. Here we found a clean little Inn kept by an -Englishman with a very nice English wife,—who regaled us with lamb and -mint-sauce and boiled potatoes, and provided clean sheets for our -couches. Why such a man, and especially why such a woman, should be at -such a place it is difficult to understand. For Klerksdorp is a town -consisting perhaps of a dozen houses. The mail cart passes but once a -week, and the other traffic on the road is chiefly that of ox-waggons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the following day, a Saturday, we travelled 50 miles, and, with our -horses very tired, reached a spot across the “Maquasie Spruit,” at which -a store or shop is kept and where we remained over the Sunday, -hospitably entertained by the owners of the establishment. Here we were -on land which has been claimed and possessed by the Transvaal Republic; -but which was given over to the Batlapin natives by a division generally -known in the later-day history of South African affairs as the Keate -award. The Batlapins are a branch of the great Bechuana tribe. Mr. Keate -in 1871 was Lieut.-Governor of Natal, and undertook, at the instance of -the British Government, to make an award between the Transvaal Republic -and the Batlapin Kafirs, whose Chief is and was a man called Gassibone. -I should hardly interest or instruct my readers by going deeply into the -vexed question of the Keate award. To Europeans living in South Africa -it is always abominable that anything should be given up or back to the -natives, and whatever is surrendered to them in the way of territory is -always resumed before long by hook or crook. There is a whole district -of the Transvaal Republic,—a county as we should say,—lying outside or -beyond the “Maquasie Spruit,”—called Bloomhof, with two towns, Bloomhof -and Christiana, each having perhaps a dozen houses,—and this the -Transvaal never did surrender. Governor Keate’s award was repudiated by -the Volksraad of the Transvaal, and a Dutch Landroost,—or -magistrate,—who however is an Englishman, was stationed at Christiana -and still remains there. This was a matter of no great trouble to us -while the Republic stood on its own<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span> legs. Though a Governor of ours had -made the award we were not bound to remedy Dutch injustice. But now what -are we to do? Are we to give back the country with its British and Dutch -inhabitants,—a dozen families at Bloomhof and a dozen more at -Christiana,—and the farmers here and there to the dominion of Gassibone -and his Batlapins? I think I may say that most certainly we shall do -nothing of the kind,—but with what excuse we shall escape the necessity -I do not see so clearly. In the meantime there is the Landroost at -Christiana,—now paid with British gold, who before the annexation was -paid with Transvaal notes worth 5s. to the nominal pound. When I talked -to him of Keate’s award and of Gassibone’s line, he laughed at me. -Annexation to British rule with all the beauties of British punctuality -was a great deal too good a thing to be sacrificed to a theory of -justice in favour of such a poor race of unfighting Kafirs as the -Batlapins! I have no doubt that he was right, and that the Transvaal -Colony will maintain a Landroost at Christiana as long as Landroosts -remain in that part of South Africa.</p> - -<p>But the question was a very vital one in that neighbourhood. As I was -passing over the Vaal in a punt to the Orange Free State a Boer who had -heard my name, and who paid me the undeserved compliment of thinking my -opinion on such a matter worth having, consulted me on his peculiar -case. After the Keate award, when by the decision then made the portion -of territory in question had been adjudged to be the property of -Gassibone and his tribe, this Boer had bought land of the Kafirs. The -land so pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span>cured had also been distributed by the Transvaal Republican -Government to those claiming it under the law as to burghers’ rights. -The rulers of the Transvaal Republic would not recognise any alienation -of land by contract with the Kafirs. Now, upon the annexation, my friend -had thought that the Keate award would be the law, and that his purchase -from the Kafirs would hold good. There was I, a grey-bearded Englishman -of repute, travelling the country. What did I think of it? I could only -refer him to the Landroost. The Landroost, he said, was against him. -“Then,” said I, “you may be sure that the facts will be against you, for -the Landroost will have the decision in his hands.” He assented to my -opinion as though it had come direct from Minos, merely remarking that -it was very hard upon him. I did not pity him much because it is -probable that he only gave the Kafirs a few head of cattle, and that he -bought the land from Kafirs who had no right of selling it away from -their tribe. At the “Maquasie Spruit,” where we first entered this -debateable land, the storekeepers were also anxious to know what was to -happen to them; but they were Scotchmen and were no doubt quite clear in -their own minds that the entire country would remain British soil.</p> - -<p>The next day we reached Bloomhof and on the day following Christiana. -This last place we entered anything but triumphantly, two of our horses -being so tired that we had to take them off the cart, and walk into the -place driving them before us. Two more days would take us to Kimberley -according to our appointed time, but these two days would be days of -long work. And here we heard for the first time<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> that there was a long -and weary region of sand before us in the portion of the Orange Free -State through which we must pass. It was evident to us that we could not -do it all with our own horses, and therefore we resolved to hire. This -was at first pronounced to be impossible, but the impossibility -vanished. Though there were certainly not more than twelve houses in the -place one belonged to a man who, oddly enough, had two spare horses out -in the veld. He was brought to us, and I shall never forget the look of -dismay and bewilderment which came across his countenance when he was -told that he must decide at once whether he would allow his horses to be -hired. “He must,” he said, as he seated himself near a bottle of Cape -brandy,—“he must have time to think about it!” When he was again -pressed, he groaned and shook himself. The landlord told us that the man -was so poor that his children had nothing to eat but mealies. The money -no doubt was desirable;—but how could he make up his mind in less than -two or three hours to what extent he might so raise his demand as not to -frighten away the customers which Providence had sent him, and yet -secure the uttermost sum after due chaffering and bargaining? At last -words were extracted from him. We should have two horses for sixteen -miles, for——well, say, for the incredibly small sum of £2. We -hurriedly offered him 30s., and he was at last bustled into the -impropriety of agreeing to our terms without taking a night’s rest to -sleep upon it. He was an agonised man as he assented, having been made -to understand that we must then and there make up our minds, whether we -would proceed early on the next day or stay for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> twenty-four hours to -refresh our own stud. The latter alternative would, however, have been -destructive to us, as our horses had already eaten up all the forage to -be found in Christiana. At seven the next morning two wretched little -ponies were brought in from the veld, one of which was lame. All -Christiana was standing in the street to watch us. I flicked the lame -animal with the driver’s long whip to see if he could trot, and then -pronounced in his favour. I fear I felt that his lameness would not -matter if he could be made to take us as far as “Blignaut’s punt” which -was now his destination. He was harnessed in, and on we went with the -two most infirm of our own team following behind us. We made the stage -with great success,—and whatever may have been the future state of that -pony he went out of harness apparently a much sounder animal than he -went in. From hence, after discussing the matter of Keate’s award with -the injured Dutchmen, we went on across the arid lands of the Orange -Free State to a Boer’s house in the wilderness, where we were assured -that we should be made welcome for that night. Our horses could hardly -take us there;—but they did do it, and we were made welcome. The Boer -was very much like the other Boers of the Transvaal,—a burly, handsome, -dirty man, with a very large, dirty family, and a dirty house,—but all -the manners of the owner of a baronial castle. He also had a private -tutor in his family, a Dutchman who had come out to make money, who knew -German and English, but who had failed in his career, and had undertaken -his present duties at the rate of £12 a month, besides his board and -lodging. I have known English gentlemen who have not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span> paid so highly for -their private tutors. This farm was altogether in the wilderness, the -land around being a sandy, stony desert, and not a shrub, hardly a blade -of grass, being visible. But we knew that our host had grown rich as a -farmer on it, owning in fee about 12,000 acres.</p> - -<p>On the next morning we were up early, but we could not get on without -the Boer’s assistance. One of our horses was again dying or seemed to be -dying. He was a pretty bay pony, the very fellow of the one we had lost -at Wonder Fontein. He had not ate his food all night, and when we took -him out at five in the morning he would do nothing but fall down in the -veld at our feet. He suffered excruciating agonies, groaning and -screaming as we looked at him. We gave him all that we had to -give,—French brandy and Castor oil. But nothing seemed to serve him. -Then there came to us a little Dutchman from a neighbouring waggon who -suggested that we should bleed our poor pony in the ear. The little -Dutchman was accordingly allowed the use of a penknife, and the animal’s -ear was slit. From that moment he recovered,—beginning at once to crop -what grass there was. I have often known the necessity of bleeding -horses for meagrims or staggers, by cutting the animal on the palate of -the mouth. But I had never before heard of operating on a horse’s ear; -and I think I may say that our pony was suffering, not from meagrims or -from staggers, but from cholic. I leave the fact to veterinary surgeons -at home; but our pony, after having almost died and then been bled on -the ear, travelled on with us bravely though without much strength to -help us.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span></p> - -<p>On this day we did at last reach the Diamond Fields, but our journey was -anything but comfortable. It was very hot and the greater part of the -road was so heavy with sand that we were forced to leave the cart and -walk. The Boer at whose house we had slept, lent us a horse to help us -for the first eight miles. Then we came to a little Dutch roadside -public house, the owner of which provided us with two horses to help us -on to Kimberley,—a distance of 27 miles,—for £2, sending with us a -Kafir boy to lead our tired horses and bring back his own. Eight miles -on we reached a hut in the wilderness where a Dutchman had made a dam, -and he allowed us to water our cattle charging us one and sixpence. From -thence on to Kimberley, through the heavy sand, there was not a drop of -water. We went very slowly ourselves, trudging on foot after the cart; -but the Kafir boy could not keep up with us, and he with the two poor -animals remained out in the veld all night. We did reach the town about -sunset, and I found myself once again restored to the delights of tubs, -telegrams, and bed linen.</p> - -<p>Here we parted with our cart, horses, and harness which,—including the -price of the animal purchased at Potchefstroom,—had cost us -£243,—selling them by auction and realising the respectable sum of £100 -by the sale. The auctioneer endeavoured to raise the speculative energy -of the bidders by telling them that the horses had all been bred at -“Orley Farm” for my own express use, “Orley Farm” being the name of a -novel written by me many years ago;—but I do not know that this romance -much affected the bidding. We had intended to have taken our<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> equipage -on to Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, which is about -80 miles from Kimberley; but my travelling companion was summoned back -to Capetown, and I would not make the journey, or undertake the nuisance -of the sale alone. We were of course told that, as things were at -present, horses were a mere drug at the Diamond Fields, and that a Cape -cart in Kimberley was a thing of no value at all. In my ignorance I -would have taken £10 for my share, and therefore when I heard what the -auctioneer had done for us I almost felt that my fortune had been made -for ever. I certainly think that if the purchaser had seen the team -coming into Kimberley he would have hesitated before he made his last -bid.</p> - -<p>I have endeavoured to give the reader the results so far of my -experience of South African travel. As regards money and time no doubt -both are to some extent sacrificed by the buying and selling of a -private carriage or cart. We had our horses on the road a month.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td>They coat us about 7s. 6d. a day each for their keep, or</td><td class="rt">£45</td></tr> -<tr><td>The expenses of the Cape boy who drove us amounted to about</td><td class="rt">15</td></tr> -<tr><td>The cart and horses and harness, as above shown, cost</td><td class="rt">143</td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt">Total </td> -<td class="rt" style="border-top:1px solid black; -border-bottom:3px double black;">£203</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">which, as we were two, must be divided, making our expense £101 10s. -each for about 700 miles. There are public conveyances over the whole -road which would carry a passenger with his luggage for about £40. We -travelled when on the road 30 miles a day on an average, whereas the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span>public carts make an average of 90. This seems to be all in favour of -the mail carts. And then it has to be acknowledged that the -responsibilities and difficulties of a private team are very wearing. -Horses in South Africa are peculiarly liable to sickness; and, though -they do a very large average of work, seem when tired to be more -incapable of getting over the ground than any other horses. The -necessity of providing forage,—sometimes where no forage is to be -had,—and of carrying large quantities on the cart; the agony of losing -a horse, and the nuisance of having to purchase or hire others; the -continual fear of being left as it were planted in the mud;—all these -things are very harassing, and teach the traveller to think that the -simplicity of the Mail Cart is beautiful. If misfortune happen to a -public conveyance the passenger is not responsible. He may be left -behind, but he always has the satisfaction of demanding from others that -he shall be carried on. On our route we encountered two sets of -travellers who had been left on the road through the laches of the Cart -Contractors; but in both cases the sufferers had the satisfaction of -threatening legal proceedings and of demanding damages. When one’s own -horse dies on the road, or one’s own wheel flies off the axle, there is -nobody to threaten, and personal loss is added to personal misery. All -this seems to be in favour of the simple Mail Cart.</p> - -<p>But there is another side to the question which I attempted to describe -when I told the tale of those unfortunate wretches who were forced to -wander about in the mud and darkness between Newcastle and Pretoria. -Such a journey as those gentlemen were compelled to make would in truth -kill<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span> a weakly person. Some of these conveyances travel day and night, -for four, five, or six consecutive days,—or stop perhaps for three or -four hours at some irregular time which can hardly be turned to account -for rest. Such journeys if they do not kill are likely to be -prejudicial, and for the time are almost agonizing. We with our own cart -and horses could get in and out when we pleased, could stop when we -liked and as long as we liked, and encountered no injurious fatigue. In -addition to this I must declare that I never enjoyed my meals more -thoroughly than I did those which we prepared for ourselves out in the -veld. Such comfort, however, must depend altogether on the nature of the -companion whom the traveller may have selected for himself. I had been, -in this respect, most fortunate. We had harassed minds when our horses -became sick or when difficulties arose as to feeding them; but our -bodies were not subjected to torment.</p> - -<p>These are the pros and the cons, as I found them, and which I now offer -for the service of any gentleman about to undertake South African -travel. Ladies, who make long journeys in these parts only when their -husbands or fathers have selected some new and more distant site for -their homes, are generally carried about on ox-waggons, in which they -live and sleep and take their meals. They progress about 16, 20, or -sometimes 24 miles a day, and find the life wearisome and uncomfortable. -But it is sure, and healthy, and when much luggage has to be carried, is -comparatively inexpensive.</p> - -<p>I had by no means finished my overland travels in South Africa on -reaching Kimberley. I had indeed four or five<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span> hundred miles still -before me, of which I shall speak as I go on. But I had learned that the -coaches to Bloemfontein, and thence down to Grahamstown were more -Christian in their nature, and more trustworthy than those which had -frightened me in the Transvaal. Partly on this account and partly -because my friend was deserting me I determined to trust myself to -them;—and therefore have given here this record of my experiences as to -a Cape cart and private team of horses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="GRIQUALAND_WEST" id="GRIQUALAND_WEST"></a>GRIQUALAND WEST.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>GRIQUALAND WEST—WHY WE TOOK IT.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Griqualand West</span> is the proper, or official, name for that part of South -Africa which is generally known in England as the Diamond Fields, and -which is at the period of my writing,—the latter part of 1877,—a -separate Colony belonging to the British Crown, under the jurisdiction -of the Governor of the Cape Colony, but in truth governed by a resident -administrator. Major Lanyon is now the occupier of the Government House, -and is “His Excellency of Griqualand” to all the Queen’s loyal British -subjects living in and about the mines. This is the present position of -things;—but the British Government has offered to annex the Province to -the Cape Colony, and the Cape Colony has at length agreed to accept the -charge,—subject to certain conditions as to representation and other -details. Those conditions are, I believe, now under consideration, and -if they be found acceptable,—as will probably be the case,—the -Colonial Office at home being apparently anxious to avoid the expense -and trouble of an additional little Colony,—Griqualand West and the -Diamond Fields will become a part of the Cape Colony in the course of -1878. The proposed conditions offer but one member for the Legislative<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span> -Council, and four for the Assembly, to join twenty-one members in the -former house, and sixty-eight in the latter. It is alleged very loudly -and perhaps correctly at the Fields that this number is smaller than -that to which the District is entitled if it is to be put on the same -footing with other portions of the great Colony. It is alleged also that -a class of the community which has shewn itself to be singularly -energetic should be treated at any rate not worse than its neighbours -who have been very much more slow in their movements, and less useful by -their industry to the world at large. Whether such remonstrances will -avail anything I doubt much. If they do not, I presume that the -annexation will almost be immediate.</p> - -<p>The history of Griqualand West does not go back to a distant antiquity, -but it is one which has given rise to a singularly large amount of -controversy and hot feeling, and has been debated at home with more than -usual animation and more than usual acerbity. In the course of last year -(1877) the “Quarterly” and the “Edinburgh Reviews” warmed themselves in -a contest respecting the Hottentot Waterboer and his West Griquas, and -the other Hottentot Adam Kok and his East Griquas, till South African -sparks were flying which reminded one of the glorious days of Sidney -Smith and Wilson Croker. Such writings are anonymous, and though one -knows in a certain sense who were the authors, in another sense one is -ignorant of anything except that an old-fashioned battle was carried on -about Kok and Waterboer in our two highly esteemed and reverend -Quarterlies. But as the conduct,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> not only of our Colonial Office, but -of Great Britain as an administrator of Colonies, was at stake,—as on -one side it was stated that an egregious wrong had been done from -questionable motives, and on the other that perfect state-craft and -perfect wisdom had been combined in the happy manner in which Griqualand -West with its diamonds had become British territory, I thought it might -be of interest to endeavour to get at the truth when I was on the spot. -But I have to own that I have failed in the attempt to find any exact -truth or to ascertain what abstract justice would have demanded. In -order to get at a semblance of truth and justice in the matter it has to -be presumed that a Hottentot Chief has understood the exact nature of a -treaty and the power of a treaty with the accuracy of an accomplished -European diplomate; and it has to be presumed also that the Hottentot’s -right to execute a treaty binding his tribe or nation is as well defined -and as firmly founded as that of a Minister of a great nation who has -the throne of his Sovereign and the constitutional omnipotence of his -country’s parliament at his back. In our many dealings with native -tribes we have repeatedly had to make treaties. These treaties we have -endeavoured to define, have endeavoured to explain; but it has always -been with the conviction that they can be trusted only to a certain very -limited extent.</p> - -<p>The question in dispute is whether we did an injustice to the Orange -Free State by taking possession of Griqualand West in 1871 when diamonds -had already been discovered there and the value of the district had been -acknowledged. At that time it was claimed by the Orange Free State -whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span> subjects had inhabited the land before a diamond had been found, -and which had levied taxes on the Boers who had taken up land there as -though the country had belonged to the Republic. Since the annexation -has been effected by us we have, in a measure, acknowledged the claim of -the Free State by agreeing to pay to it a sum of £90,000—as -compensation for what injustice we may have done; and we have so far -admitted that the Free State has had something to say for itself.</p> - -<p>The district in question at a period not very remote was as little -valuable perhaps as any land on the earth’s surface lying adjacent to -British territory. The first mention I find of the Griquas is of their -existence as a bastard Hottentot tribe in 1811 when one Adam Kok was -their captain. The word Griqua signifies bastard, and Adam Kok was -probably half Dutchman and half Hottentot. In 1821 Adam Kok was -dismissed or resigned, and Andreas Waterboer was elected in his place. -Kok then went eastwards with perhaps half the tribe, and settled himself -at a place which the reader will find on the map, under the name of -Philipolis, north of the Orange river in the now existing Orange Free -State. Then some line of demarcation was made between Waterboer’s lands -and Kok’s lands, which line leaves the Diamond Fields on one side or—on -the other. Adam Kok then trekked further eastward with the Griquas of -Griqualand East, as they had come to be called, to a territory south of -Natal, which had probably been depopulated by the Zulus. This territory -was then called No Man’s Land, but is now marked on the maps as Adam -Kok’s Land. But he gave some power of attorney<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span> enabling an agent to -sell the lands he left behind him, and under this power his lands were -sold to the Orange Free State which had established itself in 1854. The -Free State claims to have bought the Diamond Fields,—diamonds having -been then unknown,—under this deed. But it is alleged that the deed -only empowered the agent to sell the lands in and round Philipolis on -which Adam Kok’s Griquas had been living. It is certain, however, that -Adam Kok had continued to exercise a certain right of sovereignty over -the territory in question after his deposition or resignation, and that -he made over land to the Boers of the Free State by some deed which the -Boers had accepted as giving a good title. It is equally certain that -old Waterboer’s son had remonstrated against these proceedings and had -objected to the coming in of the Boers under Kok’s authority.</p> - -<p>We will now go back to old Andreas Waterboer, who for a Hottentot seems -to have been a remarkably good sort of person, and who as I have said -had been chosen chief of the Griquas when Adam Kok went out. In 1834 Sir -Benjamin D’Urban, that best and most ill-used of Cape Colony Governors, -made a treaty with old Andreas undertaking to recognise him in all his -rights, and obtaining a promise from the Hottentot to assist in -defending the British border from the hordes of savagery to the north. -There was also a clause under which the Hottentot was to receive a -stipend of £150 per annum. This treaty seems to have been kept with -faith on both sides till Waterboer died in December, 1852. The stipend -was punctually paid, and the Hottentot did a considerable quantity of -hard fighting on behalf of the British. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span> his death his son Nicholas -Waterboer came to reign in his stead. Nicholas is a Christian as was his -father, and is comparatively civilized;—but he is by no means so good a -Christian as was the old man, and his father’s old friends were not at -first inclined to keep up the acquaintance on the same terms.</p> - -<p>Nicholas, no doubt mindful of the annual stipend, asked to have the -treaty renewed in his favour. But other complications had arisen. In -1852 Messrs. Hogge and Owen had acted as Commissioners for giving over -the Transvaal as a separate Republic and in the deed of transference it -was agreed that there should not be any special treaties between the -Cape Colony and the Natives north of the Orange river, as it was thought -that such treaties would interfere with the independence of the -Republic. Poor Nicholas for a time suffered under this arrangement, but -in 1858 a letter was written to him saying that all that had been done -for his father should be done for him,—and the payment of the £150 per -annum was continued though no treaty was made.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>In the mean time, in 1854, the severance had been made of the Orange -Free State from the Colony, the bounds of which were not then settled -with much precision. Had they been declared to be the Orange and the -Vaal rivers in reference to the North, East, and South, the Diamond -Fields would have been included,—or the greater part of the Diamond -Fields. But that would not have settled the question, as England could -not have ceded what she did not possess. Thus there was a corner of land -as there have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span> been many corners in South Africa, respecting which there -was doubts as to ownership. Waterboer alleged that the line which his -father and old Adam Kok had made so long ago as 1821,—with what -geometrical resources they might then have,—gave him a certain -apparently valueless tract of land, and those again who assumed a right -to Adam Kok’s land, asserted that the line gave it to them. The Kokites, -however, had this point in their favour, that they had in some sort -occupied the land,—having sold it or granted leases on it to Dutch -Boers who paid taxes to the Orange Free State in spite of Waterboer’s -remonstrances.</p> - -<p>But the matter at the time was in truth unimportant. Encroachments were -made also into this very district of Griqualand from the other Republic -also. In speaking of the Transvaal I have already described the position -there to which such encroachments had led. A treaty became necessary to -check the Transvaal Boers from establishing themselves on Griqualand, -and the Transvaal authorities with the native Chiefs, and our Governor -at the Cape, agreed that the matter should be referred to an umpire. Mr. -Keate, the Lieut. Governor of Natal, was chosen and the Keate award was -made. But the land in question was not valuable; diamonds had not yet -been found, and the question was not weighty enough to create determined -action. The Transvaal rejected the treaty, and the Transvaal Boers, as -well as those from the Free State, continued to occupy land in -Griqualand West. Now the land of the Transvaal Republic has come back -into our hands, and there is one little difficulty the more to solve.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span></p> - -<p>Then, in 1869, the first diamond was found on a farm possessed by an -Orange Free State Boer, and in 1871 Nicholas Waterboer, claiming -possession of the land, and making his claim good to British colonial -intellects, executed a treaty ceding to the British the whole district -of Griqualand West,—a tract of land about half as big as Scotland, -containing 17,800 square miles. There had by this time grown up a vast -diamond seeking population which was manifestly in want of government. -Waterboer himself could certainly do nothing to govern the free, -loudspeaking, resolute body of men which had suddenly settled itself -upon the territory which he claimed. Though he considered himself to be -Captain of the Country, he would have been treated with no more respect -than any other Hottentot had he shown himself at the diggings. Yet he no -doubt felt that such a piece of luck having turned up on what he -considered to be his own soil, he ought to get something out of it. So -he made a treaty, ceding the country to Great Britain in 1871. In 1872 -his stipend was raised to £250,—in 1873 to £500; and an agreement has -now been made, dated I think in October 1877, increasing this to £1,000 -a year, with an allowance of £500 to his widow and children after his -death. It was upon this deed that we took possession of Griqualand West -with all its diamonds; but the Orange Free State at once asserted its -claim,—based on present possession and on the purchase of Adam Kok’s -rights.</p> - -<p>I think I shall not be contradicted when I say that amidst such a -condition of things it is very hard to determine where is precisely the -truth and what perfect abstract justice would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span> have demanded. I cannot -myself feel altogether content with the title to a country which we have -bought from a Hottentot for an allowance of £1,000 a year with a pension -of £500 to his wife and children. Much less can I assent to the title -put forward by the Free State in consequence of their negotiation with -Adam Kok’s Agent. The excuse for annexation does not in my mind rest on -such buyings and sellings. I have always felt that my sense of justice -could not be satisfied as to any purchase of territory by civilized from -uncivilized people,—first because the idea of the value of the land is -essentially different in the minds of the two contracting parties; and -secondly because whatever may be the tribal customs of a people as to -land I cannot acknowledge the right of a Chieftain to alienate the -property of his tribe,—and the less so when the price given takes the -form of an annuity for life to one or two individuals.</p> - -<p>The real excuse is to be found in that order of things which has often -in the affairs of our Colonies made a duty clear to us, though we have -been unable to reconcile that duty with abstract justice. When we -accepted the cession of the Province in 1871 the Free State was no doubt -making an attempt to regulate affairs at the Diamond Fields; but it was -but a feeble attempt. The Republic had not at its back the power needed -for saying this shall be law, and that shall be law, and for enforcing -the laws so enacted. And if the claim of Great Britain to the land was -imperfect, so was that of the Free State. The persons most interested in -the matter prayed for our interference, and felt that they could live -only under our Government. There had no doubt been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span> occupation after a -kind. A few Boers here and there had possessed themselves of the lands, -buying them by some shifty means either from the Natives or from those -who alleged that they had purchased them from the Natives. And, as I -have said, taxes were levied. But I cannot learn that any direct and -absolute claim had ever been made to national dominion,—as is made by -ourselves and other nations when on a new-found shore we fly our -national flags. The Dutch had encroached over the border of the Griquas -and then justified their encroachment by their dealings with Adam Kok. -We have done much the same and have justified our encroachment by our -dealings with Nicholas Waterboer. But history will justify us because it -was essentially necessary that an English speaking population of a -peculiarly bold and aggressive nature should be made subject to law and -order.</p> - -<p>The accusation against our Colonial Office of having stolen the Diamond -Fields because Diamonds are peculiarly rich and desirable can not hold -water for an instant. If that were so in what bosom did the passion rise -and how was it to be gratified? A man may have a lust for power as -Alexander had, and Napoleon,—a lust to which many a British Minister -has in former days been a prey; but, even though we might possibly have -a Colonial Secretary at this time so opposed in his ideas to the -existing theories and feelings of our statesmen as to be willing to -increase his responsibilities by adding new Colonies to our long list of -dependencies, I cannot conceive that his ambition should take the shape -of annexing an additional digging population. Has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span> any individual either -claimed or received glory by annexing Griqualand West? From the -operations of such a Province as the Diamond Fields it is not the mother -country that reaps the reward, but the population whether they be -English, Dutch, or Americans,—the difficult task of ruling whom the -mother country is driven to assume.</p> - -<p>It is known to all Englishmen who have watched the course of our -colonial history for the last forty years that nothing can be so little -pleasant to a Secretary of State for the Colonies as the idea of a new -Colony. Though they have accrued to us, one after the other, with -terrible rapidity there has always been an attempt made to reject them. -The Colonial Secretary has been like an old hen to whose large brood -another and another chick is ever being added,—as though her powers of -stretching her wings were unlimited. She does stretch them, like a good -old mother with her maternal instincts, but with most unwilling efforts, -till the bystander thinks that not a feather of protection could be -given to another youngling. But another comes and the old hen stretches -herself still wider,—most painfully.</p> - -<p>New Zealand is now perhaps the pet of our colonial family; and yet what -efforts were made when Lord Normanby and afterwards when Lord John -Russell were at the Colonies to stave off the necessity of taking -possession of the land! But Englishmen had settled themselves in such -numbers on her shores that England was forced to send forth the means of -governing her own children. The same thing happened, as I have attempted -to tell, both in British Kafraria and Natal. The same thing happened the -other<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span> day in the Fiji Islands. The same feeling, acting in an inverse -way,—repudiating the chicks instead of taking them in,—induced us to -give over the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to Republicanism. Our -repudiation of the former has lasted but for a quarter of a century, and -there are many now of British race to be found in South Africa who are -confident that we shall have to take the Orange Free State in among the -brood in about the same period from her birth. British rule in distant -parts, much as it is abused, is so precious a blessing that men will -have it, and the old hen is forced to stretch her poor old wings again -and still again.</p> - -<p>This I hold to be the real and unanswerable excuse for what we have done -in Griqualand West and not our treaty with Waterboer. As far as right -devolving from any treaty goes I think that we have the best of it,—but -not so much the best, that even could I recognize those treaties as -conveying all they are held to convey, I should declare our title to be -complete. But, that such treaties are for the most part powerless when -pressure comes, is proved by our own doings and by those of other -nations all round the world. We have just annexed the Transvaal,—with -the approbation of both sides in the House of Commons. Our excuse is -that though the Transvaal was an independent State she was so little -able to take care of herself that we were obliged to enter in upon her, -as the law does on the estate of a lunatic. But how would it have been -if the Transvaal instead of the Orange Free State had been our -competitor for the government of the Diamond Fields? If we can justify -ourselves in annexing a whole Republic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span> surely we should not have -scrupled to take the assumed dependency of a Republic. In such doings we -have to reconcile ourselves to expedience, however abhorrent such a -doctrine may be to us in our own private affairs. Here it was expedient -that a large body, chiefly of Englishmen, should, for their own comfort -and well being, be brought under rule. If in following out the doctrine -any abstract injustice was done, it was not against the Orange Free -State, but against the tribes whom no Waterboer and no Adam Kok could in -truth be authorized to hand over either to British or to Dutch -Republican rule.</p> - -<p>For a while I was minded to go closely into the question of Kok v. -Waterboer and to put forward what might probably have been a crude -expression of the right either of the one Hottentot or of the other to -make over at any rate his power and his privileges of government. But I -convinced myself, when on the spot, that neither could have much right, -and that whatever right either might have, was so far buried in the -obscurity of savagery in general, that I could not possibly get at the -bottom of it so as to form any valid opinion. Books have been written on -the subject, on the one side and on the other, which have not I think -been much studied. Were I to write no more than a chapter on it my -readers would pass it by. The intelligence of England will not engage -itself on unravelling the geographical facts of a line of demarcation -made between two Hottentot Chieftains when the land was comparatively -valueless, and when such line could only be signified by the names of -places of which the exact position<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span> can hardly even now be ascertained. -When subsequently I read the report which the Secretary of State for the -Colonies made to the Governor of the Cape Colony on 5 August 1876, -informing the Governor of the terms under which he and the President of -the Orange Free State had agreed to compromise the matter, I was glad to -find that he, in his final discussions with the President, had come to -the same conclusion. I here quote the words in which Lord Carnarvon -expressed himself to Sir Henry Barkly;—and I would say that I fully -agree with him were it not that such testimony might seem to be -impertinent. “At the earlier interviews Mr. Brand repeatedly expressed -his desire to submit proof of the claim preferred by his Government to a -great part of Griqualand West. I had however determined from the first -that there would be no advantage in entering upon such on enquiry. It -was obvious that there could be no prospect of our coming to an -agreement on a question which teemed with local details and personal -contentions.”</p> - -<p>The Secretary of State goes on to explain the circumstances under which -the £90,000 are to be given. I will confess for myself that I should -almost have preferred to have stuck to the territory without paying the -money. If it be our “destiny” to rule people I do not think that we -ought to pay for assuming an office which we cannot avoid. The Secretary -of State in this report strongly reasserts the British right to -Griqualand West,—though he acknowledges that he cannot hope by mere -eloquence to convince President Brand of that right. “As you think you -are wronged,” the Secretary goes on to argue, “we will consent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span> to -compensate the wrong which we feel sure you have not suffered, but which -you think you have endured, so that there need be no quarrel between -us.” Probably it was the easiest way out of the difficulty; but there is -something in it to regret. It must of course be understood that the -£90,000 will not be paid by the British taxpayer, but will be gathered -from the riches of Griqualand West herself.</p> - -<p>On the 27 October 1871 the Diamond Fields were declared to be British -territory. But such a declaration, even had it not been opposed by the -Free State and the friends of the Free State, would by no means have -made the course of British rule plain and simple. There have, from that -day to this, arisen a series of questions to settle and difficulties to -solve which, as they crop up to the enquirer’s mind, would seem to have -been sufficient to have overcome the patience of any Colonial Secretary -even though he had not another Colony on his shoulders. If there was any -Colonial sinner,—Secretary, Governor, or subordinate,—who carried away -by the lust of empire had sought to gratify his ambition by annexing -Griqualand West, he must certainly have repented himself in sackcloth -and ashes before this time (the end of 1877) when the vexed question of -annexation or non-annexation to the Cape Colony is hardly yet settled. -When the territory was first accepted by Great Britain it was done on an -understanding that the Cape Colony should take it and rule it, and pay -for it,—or make it pay for itself. The Colonial Secretary of the day -declared in an official dispatch that he would not consent to the -annexation unless, “the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span> Cape Parliament would personally bind itself to -accept the responsibility of governing the territory which was to be -united to it, together with the entire maintenance of any force which -might be necessary for the preservation of order.” It must be presumed -therefore that the lust for empire did not exist in Downing Street. The -Cape Parliament did so far accede to the stipulation made by the -Secretary of State, as to pass a resolution of assent. They would -agree,—seeing that British rule could not in any other way be obtained. -But an intermediate moment was necessary,—a moment which should admit -of the arrangement of terms,—between the absolute act of assumption by -Great Britain and the annexation by the Colony. That moment has been -much prolonged, and has not yet, as I write, been brought to an end. So -that the lust for rule over the richest diamond fields in the world -seems hardly to be very strong even in the Colony. Though the Parliament -of the Colony had assented to the requisition from Downing Street, it -afterwards,—not unnaturally,—declined to take the matter in hand till -the Government at home had settled its difficulties with the Orange Free -State. The Free State had withdrawn whatever officers it had had on the -Fields, and had remonstrated. That difficulty is now solved;—and the -Cape Colony has passed a bill shewing on what terms it will annex the -territory. The terms are very unpopular in the district,—as indeed is -the idea of annexation to the Cape Colony at all. Griqualand would very -much prefer to continue a separate dependency, with a little Council of -its own. The intention however of the mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">{153}</a></span> country and of the Colony -has been too clearly expressed for doubt on that subject. They are both -determined that the annexation shall take place, and the Colony will -probably be able to dictate the terms.</p> - -<p>But there have been other difficulties sufficient almost to break the -heart of all concerned. Who did the land belong to on which the diamonds -were being found, and what were the rights of the owners either to the -stones beneath the surface, or to the use of the surface for the purpose -of searching? The most valuable spot in the district, called at first -the Colesberg Kopje,—Kopje being little hill,—and now known as the -Kimberley mine, had been on a farm called Vooruitzuit belonging to a -Dutchman named De Beer. This farm he sold to a firm of Englishmen for -the very moderate sum of £6,600,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>—a sum however which to him must -have appeared enormous,—and the firm soon afterwards sold it to the -Government for £100,000. To this purchase the Government was driven by -the difficulties of the position. Diggers were digging and paying 10s. a -month for their claims to the owners of the soil, justifying themselves -in that payment by the original edict of the Free State, while the -owners were claiming £10 a month, and asserting their right to do as -they pleased with their own property. The diggers declared their purpose -of resisting by force any who interfered with them;—and the owners of -the soil were probably in league with the diggers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">{154}</a></span> so as to enhance the -difficulties, and force the Government to purchase. The Government was -obliged to buy and paid the enormous sum of £100,000 for the farm. Many -stories could be told of the almost inextricable complexities which -attended the settlement of claims to property while the diggers were -arming and drilling and declaring that they would take the law into -their own hands if they were interfered with in their industry.