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Chapter XLVIII.
South Africa And England: A Chapter Of Disasters.

The years 1869 and 1870 may be looked upon as forming the exact period in which the tide began to turn. The projected breaking up of the Empire proposed by the Economists and Manchester school, and tacitly agreed to by all political parties, had carried England down in its ebbing waters almost to the brink of ruin. Sir George Clerk's abandonment of the Orange River Sovereignty, followed soon by his suggestions (which, endorsed by the English Government, were sent to Sir George Grey in 1855-6,) had ted to the withdrawal of troops from all the colonies. The remonstrances of Sir George Grey had saved the further breaking-up of Africa, although his efforts at confederation had been made the pretext for his recall.

In 1858-9, when Sir G. Grey had been recalled, Lord Carnarvon was, as we have seen, Political Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and he fully shared the ideas of his chief, Sir E. B. Lytton, in the condemnation of the proposed confederation of South Africa. In 1866 the Earl of Carnarvon joined Lord Derby's third Ministry as Secretary for the Colonies. Lord Carnarvon's opinions had been changing during the seven years which had passed. He began to perceive that the colonies were not only useful to Great Britain at page 376the present, but were likely to the still more useful to her in the future.

Twenty years before, Earl Grey had started upon that course of promoting representative and responsible government which had by 1856 raised into existence in North America, Australasia, New Zealand, and South Africa many young English nations—bold, prosperous, and self-reliant. The other strange and wayward effort, made with all the patient pertinacity for which the noble Earl was famous—the reintroduction of a system of convict settlements in the different colonies—had been abandoned and finally closed in 1854 by the authoritative memorandum of the Duke of Newcastle.

As Earl Grey had conferred upon the great colonies the rights of self-government, under which they grew and prospered, Lord Carnarvon determined that he would aid them in forming confederated States in their different locations, and in lieu of detaching them from the Empire extend their territories and bind them more closely to the destinies of Britain. The project of confederating the British North American provinces offered to him a favourable opportunity for the practical inauguration of so great a work.

On the 17th of February, 1867, in a speech of great power and earnestness, Lord Carnarvon in the House of Lords moved the second reading of the Bill for confederating British North America, which practically created a second series of United States upon the Western Continent. This was almost his last appearance as a member of that Ministry, as he, with two of his colleagues, resigned in less than a fortnight on the question of the Reform Bill.

The ideas of colonial federation were slowly making way until the beginning of 1874, when Lord Carnarvon again took office as Secretary for the Colonies under Mr. Disraeli. By this time the tone of public opinion had changed. The efforts made by Sir George Grey, and the public and private utterances of many leading men, equally with the general tendency of the press throughout the Three Kingdoms, had borne fruit.

The well-nigh fatal apathy which the greedy spirit of the ultracompetitive school of economists had caused in relation to the colonies, had given place to a much sounder and more wakeful condition. To get rid of the colonies was no longer deemed desirable. The day had at last arrived when, in Mr. Fronde's page 377words, "The old Imperial temper of the nation had revived." From that time forward no party would dare to advocate the dismemberment of the Empire. Indeed there was now a danger of the pendulum swinging to the opposite extreme.

It was at such a time, and under such circumstances, that Lord Carnarvon returned to office. His cousin. Sir Robert Herbert, was permanent Under-Secretary. The political conditions of the great groups of dependencies were peculiar. In the west the provinces of British North America had fairly started upon their career as a confederated dominion. In the east, the long-sundered nations of Southern Asia had been welded into a vaster Indian Empire 'than Alexander or Genghis Khan imagined. In New Zealand the native question had been settled; and Australasian statesmen, while working out the destinies of their own particular colonies, were rising to the consideration of matters in which all were interested. Defence from foreign aggression on sea and on land, intercolonial tariffs, and other questions which pressed forward for thoughtful discussion were silently and in the order of nature raising an Australasian tendency towards federation, which the Mother Country and the Ministers of the Crown could aid forward without appearing to meddle with high-spirited communities unwilling to brook interference.

