Boer History1853 in South Africa: Peace with Kreli, the Constitution, Clerk, and Pretorius
Peace with Kreli of the 14th of February, Yellowwoods of the 9th of March, and the End of the War — January–March 1853
Sir George Cathcart was still governor and high commissioner. He had taken the oaths on the 31st of March 1852 after Sir Harry Smith was recalled. The war that opened on the eastern frontier in December 1850 was still open at the start of this year. Siyolo had given himself up on the 9th of October 1852 with 40 attendants. Cathcart had fought Moshesh at Berea on the 20th of December and then accepted a letter of submission. What remained in the east was Kreli east of the Kei, and Sandile and the other Gaika chiefs hunted across that river. That is why the first business of 1853 was a cattle fine and a line. [3] [4]
In October 1852 Kreli, seeing that Siyolo was in the town prison and that the Gaika had nothing left to gain by the war, sent to Colonel Maclean 122 head as part of the long overdue fine, with the promise that more would follow. He kept his word: by the 10th of February a total of 629 out of the 1,500 had arrived. He then pleaded, in consideration of the herds driven when the troops had invaded his country, that the governor would take these as full payment. He asked for peace and pardon, and in token of submission sent a bundle of assegais. Cathcart, anxious to seize any opportunity consistent with the dignity of the flag, cancelled the remainder of the debt and dictated terms. Kreli must recognise the Kei–Indwe line as the western boundary of his country; restrain and punish all who disturbed the peace in the lands allotted to the Tembu and others west of the Indwe; be responsible for the lives and property of British subjects who settled in his country with his permission; and restore stolen property driven into Gcaleka territory. He agreed. A proclamation to that effect was issued on the 14th of February. The war, as far as Kreli was concerned, came to an end. The cattle and the assegais mattered because the war east of the Kei could not be closed while the fine still stood, and because a line at the Kei and the Indwe was the price of a pardon. [3] [4]
In the meantime the Rarabe chiefs, hunted from place to place with a few devoted followers, had fled across the Kei. From their retreat on the Tsomo, Sandile, acting for all, sent 2 messengers to Pato and begged him to intercede with Maclean. The messengers were to say their strength was gone, they were beaten and driven from their country, and they only asked that a place might be assigned to them where they could rest in peace. On the 13th of February Mali and Mani reached Fort Murray with this word, which was immediately communicated to the governor. Enquiries during the next fortnight showed that they were in earnest, as they were to all appearance in desperate circumstances. On the 2nd of March Cathcart issued a proclamation granting pardon to the rebels, upon condition of the surrender of their arms and future good behaviour. They were to understand that they could never again occupy the Amatola, and that their country was forfeited to the Crown. Another portion of the annexed territory, further removed from the colonial frontier, was allotted to them: the country between the Kei and the great north road to the Windvogelberg, bounded on the north by the Thomas river and on the south by Umhala’s territory. Sandile was to hold himself responsible for the good conduct of the people under him and for the security of the great north road. He agreed. The messengers mattered because Sandile would not come in person, and because the Amatola was about to be taken from the house of Ngqika for good. [3] [4]
Seven days afterwards a meeting took place at the Yellowwoods, about 7 miles from King William’s Town. The chiefs had hastened back from the Tsomo upon learning the governor’s clemency, and nothing more remained to be done but to make arrangements for their location. Sandile, Maqoma, Anta, Oba, Stokwe, and Tola were there. They were told that the country along the Amatola mountains was forfeited for ever, and that any of them found there would be dealt with summarily under martial law, but that the large tract of open land from the Kei to the great northern road, between Umhala’s location and the Thomas river, was theirs to occupy as long as they conducted themselves peaceably, and that they were at liberty to govern their people according to their own laws and customs. Cathcart read the proclamation of the 2nd of March and said he was glad to greet them once again as subjects of the Queen. Maqoma spoke for all. He thanked the governor for taking them out of the bush, and pointing to Sandile said that is the young man who has erred and has now been punished. He complained that the new territory was too small and hoped the governor would represent their case to the Queen. This was promised, and the meeting ended. With that scene the great rebellion terminated. It had ruined its instigators and many hundreds of colonists. It had cost Great Britain upwards of 2,000,000 sterling and the lives of 400 or 500 soldiers. The meeting mattered because the war that had cost that sum ended not with a battle in 1853 but with a pardon read in the open. [3] [4]
Glen Grey, Queenstown of the Hexagon, Seymour, and the Police of April — Frontier 1853