</p> - -<p>In 1872 the population had become so great,—and, as was natural in such -circumstances, so unruly,—that the Governor of the Cape Colony, who is -also High Commissioner for all our South African territories, was -obliged to recommend that a separate Lieutenant Governor should be -appointed, and Mr. Southey who had long held official employment in the -Cape Colony was sent to fill the place. Here he remained till 1875, -encumbered by hardships of which the difficulty of raising a sufficient -revenue to pay the expenses of the place was not the least. Diamonds -were being extracted worth many millions, but the diamonds did not come -into the pocket of the Government. In such localities the great source -of revenue,—that which is generally most available,—is found in the -Custom duties levied on the goods consumed by the diggers. But here, -though the diggers consumed manfully, the Custom duties levied went -elsewhere. Griqualand West possessed no port and could maintain no -cordon of officers to prevent goods coming over her borders without -taxation. The Cape Colony which has been so slow to annex the land got -the chief advantages from the consumption of the Diamond Fields, sharing -it, however, with Natal. Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">{155}</a></span> Southey is said to have had but thirty -policemen with him to assist in keeping the peace, and was forced to ask -for the assistance of troops from the Cape. Troops were at last sent -from Capetown,—at an expense of about £20,000 to Griqualand West. -During all this time it may easily be conceived that no British -aggressor had as yet obtained the fruition of that rich empire for which -he is supposed to have lusted when annexing the country.</p> - -<p>The Lieutenant Governor with his thirty policemen,—and the sudden -influx of about 300 soldiers from the Cape—was found to be too -expensive for the capabilities of the place. “In 1875,” says the -Colonial Office List for 1877, “the condition of the finances rendered -it necessary to reduce the civil establishment, and the office of -Lieutenant Governor, as well as that of Secretary to Government, was -discontinued, and an administrator appointed.” That administrator has -been Major Lanyon who has simply been a Lieutenant Governor with a -salary somewhat less than that of his predecessor. That the difficulty -of administering the affairs of the Colony have been lessened during his -period of office, may in part be due to circumstances and the more -settled condition of men’s minds. But with such a task as he has had not -to have failed is sufficient claim for praise. There have been no -serious outrages since he reached the Fields.</p> - -<p>Annexation to the Cape Colony will probably take place. But what will -come next? The Province does not want annexation;—but specially wants -an adequate, we may say a large share in the constituencies of the joint -Colonies should annexation be carried out. I sympathise with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">{156}</a></span> Griqualand -West in the first feeling. I do not think that the diggers of the -Diamond Fields will be satisfied with legislation carried on at -Capetown. I do not think that a parliamentary majority at Capetown will -know how to manage the diggers. Kimberley is so peculiar a place, and so -likely to shew its feeling of offence against the Government if it be -offended, that I fear it will be a very thorn in the side of any -possible Cape Colony Prime Minister. That Downing Street should wish to -make over to the Colony the rich treasure, which we are told has been -acquired with so much violence and avarice, I am not surprised,—though -such annexation must be prejudicial to that desire for South African -Confederation which is now strong in Colonial Office bosoms;—but that -the Colony should accept the burden while she already possesses that -which generally makes such burdens acceptable,—viz., the Custom duties -on the goods consumed by the people,—is to me a marvel. It may be that -the Cape Parliament was induced to give its first assent by the strongly -expressed wishes of the Secretary of State at home, and that it can -hardly now recede from the promise it then made.</p> - -<p>But in regard to the share which Griqualand claims in the two -legislative Houses of the future combined Colonies I cannot at all wish -her to prevail. It may be natural that a community should desire to be -largely represented without looking forward to all the circumstances by -which such representation may be affected. The population of the Diamond -Fields is supposed to consist of about 15,000 whites and 30,000 natives. -Of the latter number about 12,000 are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">{157}</a></span> men employed in the mines. The -other 18,000 natives who are living on their own lands may he eliminated -from our present enquiry. Of the 15,000 white persons we will say that a -half are men who would be entitled to vote under the present franchise -of the Cape Colony. The number would shew a very large proportion of -adult males, but a digging population will always have an excessive -population of men. But the 12,000 natives would, with a very small -deduction on account of women, all be enabled to claim a right to be -registered.</p> - -<p>The Cape Colony franchise is given to all men with certain -qualifications. One qualification, and that the broadest,—is that a man -shall be earning wages at the rate of £25 a year and his diet. And he -must either have been born a British subject, or born in a Dutch South -African territory taken over by the British Government. The latter -clause was inserted no doubt with the intention of saving from exclusion -any men then still living who might have been born when the Cape of Good -Hope was a Dutch Colony; but in justice must be held to include also -those born in the Transvaal when the Transvaal was a Dutch Republic. The -meaning is that all shall vote, who are otherwise qualified, who have -been born English subjects or have become English subjects by annexation -from Dutch rule. The majority of the Kafirs now working at the Diamond -Fields have been born in the Transvaal; some indeed at Natal, some few -in Zululand which is not English, and some few beyond the Limpopo, on -native territory which has never been either Dutch or English. But the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">{158}</a></span> -great majority are from the distant parts of the Transvaal;—and, with a -Kafir as with a white man who should assert himself to be born an -English subject or a Transvaalian, the onus probandi would be with those -who objected to, or denied, the claim. Every Kafir about the mines earns -at the lowest 10s. a week, or £26 10s. per annum and his diet, and it -would be found I think impossible to reject their claim to be registered -as voters if their names were brought up on the lists.</p> - -<p>There will be those at home who will say,—why should they not vote if -they are industrious labourers earning wages at so high a rate? But no -white man who has been in South Africa and knows anything of South -Africa will say that. A very eminent member of the House of Commons,—a -friend of my own whom I respect as a politician as highly as any man of -the present day,—gently murmured a complaint in discussing the South -African permissive bill as to the statement which had been made by the -Secretary of State “that until the civilization of the Natives -throughout South Africa had made considerable progress it would be -desirable that they should not have direct representation in the -Legislative Assembly of the Union;”—that is in the Confederated Union -sanctioned by the permissive bill. My friend’s philanthropic feelings -were hurt by the idea that the coloured man should be excluded from the -franchise. But the suggestion contained in this speech that the Kafir -should have a vote is received by Europeans in South Africa simply with -a smile. Were it granted and could it be generally used at the will and -in accordance with the judgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">{159}</a></span> of the Kafir himself all Europeans -would at once leave the country, and South Africa would again become the -prey of the strongest handed among the Natives then existing. That -Englishmen should live under a policy devised or depending upon Negroes -I believe to be altogether impossible. Nor will such an attempt be made. -Let the law say what it will as to suffrage that state of things will be -avoided,—if not otherwise, then by force.</p> - -<p>It is not that I think that the Kafirs about the Diamond Fields will at -once swarm to the poll as soon as the franchise of the Cape Colony shall -make it possible for them to do so. That is not the way the evil will -shew itself. They will care nothing for the franchise and will not be at -the trouble to understand its nature. But certain Europeans will -understand it,—politicians not of the first class,—and they will -endeavour to use for their own purposes a privilege which will have been -thoughtlessly conferred. Such politicians will not improbably secure -election by Kafir votes, and will cause to be done exactly that which -the most respectable employers of labour in the place will think most -prejudicial to the interests of the place. And after a while the Negroes -of Griqualand West will learn the powers which they possess as have the -Negroes of the Southern American States, and thus there will spring up a -contest as to the party in which is to be vested the political power of -the district. I do not doubt how the contest would end. The white men -would certainly prevail however small might be their numbers, and -however great the majority of the Kafirs. But I am sure that no part of -South Africa would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">{160}</a></span> willingly subject itself to the possibility of such -a condition. I think that the franchise of the Cape Colony has been,—I -will not say fixed too low, but arranged injudiciously in regard to the -population of the Colony itself;—but I am even more strongly of opinion -that that franchise is not at all adapted to the population of the -Diamond Fields. Considering the nature of the task it may be doubted -whether the country of the diamonds would not be best ruled as a Crown -Colony.</p> - -<p>At the present moment, pending annexation, the Government is carried on -by an administrator with a Council of seven besides himself,—eight in -all. Four are appointed and enjoy salaries, while four are elected and -are not paid. If necessary for a majority the administrator has two -votes. But a quorum of five is necessary of which quorum two must be -elected members. The consequence is that unless two of the elected -members are staunch to the Government, every thing is liable to be -brought to a stand still. One or two elected members take up their hats -and walk out,—and all business is at an end for the day. This, to say -the least of it, is awkward. The evil would be much remedied, if it were -required that in forming the quorum of five one elected member would be -sufficient. Out of eight a quorum of four might be held to suffice of -which one might be an elected member.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">{161}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE STORY OF THE DIAMOND FIELDS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> first known finding of a diamond in South Africa was as recent as -1867;—so that the entire business which has well nigh deluged the world -of luxury with precious stones and has added so many difficulties to the -task of British rule in South Africa is only now,—in 1877,—ten years -old. Mr. Morton, an American gentleman who lectured on the subject -before the American Geographical Society in the early part of 1877 tells -us that “Across a mission map of this very tract printed in 1750 is -written, ‘Here be Diamonds;’<span class="lftspc">”</span>—that the Natives had long used the -diamonds for boring other stones, and that it was their practice to make -periodical visits to what are now the Diamond Fields to procure their -supply. I have not been fortunate enough to see such a map, nor have I -heard the story adequately confirmed, so as to make me believe that any -customary search was ever made here for diamonds even by the Natives. I -am indeed inclined to doubt the existence of any record of South African -diamonds previous to 1867, thinking that Mr. Morton must have been led -astray by some unguarded assertion. Such a map would be most interesting -if it could be produced.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">{162}</a></span> For all British and South African -purposes,—whether in regard to politics, wealth, or geological enquiry -the finding of the diamond in 1867 was the beginning of the affair.</p> - -<p>And this diamond was found by accident and could not for a time obtain -any credence. It is first known to have been seen at the house of a -Dutch farmer named Jacobs in the northern limits of the Cape Colony, and -South of the Orange river. It had probably been brought from the bed of -the stream or from the other side of the river. The “other side” would -be, in Griqualand West, the land of diamonds. As far as I can learn -there is no idea that diamonds have been deposited by nature in the soil -of the Cape Colony proper. At Jacobs’ house it was seen in the hands of -one of the children by another Boer named Van Niekerk, who observing -that it was brighter and also heavier than other stones, and thinking it -to be too valuable for a plaything offered to buy it. But the child’s -mother would not sell such a trifle and gave it to Van Niekerk. From Van -Niekerk it was passed on to one O’Reilly who seems to have been the -first to imagine it to be a diamond. He took it to Capetown where he -could get no faith for his stone, and thence back to Colesberg on the -northern extremity of the Colony where it was again encountered with -ridicule. But it became matter of discussion and was at last sent to Dr. -Atherstone of Grahamstown who was known to be a geologist and a man of -science. He surprised the world of South Africa by declaring the stone -to be an undoubted diamond. It weighed over 21<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">{163}</a></span> carats and was sold to -Sir P. Wodehouse, the then Governor of the Colony, for £500.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>In 1868 and 1869 various diamonds were found, and the search for them -was no doubt instigated by Van Niekerk’s and O’Reilly’s success;—but -nothing great was done nor did the belief prevail that South Africa was -a country richer in precious stones than any other region yet -discovered. Those which were brought to the light during these two years -may I believe yet be numbered, and no general belief had been created. -But some searching by individuals was continued. The same Van Niekerk -who had received the first diamond from the child not unnaturally had -his imagination fired by his success. Either in 1868 or 1869 he heard of -a large stone which was then in the hands of a Kafir witch-doctor from -whom he succeeded in buying it, giving for it as the story goes all his -sheep and all his horses. But the purchase was a good one,—for a -Dutchman’s flocks are not often very numerous or very valuable,—and he -sold the diamond to merchants in the neighbourhood for £11,200. It -weighed 83 carats, and is said to be perfect in all its appointments as -to water, shape, and whiteness. It became known among diamonds and was -christened the Star of South Africa. After a law suit, during which an -interdict was pronounced forbidding its exportation or sale, it made its -way to the establishment of Messrs. Hunt and Rosskill<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">{164}</a></span> from whom it was -purchased for the delight of a lovely British Countess.</p> - -<p>Even then the question whether this part of South Africa was -diamondiferous<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> had not been settled to the satisfaction of persons -who concern themselves in the produce and distribution of diamonds. -There seems to have been almost an Anti-South African party in the -diamond market, as though it was too much to expect that from a spot so -insignificant as this corner of the Orange and Vaal rivers should be -found a rival to the time-honoured glories of Brazil and India. It was -too good to believe,—or to some perhaps too bad,—that there should -suddenly come a plethora of diamonds from among the Hottentots.</p> - -<p>It was in 1870 that the question seems to have got itself so settled -that some portion of the speculative energy of the world was enabled to -fix itself on the new Diamond Fields. In that year various white men set -themselves seriously to work in searching the banks of the Vaal up and -down between Hebron and Klipdrift,—or Barkly as it is now called, and -many small parcels of stones were bought from Natives who had been -instigated to search by what they had already heard. The operations of -those times are now called the “river diggings” in distinction to the -“dry diggings,” which are works of much greater magnitude carried on in -a much more scientific manner away from the river,—and which certainly -are in all respects “dry” enough. But at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">{165}</a></span> first the searchers confined -themselves chiefly to the river bed and to the small confluents of the -river, scraping up into their mining cradles the shingles and dirt they -had collected, and shaking and washing away the grit and mud, till they -could see by turning the remaining stones over with a bit of slate on a -board whether Fortune had sent on that morning a peculiar sparkle among -the lot.</p> - -<p>I was taken up to Barkly “on a picnic” as people say; and a very nice -picnic it was,—one of the pleasantest days I had in South Africa. The -object was to shew me the Vaal river, and the little town which had been -the capital of the diamond country before the grand discovery at -Colesberg Kopje had made the town of Kimberley. There is nothing -peculiar about Barkly as a South African town, except that it is already -half deserted. There may be perhaps a score of houses there most of -which are much better built than those at Kimberley. They are made of -rough stone, or of mud and whitewash; and, if I do not mistake, one of -them had two storeys. There was an hotel,—quite full although the place -is deserted,—and clustering round it were six or seven idle gentlemen -all of whom were or had been connected with diamonds. I am often struck -by the amount of idleness which persons can allow themselves whose -occupations have diverged from the common work of the world.</p> - -<p>When at Barkly we got ourselves and our provisions into a boat so that -we might have our picnic properly, under the trees at the other side of -the river,—for opposite to Barkly is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">{166}</a></span> to be found the luxury of trees. -As we were rowed down the river we saw a white man with two Kafirs -poking about his stones and gravel on a miner’s ricketty table under a -little tent on the beach. He was a digger who had still clung to the -“river” business; a Frenchman who had come to try his luck there a few -days since. On the Monday previous,—we were told,—he had found a 13 -carat white stone without a flaw. This would be enough perhaps to keep -him going and almost to satisfy him for a month. Had he missed that one -stone he would probably have left the place after a week. Now he would -go on through days and days without finding another sparkle. I can -conceive no occupation on earth more dreary,—hardly any more -demoralizing than this of perpetually turning over dirt in quest of a -peculiar little stone which may turn up once a week or may not. I could -not but think, as I watched the man, of the comparative nobility of the -work of a shoemaker who by every pull at his thread is helping to keep -some person’s foot dry.</p> - -<p>After our dinner we walked along the bank and found another “river” -digger, though this man’s claim might perhaps be removed a couple of -hundred yards from the water. He was an Englishman and we stood awhile -and talked to him. He had one Kafir with him to whom he paid 7s. a week -and his food, and he too had found one or two stones which he shewed -us,—just enough to make the place tenable. He had got upon an old -digging which he was clearing out lower. He had, however, in one place -reached the hard stone at the bottom, in, or below, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">{167}</a></span> there could -be no diamonds. There was however a certain quantity of diamondiferous -matter left, and as he had already found stones he thought that it might -pay him to work through the remainder. He was a most good-humoured -well-mannered man, with a pleasant fund of humour. When I asked him of -his fortune generally at the diggings, he told us among other things -that he had broken his shoulder bone at the diggings, which he displayed -to us in order that we might see how badly the surgeon had used him. He -had no pain to complain of,—or weakness; but his shoulder had not been -made beautiful. “And who did it?” said the gentleman who was our -Amphytrion at the picnic and is himself one of the leading practitioners -of the Fields. “I think it was one Dr. ——,” said the digger, naming our -friend whom no doubt he knew. I need not say that the doctor loudly -disclaimed ever having had previous acquaintance with the shoulder.</p> - -<p>The Kafir was washing the dirt in a rough cradle, separating the stones -from the dust, and the owner, as each sieve-full was brought to him, -threw out the stones on his table and sorted them through with the -eternal bit of slate or iron formed into the shape of a trowel. For the -chance of a sieve-full one of our party offered him half a crown,—which -he took. I was glad to see it all inspected without a diamond, as had -there been anything good the poor fellow’s disappointment must have been -great. That halfcrown was probably all that he would earn during the -week,—all that he would earn perhaps for a month. Then there might come -three or four stones in one day. I should think that the tedious<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">{168}</a></span> -despair of the vacant days could hardly be compensated by the triumph of -the lucky minute. These “river” diggers have this in their favour,—that -the stones found near the river are more likely to be white and pure -than those which are extracted from the mines. The Vaal itself in the -neighbourhood of Barkly is pretty,—with rocks in its bed and islands -and trees on its banks. But the country around, and from thence to -Kimberley, which is twenty-four miles distant, is as ugly as flatness, -barrenness and sand together can make the face of the earth.</p> - -<p>The commencement of diamond-digging as a settled industry was in 1872. -It was then that dry-digging was commenced, which consists of the -regulated removal of ground found to be diamondiferous and of the -washing and examination of every fraction of the soil. The district -which we as yet know to be so specially gifted extends up and down the -Vaal river from the confluence of the Modder to Hebron, about 75 miles, -and includes a small district on the east side of the river. Here, -within 12 miles of the river, and within a circle of which the diameter -is about 2½ miles, are contained all the mines,—or dry diggings,—from -which have come the real wealth of the country. I should have said that -the most precious diamond yet produced, one of 288 carats, was found -close to the river about 12 miles from Barkly. This prize was made in -1872.</p> - -<p>It is of the dry diggings that the future student of the Diamond Fields -of South Africa will have to take chief account. The river diggings were -only the prospecting work which led up to the real mining -operations,—as the washing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">{169}</a></span> of the gullies in Australia led to the -crushing of quartz and to the sinking of deep mines in search of -alluvial gold. Of these dry diggings there are now four, Du Toit’s Pan, -Bultfontein, Old De Beers,—and Colesberg Kopje or the great Kimberley -mine, which though last in the Field has thrown all the other diamond -mines of the world into the shade. The first working at the three first -of these was so nearly simultaneous, that they may almost be said to -have been commenced at once. I believe however that they were in fact -opened in the order I have given.</p> - -<p>Bultfontein and Du Toit’s Pan were on two separate Boer farms, of which -the former was bought the first,—as early as 1869,—by a firm who had -even then had dealings in diamonds and who no doubt purchased the land -with reference to diamonds. Here some few stones were picked from the -surface, but the affair was not thought to be hopeful. The diamond -searchers still believed that the river was the place. But the Dutch -farmer at Du Toit’s Pan, one Van Wyk, finding that precious stones were -found on his neighbour’s land, let out mining licences on his own land, -binding the miners to give him one fourth of the value of what they -found. This however did not answer and the miners resolved to pay some -small monthly sum for a licence, or to “jump” the two farms altogether. -Now “jumping” in South African language means open stealing. A man -“jumps” a thing when he takes what does not belong to him with a tacit -declaration that might makes right. Appeal was then made to the -authorities of the Orange Free State for protection;—and something was -done. But the diggers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">{170}</a></span> were too strong, and the proprietors of the farms -were obliged to throw open their lands to the miners on the terms which -the men dictated.</p> - -<p>The English came,—at the end of 1871,—just as the system of dry -digging had formed itself at these two mines, and from that time to this -Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein have been worked as regular diamond mines. -I did not find them especially interesting to a visitor. Each of them is -about two miles distant from Kimberley town, and the centre of the one -can hardly be more than a mile distant from the centre of the other. -They are under the inspection of the same Government officer, and might -be supposed to be part of one and the same enterprise were it not that -there is a Mining Board at Du Toit’s Pan, whereas the shareholders at -Bultfontein have abstained from troubling themselves with such an -apparatus. They trust the adjustment of any disputes which may arise to -the discretion of the Government Inspector.</p> - -<p>At each place there is a little village, very melancholy to look at, -consisting of hotels or drinking bars, and the small shops of the -diamond dealers. Everything is made of corrugated iron and the whole is -very mean to the eye. There had been no rain for some months when I was -there, and as I rode into Du Toit’s Pan the thermometer shewed over 90 -in the shade, and over 150 in the sun. While I was at Kimberley it rose -to 96 and 161. There is not a blade of grass in the place, and I seemed -to breathe dust rather than air. At both these places there seemed to be -a “mighty maze,”—in which they differ altogether from the Kimberley<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">{171}</a></span> -mine which I will attempt to describe presently. Out of the dry dusty -ground, which looked so parched and ugly that one was driven to think -that it had never yet rained in those parts, were dug in all directions -pits and walls and roadways, from which and by means of which the dry -dusty soil is taken out to some place where it is washed and the debris -examined. Carts are going hither and thither, each with a couple of -horses, and Kafirs above and below,—not very much above or very much -below,—are working for 10s. a week and their diet without any feature -of interest. What is done at Du Toit’s Pan is again done at Bultfontein.</p> - -<p>At Du Toit’s Pan there are 1441 mining claims which are possessed by 214 -claimholders. The area within the reef,—that is within the wall of -rocky and earthy matter containing the diamondiferous soil,—is 31 -acres. This gives a revenue to the Griqualand Government of something -over £2,000 for every three months. In the current year,—1877,—it will -amount to nearly £9,000. About 1,700 Kafirs are employed in the mine and -on the stuff taken out of it at wages of 10s. a week and their -diet,—which, at the exceptionally high price of provisions prevailing -when I was in the country, costs about 10s. a week more. The wages paid -to white men can hardly be estimated as they are only employed in what I -may call superintending work. They may perhaps be given as ranging from -£3 to £6 a week. The interesting feature in the labour question is the -Kafir. This black man, whose body is only partially and most grotesquely -clad, and who is what we mean when we speak of a Savage, earns more than -the average rural labourer in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">{172}</a></span> England. Over and beyond his board and -lodging he carries away with him every Saturday night 10s. a week in -hard money, with which he has nothing to do but to amuse himself if it -so pleases him.</p> - -<p>At Bultfontein there are 1,026 claims belonging to 153 claimholders. The -area producing diamonds is 22 acres. The revenue derived is £6,000 a -year, more or less. About 1,300 Kafirs are employed under circumstances -as given above. The two diggings have been and still are successful, -though they have never reached the honour and glory and wealth and -grandeur achieved by that most remarkable spot on the earth’s surface -called the Colesberg Kopje, the New Rush, or the Kimberley mine.</p> - -<p>I did not myself make any special visit to the Old De Beer mine. De Beer -was the farmer who possessed the lands called Vooruitzuit of the -purchase of which I have already spoken, and he himself, with his sons, -for awhile occupied himself in the business;—but he soon found it -expedient to sell his land,—the Old De Beer mine being then -established. As the sale was progressing a lady on the top of a little -hill called the Colesberg Kopje poked up a diamond with her parasol. Dr. -Atherstone who had visited the locality had previously said that if new -diamond ground were found it would probably be on this spot. In -September 1872 the territory of Griqualand West became a British Colony, -and at that time miners from the whole district were congregating -themselves at the hill, and that which was at once called the “New Rush” -was established. In Australia where gold was found here or there the -miners would hurry<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">{173}</a></span> off to the spot and the place would be called this -or that “Rush.”</p> - -<p>The New Rush, the Colesberg Kopje,—pronounced Coppy,—and the Kimberley -mine are one and the same place. It is now within the town of -Kimberley,—which has in fact got itself built around the hill to supply -the wants of the mining population. Kimberley has in this way become the -capital and seat of Government for the Province. As the mine is one of -the most remarkable spots on the face of the earth I will endeavour to -explain it with some minuteness, and I will annex a plan of it which as -I go on I will endeavour also to explain.</p> - -<p>The Colesberg hill is in fact hardly a hill at all,—what little summit -may once have entitled it to the name having been cut off. On reaching -the spot by one of the streets from the square you see no hill but are -called upon to rise over a mound, which is circular and looks to be no -more than the debris of the mine though it is in fact the remainder of -the slight natural ascent. It is but a few feet high and on getting to -the top you look down into a huge hole. This is the Kimberley mine. You -immediately feel that it is the largest and most complete hole ever made -by human agency.</p> - -<p>At Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein the works are scattered. Here -everything is so gathered together and collected that it is not at first -easy to understand that the hole should contain the operations of a -large number of separate speculators. It is so completely one that you -are driven at first to think that it must be the property of one -firm,—or at any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">{174}</a></span> rate be entrusted to the management of one director. -It is very far from being so. In the pit beneath your feet, hard as it -is at first to your imagination to separate it into various enterprises, -the persons making or marring their fortunes have as little connection -with each other as have the different banking firms in Lombard Street. -There too the neighbourhood is very close, and common precautions have -to be taken as to roadway, fires, and general convenience.</p> - -<p>You are told that the pit has a surface area of 9 acres;—but for your -purposes as you will care little for diamondiferous or -non-diamondiferous soil, the aperture really occupies 12 acres. The -slope of the reef around the diamond soil has forced itself back over an -increased surface as the mine has become deeper. The diamond claims -cover 9 acres.</p> - -<p>You stand upon the marge and there, suddenly, beneath your feet lies the -entirety of the Kimberley mine, so open, so manifest, and so uncovered -that if your eyes were good enough you might examine the separate -operations of each of the three or four thousand human beings who are at -work there. It looks to be so steep down that there can be no way to the -bottom other than the aerial contrivances which I will presently -endeavour to explain. It is as though you were looking into a vast bowl, -the sides of which are smooth as should be the sides of a bowl, while -round the bottom are various marvellous incrustations among which ants -are working with all the usual energy of the ant-tribe. And these -incrustations are not simply at the bottom, but come up the curves and -slopes of the bowl irregularly,—half-way up perhaps in one place, while -on another side they are confined<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">{175}</a></span> quite to the lower deep. The pit is -230 feet deep, nearly circular, though after awhile the eye becomes -aware of the fact that it is oblong. At the top the diameter is about -300 yards of which 250 cover what is technically called “blue,”—meaning -diamondiferous soil. Near the surface and for some way down, the sides -are light brown, and as blue is the recognised diamond colour you will -at first suppose that no diamonds were found near the surface;—but the -light brown has been in all respects the same as the blue, the colour of -the soil to a certain depth having been affected by a mixture of iron. -Below this everything is blue, all the constructions in the pit having -been made out of some blue matter which at first sight would seem to -have been carried down for the purpose. But there are other colours on -the wall which give a peculiar picturesqueness to the mines. The top -edge as you look at it with your back to the setting sun is red with the -gravel of the upper reef, while below, in places, the beating of rain -and running of water has produced peculiar hues, all of which are a -delight to the eye.</p> - -<p>As you stand at the edge you will find large high-raised boxes at your -right hand and at your left, and you will see all round the margin -crowds of such erections, each box being as big as a little house and -higher than most of the houses in Kimberley. These are the first -recipients for the stuff that is brought up out of the mine. And behind -these, so that you will often find that you have walked between them, -are the whims by means of which the stuff is raised, each whim being -worked by two horses. Originally the operation was done by -hand-windlasses which were turned by Kafirs,—and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">{176}</a></span> the practice is -continued at some of the smaller enterprises;—but the horse whims are -now so general that there is a world of them round the claim. The stuff -is raised on aerial tramways,—and the method of an aerial tramway is as -follows. Wires are stretched taught from the wooden boxes slanting down -to the claims at the bottom,—never less than four wires for each box, -two for the ascending and two for the descending bucket. As one bucket -runs down empty on one set of wires, another comes up full on the other -set. The ascending bucket is of course full of “blue.” The buckets were -at first simply leathern bags. Now they have increased in size and -importance of construction,—to half barrels and so upwards to large -iron cylinders which sit easily upon wheels running in the wires as they -ascend and descend and bring up their loads, half a cart load at each -journey.</p> - -<p>As this is going on round the entire circle it follows that there are -wires starting everywhere from the rim and converging to a centre at the -bottom, on which the buckets are always scudding through the air. They -drop down and creep up not altogether noiselessly but with a gentle -trembling sound which mixes itself pleasantly with the murmur from the -voices below. And the wires seem to be the strings of some wonderful -harp,—aerial or perhaps infernal,—from which the beholder expects that -a louder twang will soon be heard. The wires are there always of course, -but by some lights they are hardly visible. The mine is seen best in the -afternoon and the visitor looking at it should stand with his back to -the setting sun;—but as he so stands and so looks he will hardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">{177}</a></span> be -aware that there is a wire at all if his visit be made, say on a -Saturday afternoon, when the works are stopped and the mine is mute.</p> - -<p>When the world below is busy there are about 3,500 Kafirs at work,—some -small proportion upon the reef which has to be got into order so that it -shall neither tumble in, nor impede the work, nor overlay the -diamondiferous soil as it still does in some places; but by far the -greater number are employed in digging. Their task is to pick up the -earth and shovel it into the buckets and iron receptacles. Much of it is -loosened for them by blasting which is done after the Kafirs have left -the mine at 6 o’clock. You look down and see the swarm of black ants -busy at every hole and corner with their picks moving and shovelling the -loose blue soil.</p> - -<p>But the most peculiar phase of the mine, as you gaze into its one large -pit, is the subdivision into claims and portions. Could a person see the -sight without having heard any word of explanation it would be -impossible, I think, to conceive the meaning of all those straight cut -narrow dikes, of those mud walls all at right angles to each other, of -those square separate pits, and again of those square upstanding blocks, -looking like houses without doors or windows. You can see that nothing -on earth was ever less level than the bottom of the bowl,—and that the -black ants in traversing it, as they are always doing, go up and down -almost at every step, jumping here on to a narrow wall and skipping -there across a deep dividing channel as though some diabolically -ingenious architect had contrived a house with 500 rooms, not one of -which should be on the same floor, and to and from none of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">{178}</a></span> which should -there be a pair of stairs or a door or a window. In addition to this it -must be imagined that the architect had omitted the roof in order that -the wires of the harp above described might be brought into every -chamber. The house has then been furnished with picks, shovels, planks, -and a few barrels, populated with its black legions, and there it is for -you to look at.</p> - -<p>At first the bottom of the bowl seems small. You know the size of it as -you look,—and that it is nine acres, enough to make a moderate -field,—but it looks like no more than a bowl. Gradually it becomes -enormously large as your eye dwells for a while on the energetic -business going on in one part, and then travels away over an infinity of -subdivided claims to the work in some other portion. It seems at last to -be growing under you and that soon there will be no limit to the variety -of partitions on which you have to look. You will of course be anxious -to descend and if you be no better than a man there is nothing to -prevent you. Should you be a lady I would advise you to stay where you -are. The work of going up and down is hard, everything is dirty, and the -place below is not nearly so interesting as it is above. One firm at the -mine, Messrs. Baring Gould, Atkins, & Co. have gone to the expense of -sinking a perpendicular shaft with a tunnel below from the shaft to the -mine,—so as to avoid the use of the aerial tramway; and by Mr. Gould’s -kindness I descended through his shaft. Nevertheless there was some -trouble in getting into the mine and when I was there the labour of -clambering about from one chamber to another in that marvellously broken -house was considerable</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/map-of-mine.jpg"> -<img src="images/map-of-mine.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PLAN and Valuation of -Kimberley Mine. -1876. - -</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">{179}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">and was not lessened by the fact that the heat of the sun was about 140. -The division of the claims, however, became apparent to me and I could -see how one was being worked, and another left without any present -digging till the claim-owner’s convenience should be suited. But there -is a regulation compelling a man to work if the standing of his “blue” -should become either prejudicial or dangerous to his neighbours. There -is one shaft,—that belonging to the firm I have mentioned; and one -tramway has been cut down by another firm through the reef and -circumjacent soil so as to make an inclined plane up and down to the -mine.</p> - -<p>On looking at the accompanying plan the reader will see that the ground -was originally divided into 801 claims with some few double numbers to -claims at the east end of the mine;—but in truth nearly half of those -have never been of value, consisting entirely of reef, the -diamondiferous matter, the extent of which has now been ascertained, not -having travelled so far. There are in truth 408 existing claims. The -plan, which shews the locality of each claim as divided whether of worth -or of no worth, shews also the rate at which they are all valued for -purposes of taxation. To ascertain the rated value the reader must take -any one of the sums given in red figures and multiply it by the number -of subdivisions in the compartment to which those figures are attached. -For instance at the west end is the lowest figure,—£100, and as there -are 37 marked claims in this compartment, the rated value of the -compartment is £3,700. This is the poorest side of the mine and probably -but few of the claims thus marked are worked at all. The richest side -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">{180}</a></span> the mine is towards the south, where in one compartment there are 12 -claims each rated at £5,500, so that the whole compartment is supposed -to be worth £66,000. The selling value is however much higher than that -at which the claims are rated for the purpose of taxation.</p> - -<p>But though there are but 408 claims there are subdivisions in regard to -property very much more minute. There are shares held by individuals as -small as one-sixteenth of a claim. The total property is in fact divided -into 514 portions, the amount of which of course varies extremely. Every -master miner pays 10s. a month to the Government for the privilege of -working whether he own a claim or only a portion of a claim. In working -this the number of men employed differs very much from time to time. -When I was there the mine was very full, and there were probably almost -4,000 men in it and as many more employed above on the stuff. When the -“blue” has come up and been deposited in the great wooden boxes at the -top it is then lowered by its own weight into carts, and carried off to -the “ground” of the proprietor. Every diamond digger is obliged to have -a space of ground somewhere round the town,—as near his whim as he can -get it,—to which his stuff is carted and then laid out to crumble and -decompose. This may occupy weeks, but the time depends on what may be -the fall of rain. If there be no rain, it must be watered,—at a very -considerable expense. It is then brought to the washing, and is first -put into a round puddling trough where it is broken up and converted -into mud by stationary rakes which work upon the stuff as the trough -goes round. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">{181}</a></span> stones of course fall to the bottom, and as diamonds -are the heaviest of stones they fall with the others. The mud is -examined and thrown away,—and then the stones are washed, and rewashed, -and sifted, and examined. The greater number of diamonds are found -during this operation;—but the large gems and those therefore of by far -the greatest value are generally discovered while the stuff is being -knocked about and put into the buckets in the mine.</p> - -<p>It need hardly be said that in such an operation as I have described the -greatest care is necessary to prevent stealing and that no care will -prevent it. The Kafirs are the great thieves,—to such an extent of -superexcellence that white superintendence is spoken of as being the -only safeguard. The honesty of the white man may perhaps be indifferent, -but such as it is it has to be used at every point to prevent, as far as -it may be prevented, the systematized stealing in which the Kafirs take -an individual and national pride. The Kafirs are not only most willing -but most astute thieves, feeling a glory in their theft and thinking -that every stone stolen from a white man is a duty done to their Chief -and their tribe. I think it may be taken as certain that no Kafir would -feel the slightest pang of conscience at stealing a diamond, or that any -disgrace would be held to attach to him among other Kafirs for such a -performance. They come to the Fields instructed by their Chiefs to steal -diamonds and they obey the orders like loyal subjects. Many of the Kafir -Chiefs are said to have large quantities of diamonds which have been -brought to them by their men returning from the diggings;—but most of -those which are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">{182}</a></span> stolen no doubt find their way into the hands of -illicit dealers. I have been told that the thefts perpetrated by the -Kafirs amount to 25 per cent. on the total amount found;—but this I do -not believe.