in their hands.

The natural aversion of the people to English rule was overcome for
the moment by their greater aversion to being wiped off the face of
the Transvaal by the blacks; that was a contingency staring them in
the face, and yet not even that imminent common danger availed to
secure unity amongst them, or would rouse men individually to take
upon their shoulders the responsibility which rests upon every member
of a State.

The Boer Volksraad, after promising to appeal to their constituents
on the subject of the new constitution proposed, almost immediately
passed a measure, which was familiarly styled by the people the 'Hou
jou smoel law.' The literal translation of this term is 'Hold your
to discuss the question of either confederation or annexation.

I come to the conclusion, then, that the cause of the annexation was
England's historical greed of territory, especially rich territory;
and that, however unworthy the motive on the part of the visiting
power, the Boers did not at that time receive the visitor with other
feelings than those of satisfaction, and practically surrendered
their country voluntarily and gladly to the ruler of a greater power,
under the impression that Sir Theophilus Shepstone would be permitted
to carry out, and that he therefore would carry out, the promises he
made them. As the programme was open before them, they had everything
to gain and nothing to lose, except the loss entailed by nominal
government by the British. No man, whether Boer or Britisher, who was
living in the Transvaal, or knew the feelings of the Boers at the
time of annexation, would in 1877 have given any other account of the
feeling of the nation; and if I have formed too low an opinion of the
motives of English statesmen at that time, and am not justified in
attributing the annexation to greed instead of to the purer and
nobler desire to protect England's colonies, or even the Transvaal
itself, from the inroads of savages, then my excuse must be that the
failure of England to send out at that time a force equal to the task
of restraining those savages and maintaining peace, has helped
materially to lead me to the unwarrantable conclusion.{03}

And so came the war. The history of it is written that all may read;
and it is not necessary here to refer at length to the details of it.
The utterly unjust treatment of Bezuidenhout at Potchefstroom was the
immediate cause of the outbreak. The armed interference of