The Khoikhoi rebels had no chief who could speak for them. Uithaalder and Hans Brander were brigand captains, not authorities. A reward of £500 and a free pardon was offered to anyone who would apprehend Uithaalder, and £50 for any of his subordinate leaders, dead or alive; the remainder of the Khoikhoi rebels were assured that their lives would be spared if they surrendered at once. Most of them gave themselves up, and were sentenced to short terms of imprisonment. Exceptions were made for the leaders Uithaalder and Hans Brander, David Lovelot the preacher, Speelman Kievet, Oerson Magerman, Klaas Love, William Brass, and some others. The confessions of those who surrendered showed that the rebel ranks had been made up from the mission stations of Kat River, Theopolis, Bethelsdorp, and Enon, besides pensioners of, and deserters from, the Cape Corps. Their powder had been obtained from ostensibly friendly Xhosa who had taken stolen cattle in exchange. Uithaalder was said to have had 1,500 men under him in the Amatola. He was never captured. After wandering about as an outcast he remained beyond the border through this year. The reward mattered because the Khoikhoi rebels had no chief who could make peace, and because Uithaalder never came in. [3] [4]
A settlement of the Tembu was next effected. A tract of country to the westward of the Indwe, since called the Glen Grey location, was reserved for their use. Nonesi was invited to return with her people and occupy it. J. C. Warner was placed there as the representative of government, and found no difficulty in preserving order. All the remaining lands that had previously been occupied by the emigrant Tembu were forfeited. The clans engaged in the war had been nearly exterminated; Mapasa, their principal chief, had been killed, and the survivors were permitted to disperse among the followers of Nonesi. On the 22nd of November 1852 Cathcart had offered a free pardon to all errant Tembu who would reside as British subjects within the colonial boundary; the name and independence of Mapasa had ceased. Nonesi’s location mattered because the emigrant Tembu name of Mapasa was finished, and because land west of the Indwe was now a British location, not an independent chiefdom. [3] [4]
A large part of the forfeited Tembu lands north of the Amatola range was given to European settlers. Farms, not exceeding 4,000 acres in extent, were surveyed there and offered under a system of military tenure. Young men who were possessed of some property and had been active in the defence of the frontier had a preference. They were bound to reside on their grants, to arm themselves efficiently, and to maintain an armed man for every 1,000 acres over the first 1,000. Under these conditions the district was at once occupied. The portion allotted to Europeans contained about 400 farms, and there were at least 3 times as many applicants. The forfeited Tembu territory received the name of the division of Queenstown. A village was established in an excellent situation on the Komani, a feeder of the Kei, on a plain where abundance of water could be led out and superior building material was plentiful. From an open space in the centre, called the Hexagon, its streets radiate to different points of the compass, an arrangement adopted to facilitate defence. 50 building allotments, half an acre in size, were sold on its establishment for £4 10s. each, on condition of being built upon immediately; 50 others were sold at £7 10s. each, on condition of being enclosed; sites were granted free for Episcopal and Wesleyan churches, and 10 acres were presented to the Dutch reformed congregation. Within 9 months a town of about 40 houses had grown up, with shops, court-house, a market, and 2 inns; Cathcart put up at the Cathcart Arms. W. G. B. Shepstone became the first resident magistrate. The Hexagon mattered because 400 farms under military tenure were meant to hold a frontier that the Amatola had not held. [3] [4]
Tracts of land at Lesseyton, Kamastone, Oxkraal, and Windvogelberg were set apart for the use of Mfengu and other blacks who had fought on the British side. The strip known as the Bontebok flats was left unoccupied for a time: it adjoins the Amatola, but on account of there being no wood upon it and its being exposed to cold winds in winter, it was not coveted as a place of residence. In Victoria East, after the Mfengu had received ample grants, there remained much unoccupied land; what was not already in the hands of speculators was now laid out in farms and granted under military tenure, the same as in Queenstown. The Christian chief Kama had a large and fertile tract along the eastern bank of the Keiskama given to him in reward for his services against the Tembu, and his clan, being joined by numerous refugees, soon became powerful. The Gaika, having lost most of their cattle as well as the rich valleys of the Amatola, were poor and weak. The Mfengu had some of the choicest lands allotted to them — the best portions of the Tyumie and upper Keiskama valleys, as well as extensive locations farther north. The forfeited Gaika territory was retained as a government reserve. The missionaries resumed their labours and rebuilt their stations. 1,500 Bantu professing Christianity had refused to rebel at the bidding of Umlanjeni, and had taken refuge at King William’s Town, where they remained while the war lasted, without a single charge of any kind being brought against one of them. The allotments mattered because the Amatola was no longer Gaika ground, and because Kama and the Mfengu were placed on the choicest of it as a reward for having fought on the British side. [3]
The forfeited lands of the rebel Khoikhoi at the Kat river were given to European settlers. A commission was appointed with authority to call for witnesses, so that no injustice should be done to individuals. The results of the investigation were that 236 had not forfeited their lands by misconduct and were allowed to retain them; 157 were judged guilty and were deprived of their lands, and thus Europeans gained a footing in one of the most beautiful and fertile regions of the eastern province. A new village, named Seymour — after Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Seymour — was laid out at Eland’s Post, on one of the sources of the Kat river, and the magistrate of the district of Stockenstrom was stationed there. In the annexed territory there were as yet only about 1,200 Europeans, exclusive of the military. The police raised in the imperial service at 5 shillings 6 pence a day, in