But in South Africa all was confusion. For nearly twenty years the South African States had felt little of the burdens and sufferings which in former days had afflicted them. Sore as were the settlers of the Orange Free State at their abandonment, bitter as was the feeling in the Transvaal against England and the English, yet the generous treatment and wise counsels of Sir George Grey during the eight years 1834 to 1861, and the abiding effect produced by his reforms, had helped to maintain a state of peace and of safety throughout South Africa generally till the year 1871.

In that year Sir Benjamin Pine had been appointed to the Governorship of Natal, and Mr. Theophilus Shepstone was still in office, having control of the Native Department. The unfortunate co-operation of these two minds, which in 1854 had so nearly created an independent kingdom for Mr. Shepstone, was again fated to produce a disturbing influence upon the African States. By a series of blunders and false alarms, a war was raised between Natal page 378and Langabilalale. The followers of the native chief were shot and he himself captured. One man alone had the moral courage to protest against wrongdoing in high places, and to carry his complaints to London. That man was Bishop Colenso.

In response to this appeal for justice, the Secretary for the Colonies, after due investigation, emphatically denounced the conduct of the Government of Natal. Sir Benjamin Pine sent Mr. Shepstone to London in order that his astuteness and knowledge might counter-balance the zeal and earnestness of the Bishop. That object, however, was not accomplished. The facts were too plain, and the injustice and cruelty too great to permit of any valid defence. Sir Benjamin Pine was recalled. Mr. Shepstone was kept in London in attendance upon the Colonial Office, for reasons and purposes which are only to be explained by other events which transpired in relation to South African matters.

In the four years between 1871 and 1875, everything in connection with the colonies and states of South Africa drifted into confusion. On every hand, causes of quarrel and of contention presented themselves. Diamond fields of immense value were discovered in land which certainly belonged to the Orange Free State; but it was annexed by the Governor of the Cape.

This glaring violation of a solemn treaty exasperated the whole Boer population of the Cape, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Free State. Mr. Southey caused to be sold to the Kafirs and native workmen at these mines, great quantities of arms and ammunition. It is said that the almost incredible number of 500,000 stand of arms with ammunition, wore so sold. This increased the bitterness in the minds of the Boers, as they believed these arms would be used by the natives against them.

The Secretary for the Colonies took it upon himself to advise the Cape Colony to enter upon that plan of confederation for proposing which he had helped to dismiss Sir George Grey fifteen years ago. At this interference, which the Colony considered both tyrannical and improper, the Cape people became frantic. Resolutions were passed in Parliament, and the Colonial Secretary and his despatch held up to ridicule and opprobrium.

Mr. J. A. Fronde, always a trusted friend and adviser of Lord Carnarvon, was requested by His Lordship to proceed to the Cape page 379to mediate and explain. Sir Garnet Wolseley with a brilliant staff was sent to Natal. All was vain. The people, both of European and native descent, were becoming roused to a dangerous pitch. Lord Carnarvon was sorely troubled: but yet, with tenacity of purpose, adhered to his policy of confederation, and cast about for advisors and assistants whose aid would enable him to calm the troubled sea or South African politics, and effect a permanent union among its discordant peoples.

In furtherance of an idea thrown out by Mr. Fronde. a conference was called and hold in London on August 3rd, 1876, at which representatives appeared, and which was presided over by Sir Garnet Wolseley.

During the two years in which Mr. Shepstone had been detained in England, his advice and knowledge had been laid under requisition by Lord Carnarvon in relation to the tangled web which presented itself at the Cape of Good Hope.

To this conference Lord Carnarvon appointed Mr. Shepstone as a representative.

Up to this time the influence of Mr. Froude's advice and friendly intervention may have lasted. His counsel might be summed up in the three words, "Conciliation and Patience." Happy would it have been for England and for South Africa had that sage advice been followed.

