discontented Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the
emancipation of the slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they made
their way to Natal, but being followed thither by the English flag they
travelled further inland over the Vaal River and founded the town
of Mooi River Dorp or Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by other
malcontents from the Orange Sovereignty, which, although afterwards
abandoned, was at that time a British possession. Acting upon

The good old rule, the simple plan
Of let him take who has the power,
And let him keep who can,

the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as
they wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have
said, peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to
the Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out of
them by the rough handling they had received at the hands of Mosilikatze
and Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them worse than the
Zulus had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the rest, would hold
out, and then such an example was made of him and his people that few
cared to follow in his footsteps.

As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began
to think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of
Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have
answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district
(where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President and
Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the other
white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic and
elected another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The two
republics were subsequently incorporated.

In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of
maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an
undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with the
emigrant Boers "beyond the Vaal River." The following were the principal
stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg and
Mr. Owen, Her Majesty's Assistant-Commissioners for the settling and
adjusting of the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern boundaries of
the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and a deputation
representative of the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal River on the
other. It was guaranteed "in the full