TRANSVAAL

Topographical Description of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

The area of the territory of the Transvaal is variously described as containing from 90,000 to 100,000 square miles, and about half the size ofnbsp;France. It is bounded on the north by the Limpopo River, on the east bynbsp;the Drakensberg rango and the Lobembo Mountains, on the south by thenbsp;Vaal River, and on the west by Bechuana Land. The population is statednbsp;by Behm and Wagner as being, in 1880—Boers 40,000 and Natives 275,000.nbsp;The boundary ranges of the Drakensberg and the Lobembo maybe rudelynbsp;defined as the backbone of Africa, and vary in elevation from 4000 tonbsp;10,000 feet. From the inland summits the country, very broken at first,nbsp;falls away gradually into the Highveld, a plateau averaging 5000 feetnbsp;above the sea level, and gradually falls away to the northward into the'nbsp;more level grounds of the Central South African plateau. This plateau,nbsp;whether in the Orange Free State or the Transvaal, is essentially the landnbsp;of the Boers. The boundary ranges of mountains present everywherenbsp;towards the sea, eastwards, a very steep face and natural rampart,nbsp;especially towards the adjoining colony of Natal.

The plateau has thinly-wooded hills, although heavy timber exists ; but vast fertile tracts of land exist peculiarly adapted for the growth of wheat,nbsp;coffee, sugar, cotton, rice, tobacco, and every kind of tropical fruit, whilenbsp;its pasturages offer unrivalled advantages for cattle-grazing and wool-growing purposes. Among fruits,—grapes, peaches, and oranges alsonbsp;flourish. Tbe diamond, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and coal are foundnbsp;in the Transvaal. The construction of the proposed Pretoria and Delagoanbsp;Bay Railway, a distance of 300 miles, which would run into Lorenzo Marquez, the only open and valuable harbour, with the exception of Simonsnbsp;Bay, in all South-Eastern Africa, would enormously increase the value ofnbsp;the territory, by supplying a seaport and ready access to and from itsnbsp;wealth-creating possessions. This harbour is obstructed by no bar, isnbsp;safe in all weathers, and is wide enough and deep enough to contain anbsp;larger number of vessels than all the South African ports put together;nbsp;and as against Natal, it has the still greater advantage of being readilynbsp;accessible in all weathers to ships of the greatest tonnage.

The Government of the Transvaal, as founded by the Boers, consisted of a division into districts, each having a chief town possessing a Landdrost, or headman. These districts in turn sent so many representativesnbsp;to an annual parliament—the Volksraad—which was annually held innbsp;September in the town of Pretoria. Potchefstroom, on a tributary of tlmnbsp;Vaal, is the capital.

As, in the event of British operations against the Transvaal, the Orange Free State will meet with frequent mention, the following particulars maynbsp;prove of interest:—

Tlie Orange Free State embraces three great natural divisions—the highlands of the Drakensberg, the plains, and the riverside soils. On thenbsp;whole it is not so fertile or productive as the Transvaal. There are in thenbsp;country about 50,000 square miles. Population—Boers, 80,000; Natives,nbsp;70,000. The capital is Bloemfontein, with 2,000 inhabitants. The President is elected for five years by the people, who governs by the Assemblynbsp;called the Volksraad. The country is divided into thirteen districts,nbsp;which are governed by magistrates called Landdrosts.

The Boer of the Transvaal.