The conference broke up without doing anything towards confederation. The South African members returned to the Cape, but Mr. Shepstone still remained in London, in continual attendance at the Colonial Office.

Two years and a half had now passed since Lord Carnarvon had taken office, and the South African matters were still unsettled.

Nearly every course possible had been tried, but failure had attended every effort. Mr. Froude's mission and Sir Garnet Wolseley's appointment had both been fruitless. His own despatches had been slighted, the conference had done nothing, and the intervention of foreign powers had been requested by the Transvaal Republic.

There were at this time two courses open to Lord Carnarvon. One was to ask Sir George Grey, then in the New Zealand Parliament, to take charge of South Africa and complete the task which page 380he had commenced in 1859. The other was to take entire personal control and compel the acceptance of his plans without appearing to use either violence or unfair means.

Every successive despatch revealed more clearly the necessity for action, So rapidly was confusion overshadowing the frontiers of the colonies that to hesitate was to be lost. The first alternative, if ever seriously contemplated, was soon dismissed. It was bitter enough to confess that Grey was right and Downing Street wrong, without having to appeal to him for help. They had adopted his plans after repeated condemnations. To acknowledge that they could not carry those plans into execution without his assistance would have been an additional degradation. Doubtless Mr. Fronde advised this course, for his mind was always steadfastly fixed upon this question. To him Sir George Grey was the only man capable of working out the desperate and tangled problem waiting to be solved in South Africa. In that belief Fronde never faltered. Years afterwards, in the pages, of that "Oceana" which delighted multitudes, he gave utterance to the same belief; and at a date still later he approached the Colonial Office, hoping that Grey might even yet be asked to undertake the task, though bordering upon fourscore years. When in 1880-1 Sir Bartle Frere, heartbroken by the difficulties which defeated all his plans, left the Cape, he pointed out the fact that Sir George Grey alone knew how to deal successfully with the varied races and contending interests of South Africa. And in conversation with Carlyle Lord Carnarvon had heard from the lips of that great man a verdict upon the character of Grey which deserves to be recorded:—"He is born of the Tetragonidæ, built four-square, solid, as one fitted to strongly meet the winds of Heaven and the waves of fate."

Driven back upon himself, the Earl of Carnarvon determined to accept the responsibility. No Secretary for the Colonies had enjoyed greater facilities for learning how to govern the Colonial Empire. His political career bad been devoted to this portion of the Imperial field. Moreover he considered himself fortunate in having been able for two years to consult an adviser who was able. as he thought, to disclose the whole truth in all its different lights upon every matter appertaining to the Boers and the savage tribes.

By what process of reasoning and counsel the final result was page 381achieved, it is impossible to say. No record of the interviews between Sir Robert Herbert, Lord Carnarvon, and Mr. Shepstone now exists. Probably the proceedings were never reduced to writing, but gradually, through conversations and interviews, suggestions and proposals, the plan which was ultimately adopted was worked out.

Mr. Froude at this time seems absolutely to have lost, not only the influence which he had hitherto exercised over Lord Carnarvon's mind, but also the knowledge of what was passing and the intentions which were shaping themselves in the brain of the Secretary for the Colonies. In several lectures and publications given and issued by Mr. Froude this abundantly appears. No one was more surprised at the ultimate action of Lord Carnarvon than his friend and adviser, Mr. Fronde.

Immediately after the conference, and without any notice to the Cape of Good Hope, or to any of the States or people interested, Lord Carnarvon determined upon a course of procedure, the stupidity of which was only equalled by its injustice. The triumvirate —the Earl of Carnarvon, Sir Robert Herbert (the Permanent Under-Secretary), and Mr. Theophilus Shepstone—decided to accomplish a confederation of the South African States, if possible by peaceful means, but if necessary by force. For this purpose a commission in the name of the Queen was, on the 5th day of October, 1876, issued to Mr. Shepstone (now created Sir Theophilus Shepstone, K.C.M.G.) appointing him a Special Commissioner, and giving him full power and authority to annex any territories bordering the British colonies in South Africa, and to incorporate them in the British dominions.

