THE ACTIVITY OF CHILDREN

classes of men, who have settled in the interior or vicinity of this important of south Africa. England, the transvaal, and the
orange free state. Far from being anxious to assume direct control over these territories, the cape government for a long time
disregarded the petitions for annexation addressed to it by the inhabitants of durban; until one fine day, a dutch vessel laden
with provisions for the boers, arriving in port natal, the captain, smellekamp, took it upon himself to assure them of the
protection of the king of Holland. Thereupon, England established a small garrison under the command of captain smith. It was
attacked by the boers; a volunteer, named dick king, contrived to make his escape from the town, and after an adventurous
journey reached grahamstown. Troops were despateched by the government, and it was incorporated with the cape colony;
some of the boers left natal, some remained; their descendants are there to day. In the government entered into a series of
treaties known as the napaier treaties, for the constitution of native states extending from pondoland, on the frontiers of natal,
to the district of which Kimberley forms the centre [see great britain and the dutch republics]. Great britain demanded no
more than peace and guarantees of security on her frontiers. Kuyper himself admits this, when he sums up in the following
sentence, the history of the emancipation of the transvaal and the orange free state. Natal was to remain an english colony, but
the english where to retire from the orange and vaal rivers; it was thus that the independence of the transvaal was recognized
by the treaty of sand river, of january, and the independence of the free state by the convention of Bloemfontein, of nd
february, kuyper is complelled to admit that england was not forced into this act of generosity, she having on the august,
defeated the boers at boomplaats, on the orange table land. But kuyper forgets to say that the majority of the free staters
were far from desiring the gift made to them by the british government in they considered it not as a measure of liberation,
but as an abandonment to the tender mercies of the basutos. Some years later the orange free state entered into an
arrangement with sir george grey, for forming a confederation with cape colony. This was not ratified by the cape
government. Nor do we find that kuyper takes notice of certain stipulations contained in the above conventions; among others,
the abolition of slavery, and free permission to merchants and missionaries to travel and settle where they pleased; which
obligations continued to England the right of control over the administration and legislation of those states. The development of
subsequent events is explained by kuyper in the simplest possible manner: the promptings of selfish and aggressive materialism
now took unchecked away, and, although bound by solemn treaties which england could not thrust aside without open violation
of pledged faith, she did not hesitate. The diamonds of Kimberley in the free state flashed with a too seductive brilliancy, and
the gold mines of the rand became the misfortune of the Transvaal. I would here observe to kuyper that englands friendly
relations with the orange free state, remained unbroken until when, led away by krugers promises, it committed the folly of
engaging in war with England. As for the transvaal, it was annexed by England in but not on account of the gold mines, which
were only discovered ten years later. Kuyper has a trick of neglecting dates, and arranging his facts after the fashion of an
advocate who supposes that those whom he is addressing will be content with his assertions, and not trouble to verify them.
For his rhetoric, i shall substitute the actual facts. The annexation of the Transvaal and the conventions of and the gold mines
argument. When kuyper asserts that the gold mines of the rand became the misfortune of the transvaal, it is clear, that in his
endeavour to convince his readers, he has no regard to the facts of the case, but that his aim is to suggest the idea that
englands sole object in the present war has been to possess herself of the gold mines. Here kuyper employs the arguments of
Iin transigeat, libre parole, and petit journal; for he is perfectly well aware that england will derive no benefit from the gold
mines, nor will she take possession of them any more than she has done of the gold mines of Australia. They are private
property. Further, kuyper well knows that the gold mines of the rand were only discovered in and he himself states that the
annexation of the Transvaal took place on the annexation therefore was prompted by other motives than the possession of the
gold mines, but kuyper is careful not to suggest these to his readers. He informs us that sir theophilus shepstone entered
pretoria at the head of a small army. In reality, he had with him five and twenty policemen. Why then did the boers, so
essentially men of was and politics, permit this once again, the fate of the natives served as pretext, kuyper adds but the
wheel of fortune turns; two years later the english, themselves, were at daggers drawn with the natives, and massacred men,
women and children. That is how kuyper writes history the pretext was not the fate of the natives, but the fate of the boers,
who, having gone to was with sekukuni, had been beaten. This is admitted in the petition of rights at first, our operations were
not very successful, our opponents declare what we were unable to defend ourselves against the natives. Boer anarchy. The
truth is, that after the sand river convention, the most complete anarchy existed among the Transvaal boers; and that as much
after the promulgation of their constitution of as before. The republicans of potchefstroom had taken the title of the south
aftican republic, but their raad maintained authority only over a small district; lydenburg, zoutpansberg, Utrecht, formed
themselves into independent republics. It is estimated that, at that time, the entire population of the transvaal consisted of

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