which 750 men had been enrolled, had been paid by England until April, when it was greatly reduced in number and taken over by the government of the colony. Under Walter Currie it became the Frontier Armed and Mounted Police, as effective in preventing cattle stealing as any body that had yet undertaken to protect the frontier. Umlanjeni and Uithaalder remained at large, but were powerless for evil. The former sank into contempt, became an object of derision to his own people, and died on the 28th of August, a few months after the restoration of peace. In September Cathcart made a tour through what had been the disturbed territories: for some time there had not been a single report of cattle-theft, good roads were being made, and a substantial hewn-stone church was being built in King William’s Town. The commission mattered because 157 forfeitures opened the Kat to European settlers, and because Seymour was a magistrate’s village on ground that had been a mission settlement. The transfer in April mattered because England stopped paying 5 shillings 6 pence a day, and because Currie’s police, not a wartime levy, now held the road. [3] [4]
Newcastle of the 14th of February, the Lady Jocelyn of the 21st of April, and the First of July — Constitution 1853
Letters patent of the 23rd of May 1850 had named an elected council and assembly. Earl Grey had told Smith on the 13th of May 1851 not to proceed while the war lasted. Charles Henry Darling had sent the draft ordinances to England on the 25th of April 1852. Sir John Pakington had postponed ratification. On the 28th of December 1852 the earl of Derby retired and the earl of Aberdeen became prime minister, with the duke of Newcastle as secretary for the colonies. At Worcester on the 24th of December 1852 a public meeting passed resolutions so offensive that Darling, on the 30th of January of this year, declined to be the medium of conveying them to London. He added that anyone who held the legislative council’s disbursements illegal would have to sign a receipt acknowledging their legality before drawing money from the treasury; the chairman, Mr Kuys, was a pensioner and signed before he drew the next instalment. The eastern districts had thanked Pakington for the delay: a Grahamstown petition of November 1852 carried 730 names. This ministry in London came quickly to a different conclusion. On the 14th of February Newcastle wrote to Cathcart that the queen would be advised to ratify the constitution ordinances by an order in council as soon as they should have undergone the requisite revision, and that immediate steps should be taken to remove the impediments which had hitherto stood in the way of representative government. On the 14th of March he announced that the amendments had been made, and forwarded the order in council, which was dated on the 11th of March at Buckingham Palace and was to have effect from the 1st of July. The only important alteration made in the ordinances passed by the legislative council was the reduction of the franchise to that advocated by the attorney-general, on the ground that in conferring a representative constitution it would be unadvisable that the franchise should be so restricted as to leave those of the coloured classes who in point of intelligence were qualified for the exercise of political power practically unrepresented. As to the removal of the seat of government or the division of the colony into two provinces, Newcastle did not think it advisable to introduce any provision: the governor was at liberty to summon parliament wherever he thought best. The despatch mattered because Derby’s ministry had postponed the ordinances, and because Aberdeen’s colonial secretary now promised to take the impediments away. [3] [4]
On the 21st of April the mail steamer Lady Jocelyn arrived in Table Bay, after a passage of 37 days from Plymouth, bringing a despatch from Newcastle in which was enclosed the order in council confirming the constitution. Throughout the western districts it was received with the greatest joy, and if the British settlers in the east were less jubilant, the state of suspense in which they had so long been living at least was ended. On the 13th of May the Capetown municipality recorded its high admiration of the talents, character, and principles of C. B. Adderley for his services in this connection. On the 12th of May circulars were sent to all civil commissioners instructing them to warn the several fieldcornets of the duties which would be required of them, when after the publication of the proclamation of the 1st of July they would be directed to commence a register of voters. On the 1st of July, a great day in the annals of the colony, Cathcart in his proclamation declared the ordinance which had been ratified and confirmed by the Queen to be henceforth from that day in full force and effect. The work of registration commenced forthwith. In consequence of the vast extent of the country and the sparseness of the population, this work took nearly 5 months. The steamer mattered because an order in council dated 11 March at Buckingham Palace was not law at the Cape until it was read there. The proclamation mattered because letters patent of 1850 had named a parliament, and because from this day the colony had a constitution that could register voters. [3] [4]