</p> - -<p>The opportunities for stealing are of hourly occurrence and are of such -a nature as to make prevention impossible. These men are sharpsighted as -birds and know and see a diamond much quicker than a white man. They -will pick up stones with their toes and secrete them even under the eyes -of those who are watching them. I was told that a man will so hide a -diamond in his mouth that no examination will force him to disclose it. -They are punished when discovered with lashes and imprisonment,—in -accordance with the law on the matter. No employer is now allowed to -flog his man at his own pleasure. And the white men who buy diamonds -from Kafirs are also punished when convicted, by fine and imprisonment -for the simple offence of buying from a Kafir; but with flogging also if -convicted of having instigated a Kafir to steal. Nevertheless a -lucrative business of this nature is carried on, and the Kafirs know -well where to dispose of their plunder though of course but for a small -proportion of its value.</p> - -<p>Ten shillings a week and their food were the regular wages here as -elsewhere. This I found to be very fluctuating, but the money paid had -rarely gone lower for any considerable number of men than the -above-named rate. The lowest amount paid has been 7s. 6d. a week. -Sometimes it had been as high as 20s. and even 30s. a week. A good deal -of the work is supplied by contract, certain middlemen under<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">{183}</a></span>taking to -provide men with all expenses paid at £1 a week. When mealies have -become dear from drought,—there being no grass for oxen on the -route,—no money can be made in this way. Such was the case when I was -in Griqualand West. It is stated by Mr. Oats, an engineer, in his -evidence given to the Committee on the Griqualand West Annexation Bill, -in June 1877—that the annual amount of wages paid at Kimberley had -varied from £600,000 to £1,600,000 a year. Nearly the whole of this had -gone into the hands of the Kafirs.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most interesting sight at the mine is the escaping of the -men from their labour at six o’clock. Then, at the sound of some -welcomed gong, they begin to swarm up the sides close at each other’s -heels apparently altogether indifferent as to whether there be a path or -no. They come as flies come up a wall, only capering as flies never -caper,—and shouting as they come. In endless strings, as ants follow -each other, they move, passing along ways which seem to offer no hold to -a human foot. Then it is that one can best observe their costume in -which a jacket is never absent but of which a pair of trowsers rarely -forms a portion. A soldier’s red jacket or a soldier’s blue jacket has -more charms than any other vestment. They seem always to be good -humoured, always well-behaved,—but then they are always thieves. And -yet how grand a thing it is that so large a number of these men should -have been brought in so short a space of time to the habit of receiving -wages and to the capacity of bargaining as to the wages for which they -will work. I shall not, however, think it so grand a thing if any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">{184}</a></span> one -addresses them as the free and independent electors of Kimberley before -they have got trowsers to cover their nakedness.</p> - -<p>I must add also that a visitor to Kimberley should if possible take an -opportunity of looking down upon the mine by moonlight. It is a weird -and wonderful sight, and may almost be called sublime in its peculiar -strangeness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">{185}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>KIMBERLEY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Having</span> described the diamond mines in the Kimberley district I must say -a word about the town of Kimberley to which the mines have given birth. -The total population as given by a census taken in 1877 was 13,590, -shewing the town to be the second largest in South Africa. By joining to -this Du Toit’s Pan and Bultfontein which are in fact suburbs of -Kimberley we get a total urban population of about 18,000. Of these -nearly 10,000 are coloured, and something over 8,000 are Europeans. -Among the Europeans two-fifths are females, and of course there is the -ordinary population of children—with the coloured people the females -are about 1 to 7. Of the adult male population two-thirds are of -coloured races,—Kafirs for the most part,—and one-third is European. -At present both the one and the other are a shifting people;—but the -Kafirs shift much the quickest. Each man remains generally only six or -eight months on the Fields and then returns home to his tribe. This mode -of life, however, is already somewhat on the decrease, and as the love -of making money grows, and as tribal reverence for the Chieftains dies -out, the men will learn to remain more constantly at their work. Unless -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">{186}</a></span> diamonds come to an end all together,—which one cannot but always -feel to be possible,—the place will become a large town with a settled -Kafir population which will fall gradually into civilized ways of life. -There is no other place in South Africa where this has been done, or for -many years can be done to the same extent. I mention this here because -it seems to be so essentially necessary to remember that South Africa is -a land not of white but of black men, and that the progress to be most -desired is that which will quickest induce the Kafir to put off his -savagery and live after the manner of his white brethren.</p> - -<p>Throughout the whole country which the English and the Dutch between -them have occupied as their own, the Kafirs are the superiors in numbers -in much greater proportion than that stated above in reference to the -town of Kimberley;—but these numbers are to be found, not in towns, but -out in their own hitherto untouched districts, where they live -altogether after their old ways, where the Kafirs of to-day are as were -the Kafirs of fifty years ago. And even with those who have come under -our dominion and who live to some degree intermixed with us, the greater -proportion still follow their old customs of which idleness and -dependence on the work of women for what is absolutely necessary to -existence, may be said to be the most prominent. The work of civilizing -as it has been carried out by simple philanthropy or by religion is -terribly slow. One is tempted sometimes to say that nothing is done by -religion and very little by philanthropy. But love of money works very -fast. In Griqualand West, especially in the Diamond Fields, and above -all at Kimberley,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">{187}</a></span> it is not only out in the wilds, by the river sides, -on the veld, and in their own kraals, that the black men outnumber the -white; but in the streets of the city also and in the work shops of the -mine. And here they are brought together not by the spasmodic energy of -missionaries or by the unalluring attraction of schools but by the -certainty of earning wages. The seeker after diamonds is determined to -have them because the making of his fortune depends upon them; and the -Kafir himself is determined to come to Kimberley because he has learned -the loveliness of 10s. a week paid regularly into his hand every -Saturday night.</p> - -<p>Who can doubt but that work is the great civilizer of the world,—work -and the growing desire for those good things which work only will bring? -If there be one who does he should come here to see how those dusky -troops of labourers, who ten years since were living in the wildest -state of unalloyed savagery, whose only occupation was the slaughter of -each other in tribal wars, each of whom was the slave of his Chief, who -were subject to the dominion of most brutalizing and cruel -superstitions, have already put themselves on the path towards -civilization. They are thieves no doubt;—that is they steal diamonds -though not often other things. They are not Christians. They do not yet -care much about breeches. They do not go to school. But they are -orderly. They come to work at six in the morning and go away at six in -the evening. They have an hour in the middle of the day, and know that -they have to work during the other hours. They take their meals -regularly and, what is the best of all, they are learn<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">{188}</a></span>ing to spend -their money instead of carrying it back to their Chiefs.</p> - -<p>Civilization can not come at once. The coming I fear under any -circumstances must be slow. But this is the quickest way towards it that -has yet been found. The simple teaching of religion has never brought -large numbers of Natives to live in European habits; but I have no doubt -that European habits will bring about religion. The black man when he -lives with the white man and works under the white man’s guidance will -learn to believe really what the white man really believes himself. -Surely we should not expect him to go faster. But the missionary has -endeavoured to gratify his own soul by making here and there a model -Christian before the pupil has been able to understand any of the -purposes of Christianity. I have not myself seen the model Christian -perfected; but when I have looked down into the Kimberley mine and seen -three or four thousand of them at work,—although each of them would -willingly have stolen a diamond if the occasion came,—I have felt that -I was looking at three or four thousand growing Christians.</p> - -<p>Because of this I regard Kimberley as one of the most interesting places -on the face of the earth. I know no other spot on which the work of -civilizing a Savage is being carried on with so signal a success. The -Savages whom we have encountered in our great task of populating the -world have for the most part eluded our grasp by perishing while we have -been considering how we might best deal with them. Here, in South -Africa, a healthy nation remains and assures<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">{189}</a></span> us by its prolific -tendency that when protected from self-destruction by our fostering care -it will spread and increase beneath our hands. But what was to be done -with these people? Having found that they do not mean to die, by what -means might we instruct them how to live? Teach them to sing hymns, and -all will be well. That is one receipt. Turn them into slaves, and make -them work. That is another receipt. Divide the land with them, and let -them live after their own fashions;—only subject to some little control -from us. That was a third. The hymns have done nothing. The slavery was -of course impossible. And that division of land has been, perhaps not -equally futile, but insufficient for the growing needs of the -people;—insufficient also for our own needs. Though we abuse the Kafir -we want his service, and we want more than our share of his land. But -that which no effort of intelligence could produce has been brought -about by circumstances. The Diamond Fields have been discovered and now -there are ten thousand of these people receiving regular wages and quite -capable of rushing to a magistrate for protection if they be paid a -shilling short on Saturday night.</p> - -<p>This the diamonds have done, and it is the great thing which they have -done. We have fair reason to believe that other similar industries will -arise. There are already copper mines at work in Namaqualand, on the -western coast of South Africa, in which the Natives are employed, and -lead mines in the Transvaal. There are gold fields in the Transvaal at -which little is now being done, because the difficulties of working them -are at present overwhelming. But as years<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">{190}</a></span> roll quickly on these, too, -will become hives of coloured labour, and in this way Kimberleys will -arise in various parts of the continent.</p> - -<p>I cannot say that Kimberley is in other respects an alluring -town;—perhaps as little so as any town that I have ever visited. There -are places to which men are attracted by the desire of gain which seem -to be so repulsive that no gain can compensate the miseries incidental -to such an habitation. I have seen more than one such place and have -wondered that under any inducement men should submit themselves, their -wives and children to such an existence. I remember well my impressions -on reaching Charles Dickens’ Eden at the junction of the Ohio and -Mississippi rivers and my surprise that any human being should have -pitched his tent in a place so unwholesome and so hideous. I have found -Englishmen collected on the Musquito Coast, a wretched crew; and having -been called on by untoward Fate and a cruel Government to remain a week -at Suez have been driven to consider whether life would have been -possible there for a month. During my sojourn at Kimberley, though I was -the recipient of the kindest hospitality and met two or three whom I -shall ever remember among the pleasant acquaintances of my life,—yet -the place itself was distasteful to me in the extreme. When I was there -the heat was very great, the thermometer registering 160 in the sun, and -97 in the shade. I was not absolutely ill, but I was so nearly ill that -I was in fear the whole time. Perhaps having been in such personal -discomfort, I am not a fair judge of the place. But an atmosphere -composed of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">{191}</a></span> dust and flies cannot be pleasant,—of dust so thick that -the sufferer fears to remove it lest the raising of it may aggravate the -evil, and of flies so numerous that one hardly dares to slaughter them -by the ordinary means lest their dead bodies should be noisome. When a -gust of wind would bring the dust in a cloud hiding everything, a cloud -so thick that it would seem that the solid surface of the earth had -risen diluted into the air, and when flies had rendered occupation -altogether impossible, I would be told, when complaining, that I ought -to be there, in December say, or February,—at some other time of the -year than that then present,—if I really wanted to see what flies and -dust could do. I sometimes thought that the people of Kimberley were -proud of their flies and their dust.</p> - -<p>And the meat was bad, the butter uneatable, vegetables a -rarity,—supplied indeed at the table at which I sat but supplied at a -great cost. Milk and potatoes were luxuries so costly that one sinned -almost in using them. A man walking about with his pocket full of -diamonds would not perhaps care for this; but even at Kimberley there -are those who have fixed incomes,—an unfortunate Deputy Governor or the -like,—to whom sugar at 2s. 6d. a pound and other equally necessary -articles in the same proportion, must detract much from the honour and -glory of the position. When I was there “transport,” no doubt, was -unusually high. Indeed, as I arrived, there were muttered threats that -“transport” would be discontinued altogether unless rain would come. For -the understanding of this it must be known that almost everything -consumed at Kimberley<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">{192}</a></span> has to be carried up from the coast, five hundred -miles, by ox-waggons, and that the oxen have to feed themselves on the -grasses along the road. When there has been a period of drought there -are no grasses, and when there are no grasses the oxen will die instead -of making progress. Periods of drought are by no means uncommon in South -Africa. When I was at Kimberley there had been a period of drought for -many months. There had, indeed, been no rain to speak of for more than a -year. As one consequence of this the grocers were charging 2s. 6d. a -pound for brown sugar. Even the chance of such a state of things -militates very much against the comfort of a residence.</p> - -<p>I do not think that there is a tree to be seen within five miles of the -town. When I was there I doubt whether there was a blade of grass within -twenty miles, unless what might be found on the very marge of the low -water of the Vaal river. Every thing was brown, as though the dusty dry -uncovered ugly earth never knew the blessing of verdure. To ascertain -that the roots of grass were remaining one had to search the ground. -There is to be a park; and irrigation has been proposed so that the park -may become green;—but the park had not as yet progressed beyond the -customary brown. In all Kimberley and its surroundings there was nothing -pretty to meet the eye;—except, indeed, women’s faces which were as -bright there as elsewhere. It was a matter of infinite regret to me that -faces so bright should be made to look out on a world so ugly.</p> - -<p>The town is built of corrugated iron. My general readers will probably -not have seen many edifices so constructed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">{193}</a></span> But even in England -corrugated iron churches have been erected, when the means necessary for -stone buildings have been temporarily wanting; and I think I have seen -the studios of photographers made of the same material. It is probably -the most hideous that has yet come to man’s hands;—but it is the most -portable and therefore in many localities the cheapest,—in some -localities the only material possible. It is difficult to conceive the -existence of a town in which every plank used has had to be dragged five -hundred miles by oxen; but such has been the case at Kimberley. Nor can -bricks be made which will stand the weather because bricks require to be -burned and cannot well be burned without fuel. Fuel at Kimberley is so -expensive a luxury that two thoughts have to be given to the boiling of -a kettle. Sun-burned bricks are used and form the walls of which the -corrugated iron is the inside casing; but sun-burned bricks will not -stand the weather and can only be used when they are cased. Lath and -plaster for ceilings there is little or none. The rooms are generally -covered with canvas which can be easily carried. But a canvas ceiling -does not remain long clean, or even rectilinear. The invincible dust -settles upon it and bulges it, and the stain of the dust comes through -it. Wooden floors are absolutely necessary for comfort and cleanliness; -but at Kimberley it will cost £40 to floor a moderate room. The -consequence is that even people who are doing well with their diamonds -live in comfortless houses, always meaning to pack up and run after this -year, or next year, or perhaps the year after next. But if they have -done ill with their diamonds they remain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">{194}</a></span> till they may do better; and -if they have done well then there falls upon them the Auri sacra fames. -When £30,000 have been so easily heaped together why not have -£60,000;—and when £60,000 why not £100,000? And then why spend money -largely in this state of trial, in a condition which is not intended to -be prolonged,—but which is prolonged from year to year by the desire -for more? Why try to enjoy life here, this wretched life, when so soon -there is a life coming which is to be so infinitely better? Such is -often the theory of the enthusiastic Christian,—not however often -carried out to its logical conclusions. At such a place as Kimberley the -theory becomes more lively; but the good time is postponed till the -capacity for enjoying it is too probably lost.</p> - -<p>The town of Kimberley is chiefly notable for a large square,—as large -perhaps as Russell Square. One or two of the inhabitants asked me -whether I was not impressed by the grandeur of its dimensions so as to -feel that there was something of sublimity attached to it! “I thought it -very ugly at first,” said one lady who had been brought out from England -to make her residence among the diamonds;—“but I have looked at it now -till I have to own its magnificence.” I could not but say that -corrugated iron would never become magnificent in my eyes. In Kimberley -there are two buildings with a storey above the ground, and one of these -is in the square. This is its only magnificence. There is no pavement. -The roadway is all dust and holes. There is a market place in the midst -which certainly is not magnificent. Around are the corrugated iron shops -of the ordinary dealers <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">{195}</a></span>in provisions. An uglier place I do not know -how to imagine. When I was called upon to admire it, I was lost in -wonder; but acknowledged that it was well that necessity should produce -such results.</p> - -<p>I think that none of the diamond dealers live in the square. The various -diamond shops to which I was taken were near the mine, or in the streets -leading down from the mine to the square. These were little counting -houses in which the dealers would sit, generally two together, loosely -handling property worth many thousands of pounds. I was taken to them to -see diamonds, and saw diamonds without stint. It seemed that one partner -would buy while another would sort and pack. Parcel after parcel was -opened for me with almost as little reserve as was exhibited when -Lothair asked for pearls. Lothair was an expected purchaser; while the -diamond dealer knew that nothing was to be made by me. I could not but -think how easy it would be to put just one big one into my pocket. The -dealers, probably, were careful that I did nothing of the kind. The -stones were packed in paper parcels, each parcel containing perhaps from -fifty to two hundred according to their size. Then four or five of these -parcels would be fitted into a paper box,—which would again be enclosed -in a paper envelope. Without other safeguard than this the parcels are -registered and sent by post, to London, Paris, or Amsterdam as the case -may be. By far the greater number go to London. The mails containing -these diamonds then travel for six days and six nights on mail carts to -Capetown,—for four-fifths of the way without any guard, and very -frequently with no one on the mail cart except the black boy who drives -it. The cart travels day<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">{196}</a></span> and night along desolate roads and is often -many miles distant from the nearest habitation. Why the mails are not -robbed I cannot tell. The diamond dealers say that the robber could not -get away with his plunder, and would find no market for it were he to do -so. They, however, secure themselves by some system of insurance. I -cannot but think that the insurers, or underwriters, will some day find -themselves subjected to a heavy loss. A great robbery might be effected -by two persons, and the goods which would be so stolen are of all -property the most portable. Thieves with a capital,—and thieves in -these days do have capital,—might afford to wait, and diamonds in the -rough can not be traced. I should have thought that property of such -immense value would have paid for an armed escort. The gold in -Australia, which is much less portable, is always accompanied by an -escort.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>I was soon sick of looking at diamonds though the idea of holding ten or -twenty thousand pounds lightly between my fingers did not quite lose its -charm. I was however disgusted at the terms of reproach with which most -of the diamonds were described by their owners. Many of them were “off -colours,” stones of a yellowish hue and therefore of comparatively -little value, or stones with a flaw, stones which would split in the -cutting, stones which could not be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">{197}</a></span> cut to any advantage. There were -very many evil stones to one that was good, so that nature after all did -not appear to have been as generous as she might have been. And these -dealers when the stones are brought to them for purchase, have no -certain standard of value by which to regulate their transactions with -their customers. The man behind the counter will take the stones, one by -one, examine them, weigh them, and then make his offer for the parcel. -Dealing in horses is precarious work,—when there is often little to -shew whether an animal be worth £50, or £100, or £150. But with diamonds -it must be much more so. A dealer offers £500 when the buyer has perhaps -expected £2,000! And yet the dealer is probably nearest to the mark. The -diamonds at any rate are bought and sold, and are sent away by post at -the rate of about £2,000,000 in the year. In 1876 the registered export -of diamonds from Kimberley amounted in value to £1,414,590, and reached -773 pounds avoirdupois in weight. But it is computed that not above -three quarters of what are sent from the place are recorded in the -accounts that are kept. There is no law to make such record necessary. -Any one who has become legally possessed of a diamond may legally take -it or send it away as he pleases.</p> - -<p>The diamond dealers whom I saw were the honest men, who keep their heads -well above water, and live in the odour of diamond sanctity, dealing -only with licensed diggers and loving the law. But there are diamond -dealers who buy from the Kafirs,—or from intermediate rogues who -instigate the Kafirs to steal. These are regarded as the curse of the -place, and, as may be understood, their existence<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">{198}</a></span> is most injurious to -the interests of all who traffic honestly in this article. The law is -very severe on them, imprisoning them, and subjecting them to lashes if -in any case it can be proved that a delinquent has instigated a Kafir to -steal. One such dealer I saw in the Kimberley gaol, a good-looking young -man who had to pass I think two years in durance among black thieves and -white thieves because he had bought dishonestly. I pitied him because he -was clean. But I ought to have pitied him the less because having been -brought up to be clean he, nevertheless, had become a rogue.</p> - -<p>Next to diamond dealing the selling of guns used to be the great trade -in Kimberley, the purchasers being Kafirs who thus disposed of their -surplus wages. But when I was there the trade seemed to have come to an -end, the Kafirs, I trust, having found that they could do better with -their money than buy guns,—which they seldom use with much precision -when they have them. There was once a whole street devoted to this -dealing in guns, but the gun shops had been converted to other purposes -when I was there. Great complaint had been made against the Government -of Griqualand West for permitting the unreserved sale of guns to the -Kafirs, and attempts have been made by the two Republics—of the -Transvaal and the Orange Free State—to stop the return of men when so -armed. The guns were taken away from those who had not a pass, and such -passes were rarely given. Now they may travel through the Transvaal with -any number of guns, as the British authorities do not stop them. Why it -has come<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">{199}</a></span> to pass that the purchases are no longer made I do not -understand. Whether the trade should or should not have been stopped I -am not prepared to say. We have not hesitated to prevent the possession -of arms in Ireland when we have thought that the peace of the country -might be endangered by them. I do not think that the peace of South -Africa has been endangered by the guns which the Kafirs have owned, or -that guns in the hands of Kafirs have been very fatal to us in the still -existing disturbance. But yet the Kafirs are very numerous and the white -men are comparatively but a handful! I would have a Kafir as free to -shoot a buck as a white man. And yet I feel that the Kafir must be kept -in subjection. The evil, if it be an evil, has now been done, for guns -are very numerous among the Kafirs.</p> - -<p>There can hardly be a doubt that Kimberley and the diamond fields have -been of great service to the black men who obtain work. No doubt they -are thieves,—as regards the diamonds,—but their thievery will -gradually be got under by the usual processes. To argue against -providing work for a Kafir because a Kafir may steal is the same as to -say that housemaids should not be taught to write lest they should learn -to forge. That argument has been used, but does not now require -refutation. And there can be as little doubt that the finding of -diamonds has in a commercial point of view been the salvation of South -Africa. The Orange Free State, of which “The Fields” at first formed a -part, and which is closely adjacent to them, has been so strengthened by -the trade thus created as to be now capable of a successful and -permanent existence,—a condition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">{200}</a></span> of things which I think no observer -of South African affairs would have considered to be possible had not -Kimberley with its eighteen thousand much-consuming mouths been -established on its border. As regards the Cape Colony generally, if -quite the same thing need not be said, it must be acknowledged that its -present comparative success is due almost entirely to the diamonds,—or -rather to the commercial prosperity caused by the consumption in which -diamond finders and their satellites have been enabled to indulge. The -Custom duties of the Cape Colony in 1869, before the diamond industry -existed, were less than £300,000.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> In 1875 that sum had been very -much more than doubled. And it must be remembered that this rapid -increase did not come from any great increase of numbers. The -diamond-digging brought in a few white men no doubt, but only a few in -comparison with the increase in revenue. There are but 8,000 Europeans -in the diamond fields altogether. Had they all been new comers this -would have been no great increase to a population which now exceeds -700,000 persons. The sudden influx of national wealth has come from the -capability for consumption created by the new industry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">{201}</a></span> White men -looking for diamonds can drink champagne. Black men looking for diamonds -can buy clothes and guns and food. It is not the wealth found which -directly enriches the nation, but the trade created by the finding. It -was the same with the gold in Australia. Of the national benefit arising -from the diamonds there can be no doubt. Whether they have been equally -beneficial to those who have searched for them and found them may be a -matter of question.</p> - -<p>What fortunes have been made in this pursuit no one can tell. If they -have been great I have not heard of them. There can be no doubt that -many have ruined themselves by fruitless labours, and that others who -have suddenly enriched themselves have been unable to bear their -prosperity with equanimity. The effect of a valuable diamond upon a -digger who had been working perhaps a month for nothing was in the early -days almost maddening. Now, as with gold in Australia, the pursuit has -settled itself down to a fixed industry. Companies have been formed. -Individuals are not suddenly enriched by the sudden finding of a stone. -Dividends are divided monthly and there is something approaching to a -fixed rate of finding from this claim or from that, from this side of -the mine or from the other. There is less of excitement and consequently -less of evil. Men are no longer prone to the gambler’s condition of mind -which induces an individual to think that he,—he specially,—will win -in opposition to all established odds and chances, and prompts him to -anticipate his winning by lavish expenditure,—to waste it when it does -come by such puerile<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">{202}</a></span> recourses as shoeing a horse with gold or drinking -champagne out of a bucket. The searching for gold and diamonds has -always had this danger attached to it,—that the money when it has come -has too frequently not been endeared to the finder by hard continuous -work. It has been “easy come and easy gone.” This to some degree is -still the case. There is at Kimberley much more of gambling, much more -of champagne, much more of the rowdy exhilaration coming from sudden -money, than at older towns of the same or much greater population, or of -the same or much greater wealth. But the trade of Kimberley is now a -settled industry and as such may be presumed to be beneficent to those -who exercise it.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless there is a stain sticking to the diamonds,—such a stain as -sticks to gold, which tempts one to repeat the poet’s caution:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Aurum irrepertum, et sio melius situm<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cum terra celat, spernere fortior,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Quam cogere humanos in usus.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">It would be untrue to say that he who works to ornament the world is -necessarily less noble than the other workman who supplies it with what -is simply useful. The designer of a room-paper ranks above the man who -hangs it,—and the artist whose picture decorates the wall is much above -the designer of the paper. Why therefore should not the man who finds -diamonds be above the man who finds bread? And yet I feel sure that he -is not. It is not only the thing procured but the manner of procuring it -that makes or mars the nobility of the work. If there be an employment -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">{203}</a></span> which the labourer has actually to grovel in the earth it is this -search for diamonds. There is much of it in gold-seeking, but in the -search after diamonds it is all grovelling. Let the man rise as high as -he may in the calling, be the head of the biggest firm at Kimberley, -still he stands by and sees the grit turned,—still he picks out the -diamonds from the other dirt with his own fingers, and carries his -produce about with him in his own pocket. If a man be working a coal -mine, though he be himself the hardest worked as well as the head -workman in the business, he is removed from actual contact with the -coal. But here, at Kimberley, sharp prying eyes are wanted, rather than -an intelligence fitted for calculations, and patience in manipulating -dirt than skill in managing men or figures.</p> - -<p>And the feeling engendered,—the constant recollection that a diamond -may always be found,—is carried so far that the mind never rests from -business. The diamond-seeker cannot get out of his task and take himself -calmly to his literature at 4 <small>P.M.</small> or 5 or 6. This feeling runs through -even to his wife and children, teaching them that dirt thrice turned may -yet be turned a fourth time with some hope of profit. Consequently -ladies, and children, do turn dirt instead of making pretty needle-work -or wholesome mud pies. When I heard of so much a dozen being given to -young bairns for the smallest specks of diamonds, specks which their -young eyes might possibly discover, my heart was bitterly grieved. How -shall a child shake off a stain which has been so early incurred? And -when ladies have told me, as ladies did tell me,—pretty clever -well-dressed women,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">{204}</a></span>—of hours so passed, of day after day spent in the -turning of dust by their own fingers because there might still be -diamonds among the dust, I thought that I could almost sooner have seen -my own wife or my own girl with a broom at a street crossing.</p> - -<p>There is not so much of this now as there was, and as years roll on,—if -the diamonds still be to be found,—there will be less and less. If the -diamonds still be there in twenty years’ time,—as to which I altogether -decline to give my opinion,—a railway will have been carried on to -Kimberley, and planks will have been carried up, and perhaps bricks from -some more favoured locality, and possibly paving stones, so that the -town shall be made to look less rowdy and less abominable. And pipes -will be laid on from the Vaal river, and there will be water carts. And -with the dust the flies will go into abeyance. And trees will have been -planted. And fresh butter will be made. And there will be a library and -men will have books. And houses will have become pleasant, so that a -merchant may love to sit at home in his own verandah,—which he will -then afford to have broad and cool and floored. And as the nice things -come the nasty habits will sink. The ladies will live far away from the -grit, and small diamonds will have become too common to make it worth -the parents’ while to endanger their children’s eyes. Some mode of -checking the Kafir thieves will perhaps have been found,—and the -industry will have sunk into the usual grooves. Nothing, however, will -tend so much to this as the lessening of the value of diamonds. The -stone is at present so precious that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">{205}</a></span> a man’s mind cannot bear to think -that one should escape him.</p> - -<p>I should be doing injustice to Kimberley and to those who have managed -Kimberley if I did not say that very great struggles have been made to -provide it with those institutions which are peculiarly needed for the -welfare of an assembled population. Churches are provided -plentifully,—at one of which, at any rate, sermons are to be heard much -in advance of those which I may call the sermon at sermon par. I could -have wished however that the clergymen who preached them had not worn a -green ribbon. And there are hospitals, which have caused infinite labour -and are now successful;—especially one which is nearly self-supporting -and is managed exquisitely by one of those ladies who go out into the -world to do good wherever good may be done. I felt as I spoke to her -that I was speaking to one of the sweet ones of the earth. To bind up a -man’s wounds, or to search for diamonds among the dirt! There is a wide -difference there certainly.</p> - -<p>I could have wished that the prison had been better,—that is more -prisonly,—with separate rooms for instance for those awaiting trial and -those committed. But all this will be done within those twenty next -coming years. And I know well how difficult it is to get money to set -such things afloat in a young community.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">{206}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">{207}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">{208}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">{209}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="THE_ORANGE_FREE_STATE" id="THE_ORANGE_FREE_STATE"></a>THE ORANGE FREE STATE.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ORANGE FREE STATE.—ITS EARLY HISTORY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> history of the origin of the Orange Free State, as a certain -district of South Africa is called, is one which when really written -will not I think redound to the credit of England. This I say not -intending to accuse any British statesman of injustice,—much less of -dishonesty. In all that has been done by the Colonial office in -reference to the territory in question the attempt to do right has from -first to last been only too anxious and painstaking. But as is generally -the case when over anxiety exists in lieu of assured conviction, the -right course has not been plainly seen, and the wrong thing has been -done and done, perhaps, in a wrong manner.</p> - -<p>Our system of government by Cabinets is peculiarly open to such mistakes -in reference to Colonial matters. At the Foreign office, as is well -known, there is a prescribed course of things and whether Lord Granville -be there or Lord Derby the advice given will probably be the same. At -the Home office the same course is followed whether the gentleman there -be a Liberal or a Conservative, and if one dispenser of the Queen’s -prerogative be more prone than another to allow criminals to escape, the -course of Government is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">{210}</a></span> impeded by his proclivities. But in looking -back at the history of the Colonies during the last fifty years we see -the idiosyncrasies of the individual ministers who have held the office -of Secretary of State rather than a settled course of British action, -and we are made to feel how suddenly the policy of one minister may be -made to give way to the conscientious convictions of another. Hence -there have come changes each of which may be evidence of dogged -obstinacy in the mind of some much respected Statesman, but which seem -to be proof of vacillation in the nation.</p> - -<p>It would be thought that a colonizing nation like Great Britain,—now -the only colonizing nation in existence,—should have a policy of -colonization. The Americans of the United States have such a policy, -though they do not colonize in our sense. They will not colonize at all -beyond their own continent, so that all the citizens of their Republic -may be brought into one homogeneous whole. The Spaniards and Dutch who -have been great Colonists have a colonial policy,—which has ever -consisted in getting what can be got for the mother country. Among -ourselves, with all that we have done and all that we are doing, we do -not yet know whether it is our intention to limit or to extend our -colonial empire; we do not yet know whether we purpose to occupy other -lands or to protect in their occupation those who now hold them; we do -not yet know whether as a nation we wish our colonial dependants to -remain always loyal to the British Crown or whether we desire to see -them start for themselves as independent realms. All we do know is that -with that general philanthropy and honesty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">{211}</a></span> without which a British -Cabinet cannot now exist we want to do good and to avoid doing evil. But -when we look back, and, taking even three liberal Colonial Secretaries, -see the difference of opinion on colonial matters of such men as Lord -Glenelg, Lord Grey, and Lord Granville, we have to own that our colonial -policy must vacillate.</p> - -<p>Are we to extend or are we not to extend our colonial empire? That was a -question on which some years ago it did seem that our Statesmen had come -to a decision. The task we had taken upon us was thought to be already -more than enough for our strength, and we would not stretch our hands -any further. If it might be practicable to get rid of some of the least -useful of our operations it would be well to do so. That dream of a -settled purpose has, however, been very rudely broken. The dreamers have -never been able to act upon it as a policy. It will not be necessary to -do more than name the Fiji Islands,—not the last but one of the last of -our costly acquirements,—to show how unable the Colonial office at home -has been to say, “so far will we go but no farther.” Had the Colonial -office recognised it as a policy that wherever Englishmen settle -themselves in sufficient numbers to make a disturbance if they be not -governed, then government must go after them, then the Fiji Islands -might have been accepted as a necessity. But there is no such policy -even yet;—though the annexation of the Transvaal will go far to -convince men that such must be our practice.</p> - -<p>It is because of our vacillation in South Africa,—vacillation which has -come from the varying convictions of varying<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">{212}</a></span> Ministers and -Governors,—that I say that the history of the Orange Free State will -not be creditable to our discernment and statesmanship. Much heavier -accusations have been brought against our Colonial office in reference -to the same territory by Dutch, American, and by English censors. It has -been said that we have been treacherous, tyrannical, and dishonest. To -none of these charges do I think that the Colonial office is fairly -subject; and though I cannot acquit every Governor of craft,—or perhaps -of tyranny,—I think that there has on the whole been an anxious desire -on the part of the emissaries from Downing Street to do their duty to -their country. But there has been a want of settled purpose as to the -nature and extent of the duties which fell upon England when she became -mistress of the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.</p> - -<p>There are some who think that we might have confined ourselves to Table -Mountain and Simon’s Bay, drawing a rampart across the isthmus which -divides the Cape from the mainland,—so as to have kept only a station -for the protection of our East India intercourse. But as the Dutch whom -we took upon ourselves to govern had already gone far inland when we -arrived, that would hardly have been possible, and a restriction so -selfish would have been contrary to our instincts. Others would have -limited our power at various boundaries,—especially towards the East, -where were the Kafir tribes, an evident source of coming trouble, should -we meddle with them. The Orange river as a northern boundary did seem to -offer a well-defined geographical limit, which would still allow us -enormous scope for agricul<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">{213}</a></span>tural and pastoral energy within its southern -banks and give sufficient room for every immigrant of whatever nation, -and for every Africander who wished to live under British rule, to find -a home within its borders.</p> - -<p>But, as has been told before, the Dutch fled away across the Orange -river as soon as they began to feel the nature of British rule. Then -arose the question, which we have never yet been quite able to answer. -When they went was it our duty to go after them,—not to hinder them -from going but to govern them whither they went? Certainly not; we said, -when they went only in such numbers as to cause us no disturbance by -their removal. But how was it to be when they threatened, without any -consent of ours, to erect a separate nationality on our borders? They -tried it first in Natal, threatening us not only with the rivalry of -their own proposed Republic, but with the hostile support of Holland. -This was not to be allowed and we sent 250 men, very insufficiently, to -put down the New Republic. We did, however, put it down at last.</p> - -<p>But the Dutch were determined to go out from us. Our ways were not their -ways. I am now speaking of a period nearly half a century back and of -the following quarter of a century. Our philanthropy disgusted them, and -was to their minds absolutely illogical,—not to be reconciled to that -custom of our nation of landing here and there and taking the land away -from the natives. The custom to them was good enough and seemed to be -clearly the intention of God Almighty. It was the purpose of Providence -that white men should use the land which was only wasted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">{214}</a></span> while in the -possession of black men;—and, no doubt, the purpose of Providence also -that black men should be made to work. But that attempt to strike down -the Native with the right hand and to salve the wound with the left was -to the Dutchman simply hypocritical. “Catch the nigger and make him -work.” That was the Dutchman’s idea. “Certainly;—if you can agree about -wages and other such matters,” said the British Authorities. -“Wages,—with this Savage; with this something more but very little more -than a monkey! Feed him, and perhaps baptize him; but at any rate get -work out of him,” said the Dutchman. Of course the Dutchman was -disgusted. And then the slaves had been manumitted. I will not go into -all that again; but I think it must be intelligible that the British -philanthropical system of government was an hypocritical abomination to -the Dutchman who knew very well that in spite of his philanthropy the -Englishman still kept taking the land;—land upon land.