The South African Boer has been, till lately, regarded in England as little better than a savage. The reader must learn to know his fairernbsp;side. The type is unchanging. As he ¦was in 1806 in Cape Colony, so he isnbsp;now in tho republics of the interior. He is uncultivated and unprogressive ; but he possesses qualities which, even in England, will be regardednbsp;as not valueless. He is domestic, but not gregarious. When he settles henbsp;procures from six to tvrenty thousand acres of undulating grass plain. Henbsp;takes possession in his waggon with his -svife and children, his scantynbsp;furniture, his family Bible, quot;which is his sole literature, and his sheep andnbsp;oxen. He plants his home near a stream or spring of water, ten milesnbsp;perhaps from the nearest neighbour. His house consists of a central hall,nbsp;with a kitchen behind it, and from three to six sleeping apartments openingnbsp;out of it, all on one floor. He builds kraals for his cattle; he fences anbsp;garden carefully irrigated; and so rapid is the growth in that soil andnbsp;climate, that in four or five years he will have a plentiful stock of oranges,nbsp;lemons, citrons, peaches, apricots, figs, apples, pears, and grape-vines.nbsp;He encloses fifty or a hundred acres, which he ploughs and sows withnbsp;Indian corn and -wheat. His herds and flocks multiply with little effort,nbsp;and thus he lives in great abundance. The family life is patriarchal, thenbsp;authority of age being absolute. There is no haste to become rich; therenbsp;is no desire for change. The Boer has few wants except those which henbsp;can himself supply, and he asks nothing but to be let alone. He is anbsp;strict Calvinist. The only knowledge which he values is contained in hisnbsp;Bible. He is constitutionally a Republican, yet of liberty in the modernnbsp;sense he has little or no idea. He considers work and prayer to be thonbsp;whole duty of man, and habits of work the only fitting education. Nativenbsp;questions, and all other questions as well, he considers from this point ofnbsp;view. Without tenderness or enthusiasm, and with a narrow intellectualnbsp;horizon, he has a stubborn practicability well suited for the post of anbsp;pioneer of African civilisation. Such is the white denizen of the Transvaal.

Mr Aylward, in his interesting “Transvaal of To-day,” remarks that, compared with their numbers, the improvements they have wroughtnbsp;are sufficiently astonishing :—“ There are roads—and very good roads—nbsp;everywhere. There are churches, courts, and jails in sufficient number.nbsp;... In tho matter of education, the Boers, notwithstanding tho slanders ofnbsp;their enemies, can bo proved to bo eminently progressive. In the Orangenbsp;Free State its grants for educational purposes are greater and its allowances to teachers more liberal than those of any of our colonies. In everynbsp;village, and in nearly every ward, there are school-houses.”

Tho same author’s observations on the women of the Transvaal, and their influence, are at this time well worth quotation. He says : “Beforenbsp;the final settlement of the Transvaal in 1858 (and since the emigrationnbsp;from the Cape Colony), tw'o generations of children grew up, were married,nbsp;and had children born to them. Throughout the whole of this period,nbsp;the softer sex shared in tho perils, the labours, and the privations of thenbsp;men. In Natal, in the earlier days, many of them performed acts of heroicnbsp;courage during desperate and fatal engagements. True as wives, tendernbsp;as nurses, earnest in prayer and wise in counsel, they gained a lofty influence amongst tho migrating people; and to their potent and restrainingnbsp;power, the South African Dutch owe much of their adherence to virtue,nbsp;and their fidelity to their religion, through long periods of contact withnbsp;an ever-present barbarism. The -women have ever been more patrioticnbsp;and more determined to be free than oven their lords and masters, whilenbsp;they have ever been, and still remain, entirely anti-English.”