It. was under this unconstitutional, oppressive, and unrighteous commission that Sir Theophilus Shepstone annexed the South African Republic, brought on the Zulu war, caused the loss of thirty thousand lives, the expenditure of millions of treasure, and brought more reverses and disgrace to the British flag than were caused by any number of the Queen's subjects under any other document ever penned.

No such commission was ever before issued by the Crown, probably none such will ever again be issued. The powers and jurisdiction which the Crown possesses, and for the enforcement of page 382which it is able to issue commissions, are of two classes. The first class includes all those functions which belong to it by prerogative: the second, those which are conferred upon it by the law of the land. Thus the Crown can of its own inherent right pardon criminals, bestow peerages, declare war, and make peace; but it can take no man's property, or life, or liberty, without the authority of the law—either the common law of the country, acting through its recognised tribunals, or by Act of Parliament.

Under which of these categories did the Minister of the Crown advise his Sovereign to sign this commission? It falls under neither. It purports to bestow authority upon Sir Theophilus Shepstone to annex all the territories, districts, and states adjacent to the British colonies in South Africa, and it commands all the officers and subjects of the Crown, both civil and military, to aid him in so doing. The Orange Free State, the South African Republic, the warlike Zulu nation, all the territories of the free natives, the Portuguese settlements at Delagoa Bay—all are to be annexed to the British Empire at the pleasure of Sir Theophilus Shepstone: There is actually no limit, no condition whatever but his own will. He himself was to be the judge of the facts by which his action was to be determined.

Nearly all these states or territories were in solemn treaty with us at this very time. To the South African Republic and the Orange Free State we had solemnly guaranteed the inviolability—so far as we were concerned—of their territories, and promised to annex no native territories beyond the Orange River. To the Orange Free State we had only three months before paid £90,000 because we had broken our treaty in this respect. No feature of atrocity is absent from this specimen of Imperial buccaneering. With the States intended to be affected we were at peace. The Imperial Government was at this very time loud in its expressions of desire for a friendly confederation under which their independence was to be secured. We were bound by treaties of the most solemn nature not to interfere. No words could be stronger than those used at the Sand River Convention. "The Assistant Commissioners guarantee in the fullest manner on the part of the British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River the right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according to their own page 383laws, without any interference on the part of the British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the said Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal River." As to the Orange Free State, that we had abandoned against the wishes and prayers of the people, both Ministers and Parliament turning a deaf ear to the delegates who went to England in 1854. Not only was this commission a breach of the most solemnly pledged faith of the nation; it was absolutely unrighteous. What right had we to annex these States against their will? The ridiculous condition that Sir Theophilus Shepstone was "to be satisfied that a sufficient number of the inhabitants desired to become our subjects," was of course fulfilled- The experienced "Somtseu" easily satisfied himself, although President, Executive, Legislature, and public meetings were all against him. To add to the iniquity of the transaction, the Commission was kept secret. It was given to Shepstone privately, and by him taken to Natal and Pretoria, no one but a few privileged persons knowing of its existence.

The subsequent steps taken under this Commission are too recent to need a full recapitulation. In April, 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone annexed the Transvaal. President Burgers, in a memorandum full of dignity and constitutional learning, solemnly protested against the annexation. The Executive Council of the Transvaal endorsed this protest. On the 12th of April, Sir T. Shepstone issued a proclamation annexing the South African Republic. In the course of a speech made by him to the burghers, he said:—"Do you know what has recently happened in Turkey? Because no civilised Government was carried on there, the great Powers interfered, and said thus far and no further. And if this is done to an empire, will a little republic be excused when it misbehaves? Complain to other powers and seek justice there? Yes, thank God! justice is still to be found even for the most insignificant: but it is precisely this justice which mill convict us. If we want justice, we must be in a position to ask it with unsullied hands."