</p> - -<p>It was natural that the Dutchman should go across the Orange River, and -natural too that the English governor should not quite know how to treat -him when he had gone. But it would have been well if some certain policy -of treatment could have been adopted. Many think that had we not -interfered with him in Natal, had we never established what was called -an Orange River Sovereignty subject to British rule, a Dutch-speaking -nation would have been formed between our Cape Colony and the swarming -native tribes, which would have been a protecting barrier for us and -have ensured the security of our Colony. I myself do<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">{215}</a></span> not agree with -this. I think that a Dutch Republic if strong enough for this, -stretching from the confluence of the Vaal and Orange rivers down to the -shores of Natal would have been a neighbour more difficult to deal with -than Kafir tribes. My opinion on such a subject goes for very -little;—and there would at any rate have been a policy. Or, when we had -after much hesitation forbidden the Dutch to form a Republic in Natal -and had declared that country to be one among Her Majesty’s possessions, -we might have clung to the South African theory which was then -promulgated. In that case we should have recognized the necessity of -treating those wandering warlike patriarchs as British subjects and have -acknowledged to ourselves that whither they went thither we must go -after them. This, too, would have been a policy. But this we have not -done. At first we went after them. Then we abandoned them. And now that -they are altogether out of our hands in the Free State we are hankering -after them again. It is impossible not to see that the ideas as to -Colonial extension entertained by the late Duke of Newcastle are -altogether different from those held by Lord Carnarvon;—and that the -Colonial office lacks traditions.</p> - -<p>In some respects the history of the Orange Free State has been similar -to that of the Transvaal. Its fate has been very different,—a -difference which has resulted partly from the characters of the men -employed, partly from their external circumstances in regard to the -native tribes which have been near to them. Mr. Boshof and Mr. Brand -have been very superior as Statesmen to Mr. Pretorius and Mr. Burgers, -and the Basutos under Moshesh their Chief,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">{216}</a></span>—though they almost -succeeded in destroying the Orange Republic,—were at last less -dangerous, at any rate very much less numerous, than Cetywayo and the -Zulus.</p> - -<p>The Dutch when they first crossed the Orange River asked whether they -might go, and were then told that the law offered no impediment. “I am -not aware,” said Lieutenant Governor Stockenstrom in answer to a -deputation which appealed to him on the subject, “of any law which -prevents any of His Majesty’s subjects from leaving his dominions and -settling in another country; and such a law, if it did exist, would be -tyrannical and oppressive.” That was in 1835. It was in 1837 that the -migration across the river really began, when many of the wanderers -first found their way down to Natal. Some however settled directly -across the Orange River, where however they soon fell into difficulties -requiring government. While there was fighting with hostile tribes far -north across the Vaal, and while Dingaan was endeavouring to exterminate -the white men in Natal, the farmers across the Orange quarrelled in a -milder way with the bastard Hottentots and Griquas whom they found -there. But there were many troubles. When the Dutch declared themselves -to be supreme,—in reference to the Natives rather than the -British,—there came a British judge across the river, who happened then -to be on circuit in the neighbourhood, and told them that they were all -British subjects. But his assertion was very soon repudiated by the -Governor, Sir George Napier,—for at that time the idea was prevalent at -the Colonial office that <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217">{217}</a></span>England’s hands should be stretched no -further. This, however, did not stand long, and the next Governor, Sir -Peregrine Maitland, found himself compelled by growing troubles to -exercise authority across the rivers. He did not take possession of the -country, but established a resident at the little town of Bloemfontein. -The resident was to keep the peace between the Dutch and the various -tribes;—but had no commission to govern the country. The British had -found it impossible to allow the Dutch to drive the Natives from their -land,—and equally impossible to allow the Natives to slaughter the -Dutch. But yet we were very loth to declare the country British -territory.</p> - -<p>It was in 1848 that Sir Harry Smith, who was then in Natal, whither he -had gone intending if possible to conciliate the Dutch would-be -Republicans in that country, at last found himself compelled to claim -for the mother country sovereignty over the region between the Orange -and the Vaal rivers, and this proclamation he had to support by arms. -Pretorius, who had become the leader of the Dutch in Natal, and who on -account of personal slights to himself was peculiarly hostile to the -English, came over the Drakenburg mountains, and put himself at the head -of his countrymen between the rivers. He gathered together an army,—a -commando, as it was then called in South African language,—and coming -near to Bloemfontein ordered Major Warden, the British Resident, to move -himself off into the Cape Colony south of the river with all that he had -about him of soldiers and officials. This the Major did, and then -Pretorius prepared himself to encounter with his Boers the offended -majesty of Great Britain in arms. The reader will perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218">{218}</a></span> remember that -the Dutch had done the same thing in Natal,—and had at first been -successful.</p> - -<p>Then, on 29th August, 1848, was fought the battle of Boom Plats half-way -between the Orange River and Bloemfontein. Sir Harry Smith, the -Governor, had come himself with six or seven hundred English soldiers -and were joined by a small body of Griquas,—who were as a matter of -course hostile to the Dutch. There were collected together about a -thousand Dutch farmers all mounted. They were farmers, ready enough to -fight, but not trained soldiers. More English were killed or wounded -than Dutch. A dozen Dutchmen fell, and about four times that number of -English. But the English beat the Dutch. This decided the fate of that -territory for a short time,—and it became British under the name of the -Orange River Sovereignty. Pretorius with his friends trekked away north, -crossed the Vaal River, and there founded the Transvaal Republic,—as -has been told elsewhere. A reward of £2,000 was offered for his -apprehension;—an offer which might have been spared and which was -happily made in vain.</p> - -<p>Major Warden was reinstated as governing Resident, and the British power -was supposed to be so well consolidated that many colonists who had -hitherto remained contented on the south of the river now crossed it to -occupy the lands which the followers of Pretorius had been compelled to -desert. But the British were not very strong. The Basutos, a tribe of -Natives who have now for some years lived in the odour of loyal sanctity -and are supposed to be a pattern to all other Natives, harassed the -Europeans continually. War had to be proclaimed against them. Basuto -Land will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">{219}</a></span> found in the map lying to the north of Kafraria, to the -south east of the Orange Free State, south west of Natal, and north-east -of the Cape Colony,—to which it is bound only by a narrow neck, and of -which it now forms a part. How it became British shall be told -hereafter;—but at the time of which I am now writing, about 1850, it -was very Anti-British, and gave poor Major Warden and the Dutchmen who -were living under his rule a great deal of trouble.</p> - -<p>Then, in 1851, the Sovereignty was declared to be to all intents and -purposes a separate Colony,—such as is the Transvaal at this moment. A -Lieutenant Governor was appointed, who with the assistance of a council -was empowered to make laws,—but with a proviso that such laws should -not be binding upon Natives. To speak sooth British laws are not -absolutely binding upon the Natives in any of the South African -Colonies. In the Cape Colony or in Natal a Native may buy a wife,—or -ten wives. There has always been the acknowledged impossibility of -enforcing Africans to live at once after European habits. But here, in -this new Colony which we had at last adopted, there was to be something -peculiarly mild in our dealings with the black men. There was to be no -interference with acts done within the limits of the jurisdiction of any -native Chief. The Lieutenant Governor or “Resident was instructed to -maintain the government of the native Chiefs over their people and lands -in the utmost integrity.”<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> It is odd enough that from this territory, -on which the British Governor or British Colonial Secretary of the day -was so peculiarly anxious to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">{220}</a></span> defend the Natives from any touch of -European tyranny, all the native tribes have been abolished, and here -alone in South Africa the European master is fettered by no native -difficulty;—is simply served by native servants. The native locations -were to be peculiarly sacred;—but every Native has been scared away. -The servants and workmen are foreigners who have come into the land in -search of wages and food. The remarkable settlement at Thaba ’Ncho, of -which I shall speak in a following chapter, is no contradiction to this -statement, as the territory of the Baralongs of which Thaba ’Ncho is the -capital is not a portion of the Orange Free State.</p> - -<p>But with all our philanthropy we could not make things run smoothly in -our new Colony. Moshesh and the Basutos would have grievances and would -fight. The Governor of the Cape, who should have had no trouble with a -little Colony which had a Governor of its own, and a Council, and -instructions of a peculiarly philanthropic nature in regard to the -Natives, was obliged to fight with these Basutos on behalf of the little -Colony. This cost money,—of which the people in England heard the -facts. It was really too much that after all that we had done we should -be called upon to pay more money for an uncomfortable internal Province -in South Africa which was not of the slightest use to us, which added no -prestige to our name, and of which we had struggled hard to avoid the -possession. There was nothing attractive about it. It was neither -fertile nor pretty,—nor did it possess a precious metal of any kind as -far as we knew. It was inhabited by Dutch who disliked us,—and by a -most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">{221}</a></span> ungrateful horde of fighting Natives. Why,—why should we be -compelled to go rushing up to the Equator, crossing river after river, -in a simple endeavour to do good, when the very people whom we wanted to -serve continually quarrelled with us,—and made us pay through the nose -for all their quarrels?</p> - -<p>It seems to have been forgotten then,—it seems often to have been -forgotten,—that the good people and the peaceable people have to pay -for the bad people and the quarrelsome people. There would appear to be -a hardship in this;—but if any one will look into it he will see that -after all the good people and the peaceable have much the best of it, -and that the very money which they are called upon to pay in this way is -not altogether badly invested. They obtain the blessing of security and -the feeling, not injurious to their peace of mind, of having obtained -that security by their own exertions.</p> - -<p>But the idea of paying money and getting nothing for it does create -irritation. At home in England the new Colony was not regarded with -favour. In 1853 we had quite enough of fighting in hand without having -to fight the Basutos in defence of the Dutch, or the Dutch in defence of -the Basutos. The Colonial Secretary of that time was also War minister -and may well have had his hands full. It was decided that the Orange -Free State should be abandoned. We had claimed the Dutch as our subjects -when they attempted to start for themselves in Natal, and had subjugated -them by force of arms. Then we had repudiated them in the nearer region -across the Orange. Then again we had claimed them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">{222}</a></span> and had again -subjugated them by force of arms. Now we again repudiated them. In 1854 -we executed, and forced them to accept, a convention by which we handed -over the Government of the country to them,—to be carried on after -their own fashion. But yet it was not to be carried on exactly as they -pleased. There was to be no Slavery. They were to be an independent -people, living under a Republic; but they were not to be allowed to -force labour from the Natives. To see that this stipulation was carried -out it would have been necessary for us to maintain magistrates all over -the country;—or spies rather than magistrates, as such magistrates -could have had no jurisdiction. The Republic, however, assented to a -treaty containing this clause in regard to slavery.</p> - -<p>In 1854 we got rid of our Orange River Sovereignty, Sir George Clerk -having been sent over from England to make the transfer;—and we -congratulated ourselves that we had now two independent Republics -between us and the swarming hordes of the north. I cannot say how soon -there came upon Downing Street a desire to resume the territory, but -during the following troubles with the Basutos such a feeling must, one -would say, have arisen. When the Diamond Fields were discovered it is -manifest that the independence of the Orange Free State was very much in -our way. When we were compelled by the run of circumstances to have -dealings with native tribes which in 1854 seemed to us to be too remote -from our borders to need thought, we must have regretted a certain -clause in the convention by which,—we did not indeed bind ourselves to -have no dealings with natives<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">{223}</a></span> north of the Vaal river, but in which we -declared that we had no “wish or intention” to enter into such treaties. -No doubt that clause was intended to imply only that we had at that time -no hidden notion of interference with the doings of the proposed -Republic by arrangements with its native neighbours,—no notion of which -it was to be kept in the dark. To think the contrary would be to suppose -that the occupants of the Colonial Office at home were ignorant of -language and destitute of honesty. But there soon came troubles from the -clause which must have caused many regrets in the bosoms of Secretaries -and Under Secretaries. Now at any rate we are all sure that Downing -Street must repent her liberality, and wish,—ah, so fruitlessly,—that -Sir George Clerk had never been sent upon that expedition. With a -Permissive South Africa Confederation Bill carried after infinite -trouble, and an independent State in the middle of South Africa very -little inclined to Confederation, the present holder of the Colonial -seals<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> cannot admire much the peculiar virtue which in 1854 induced -his predecessor to surrender the Orange territory to the Dutch in -opposition to the wish of all the then inhabitants of the country.</p> - -<p>For the surrender was not made to please the people of the country. Down -in Natal the Dutch had wanted a Republic. Up in the Sovereignty, as it -was then called, they also had wanted a Republic when old Pretorius was -at their head. But since that time there had come troubles with the -Basutos,—troubles which were by no means ended,—and the Dutch were now -willing enough to put up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">{224}</a></span> with dependence and British protection. The -Dutch have been so cross-grained that the peculiar colonial virtue of -the day has never been able to take their side. “We have come here only -because you have undertaken to govern us and protect us,” said those of -the Dutch who had followed and not preceded us across the Orange. And it -was impossible to contradict them. I do not think that any body could -now dispassionately inquire into the circumstances of South Africa -without calling in question the wisdom of the Government at home in -abandoning the control of the territory north of the Orange River.</p> - -<p>But the Republic was established. For some years it had a most troubled -life. Mr. Boshof was elected the first President and retained that -office till 1859. He seems to have been a man of firmness and wisdom, -but to have found his neighbours the Basutos to be almost too much for -him. There was war with this tribe more or less during his whole time. -There was a branch of the tribe of the Basutos living on a territory in -the Free State,—a people whom I will describe more at length in a -following chapter,—over whom and over whose property Moshesh the Chief -of the Basutos claimed sovereignty; but it was impossible for the Free -State to admit the claim as it could itself only exist by dictating -boundaries and terms to the Baralongs,—which they were willing enough -to receive as being a protection against their enemies the Basutos.</p> - -<p>In 1860 Mr. Pretorius became President of the Free State,—the son of -the man who had been the first President of the Transvaal,—and the man -himself who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">{225}</a></span> President of the Transvaal before Mr. Burgers. But the -difficulties were altogether beyond his power, and in 1863 he resigned. -Then Mr. Brand was appointed, the gentleman who now holds the office and -who will hold it probably, if he lives, for many years to come. His -present condition, which is one of complete calm, is very much at -variance with the early years of his Presidency. I should hardly -interest my reader if I were to attempt to involve them in the details -of this struggle. It was a matter of life and death to the young -Republic in which national death seemed always to be more probable than -national life. The State had no army and could depend only on the -efforts of its burghers and volunteers,—men who were very good for a -commando or a spasmodic struggle, men who were well used to sharp -skirmishes in which they had to contend in the proportion of one to ten -against their black enemies. But this war was maintained for four years, -and the burghers and volunteers who were mostly married men could not -long remain absent from home. And when a peace was made at the instance -of the Governor of the Cape Colony and boundaries established to which -Moshesh agreed, the sons of Moshesh broke out in another place, and -everything was as bad as before. All the available means of the Free -State were spent. Blue-backs as they were called were printed, and the -bankers issued little scraps of paper,—“good-fors,” as they were -called,—representing minute sums of money. Trade there was none and the -farmers had to fight the Basutos instead of cultivating their land. At -that time the condition of the Free State was very bad indeed. I think -I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">{226}</a></span> may say that its preservation was chiefly due to the firmness of Mr. -Brand.</p> - -<p>At length the Basutos were so crushed that they were driven to escape -the wrath of their Dutch enemies by imploring the British to take them -in as subjects. In March 1868 this was done,—by no means with the -consent of the Free State which felt that it ought to dictate terms and -to take whatever territory it might desire from its now conquered enemy -and add such territory to its own. This was the more desirable as the -land of the Basutos was peculiarly good and fit for -cultivation,—whereas that of the Orange Free State was peculiarly bad, -hardly admitting cultivation at all without the expensive process of -irrigation. The English at last made a boundary line, to which the Free -State submitted. By this a considerable portion of the old Basuto land -was given up to them. This they have held ever since under the name of -the Conquered Territory. Its capital is called Ladybrand, and its -possession is the great pride of the Republic. In completing this story -I must say that the Republic has been most unexpectedly able to redeem -every inch of paper money which it created, and now, less than ten years -after a war which quite exhausted and nearly destroyed it, the Orange -Free State stands unburdened by a penny of public debt. This condition -has no doubt come chiefly from its good luck. Diamonds were found, and -the Diamond Fields had to be reached through the Free State. Provisions -of all sorts were required at the Diamond Fields, and thus a market was -created for everything that could be produced. There came a sudden -influx<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">{227}</a></span> of prosperity which enabled the people to bear taxation,—and in -this way the blue-backs were redeemed.</p> - -<p>There were other troubles after 1869;—but the little State has floated -through them all. Its chief subsequent trouble has been the main cause -of its prosperity. The diamonds were found and the Republic claimed the -territory on which they were being collected. On that subject I have -spoken in a previous chapter, and I need not again refer to the details -of the disagreement between Great Britain and the Republic. But it may -be as well to point out that had that quarrel ended otherwise than it -did, the English of the Diamond Fields would certainly have annexed the -Dutch of the Free State, instead of allowing the Dutch of the Free State -to annex them;—and then England would have obtained all the country -between the Orange and the Vaal instead of only that small but important -portion of it in which the diamonds lie. To imagine that Kimberley with -all its wealth would have allowed itself to be ruled by a Dutch -Volksraad at the little town of Bloemfontein, is to suppose that the -tail can permanently wag the dog, instead of the dog wagging the tail. -Diamond diggers are by no means people of a kind to submit quietly to -such a condition of things. It was bitter enough for the Volksraad to -abandon the idea of making laws for so rich and strong a -population,—bitter perhaps for Mr. Brand to abandon the idea of -governing them. But there can now, I think, be no doubt that it was -better for the Free State that Griqualand West and Kimberley should be -separated from it,—especially as Mr. Brand was sent home to England by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">{228}</a></span> -his parliament,—where he probably acquired softer feelings than -heretofore towards a nationality with which he had been so long -contending, and where he was able to smooth everything by inducing the -Secretary of State to pay £90,000 by way of compensation to his own -Government. I should think that Mr. Brand looking back on his various -contentions with the British, on the Basuto wars and the Griqualand -boundary lines, must often congratulate himself on the way he has -steered his little bark. There can be no doubt that his fellow citizens -in the Republic are very proud of his success.</p> - -<p>Since Mr. Brand returned from London in 1876 nothing material has -happened in the history of the Free State. In regard to all states it is -said to be well that nothing material should happen to them. This must -be peculiarly so with a Republic so small, and of which the success and -the happiness must depend so entirely on its tranquillity. That it -should have lived through the Basuto wars is astonishing. That it should -not continue to live now that it is protected on all sides from the -possibility of wars by the contiguity of British territory would be as -astonishing. It seems to be expected by some politicians in England that -now, in the days of her prosperity, the Republic will abandon her -independence and ask to be received once more under the British ægis. I -cannot conceive anything to be less probable, nor can I see any cause -for such a step. But I will refer again to this matter when attempting -to describe the present condition of the country.</p> - -<p>In this little sketch I have endeavoured to portray the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">{229}</a></span> Colonial -Ministers at home as actuated by every virtue which should glow within -the capacious bosom of a British Statesman. I am sure that I have -attributed no sinister motive, no evil idea, no blindness to honesty, no -aptitude for craft to any Secretary of State. There are I think no less -than eleven of them still living, all of whom the British public regards -as honourable men who have deserved well of their country. I can -remember almost as many more of whom the same may be said, who are now -at peace beyond the troubles of the Native Question. I will endeavour to -catalogue the higher public virtues by which they have endeared -themselves to their country,—only remarking that those virtues have -not, each of them, held the same respective places in the bosoms of all -of them. A sensitiveness to the greatness and glory of England,—what we -may perhaps call the Rule Britannia feeling,—which cannot endure the -idea that the British foot should ever go back one inch! Is it not -national ardour such as this which recommends our Statesmen to our love? -And then there has been that well-weighed economy which has been -acquired in the closet and used in the House of Commons, without which -no minister can really be true to his country. To levy what taxes be -needed, but to take care that no more is spent than is needed;—is not -that the first duty of a Cabinet Minister? But it has been England’s -destiny to be the arbiter of the fate of hundreds of millions of dusky -human beings,—black, but still brethren,—on distant shores. The Queen -has a hundred coloured subjects to one that is white. It has been the -peculiar duty of the Colonial Minister to look after and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">{230}</a></span> to defend the -weakest of these dark-skinned brothers; and this has had to be done in -the teeth of much obloquy! Can any virtue rank higher than the -performance of so sacred a duty? And then of how much foresight have our -ministers the need? How accurately must they read the lessons which -history and experience should teach them if Great Britain is to be saved -from a repetition of the disgrace which she encountered before the -American Colonies declared themselves independent? When we find a man -who can look forward and say to himself,—“while we can hold these -people, for their own content, to their own welfare, so long we will -keep them; but not a moment longer for any selfish aggrandisement of our -own;”—when we find a Statesman rising to that pitch, how fervently -should we appreciate the greatness of the man, and how ready should we -be to acknowledge that he has caught the real secret of Colonial -administration.</p> - -<p>These splendid qualities have so shone over our Colonial office that the -sacred edifice is always bright with them. They scintillate on the brows -of every Assistant Secretary, and sit as a coronet on the shining locks -of all the clerks. But unfortunately they are always rotatory, so that -no one virtue is ever long in the ascendant. Rule Britannia! and the -Dutch Member of Parliament has to walk out of his Volksaal and touch his -hat to an English Governor. Downing Street and the Treasury have agreed -to retrench! Then the Dutch Member of Parliament walks back again. We -will at any rate protect the Native! Then the Boer’s wife hides the -little whip with which she is accustomed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">{231}</a></span> maintain discipline over -her apprenticed nigger children. Let these people go forth and govern -themselves! Then the little whip comes out again. Among all these -British virtues what is a bewildered Dutch Colonist to do? If one virtue -would remain always in the ascendant,—though I might differ or -another,—there would be an intelligible policy. If they could be made -to balance each other,—as private virtues do in private bosoms when the -owners of those bosoms are possessed of judgment,—then the policy would -assuredly be good. But while one virtue is ever in the ascendant, but -never long there, the Dutch Colonist, and the English, are naturally -bewildered by the rotation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">{232}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ORANGE FREE STATE.—PRESENT CONDITION.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Sir George Grey</span>, who was at that time Governor of the Cape of Good Hope -writing to Lord John Russell on 17th November 1855,—Lord John having -then been Secretary of State for the Colonies,—expresses himself in the -following glowing terms as to the region of which I am now writing. “The -territory of the Orange Free State forms one of the finest pastoral -countries I have ever seen. There is no district of country in Australia -which I have visited which throughout so great an extent of territory -affords so uniformly good a pastoral country.” A short time previous to -this, Sir George Clerk, when he was about to deliver the State up to the -Government of the Dutch, declared,—or at any rate is popularly reported -to have declared,—that the land was a “howling wilderness.” I think -that the one colonial authority was quite as far astray as the other. -Sir George Grey had ever a way with him of contending for his point -either by strong language or by strong action. He was at one time -Governor of South Australia, but perhaps never travelled as far north as -the Salt Bush country of that Colony. The Colony in his time was in its -infancy and was not known as far north as the pastoral district in -question. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233">{233}</a></span> do not know whether Sir George ever visited the Riverina in -New South Wales, or the Darling Downs in Queensland. Had he done -so,—and had he then become as well acquainted with the pastoral -properties of land as he has since become,—he would hardly with all his -energy have ventured upon such an assertion. It will be only necessary -for any investigator to look at the prices of Australian and South -African wool to enable him to form an opinion on the subject. The -average price in London of medium Australian wool in 1877 was 1s. 6d. a -pound, and that of South African wool of the same class 1s. 1d. a pound. -In both countries it is common to hear that the land should be stocked -at about the rate of 3 sheep to the acre; but in Australia patches of -land which will bear heavier stocking occur much more numerously than in -South Africa. The Orange Free State has not yet arrived at the ponderous -glory of full statistics so that I cannot give the amount of the wool -produced, nor can I divide her wool from that of the Cape Colony, -through which it is sent to England without special record. But I feel -sure that no one who knows the two countries will venture to compare the -flocks of the Free State with those of either of the four great -Australian Colonies, or with the flocks of New Zealand.</p> - -<p>But if Sir George Grey spoke too loudly in one direction Sir George -Clerk spoke very much too loudly in the other. He was probably struck by -the desolate and unalluring appearance of the lands to the north of the -Orange. They are not picturesque. They are not well-timbered. They are -not even well-watered. If Sir George Clerk saw them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234">{234}</a></span> in a drought, as I -did, he certainly did not look upon a lovely country. But it is a -country in which men may earn easy bread by pastoral and agricultural -pursuits; in which with a certain amount of care,—which has to show -itself mainly in irrigation,—the choicest fruits of the earth can be -plenteously produced; in which the earth never refuses her increase if -she be asked for it with many tears. A howling wilderness certainly it -is not. But Sir George Clerk when he described the country was anxious -to excuse the conduct of Great Britain in getting rid of it, while Sir -George Grey was probably desirous of showing how wrong Great Britain had -been on the occasion.</p> - -<p>I do not know that I ever travelled across a less attractive country -than the Orange Free State, or one in which there is less to gratify the -visitor who goes to see things and not to see men and women. And the men -and women are far between; for over an area presumed to include 70,000 -square miles, a solid block of territory about 300 miles long by 120 -miles broad, there are probably not more than 30,000 white people, and -half that number of coloured people. The numbers I know are computed to -be greater by the officials of the Free State itself,—but no census has -been taken, and with customary patriotism they are perhaps disposed to -overestimate their own strength. They, however, do not give much above -half an inhabitant to every square mile. It must be remembered that in -the Free State the land is all occupied;—but that it is occupied at the -rate I have described. I altogether deny that the Free State is a -howling wilderness, but I do not recommend English autumn tourists to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">{235}</a></span> -devote their holydays to visiting the land, unless they have become very -tired indeed of their usual resorts.</p> - -<p>The farmer in the Orange Free State is generally a Dutch Boer,—but by -no means always so. During my very short visit I came across various -Englishmen who were holding or who had held land there,—Africanders -perhaps, persons who had been born from British parents in the Gape -Colony,—but altogether British as distinguished from Dutch. In the -towns the shopkeepers are I think as generally English as the farmers -are Dutch in the country. We hear of the Republic as an essentially -Dutch country;—but I think that if a man about to live there had to -choose the possession of but one of the two languages, English would be -more serviceable to him of the two. In another twenty years it certainly -will be so.</p> - -<p>I travelled from the Diamond Fields to Bloemfontein and thence through -Smithfield to the Orange River at Aliwal North. I also made a short -excursion from Bloemfontein. In this way I did not see the best district -of the country which is that which was taken from the Basutos,—where -the town of Ladybrand now is,—which is good agricultural land, capable -of being sown and reaped without artificial irrigation. The normal Dutch -farmer of the Republic, such as I saw him, depends chiefly upon his -flocks which are very small as compared with those in Australia,—three -or four thousand sheep being a respectable pastoral undertaking for one -man. He deals in agriculture also, not largely, but much more generally -than his Australian brother. In Australia the squatter usually despises -agriculture, looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">{236}</a></span> upon it as the fitting employment for a little -free-selector,—who is but a mean fellow in his estimation. He grows no -more than he will use about his place for his own cattle. The flour to -be consumed by himself and his men he buys. And as his horses are not -often corn-fed a very few acres of ploughed land suffices for his -purpose. The Dutch patriarch makes his own bread from the wheat he has -himself produced. The bread is not white, but it is so sweet that I am -inclined to say I have never eaten better. And he sells his -produce,—anything which he can grow and does not eat himself. The -Australian woolgrower sells nothing but wool. The Dutch Boer will send -peas twenty miles to market, and will sell a bundle of forage,—hay made -out of unripened oats or barley,—to any one who will call at his place -and ask for it.</p> - -<p>A strong Boer will probably have thirty, forty or perhaps fifty acres of -cultivated land round his house,—including his garden. And he will -assuredly have a dam for holding and husbanding his rain water. He would -almost better be without a house than without a dam. Some spot is chosen -as near to his homestead as may be,—towards which there is something, -be it ever so slight, of a fall of ground. Here a curved wall or stoned -bank is made underlying the fall of ground, and above it the earth is -hollowed out,—as is done with a haha fence, only here it is on larger -and broader dimensions,—and into this artificial pond when it is so -made the rain water is led by slight watercourses along the ground -above. From the dam, by other watercourses, the contents are led hither -and thither on to the land and garden as required,—or into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">{237}</a></span> the house. -It is the Boer’s great object thus to save enough water to last him -through any period of drought that may come;—an object which he -generally attains as far as his sheep, and cattle, and himself are -concerned;—but in which he occasionally fails in reference to his -ground. I saw more than one dam nearly dry as I passed through the -country, and heard it asserted more than once that half a day’s rain -would be worth a hundred pounds to the speaker.</p> - -<p>The Boer’s house consists of a large middle chamber in which the family -live and eat and work,—but do not cook. There is not usually even a -fireplace in the room. It is very seldom floored. I do not know that I -ever saw a Boer’s house floored in the Free State. As the planks would -have had to be brought up four hundred miles by oxen, this is not -wonderful. The Boer is contented with the natural hard earth as it has -been made for him. The furniture of his room is good enough for all -domestic purposes. There are probably two spacious tables, and settees -along the walls of which the seats are made of ox-riems, and open -cupboards in the corners filled not sparingly with crockery. And there -is always a pile of books in a corner of the room,—among which there is -never one not of a religious tendency. There is a large Dutch Bible, and -generally half a dozen Dutch hymn-books, with a smaller Bible or two, -and not improbably an English prayer-book and English hymn-book if any -of the younger people are affecting the English language. The younger -members of the family generally are learning English and seem to be very -much better off in regard to education than are their relations in the -Transvaal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">{238}</a></span></p> - -<p>Opening out of the living room there are generally bedrooms to the right -and left,—probably two at one end and one at the other,—of which the -best will be surrendered to the use of any respectable stranger who may -want such accommodation. It matters not who may be the normal occupant -of the room. He or she,—or more probably they,—make way for the -stranger, thinking no more of surrendering a bedroom than we do of -giving up a chair. The bedroom is probably close and disagreeable, -lacking fresh air, with dark suspicious corners of which the stranger -would not on any account unravel the mysteries. Behind the centre -chamber there is a kitchen to which the stranger does not probably -penetrate. I have however been within the kitchen of a Dutch Boeress and -have found that as I was to eat what came out of it, I had better not -have penetrated so far. It will be understood that a Dutch Boer’s house -never has an upper storey.</p> - -<p>The young men are large strapping youths, and well made though awkward -in their gait. The girls can hardly be said to be good-looking though -there is often a healthy bloom about them. One would be inclined to say -that they marry and have children too young were it not that they have -so many children, and afterwards become such stout old matrons. Surely -no people ever attended less to the fripperies and frivolities of dress. -The old men wear strong loose brown clothes well bestained with work. -The old women do the same. And so do the young men, and so do the young -women. There seems to be extant among them no taste whatever for -smartness. None at any rate is exhi<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">{239}</a></span>bited about their own homesteads. -There are always coloured people about, living in adjacent huts,—very -probably within the precincts of the same courtyard. For with the white -children there are always to be seen black children playing. Nor does -there seem to be any feeling of repugnance at such intercourse on the -part of any one concerned. As such children grow up no doubt they are -required to work, but I have never seen among the Dutch any instance of -personal cruelty to a coloured person;—nor, during my travels in South -Africa, did any story of such cruelty reach my ear. The Dutchman would I -think fain have the black man for his slave,—and, could he have his way -in this, would not probably be over tender. But the feeling that the -black man is not to be personally ill-used has I think made its way so -far, that at any rate in the Orange Free State such ill-usage is -uncommon.</p> - -<p>In regard to the question of work, I found that in the Free State as in -all the other provinces and districts of the country so much of the work -as is done for wages is invariably done by coloured people. On a farm I -have seen four young men working together,—as far as I could see on -equal terms,—and two have been white and two black; but the white lads -were the Boer’s sons, while the others were his paid servants. Looking -out of a window in a quiet dreary little town in the Free State I saw -opposite to me two men engaged on the plastering of a wall. One was a -Kafir and the other probably was a west coast Negro. Two or three passed -by with loads on their shoulders. They were Bechuanas or Bastard -Hottentots. I strolled out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">{240}</a></span> village to a country house where a -Fingo was gardener and a Bushman was working under him. Out in the -street the two men who had driven the coach were loafing round it. They -were Cape Boys as they are called,—a coloured people who came from St. -Helena and have white blood in their veins. I had dined lately and had -been waited upon by a Coolie. Away in the square I could see bales of -wool being handled by three Basutos. A couple of Korannas were -pretending to drive oxen through the street but were apparently going -where the oxen led them. Then came another Hottentot with a yoke and -pair of buckets on his shoulder. I had little else to do and watched the -while that I was there;—but I did not see a single white man at work. I -heard their voices,—some Dutch, though chiefly English; but the voices -were the voices of masters and not of men. Then I walked round the place -with the object of seeing, and nowhere could I find a white man working -as a labourer. And yet the Orange Free State is supposed to be the one -South African territory from which the black man has been expelled. The -independent black man who owned the land has been expelled,—but the -working black man has taken his place, allured by wages and diet.</p> - -<p>The Dutch Boer does not love to pay wages,—does not love to spend money -in any way,—not believing in a return which is to come, or possibly may -come, from an outlay of capital in that direction. He prefers to keep -what he has and to do what can be done by family labour. He will, -however, generally have a couple of black men about his place, whose -services he secures at the lowest possible<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">{241}</a></span> rate. Every shilling so paid -is grudged. He has in his heart an idea that a nigger ought to be made -to work without wages.</p> - -<p>In the Free State as in the Transvaal I found every Boer with whom I -came in contact, and every member of a Boer’s family, to be courteous -and kind. I never entered a house at which my hand was not grasped at -going in and coming out. This may be a bore, when there are a dozen in -family all shaking hands on both occasions; but it is conclusive -evidence that the Boer is not a churl. He admits freedoms which in more -civilized countries would be at once resented. If you are hungry or -thirsty you say so, and hurry on the dinner or the cup of tea. You -require to be called at four in the morning and suggest that there shall -be hot coffee at that hour. And he is equally familiar. He asks your -age, and is very anxious to know how many children you have and what is -their condition in the world. He generally boasts that he has more than -you have,—and, if you yourself be so far advanced in age, that he has -had grandchildren at a younger age than you. “You won’t have a baby born -to you when you are 67 years old,” an old Boer said to me exulting. When -I expressed a hope that I might be saved from such a fate, he chuckled -and shook his head, clearly expressing an opinion that I would fain have -a dozen children if Juno and the other celestials concerned would only -be so good to me. His young wife sat by and laughed as it was all -explained to her by the daughter of a former marriage who understood -English. This was customary Boer pleasantness intended by the host for -the delectation of his guest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">{242}</a></span></p> - -<p>I was never more convinced of anything than that those people, the Dutch -Boers of the Free State, are contented with their present condition and -do not desire to place themselves again under the dominion of England. -The question is one of considerable importance at the present moment as -the permissive bill for the suggested Confederation of the South African -districts has become law, and as that Confederation can hardly take -place unless the Free State will accept it. The Free State is an -isolated district in South Africa, now surrounded on all sides by -British territory, by no means rich, not populous, in which the Dutch -and English languages prevail perhaps equally, and also Dutch and -English habits of life. It would appear therefore at first sight to be -natural that the large English Colonies should swallow up and assimilate -the little Dutch Republic. But a close view of the place and of the -people,—and of the circumstances as they now exist and would exist -under Dutch rule,—have tended to convince me that such a result is -improbable for at any rate some years to come.