As at last fixed, the constitution provided for a parliament to consist of a governor, a legislative council, and a house of assembly. The legislative council was to consist of 15 members elected for 10 years, except that on the first occasion, or after a general dissolution, the 4 members for each province who should receive the least number of votes were to retire after 5 years, so that practically half the members should be chosen at the end of every fifth year. The whole colony was to be divided into 2 constituencies, the eastern and the western, the former of which was to return 7, and the latter 8 members. The electors, who were to be the same as those for the house of assembly, had as many votes as there were members to be chosen, and could distribute their votes as they pleased, or give all to one candidate if they so desired, thus providing for the representation of minorities. Of this chamber the chief justice of the colony was to be president, with the right of taking part in debates, but not of voting, unless the members were equally divided, when he was to have a casting voice. 5 members were to form a quorum. The qualifications of a member of the legislative council were to be those of a voter and the possession within the province for which he was elected of land free of all encumbrances to the value of £2,000 or of general property above all debts to the value of £4,000, in addition to which he was required to be over 30 years of age. No government official, uncertificated insolvent, or alien registered merely by virtue of a deed of burghership could be elected to a seat in either house, though he could vote for members of both. [3] [4]
The house of assembly was to consist of 46 members, elected by 22 constituencies for a term of 5 years. These constituencies were the different divisions in which there were civil commissioners, except that the cities of Capetown and Grahamstown were to be represented separately from the other parts of the divisions in which they were situated. Capetown was to have 4 members, and the remainder of the Cape division 2; Grahamstown was to have 2 members, and the remainder of the division of Albany 2; and the divisions of Stellenbosch, Paarl, Malmesbury, Caledon, Clanwilliam, Worcester, Beaufort West, Swellendam, and George, forming with the Cape the western province, and Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, Somerset East, Graaff-Reinet, Fort Beaufort, Victoria East, Albert, Cradock, and Colesberg, forming with Albany the eastern province, each 2. In the election of members for this chamber, only one vote could be given to each of two candidates, not two votes to one, except in the city of Capetown, where the four votes could be distributed as in elections for the legislative council. The members of the house of assembly were to elect one of their number as speaker. 12 members, exclusive of the speaker, were to form a quorum. The governor was to be at liberty to dissolve the two chambers together, or the house of assembly alone, but not the legislative council alone. Parliament was to be convened once every year, and in no case was a period of 12 months to elapse between the close of one session and the beginning of another. The debates and proceedings in both houses were to be in the English language only. The colonial secretary, the attorney-general, the treasurer-general, and the auditor-general, who held their appointments from the crown and were not responsible to parliament, were to have the right of taking part in debates in either house, but were not to have votes. [3] [4]
For the franchise no distinction was made between classes and creeds, between white men and blacks: a subject of her Majesty, 21 years of age, an occupant for a year of premises worth £25, or a joint occupant of landed property which if the value were divided among them would yield £25 for each, or who had been for 12 months in receipt of a salary at the rate of £50 per annum or £25 per annum with board and lodging, was free to go to the poll. No education was needed, for the voting could be entirely by word of mouth. Anyone who had sufficient property in two divisions, or who had land in one division and drew a salary in another, was to have the right of voting in both for members of the house of assembly, but not of the legislative council. A fresh registration of qualified voters was to be made in each division every alternate year. By at least 5 in 6 of the European inhabitants of the colony the constitution was received with expressions of the highest satisfaction. The old legislative council meantime continued to meet occasionally. Mr Montagu had gone to England on sick leave. Richard Southey acted as secretary to government. On the 14th of October the council concluded its last session, as the writs for the election to the new upper chamber were about to be issued. The lieutenant-governor, in dismissing them, said that however justly the council might now be regarded as unsuited to the colony, a reference to the statute book would show that it had neither been an unattentive guardian of the interests committed to its charge nor unfruitful in practical measures. Thus ended a council that had sat since 1834. Not until the 17th of November could Cathcart proclaim that lists of persons qualified to vote in the several electoral divisions were completed and that it was therefore fitting to proceed with the election of the members of the new legislative council. The £25 occupancy mattered because Newcastle lowered the franchise so that coloured men who occupied premises of that value could vote by word of mouth. The 14th of October mattered because a council that had sat since 1834 was dismissed before the writs for an elected upper house went out. [3] [4]
Clerk of the 6th of April, Bloemfontein of the 8th of August, and Sikonyela’s Mountain — Sovereignty 1853
