est manner on the part of the
British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River the
right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according
to their own laws, without any interference on the part of the
British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the said
Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal River, with
the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British Government is
to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse with the emigrant
farmers now inhabiting, or who hereafter may inhabit that country, it
being understood that this system of non-interference is binding on both
parties."

Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, "all
alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the
north of the Vaal River."

It was also agreed "that no slavery is or shall be permitted or
practised in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the emigrant
farmers."

It was further agreed "that no objection shall be made by any British
authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of
ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South
Africa; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with
the native tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the
emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal River."

These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod in
its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is meant
by the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to the letter
of the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the territory between
the Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the Charta of the
new-born South African Republic. Under its provisions, the Boers, now
safe from interference on the part of the British, established their own
Government and promulgated their "Grond Wet," or Constitution.

The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very
interesting, and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It
consists of an oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native tribes,
and encroachment on native territories. Until shortly before the
Annexation, every burgher was, on coming of age, entitled to receive
from the Government 6000 acres of land. As these rights were in the
early days of the Republic frequently sold to speculators for such
trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen