can
account of these occurrences. There were three--the "Lombard affair,"
with reference to the maltreatment of coloured British subjects at
Johannesburg; the "Edgar case," in connection with the shooting of an
English subject by a police official; and the "Amphitheatre occurrence,"
in regard to a disorderly meeting of the South African League.

[Sidenote: _a._ The Lombard Incident.]

With regard to the "Lombard incident," Mr. Chamberlain says:--[43] "As
an instance of such arbitrary action the recent maltreatment of coloured
British subjects by Field Cornet Lombard may be cited. This official
entered the houses of various coloured persons without a warrant at
night, dragged them from their beds, and arrested them for being without
a pass. The persons so arrested were treated with much cruelty, and it
is even alleged that one woman was prematurely confined, and a child
subsequently died from the consequences of the fright and exposure. Men
were beaten and kicked by the orders of the Field Cornet, who appears to
have exercised his authority with the most cowardly brutality. The
Government of the Republic, being pressed to take action, suspended the
Field Cornet, and an enquiry was held, at which he and the police denied
most of the allegations of violence; but the other facts were not
disputed, and no independent evidence was called for the defence. The
Government have since reinstated Lombard.

"Unfortunately this case is by no means unparalleled. Other British
subjects, including several from St. Helena and Mauritius, have been
arbitrarily arrested, and some of them have been fined, without having
been heard in their own defence, under a law which does not even profess
to have any application to persons from those Colonies.

"However long-suffering Her Majesty's Government may be in their anxious
desire to remain on friendly terms with the South African Republic, it
must be evident that a continuance of incidents of this kind, followed
by no redress, may well become intolerable."

The answer of the Government of the South African Republic was as
follows:--[44] "With reference to the Lombard case, this Government
wishes to point out that no complaint was lodged with any official in
this Republic for a full month after the illtreatment of Cape coloured
people was alleged to have taken place, and that neither the Government
nor the public was aware that anything had taken place. The whole case
was so insignificant th