coeni had positively refused
to become a subject of the Republic, and only consented to sign the
treaty on the representations of Commandant Ferreira that it would only
be binding, as regards to the two articles about the cattle and the
boundary line.

The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni's town, accompanied by a
fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. The
chief's Prime Minister or "mouth," Makurupiji, speaking in his presence,
and on his behalf and making use of the pronoun "I" before all the
assembled headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the interview between
Commandant Ferreira in the presence of that gentleman, who accompanied
the commission and Secocoeni, in almost the same words as had been used
by the interpreters at Middelburg. He distinctly denied having consented
to become a subject of the Republic or to stand under the law, and added
that he feared he "had touched the feather to" (signed) things that
he did not know of in the treaty. Commandant Ferreira then put some
questions, but entirely failed to shake the evidence; on the contrary,
he admitted by his questions that Secocoeni had not consented to become
a subject of the Republic. Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of
paper under the impression that he was acknowledging his liability to
pay 2000 head of cattle, and fixing a certain portion of his boundary
line, and on the distinct understanding that he was not to become a
subject of the State.

Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into
the country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come
to a successful termination, it would go far towards helping the Mission
out again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should declare
himself a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication acknowledge
himself to have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All that was
required was a signature, and that once obtained the treaty was
published and submitted to the Raad for confirmation, without a whisper
being heard of the conditions under which this ignorant Basutu was
induced to sign. Had no Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty would
afterwards have been produced against him in its entirety. Altogether,
the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not reassure one as
to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are continually
producing, purporting to have been signed by native chiefs, and as
a general rule p