list influence, had obtained an
executive post of some kind. How can one wonder, therefore, that many
regrettable incidents occurred and were immediately made capital of by the
Bond party further to embitter the feelings of the Dutch Colonists?

Many illegal acts were performed under martial law; of some a mention was
made in the Cape Town Parliament; these, therefore, do not admit of doubt.
For instance, as Mr. Neethling said in the Legislative Council, a man of
seventy was sent down from Paarl to Beaufort West without being allowed to
say good-bye to his wife, who was left behind without means of support.
Their house was searched for papers, but without result, and the man--a
member of the Afrikander Bond--was sent back, after eighteen months'
deportation, without any charge having been made against him. He was an
auctioneer and shipping agent, and during his absence his business was
annexed by a rival. One British Colonial, who held office at Stellenbosch,
said to one family, without even making an inquiry as to their conduct,
"You are rebels and I will take your mules"--which was done. The mules
were afterwards sold to the Commissariat Department by the man who had
commandeered them. Is it a matter of astonishment, therefore, that many
people felt sore and bitter at all that they had undergone and were going
through?

The administration of martial law in the country districts was absolutely
deplorable; but when one examines minutely the circumstances of the cases
of injustice about which one could have no doubt, it always emerged that
these never proceeded from British officers, who, on the contrary,
wherever they found themselves in command, invariably acted with humanity.
The great mistake of the military authorities was that they had far too
much confidence in the Volunteer Corps and those members of it who were
only anxious to make money out of existing circumstances. Unfortunately,
certain officers in command of the different corps were extreme Jingoes,
and this distorted their whole outlook. People said at the time of the war
that some districts of Cape Colony had been turned into hells; some
things, in truth, called for strong comment. No words could be energetic
enough to describe the manner in which martial law had been
administered--in the district of Graaf Reinet, for instance. The
commandants--this justice must be rendered to them--generally meant well,
but, unfortunately, they were assisted by men of le