Prophetic words: Surely the Power which opened the mouth and directed the words of the prophet Balaam, as well as of Balaam's ass, was present with Her Majesty's Commissioner on this momentous occasion.

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The following agreement was signed at Wonderfontein, and published in a Dutch newspaper, the Suid Afrikaan, at Capetown, 15th February, 1878:—"In the presence of Almighty God, the searcher of all hearts, and prayerfully waiting on His gracious help and pity, we, the burghers of the South African Republic, have solemnly agreed, and we do hereby agree, to make a holy covenant for us and for our children, which we confirm with a solemn oath. Fully forty years ago our fathers fled from the Cape Colony in order to become a free and independent people. Those forty years were forty years of pain and suffering. We established Natal, the Orange Free State, and the South African Republic, and three times the English Government has trampled our liberty and dragged to the ground our flag which our fathers had baptised with their blood and tears. As by a thief in the night has our Republic been stolen front us. We neither may nor can endure this. It is God's will, and is required of us by the unity of our fathers, and by love to our children, that we should hand over intact to our children the legacy of the fathers. For that purpose it is that we here come together and give each other the right hand, men and brethren, solemnly promising to remain faithful to our country and our people, and with our eye fixed on God, to co-operate until death for the restoration of our beloved Republic.

"So help us, Almighty God."

The spirit which animated the Boers throughout the desperate struggle which afterwards ensued, was clearly shown in the patience with which they suffered the annexation to take place without resistance, although even then determined to resort at last to the sword, if all other means of redress proved unavailing. The journey undertaken by General Joubert and his colleagues to London; their patient endurance of their flippant reception by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach; their return to the Cape; their second journey to England when Mr. Gladstone's Ministry came into power; and their despairing return to the Transvaal are all matters of historic interest to the patriot and philosopher. Then at length all hope of human redress having fled, the few scattered Boers gave their flag to the winds, and entrusted their cause to the Lord of hosts.

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And when at last peace was made; when the overwhelming force which Sir Evelyn Wood was leading, and which threatened to crush with iron hand the liberties of the Transvaal, was arrested by Mr. Gladstone's telegram, and the independence of the Republic again assured by a solemn treaty, the same Joubert who had been a humble suppliant in Downing Street, uttered these memorable words: "It was not we who conquered. It was the Lord of battles who fought on our side and struck down the English soldiers. Then He softened the British nation's heart, and caused it to be merciful unto us."^*

During the whole of the disastrous occurrences from 1876 to 1882, no living man looked on with greater interest or more intense sympathy than Sir George Grey. He read with indignation and astonishment that terrible commission which had been secretly given to the African missionary's son, by which Sir Theophilus Shepstone carried in his hand the powers of life and death, and the destinies of multitudes of his fellow creatures. Sir George Grey's heart bled for the needless sufferings inflicted upon the countries and the peoples over which he had exercised a peaceful and beneficent influence. And he recognised in the disasters which everywhere befell our arms, that retribution which the Supreme Disposer of all things visits upon those who defy His justice and despise His laws. There was in his heart the added poignancy of the belief that all this might have been spared by the exercise of wise counsels. His longings and desires to he in South Africa were useless. He could only stand far off and mourn over the sufferings and disgrace so freely caused by the perverse actions of those in power.

In South Africa itself there were thousands who wished for his presence. That feeling of which Macaulay speaks as rising in the hearts of men who had opposed Cromwell in the days of his power, when in the very streets of London they heard the distant echoes of the Dutch cannon on the Thames, and wished that the great Protector were once more alive, was strong in the hearts of men from Capetown to Delagoa Bay, from Port Elizabeth to Pretoria. More than one of the political and military leaders page 386quoted that couplet from the song of Roland, when the King, at Roncesvalles, was encompassed by hosts of enemies:—

"Oh, where was Roland then?
One blast upon his bugle horn
Were worth ten thousand men."