The men, as has been remarked by many writers, are splendid specimens of humanity; far over the middle height, powerful, robust, and inured to hardships and long travel; simple and temperate. During thenbsp;greater part of the year the rural population live in waggons, or innbsp;tents pitched in the midst of their herds or flocks, sheep numberednbsp;by thousands, and cattle by hundreds. Not rooted down to the soil,nbsp;or troubled with over-much baggage, it is not so great a hardshipnbsp;for them to move aw^ay from home, as it is for farmers in the morenbsp;settled European countries. They are accustomed to trek to pasturesnbsp;new. If a Boer has 12,000 acres or so of land, well watered andnbsp;fertile, it does not much matter to him where it may be situated. Thenbsp;common mode of travelling is by ox-waggon. The Boer will inspan hisnbsp;oxen twice a year, and take his produce, wool and hides, into the nearestnbsp;town for sale, and return home laden with coffee, tea, sugar, salt, gunpowder, shot, and other commodities, to meet the requirements of hisnbsp;household for a season. As a rule, he is accompanied in these expeditionsnbsp;by his worthy “Vrow” and his whole family of boys and girls. Thenbsp;goodwife will barter her eggs, poultry, and butter, for woollen stuffsnbsp;and showy prints, and perhaps a smart embroidered saddle-cloth for thenbsp;first-born to display when he goes a-courting. An immense quantity ofnbsp;these gay trappings are imported annually for this festive purpose. Anbsp;sheep-skin -will serve on ordinary occasions. They rarely leave home,nbsp;excepting for these periodical trading trips, and the quarterly religiousnbsp;services (or Natchmal), when the whole community, far and near, meet tonbsp;partake of the Holy Sacrament, according to tbe Lutheran, or else thenbsp;Dutch, Reformed rite. The small towns at which these gatherings arenbsp;held are unable to find house accommodation for the influx of visitors,nbsp;so they live in their large waggons or in their tents, and it is an animatednbsp;scene, this assemblage of Boers, young and old, with their Hottentotnbsp;and Kaffir attendants, spans of trek oxen and saddle-horses, gailynbsp;painted vraggons, and snow-white tents. They generally camp out innbsp;the market square, an open space of turf, of from two to six acres innbsp;extent, which it is the custom to mark off in the centre of each town ornbsp;village, not only in the Transvaal, but in most of the South Africannbsp;States, for public use.

The Boers retain in their habits many curious marks of their life on their long “ trek ” of forty years’ wanderings. Many of them yet retirenbsp;to rest at sundown, after the dinner and supper or one meal of thenbsp;day when family prayers are over; and rising with dawn resume theirnbsp;attendance on their flocks. Many more, in remembrance of their wanderings in constant danger from the lurking savage or tho prowling lion,nbsp;even up to tho present hour, sleep half dressed, a habit which has beennbsp;often characterised by ignorant travellers to imply laziness and dirtynbsp;habits, while it is but a mark of the “trek.”

Tub Annexation of the Transvaal.

The Government of the Republic having heard of the intention of the British Government to annex the territory, on the 11th April 1877 protested as follo-^’8 :—•

“Whereas I, Thomas Francis Burgers, President of the South African Republic, have received a letter, dated the 9th instant, from Her Britannicnbsp;Majesty’s Special Commissioner, Sir T. Shepstone, informing me that hisnbsp;Excellency has determined, in the name of Her Majesty’s Government, tonbsp;bring the South African Republic under the jurisdiction of the Britishnbsp;Crown by annexation; and whereas I am not strong enough to draw thenbsp;sword for the successful defence of the independence of this State againstnbsp;a superior Power like that of England; and, moreover, with a view to thenbsp;welfare of all South Africa, I am altogether disinclined to bring its whitenbsp;inhabitants into a disastrous complication of warfare by any hostile proceeding on my part before having first of all tried every means to securenbsp;the rights of the people in a peaceable manner; therefore, in the namenbsp;and by authority of the Government and the people of the South Africannbsp;Republic, I hereby make my solemn protest against tho intended annexation. Done under my hand and under the State seal.—I am amp;c., Tiios.nbsp;Burgers, President of the South African Republic.”

On 12th April 1877, the British Government, in a Gazette Extraordinary dated Pretoria, Transvaal, proclaimed the Transvaal to be British territory,nbsp;in the following terms;—