The Orange River Sovereignty had been proclaimed on the 3rd of February 1848. Major Warden had been broken at Viervoet on the 30th of June 1851. Cathcart had fought Moshesh at Berea on the 20th of December 1852 and then marched away. London had decided that the Queen’s authority between the Orange and the Vaal was not worth the cost of keeping it. On the 6th of April a commission under the great seal was issued to Sir George Russell Clerk, appointing him special commissioner for the settling and adjustment of the affairs of the Orange River Sovereignty: in other words, he was sent out to withdraw British authority with the best grace possible. He arrived at Bloemfontein on the 8th of August. Notwithstanding the efforts made by Adam Kok to keep the Griqua reserve intact, the village of Fauresmith — then generally called Sannah’s Poort — had been founded early in 1850 on ground leased from a Griqua, and the district around it was practically as much in the European part of the Sovereignty as that around Bloemfontein. Many of the Griquas were desirous of selling their ground, and there was a strong party among them headed by Hendrik Hendriks, once secretary to the Griqua council, in opposition to Adam Kok on this very point. They maintained that it was unjust to prevent them from selling their farms when large prices were being offered, and thus in defiance of the prohibition land was constantly changing hands. This was one of the difficulties awaiting solution. The commission mattered because Britain had decided to leave the Sovereignty, and because Clerk was sent to withdraw the Queen’s authority with the best grace possible. [3] [3]
There had been a considerable increase in the European population of the Sovereignty during late years, its numbers being now about 15,000; and there had been a change in its constituents. In the 5 villages, particularly in Bloemfontein and Smithfield, many English traders and mechanics had settled. There were 139 Englishmen owning farms in the Sovereignty, but some of them were absentees. The British resident himself was the largest landowner in the country. According to a return compiled for the special commissioner, these 139 Englishmen were the proprietors of 264 farms, comprising 2,467,764 acres, so that as a body they were not free from the reproach of being mere speculators. A considerable number of individuals belonging to old colonial families had come in, while of the former residents many of the extreme anti-English party had moved over the Vaal. The total number of farms for which certificates or titles had been issued was 1,265, and the extent of ground thus alienated was estimated at 11,000,000 acres. The different reserves for coloured people covered about 13,000,000 acres, and it was supposed — for no survey had been made — that about 8,000,000 acres remained unappropriated. The country at the time was really in a state of anarchy, though in Cathcart’s despatches it was constantly represented that tranquillity and order had been restored. Armed bands of blacks traversed the country as they pleased; a son of Molitsane made a raid upon some Mfengu who had taken refuge at Winburg, and there was no way of punishing him. That matters were not even worse was solely owing to the circumstance that a severe drought had destroyed the pasturage, so that it was difficult for mounted men to move about. The return mattered because 15,000 Europeans were about to be told to govern themselves, and because the largest landowner in the country was the British resident who was about to leave. [3]
On the 9th of August a notice was issued by the British resident, under instructions from the special commissioner, calling upon the inhabitants of the Sovereignty to elect delegates for the purpose of determining upon a form of self-government. On the 5th of September the delegates met at Bloemfontein. They were 95 in number, 76 of them being Dutch South Africans, and 19 Englishmen. In an address at the opening of the session Clerk informed them that he had the instructions of her Majesty’s government to direct them to prepare themselves for undertaking the government of the territory whenever British jurisdiction should be withdrawn. Dr Fraser was elected chairman by 60 votes against 35 divided among 4 others. It was at once evident that the delegates were not inclined to do as they were desired. On the 8th they appointed a committee of 25 to confer with the special commissioner, so that the others might return to their homes. By a vote passed without opposition they gave the committee instructions not to entertain any proposals for the formation of an independent government until 11 matters should have been adjusted: the Griqualand question; the boundary between the Basuto territory and the Sovereignty; the interference of the British government between coloured people and Europeans; a guarantee against molestation from allies or from beyond the Vaal, particularly as to confiscated farms; compensation for those who might leave and those who had sustained losses; a share of the customs dues or the cession of a port; complete or conditional absolution from allegiance; settlement of farm-boundary disputes; cancellation of all existing treaties with chiefs; permission to purchase munitions of war in England or the British colonies; and the refunding of fines unlawfully imposed and the restoration of, or payment for, farms unlawfully confiscated. The 11 conditions mattered because the men elected to form a government refused to form one until farms, treaties, and a port were settled. [3]
Some correspondence with Clerk followed, and the committee then separated. It met again on the 10th of November, when it decided upon the adoption of a constitution the same as that approved of by the delegates in June of the preceding year, but under her Majesty’s government. Clerk announced that as they were unwilling to take steps for the formation of an independent government, he would enter into negotiations with other persons. And then was seen the strange spectacle of an English commissioner of high rank addressing men who wished to be free of British control as the friendly and well-disposed inhabitants, while for those who desired to remain British subjects he had no sympathising word. In the change of phraseology which took place with the change of policy, they had now become “the obstructionists.” At this stage Commandant Adriaan Stander, who had recently been living at the Marikwa, visited the Sovereignty and rallied the republican party around him. Several of the elected delegates seceded, professing that they had only voted for the retention of the British government out of fear that the special