utoland."

The interpretation placed, and no doubt correctly placed, on that
declaration of Government policy was that under no circumstances was
it prepared to do anything in the matter, and that it had quite a
sufficient number of troubles and worries without the addition of one
in remote and unimportant Basutoland. Having thus got out of the
necessity of discussing this important memorandum, under the cloak of
the Colonial Office's decision in favour of inaction, the Premier went
on to say that he was "most anxious to avoid the resumption of
hostilities on the one hand or the abandonment of the territory on the
other." There was an absolute ignoring in this statement of Gordon's
deliberate opinion that the only way to solve the difficulty was by
granting Basutoland semi-independence on the terms of a Convention
providing for the presence of a British Resident, through whom all
external matters were to be conducted. At the same time Mr Scanlan
informed Gordon that he was sending up Mr Sauer, then Secretary for
Native Affairs, who was a nominee of Mr Orpen, the politician whose
policy was directly impugned.

On Mr Sauer reaching King William's Town, where Gordon was in
residence at the Grand Depot of the Cape forces, he at once asked him
to accompany him to Basutoland. Gordon at first declined to do this on
two grounds, viz. that he saw no good could ensue unless the
convention were granted, and also that he did not wish Mr Sauer, or
any other representative of the Cape Government, as a companion,
because he had learnt that "Masupha would only accept his proposed
visit as a private one, and then only with his private secretary and
two servants."

After some weeks' hesitation Gordon was induced by Mr Sauer to so far
waive his objection as to consent to accompany him to Letsea's
territory. This Basuto chief kept up the fiction of friendly relations
with the Cape, but after Gordon had personally interviewed him, he
became more than ever convinced that all the Basuto chiefs were in
league. Mr Sauer was of opinion that Letsea and the other chiefs might
be trusted to attack and able to conquer Masupha. There was no
possibility of reconciling these clashing views, but Gordon also
accompanied Mr Sauer to Leribe, the chief town of Molappo's territory,
north of, and immediately adjoining that of, Masupha. Here Gordon
found fresh evidence as to the correctness of his view, that all the
Basuto leaders were practically united,