“Whereas at a meeting held on the sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, at the Sandnbsp;River, between Her Majesty’s Assistant Commissioners, Major Hogge andnbsp;C. M. Owen, Esq., on the one part, and a deputation from the emigrantnbsp;farmers then residing north of the Yaal River, at the head of which wasnbsp;Commandant-General A. W. J. Pretorius, on the other part, the said Hernbsp;Majesty’s Assistant Commissioners did ‘ guarantee in the fullest mannernbsp;on the part of the British Government to the emigrant farmers north ofnbsp;the Vaal River, the right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according to their o-s\m laws, without any interference on the partnbsp;of the British Government: ’ And whereas the evident objects and incitingnbsp;motives of the Assistant Commissioners in granting such guarantee or permission to persons who were Her Majesty’s subjects, were ‘to promotenbsp;peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse * with and among the inhabitants of the Transvaal, in the hope and belief that the territory v/hich anbsp;few years afterwards—namely, in February 1858—became known by thenbsp;style and title of ‘ The South African Republic,’ would become a flourishingnbsp;and self-sustaining State, a source of strength and security to neighbouringnbsp;European communities, and a point from wLich Christianity and civilisation might rapidly spread towards Central Africa: And whereas the hopesnbsp;and expectations upon which this mutual compact was reasonably andnbsp;honourably founded have been disappointed, and the circumstances as setnbsp;forth more at length in my address to the people, of to-day’s date, hereunto attached, show that increasing weakness in the State itself on the onenbsp;side, and more than corresponding growth of real strength and confidencenbsp;among the native tribes on the other, have produced their natural andnbsp;inevitable consequences, as will more fully appear from a brief allusion tonbsp;the facts; that after more or loss of irritating contact with aboriginalnbsp;tribes to the north, there commenced about the.year 1867 gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction, of territory settled by burghers ofnbsp;this State, in w’ell-built towns and villages, and on granted farms ; thatnbsp;this was succeeded by tho extinction of all effective rule over extensivenbsp;tracts rf country, included within the boundaries of tbe State, and as anbsp;consequence by the practical independence, which still continues, of largonbsp;native tribes residing therein, who had until then considered themselvesnbsp;subjects: That some few farmers, unwilling to forfeit homes which theynbsp;had created for their families, and to which they held grants from thenbsp;Government of the Transvaal, which grants had, however, ceased and stillnbsp;fail to protect them in their occupation, made terms with the chiefs, andnbsp;now occupy their farms on conditions of periodical payments to thosenbsp;chiefs, notwithstanding the acknowledgment which such payments involve;nbsp;That this decay of power and ebb of authority in the north is being followednbsp;by similar processes in the south under yet more dangerous circumstances;nbsp;people of this State residing in that direction have been compelled withinnbsp;the last three months, at the bidding of native chiefs, and at a moment’snbsp;notice, to leave their farms and homes, their standing crops, some of whichnbsp;were ready for reaping, and other property, all to be taken possession ofnbsp;by natives, but that the Government is more powerless than ever to vindicate its assumed rights, or to resist the declension that is threatening itsnbsp;existence; that all confidence in its stability once felt by surrounding andnbsp;distant European communities has been withdrawn; that commerce isnbsp;wellnigh destroyed; that the country is in a state of bankruptcy; that thenbsp;white inhabitants, discontented -with their condition, are divided into factions ; that the Government has fallen into helpless paralysis from causesnbsp;which it has been unable to control or counteract; and that the prospectnbsp;of the election of a new president, so far from allaying the general anxiety,

