whence this weakness? Was it because they were deformed? Because they were worse than other people? Because they were too few and insignificant to occupy the country? Those arguments did not weigh with him, they were not true, he did not consider them of any importance. The people were as good as any other people, but they were completely demoralised, they had lost faith in God, reliance upon themselves, or trust in each other, hence he believed they were inherently weak."

"In several of the cities of Holland there were people who had subscribed for only one debenture, because they thought men of their own blood were living in South Africa. What was the consequence ? The interest up to July last had been paid; in January of this year £2250 was due for interest, and there was not a penny to meet it.

"To take up arms and fight was nonsense; to draw the sword would be to draw the sword against God, for it was God's judgment that the State was in the condition it was to-day (cheers), and it was their duty to inquire whether they should immerse in blood the thousands of innocent inhabitants of this country, and

if

So, what for? For an idea; something they had in their heads, but not in their hearts; for an independence which is not prized? Let them make the best of the situation, and get the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to join their hands to those of their brethren on the south, and then from the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was something grand in that, grander even than their

idea of a Republic, something which ministered to their national feeling (cheers), and would this be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who would not be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order."

"They must not underrate their real and many difficulties. He could point to the South-western border, the Zulu, the Gold Fields, and other questions, and show them that it was their duty to come to an arrangement with the British Government, and to do so in a bold and manly manner. An hon. member on Saturday last had spoken of fervent patriotism, but he had failed to appreciate the reference because it amounted to this, that they must shut their eyes to everything, so as to keep their independence."

On April 12, 1877, Sir T. Shepstone issued his proclamation formally annexing the country as a colony of the Crown, subject to the conditions set forth therein.*

True it is that a protest was made by the Boer Executive Council on April 11, but this appears to have been more a formality than anything else, as we learn from Sir T. Shepstone's account thereof.‡

"On Wednesday, the 11th inst., the AttorneyGeneral and Chief Clerk came and officially read the

* See Blue Book C 1776.

+ See Blue Book C 1776, p. 156, and Appendix.

‡ P. 153, par. 4, Despatch April 17, and Appendix.

protest to me, and at the same time handed in a resolution of the Executive Council, copy of each herewith enclosed, from which it appeared that, in addition to the protest, a mission to Her Majesty's Government, and contingently to other governments which had acknowledged the independence of the State, had been determined upon. The resolution appointed the AttorneyGeneral, E. J. P. Jorissen, LL.D., and Mr. Paul Kruger, Vice-President, to be members of this mission, with power to add a third person if required. I received these papers, but as they contained nothing to induce me to change the view I had taken of my duty, I said that while I recognised the propriety of their discharging what they conceived to be incumbent upon them, I must ask them to do the same with regard to me; they expressed their acquiescence, and the interview, which had been friendly throughout, ended.

"Mr. Burgers called upon me shortly afterwards and explained to me the object of these documents."

In pursuance of that protest, however, the Hon. S. P. J. Kruger, Vice-President of the Republic, and the Hon. the Attorney-General, Doctor E. J. P. Jorissen, were delegated to proceed to England. These gentlemen were well received in this country, but failed entirely in the object of their mission, nor did another deputation in 1878, also headed by Mr. Kruger, meet with better success.

CHAPTER III

EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION

THE annexation of the Transvaal having duly taken place in 1877 under the circumstances that I have described, we must now pass to the events which resulted in our defeat at Majuba Hill and the signing of the Convention of 1881.

Although Mr. Kruger and his Boer companions, aided by their Hollander coadjutors, did not convince either Lord Carnarvon or, later, Sir Michael Hicks Beach (his successor at the Colonial Office) that the Transvaal would be better governed by a few immaculate Boers and Hollanders than under the British Crown, their visits to England proved highly beneficial to the objects they had in view.

A very short residence here enabled them to discover that for party purposes a strong Radical faction was ready and willing to denounce Lord Carnarvon's policy and what was termed his "Federation Scheme," the policy, by the way, which to-day in relation to our Colonies is almost universally applauded and advocated.

Mr. Kruger and his associates had, figuratively speaking, fallen on velvet. They promptly took in the

situation, hailed with delight this political ring of "little Englanders" as champions of the innocent Boers, victims of Tory oppression, and with all their might they aided this group to discredit the recent acts of its opponents.

Whilst thus co-operating with the Radical faction, a strong impression was produced on their minds by our usual, lamentable want of union on Imperial and Colonial questions in face of an enemy, and of which they have invariably taken advantage. Mr. Kruger then felt, and has since always acted on the assumption, that if a Conservative Government held office in England, every effort would be made by the opposition to weaken or impede any measures which might be proposed to compel him to observe his pledges or obligations.

Deep in his heart this rugged old Boer has the utmost contempt for our so-called patriotism and for the tactics displayed for purely party ends regardless of the national honour or the rights of Uitlanders in the South African Republic.

On their arrival here a second time, the Boer delegates found that a problem awaited solution which to the Government of the day was of far greater importance than even the future of a large Englishspeaking population extending from Cape Town to the limitless north. This question occupied the minds of Her Majesty's Ministers to the exclusion of almost all other Imperial or Colonial matters-Ireland was the cry! Agitators abounded, and in and out of Parliament the sorrows and woes of one or more sections of these down-trodden victims of English tyranny were daily

C