United States or Switzerland ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
We threw it to one of the natives standing round us, among whom was the heir-apparent, who promptly gobbled it up. Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits to drink.
Altogether, the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not reassure one as to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are continually producing, purporting to have been signed by native chiefs, and as a general rule presenting the State with great tracts of country in exchange for a horse or a few oxen.
It is true that Secocoeni, instigated thereto by the Boers, afterwards continued the war against us, but, with the exception of this one chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with joy by every native in the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the time.
The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni's town, accompanied by a fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni.
Commandant Ferreira then put some questions, but entirely failed to shake the evidence; on the contrary, he admitted by his questions that Secocoeni had not consented to become a subject of the Republic.
Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special Commissioner to the Transvaal Sir T. Shepstone, his great experience and ability His progress to Pretoria and reception there Feelings excited by the arrival of the mission The annexation not a foregone conclusion Charge brought against Sir T. Shepstone of having called up the Zulu army to sweep the Transvaal Its complete falsehood Cetywayo's message to Sir T. Shepstone Evidence on the matter summed up General desire of the natives for English rule Habitual disregard of their interests Assembly of the Volksraad Rejection of Lord Carnarvon's Confederation Bill and of President Burgers' new constitution President Burgers' speeches to the Raad His posthumous statement Communication to the Raad of Sir T. Shepstone's intention to annex the country Despatch of Commission to inquire into the alleged peace with Secocoeni Its fraudulent character discovered Progress of affairs in the Transvaal Paul Kruger and his party Restlessness of natives Arrangements for the annexation The annexation proclamation.
"That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect on a healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the resources and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a culminating point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee or Basutu tribe, unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for the first time to the native powers outside the Republic, from the Zambesi to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in the relative strength of the white and black races, that this disclosure at once shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and placed every European community in peril, that this common danger has caused universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to investigate its cause, and to protect themselves from its consequences, and has imposed the duty upon those who have the power to shield enfeebled civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism and inhumanity."
There is good ground for supposing that Cetywayo incited him to withstand the Boer demands; it is certain that during the course of the war that followed he assisted him with advice, and more substantially still, with Zulu volunteers. To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the Transvaal forces.
It is from this raid that the present state of affairs has arisen; so that this obscure chief, with his 9000 warriors, has materially affected the future destinies of South Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set on foot, and it was in connection with these delicate matters that the journey was to be undertaken. "Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!" said one gentleman.
The President himself the excitable, unstable, visionary, but truly enlightened and patriotic Burgers had not only drawn no salary, but had expended his private fortune, and incurred a very heavy liability, in the prosecution of the unsuccessful Secocoeni war.
Word Of The Day