or from inspiring hope in the future, is looked forward to by all parties as most likely to result in civil war, with its attendant anarchy and bloodshed:nbsp;That the condition above described affords strong temptation to neighbouring native powers, who are known to be anxious and ready to do so,nbsp;to make attacks and inroads upon the State, which from its weakness itnbsp;cannot repel, and from which it has hitherto been saved by the restrainingnbsp;influence of the British Government, exercised from Natal by Her Majesty’snbsp;representative in that colony, in the hope, yet unfulfilled, that a friendlynbsp;understanding might be arrived at between the Government of the Transvaal and the complaining native chiefs: That the Secocoeni war, whichnbsp;would have produced but little effect upon a healthy constitution, has notnbsp;only proved suddenly fatal to the resources and reputation of the Republic,nbsp;but has shown itself to be a culminating point in the history of Southnbsp;Africa, in that a Makatee or Basuto tribe, unwarlike, and of no account innbsp;Zulu estimation, successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for the first time to the native powers outside the Republic, fromnbsp;the Zambesi to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in thenbsp;relative strength of the white and the black races ; that this disclosure atnbsp;once shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and placed everynbsp;European community in peril; that this common danger has caused universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to investigate its causesnbsp;and to protect themselves from its consequences, and has imposed the dutynbsp;upon those who have the power to shield enfeebled civilisation from thenbsp;encroachments of barbarism and inhumanity : And whereas the inherentnbsp;weakness of this Government and State, from causes above alluded to, andnbsp;briefly set forth, and the fact that the past policy of the Republic has notnbsp;only failed to conciliate the friendship and goodwill, but has forfeited thenbsp;respect of the overwhelming native populations within and beyond itsnbsp;boundaries, -which together probably exceed one and a half millions, rendernbsp;it certain that the Transvaal will be the first to suffer from the consequences of a pressure that has already reduced its political life to so feeblenbsp;a condition: And whereas the ravaging of an adjoining friendly State bynbsp;warlike savage tribes cannot for a moment be contemplated by Hernbsp;Majesty’s Government without the most earnest and painful solicitude,nbsp;both on account of the miseries which such an event must inflict upon thenbsp;inhabitants of the Transvaal, and because of the peril and insecurity tonbsp;which it would expose Her Majesty’s possessions and subjects in Southnbsp;Africa; and seeing that the circumstances of the case have, from thenbsp;inherent weakness of the country already touched upon, become so grave,nbsp;that neither this country nor the British colonies in South Africa can benbsp;saved from the most calamitous circumstances except by the extensionnbsp;over this State of Her Majesty’s authority and protection, by means ofnbsp;which alone oneness of purpose and action can be secured, and a fair prospect of peace and prosperity in the future be established: And whereasnbsp;I have been satisfied by the numerous addresses, memorials, and lettersnbsp;which I have received, and by the abundant assurances which personalnbsp;intercourse has given me, that a large proportion of the inhabitants ofnbsp;the Transvaal see, in a clearer and stronger light than I am able tonbsp;describe them, the urgency and imminence of the circumstances bynbsp;which they are surrounded, the ruined condition of the country, and thenbsp;absence within it of any element capable of rescuing it from its depressednbsp;and afflicted state, and therefore earnestly desire the establishment withinnbsp;and over it of Her Majesty’s authority and rule ; and whereas the Government has been unable to point out or devise any means by which thenbsp;country can save itself, and as a consequence relieve the other white communities of South Africa from the danger of the dire events certainnbsp;speedily to result from the circumstances by which it is surrounded, andnbsp;can entertain no reasonable hope that it possesses, or is likely under itsnbsp;present form of Government to possess, the means to raise itself to a safe