commissioner’s invitation was a device to entrap and then fine them. In a very short time addresses with 959 names attached to them were presented to Clerk, offering to meet the wishes of the imperial government on 5 conditions: release from her Majesty’s authority; arrangement of matters concerning Griqualand; invalidation of all existing treaties with the surrounding tribes and non-interference between burghers and coloured people; compensation for confiscated farms and for fines unlawfully levied; and permission to purchase munitions of war in England and all British colonies, with free passage through the Cape Colony or Natal. The elected committee thereupon requested Dr Fraser and the reverend Mr Murray to proceed without delay to England, to lay their case before the imperial parliament, and to protest against the people of the Sovereignty being abandoned under the circumstances of the country. The 959 names mattered because Clerk would negotiate with anyone willing to take the country, and because the elected committee’s answer was to send two men to London. [3]
On the 11th of July a missionary meeting at Likatlong, at the junction of the Hart and Vaal rivers, with Robert Moffat in the chair, resolved that a memorial be drawn up touching the state of the Transvaal natives and the missions among them, and that Moffat, Inglis, and Solomon wait upon Clerk to present it. The memorial complained of the destruction of 5 missionary stations, of the banishment of the reverend Messrs Edwards and Inglis, and of a system which, they said, could not be distinguished from slavery. They deprecated the abandonment of the Sovereignty. Shortly after Clerk received it, Commandant Scholtz visited Bloemfontein. The special commissioner had the document translated into Dutch and asked him to reply. On the 6th of September Scholtz delivered his statement to C. Mostyn Owen. He denied wanton attacks and slavery, referred the cases of Inglis and Edwards to the records of their trial, and said every facility would be granted if Britain chose to send a commission of inquiry. Clerk took no further action on the memorial. As if to accentuate the despairing cry of those who wished to remain British subjects, just at this juncture Moshesh, in opposition to the advice and wishes of Clerk, crossed the Caledon at the head of a great army and fell suddenly upon Sikonyela’s stronghold. That chief was at the moment unprepared for defence, as he was not expecting to be attacked, and had only a few warriors with him. His mountain fastness, though hitherto considered impregnable, was far from being such a formidable stronghold as Thaba Bosigo. There was but one narrow and steep path leading to its summit, but it was found possible to scale some of the precipices in the rear. The Basuto army attacked it in 3 divisions. While one division, under Masupha, stormed up the footpath, the others, under Moshesh and Letsie, scaled the precipices at different points, the warriors climbing over each other’s shoulders. On the tableland above, in a heavy storm of rain, a battle was fought which ended in complete victory for the Basuto. Sikonyela lost his eldest son Makitikiti and the bravest of his guard. Gert Taaibosch and the leading members of his band also fell in the engagement. The Batlokua chief, when all was lost, managed to conceal himself, and he lay in hiding for several days, while Moshesh remained on the mountain. During this time the Basuto scoured the district and seized the cattle, waggons, and everything else of value belonging to the Batlokua and Taaibosch’s Koranas. When at length they left, Sikonyela crept from his hiding place, and with only 60 warriors at his back fled to Winburg. Clerk sent him to Bloemfontein, where he was provided with rations for himself and a few followers. Moshesh frequently invited him to return to his old residence, but his haughty spirit would not allow him to become a retainer of his ancient enemy. The mountain mattered because Moshesh struck while Clerk was telling British subjects they must govern themselves, and because a chief who had been Britain’s ally on the Caledon fled to Winburg with 60 men. [3] [3]
Pretorius of the 23rd of July, Rustenburg of the 8th of August, and van der Hoff — North of the Vaal 1853
North of the Vaal the 2 most prominent leaders of the emigrants had finished their career. Hendrik Potgieter had died in March of the preceding year. Andries Pretorius died on the 23rd of July of this year. Sand River had been signed on the 17th of January 1852 by Pretorius and 15 other delegates. In the preceding year he had visited Natal, where he received a hearty welcome: at Durban a public dinner had been given in his honour by the English residents on the 10th of May 1852, and among those who promoted it were several who had fought against him at the same place 10 years before. The death of Pretorius was an affecting scene. An attack of dropsy, for which no medical treatment could be obtained, brought his life to a close. For a month he lay upon a bed of sickness. He entreated those who assembled round his bedside to preserve cordial union among themselves after his death, and not to let party strife or ambition find a place among them. He recommended them to give heed to the exhortations of the minister, the reverend Dirk van der Hoff, who had reached the republic from Holland only 2 months before, and to promote morality and civilisation by every means in their power. Afterwards several Bantu chiefs were admitted to see him. They had heard of his illness, and had come to pay their respects. The relatives of the dying man were much affected on seeing these exhibit intense grief as they knelt successively and kissed his hand. Everything connected with this world having been settled, Pretorius devoted his remaining hours to praise and prayer. He expressed perfect resignation to the will of the Almighty, and having committed his soul to his Saviour, he calmly breathed his last. He died at the age of 54 years and 8 months. He had been twice married: by his first wife, Christina de Wit, he had 3 sons and 5 daughters; a year after her death he married Petronella de Lange, by whom he had 3 children, 2 of whom died before him. The death mattered because Sand River had been his convention, and because the republic north of the Vaal had no president and now lost the man who had signed it. [3]