</p> - -<p>In the Orange Free State the Volksraad or Parliament is -plenipotentiary,—more so if it be possible than our Parliament is with -us because there is but one Chamber and because the President has no -veto upon any decision to which that Chamber may come. The Volksraad is -elected almost exclusively by the rural interest. There are 54 members, -who are returned, one for each chief town in a district, and one for -each Field-Cornetcy,—the Field-Cornetcies being the divisions into -which the rural districts are divided for police and military purposes. -Of these towns, such as they are,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">{243}</a></span> there are 13, and from them, if from -any part of the State, would come a desire for English rule. But they, -with the exception of the capital, can hardly be said to be more than -rural villages. It is in the towns that the English language is taught -and spoken,—that English tradesmen live, and that English modes of life -prevail. The visitor to Bloemfontein, the capital, will no doubt feel -that Bloemfontein is more English than Dutch. But Bloemfontein returns -but one member to the Yolksraad. From the rural districts there are 41 -members, all of whom are either Boers or have been returned by Boers. -Were the question extended to the division even of the 13 town members I -do not doubt but that the present state of things would be -maintained,—so general is the feeling in favour of the independence of -the Republic. But seeing that the question rests in truth with the -country members, that the country is essentially a farmer’s country, a -country which for all purposes is in the hands of the Dutch Boers, it -seems to me to be quite out of the question that the change should be -voted by the legislature of the country.</p> - -<p>An Englishman, or an Africander with an English name and an English -tongue, is under the constitution as capable of being elected as a -Dutchman. A very large proportion of the wealth of the country is in -English hands. The large shopkeepers are generally English; and I think -that I am right in saying that the Banks are supported by English, or at -any rate, by Colonial capital. And yet, looking through the names of the -present Volksraad, I find but two that are English,—and the owner of -one of them I believe to be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">{244}</a></span> Dutchman. How can it be possible that -such a House should vote away its own independence? It is so impossible -that there can be no other way of even bringing the question before the -House than that of calling upon it for a unanimous assertion of its will -in answer to the demand, or request, or suggestion now made by Great -Britain.</p> - -<p>Nor can I conceive any reason why the Volksraad should consent to the -proposed change. To a nationality labouring under debt, oppressed by -external enemies, or unable to make the property of its citizens secure -because of external disorders, the idea of annexing itself to a strong -power might be acceptable. To have its debts paid, its frontiers -defended, and its rebels controlled might be compensation for the loss -of that self-rule which is as pleasant to communities as it is to -individuals. Such I believe is felt to be the case by the most Dutch of -the Dutch Boers in the Transvaal. But the Orange Free State does not owe -a penny. Some years since it had been so impoverished by Basuto wars -that it was reduced to the enforced use of paper money which sank to -half its nominal value. Had England then talked of annexation the Boers -might have listened to her offer. But the enormous trade produced by the -sudden influx of population into the Diamond Fields created a wealth -which has cured this evil. The bluebacks,—as the Orange Free State -banknotes were called,—have been redeemed at par, and the Revenue of -the country is amply sufficient for its modest wants. Enemies it has -none, and from its position can have none,—unless it be England. Its -own internal affairs are so quiet and easily regulated that it is hardly -necessary to lock a door.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">{245}</a></span> No annexation could make a Boer more secure -in the possession of his own land and his own chattels than he is at -present.</p> - -<p>It may of course be alleged that if the State were to join her lot with -that of the Cape Colony or of a wide South African Confederation, she -would increase her own wealth by sharing that of the larger nationality -of which she would become a part,—and that the increase of national -wealth would increase the means of the individuals forming the nation. -This, however, is an argument which, even though it were believed, would -have but little effect on the minds of a class of men who are peculiarly -fond of self-government but are by no means desirous of a luxurious mode -of life. It is often said that the Boer is fond of money. He is -certainly averse to spending it and will grasp at it when it comes -absolutely in his way; but he is the last man in the world to trust to -its coming to him from a speculative measure of which he sees the -certain immediate evil much more clearly than the possible future -advantage.</p> - -<p>There is one source of public wealth from which the Orange Free State is -at present debarred by the peculiarity of its position, and of which it -would enjoy its share were it annexed to the Cape Colony or joined in -some federation with it. But I hope that no British or Colonial -Statesman has trusted to force the Republic to sacrifice herself for the -sake of obtaining justice in this respect. If, as I think, wrong is -being done to the Orange Free State in this matter that wrong should be -remedied for the sake of justice, and not maintained as a weapon to -enforce the self-annihilation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">{246}</a></span> of a weak neighbour. On whatever produce -from the world at large the Free State consumes, the Free State receives -no Custom duties. The duties paid are levied by the Cape Colony, and are -spent by it as a portion of its own revenues. The Free State has no -seaboard and therefore no port.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Her sugar, and tea, and whisky come -to her through Capetown, or Fort Elizabeth, or East London, and there -the Custom duties are collected,—and retained. I need hardly point out -to English readers that the Custom duties of a country form probably the -greatest and perhaps the least objectionable portion of its revenue. It -will be admitted, at any rate, that to such extent as a country chooses -to subject its people to an increased price of goods by the addition of -Custom duties to the cost of production, to that extent the revenue of -the consuming country should be enriched. If I, an individual in -England, have to pay a shilling on the bottle of French wine which I -drink, as an Englishman I am entitled to my share of the public -advantage coming from that shilling. But the Republican of the Orange -Free State pays the shilling while the Colonist of the Cape has the -spending of it. I hope, I say, that we on the south side of the Orange -River do not cling to this prey with any notion that by doing so we can -keep a whip hand over our little neighbour the Republic.</p> - -<p>Two allegations are made in defence of the course pursued.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">{247}</a></span> It is said -that the goods are brought to the ports of the Colony by Colonial -merchants and are resold by them to the traders of the Orange Free -State, so as to make it impossible for the Colony to know what is -consumed within her own borders and what beyond. Goods could not -therefore be passed through in bond even if the Cape Government would -permit it. They go in broken parcels, and any duties collected must -therefore be collected at the ports whence the goods are distributed. -But this little difficulty has been got over in the intercourse between -Victoria and New South Wales. A considerable portion of the latter -Colony is supplied with its seaborne goods from Melbourne, which is the -Capital and seaport of Victoria. Victoria collects the duties on those -goods, and, having computed their annual amount, pays a certain lump sum -to New South Wales in lieu of the actual duties collected. Why should -not the Cape Colony settle with the Orange Republic in the same way?</p> - -<p>The other reason put forward for withholding the amount strikes me as -being—almost mean. I have heard it put forward only in conversation, -and I am bringing no charge against any Statesman in the Cape Colony by -saying this. I trust that the argument has had no weight with any -Statesman at the Cape. The Cape Colony makes the roads over which the -goods are carried up to the Free State. She does do so,—and the -railroads. But she collects toll on the former, and charges for carriage -on the latter. And she enjoys all the money made by the continued -traffic through her territory. And she levies the port duties, which no -one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">{248}</a></span> begrudges her. I felt it to be a new thing to be informed that a -country was so impoverished by being made the vehicle for traffic from -the sea to the interior that it found itself compelled to reimburse -itself by filching Custom Duties.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> England might just as well claim -the customs of the Cape Colony because she protects the seas over which -the goods are carried.</p> - -<p>But the Orange Free State can carry on her little business even without -the aid of Custom Duties, and will certainly not be driven back into the -arms of the mother who once repudiated her by the want of them. She can -pay her modest way; and while she can do so the Boer of the Volksraad -will certainly not be induced to give up the natural delight which he -takes in ruling his own country. The Free State might send perhaps six -members to the central Congress of a South African Federation, where -they would be called upon to hear debates, which they would be unable to -share or even to understand because spoken in a foreign language. They -would be far from their farms and compelled to live in a manner -altogether uncomfortable to them. Is it probable that for this privilege -they will rob themselves of the honour and joy they now have in their -own Parliament? In his own Parliament the Boer is close, phlegmatic, by -no means eloquent, but very firm. The two parliamentary ideas most -prominent in his mind are that he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">{249}</a></span>will vote away neither his -independence nor his money. It is very hard to get from him a sanction -for any increased expenditure. It would I think be impossible to get -from him sanction for a measure which would put all control over -expenditure out of his own hands. “We will guard as our choicest -privilege that independence which Her Majesty some years since was -pleased to bestow upon us.” It is thus that the Boer declares -himself,—somewhat sarcastically,—when he is asked whether he does not -wish to avail himself of the benefit of British citizenship.</p> - -<p>Somewhat sarcastically;—for he is well aware that when England -repudiated him,—declaring that she would have nothing to do with him -across the Orange River, she did so with contempt and almost with -aversion. And he is as well aware that England now wants to get him back -again. The double consciousness is of a nature likely to beget sarcasm. -“You thought nothing of me when I came here a poor wanderer, daring all -dangers in order that I might escape from your weaknesses, your -absurdities, your mock philanthropies,—when I shook off from the sole -of my foot the dust of a country in which the black Savage was preferred -to the white Colonist; but now,—now that I have established myself -successfully,—you would fain have me back again so that your broad -borders may be extended, and your widened circle made complete. But, by -the Providence of God, after many difficulties we are well as we -are;—and therefore we are able to decline your offers.” That is the -gist of what the Boer is saying when he tells us of the independence -bestowed upon him by Her Majesty.</p> - -<p>Thinking as I do that Great Britain was wrong when she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">{250}</a></span> repudiated the -Orange Free State in 1854, believing that there was then a lack of -patience at the Colonial Office and that we should have been better -advised had we borne longer with the ways of the Dutch, I must still -acknowledge here that they were a provoking people, and one hard to -manage. Omitting small details and some few individual instances of -misrule, I feel that when the Dutch complained of us they complained of -what was good in our ways and not of what was evil. It was with this -conviction that we repudiated both the Transvaal and the other younger -but more stable Republic. Good excuses can be made for what we did,—not -the worst of which is the fact that a people whom we desired to rule -themselves, have ruled themselves well. But we did repudiate them, and I -do not know with what face we can ask them to return to us. If the offer -came from them of course we could assent; but that offer will hardly be -made.</p> - -<p>We could certainly annex the Republic by force,—as we have done the -Transvaal. If we were to send a High Commissioner to Bloemfontein with -thirty policemen and an order that the country should be given up to us, -I do not know that President Brand and the Volksraad could do better -than comply,—with such loudest remonstrance as they might make. “The -Republic cannot fight Great Britain,” President Brand might say, as -President Burgers said when he apologised for the easy surrender of his -Republic. But there are things which a nation can not do and hold up its -head, and this would be one of them. There could be no excuse for such -spoliation. It is not easy to justify what we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251">{251}</a></span> have done in the -Transvaal. If there be any laws of right and wrong by which nations -should govern themselves in their dealings with other nations it is hard -to find the law in conformity with which that act was done. But for that -act expediency can be pleaded. We have taken the Transvaal not that we -might strengthen our own hands, not that we might round our own borders, -not that we might thus be enabled to carry out the policy of our own -Cabinet,—but because by doing so we have enabled Englishmen, Dutchmen! -and natives to live one with another in comfort. There does seem to have -been at any rate expedience to justify us in the Transvaal. But no such -plea can be put forward in reference to the Free State. There a quiet -people are being governed after their own fashion. There a modest people -are contented with the fruition of their own moderate wealth. There a -secure and well ordered people are able to live without fear. I cannot -see any reason for annexing them;—or any other excuse beyond that -spirit of spoliation which has so often armed the strong against the -weak, but which England among the strong nations has surely repudiated.</p> - -<p>The Legislature of the Orange Republic consists, as I have said, of a -single House called the Volksraad, which is elected for four years, of -which one half goes out at the end of every two years, so that the -change is not made all at once as with us, half the House being -dissolved at the end of one period of two years, and half at the end of -another. The members are paid 20s. a day while the House is sitting. The -House elects its own Speaker, at the right hand of whom the President -has a chair. This he may occupy or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252">{252}</a></span> not as he pleases; but when he is -not there it is expected that his place shall be filled by the -Government Secretary. The President can speak when he likes but cannot -vote. The House can, if it please, desire him to withdraw, but, I was -informed, had never yet exercised its privilege in this respect.</p> - -<p>The President is elected for a term of five years and may, under the -present Constitution, be re-elected for any number of terms. The present -President has now nearly served his third term, and will no doubt be -re-elected next year. But there is a bill now before the Volksraad by -which the renewal of the President’s term is to be confined to a single -reappointment. One re-election only will be allowed. This change has -received all the sanction which one Session can give it. The period of -the term is also to be curtailed from five to four years. It is -necessary however that such a change in the Constitution shall be passed -by the House in three consecutive Sessions, and on each occasion by a -three-fourth majority. It is understood also that the bill if passed -will not debar the existing President from one re-election after the -change. President Brand therefore will be enabled to serve for five -terms, and should he live to do so will thus have been the Head of the -Executive of the Free State for a period of twenty-four years,—which is -much longer than the average reign of hereditary monarchs. His last term -will in this case have been shortened one year by the new law. It would -be I think impossible to overrate the value of his services to the -country which adopted him. He was a member of Assembly in the Cape -Colony when he was elected, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">{253}</a></span> which House his father was then Speaker. -A better choice could hardly have been made. It is to his patience, his -good sense, his exact appreciation of both the highness and the lowness -of the place which he has been called on to occupy, that the Republic -has owed its security. I have expressed an opinion as to the -qualifications of President Burgers for a similar position. It is -because President Brand has been exactly the reverse of President -Burgers, that he is now trusted by the Volksraad and loved by the -people. It would be hard to find a case in which a man has shewn himself -better able to suit himself to peculiar duties than has been done by the -President of this little Republic.</p> - -<p>The right of voting in the Free State belongs to the burghers, and the -burghers are as follows;—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin:1em 2.5em;"> -<tr valign="top"><td>1.</td><td class="pdd"> All white male persons born in the State.</td></tr> - -<tr valign="top"><td>2.</td><td class="pdd"> All white male persons who have resided one year in the State, -and are registered owners of property to the value of £150.</td></tr> - -<tr valign="top"><td>3.</td><td class="pdd"> All white male persons who have lived for three consecutive -years in the State.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Those however who are included in the 2nd and 3rd clauses will not be -recognized as burghers unless they produce to the State President a -certificate of good conduct from the authorities of their last place of -abode and a written promise of allegiance to the State.</p> - -<p>Burghers who have attained the age of 16, and all who at a later age -shall have acquired citizenship are bound to enrol themselves under -their respective field-cornets and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">{254}</a></span> be liable to burgher duty,—which -means fighting,—till they be 60 years old.</p> - -<p>Burghers of 18 are entitled to vote for Field Cornets and Field -Commandants. To vote for a member of the Volksraad or for the President -a burgher must be 21, must have been born in the State,—when no -property qualification is necessary,—or must be the registered owner of -property to the value of £150, or be the lessor of a property worth £36 -per annum; or have a yearly income of £200, or possess moveable property -worth £300.</p> - -<p>From this it will be seen that the parliamentary system of the Republic -is protected from a supposed evil by a measure of precaution which would -be altogether inadmissible in any Constitution requiring the sanction of -the British Crown. No coloured person can vote for a Member of -Parliament. However expedient it may be thought by Englishmen to exclude -Kafirs or Zulus from voting till such changes shall have been made in -their habits as to make them fit for the privilege, the restrictions -made for that purpose must with us be common both to the coloured and to -the white population. We all feel that no class legislation as to the -privilege of voting should be adopted and that in giving or withholding -qualification no allusion should be made to race or colour. But the -Dutch of the Free State have no such scruple. They at once proclaim that -this privilege shall be confined to those in whose veins European blood -runs pure. I will here say nothing as to the comparative merits of -British latitude or of Dutch restraint, but I will ask my readers to -consider whether it be probable that a people who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">{255}</a></span> have not scrupled to -make for themselves such a law of exclusion will willingly join -themselves to a nationality which is absolutely and vehemently opposed -to any exclusion based on colour.</p> - -<p>In the Free State the executive power is in the hands of the President -in which he is assisted by a Council of five, of whom two are official. -There is now a bench of three judges who go circuit, and there is a -magistrate or Landroost sitting in each of the thirteen districts and -deciding both civil and criminal cases to a certain extent. The religion -and education of the State will both require a few words from me, but -they will come better when I am speaking of Bloemfontein, the capital.</p> - -<p>The Revenue of the country is something over £100,000 a year, and the -expenditure has for many years been kept within the Revenue. It has been -very fluctuating, having sunk below £60,000 in 1859 when the war with -the Basutos had crippled all the industries of the country and had -forced the burghers to spend their time in fighting instead of -cultivating their lands and looking after their sheep. There is nothing, -however, that the Boer hates so much as debt, and the Boer of the -Volksraad has been very careful to free his country from that incubus.</p> - -<p>Land in the Orange Free State is very cheap, an evil condition of things -which has been produced by the large grants of land which were made to -the original claimants. The average value throughout the State may now -be fixed at about 5s. an acre. It is said that in the whole State there -are between six and seven thousand farms.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">{256}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small>BLOEMFONTEIN.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Bloemfontein</span>, the capital of the Orange Republic, is a pleasant little -town in the very centre of the country which we speak of as South -Africa, about a hundred miles north of the Orange River, four hundred -north of Port Elizabeth whence it draws the chief part of its supplies, -and six hundred and eighty north east of Capetown. It is something above -a hundred miles from Kimberley which is its nearest neighbour of any -importance in point of size. It is about the same distance from Durban, -the seaport of Natal, as it is from Port Elizabeth;—and again about the -same distance from Pretoria the capital of the Transvaal. It may -therefore be said to be a remote town offering but little temptations to -its inhabitants to gad about to other markets. The smaller towns within -the borders of the Republic are but villages containing at most not more -than a few hundred inhabitants. I am told that Bloemfontein has three -thousand; but no census has as yet been taken, and I do not know whether -the number stated is intended to include or exclude the coloured -population,—who as a rule do not live in Bloemfontein but at a -neighbouring hamlet, devoted to the use of the natives, called Wray -Hook. I found Bloem<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">{257}</a></span>fontein a pleasant place when I was there, but one -requiring much labour and trouble both in reaching and leaving. For a -hundred miles on one side and a hundred on the other I saw hardly a -blade of grass or a tree. It stands isolated in the plain,—without any -suburb except the native location which I have named,—with as clearly -defined a boundary on each side as might be a town built with a pack of -cards, or one of those fortified citadels with barred gates and -portcullises which we used to see in picture books. After travelling -through a country ugly, dusty and treeless for many weary hours the -traveller at last reaches Bloemfontein and finds himself at rest from -his joltings, with his bones not quite dislocated, in the quiet little -Dutch capital, wondering at the fate which has led him to a spot on the -world’s surface, so far away, apparently so purposeless, and so unlike -the cities which he has known.</p> - -<p>I heard of no special industry at Bloemfontein. As far as I am aware -nothing special is there manufactured. It is needful that a country -should have a Capital, and therefore the Orange Free State has -Bloemfontein. I was told that some original Boer named Bloem first -settled there by the side of the stream in which water runs when there -has been rain, and that hence has come the name. But the little town has -thriven with a success peculiarly its own. Though it would seem to have -no raison d’etre just there where it stands,—though it has been -encouraged and fostered by no peculiar fertility, adorned with no scenic -beauty, enriched by no special gifts of water or of metals, even though -the population has not grown beyond that of the suburb of some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">{258}</a></span> European -town, still it carries its metropolitan honours with a good air, and -shocks no one by meanness, dirt, or poverty. It certainly is not very -grand, but it is grand enough. If there be no luxury, everything is -decent. The members of the Volksraad are not carried about in gorgeous -equipages, but when they have walked slowly to their Chamber they behave -themselves there with decorum. There is nothing pretentious in -Bloemfontein,—nothing to raise a laugh at the idea that a town with so -small a population should call itself a capital.</p> - -<p>It is a town, white and red, built with plastered walls or of -brick,—with a large oblong square in the centre; with four main streets -running parallel to each other and with perhaps double that number of -cross streets. The houses are generally but one storey high, though this -is not so invariably the case as at Kimberley. I do not remember, -however, that I was ever required to go up-stairs,—except at the -schools. The supply of water is I am assured never-failing, though in -dry weather it has to be drawn from tanks. A long drought had prevailed -when I reached the place, and the bed of the riverlet had been dry for -many days; but the supply of water seemed to be sufficient. Fuel is very -scarce and consequently dear. This is of the less importance as but -little is wanted except for the purpose of cooking.</p> - -<p>At one extreme end of the town are the public buildings in which the -Volksraad is held and the judges sit. Here also are the offices of the -President and the Secretary. Indeed all public business is here carried -on. The edifice has but the ground floor with a clock tower rising from -the centre. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">{259}</a></span> is long and roomy and to my eye handsome in its white -neatness. I have heard it laughed at and described as being like a -railway station. It seems to be exactly that which such a Capital and -such a Republic would require. The Volksraad was not sitting when I was -there and I therefore could only see the beautiful arm-chairs which have -lately been imported at a considerable expense for the use of the -Members;—£13 10s. a chair I think I was told! It is impossible to -conceive that gentlemen who have been accommodated with such chairs -should wilfully abandon any of the dignity attached to them. For a -central parliament the chairs may be fitting, but would be altogether -out of place in a small provincial congress. Except the churches and the -schools there are not any public buildings of much note in -Bloemfontein,—unless the comfortable residence of the President may be -so called. This belongs to the State but is not attached to the House of -Parliament.</p> - -<p>My residence when I was at Bloemfontein was at the Free State Hotel, and -I do not know that I was ever put up much better. Two circumstances -militated against my own particular comfort, but they were circumstances -which might probably recommend the house to the world at large. I was -forced to take my meals in public at stated hours;—and I had a great -deal too much put before me to eat. I am bound, however, to say that all -I had given to me was good, though at that time it must have been very -difficult to supply such luxuries. The butter had to be bought at 5s. -6d. a pound, but was as plentiful as though the price had been only a -shilling,—and it was good which I had not found to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">{260}</a></span> be the case -elsewhere in South Africa. What was paid for the peas and beans and -cauliflowers I don’t know; but I did know that the earth around was dry -and parched and barren everywhere,—so that I was almost ashamed to eat -them. These details may be of interest to some readers of my pages, as -the place of which I am speaking is becoming at present the sanitorium -to which many an English consumptive patient is sent. Such persons, at -any rate when first reaching Bloemfontein, are obliged to find a home in -an hotel, and will certainly find one well provided at the Free State. -It commended itself to me especially because I found no difficulty in -that very serious and often troublesome matter of a morning tub.</p> - -<p>Bloemfontein is becoming another Madeira, another Algiers, another Egypt -in regard to English sufferers with weak chests and imperfect lungs. It -seems to the ignorant as though the doctors were ever seeking in -increased distance that relief for their patients which they cannot find -in increased skill. But a dry climate is now supposed to be necessary -and one that shall be temperate without great heat. This certainly will -be found at Bloemfontein, and perhaps more equably so through the entire -year than at any other known place. The objection to it is the expense -arising from the distance and the great fatigue to patients from the -long overland journey. Taking the easiest mode of reaching the capital -of the Free State the traveller must be kept going six weary days in a -Cobb’s coach, being an average of about thirteen hours a day upon the -road. This is gradually and very slowly becoming lightened by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">{261}</a></span> -opening of bits of the railway from Fort Elizabeth; but it win be some -years probably before the coaching work can be done in less than five -days. The road is very rough through the Catberg and Stromberg -mountains,—so that he who has made the journey is apt to think that he -has done something considerable. All this is so much against an invalid -that I doubt whether they who are feeble should be sent here. There can -I imagine be no doubt that the air of the place when reached is in the -highest degree fit for weak lungs.</p> - -<p>There is at present a difficulty felt by those who arrive suddenly at -Bloemfontein in finding the accommodation they desire. The hotel, as I -have said above, is very good; but an hotel must of its nature be -expensive and can hardly afford the quiet which is necessary for an -invalid. Nor during my sojourn there did I once see a lady sitting at -table. There is no reason why she should not do so, but the practice did -not seem as yet to have become common. I am led by this to imagine that -a house comfortably kept for the use of patients would well repay a -medical speculator at Bloemfontein. It should not be called a -sanitarium, and should if possible have the name of the doctor’s wife on -the brass plate on the door rather than that of the doctor. And the -kitchen should be made to do more than the dispensary,—which should be -kept a little out of sight. And there should be fiddles and novels and -plenty of ribbons. If possible three or four particularly healthy guests -should be obtained to diminish the aspect of sickness which might -otherwise make the place gloomy. If this could be done,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">{262}</a></span> and the coach -journey somewhat lightened, then I think that the dry air of -Bloemfontein might be made very useful to English sufferers.</p> - -<p>In reference to the fatigue, tedium, and expense of the coach -journey,—a seat to Bloemfontein from the Fort Elizabeth railway costs -£18, and half a crown a pound extra is charged for all luggage beyond a -small bag,—it may be as well to say that in the treaty by which £90,000 -have been given by Great Britain to the Free State to cover any damage -she may have received as to the Diamond Fields, it is agreed that an -extra sum of £15,000 shall be paid to the Free State if she shall have -commenced a railway with the view of meeting the Colonial railway within -a certain period. As no Dutchman will throw over a pecuniary advantage -if it can be honestly obtained, a great effort will no doubt be made to -secure this sum. It may be difficult to decide, when the time comes, -what constitutes the commencement of a railway. It appears impossible -that any portion of a line shall be opened in the Free State till the -entire line shall have been completed from the sea to the borders of the -State, as every thing necessary for the construction of a line, -including wooden sleepers, must be conveyed overland. As the bulk so to -be conveyed will necessarily be enormous it can only be carried up by -the rail as the rail itself progresses. And there must be difficulty -even in surveying the proposed line till it be known actually at what -point the colonial line will pass the Orange River or which of the -colonial lines will first reach it. Nevertheless I feel assured that the -Dutchman will get his £15,000. When an Englishman has once talked<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">{263}</a></span> of -paying and a Dutchman has been encouraged to think of receiving! the -money will probably pass hands.</p> - -<p>A railway completed to Bloemfontein would double the value of all -property there and would very soon double the population of the town. -Everything there used from a deal plank or a bar of iron down to a pair -of socks or a pound of sugar, has now to be dragged four hundred miles -by oxen at an average rate of £15 a ton. It is not only the sick and -weakly who are prevented from seeking the succour of its climate by the -hardness of the journey, but everything which the sick and weakly can -require is doubled in price. If I might venture to give a little advice -to the Volksraad I would counsel them to open the purse strings of the -nation, even though the purse should be filled with borrowed money, so -that there should be no delay on their part in joining themselves to the -rest of the world. They should make their claim to the £15,000 clear and -undoubted.</p> - -<p>At present there is no telegraph to Bloemfontein, though the line of -wires belonging to the Cape Colony passes through a portion of the State -on its way to Kimberley,—so that there is a telegraph station at -Fauresmith, a town belonging to the Republic. An extension to the -capital is much wanted in order to bring it within the pale of modern -civilization.</p> - -<p>The schools at Bloemfontein are excellent, and are peculiarly -interesting as showing the great steps by which the English language is -elbowing out the Dutch, This is so marked that though I see no necessity -for a political Confederation in South Africa I think I do see that -there will<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">{264}</a></span> soon be a unity of language. I visited all the schools that -are supported or assisted by Government, as I did also those which have -been set on foot by English enterprise. In the former almost as fully as -in the latter English seemed to be the medium of communication between -scholar and teacher. In all the public schools the Head Teacher was -either English or Scotch. The inspector of schools for the Republic is a -Scotch gentleman, Mr. Brebner, who is giving himself heart and soul to -the subject he has in hand and is prospering admirably. Even in the -infant school I found that English was the language of the great -majority of the children. In the upper schools, both of the boys and -girls, I went through the whole establishment, visiting the bedrooms of -the pupils. As I did so I took the opportunity of looking at the private -books of the boys and girls. The books which I took off the shelves were -all without exception English. When I mentioned this to one of the -teachers who was with me in the compartment used by a lad who had well -provided himself with a little library, he made a search to show me that -I was wrong, and convicted me by finding—a Dutch dictionary. I pointed -out that the dictionary joined to the fact that the other books were -English would seem to indicate that the boy was learning Dutch rather -than reading it. I have no hesitation in saying that in these Dutch -schools,—for Dutch they are as being supported in a Dutch Republic by -grants of Dutch money voted by an exclusively Dutch Volksraad,—English -is the more important language of the two and the one the best -understood.</p> - -<p>I say this rather in a desire to tell the truth than in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">{265}</a></span> spirit of -boasting. I do not know why I should wish that the use of my own tongue -should supersede that of the native language in a foreign country. And -the fact as I state it will go far with some thinkers to prove the -arguments to have been ill-founded with which I have endeavoured to shew -that the Republic will retain her independence. Such persons will say -that this preference for the English language will surely induce a -preference for English Government. To such persons I would reply first -that the English language was spoken in the United States when they -revolted. And I would then explain that the schools of which I am -speaking are all in the capital, which is undoubtedly an English town -rather than Dutch. In the country, from whence come the Members of the -Volksraad, the schools are probably much more Dutch, though by no means -so Dutch as are the Members themselves. The same difference prevails in -all things in which the urban feeling or the rural feeling is exhibited. -Nothing can be more Dutch than the Volksraad. Many members, I was -assured, cannot speak a word of English. The debates are all in Dutch. -But the President was chosen from a British community, having been a -member of the Cape House of Assembly, and the Government Secretary was -imported from the same Colony,—and the Chief Justice. As I have said -above the Inspector of Schools is a Scotchman. The Boers of the Orange -Free State have been too wise to look among themselves for occupants for -these offices. But they believe themselves to be perfectly capable of -serving their country as legislators. Nothing can be better than these -public<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">{266}</a></span> schools in Bloemfontein, giving another evidence of the great -difference which existed in the internal arrangements of the two -Republics. Large grants of public money have been made for the support -of the Free State schools. In 1875 £18,000 was voted for this purpose, -and in 1876 £10,000. Money is also set aside for a permanent educational -fund which is to be continued till the amount in hand is £176,800. This -it is thought will produce an income sufficient for the required -purpose.</p> - -<p>There are two thoroughly good English schools for pupils of the better, -or at any rate, richer class, as to which it has to be said that they -are set on foot and carried on by ladies and gentlemen devoted to High -Church doctrines. I could not speak of these schools fairly without -saying so. Having so liberated my conscience I may declare that their -pupils are by no means drawn specially from that class and that as far -as I could learn nothing is inculcated to which any Protestant parent -would object. When I was at Bloemfontein the President had a daughter at -the girls’ school and the President is a Member of the Dutch Reformed -Church. The Government Secretary had four daughters at the same school. -There was at least one Roman Catholic educated there. It is in fact a -thoroughly good school and as such of infinite value in that far distant -place. The cost of board and education is £60 for each girl, which with -extra charges for music and other incidental expenses becomes £80 in -most cases. I thought this to be somewhat high; but it must be -remembered that the 400 miles and the bullock wagons affect even the -price of schools. The boys’ school did not seem to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267">{267}</a></span> been so -prosperous, the number educated being much less than at the other. The -expense is about the same and the advantages given quite as great. At -both establishments day scholars are taken as well as boarders. The -result is that Bloemfontein in respect to climate and education offers -peculiar advantages to its residents. It is not necessary to send a -child away either for English air or for English teaching.</p> - -<p>In church matters Bloemfontein has a footing which is peculiarly its -own. The Dutch Reformed Church is the Church of the people. There are -18,—only 18,—congregations in the State, of which 16 receive -Government support. The worshippers of the Free State must, it is -feared, be called upon to travel long distances to their churches. As a -rule those living in remote places, have themselves taken by their -ox-wagons into the nearest town once in three months for the -Nichtmaal,—that is for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; and on -these occasions the journey there and back, together with a little -holyday-making in the town, takes a week or ten days. In this there is -nothing singular, as it is the custom of the Dutch in South Africa,—but -the Anglican Church in Bloemfontein is peculiar. There is a Bishop of -Bloemfontein, an English Bishop, consecrated I think with the assistance -of an English Archbishop, appointed at any rate with the general -sanction and approval of the English Church. The arrangement has no -doubt been beneficial and is regarded without disfavour by the ruling -powers of the State in which it has been made;—but there is something -singular in the position which we as a people have assumed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268">{268}</a></span> We first -repudiate the country and then we take upon ourselves to appoint a high -church dignitary whom we send out from England with a large -accompaniment of minor ecclesiastics. In the United States they have -bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church as well as of the Roman -Catholic. But they are not Bishops of the Church of England. Here, in -Bloemfontein, the Church is English, and prays for the Queen before the -President,—for which latter it sometimes does pray and sometimes does -not. I attended the Cathedral service twice and such was my experience.</p> - -<p>This is strange to an Englishman who visits the Republic prepared to -find it a nationality of itself,—what in common language we may call a -foreign country. There are English bishops also among savage nations,—a -bishop for instance of Central Africa who lives at present at Zanzibar. -But in the Free State we are among a civilized people who are able to -manage their own affairs. I am very far from finding fault. The Church -in Bloemfontein has worked very well and done much good. But in -acknowledging this I think we ought to acknowledge also that very much -is due to the forbearance of the Boers.</p> - -<p>The Bishop of Bloemfontein with his numerous staff gives to the town a -special ecclesiastical hue. It is quite true that his presence and their -presence adds to the importance of the place, and that their influence -is exercised all for good. The clergymen as a set are peculiarly -clerical. Were I to call them High Church it might be supposed that I -were accusing them of a passion for ribbons. I did see a ribbon or two -but not vehemently pronounced. There is a Home too, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">{269}</a></span> which the girls’ -school is attached,—which has attracted various young ladies who have -come as assistants to the good work. The Bishop too has attracted -various young men in orders. There has I think been some gentle feeling -of disappointment in serious clerical minds at Bloemfontein created by -the natural conclusion brought about by this state of things. All the -clerical young men, who were perhaps intended to be celebate, had when I -was at Bloemfontein become engaged to all the clerical young -ladies,—from whom also something of the same negative virtue may have -been expected. There has, I think, been something of a shock! I was -happy enough to meet some of the gentlemen and some of the ladies, and -am not at all surprised at the happy result which has attended their -joint expatriation.</p> - -<p>The stranger looking at Bloemfontein, and forgetting for a while that it -is the capital of a country or the seat of a Bishop, will behold a -pretty quiet smiling village with willow trees all through it, lying in -the plain,—with distinct boundaries, most pleasing to the eye. Though -it lies in a plain still there are hills close to it,—a little hill on -the east on which there is an old fort and a few worn-out guns which -were brought there when the English occupied the country, and a higher -one to the west which I used to mount when the sun was setting, because -from the top I could look down upon the place and see the whole of it. -The hill is rocky and somewhat steep and, with a mile of intervening -ground, takes half an hour in the ascent. The view from it on an evening -is peculiarly pleasing. The town is so quiet and seems to be so happy -and contented, removed so far away<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">{270}</a></span> from strife and want and disorder, -that the beholder as he looks down upon it is tempted to think that the -peace of such an abode is better than the excitement of a Paris, a -London, or a New York. I will not say that the peace and quiet can be -discerned from the hill top, but he who sits there, knowing that the -peace and quiet are lying beneath him, will think that he sees them.