Yesterday morning Mr. Burgers came to me to arrange how the matter
should be done. I read to him the draft of my Proclamation, and he
proposed the alteration of two words only, to which I agreed. He
brought to me a number of conditions which he wished me to insert,
which I have accepted, and have embodied in my Proclamation. He told
me that he could not help issuing a protest, to keep the noisy
portion of the people quiet--and you will see grounds for this
precaution when I tell you that there are only half a dozen native
constables to represent the power of the State in Pretoria, and a
considerable number of the Boers in the neighbourhood are of the
lowest and most ignorant class. Mr. Burgers read me, too, the draft
of his protest, and asked me if I saw any objection to it, or thought
it too strong. I said that it appeared to me to pledge the people to
resist by-and-by; to which he replied that it was to tide over the
difficulty of the moment, seeing that my support, the troops, were a
fortnight's march distant, and that by the time the answer to the
protest came, all desire of opposition would have died out. I
therefore did not persuade him from his protest.

You will see, when the proclamation reaches you, that I have taken
high ground. Nothing but annexation will or can save the State, and
nothing else can save South Africa from the direst consequences. All
the thinking and intelligent people know this, and will be thankful
to be delivered from the thraldom of petty factions, by which they
are perpetually kept in a state of excitement and unrest, because the
Government, and everything connected with it, is a thorough sham.

This arrangement with President Burgers was a most improper
compromise on both sides. Moreover, Shepstone received the protests
of the Executive Council and of the Volksraad before he issued his
proclamation. He had plenty of evidence to show that even if his
action was approved by the majority, the Boers were sufficiently
divided to demand some delay. He knew that the members of the
Government and of the Raad would not face the responsibility of
relinquishing the State's independence, although he received
private assurances and entreaties encouraging him to act. He had
representations and deputations from the Boers themselves,
sufficient in weight and number to warrant his belief that a large
proportion of the people desired annexation. He should not have
allowed the 'hedging' that was practis