Upon the death of Commandant-General Potgieter the volksraad had appointed his eldest son his successor; practically his command was limited to the district of Zoutpansberg, for the people of Rustenburg and Potchefstroom were nearly all adherents of Pretorius. It had not been considered necessary to name a successor to Enslin when he died. The volksraad met at Rustenburg on the 8th of August and appointed Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, eldest son of the late leader, commandant-general of Rustenburg and Potchefstroom. Van der Hoff held service at Rustenburg on this occasion, and before the sermon read a letter written by the late commandant-general 10 days before his death and addressed to the officers composing the council of war, invoking God’s blessing upon them, and advising them to continue steadfast in the Christian religion and to watch and pray that no seed of discord took root among them. The republic was at this time divided into 4 districts: Potchefstroom, Lydenburg, Zoutpansberg, and Rustenburg. The volksraad had decided to form a fifth district out of portions of Lydenburg and Rustenburg, and to establish in the centre of the territory a new village to be called Pretoria after the late commandant-general. For this purpose M. W. Pretorius had purchased 2 farms from Prinsloo and Van der Walt for the sum of £600, situated on a little stream called the Aapjes river, at the base of a range which, owing to a petty chief named Magali having been found near its western extremity by the first explorers, has since been known as Magalisberg. It was not, however, until a later date that this resolution was carried into effect. The supreme authority of the republic was the volksraad. The executive consisted of 3 commandants-general: M. W. Pretorius for Potchefstroom and Rustenburg, P. G. Potgieter for Zoutpansberg, and W. F. Joubert for Lydenburg; several commandants; a landdrost in each village, and a fieldcornet in each ward. There was no president. The nearest approach to a cabinet was the krygsraad, or council of war, which each commandant-general could summon for consultation. Every burgher was liable to be called out for military service, when he was obliged to provide his own horse, gun, and food, ammunition alone being furnished at the public expense. The appointment mattered because M. W. Pretorius took his father’s command, and because 2 farms on the Aapjes bought for £600 were already named for a village that was not yet built. [3]
The same day at Rustenburg a church meeting, presided over by van der Hoff, resolved that no religious community other than the Dutch Reformed church should be tolerated or allowed to build places of worship within the republic; that the church in the republic should be independent of the synod of the Cape Colony; and that every male over 20 years of age and every female over 16 should pay 3 shillings yearly towards its support. These resolutions were discussed by every household in the country. Liberal-minded men were strongly opposed to the first, but there were not wanting many who as strongly supported it; yet so inconsistent were these that they declared themselves ready to welcome Moravian and Lutheran missionaries among the heathen. There was no objection to the third resolution. But the second was a question which divided the people into 2 factions. Many of the burghers believed that their independence might be affected by connection with the Cape synod. They asserted that Sir Harry Smith had once said that if he could not conquer them with the sword, he would do it with the word, meaning thereby the influence of colonial clergymen, and they wished therefore to be as little connected with any institution in the Cape Colony as possible. A visit of the reverend Messrs Neethling and Louw, two clergymen who had been deputed by the Cape synod to visit the country and conduct services, was held by this party to be uncalled-for interference. There was only one clergyman to minister to the whole people, but there was a consistory in each district, and it was maintained by some that the elders of these could combine and constitute a synod if they chose to do so. The 3 resolutions mattered because a church independent of the Cape synod was a political claim as much as a religious one. [3] [3]
In this year three brothers named Pieter Jacobus, Jan Abraham, and Frans Gerhard Joubert visited Moselekatse in a friendly manner, and to their great satisfaction were able to conclude an agreement of amity with him, which was afterwards faithfully observed on both sides. Under this agreement they were allowed to hunt in localities named by the chief and to purchase ivory from him. Proper precautions had, of course, to be used when entering the country, and the regulations laid down by the chief had to be strictly complied with, for anything like colonisation was prohibited. The hunters were not even allowed to take their wives into the country with them. Thereafter the ivory of Matabeleland found its way to the different villages of the republic, and with the ostrich feathers and skins of wild animals obtained in the north, aided to increase the exports of South Africa. In this year the sale of ammunition to Bantu tribes living within the territory was prohibited under penalties ranging from death to confiscation of all property. It was also enacted that the commandants could allot locations to coloured people, which were to be considered as leases to be held as long as the occupants should conduct themselves properly. Sekwati, after the 20-day blockade of the preceding August, remembered his recent punishment, and it was long before his people troubled the farmers again. There was very little money in the territory, and small as the salaries of the few officials were, they were usually in arrear. Taxation was very light, for with a government so simple a large revenue was not needed, and could not have been raised if it had been. From all other parts of South Africa fugitive debtors and vagabonds of every type, taking advantage of the weakness of the government, made their way to the Transvaal territory; fortunately their number was not very large, and nearly all of them congregated in the district of Zoutpansberg, on the most remote border. The agreement mattered because hunters could buy ivory from Moselekatse, and because colonisation north of that line was forbidden. [3] [3]