</p> - -<p>Nor will I say that Bloemfontein is itself peculiarly beautiful. It has -no rapid rivers running through it as has the capital of the Tyrol, no -picturesqueness of hills to make it lovely as has Edinburgh, no glory of -buildings such as belongs to Florence. It is not quaint as Nuremberg, -romantic as Prague, or even embowered in foliage as are some of the -Dutch villages in the western province of the Cape Colony. But it has a -completeness and neatness which makes it very pleasant to the eye. One -knows that no one is over-hungry there, or over-worked. The work indeed -is very light. Friday is a half holyday for everybody. The banks close -at one o’clock on Saturday. Three o’clock ends the day for all important -business. I doubt whether any shop is open after six. At eight all the -servants,—who of course are coloured people,—are at home at their own -huts in Wray Hook. No coloured person is allowed to walk about -Bloemfontein after eight. This, it may be said, is oppressive to them. -But if they are expelled from the streets, so also are they relieved -from their work. At Wray Hook they can walk about as much as they -please,—or go to bed.</p> - -<p>There is much in all this which is old-fashioned,—con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">{271}</a></span>trary to our -ideas of civilization, contrary to our ideas of liberty. It would also -be contrary to our ideas of comfort to have no one to wait upon us after -eight o’clock. But there is a contentment and general prosperity about -Bloemfontein which is apt to make a dweller in busy cities think that -though it might not quite suit himself, it would be very good for -everybody else. And then there comes upon him a question of conscience -as he asks himself whether it ought not to be very good for him also.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">{272}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">{273}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">{274}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">{275}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="NATIVE_TERRITORIES" id="NATIVE_TERRITORIES"></a>NATIVE TERRITORIES.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THABA ’NCHO.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> name written above is to be pronounced Tabaancho and belongs to one -of the most interesting places in South Africa. Thaba ’Ncho is a native -town in which live about 6,000 persons of the Baralong tribe under a -Chief of their own and in accordance with their own laws. There is -nothing like this elsewhere on the continent of South Africa, or, as I -believe, approaching it. Elsewhere it is not the custom of the South -African Natives to live in towns. They congregate in kraals, more or -less large,—which kraals are villages surrounded generally by a fence, -and containing from three or four huts up to perhaps a couple of -hundred. Each hut has been found to contain an average of something less -than four persons. But Thaba ’Ncho is a town, not fenced in, with -irregular streets, composed indeed of huts, but constructed with some -idea of municipal regularity. There has been no counting of these -people, but from what information I could get I think I am safe in -saying that as many as 6,000 of them live at Thaba ’Ncho. There are not -above half-a-dozen European towns in South Africa which have a greater -number of inhabitants, and in the vicinity of Thaba ’Ncho there are -other Baralong towns or villages,—within the distance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276">{276}</a></span> a few -miles,—containing from five hundred to a thousand inhabitants each. -They possess altogether a territory extending about 35 miles across each -way, and within this area fifteen thousand Natives are located, living -altogether after their own fashion and governed in accordance with their -own native laws.</p> - -<p>Their position is the more remarkable because their territory is -absolutely surrounded by that of the Orange Free State,—as the -territory of the Orange Free State is surrounded by the territories of -Great Britain. The Republic which we know as the Free State is as it -were an island within the ocean of the British Colonies, and the land of -the Baralongs is again an island circled by the smaller sea of the -Republic. And this is still more remarkable from the fact that whereas -the Natives have been encouraged on all sides to make locations on -British territory they have been altogether banished as a land-holding -independent people from the Free State. Throughout the British Colonies -of South Africa the number of the Natives exceeds that of the Europeans -by about eight to one. In the Republic the Europeans exceed the Natives -by two to one. And the coloured people who remain there,—or who have -emigrated thither, which has been more generally the case,—are the -servants employed in the towns and by the farmers. And yet, in spite of -this, a separate nation of 15,000 persons lives quietly and, I must say, -upon the whole prosperously within the Free State borders, altogether -hemmed in, but in no way oppressed.</p> - -<p>It would take long to explain how a branch of the great tribe of the -Bechuanas got itself settled on this land,—on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277">{277}</a></span> this land, and probably -on much more;—how they quarrelled with their cousins the Basutos, who -had also branched off from the Bechuanas; and how in the wars between -the Free State and the Basutos, the Baralongs, having sided with the -Dutch, have been allowed to remain. It is a confused story and would be -interesting to no English reader. But it may be interesting to know that -there they are, established in their country by treaty, with no fear on -their part that they will be swallowed up, and with no immediate -intention on the part of the circumambient Dutchmen of swallowing them.</p> - -<p>I went to visit the Chief, accompanied by Mr. Höhne the Government -Secretary from Bloemfontein, and was very courteously received. I stayed -during my sojourn at the house of Mr. Daniel the Wesleyan Minister where -I was very comfortably entertained, finding him in a pretty cottage -surrounded by flowers, and with just such a spare bedroom as we read of -in descriptions of old English farmhouses. There was but one spare -bedroom; but, luckily for us, there were two Wesleyan Ministers. And as -the other Wesleyan Minister also had a spare bedroom the Government -Secretary went there. In other respects we divided our visit, dining at -the one house and breakfasting at the other. There is also a clergyman -of the Church of England at Thaba ’Ncho; but he is a bachelor and we -preferred the domestic comforts of a family. Mr. Daniel does, I think, -entertain all the visitors who go to Thaba ’Ncho, as no hotel has as yet -been opened in the city of the Baralongs.</p> - -<p>Maroco is the Chief at present supreme among the Baralongs, an old man, -very infirm by reason of weakness in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278">{278}</a></span> his feet, who has not probably -many more years of royalty before him. What few Europeans are living in -the place have their houses low on the plain, while the huts of the -Natives have been constructed on a hill. The word Thaba means hill in -Maralong language,—in which language also the singular Maralong becomes -Baralong in the plural. The King Maroco is therefore “the Maralong” par -excellence;—whereas he is the King of the Baralongs. The Europeans -living there,—in addition to the Ministers,—are three or four -shopkeepers who supply those wants of the Natives with which an approach -to civilization has blessed them. We walked up the hill with Mr. Daniel -and had not been long among the huts when we were accosted by one Sapena -and his friends. Now there is a difficulty with these people as to the -next heir to the throne,—which difficulty will I fear be hard of -solving when old King Maroco dies. His son by his great wife married in -due order a quantity of wives among whom one was chosen as the “great -wife” as was proper. In a chapter further on a word or two will be found -as to this practice. But the son who was the undoubted heir died before -his great wife had had a child. She then went away, back to the -Bechuanas from whom she had come, and among whom she was a very royal -Princess, and there married Prince Sapena. This marriage was blessed -with a son. But by Bechuana law, by Baralong law also,—and I believe by -Jewish law if that were anything to the purpose,—the son of the wife of -the heir becomes the heir even though he be born from another father. -These people are very particular in all matters of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279">{279}</a></span> inheritance, and -therefore, when it began to be thought that Maroco was growing old and -near his time, they sent an embassy to the Bechuanas for the boy. He had -arrived just before my visit and was then absent on a little return -journey with the suite of Bechuanas who had brought him. By way of final -compliment he had gone back with them a few miles so that I did not see -him. But his father Sapena had been living for some time with the -Baralongs, having had some difficulties among the Bechuanas with the -Royal Princess his wife, and, being a man of power and prudence, had -become half regent under the infirm old Chief. There are fears that when -Maroco dies there may be a contest as to the throne between Sapena and -his own son. Should the contest amount to a war the Free State will -probably find it expedient to settle the question by annexing the -country.</p> - -<p>Sapena is a well built man, six feet high, broad in the shoulders, and -with the gait of a European. He was dressed like a European, with a -watch and chain at his waistcoat, a round flat topped hat, and cord -trowsers, and was quite clean. Looking at him as he walks no one would -believe him to be other than a white man. He looks to be about thirty, -though he must be much older. He was accompanied by three or four young -men who were all of the blood royal, and who were by no means like to -him either in dress or manner. He was very quiet, answering our -questions in few words, but was extremely courteous. He took us first -into a large hut belonging to one of the family, which was so -scrupulously clean as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280">{280}</a></span> make me think for a moment that it was kept as -a show hat; but those which we afterwards visited, though not perhaps -equal to the first in neatness, were too nearly so to have made much -precaution necessary. The hut was round as are all the huts, but had a -door which required no stooping. A great portion of the centre,—though -not quite the centre,—was occupied by a large immoveable round bin in -which the corn for the use of the family is stored. There was a chair, -and a bed, and two or three settees. If I remember right, too, there was -a gun standing against the wall. The place certainly looked as though -nobody was living in it. Sapena afterwards took us to his own hut which -was also very spacious, and here we were seated on chairs and had Kafir -beer brought to us in large slop-bowls. The Kafir beer is made of Kafir -corn, and is light and sour. The Natives when they sit down to drink -swallow enormous quantities of it. A very little sufficed with me, as -its sourness seemed to be its most remarkable quality. There were many -Natives with us but none of them drank when we did. We sat for ten -minutes in Sapena’s house, and then were taken on to that of the King. I -should say however that in the middle of Sapena’s hut there stood a -large iron double bedstead with mattras which I was sure had come from -Mr. Heal’s establishment in Tottenham Court Road.</p> - -<p>Round all these huts,—those that is belonging to the royal family and -those no doubt of other magnates,—there is a spacious courtyard -enclosed by a circular fence of bamboo canes, stuck into the ground -perpendicularly, standing close to each other and bound together. The -way into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281">{281}</a></span> the courtyard is open, but the circle is brought round so as -to overlap the entrance and prevent the passer-by from looking in. It is -not, I imagine, open to every one to run into his neighbour’s -courtyard,—especially into those belonging to royalty. As we were going -to the King’s Palace the King himself met us on the road surrounded by -two or three of his councillors. One old councillor stuck close to him -always, and was, I was told, never absent from his side. They had been -children together and Maroco cannot endure to be without him. We had our -interview out in the street, with a small crowd of Baralongs around us. -The Chief was not attired at all like his son’s wife’s husband. He had -an old skin or kaross around him, in which he continually shrugged -himself as we see a beggar doing in the cold, with a pair of very old -trowsers and a most iniquitous slouch hat upon his head. There was -nothing to mark the King about his outward man;—and, as he was dressed, -so was his councillor. But it is among the “young bloods” of a people -that finery is always first to be found.</p> - -<p>Maroco shook hands with each of us twice before he began to talk, as did -all his cortege. Then he told us of his bodily ailments,—how his feet -were so bad that he could hardly walk, and how he never got any comfort -anywhere because of his infirmity. And yet he was standing all the time. -He sent word to President Brand that he would have been in to see him -long ago,—only that his feet were so bad! This was probably true as -Maroco, when he goes into Bloemfontein, always expects to have his food -and drink found for him while there, and to have a handsome present<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282">{282}</a></span> to -carry back with him. He grunted and groaned, poor old King, and then -told Sapena to take us to his hut, shaking hands with us all twice -again. We went to his hut, and there sitting in the spacious court we -found his great wife. She was a woman about forty years of age, but -still remarkably handsome, with brilliant quick eyes, of an olive rather -than black colour. She wore a fur hat or cap,—somewhat like a pork-pie -hat,—which became her wonderfully; and though she was squatting on the -ground with her knees high and her back against the fence,—not of all -attitudes the most dignified,—still there was much of dignity about -her. She shook hands with us, still seated, and then bade one of the -girls take us into the hut. There was nothing in this especial, except -that a portion of it was screened off by furs, behind which we did not -of course penetrate. All these huts are very roomy and perfectly light. -They are lofty, so that a man cannot touch the roof in the centre, and -clean. Into the ordinary Kafir hut the visitor has to creep,—and when -there he creeps out at once because of the heat, the smell, and the -smoke. These were of course royal huts, but the huts of all the -Baralongs are better than those of the Kafirs.</p> - -<p>The King or Chief administers justice sitting outside in his Court with -his Councillors round him; and whatever he pronounces, with their -assistance,—that is law. His word without theirs would be law too,—but -would be law probably at the expense of his throne or life if often so -pronounced. There are Statutes which are well understood, and a Chief -who persistently ignored the Statutes would not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283">{283}</a></span> long be Chief. For all -offences except one the punishment is a fine,—so many cattle. This if -not paid by the criminal must be paid by the criminal’s family. It may -be understood therefore how disagreeable it must be to be nearly -connected by blood with a gay Lothario or a remorseless Iago. The result -is that Lotharios and Iagos are apt to come to sudden death within the -bosoms of their own families. Poisoning among the Baralongs is common, -but no other kind of violence. The one crime beyond a fine,—which has -to be expiated by death from the hand of an executioner,—is rebellion -against the Chief. For any mutiny Death is the doom. At the time of my -visit Sapena was exercising the chief authority because of Maroco’s -infirmity. Everything was done in Maroco’s name, though Sapena did it. -As to both,—the old man and the young,—I was assured that they were -daily drunk. Maroco is certainly killing himself by drink. Sapena did -not look like a drunkard.</p> - -<p>President Brand assured me that in nothing that they do are these people -interfered with by the Free State or its laws. If there be thieving over -the border of the Free State the Landroost endeavours to settle it with -the Chief who is by no means averse to summary extradition. But there is -not much of such theft, the Baralongs knowing that their independence -depends on their good behaviour. “But a bloody Chief,”—I asked the -President,—“such as Cetywayo is represented to be among the Zulus! If -he were to murder his people right and left would that be allowed by -your Government?” He replied that as the Baralongs were not given to -violent murder, there would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284">{284}</a></span> never probably be a case requiring decision -on this point. In my own mind I have no doubt but that if they did -misbehave themselves badly they would be at once annexed.</p> - -<p>Maroco and all his family, and indeed the great body of the people, are -heathen. There is a sprinkling of Christianity, sufficient probably to -justify the two churches, but I doubt whether Thaba ’Ncho is peculiarly -affected by missionary zeal. There are schools there, and, as it -happened, I did hear some open air singing,—in the open air because the -chapel was under repair. But I was not specially invited “to hear our -children sing a hymn,” as was generally the case where the missionary -spirit was strong. At Thaba ’Ncho the medical skill of the pastor seemed -to be valued quite as much as his theological power. There was no other -doctor, and as Mr. Daniel attended them without fee it is not surprising -that much of his time was occupied in this manner.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned the extent of the land belonging to the people. On the -produce of this land they live apparently without want. They cultivate -much of it, growing mealies, or maize, and Kafir corn. They also have -flocks of cattle and sheep,—and earn some money by the sale of wool. -But it seems to me that so large a number of people, living on such an -extent of land, which of course is not closely cultivated, may be -subject at any time to famine. If so they could apply only to the Free -State for assistance, and such assistance, if given to any extent, would -probably lead to annexation. The distribution of the land is altogether -in the hands of the Chief who apportions it as he pleases, but never, it -seems,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285">{285}</a></span> withdraws that which has been given, without great cause. It is -given out to sub-tribes and again redistributed among the people.</p> - -<p>That it cannot as yet have been found to be scanty I gather from the -fact that on the road between Thaba ’Ncho and Bloemfontein I found an -intelligent Scotch Africander settled on a farm within the territory of -the Baralongs. Here he had built for himself a comfortable house, had -made an extensive garden,—with much labour in regard to -irrigation,—and had flocks and herds and corn. I questioned him as to -his holding of the land and he told me that it had been given to him -without rent or payment of any kind by Maroco, because he was a friend -of the tribe. But he perfectly understood that he held it only during -Maroco’s pleasure, which could not be valid for a day after Maroco’s -death. Nevertheless he was going on with his irrigation and spoke of -still extended operations. When I hinted that Maroco was mortal, he -admitted the precarious nature of his tenure, but seemed to think that -the Baralongs would never disturb him. No doubt he well understood his -position and was aware that possession is nine points of the law among -the Baralongs as it is among the English or Scotch. Even should the -territory be annexed, as must ultimately be its fate, his possession -will probably be strengthened by a freehold grant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286">{286}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small>KRELI AND HIS KAFIRS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">At</span> the time in which I am writing this chapter Kreli and his sons -suppose themselves to be at war with the Queen of England. The Governor -of the Gape Colony, who has been so far troubled in his serenity as to -have felt it expedient to live away from his house for the last three or -four months near to the scene of action, supposes probably that he has -been called upon to put down a most unpleasant Kafir disturbance. He -will hardly dignify the affair with the name of a war. When in Ireland -the Fenians were put down by the police without direct military -interference we felt that there had been a disagreeable row,—but -certainly not a civil war, because the soldiers had not been employed. -And yet we should hardly have been comfortable while the row was going -on had we not known that there were soldiers at hand in Ireland. For -some months it was much the same with Kreli and his rebellious Kafirs. -In South Africa there was comfort in feeling that there were one or two -regiments near the Kei River,—at head quarters, with a General and -Commissaries and Colonels at King Williamstown, where the Governor is -also stationed, and that there were soldiers also at East London, on the -coast, ready for an emergency should the emergency come. But the -fighting up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287">{287}</a></span> to that time had been done by policemen and -volunteers,—and it was hoped that it might be so to the end. Towards -the close of November 1877 the end was thought to have almost come; -though there were even then those who believed that when we had subdued -the Galekas who are Kreli’s peculiar people, the Gaikas would rise -against us. They are Sandilli’s people and live on this, or the western, -side of the Kei territory, round about King Williamstown in what we call -British Kafraria. Many hundreds of them are working for wages within the -boundaries of what was formerly their own territory. I cannot but think -that had the Gaikas intended to take part with their Transkeian brethren -they would not have waited till Kreli and his Galekas had been so nearly -beaten. But now we know that an ending to this trouble so happy as that -which was at first anticipated has not been quite accomplished. British -troops have entered the territory on the other side of the Kei, and are -at present probably engaged in putting down some remnant of the Galekas.</p> - -<p>There is nothing more puzzling in South Africa than the genealogy and -nomenclature of the Kafir tribes, and nothing, perhaps, less interesting -to English readers. In the first place the authorities differ much as to -what is a Kafir. In a book now before me on Kafir Laws and Customs, -written by various hands and published in 1858 by Colonel Maclean who -was Governor of British Kafraria, we are told that “The general -designation of Kafraria has been given to the whole territory extending -from the Great Fish River to Delagoa Bay.” This would include Natal and -all Zululand. But if there be one native doctrine more stoutly -enunciated in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288">{288}</a></span> and about Natal than another, it is that the Zulus and -Kafirs are a different people. The same passage, however, goes on to say -that, properly speaking, that territory only should be included which is -occupied by the Amaxosa and Abatembu tribes, the Amampondo and the -Amazulu being—different. An English reader must be requested to reject -as surplusage for his purpose the two first syllables in all these -native names when they take the shape of Ama or Aba or Amam. They are -decorous, classical, and correct as from Kafir scholars, but are simply -troublesome among simple people who only want to know a little. The Amam -Pondos, so called from one Pondo a former chief, are familiarly called -Pondos. The Aba Tembus,—from Tembu a chief thirteen or fourteen chiefs -back from the present head of the tribe,—are Tembus. They have been -also nick-named Tambookies, an appellation which they themselves do not -acknowledge, but which has become common in all Kafir dissertations. The -Amaxosas, who among the Kafirs are certainly the great people of all, in -the same way are Xosas, from Xosa a chief eleven chiefs back from Kreli. -But these Xosas, having been divided, have taken other names,—among -which the two principal are the Galekas of which Kreli is king, from -Galeka Kreli’s great-grandfather; and the Gaikas, of which Sandilli is -chief,—from Gaika, Sandilli’s father. But the student may encounter -further difficulty here as he will find this latter name learnedly -written as Ngqika, and not uncommonly spelt as Ghika. The spelling I -have adopted is perhaps a little more classical than the latter and -certainly less pernicious than the former.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289">{289}</a></span></p> - -<p>But though, as above stated, one of the authors of the book from which I -have quoted has eliminated the Pondos as well as the Zulus from the -Kafirs, thus leaving the descendants of Xosa and of Tembu to claim the -name between them, I find in the same book a genealogical table, -compiled by another author who includes the Pondos among the Kafirs, and -derives the Galekas, Ghikas, Pondos, and Tembus from one common ancestor -whom he calls Zwidi, who was fifteen chiefs back from Kreli, and whom we -may be justified in regarding as the very Adam of the Kafir race since -we have no information of any Kafir before him.</p> - -<p>The Galekas, the Pondos, and Tembus will be found in the map in their -proper places on the eastern side of the Kei River; and, as being on the -eastern side of the Kei River, they were not British subjects when this -chapter was written. When the reader shall have this book in his hand -they may probably have been annexed. The Gaikas, I am afraid he will not -find on the map. As they have been British subjects for the last -twenty-five years the spaces in the map of the country in which they -live have been wanted for such European names as Frankfort and King -Williamstown. Those however whom I have named are the real -Kafirs,—living near the Kei whether on one side of the river or the -other. The sharp-eyed investigating reader will also find a people -called Bomvana, on the sea coast, north of the Galekas. They are a -sub-tribe, under Kreli, who have a sub-chief, one Moni, and Moni and the -Bomvanas seem to have been troubled in their mind, not wishing to wage -war against the Queen of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290">{290}</a></span> England, and yet fearing to disobey the -behests of their Great Chief Kreli.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that the Kafirs do not occupy very much land in -South Africa, though their name has become better known than that of any -South African tribe,—and though every black Native is in familiar -language called a Kafir. The reason has been that the two tribes, the -Gaikas and the Galekas, have given us infinitely more trouble than any -other. Sandilli with his Gaikas have long been subjected, though they -have never been regarded as quiet subjects, such as are the Basutos and -the Fingos. There has ever been a dread, as there was notably in 1876, -that they would rise and rebel. The alarmists since this present affair -of Kreli commenced have never ceased to declare that the Gaikas would -surely be up in arms against us. But, as a tribe, they have not done so -yet,—partly perhaps because their Chief Sandilli is usually drunk. The -Galekas, however, have never been made subject to us.</p> - -<p>But the Galekas and Kreli were conquered in the last Kafir war, and the -tribe had been more than decimated by the madness of the people who in -1857 had destroyed their own cattle and their own corn in obedience to a -wonderful prophecy. I have told the story before in one of the early -chapters of my first volume. Kreli had then been driven with his people -across the river Bashee to the North,—where those Bomvanas now are; and -his own territory had remained for a period vacant. Then arose a -question as to what should be done with the land, and Sir Philip -Wodehouse, who was then Governor of the Cape Colony, proposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291">{291}</a></span> that it -should be given out in farms to Europeans. But at that moment economy -and protection for the Natives were the two virtues shining most -brightly at the Colonial Office, and, as such occupation was thought to -require the presence of troops for its security, the Secretary of the -day ordered that Kreli should be allowed to return. Kreli was badly off -for land and for means of living across the Bashee, and was very urgent -in requesting permission to come back. If he might come back and reign -in a portion of his old land he would be a good neighbour. He was -allowed to come back;—and as a Savage has not kept his word badly till -this unfortunate affair occurred.</p> - -<p>Among the printed papers which I have at hand as to this rebellion one -of the last is the following government notice;—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="rt">“<span class="smcap">King Williamstown, Cape of Good Hope.</span><br /> -“<i>13th November, 1877.</i></p> - -<p>“Applications will be received by the Honourable the Commissioner -of Crown Lands and Public Works for grants of Land in the -Westernmost portion of Galekaland, formerly known as Kreli’s -country, between the Cogha and Kei Rivers, from those willing to -settle in that country. The condition of the grants,—which will be -limited in size to 300 acres,—include immediate settlement and -bonâ fide occupation, and may be ascertained——&c. &c.”</p></div> - -<p>Thus, in 1877, we are again attempting to do that which was recommended -twenty years before. On this occasion I presume that no sanction from -the Colonial Office at home<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292">{292}</a></span> was needed, as at the date of the notice -such sanction could hardly have been received. This is a matter which I -do not profess to understand, but the present Governor of the Cape -Colony,—who in this war acts as High Commissioner and in that capacity -is not responsible to his Ministers,—is certainly not the man to take -such a step without proper authority. I hope we are not counting our -chickens before they are hatched. I feel little doubt myself but that -the hatching will at last be complete.</p> - -<p>Though the disturbance has hardly been a war,—if a war, it would have -to be reckoned as the sixth Kafir war,—it may be well to say a few -words as to its commencement. To do so it will be necessary to bring -another tribe under the reader’s notice. These are the Fingos, who among -South African natives are the special friends of the Britisher,—having -precedence in this respect even of the Basutos. They appear to have been -originally,—as originally, at least, as we can trace them -back,—inhabitants of some portion of the country now called Natal, and -to have been driven by Chaka, the great King of the Zulus, down among -the Galekas. Here they were absolutely enslaved, and in the time of -Hintsa, the father of Kreli, were called the Kafirs’ dogs. Their -original name I do not know, but Fingo means a dog. After one of the -Kafir wars, in 1834, they were taken out from among the Galekas by -British authority, relieved from the condition of slavery, and settled -on locations which were given to them. They were first placed near the -coast between the Great Fish River and the Keiskamma; but many were -subsequently moved up to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293">{293}</a></span> district which they still occupy, across the -Kei, and close to their old masters the Galekas,—but on land which was -under British government and which became part of British Kafraria. Here -they have been as good as their old masters,—and as being special -occupants of British favour perhaps something better. They have been a -money-making people, possessing oxen and waggons, and going much ahead -of other Kafirs in the way of trade. And as they grew in prosperity, so -probably they grew in pride. They were still Fingos;—but not a Fingo -was any longer a Galeka’s dog,—which was a state of things not -agreeable to the Galekas. This too must have been the more intolerable -as the area given up to the Fingos in this locality comprised about -2,000 square miles, while that left to the Galekas was no more than -1,600: The Galekas living on this curtailed territory were about 66,600 -souls, whereas only 50,000 Fingos drew their easier bread from the -larger region. In August last the row began by a quarrel between the -Galekas and the Fingos. There was a beer-drinking together on the -occasion of a Fingo wedding to which certain Galekas had been invited. -The guests misbehaved themselves, and the Fingos drove them away. Upon -that a body of armed Galekas returned, and a tribal war was started. But -the Fingos as being British subjects were not empowered to conduct a war -on their own account. It was necessary that we should fight for them or -that there should be no fighting. The Galekas were armed,—as they might -choose to arm themselves, or might be able; while the Fingos could only -possess such arms as we permitted them to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294">{294}</a></span> use. It thus became necessary -that we should defend them.</p> - -<p>When it came to this pass Kreli, the old Chief, is supposed to have been -urgent against any further fighting. Throughout his long life whatever -of misfortune he had suffered, had come from fighting with the English, -whatever of peace he had enjoyed had come from the good will of the -English. Nor do I think that the Galekas as a body were anxious for a -war with the English though they may have been ready enough to bully the -Fingos. They too had much to lose and nothing to gain. Ambition probably -sat lightly with them, and even hatred for the Fingos by that time must -nearly have worn itself out among the people. But the Chief had sons, -and there were other Princes of the blood royal. With such as they -ambition and revenge linger longer than with the mass. Quicquid delirunt -reges plectuntur Achivi. The Kafirs had to fight because royal blood -boiled high. The old King in his declining years was too weak to -restrain his own sons,—as have been other old Kings. Arms having been -taken up against the Fingos were maintained against the protectors of -the Fingos. It might be that after all the long prophesied day had now -come for driving the white men out of South Africa. Instead of that the -day has probably at last come for subjugating the hitherto unsubjugated -Kafirs.</p> - -<p>I have before me all the details of the “war” as it has been carried on, -showing how in the first battle our one gun came to grief after having -been fired seven times, and how the Fingos ran away because the gun had -come to grief;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295">{295}</a></span>—how in consequence of this five of our mounted -policemen and one officer were killed by the Galekas; how in the next -engagement the Fingos behaved much better,—so much better as to have -been thanked for their gallantry; and how from that time to this we have -driven poor old Kreli about, taking from him his cattle and his -country,—determined if possible to catch him but not having caught him -as yet. Colonial history will no doubt some day tell all this at length; -but in a work so light as mine my readers perhaps would not thank me for -more detailed circumstances.</p> - -<p>On the 5th of October, when the affair was becoming serious, the -Governor of the Gape, who is also High Commissioner for the management -of the natives, issued a proclamation in which he sets forth Kreli’s -weakness or fault. “Kreli,” he says, “either had not the will or the -power to make his people keep the peace,” and again—“The Chief Kreli -having distinctly expressed his inability to punish his people, or to -prevent such outrages for the future, Commandant Griffith has been -directed to advance into Kreli’s country, to put down by force, if -necessary, all attempts to resist the authority of the British -Government or to molest its subjects, and to exact full reparation for -the injuries inflicted on British subjects by Kreli’s people.”</p> - -<p>Read by the assistance of South African commentaries this means that -Kreli’s country is to be annexed, and for such reading the later -proclamation as to 300-acre farms adds an assured light. That it will be -much better so, no one doubts. Let the reader look at the map and he -cannot doubt. Can it be well that a corner, one little corner should be -kept for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296">{296}</a></span> independent Kafirs,—not that Kafirs unable to live with the -British might run into it as do the American Indians into the Indian -Territory or the Maories of New Zealand into the King-County there;—but -that a single tribe may entertain dreams of independence and dreams of -hostility? Whether we have done well or ill by occupying South Africa, I -will not now stop to ask. But if ill, we can hardly salve our -consciences by that little corner. And yet that little corner has always -been the supposed focus of rebellion from which the scared colonist has -feared that war would come upon him. Of what real service can it be to -leave to the unchecked dominion of Kafir habits a tract of 1,600 square -miles when we have absorbed from the Natives a territory larger than all -British India. We have taken to ourselves in South Africa within this -century an extent of land which in area is the largest of all Her -Majesty’s dominions, and have been wont to tell ourselves that as -regards the Natives it is all right because we have left them their own -lands in Kafraria Proper. Let the Briton who consoles himself with this -thought,—and who would still so console himself,—look at the strip on -the map along the coast, an inch long perhaps and an inch deep; and then -let him measure across the continent from the mouth of the Orange River -to the mouth of the Tugela. It makes a Briton feel like the American who -would not swear to the two hundredth duck.</p> - -<p>We have not caught Kreli yet. When we have, if we should catch him, I do -not in the least know what we shall do with him. There is a report which -I do not believe that the Governor has threatened him with Robben -Island.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297">{297}</a></span> Robben Island is a forlorn isle lying off Capetown which has -been utilized for malefactors and lunatics. Langalibalele has a -comfortable farm house on the Gape Flats where he has a bottle of wine -and a bottle of beer allowed him a day,—and where he lives like a -second Napoleon at a second St. Helena. I trust that nothing of the kind -will be done with Kreli. There is an absurdity about it which is -irritating. It is as though we were playing at Indian princes among the -African black races. The man himself has not risen in life beyond the -taste for squatting in his hut with a dozen black wives around him and a -red blanket over his shoulders. Then we put him into a house where he -squats on a chair instead, and give him wine and beer and good clothes. -When we take the children of such a one and do something in the way of -educating them, then the expenditure of money is justified. Many -Kafirs,—many thousand Kafirs have risen above squatting in huts and red -blankets; but they are the men who have learned to work, as at the -Kimberley mine, and not the Chiefs. The only excuse for such treatment -as that which Langalibalele receives, which Kreli if caught would -probably receive, is that no one knows what else to propose. I am almost -inclined to think it better that Kreli should not be caught. Prisoners -of that nature are troublesome. What a blessing it was to France when -Marshal Bazaine escaped.</p> - -<p>I was told before leaving the Cape that the trouble would probably not -cost above £50,000. So cheap a disturbance certainly should not be -called a war. The cattle taken would probably be worth the money;—and -then the 300-acre<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298">{298}</a></span> farms, if they are ever allotted, will it is presumed -be of some value. But now I fear that £50,000 will not pay half the -bill. There is no luxury on earth more expensive than the British -soldier.</p> - -<p>It is well that we should annex Kreli’s country;—but there is something -for the lovers of the picturesque to regret in that the Kafir should no -longer have a spot on which he can live quite in accordance with his own -habits, in which there shall be no one to bid him cover his nakedness. -Though by degrees the really independent part of Kafraria Proper has -dwindled down to so small dimensions, there has always been the feeling -that the unharassed unharnessed Kafir had still his own native wilds in -which to disport himself as he pleased, in which the Chief might rule -over his subjects, and in which the subjects might venerate their Chiefs -without the necessity of obeying any white man. On behalf of such lovers -of the picturesque it should be explained that in making the Kafirs -subject to Great Britain, Great Britain interferes but very little with -their habits of life. There is hardly any interference unless as an -introduction of wages among them may affect them. The Gaika who has been -subjugated has been allowed to marry as many wives as he could get as -freely as the hitherto unsubjugated Galeka. Unless he come into the -European towns breeches have not been imposed upon him, and indeed not -then with any rigorous hand. The subject Kafirs are indeed made to pay -hut tax,—10s. a hut in the Cape Colony and 14s. in Natal; but this is -collected with such ease as to justify me in saying that they are a -people not impatient of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299">{299}</a></span> taxation. The popular idea seems to be that the -10s. demanded has to be got as soon as possible from some European -source,—by a week’s work, by the sale of a few fowls, or perhaps in -some less authorized manner. A sheep or two taken out of the nearest -white man’s flock will thoroughly indemnify the native for his tax.</p> - -<p>But their habits of life remain the same, unless they be openly -renounced and changed by the adoption of Christianity; or until work -performed in the service of the white man gradually induces the workman -to imitate his employer. I think that the latter cause is by far the -more operative of the two. But even that must be slow, as a population -to be counted by millions can not be taught to work all at once.</p> - -<p>A short catalogue of some of the most noticeable of the Kafir habits may -be interesting. I have taken my account of them from the papers -published under Colonel Maclean’s name. As polygamy is known to be the -habit of Kafirs, usages as to Kafir marriages come first in interest. A -Kafir always buys his wife, giving a certain number of cattle for her as -may be agreed upon between him and the lady’s father. These cattle go to -the father, or guardian, who has the privilege of selling the young -lady. A man therefore to have many wives must have many cattle,—or in -other words much wealth, the riches of a Kafir being always vested in -herds of oxen. Should a man have to repudiate his wife, and should he -show that he does so on good ground, he can recover the cattle he has -paid for her. Should a man die without children by a wife, the cattle -given for her may be recovered by his heirs. But should a woman leave -her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_300" id="page_300">{300}</a></span> husband before she had had a child, he may keep the cattle. Should -only one child have been born when the husband dies, and the woman be -still young and marriageable, a part of the cattle can be recovered. I -have known it to be stated,—in the House of Commons and -elsewhere,—that wives are bought and sold among the Kafirs. Such an -assertion gives a wrong idea of the custom. Wives are bought, but are -never sold. The girl is sold, that she may become a wife; but the -husband cannot sell her. The custom as it exists is sufficiently -repulsive. As the women are made to work,—made to do all the hard work -where European habits have not been partially introduced,—a wife of -course is valuable as a servant. To call them slaves is to give a false -representation of their position. A wife in England has to obey her -husband, but she is not his slave. The Kafir wife though she may hoe the -land while the husband only fights or searches for game, does not hold a -mean position in her husband’s hut. But the old are more wealthy than -the young, and therefore the old and rich buy up the wives, leaving no -wives for the young men,—with results which may easily be understood. -The practice is abominable,—but we shall not alter it by conceiving or -spreading false accounts of it. In regard to work it should be -understood that the men even in their own locations are learning to -become labourers and to spare the women. The earth used to be turned -only by the hoe, and the hoe was used by the women. Ploughs are now -quite common among the Kafirs, and the ploughing is done by men.</p> - -<p>There is no system of divorce; but a man may repudiate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301">{301}</a></span> his wife with or -without reason, getting back the cattle or a part of them. A wife often -leaves her husband, through ill-usage or from jealousy,—in which case -the cattle remain with the husband and, if not as yet paid in full, can -be recovered. According to law not only the cattle agreed upon but the -progeny of the cattle can be recovered;—but it seldom happens that more -than the original number are obtained. When there is a separation the -children belong to the father.</p> - -<p>When a man has many wives he elects one as his “great wife,”—who may -not improbably be the youngest and last married. The selection is -generally made in accordance with the rank of the woman. Her eldest son -is the heir. Then he makes a second choice of a “right hand -wife,”—whose eldest son is again the heir of some portion of the -property which during the father’s life has been set apart for the right -hand house. If he be rich he may provide for other children, but the -customs of his tribe do not expect him to do so. If he die without -having made such selections, his brothers or other relatives do it for -him.</p> - -<p>A husband may beat his wife,—but not to death. If he do that he is -punished for murder,—by a fine. If he knock out her eye, or even her -tooth, he is fined by the Chief. The same law prevails between parents -and children as long as the child remains domiciled in the parents’ -family. A father is responsible for all that his child does, and must -pay the fines inflicted for the child’s misdeeds;—unless he has -procured the outlawing of his child, which he can do if the child has -implicated him in many crimes and caused him to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302">{302}</a></span> pay many fines. Near -relations of criminals must pay, when the criminals are unable to do so.</p> - -<p>Kafir lands are not sold or permanently alienated. Any man may occupy -unoccupied land and no one but the Chief can disturb him. Should he quit -the land he has occupied, and another come upon it, he can recover the -use of the land he has once cultivated.