ere that in 1886 Germany defined the northern limits of
"South-West Africa"--such was the name of the new colony--by an
agreement with Portugal; and in 1890 an article of the Anglo-German
agreement above referred to gave an eastward extension of that northern
border which brought it to the banks of the River Zambesi.

The British Government took a firmer stand in a matter that closely
concerned the welfare of Natal and the relations of the Transvaal
Republic to Germany. In 1884 some German prospectors sought to gain a
footing in St. Lucia Bay in Zululand and to hoist the German flag. The
full truth on this interesting matter is not yet known; it formed a
pendant to the larger question of Delagoa Bay, which must be briefly
noticed here.

Friction had arisen between Great Britain and Portugal over conflicting
claims respecting Delagoa Bay and its adjoining lands; and in this
connection it may be of interest to note that the Disraeli Ministry had
earlier missed an opportunity of buying out Portuguese claims. The late
Lord Carnarvon stated that, when he took the portfolio for colonial
affairs in that Ministry, he believed the purchase might have been
effected for a comparatively small sum. Probably the authorities at
Lisbon were aroused to a sense of the potential value of their Laurenco
Marquez domain by the scramble for Africa which began early in the
eighties; and it must be regretted that the British Government, with the
lack of foresight which has so often characterised it, let slip the
opportunity of securing Delagoa Bay until its value was greatly
enhanced. It then agreed to refer the questions in dispute to the
arbitration of General MacMahon, President of the French Republic
(1875). As has generally happened when foreign potentates have
adjudicated on British interests, his verdict was wholly hostile to us.
It even assigned to Portugal a large district to the south of Delagoa
Bay which the Portuguese had never thought of claiming from its native
inhabitants, the Tongas[441]. In fact, a narrative of all the gains
which have accrued to Portugal in Delagoa Bay, and thereafter to the
people who controlled its railway to Pretoria, would throw a sinister
light on the connection that has too often subsisted between the noble
theory of arbitration and the profitable practice of peacefully willing
away, or appropriating, the rights and possessions of others. Portugal
soon proved to be unable to avail herself of the opportu