199 Tons, Bain’s Kloof of September, and Armstrong of the 23rd of November — Colony 1853
In 1852 the firm of Philips and King, of Capetown, had commenced operations at Springbokfontein, which was for a long time the most valuable mining centre known in Little Namaqualand. Soon afterwards a host of prospectors and explorers, bent upon discovering and appropriating copper mines, poured into the district. A perfect mania for forming companies set in, and quickly spread throughout the colony, though the wildest speculation would not reach its height until a later year. Parties of labourers were got together and sent by sea to Hondeklip Bay, many of them under the charge of incompetent overseers, some to localities where there was not sufficient ore to meet the expense of removing it, others to places where there was no ore at all. The progress of the new industry is shown in the custom-house returns: in 1852 31 tons of ore were sent to England, in this year 199 tons. Amidst the general failures 2 companies already showed promise of success: Springbokfontein, owned by Philips and King, proved immensely rich, as did also Spektakel, shortly afterwards acquired by the same firm. The only difficulty experienced was in the matter of transport, for the animal power of the country was insufficient to convey the ore to the coast as fast as it could be got ready. 199 tons mattered because 31 tons in 1852 had started a rush, and because most of the men landed at Hondeklip still had no mine. [3]
Internal means of communication had been greatly improved under the management of the central and divisional road boards. There was now easy access to the Bokkeveld and the Karoo by means of Michell’s pass, through which a road that could be traversed by the most delicate vehicle had been constructed and opened in December 1848. The road through Bain’s kloof, which completed a carriage drive from Capetown to the Breede river valley, was opened in September of this year, and other parts of the country had been equally favoured. Boards of commissioners for improving Table Bay and Algoa Bay had been created at the beginning of 1848, and facilities for landing and shipping goods had been increased by them with money raised by anchorage and wharfage dues, but harbour works had not yet been commenced, owing to want of funds. On the 11th of June a board of commissioners for the improvement of the mouth of the Kowie river was appointed, where a company was formed to undertake the work. Nothing of any importance, however, resulted from this new effort to open Port Frances. In addition to the lighthouses mentioned in preceding years, one on the Bird island east of Algoa Bay had been opened for use on the 1st of December 1852. The opening mattered because a carriage could now run from Capetown into the Breede river valley, and because the Kowie board of the 11th of June was another attempt to make Port Frances a harbour. [3]
Great progress had been made in extending mission work among the coloured people, and in establishing new congregations of Christian bodies of many denominations. At the close of this year the Dutch reformed church in the colony had 44 parishes, but only 38 clergymen. The synod had just resolved to establish a theological seminary as soon as possible to supply the want. The English episcopal church especially was making rapid strides. On the 23rd of November letters patent were issued by the queen creating the eastern province a separate see from the western, and appointing the right reverend Dr John Armstrong first bishop of Grahamstown. There were now 13 banks in the colony, exclusive of the savings bank, which had its principal office in Capetown but had 12 branches in the most important centres of population, one as far east as Grahamstown. Philanthropic and benevolent institutions of many kinds were scattered about. The letters patent mattered because the eastern province became a separate Anglican see, and because Grahamstown now had a bishop of its own. [3]
In Natal Benjamin Chilley Campbell Pine still sat. The growth of Natal in importance as a British possession remained exceedingly slow. A commission appointed on the 25th of September 1852 had taken a vast amount of evidence upon the future government of the natives, but nothing of any material consequence had been effected by it. Some Europeans were convinced from what they saw that cotton was an article whose production would be remunerative; some very fair samples continued to be produced, though still small to be remunerative. From June William C. Sargeaunt held the office of colonial secretary there. Montagu, who had left Capetown for England in ill health on the 1st of May 1852, died in London on the 14th of November of this year. Southey continued to act as secretary to government at the Cape. Otherwise the members of the old council, until its last sitting of the 14th of October, were unchanged. Pine’s commission mattered because Grey had wanted chiefs used as British agents, and because the evidence taken in 1852 had still produced no new government in Natal by the close of this year. [3]