</p> - -<p>Murder is punished by a fine,—which seems to be of the same amount -whatever be the circumstances of the murder. The law makes no difference -between premeditated and unpremeditated murder,—the injury done being -considered rather than the criminality of the doer. A husband would be -fined for murder if he killed an adulteress, let the proof have been -ever so plain. Even for accidental homicide a Chief will occasionally -fine the perpetrator,—though in such case the law does not hold him to -be guilty. For adultery there is a fine of cattle, great or small in -accordance with the rank of the injured husband. Rape is fined, the -cattle going to the husband, if the woman be married. If a girl be -seduced, the seducer is fined,—perhaps three head of cattle. The young -man probably has not got three head of cattle. Then his older friends -pay for him. Among Kafir customs there are some which might find -approbation with a portion of our European communities. It cannot, at -any rate, be said that the Kafirs have a bloody code.</p> - -<p>All theft is punished by a fine of cattle, the fine being moderated if -the property stolen be recovered. But the fine is great or small -according to the rank of the injured person. If a Chief have been robbed -general confiscation of every thing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303">{303}</a></span> is the usual result of detection. -The fine is paid to the injured person. A Chief cannot be prosecuted for -theft by one of his own tribe. The children of Chiefs are permitted to -steal from people of their own tribe, and no action can be brought -against them. Should one be taken in the fact of so stealing and be -whipped, or beaten, all the property of the whipper or beater may be -confiscated by the Chief. There was a tribe some years ago in which -there were so many royal offshoots, that not a garden, not a goat was -safe. A general appeal was made to the paramount Chief and he decided -that the privilege should in future be confined to his own immediate -family.</p> - -<p>For wilful injury a man has to pay the full amount of damage; but for -accidental injury he pays nothing. This seems to be unlike the general -Kafir theory of law. There is no fine for trespass; the idea being that -as all lands are necessarily and equally open, the absence of any -recovery on account of damage is equal to all. When fencing has become -common this idea will probably vanish. If cattle that are trespassing be -driven off and injured in the driving, fines can be recovered to the -amount of the damage done.</p> - -<p>When illness comes a doctor is to be employed. Should death ensue -without a doctor a fine is imposed,—which goes to the Chief.</p> - -<p>There are many religious rites and ceremonies and many laws as to -cleanness and uncleanness; but it would hardly interest the reader were -I to describe them at length. At the age of puberty, or what is so -considered among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304">{304}</a></span> Kafirs, both boys and girls go through certain -rites by which they are supposed to be introduced to manhood and -woman-hood. There is much in these ceremonies which is disgusting and -immoral, and it has been the anxious endeavours of missionaries to cause -their cessation. But such cessation can only come by the gradual -adoption of European manners. Where the Kafirs have lived in close -connexion with the Europeans many of these customs have already been -either mitigated or abandoned.</p> - -<p>When a child dies but little notice is taken of the circumstance. Among -adults, the dying man or woman, when known to be dying, is taken away to -die in a ditch. So at least the Rev. Mr. Dugmore says in one of the -papers from which I am quoting. When death has occurred the family -become unclean and unable to mix in society for a certain period. It -used to be the custom to cast the dead body forth to be devoured by -beasts, the privilege of burial being only accorded to the Chiefs. But -now all are buried under the ground, a hole being dug not far from the -hut. The funeral of a Chief is attended with many ceremonies, his arms -and ornaments being buried with him. Friends are appointed to watch by -the grave,—for longer or lesser periods according to the rank of the -deceased. If he have been a great Chief, the period is sometimes a year, -during which the watchers may do nothing but watch. These watchers, -however, become sacred when the watch is done. Cattle are folded upon -the grave which may never after be slaughtered;—nor can anything be -done with their increase till the last of the original cattle have died. -The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305">{305}</a></span> grave of the Chief becomes a sanctuary at which an offender may -take refuge. The death of the Chief is made known to all other Chiefs -around,—who shave their heads and abstain for a time from the use of -milk. From all which it may be seen that a Kafir Chief is considered to -be a very big person.</p> - -<p>Justice is administered by the Chief assisted by Councillors. The Chief, -however, is not absolutely bound by the advice of his Councillors. He is -compelled to some adhesion to justice or to the national laws by the -knowledge that his tribe will dwindle and depart from him if he gives -unbearable offence. Cases of gross injustice do occur;—but on the whole -the Kafir Chiefs have endeavoured to rule in accordance with Kafir -customs. A certain amount of arbitrary caprice the people have been -willing to endure;—but they have not been as long-suffering as the -Zulus under Dingaan,—nor as the Romans under Nero. Disobedience to a -Chief is punished by a fine;—but the crime has been unpopular in the -tribes, and though doubtless committed daily under the rose is one of -which a Kafir does not wish to have been thought guilty. The very -essence of Kafir customs and Kafir life is reverence for the Chief.</p> - -<p>I cannot close this short catalogue of Kafir customs without alluding to -witch-doctors and rain-makers. Witch-doctoring is employed on two -occasions—1st, when a true but of course mistaken desire exists in a -kraal or family village to find out who is tormenting the community by -making some member or members of it ill,—and, 2nd,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306">{306}</a></span> when some Chief has -a desire to get rid of a political enemy, or more probably to obtain the -cattle of a wealthy subject. In either case a priest is called in who -with many absurd ceremonies goes about the work of selecting or -“smelling out” a victim, whom of course he has in truth selected before -the ceremonies are commenced. In the former case, after much howling and -beating of drums, he names the unfortunate one, who is immediately -pounced upon and tormented almost to death; and at last forced, in his -own defence, to own to some kind of witchcraft. His cattle are seized -which go to the Chief,—and then after a while he is purified and put -upon his legs again, impoverished indeed, and perhaps crippled, but a -free man in regard to the Devil which is supposed to have been driven -out of him. In the second case the treatment is the same;—only that the -man whose wealth is desired, or whose political conduct has been -objectionable, does not often recover.</p> - -<p>The rain-maker is used only in time of drought, when the Chief sends to -him desiring that he will make rain, and presenting him with a head of -cattle to assist him in the operation. The profession is a dangerous -one, as the Chief is wont to sacrifice the rain-maker himself if the -rain is postponed too long. It is the rain-maker’s trade to produce -acceptable excuses till the rain shall come in its natural course. It is -not expected till the bones of the ox shall have been burned after -sacrifice,—which may be about the third day. Then it may be asserted -that the beast was not good enough, or unfortunately of an unacceptable -colour; and there is some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307">{307}</a></span> delay while a second beast comes. Then it is -alleged that there is manifestly a witch interfering, and the -witch-doctoring process takes place. It is bad luck indeed if rain do -not come by this time;—but, should it not come soon after the -witch-doctor’s victim has gone through his torments, then the rain-maker -is supposed to be an impostor, and he is at once drowned by order of the -Chief. Mr. Warner, from whose notes this account is taken, says that the -professional rain-maker was not often a long lived man.</p> - -<p>I did not myself visit the Transkeian territory, but in passing from -East London to Durban the small steamer which carried me ran so near the -land that I was enabled to see the coast scenery as well as though I -were in a rowing boat just off the shore. We could see the Kafirs -bathing and the cattle of the Kafirs roaming upon the hills. It is by -far the prettiest bit of coast belonging to South Africa. The gates of -St. John, as the rocks forming the mouth of the river are called, are -peculiarly lovely. When I was there the rebellion had not been -commenced, but even then I thought it a pity that English vessels should -not be able to run in among that lovely paradise of hills and rocks and -waters.</p> - -<p>I insert here a table of the population of the Transkeian tribes, giving -the estimated numbers of the people and the supposed number of fighting -men which each tribe contains. They are all now regarded as Kafirs -except the inhabitants of Adam Kok’s Land and the district called the -Gatberg, who are people that have migrated from the west.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308">{308}</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">Estimated Population of the Transkeian Territories.</span></p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td><td class="c">Total<br />Population.</td> -<td class="c">Fighting<br /> Men.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Fingos</td><td class="rt">45,000</td><td class="rt">7,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Idutywa Reserve</td><td class="rt">17,000</td><td class="rt">3,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Emigrant Tembus</td><td class="rt">40,000</td><td class="rt">7,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Tembus (Tembuland Proper)</td><td class="rt">60,000</td><td class="rt">10,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Gatberg {Bastards, 1,000} {Basutos, 5,000}</td><td class="rt">6,000</td> -<td class="rt">1,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Griqualand East, or -Adam Kok’s Land {including the Bacas} </td><td class="rt">40,000</td><td class="rt">7,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Galekas (Kreli)</td><td class="rt">66,000</td><td class="rt">11,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Bomvanas (Moni)</td><td class="rt">15,000</td><td class="rt">2,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pondomisi</td><td class="rt">12,000</td><td class="rt">2,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pondos</td><td class="rt" style="border-bottom:3px double black;">200,000</td><td class="rt" style="border-bottom:3px double black;">30,000</td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt">Total Transkei</td> -<td class="rt" style="border-bottom:3px double black;">501,000</td> -<td class="rt" style="border-bottom:3px double black;">80,000</td></tr> -</table> -<p class="c">The number of fighting men has been arrived at by taking one-sixth -of the total population.</p> -</div> - -<p>The number here will be seen to amount to 500,000, whereas the Galekas -of whom alone we are speaking when we talk of the hostile Kafirs across -the Kei are not in this return given as being more than 66,000. It must -always be remembered that there has been no census taken of these tribes -and that many of these numbers are estimated by little more than guess -work. The Fingos and the mixed inhabitants of the district called the -Idutywa Reserve are already British subjects. The Tembus are not so -nominally; but are for the most part obedient to British magistrates who -live among them. The inhabitants of the Gatberg are natives who live -there because the place is vacant for them,—also with a British -magistrate. They certainly cannot be regarded as an independent tribe. -The Griquas of Adam Kok’s Land are bastard Hottentots who have been -moved west from one locality to another, and now inhabit a country which -used to be called No Man’s Land and which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309">{309}</a></span> was probably cleared of its -old inhabitants by Chaka, the great Zulu king. They are British -subjects. Of the Galekas and Bomvanas I have said enough. The Pondomisi -are a small tribe of independent Kafirs among whom a British magistrate -lives. Then we come to the Pondos, the most numerous tribe of all,—so -much so that the reader will be inclined to say that, while the Pondos -remain independent, Kafraria cannot become English. But the Pondos are a -very much less notorious people than the Galekas,—and constitute a -tribe who will probably be willing to annex themselves when the Bomvanas -and Galekas are annexed. Their present condition is rather remarkable. -The person most dominant among them is one Mrs. Jenkins, the widow of a -missionary, who is said to rule them easily, pleasantly, and prudently. -Mrs. Jenkins, however, cannot live for ever. But it is thought that the -Pondos will of their own accord become British subjects even during the -reign of Mrs. Jenkins. The mouth of the St. John’s River is in the -country of the Pondos, and it would be greatly to the benefit of South -Eastern Africa generally that a harbour for the purposes of commerce -should be opened on that portion of the coast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310">{310}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -<small>THE BASUTOS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Of</span> the Basutos I have said something in my attempt to tell the story of -the Orange Free State; but the tribe still occupy so large a space in -South Africa and has made itself so conspicuous in South African affairs -as to require some further short mention for the elucidation of South -African history. They are a people who have been moved, up and down, -about South Africa and have thus travelled much, who have come to be -located on the land they now hold partly as refugees and partly as -conquerors, who thirty years ago had a great Chief called Moshesh of -whom some have asserted that he was a Christian, and others that he was -a determined Savage, who are still to be found in various parts of South -Africa, and who perhaps possess in their head-quarters of Basuto Land -the very best agricultural soil on the continent. There are at present -supposed to be about 127,000 of them settled on this land, among whom -there would be according to the general computation about 21,000 -fighting warriors. The fighting men are estimated to be a sixth of the -whole tribe,—so that every adult male not incapacitated by age or -misfortune is counted as a fighting man. To imagine, however, that if -the Basutos were to go to war they could bring<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311">{311}</a></span> an army of 20,000 men -into the field, would be to pay an unmerited compliment to their power -of combination, to their commissariat supplies, and to their general -patriotism. But as in late years they have bought a great many ploughs, -as they are great growers of corn, and as they have become lovers of -trade, lovers of money, growers of wool, and friends of the English,—as -they are loyal English subjects,—we will not be indignant with them on -account of any falling off in their military capacity.</p> - -<p>The Basutos are not Kafirs or Zulus. They are a branch of the Bechuanas -a large tribe or rather race of Natives whose own territory lies west of -the Transvaal, and between that and the great Kalahari Desert. I have -already spoke of the Baralongs of Thaba ’Ncho as having come out from -among the same race. Were I to say much of the Bechuanas I should find -myself wandering again all over South Africa. I will therefore not -pursue them further, merely remarking that they too are become -irrepressible, and that before long we shall find ourselves compelled to -annex one branch of them after another in connection with Griqualand -West and the Diamond Fields.</p> - -<p>The first record, in date, which I have read of the Basutos is in a -simple volume written by a Missionary, the Rev. E. Cassalis, who was one -of a party of French Protestants sent out nearly 50 years ago from Paris -to the Cape with the double object of comforting the descendants of the -French emigrants and of converting the Natives. It was the fate of M. -Cassalis,—who though he writes in English I presume to have been a -Frenchman,—to establish a mission at a place<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312">{312}</a></span> called Moriah in -Basutoland in 1833, and to write a book about Basuto Manners. He does -not really tell us very much about the people, as, with laudable -enthusiasm, he is more intent on the ways of Providence than on the -details of history. If hardships and misfortunes come he recognises them -as precious balms. If they are warded off he sees the special mercy of -the Lord to him and his flock. The hyænas were allowed to take his -sheep, but an “inexorable lion,” who made the “desert echo with the -majestic sounds of his voice,” was not permitted by Providence to touch -himself. Something, however, is to be gleaned from his tale. The people -among whom he had come were harassed terribly by enemies. They were -continually attacked by Moselekatze, the Chief of the Matabeles, whom M. -Cassalis calls Zulus;<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>—and also by roaming bands of the Korannas, a -tribe of Bedouin South African Savages, only one degree, if one degree, -better than the Bushmen. With these Moshesh was always fighting, -entrenching himself when hard pressed on a high rock called Thaba Bosio -or Thaba Bosigo, from whence he would hurl down stones upon his -assailants very much to their dismay. The Basutos seem to have been a -brave people, but reduced by their enemies to very hard straits, so that -they were driven by want, in those comparatively modern days,—for we -are speaking of a period within the lifetime of the father of the -existing Chief of the tribe,—to have resort to cannibalism for -support.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313">{313}</a></span></p> - -<p>It has been asserted, with general truth, that cannibalism has not been -a vice of South African Natives. It was not found among the Hottentots, -nor even among the Bushmen except with rare instances, nor among the -Kafirs or Zulus. There is no reason to believe that the Basutos brought -the practice with them from among their ancestors the Bechuanas. But -there is ample evidence that they practised it during the time of their -wars with the Matabeles and Korannas, and reason to suppose that it has -been carried on in a hidden, shame-faced way, in opposition to the -endeavours of their Chiefs, down to within a very modern date. M. -Cassalis tells us the stories of cannibalism which he had heard from -Natives on his arrival in the country, and, giving 1820 as a date, says -that Moshesh put an end to these horrors. He acknowledges in a note that -he has been accused of inventing these details for the sake “of giving a -dramatic interest to our recital,”—and goes on to declare that when he -was in the country, “there were thirty or forty villages the entire -population of which is composed of those who were formerly cannibals and -who make no secret of their past life.” Had I read all this without -light from subsequent record, I should have felt that M. Cassalis was a -writer far too simple and too honest to have invented anything for the -sake of “dramatic interest:”—but that he was a man who might have been -hoaxed even by thirty or forty villages. Having been taught to believe -that Cannibalism had not prevailed in South Africa, I think I might have -doubted the unaided testimony of the French missionary. But there is a -testimony very much subsequent which I cannot doubt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314">{314}</a></span></p> - -<p>In November 1869 there appeared a paper in “Once a Week” called -“Ethnological Curiosities from South Africa.” From whom it was supplied -to that periodical neither do I know,—nor does the gentleman by whom -the body of the paper was written. The assumed name of “Leyland” is -there given to that gentleman, without any authority for the change, and -it is told that he had contributed the narrative to the Ethnological -Society and had called it a visit to the Cannibal Caves. This is true; -but the name of the gentleman was Mr. Bowker who was the first -Government Agent in Basutoland. He was not at all sorry to see his paper -reappearing in so respectable a periodical, but has never known how it -reached “Once a Week,” or why he was called Mr. Leyland. This is not of -much general interest; but he goes on to describe how he, and a party -with him, were taken by guides up the side of a mountain, and by a -difficult pathway into a cave. The date is not given, but the visit -occurred in 1868. The cavern is then described as being black with the -smoke of fires, and the floor as being strewn with the bones of human -beings,—chiefly those of women and children. “The marrow bones were -split into small pieces, the rounded joints alone being left unbroken. -Only a few of these bones were charred by fire, showing that the -prevailing taste had been for boiled rather than for roast meat.” Again -he says, “I saw while at the cavern unmistakeable evidence that the -custom has not been altogether abandoned, for among the numerous bones -were a few that appeared very recent. They were apparently those of a -tall bony individual with a skull hard as bronze. In the joints<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315">{315}</a></span> of -these bones the marrow and fatty substances were still evident, showing -but too plainly that many months had not elapsed since he met his fate.” -This was as late as 1868.</p> - -<p>Again. “There are still a good many old Cannibals in existence. On the -day that we visited the cavern I was introduced to one of them, who is -now living not very far from his former dwelling-place. He is a man of -about sixty, and, not to speak from prejudice, one of the most God-lost -looking ruffians that I ever beheld in my life. In former days when he -was a young man dwelling in the cavern, he captured during one of his -hunting expeditions three young women. From these he selected the -best-looking as a partner for life. The other two went to stock his -larder.”</p> - -<p>This comes from a gentleman who saw the ghastly remains, who well knows -the people of whom he is speaking, and who from his official position -has had better means of knowing than any other European. They come, too, -from a gentleman who is still alive to answer for his story should a -doubt be thrown upon it. His idea is that a certain number of the -Basutos had been driven into the terrible custom by famine caused by -continued wars, and had afterwards carried it on from addiction to the -taste which had been thus generated. M. Cassalis, who was right enough -in saying that the Basutos were Cannibals, was wrong only in supposing -that his disciple Moshesh had been able to suppress the abomination. -There is, however, reason to believe that it has now been suppressed.</p> - -<p>The noble simplicity of individual missionaries as to the success of -their own efforts is often charming and painful at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316">{316}</a></span> the same -time;—charming as shewing their complete enthusiasm, and painful when -contrasted with the results. M. Cassalis tells us how Moshesh used to -dine with him in the middle of the day, on Sunday, because, having come -down from his mountain to morning service, he could not go up the hill -for dinner, and so be back again in time for afternoon prayers. Moshesh -used to have his dinner inside the missionary’s house, and the rest of -the congregation from the mountain would remain outside, around, not -wasting their time, but diligently learning to read. And yet I fear that -there are not many Christians now on the mountain, which is still well -known as Thaba Bosigo.</p> - -<p>But Moshesh though he was not a Christian was a great Chief, and -gradually under him the Basutos became a great tribe. Probably their -success arose from the fact that the land on which they lived was -fertile. The same cause has probably led to their subsequent -misfortunes,—the fertility of the land having offered temptation to -others. Their mountains and valleys became populated, and,—as the -mountains and valleys of a still uncivilized race,—very rich. But there -arose questions of boundaries, which so often became questions of -robbery. I have already told how Maroco the Chief of the Baralongs at -Thaba ’Ncho held that the land he occupied was his by right of purchase, -and how Moshesh had declared that he had never sold an inch of his land. -Moshesh was very fond of allegory in his arguments. The Baralongs were -certainly living on land that had belonged to the Basutos; but Moshesh -declared that, “he had lent them the cow to milk; they could use her; -but he could not sell<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317">{317}</a></span> the cow.” For the full understanding of this it -must be known that no Kafir, no Zulu, no Basuto can bear the idea of -selling his cattle. And then the Boers of the Free State who had settled -upon Basutoland, would have it that they owned the land. There came days -of terrible fighting between the Basutos and the Boers,—and of renewed -fighting between the Basutos and other tribes. One can imagine that they -should again have been driven by famine to that cannibalism of which Mr. -Bowker saw the recent marks. They were at a very low ebb at Thaba -Bosigo, being at last almost eaten up by President Brand, and the Boers. -Then they asked for British intervention, and at last, in 1868, Sir -Philip Wodehouse issued a proclamation in which he declared them to be -British subjects. A line of boundary was established between them and -the Orange Republic, giving the Orange Republic the “Conquered -Territory” which they still call by that objectionable name, but leaving -to the Basutos the possession of a rich district which seems to be -sufficient for their wants. The Orange Republic, or Free State, did not -at all like what was done by the British. Their politicians still -insisted that Great Britain was precluded by treaty from concerning -itself with any native tribe north of the Orange River. It tried to make -the most of its position,—naturally enough. Perhaps it did make the -most of its position, for it now holds the peaceable possession of a -great portion of the land of its late enemies, and no longer has a -single hostile nation on its borders. We may say that the possibility of -a hostile nation has passed away. Nothing can be more secure than the -condition of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318">{318}</a></span> Orange Republic since Great Britain has secured her -borders. There was a convention at Aliwal North, and the boundary line -was permanently settled on March 12, 1869.</p> - -<p>Since that time the Basutos have been a peculiarly flourishing people, -living under the chieftainship of a junior Moshesh, but undoubted -subjects of the Queen of England. Their territory is a part of the Cape -Colony, which they help to support by the taxes they pay. Their hut tax, -at the rate of 10s. a hut amounts to £4,000 a year. Why it should not -come to more I do not understand, as, according to the usual calculation -of four to a hut, there should be about 32,000 huts among them, which -would give £16,000. They also contribute £2,000 a year in other taxes. -In the year ended 30 June, 1876, they were governed, instructed, and -generally provided for at the rate of £7,644 15s. 1d. As their revenue -is hardly £5,000, this would shew a serious deficiency,—but they who do -the finance work for Basutoland have a very large balance in hand, -amounting, after the making up of all deficiencies at the date above -named, to £22,577 4s. These figures are taken from the last published -financial Report of the Cape of Good Hope. I need not tell an -experienced reader that no book or document is produced so -unintelligible to an uninitiated reader as an official financial report. -Why should Basutoland with a revenue of £5,000 a year have a Treasury -Balance of £22,577 4s.? Every clerk concerned in the getting up of that -report no doubt knows all about it. It is not perhaps intended that any -one else should understand it. I have said above that the Basutos are -governed and instructed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319">{319}</a></span> Alas, no! Under the general head of -expenditure, education is a conspicuous detail; but it is followed by no -figures. It seems to be admitted that something should be expended for -the teaching of the Basutos; but that the duty so acknowledged is not -performed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320">{320}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>NAMAQUALAND.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">A glance</span> at the map of South Africa will shew two regions on the Western -side of the Continent to which the name of Namaqualand is given, north -and south of the Orange River. The former is Great Namaqualand and -cannot as yet be said to form a part of the British Empire. But as it at -present belongs to nobody, and is tenanted,—as far as it is tenanted at -all,—by a very sparse sprinkling of Hottentots, Bushmen, and Korannas, -and as it is undoubtedly metalliferous, it is probable that it will be -annexed sooner or later.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Copper has been found north of the Orange -River and that copper will not long be left undisturbed. North of Great -Namaqualand is Damaraland, whence too have come tokens of copper and -whisperings of gold. Even to these hard hot unfertile sandy regions -Dutch farmers have trekked in order that they might live solitary, -unseen, and independent. We need not, however, follow them at present to -a country which is almost rainless and almost uninhabited, and for which -we are not as yet responsible. Little Namaqualand, south of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_321" id="page_321">{321}</a></span> the Orange -River, is one of the electoral divisions of the Cape Colony, and to that -I will confine the few remarks which I will make as to this -uncomfortable district.</p> - -<p>It is for its copper and for its copper alone that Little Namaqualand is -of any real value. On looking at the printed reports of the Commissioner -and Magistrate for the division, made in 1874, 1875, and 1876, I find -nothing but misfortune mentioned,—except in regard to the copper mines. -“1874,” says the report for that year, “has been a very bad year.” -“There has, so to say, been no corn in the land.” “One person after -thrashing out his corn obtained three pannicans.” Poor farmers! “Living -is very expensive, and were it not for the tram line”—a railroad made -by the Copper Company nearly to Springbok Fontein, which is the seat of -government and the magistrate’s residence,—“we would have been on the -verge of starvation.” Poor magistrate! Then the report goes on. “The -Ookiep mine is steadily progressing.” “The yield of ore during the year -has been 10,000 tons.” It is pretty nearly as bad in 1875. “The rain -came late in the year, and the yield in corn was very small.” “It is -almost impossible to describe the poverty in which the poorer classes -exist in a severe drought.” And a severe drought is the normal condition -of the country in which the fall of rain and dew together does not -exceed five inches in the year. But the copper enterprise was -flourishing. “The Ookiep mine,” says the same report, “has been steadily -progressing, its yield being now 1,000 tons per month.” In 1876 rural -matters were not much better. “The water supply all over the country -has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_322" id="page_322">{322}</a></span> much decreased, and the farmers have been put to great straits in -consequence.” But there is comfort in the copper. “The Ookiep mine still -continues in the same flourishing condition.” What most raises our -surprise in this is that there should be farmers at all in such a -country as Namaqualand.</p> - -<p>The following is Mr. Theal’s description of the district. “A long narrow -belt, twenty thousand square miles in extent, it presents to the eye -nothing but a dismal succession of hill and gorge and sandy plain, all -bare and desolate.” “A land of drought and famine, of blinding glare and -fiery blast,—such is the country of the Little Namaquas. From time -immemorial it has been the home of a few wretched Hottentots who were -almost safe in such a desert from even European intruders. Half a dozen -missionaries and two or three score of farmers were the sole -representatives of civilization among these wandering Savages. One -individual to about three square miles was all that the land was capable -of supporting.”</p> - -<p>But there is copper in the regions near the coast and consequently -Little Namaqualand is becoming an important and a rich district. Before -the Dutch came the Hottentots had found copper here and had used it for -their ornaments. In 1683, when the Dutch government was still young and -the Dutch territory still small, an expedition was sent by the Dutch -Governor in search of copper to the very region in which the Cape Copper -Company is now carrying on its works. But the coast was severe and the -land hard to travellers, and it was found difficult to get the ore down<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_323" id="page_323">{323}</a></span> -to the sea. The Dutch therefore abandoned the undertaking and the copper -was left at rest for a century and a half. The first renewed attempt was -made in 1835, and that was unsuccessful. It was not till 1852 that the -works were commenced which led to the present flourishing condition of -the South African copper mines.</p> - -<p>For some few years after this there seems to have been a copper mania in -South Africa,—as there was a railway mania in England, and a gold mania -in Australia, and a diamond mania in Griqualand West. People with a -little money rushed to the country and lost that little. And those who -had none rushed also to the copper mines and failed to enrich themselves -as they had expected. In 1863 Messrs. Phillips and King, who had -commenced their work in 1852, established the company which is still -known as the Cape Copper Mining Company,—and that company has been -thoroughly successful altogether, through the Ookiep mine to which the -magistrate in all the reports from which I have quoted has referred as -the centre and source of Namaqualand prosperity.</p> - -<p>About four hundred miles north-west of the Cape and forty-five miles -south of the Orange River there is a little harbour called Port Nolloth -in Robben Bay. The neighbourhood is described as being destitute of all -good things. The country in this neighbourhood is sandy and barren, and -without water. We are told that water may be obtained by digging in the -sand, but that when obtained it is brackish. But here is the outlet for -South African copper, and therefore the little port is becoming a place -of importance. Sail<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_324" id="page_324">{324}</a></span>ing vessels come from Swansea for the ore, and about -once a fortnight a little steamer comes here from Capetown bringing -necessaries of life to its inhabitants and such comforts as money can -give in a place so desolate and hideous.</p> - -<p>From hence there is a railway running 60 miles up to the foot of the -mountains constructed by the Copper Mining Company for the use of their -men and for bringing down the ore to the coast. This railway goes to -Great Ookiep mine, which is distant but a few miles from the miserable -little town called Springbok Fontein, which is the capital of the -district. The Ookiep mine is thus described in the Gazeteer attached to -Messrs. Silver’s South African Guide Book. It is “one of the most -important copper mines in existence, its annual production of very rich -ore being nearly 7,000 tons;”—since that was written the amount has -been considerably increased;—“and the deeper the shafts are sunk the -more extensive appears the area of ore producing ground. The mine is now -sunk to a depth of 80 fathoms, but exhibits no sign of decreasing -production.” “These Ookiep ores are found in Europe to be easier smelted -than the ores of any other mines whatever, and the deposit of copper ore -in the locality seems quite unlimited.”</p> - -<p>There have been various other mines tried in the vicinity, and there can -be no doubt from the indications of copper which are found all around -that the working of copper in the district will before long be carried -very much further than at present. But up to this time the Ookiep mine -is the only one that has paid its expenses and given a considerable -profit. During the copper fury various attempts were made<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_325" id="page_325">{325}</a></span> all of which -failed. The existing Company, which has been as a whole exceedingly -prosperous, has made many trials at other spots none of which according -to their own report have been altogether successful. I quote the -following extracts from the report made by its own officers and -published by the Company in 1877. “The operations at Spectakel Mine have -been attended with almost unvarying ill fortune.” “It is thought that -the Kilduncan centre has had fair trial and as the ground looks -unpromising the miners have been withdrawn.” “Although yielding -quantities of low class ore the workings at Narrap have not so far -proved remunerative.” “The levels at Karolusberg have also failed to -reveal anything valuable.” “A good deal of preparatory work has been -done at this place,”—Nabapeep. “This may be regarded as the most -promising trial mine belonging to the Company.” These are all the -adventures yet made except that of the Ookiep mine, but that alone has -been so lucky that the yield in 1876 amounted to “10,765 tons of 21 -cwt., nett dry weight, averaging 28½? per cent.” This perhaps, to the -uninitiated mind may give but a hazy idea of the real result of the -speculation. But when we are told that only £7 a share has been paid up, -and that £4 per annum profit has been paid on each share, in spite of -the failure of other adventures, then the success of the great Ookiep -mine looms clear to the most uninstructed understanding.</p> - -<p>There can be no doubt but that Namaqualand will prove to be one of the -great copper producing countries of the earth; and as little, I fear, -that it is in all other respects one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_326" id="page_326">{326}</a></span> of the most unfortunate and -undesirable. I have spoken to some whose duties have required them to -visit Springbok Fontein or to frequent Port Nolloth, and they have all -spoken of their past experiences without expressing any wish to revisit -those places. Missionaries have gone to this land as elsewhere, striving -to carry Christianity among, perhaps, as low a form of humanity as there -is on the earth,—with the exception of the quickly departing Australian -aboriginal. They have probably done something, if only a little, both -towards raising the intellect and relieving the wants of those among -whom they have placed themselves. But the Bushmen and the Korannas are -races very hopeless. Men who have been called upon by Nature to live in -so barren a region,—a country almost destitute of water and therefore -almost destitute of grass, can hardly be expected to raise themselves -above the lowest habits and the lowest tastes incident to man. If -anything can give them a chance of rising in the world it will be such -enterprise as that of the Cape Mining Company, and such success as that -of the Ookiep mine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_327" id="page_327">{327}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>CONCLUSION.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I have</span> now finished my task and am writing my last chapter as I make my -way home across the Bay of Biscay. It has been laborious enough but has -been made very pleasant by the unvarying kindness of every one with whom -I have come in contact. My thanks are specially due to those who have -travelled with me or allowed me to travel with them. I have had the good -fortune never to have been alone on the road,—and thus that which would -otherwise have been inexpressibly tedious has been made pleasant. I must -take this last opportunity of repeating here, what I have said more than -once before, that my thanks in this respect are due to the Dutch as -warmly as to the English. I am disposed to think that a wrong impression -as to the so-called Dutch Boer of South Africa has become common at -home. It has been imagined by some people,—I must acknowledge to have -received such an impression myself,—that the Boer was a European who -had retrograded from civilization, and had become savage, barbarous, and -unkindly. There can be no greater mistake. The courtesies of life are as -dear to him as to any European. The circumstances of his secluded life -have made him unprogressive. It may, however, be that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_328" id="page_328">{328}</a></span> same -circumstances have maintained with him that hospitality for strangers -and easy unobtrusive familiarity of manners, which the contests and -rapidity of modern life have banished from us in Europe. The Dutch Boer, -with all his roughness, is a gentleman in his manners from his head to -his heels.</p> - -<p>When a man has travelled through a country under beneficent auspices, -and has had everything shewn to him and explained to him with frank -courtesy, he seems to be almost guilty of a breach of hospitality if, on -his coming away, he speaks otherwise than in glowing terms of the -country where he has been so received. I know that I have left behind me -friends in South Africa who, when they shall have read my book or shall -hear how I have spoken of their Institutions, will be ill satisfied with -me. I specially fear this in regard to the Cape Colony where I can go on -all fours neither with the party in power who think that parliamentary -forms of Government must be serviceable for South Africa, because they -have been proved to be so for Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; nor -with those opposed to them who would fain keep the native races in -subjection by military power. I would make the Kafir in all respects -equal to the white man;—but I would give him no voting power till he is -equal to the white man in education as in other things.</p> - -<p>It will be brought against me as an accusation that I have made my -enquiries and have written my book in a hurry. It has been done -hurriedly. Day by day as I have travelled about the continent in the -direction indicated in its pages I have written my book. The things -which I have seen have been described within a few hours of my seeing -them. The words<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_329" id="page_329">{329}</a></span> that I have heard have been made available for what -they were worth,—as far as it was within my power to do so,—before -they were forgotten. A book so written must often be inaccurate; but it -may possibly have something in it of freshness to atone for its -inaccuracies. In writing such a book a man has for a time to fill -himself exclusively with his subject,—to make every thought that he has -South African for the time, to give all his energy to the work in hand, -to talk about it, fight about it, think about it, write about it, and -dream about it. This I have endeavoured to do, and here is the result. -To spend five years in studying a country and then to come home and -devote five more to writing a book about it, is altogether out of my -way. The man who can do it will achieve much more than I shall. But had -I ever attempted it in writing other books I should have failed worse -than I have done. Had I thought of it in regard to South Africa my book -would never have been written at all.</p> - -<p>I fancy that I owe an apology to some whom I have answered rather -shortly when they have scolded me for not making a longer stay in their -own peculiar spots. “You have come to write a book about South Africa -and you have no right to go away without devoting a day to my ——” sugar -plantation, or distillery, or whatever the interesting enterprise may -have been. “You have only been three days in our town and I don’t think -you are doing us justice.” It has been hard to answer these accusations -with a full explanation of all the facts,—including the special -fact,—unimportant to all but one or two, that South Africa with all its -charms is not so comfortable at my present age as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_330" id="page_330">{330}</a></span> arm-chair in my -own book room. But in truth the man who has an interesting enterprise of -his own or who patriotically thinks that his own town only wants to be -known to be recognized as a Paradise among municipalities would, if -their power were as great as their zeal, render such a task as that I -have undertaken altogether impossible. The consciousness of their own -merit robs them of all sense of proportion. Such a one will acknowledge -that South Africa is large;—but South Africa will not be as large to -him as his own mill or his own Chamber of Commerce, and he will not -believe that eyes seeing other than his eyes can be worthy of any -credit. I know that I did not go to see this gentleman’s orchard as I -half promised, or the other gentleman’s collection of photographs, and I -here beg their pardons and pray them to remember how many things I had -to see and how many miles I had to travel.</p> - -<p>That I have visited all European South Africa I cannot boast. The -country is very large. We may say so large as to be at present -limitless. We do not as yet at all know our own boundaries. But I -visited the seat of Government in each district, and, beyond the -Capitals, saw enough of the life and ways of each of them to justify me, -I hope, in speaking of their condition and their prospects. I have also -endeavoured to explain roughly the way in which each of these districts -became what it now is. In doing this I have taken my facts partly from -those who have gone before me in writing the history of South -Africa,—whose names I have mentioned in my introductory -chapter,—partly from official records, and partly from the words of -those who witnessed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_331" id="page_331">{331}</a></span> and perhaps bore a share in the changes as they -were made. The first thing an Englishman has to understand in the story -of South Africa is the fact that the great and almost unnatural -extension of our colonization,—unnatural when the small number of -English emigrants who have gone there is considered,—has been produced -by the continued desire of the Dutch farmers to take themselves out of -the reach of English laws, and English feelings. The abolition of -slavery was the great cause of this,—though not the only cause; and the -abolition of slavery in British dominions is now only forty years old. -Since that time Natal, the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and -Griqualand West have sprung into existence, and they were all, in the -first instance, peopled by sturdy Dutchmen running away from the to them -disgusting savour of Exeter Hall. They would encounter anything, go -anywhere, rather than submit to British philanthropy. Then we have run -after them with our philanthropy in our hands,—with such results as I -have endeavoured to depict in these pages.