and prosperous condition: And whereas the emergency seems to me to be such as to render it necessary, in order to secure the peace and safetynbsp;of the Transvaal territory, as well as the peace and safety of Her Majesty’snbsp;colonies and of Her Majesty’s subjects elsewhere, that the said Transvaalnbsp;territory should provisionally, and pending the announcement of Hernbsp;Majesty’s pleasure, be administered in Her Majesty’s name and on hernbsp;behalf: Now therefore I do, in virtue of the power and authority conferrednbsp;upon me by Her Majesty’s Royal Commission, dated at Balmoral, the 5thnbsp;day of October 1876, and published herewith, and in accordance withnbsp;instructions conveyed to me thereby and otherwise, proclaim and makenbsp;known that from and after the publication hereof, the territory heretoforenbsp;known as the South African Republic, as now meared and bounded,nbsp;subject however to such local modifications as may hereafter appearnbsp;necessary, and as may be approved of by Her Majesty, shall be and shallnbsp;be taken to be British territory; and I hereby call upon and require thenbsp;inhabitants of the Transvaal, of every class and degree, and all Hernbsp;Majesty’s subjects in South Africa, to take notice of this my Proclamation,nbsp;and to guide themselves accordingly. And I hereby further proclaim andnbsp;declare that I shall hold responsible all such persons who in the Transvaalnbsp;shall venture opposition, armed or otherwise, to Her Majesty’s authoritynbsp;hereby proclaimed, or who shall, by seditious or inflammatory language ornbsp;exhortations or otherwise, incite or encourage others to offer such opposition, or who shall injure, harass, disturb, or molest others because theynbsp;may not think with them on political matters, and I do warn all such thatnbsp;upon conviction of any of the above offences they will be liable to tlienbsp;severe penalties which the law in such cases ordains ; and I hereby appealnbsp;to and call upon the orderly, right-thinking, and peace-loving people ofnbsp;the Transvaal to be aiding and supporting Her Majesty’s authority. Andnbsp;I proclaim further, that all legal courts of justice now in existence for thenbsp;trial of criminal or civil cases or questions are hereby continued and keptnbsp;in full force and effect, and that all decrees, judgments and sentences,nbsp;rules and orders, lawfully made or issued, or to be made or issued by suchnbsp;courts, shall be as good and valid as if this Proclamation had not beennbsp;published; all civil obligations, all suits and actions civil, criminal, ornbsp;mixed, and criminal acts here committed which may have been incurred,nbsp;commenced, done, or committed before the publication of this Proclamation,nbsp;but which are not fully tried and determined, may be tried and determinednbsp;by any such lawful courts or by such others as it may be found hereafternbsp;necessary to establish for that purpose. And I further proclaim and makenbsp;known that the Transvaal will remain a separate Government, with itsnbsp;ONvn laws and Legislature, and that it is the wish of Her Most Graciousnbsp;Majesty that it shall enjoy the fullest legislative privileges compatiblenbsp;with the circumstances of the country and the intelligence of its people.nbsp;That arrangements will be made by which the Dutch language will practically be as much the official language as the English ; all laws, pz’oclama-tions, and Government notices will be published in the Dutch language;nbsp;in the Legislntive Assembly members may, as they do now, use eithernbsp;language; and in the courts of law the same may be done at the optionnbsp;of suitors to a cause. The laws now in force in the State will be retainednbsp;until altered by competent legislative authority. Equal justice is guaranteed to the persons and property of both white and coloured; but thenbsp;adoption of this principle does not and should not involve the granting ofnbsp;equal civil rights, such as the exercise of the right of voting by savages,nbsp;¦Lo/in'mino' moTnhfiTS of a IfiC^islative bodv. or tbr-ir hr^ino-nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-fnnbsp;property, guaranteed by the existing laws of the country, and sanctionednbsp;by them, will be respected. All officers now serving the Government, andnbsp;who may be able and willing to serve under the altered circumstances ofnbsp;the country, shall be entitled to retain their positions, and such rights asnbsp;their positions now give them. All hona fide concessions and contractsnbsp;with Governments, companies, or individuals, by which the State is nownbsp;bound, will be honourably maintained and respected, and the payments ofnbsp;the debts of the State must be provided for. The appointments or licences,nbsp;in virtue of which attorneys, land surveyors, and others are entitled tonbsp;practise their callings, shall be respected in accordance with the termsnbsp;and conditions of such appointments or licences. God sa-ve the Queen.nbsp;Given under my hand and seal at Pretoria, in the South African Republic,nbsp;this twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eightnbsp;hundred and seventy-seven. T. Shepstone, Her Majesty’s Special Commissioner. By command of his Excellency, M. Osborn, Secretary.”