Sir George Grey remonstrated with Ministers in London, but his remonstrances were received with scant respect. When Premier in New Zealand in the early part of 1879, he sent the following telegram to the Secretary for the Colonies:—

Governor left. Excuse suggestions regarding Natal. Employ troops where practicable road making. Expend little possible on purely military operations; much for permanent settlement. For means raise Colonial loan low interest. Two eases repayment such loans, South Australia, Kaffraria. Plan greatly reproductive. Relieve England distressed people. Settle rich country permanently. Create valuable commerce for England.

Ensure safety South Africa. Great saving England.

Grey.

With some of the leading men in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal he was in constant correspondence, and it afforded him sincere happiness to find that his memory and works were alike cherished. Thus President J. H. Brand says in a letter from South Africa, in 1881: "I agree with you that if the authorities in the Transvaal had listened to good counsel, and sent correct reports to the Home Government, the unfortunate war would not have taken place." In 1886, commenting on an account in a New Zealand paper of the enthusiastic reception given Sir George Grey on attaining his 74th year, he says: "It must be a source of great happiness in the evening of your long and very useful life, to have received such sincere proofs of love and affection; and to know, that not only there, but also in South Africa, every heart beats with warm gratitude and affection towards you, who have been such a good friend and benefactor, not only to the Cape Colony, but also to the Free State. I am sure that every one read with cordial sympathy what Mr. Fronde wrote about you in 'Oceana.'

"You will, I have no doubt, be pleased to hear that at the re-union of the old students of the Grey College last month, your name was often mentioned with affectionate regard. The success of the Institution, founded by you, will also fill your heart with gladness."

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In a despatch from Mr. Brand, as President, he informs Sir George that in his speech at the opening of the Volksraad, he pointed out the assistance which he (Sir George) had given the Free State in the important work of tree planting. He also enclosed a copy of a resolution passed by the Volksraad, of which the following is a translation:—"The Volksraad express their hearty thanks to Sir George Grey for this proof of the interest which he continues to take in the Free State, and request the State President to communicate this to Sir George."

The closing scene of the war in the Transvaal seemed to Sir George Grey an appropriate ending to the long catalogue of blunders which preceded it. It was right, as he believed, that peace should be made. It was right that liberty should be restored to the Transvaal Republic, of which it ought never to have been deprived. No disgrace could possibly attach to a great nation like England by reason of its confession that it had done wrong, and the announcement of its effort to find a remedy.

After repeated reverses to the British arms; when a strong sense of superiority had been established in the minds of the Boers, and a corresponding depression brooded heavily over the English with whom they came in contact; and, after constant declarations that the road to Pretoria should be opened by British arms, forces amply sufficient, under an able general, actually commenced their march towards the capital of the Transvaal. Suddenly a telegram was received by General Wood from the British Ministry, on which the onward course of the army was stopped, negotiations were opened, and finally peace was restored.

This sudden cessation rendered indelible the arrogance of triumph on one side and the humiliation of defeat on the other. Many Years must pass away before these feelings are forgotten and their consequences obliterated. Had Sir George Grey been in command in South Africa, he would have withheld the telegram until Sir Evelyn Wood had arrived at Pretoria, taken possession, and relieved the English garrison. Then, having asserted the supreme power of Great Britain, he would have proceeded, in the names of justice and of mercy, to have arranged the terms of peace.

The conduct of war in distant lands by the British Government has always been characterised by weakness and vacillation. Britain page 388has been generally fortunate in the men who have held actual command in her foreign wars, and her successes have been due, as a rule, not to the wisdom of Ministers at home, but to the capacity of generals abroad. The same weakness and incompetence has characterised the Home government of the English dependencies.