</p> - -<p>This is the first thing that we shall have to understand,—but as the -mind comes to dwell on the subject it will not be the chief thing. It -must be the first naturally. To an Englishman the Cape of Good Hope, and -Natal, and now the Transvaal are British Colonies,—with a British -history, short or long. The way in which we became possessed of these -and the manner in which they have been ruled; the trouble or the glory -which have come to us from them; the success of them or the failure in -affording homes for our ever-increasing population;—these are the -questions which must affect us first. But when we learn that in those -South<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_332" id="page_332">{332}</a></span> African Colonies though we may not have succeeded in making homes -for many English,—not even comparatively for many Europeans,—we have -become the arbiters of the homes, the masters of the destinies, of -millions of black men; when we recognize the fact that here we have -imposed upon us the duty of civilizing, of training to the yoke of -labour and releasing from the yoke of slavery a strong, vital, -increasing and intelligent population; when this becomes plain to us, as -I think it must become plain,—then we shall know that the chief thing -to be regarded is our duty to the nations over which we have made -ourselves the masters.</p> - -<p>South Africa is a country of black men,—and not of white men. It has -been so; it is so; and it will continue to be so. In this respect it is -altogether unlike Australia, unlike the Canadas, and unlike New Zealand. -And, as it is unlike them, so should it be to us a matter of much purer -gratification than are those successful Colonies. There we have gone -with our ploughs and with our brandy, with all the good and with all the -evil which our civilization has produced, and throughout the lands the -native races have perished by their contact with us. They have withered -by commune with us as the weaker weedy grasses of Nature’s first -planting wither and die wherever come the hardier plants, which science -added to nature has produced. I am not among those who say that this has -been caused by our cruelty. It has often been that we have struggled our -very best to make our landing on a shore an unmixed blessing to those to -whom we have come. In New Zealand we strove hard for this;—but in New -Zealand the middle of the next century will probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_333" id="page_333">{333}</a></span> hear of the -existence of some solitary last Maori. It may be that this was -necessary. All the evidence we have seems to show that it was so. But it -is hardly the less sad because it was necessary. In Australia we have -been successful. We are clothed with its wools. Our coffers are filled -with its gold. Our brothers and our children are living there in -bounteous plenty. But during the century that we have been there we have -caused the entire population of a whole continent to perish. It is -impossible to think of such prosperity without a dash of suffering, -without a pang of remorse.</p> - -<p>In South Africa it is not so. The tribes which before our coming were -wont to destroy themselves in civil wars have doubled their population -since we have turned their assagais to ploughshares. Thousands, ten -thousands of them, are working for wages. Even beyond the realms which -we call our own we have stopped the cruelties of the Chiefs and the no -less fatal superstitions of the priests. The Kafir and the Zulu are free -men, and understand altogether the privileges of their freedom. In one -town of 18,000 inhabitants, 10,000 of them are now receiving 10s. a week -each man, in addition to their diet. Here at any rate we have not come -as a blighting poison to the races whom we have found in the country of -our adoption. This I think ought to endear South Africa to us.</p> - -<p>But it must at the same time tell us that South Africa is a black -country and not a white one;—that the important person in South Africa -is the Kafir and the Zulu, the Bechuana and the Hottentot;—not the -Dutchman or the Englishman. On the subject of population I have already -shewn that the information at my command is a little confused. Such -con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_334" id="page_334">{334}</a></span>fusion cannot be avoided when only estimates are made. But if I take -credit for 340,000 white people in South Africa, I certainly claim as -many as the country holds;—and I am probably within the mark if I say -that our direct influence extends over 3,000,000 of Natives. What is the -number of British subjects cannot even be estimated, because we do not -know our Transvaal limits. There are also whole tribes to the -North-West, in Bechuanaland, Damaraland, and Namaqualand anxious to be -annexed but not yet annexed. To all those we owe the duty of protection, -and all of them before long will be British subjects. As in India or -Ceylon, where the people are a coloured people, Asiatic and not -European, it is our first duty to govern them so that they may prosper, -to defend them from ill-usage, to teach them what we know ourselves, to -make them free, so in South Africa it is our chief duty to do the same -thing for the Natives there. The white man is the master, and the master -can generally protect himself. He can avail himself of the laws, and -will always have so many points in his favour that a paternal government -need not be much harassed on his account. Compared with the Native he is -numerically but one to ten. But in strength, influence, and capacity he -has ten to one the best of it.</p> - -<p>What is our duty to the Kafir or Zulu? There are so many views of our -duty! One believes that we have done the important thing if we teach him -to sing hymns. Another would give him back,—say a tenth of the land -that has been taken away from him, and then leave him. A third, the most -confident of them all, thinks that everything hangs on “a rod of -iron,”—between which and slavery the distance is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_335" id="page_335">{335}</a></span> very narrow. The rod -of iron generally means compelled work, the amount of wages to be -settled by the judgment of the master. A fourth would give him a -franchise and let him vote for a Member of Parliament,—which of course -includes the privilege of becoming a Member of Parliament, and of -becoming Prime Minister if he can get enough of his own class to back -him.</p> - -<p>I am afraid that I cannot agree altogether with any of these four. The -hymns, which as I speak of them include all religious teaching, have as -yet gone but a very little way. Something has been done,—that something -having shewn itself rather in a little book-learning than in -amelioration of conduct as the result of comprehended Christianity. But -the work will progress. In its way it is good, though the good done is -so little commensurate with the missionary labour given and the -missionary money spent!</p> - -<p>The land scheme,—the giving up of locations to the people,—is good -also to some extent if it be unmixed with such missionary attempts as -some which I have attempted to describe as existing in the western -province of the Cape Colony. There is a certain justice in it, and it -enables the people to fall gradually into the way of working for wages. -It has on the other hand the counterbalancing tendency of teaching the -people to think that they can live idle on their own land,—as used to -be the case with the Irishmen who held a couple of acres of ground.</p> - -<p>“The iron rod” is to me abominable. It means always some other treatment -for the coloured man than that which is given to the white man. There -can be no good done till<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_336" id="page_336">{336}</a></span> the two stand before the law exactly on the -same ground. The “iron-rodder” desires to get work out of the black -man;—and so do I, and so does every friend of the black man. The -question is how the work shall be got out of them. “Make him work,” says -the iron-rodder. “There he is, idle, fat as a pig on stolen mutton, and -doing nothing; with thews and sinews by which I could be made so -comfortable, if only I could use them.” “But how are you entitled to his -work?” is the answer readiest at hand. “Because he steals my cattle,” -says the iron-rodder, generally with a very limited amount of truth and -less of logic. Because his cattle have been stolen once or twice he -would subject the whole race to slavery,—unconscious that the slave’s -work, if he could get it, would in the long run be very much less -profitable to him than the free labour by which, in spite of all his -assertions to the contrary, he does till his land, and herd his cattle, -and shear his sheep and garner his wealth.</p> - -<p>Then comes the question of the franchise. He who would give the black -man a vote is generally the black man’s most advanced friend, the direct -enemy of the iron-rodder, and is to be found in London rather than in -South Africa. To such a one I would say certainly let the black man have -the franchise on the same terms as the white man. In broadening or -curtailing the privilege of voting there should be no expressed -reference to colour. The word should not appear in any Act of any -Parliament by which the franchise is regulated. If it be so expressed -there cannot be that equality before the law without which we cannot -divest ourselves of the sin of selfish ascendancy. But the franchise may -be so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_337" id="page_337">{337}</a></span> regulated that the black man cannot enjoy it till he has -qualified himself,—as the white man at any rate ought to qualify -himself. Exclusion of this nature was intended when the existing law of -the Cape Colony was passed. A man cannot vote till he has become a fixed -resident, and shall be earning 10s. a week wages and his diet. When this -scale was fixed it was imagined that it would exclude all but a very -small number of Kafirs. But a few years has so improved the condition of -the Kafirs that many thousands are now earning the wages necessary for a -qualification. “Then by all means let them vote,” will say the friend of -the Negro in Exeter Hall or the House of Commons,—perhaps without -giving quite time enough to calculating the result. Does this friend of -the Negro in his heart think that the black man is fit to assume -political ascendancy over the white;—or that the white man would remain -in South Africa and endure it? The white man would not remain, and if -the white man were gone, the black man would return to his savagery. -Very much has been done;—quite as much probably as we have a right to -expect from the time which has been employed. But the black man is not -yet civilized in South Africa and, with a few exceptions, is not fit for -political power. The safeguard against the possible evil of which I have -spoken is the idea that the Kafir is not as yet awake to the meaning of -political power and therefore will not exercise the privilege of voting -when it is given to him. It may be so at present, but I do not relish -the political security which is to come, not from the absence of danger -but from the assumed ignorance of those who might be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_338" id="page_338">{338}</a></span> dangerous. An -understanding of the nature of the privilege will come before fitness -for its exercise;—and then there may be danger. Thus we are driven back -to the great question whether a country is fit for parliamentary -institutions in which the body of the population is unfit for the -privilege of voting.</p> - -<p>Our duty to the Kafir of course is to civilize him,—so to treat him -that as years roll on he will manifestly be the better for our coming to -his land. I do not think that missionaries will do this, or fractions of -land,—little Kafrarias, as it may be, separated off for their uses. The -present position of Kreli and his Galekas who were to have dwelt in -peace on their own territory across the Kei, is proof of this. The iron -rod certainly will not do it. Nor will the franchise. But equality of -law, equality of treatment, will do it;—and, I am glad to say, has -already gone far towards doing it. The Kafir can make his own contract -for his own labour the same as a white man;—can leave his job of work -or take it as independently as the white workman;—but not more so. -Encouraged by this treatment he is travelling hither and thither in -quest of work, and is quickly learning that order and those wants which -together make the only sure road to civilization.</p> - -<p>The stranger in South Africa will constantly be told that the coloured -man will not work, and that this is the one insuperable cause by which -the progress of the country is impeded. It will be the first word -whispered into his ear when he arrives, and the last assurance hurled -after him as he leaves the coast. And yet during his whole sojourn in -the country he will see all the work of the world around him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_339" id="page_339">{339}</a></span> done by -the hands of coloured people. It will be so in Capetown far away from -the Kafirs. It will be so on the homesteads of the Dutch in the western -province. It will be so in the thriving commercial towns of the eastern -province. From one end of Natal to the other he will find that all the -work is done by Zulus. It will be the same in the Transvaal and the same -even in the Orange Free State. Even there whenever work is done for -wages it is done by coloured hands. When he gets to the Diamond Fields, -he will find the mines swarming with black labour. And yet he will be -told that the “nigger” will not work!</p> - -<p>The meaning of the assertion is this;—that the “nigger” cannot be made -to work whether he will or no. He will work for a day or two, perhaps a -week or two, at a rate of wages sufficient to supply his wants for -double the time, and will then decline, with a smile, to work any longer -just then,—let the employer’s need be what it may. Now the employer has -old European ideas in his head, even though he may have been born in the -Colony. The poor rural labourer in England must work. He cannot live for -four days on the wages of two. If he were to decline there would be the -poor house, the Guardians, and all the horrors of Bumbledom before him. -He therefore must work. And that “must,” which is known to exist as to -the labouring Englishman and labouring Frenchman, creates a feeling that -a similar necessity should coerce the Kafir. Doubtless it will come to -be so. It is one of the penalties of civilization,—a penalty, or, shall -we say, a blessing. But, till it does come, it cannot be -assumed,—without a retrogression to slavery. Men in South<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_340" id="page_340">{340}</a></span> Africa, the -employers of much labour and the would-be employers of more, talk of the -English vagrancy laws,—alleging that these Kafirs are vagrants, and -should be treated as vagrants would be treated in England;—as though -the law in England compelled any man to work who had means of living -without work. The law in England will not make the Duke of —— work; nor -will it make Hodge work if Hodge has 2s. a day of his own to live on and -behaves himself.</p> - -<p>This cry as to labour and the want of labour, is in truth a question of -wages. A farmer in England will too often feel that the little profit of -his farm is being carried away by that extra 2s. a week which the state -of the labour market compels him to pay to his workmen. The rise of -wages among the coloured people in South Africa has been much quicker -than it ever was in England. In parts of Natal a Zulu may still be hired -for his diet of Indian corn and 7s. a month. In Kafraria, about King -Williamstown, men were earning 2s. 6d. a day when I was there. I have -seen coloured labourers earning 4s. 6d. a day for the simple duty of -washing wool. All this has to equalize itself, and while it is doing so, -of course there is difficulty. The white man thinks that the solution of -the difficulty should be left to him. It is disparaging to his pride -that the black man should be so far master of the situation as to be -able to fix his own wages.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, however, the matter is fixed. The work is done by black -men. They plough, they reap; they herd and shear the sheep; they drive -the oxen; they load the waggons; they carry the bricks; they draw the -water; they hew the wood; they brush the clothes; they clean the boots;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_341" id="page_341">{341}</a></span> -they run the posts; they make the roads; they wait at table; they cook -the food; they wash the wool; they press the grapes; they kill the beef -and mutton; they dig the gardens; they plaster the walls; they feed the -horses;—and they find the diamonds. A South African farmer and a South -African wool grower and a South African shopkeeper will all boast that -South Africa is a productive country. If it be so she is productive -altogether by means of black labour.</p> - -<p>Another allegation very common in the mouth of the “iron-rodders” is -that the Kafir—steals. “A nasty beastly thief that will never leave -your cattle alone.” The eastern province Cape Colony farmer seems to -think that he of all men ought to be made exempt by some special law -from the predatory iniquities of his neighbours. I fear the Kafir does -occasionally steal sheep and cattle. Up in the Diamond Fields he steals -diamonds,—the diamonds, that is, which he himself finds. The -accusations which I have heard against Kafirs, as to stealing, begin and -end here. It is certainly the case that a man used to the ways of the -country will leave his money and his jewelry about among Kafirs, with a -perfect sense of security, who will lock up everything with the greatest -care when some loafing European is seen about. I remember well how I was -warned to be careful about my bag at the little Inn in Natal, because a -few British soldiers had quartered themselves for the night in front of -the house. The Innkeeper was an Englishman, and probably knew what he -was talking about.</p> - -<p>The Kafirs ought not to steal cattle. So much may be admitted. And if -everything was as it ought to be there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_342" id="page_342">{342}</a></span> would be no thieves in London. -But perhaps of all dishonest raids the most natural is that made by a -Savage on beasts which are running on the hills which used to belong to -his fathers. Wealth to him is represented by cattle, and the wealth of -his tribe all came from its land. To drive cattle has to his mind none -of the meanness of stealing. How long is it since the same feeling -prevailed among Englishmen and Scotchmen living on the borders? It is -much the same in regard to diamonds. They are found in the ground, and -why should not the treasures of the ground be as free to the Kafir as to -his employer? I am using the Kafir’s argument;—not my own. I know, as -does my reader, and as do the angry white men in South Africa, that the -Kafir has contracted for wages to give up what he finds to his employer. -I know that the employer has paid for a license to use the bit of land, -and that the Kafir has not. I know that a proper understanding as to -meum and tuum would prevent the Kafir from secreting the little stone -between his toes. But there is much of this which the Kafir cannot yet -have learned. Taking the honesty and the dishonesty of the Kafir -together, we shall find that it is the former which is remarkable.</p> - -<p>The great question of the day in England as to the countries which I -have just visited is that of Confederation. The Permissive Bill which -was passed last Session,—1877,—entitles me to say that it is the -opinion of the Government at home that such Confederation should be -consummated in South Africa within the next three or four years. Then -there arise two questions,—whether it is practicable, and if -practicable whether it is expedient. I myself with such<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_343" id="page_343">{343}</a></span> weak voice as I -possess have advocated Australian Confederation. I have greatly rejoiced -at Canadian Confederation. My sympathies were in favour of West Indian -Confederation. I left England hoping that I might advocate South African -Confederation. But, alas, I have come to think it inexpedient,—and, if -expedient, still impracticable. A Confederation of States implies some -identity of interests. In any coming together of Colonies under one -flag, one Colony must have an ascendancy. Population will give this, and -wealth,—and the position of the chosen capital. It clearly was so in -Canada. In South Africa that preponderance would certainly be with the -Cape Colony. I cannot conceive any capital to be possible other than -Capetown. Then arises the question whether the other provinces of South -Africa can improve their condition by identifying themselves with the -Cape Colony. They who know Natal will I think agree with me that Natal -will never consent to send ten legislators to a Congress at Capetown -where they would be wholly inefficient to prevent the carrying of -measures agreeable to the Constitution of the Cape Colony but averse to -its own theory of Government. I have described the franchise of the Cape -Colony. I am well aware that Confederation would not compel one State to -adopt the same franchise as another. But Natal will never willingly put -herself into the same boat with a Colony in which the negro vote may in -a few years become predominant over the white. In Natal there are -320,000 coloured people to 20,000 white. She might still exclude the -coloured man from her own hustings as she does now; but she will hardly -allow her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_344" id="page_344">{344}</a></span> own poor ten members of a common Congress to be annihilated -by the votes of members who may not improbably be returned by coloured -persons, and who may not impossibly be coloured persons themselves.</p> - -<p>With the Transvaal the Government at home may do as it pleases. At the -present moment it is altogether at the disposal of the Crown. If the -Cape Colony would consent to take it the Transvaal can be annexed -to-morrow without any ceremony of Confederation. The Cape Colony would -in the first place probably desire to be secured from any repayment of -the debts of the late Republic. This would not be Confederation, though -in this way the Cape Colony, which will soon have swallowed up -Griqualand West, would be enabled to walk round the Free State. But the -Boers of the Transvaal would, if consulted, be as little inclined to -submit themselves to the coloured political influence of the Cape as -would the people of Natal. What should they do in a Parliament of which -they do not understand the language? Therefore I think Confederation to -be inexpedient.</p> - -<p>But though the Cape Colony were to walk round the Free State so as to -join the Transvaal,—though it were even to walk on and reach the -Eastern Sea by including Natal,—still it would only have gone round the -Free State and not have absorbed it. I understand that Confederation -without the Free State would not be thought sufficiently complete to -answer the purpose of the Colonial Office at home. And as I think that -the Free State will not confederate, for reasons which I have given when -writing about the Free State, I think that Confederation is -impracticable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_345" id="page_345">{345}</a></span></p> - -<p>It is again the great question of coloured races,—the question which -must dominate all other questions in South Africa. Confederation of -adjacent Colonies may be very good for white men who can rule -themselves, and yet not suit the condition of territories in which -coloured men have to be ruled under circumstances which may be -essentially different in different States.</p> - -<p>Looking back at our dominion over South Africa which has now lasted for -nearly three quarters of a century I think that we have cause for -national pride. We have on the whole been honest and humane, and the -errors into which we have fallen have not been greater than the extreme -difficulty of the situation has made, if not necessary, at any rate -natural. When we examine the operations of different Governors as they -have succeeded each other, and read the varying instructions with which -those Governors have been primed from the Colonial Office, it is -impossible not to see that the peculiar bias of one Secretary of State -succeeding to that of another has produced vacillations. There has been -a want of what I have once before ventured to call “official tradition.” -The intention of Great Britain as to her Colonies as expressed by -Parliament has not been made sufficiently plain for the guidance of the -Colonial Office. This shewed itself perhaps more signally than elsewhere -in Lord Glenelg’s condemnation of Sir Benjamin D’Urban at the close of -the third Kafir war in 1835, when he enunciated a policy which was not -compatible with the maintenance of British authority in South -Africa,—which had to be speedily revoked,—but which could not be -revoked till every Kafir had been taught<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_346" id="page_346">{346}</a></span> that England, across the seas, -was afraid of him. Again I think that by vacillating policy we foolishly -forced upon the Dutch the necessity of creating Republics, first across -the Vaal and then between the Vaal and the Orange, when, but a short -time before, we had refused them permission to do the same thing in -Natal. I myself think that there should have been no Republic;—that in -the Transvaal, and in the Orange State, as in Natal, we should have -recognized the necessity of providing Government for our migrating -subjects.</p> - -<p>But in all this there has been no lust of power, no dishonesty. There -has been little, if anything, of mean parsimony. In that matter of the -Diamond Fields as to which the accusations against the Colonial Office -have been the heaviest, I feel assured not only of the justice but of -the wisdom of what was done. Had we not assumed the duty of government -at Kimberley, Kimberley would have been ungovernable.</p> - -<p>But the question which is of all the one of moment is the condition of -the coloured races. Just now there is still continued among a small -fraction of them a disturbance which the opponents of the present -Government in the Cape Colony delight to call a War. In spite of this, -throughout the length and breadth of South Africa,—even in what is -still called Kreli’s country,—the coloured man has been benefitted by -our coming. He has a better hut, better food, better clothing, better -education, more liberty, less to fear and more to get, than he had when -we came among him, or that he would have enjoyed had we not come. If -this be so, we ought to be contented with what our Government has done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_347" id="page_347">{347}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h3> - -<p class="chead">THE CAPE COLONY.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Acres under cultivation, i. 232<br /> -<br /> -Bain’s Kloof, i. 130 -<br /> -Bathurst, i. 177 -<br /> -Bowker, Mr., i. 93 -<br /> -Brandy, i. 232 -<br /> -British troops, i. 194 -<br /> -<br /> -Caledon, i. 156 -<br /> -Caledon Missionary Institution, i. 150 -<br /> -Cango Caves, i. 117 -<br /> -Cape Carta, i. 185 -<br /> -Cape Smoke, i. 116 -<br /> -Capetown, i. 68 -<br /> -Catberg, i. 226 -<br /> -Cathedral, The, i. 73 -<br /> -Ceres, i. 133 -<br /> -Cogman’s Pass, i. 145 -<br /> -Confederation, i. 49 -<br /> -Constantia, i. 82 -<br /> -<br /> -Debe Nek, i. 193 -<br /> -Diamonds found, i. 44 -<br /> -Diaz, Bartholomew, i. 10 -<br /> -D’Urban, Sir Benjamin, i. 37 -<br /> -Dutch and English Languages, i. 32 -<br /> -Dutch, as divided from English, i. 56 -<br /> -Dutch, First condition of, i. 13 -<br /> -<br /> -East London, i. 202 -<br /> -Education of Kafirs, i. 209 -<br /> -English occupation, i. 25 -<br /> -Esselin, M., i. 136 -<br /> -<br /> -Feathers, manner of selling, i. 163 -<br /> -Federation, i. 49 -<br /> -Fort Brown, i. 186 -<br /> -Franchise, The, i. 89 -<br /> -French, Coming of, i. 20 -<br /> -<br /> -George, i. 103 -<br /> -Germans, in British Kafraria, i. 184 -<br /> -Glenelg, Lord, i. 37 -<br /> -Grahamstown, i. 167 -<br /> -<br /> -Healdtown, i. 187, 211 -<br /> -Hot Spring, i. 139 -<br /> -Hottentots, Manumission of, i. 33 -<br /> -Hottentots, their name, i. 16 -<br /> -Hunting a buck, i. 155 -<br /> -Hunting in Kafraria, i. 190 -<br /> -<br /> -“Iron Rod” School, i. 227 -<br /> -Irrigation, i. 143, 232 -<br /> -<br /> -Kafir Chiefs, i. 199 -<br /> -Kafir Famine, i. 43 -<br /> -Kafir Hymns, i. 213 -<br /> -Kafir Labour, i. 178 -<br /> -Kafir Schools, i. 207 -<br /> -Kafir War, 1st, i. 29 -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">“ 2nd, i. 36</span> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">“ 3rd, i. 36</span> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">“ 4th, i. 39</span> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">“ 5th, i. 41</span> -<br /> -Kafirs at school, i. 221 -<br /> -Kafirs, Treatment of, i. 182 -<br /> -Kafraria, British, i. 181 -<br /> -Kalk Bay, i. 81 -<br /> -Karoo, The, i. 115 -<br /> -King Williamstown, i. 198 -<br /> -Knysna, The, i. 105 -<br /> -<br /> -Legislative Assembly, i. 95 -<br /> -Legislative Council, i. 87 -<br /> -Library, The Capetown, i. 74 -<br /> -Lovedale, i. 217 -<br /> -<br /> -Malmesbury, i. 122 -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_348" id="page_348">{348}</a></span>Mitchell’s Pass, i. 131 -<br /> -Molteno, Mr., i. 95 -<br /> -Montague Pass, i. 113 -<br /> -Mossel Bay, i. 99 -<br /> -Mountains, i. 141 -<br /> -Mounted Police, i. 201 -<br /> -Museum, The, i. 73 -<br /> -<br /> -Observatory, The, i. 78 -<br /> -Oodtahoorn, i. 115 -<br /> -Orange Free State, i. 52 -<br /> -Ostriches, i. 170 -<br /> -<br /> -Paarl, The, i. 123 -<br /> -Pacaltsdorp, i. 111 -<br /> -Panmure, i. 206 -<br /> -Parliamentary Government, i. 45, 90 -<br /> -Peeltown, i. 223 -<br /> -Population of South Africa, i. 51, 234 -<br /> -Port Alfred, i. 176 -<br /> -Port Elizabeth, i. 160 -<br /> -Portuguese, The, i. 10 -<br /> -Provinces, i. 47 -<br /> -<br /> -Queenstown, i. 226 -<br /> -<br /> -Railways, i. 48, 79, 123 -<br /> -Riebeek, Jan van, i. 13 -<br /> -Robertson, i. 145 -<br /> -<br /> -Sandilli, Chief of the Gaikas, i. 198 -<br /> -Siwani, i. 199 -<br /> -Slagter’s Nek, i. 30 -<br /> -Slavery, Abolition of, i. 33 -<br /> -Slaves, First landed, i. 14 -<br /> -Slaves, their manumission, i. 35 -<br /> -Solomon, Mr. Saul, i. 96 -<br /> -Somerset, East, i. 157 -<br /> -Stellenbosch, i. 157 -<br /> -Swellendam, i. 148 -<br /> -<br /> -Tradouw, The, i. 149 -<br /> -<br /> -Uitenhage, i. 163 -<br /> -<br /> -Vasco da Gama, i. 11 -<br /> -Vines, i. 232 -<br /> -<br /> -Wages, i. 235 -<br /> -Wagon-makers’ valley, i. 130 -<br /> -Wheat, i. 231 -<br /> -Wine, i. 127, 232 -<br /> -Wool, i. 228 -<br /> -Wool-washing, i. 101 -<br /> -Worcester, i. 135 -<br /> -Wynberg, i. 80 -<br /> -<br /> -Zonnebloom, i. 211<br /> -</p> - -<p class="chead">NATAL.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Apollo, i. 279 -<br /> -<br /> -Bar, The sand bar at Durban, i. 264 -<br /> -Bathing, i. 298 -<br /> -Berea, The, i. 275 -<br /> -<br /> -Cathedral, The, i. 284 -<br /> -Cetywayo, i. 307 -<br /> -Chaka, the Zulu Chief, i. 243, 306 -<br /> -Coal, i. 352 -<br /> -Colenso, Bishop, i. 258, 284 -<br /> -Coolie Labour, i. 270 -<br /> -<br /> -Delagoa Bay, i. 307 -<br /> -Dingaan, the Zulu Chief, i. 247, 307 -<br /> -Durban, i. 243 -<br /> -Dutch, The. How they entered Natal, i. 246 -<br /> -<br /> -Estcourt, i. 348 -<br /> -Executive, The, i. 295 -<br /> -Expense of living, i. 287 -<br /> -<br /> -Farewell, Mr., i. 243 -<br /> -Farmer, English, i. 299 -<br /> -<br /> -German village, i. 300 -<br /> -Glenelg, Lord, i. 251 -<br /> -Greyton, i. 304 -<br /> -<br /> -Kafir Labour, i. 273 -<br /> -<br /> -Langalibalele, i. 258, 311, 327 -<br /> -Legislative Council, Members of, i. 260 -<br /> -Legislature, The, i. 295 -<br /> -<br /> -Maritz, Gerrit, i. 245 -<br /> -Missionaries, The, i. 311 -<br /> -<br /> -Newcastle, i. 344, 349 -<br /> -<br /> -Park, The, i. 276 -<br /> -Pieter Maritzburg, i. 285 -<br /> -Pine, Sir B., Second Governor, i. 258 -<br /> -Pinetown, i. 283 -<br /> -Population, i. 277 -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_349" id="page_349">{349}</a></span>Potgieter, Hendrick, i. 245 -<br /> -Pretorius, Andreas, i. 256 -<br /> -<br /> -Railways, i. 265 -<br /> -Retief, Pieter, i. 247 -<br /> -<br /> -Soldiers in Natal, i. 292 -<br /> -Speaking, After dinner, i. 291 -<br /> -Sugar, i. 267 -<br /> -<br /> -Travelling, Difficulties of, i. 340 -<br /> -Trees, Planting of, i. 302 -<br /> -<br /> -Volksraad, The, i. 255 -<br /> -<br /> -War declared with the Dutch, i. 252 -<br /> -West, Mr., First Governor, i. 256 -<br /> -Wolseley, Sir Garnet; his coming, i. 260 -<br /> -<br /> -York, Emigrants from, i. 258 -<br /> -<br /> -Zulu dress, i. 318 -<br /> -Zulu honesty, i. 322 -<br /> -Zulu Labour, i. 273, 323 -<br /> -Zululand, i. 313 -<br /> -Zulus, i. 306 -<br /> -Zulus, Scarcity of, i. 347<br /> -</p> - -<p class="chead">THE TRANSVAAL.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Annexation, Effects of, ii. 61 -<br /> -Apprentices, ii. 33 -<br /> -<br /> -Blignaut’s punt, ii. 127 -<br /> -Bloomhof, ii. 123 -<br /> -Boers, ii. 9 -<br /> -Boundaries, ii. 26 -<br /> -Burgers, Mr., ii. 39, 47, 65 -<br /> -<br /> -Carnarvon, Lord, to Mr. Burgers, ii. 47 -<br /> -Christiana, ii. 123 -<br /> -Coal, ii. 20, 96 -<br /> -Copper, ii. 96 -<br /> -Cost of Living, ii. 77 -<br /> -<br /> -Dishonesty, ii. 14 -<br /> -Domestic service, ii. 77 -<br /> -Dutchmen, old and new, ii. 115 -<br /> -<br /> -Education, ii. 13, 81 -<br /> -Eersteling, ii. 93 -<br /> -Elton, Captain, ii. 93 -<br /> -<br /> -Farmers’ houses, ii. 11 -<br /> -Farms, The size of, ii. 21 -<br /> -Freying, ii. 15 -<br /> -Fruits, ii. 111 -<br /> -<br /> -Gardens, ii. 71 -<br /> -Gold, ii. 90 -<br /> -<br /> -Heidelberg, ii. 23 -<br /> -Hollander, The, ii. 18 -<br /> -House on fire, ii. 52 -<br /> -<br /> -Keate’s award, ii. 39, 123 -<br /> -Klerksdorp, ii. 32 -<br /> -<br /> -Land, Division of, ii. 108 -<br /> -Loan, Proposed, for railway, ii. 101 -<br /> -Lydenburg district, ii. 94 -<br /> -<br /> -Marabas Stad, ii. 93 -<br /> -Mazulekatze, ii. 31 -<br /> -<br /> -Nichtmaal, The, ii. 75 -<br /> -<br /> -Pilgrim’s Rest, ii. 94 -<br /> -Potchefstroom, ii. 32, 118 -<br /> -Pretoria, ii. 25, 67 -<br /> -Pretorius, Andreas, or the elder, ii. 32, 68 -<br /> -Pretorius, M. W., the younger, ii. 37, 69 -<br /> -Proclamation, The, ii. 55 -<br /> -<br /> -Railways, ii. 98 -<br /> -<br /> -Saltpan, The, ii. 86 -<br /> -Secocoeni, ii. 46 -<br /> -Shepstone, Sir Theophilus, ii. 47, 53 -<br /> -Slavery, ii. 35 -<br /> -Standees Drift, ii. 4, 19 -<br /> -<br /> -Tatin, ii. 91 -<br /> -Taxes not paid, ii. 48 -<br /> -Transvaal, Condition of, ii. 52, 89 -<br /> -Transvaal Mails, ii. 8 -<br /> -Troops in the Transvaal, ii. 22 -<br /> -<br /> -Wheat, ii. 107 -<br /> -Wonder Fontein, ii. 116<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_350" id="page_350">{350}</a></span></p> - -<p class="chead">GRIQUALAND WEST.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Annexation to Cape Colony, ii. 151 -<br /> -<br /> -Barkly, ii. 164 -<br /> -Brand, Mr., ii. 150 -<br /> -British rule—a blessing, ii. 148 -<br /> -Bultfontein, ii. 169 -<br /> -<br /> -Churches at Kimberley, ii. 206 -<br /> -Colesberg Kopje, ii. 163, 169 -<br /> -Custom Duties, Increase of, ii. 200 -<br /> -<br /> -De Beer, ii. 163 -<br /> -Diamond dealers, ii. 196 -<br /> -Diamond Fields a separate Colony, ii. 137, 151 -<br /> -Diamond-stealing, ii. 182, 197 -<br /> -Diamonds, how sent to Europe, ii. 195 -<br /> -Diamonds, imperfect, ii. 202 -<br /> -Diamonds, Notice of, in 1760, ii. 161 -<br /> -Diamonds—Off colours, ii. 196 -<br /> -Du Toit’s Pan, ii. 169 -<br /> -<br /> -Franchise, The, ii. 167 -<br /> -<br /> -Guns, Sale of, ii. 198 -<br /> -<br /> -Hebron, ii. 164 -<br /> -Hospitals at Kimberley, ii. 205 -<br /> -<br /> -Jacobs, Mr., ii. 162 -<br /> -<br /> -Kimberley, ii. 173, 186 -<br /> -Kimberley Mine, ii. 169, 172, 174 -<br /> -Klipdrift, ii. 164 -<br /> -Kok, Adam, ii. 138 -<br /> -<br /> -Lanyon, Major, ii. 137 -<br /> -<br /> -Mine, Subdivision of, ii. 177 -<br /> -Modder, The, ii. 168 -<br /> -Morton, Mr., ii. 161 -<br /> -<br /> -New Hush, The, ii. 173 -<br /> -No Man’s Land, ii. 140 -<br /> -<br /> -Old De Beers, ii. 169 -<br /> -Orange Free State: its claims, ii. 139;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">compensation given, ii. 140</span> -<br /> -O’Reilly, Mr., ii. 162 -<br /> -<br /> -Population, ii. 166 -<br /> -Prison at Kimberley, ii. 206 -<br /> -<br /> -Religion for Kafirs, ii. 188 -<br /> -River diggings, ii. 167 -<br /> -<br /> -Southey, Mr., ii. 164 -<br /> -Star of South Africa, ii. 163 -<br /> -<br /> -Vaal, The, ii. 168 -<br /> -Van Niekerk, Mr., ii. 162 -<br /> -Van Wyk, Mr., ii. 169 -<br /> -Vooruitzuit Farm, ii. 153, 172 -<br /> -<br /> -Waterboer, Andreas, ii. 140, 141 -<br /> -Waterboer, Nicholas, ii. 138, 144 -<br /> -Work for Kafirs, ii. 187<br /> -</p> - -<p class="chead">THE ORANGE FREE STATE.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Baralongs, The, ii. 224 -<br /> -Basutos, ii. 218, 224 -<br /> -Bloemfontein, ii. 217, 236, 266, 261 -<br /> -Boers, The, ii. 235, 241 -<br /> -Boom Plats, Battle of, ii. 218 -<br /> -Boshof, Mr., ii. 216, 224 -<br /> -Boundaries of the Cape Colony, ii. 212 -<br /> -Brand, Mr., ii. 215, 226, 227, 262 -<br /> -Burgers, Mr., ii. 216 -<br /> -<br /> -Cetywayo, ii. 216 -<br /> -Churches, ii. 267 -<br /> -Clerk, Sir George, ii. 223, 232 -<br /> -Custom Duties, ii. 246 -<br /> -<br /> -Dams for water, ii. 236 -<br /> -Difficulties of the State, ii. 225 -<br /> -<br /> -English language, ii. 235, 265 -<br /> -Executive, The, ii. 255 -<br /> -<br /> -Fiji Islands, ii. 211 -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_351" id="page_351">{351}</a></span>Franchise, The, ii. 253 -<br /> -Grey, Sir George, ii. 232 -<br /> -<br /> -Hotel, The, ii. 259 -<br /> -<br /> -Independence, Love of, ii. 243, 249 -<br /> -Irrigation, ii. 237 -<br /> -<br /> -Maitland, Sir Peregrine, ii. 217 -<br /> -Ministers, Colonial, ii. 229 -<br /> -Moshef, ii. 215, 224 -<br /> -<br /> -Napier, Sir George, ii. 216 -<br /> -Nichtmaal, The, ii. 267 -<br /> -<br /> -Pretorius, Mr., ii. 215, 217, 224 -<br /> -Public offices, ii. 258 -<br /> -<br /> -Railway, Proposed, ii. 263 -<br /> -<br /> -Schools, ii. 263 -<br /> -Sovereignty, The, established, ii. 219;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abandoned, ii. 221</span> -<br /> -<br /> -Telegraph wires, ii. 263 -<br /> -Treaty, Our, with the Free State, ii. 223 -<br /> -<br /> -Vacillation of our policy, ii. 210 -<br /> -Volksraad, The, ii. 243, 251 -<br /> -<br /> -Warden, Major, ii. 217<br /> -</p> - -<p class="chead">NATIVE TERRITORIES.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -Aliwal North, Convention at, ii. 318 -<br /> -<br /> -Baralong Law, ii. 282 -<br /> -Baralong, The tribe, ii. 275, 311 -<br /> -Basutos, The, ii. 277, 308, 310 -<br /> -Bechuanas, The, ii. 276, 311 -<br /> -Bomvanas, The, ii. 289, 308 -<br /> -Bowker, Mr., ii. 314 -<br /> -British Kafraria, ii. 287 -<br /> -Burial of a Chief, ii. 304 -<br /> -Bushmen, ii. 313, 326 -<br /> -<br /> -Cannibalism, ii. 313 -<br /> -Casselin, M., ii. 313 -<br /> -Cogha, The River, ii. 291 -<br /> -Conquered Territory, ii. 317 -<br /> -Copper, ii. 321 -<br /> -Cultivation of land, ii. 284 -<br /> -<br /> -Damaraland, ii. 320 -<br /> -Daniel, Mr., ii. 277 -<br /> -<br /> -East London, ii. 286 -<br /> -Expense of the wars, ii. 297 -<br /> -<br /> -Fingos, The, ii. 292, 308 -<br /> -<br /> -Gaikas, ii. 287, 298 -<br /> -Galekaland, Occupation of, ii. 291 -<br /> -Galekas, ii. 287, 298, 308 -<br /> -Gatberg, The, ii. 307 -<br /> -Great Fish River, ii. 287, 292 -<br /> -Griquas—Bastards, ii. 308 -<br /> -<br /> -Hintsa, ii. 292 -<br /> -Höhne, Mr., ii. 277 -<br /> -Hottentots, ii. 320 -<br /> -Huts at Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 279 -<br /> -<br /> -Jenkins, Mrs., ii. 309 -<br /> -Justice, Administration of, ii. 305 -<br /> -<br /> -Kafir habits, ii. 299 -<br /> -Kafir, What is a, ii. 287 -<br /> -Kafraria, ii. 287 -<br /> -Keiskamma, The, ii. 292 -<br /> -Kei, The River, ii. 286, 291 -<br /> -King Williamstown, ii. 286 -<br /> -Kok’s, Adam, Land, ii. 307 -<br /> -Korannas, ii. 320, 326 -<br /> -Kreli, ii. 286, 291, 294 -<br /> -<br /> -Langalibalele, ii. 297 -<br /> -<br /> -Maralong, The, language, ii. 278 -<br /> -Maroco, The Baralong Chief, ii. 277, 281, 316 -<br /> -Moni, a sub chief, ii. 289 -<br /> -Moriah, ii. 312 -<br /> -Moshesh, ii. 315 -<br /> -<br /> -Namaqualand, ii. 320 -<br /> -Ngquika, ii. 288 -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_352" id="page_352">{352}</a></span>Ookiep Mine, ii. 321, 324 -<br /> - -<br /> -Phillips and King, Messrs., ii. 323 -<br /> -Poisoning, ii. 283 -<br /> -Pondomisi, ii. 308 -<br /> -Pondos, ii. 288, 308 -<br /> -Population of Transkeian districts, ii. 308 -<br /> -Port Nolloth, ii. 323 -<br /> -<br /> -Rain-makers, ii. 306 -<br /> -Robben Island, ii. 296 -<br /> -<br /> -Sandilli, ii. 287 -<br /> -Sapena, The Assistant Chief, ii. 278 -<br /> -Scotchman at Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 285 -<br /> -South Africa—British annexation, ii. 296 -<br /> -Springbok Fontein, ii. 321 -<br /> -St. John River, ii. 307, 309 -<br /> -<br /> -Tambookies, ii. 288 -<br /> -Taxes in Basutoland, ii. 318 -<br /> -Tembus, ii. 288, 308 -<br /> -Thaba Bosio, ii. 312 -<br /> -Thaba ’Ncho, ii. 275, 311 -<br /> -Theal, Mr., his description of Namaqualand, ii. 322 -<br /> -Transkeian Territory, ii. 307 -<br /> -<br /> -Witch-doctors, ii. 306 -<br /> -Wodehouse, Sir P., ii. 290, 317 -<br /> -<br /> -Xosas, ii. 288 -<br /> -<br /> -Zwidi, ii. 289<br /> -</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END.<br /><br /> -<small>PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD, LONDON.</small></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> In 1864 by a treaty between the Portuguese and the Republic -the Lobombo range of mountains was agreed upon as a boundary between -them, but I am not aware that the natives living to the east of these -mountains were ever made a party to this treaty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Vol. ii. p. 164.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> “South Africa,” by John Noble, p. 173 B.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The Italics are my own.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> I believe he did receive the stipend all through.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The purchasers were in treaty for De Beer’s farm at the -time when the first diamond was found by a lady’s parasol on the little -hill where is now the Kimberley mine, and £600 was added to the purchase -money in consequence. It is calculated that diamonds to the value of -£12,000,000 have since been extracted from the mine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> I find the story told with slight variation by different -persons. I have taken the version published in the second edition of -Messrs. Silver’s Handbook, having found ample reason to trust the -accuracy of that compilation. See p. 378 of that volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> This is an abominable word, coined as I believe for the use -of the British Diamond Fields;—but it has become so common that it -would be affectation to avoid the use of it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Since this was written a mail steamer with a large amount -of these diamonds among the mails has gone to the bottom of the sea. The -mails, and with the mails, the diamonds have been recovered; but in such -a condition that they cannot be recognised and given up to the proper -owners. They are lying at the General Post Office, and how to dispose of -them nobody knows.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> In 1869 the amount was £295,661. In 1875 it was £735,380. -In 1869 the total revenue was £580,026. In 1875 it was £1,602,918; the -increase being nearly to three-fold. The increase in the expenditure was -still greater;—but that only shews that the Colony found itself -sufficiently prosperous to be justified in borrowing money for the -making of railroads. The reader must bear in mind that these Custom -Duties were all received and pocketed by the Cape Colony, though a large -proportion of them was levied on goods to be consumed in the Diamond -Fields. As I have stated elsewhere, the Cape Colony has in this respect -been a cormorant, swallowing what did not rightfully belong to her.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Mr. Theal’s “History of South Africa,” vol. ii. p. 147.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Lord Carnarvon was Colonial Secretary when this was -written.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Nevertheless there is a beautifully self-asserting clause -in a treaty made in 1876 between the Orange Free State and Portugal, -which provides—“That ships sailing under the flag of the Orange Free -State shall in every respect enjoy the same treatment and shall not be -liable to higher duties than Portuguese vessels.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> What I have said here as to duties levied say at Fort -Elizabeth on goods for the Orange Free State applies equally to goods -for the Transvaal landed in Natal at Durban.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Moselekatze himself was no doubt a Zulu; but the Matabeles -whom he ruled were probably a people over whom he had become master when -he ran away from Zululand.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The Legislature of the Cape of Good Hope has already taken -steps towards the annexation of this territory by sending a Commissioner -north of the Orange River, both to Great Namaqualand and Damaraland to -ascertain the wish of the natives.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, VOL. 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