The Transvaal, on the annexation, sent as delegates to England Messrs S. J. P. Kruger and P. J. Joubert, to pray at the foot of thenbsp;throne for justice. They had again to appeal to the Colonial Office, andnbsp;the result was that their petition was rejected. Among the documentsnbsp;the delegates enclosed to Sir M. Hicks-Beach, Secretary of State, whilenbsp;they were in London, on 10th July 1878, was “a memorial in support of thenbsp;protest, signed by 6591 out of a possible 8000 electors, and dated 7th Januarynbsp;1878.” Since the annexation, the interval has been spent by the Boersnbsp;in petitions to England, and in fomenting discontent among themselves.nbsp;Their petitions, whether to Conservative or Liberal Parliaments, were aljnbsp;futile, but not so their attempts at exciting overt opposition to Englishnbsp;rule. More than once turbulent gatherings of the Boers have told thenbsp;world how deeply rooted was the hatred towards us of a portion of thenbsp;community, and how certainly, if opportunity offered, they Avould againnbsp;fight for their liberty. This insubordination to English rule culminated,nbsp;on the sale, for non-payment of taxes, of a quantity of timber at Potchefstroom, on 11th November 1880. The delivery to the purchaser wasnbsp;opposed by three hundred Volunteers and two guns, and the excitementnbsp;ended in the

Revolt of Boers and Declaration of Independence.

The Boers, having formally declared their independence at Heidelberg on the 15th December 1880, proceeded, after two days’ deliberation at thenbsp;Pardo Kraal, to place a Government of their own in the hands of a Triumvirate, consisting of Kruger, Pretorious, and Joubert.

Thereupon the Government was installed at Heidelberg, ¦v\uth an Executive Council, consisting of Joubert, Joussen, and Mare. On thenbsp;16th inst., open hostilities against the British were proclaimed, and begunnbsp;the next day with an attack on Potchefstroom. On that day (17th)nbsp;Colonel Bellairs, in the fort of Potchefstroom, was summoned to surrender, but refused; and the same day he successfully repulsed an attacknbsp;of the Boers. On the 18th, Major Clarke, who had been besieged in thenbsp;Court House with a small force, surrendered.

In the meantime (on December 17th), Commander Joubert had sent a despatch to Colonel Sir W. 0. Lanyon, announcing that a Republic hadnbsp;been established, and warning him that any movement of troops on thenbsp;part of the British authorities would be regarded as a declaration of warnbsp;against the Republic. Whilst the messenger was on the road to Pretoria,nbsp;the Boers learnt that a convoy of 300 men were proceeding from Leyden-bercr to Pretoria, and Joubert at once set out with a strong force tonbsp;intercept this force. He met them eight hours’ distance from the last-named town. Joubert reports that he sent a messenger, requesting the

British officer in command to stop until a reply had been received from Colonel Lanyon, The officer, however, gave orders to move on. ‘ Then,’nbsp;says Joubert, ‘I commanded the charge. Within 130 yards we charged,nbsp;dismounted, and fired, and the capitualation followed. It was a matter ofnbsp;fifteen minutes.’ All the wounded were sent np to Pretoria. There arenbsp;over fifty killed, many wounded, the remainder prisoners. These prisonersnbsp;have been released in detachments, and are returning to the neighbouringnbsp;colonies via the Orange River State, Kimberly, and Natal.

The Boers have issued a long “independence” proclamation, and they are governing the country by means of the Triumvirate above named, whonbsp;have addressed characteristic letters to Sir George Pomeroy Colley, Colonelnbsp;Sir W. Lanyon, and President Brand of the Free State, attempting to provenbsp;’ at the British authorities precipitated the collision at Potchefstroom onnbsp;De^mber 15 and 16, and also in the affair near Pretoria, by firing first.

Alleen., lonely.

Assegai, a javelin.

Berg, mountain.

Bergen, mountains.

Blaauwhanh, blue ridge.

Blink, shiny, bright.

Buffels, buffalo.

Drift, practicable crossingin river; a ford.

Dwars, cross, or running obliquely to across.

Hout, wood.

Hout herg, timbered mountain. Inspan, to yoke team to waggon;nbsp;to start on a trading or “treking” journey.

Eameel kop, giraffe’s hill.

Klip, a stone.

Klip spruit, stony stream.

Kloof, a glen, gorge, or valley closed at highest end.

Koorn, corn.

Kop, hill, headland.

Kopjie, little hill.

Kraal, village or town of Kafirs. Krans kop, precipitous hill.

Krantz, a precipice.

Losberg, isolated or loose mountain. Lydenherg, mountain of sorrow.