out exception, we promise the protection of
the law, and all the privileges attendant thereon.

To inhabitants who are not burghers, and do not wish to become such,
we notify that they have the right to report themselves to the
Resident as British subjects, according to Article 28 of the now
settled Convention. But be it known to all, that all ordinary rights
of property, trade, and usages will still be accorded to everyone,
burgher or not.

We repeat solemnly that our motto is, 'Unity and reconciliation.'

Footnotes for Chapter I

{01} Written in 1896.

{02} Several of the letters and despatches given in this volume are
quoted from Mr. Martineau's excellent 'Life of Sir Bartle Frere,' a
portion of which book was lately published in cheaper form, under
the title of 'The Transvaal Trouble and How it Arose.'

{03} It is only fair to state that _at that time_ the Home Government
believed the prestige of the Imperial authority to be sufficient for
all purposes.

CHAPTER II

AFTER THE WAR

In 1882 Sir Bartle Frere wrote, 'I have never been able to discover
any principle in our policy in South Africa except that of giving way
whenever any difficulty or opposition is encountered.' The remark is
still as true as when it was penned, and South Africa--the 'Grave of
Reputations,'{04} as it has long been called--must by this time be
regarded with doubtful emotions by successive Colonial Secretaries.
What is it about South Africa, one asks, that has upset so many men
of capacity and experience? Who can say? Often--most often--it is the
neglect to thoroughly study and know what are called the 'local
conditions,' and to pay due heed to local experience. Sometimes it is
the subordination of State policy to party considerations which has
ruined the Proconsul: witness Sir Bartle Frere, whose decisive
action, firm character, and wise and statesmanlike policy are
now--now that he is dead--recognised universally, as they have always
been in South Africa. Perhaps there is something in Africa itself
which makes it a huge exception to the rules of other lands; the
something which is suggested in the 'rivers without water, flowers
without scent, and birds without song'; a contrariness which puts the
alluvial gold on the top of mountain ranges and leaves the valleys
barren; which mocked the experience of the world, and showed the
waterworn gravel deposit to be the biggest, richest, deepest, and
most reliable gold reef ever