presentation in
money matters, are not very creditable to him. After this event he also
pursued the cause of independence with increased vigour.

During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation
against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming
proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the
Zulu border in March 1878, where he had been for some months discussing
the vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with the Zulus,
found it necessary to issue a stringent proclamation warning the
agitators that their proceedings and meetings were illegal, and would be
punished according to law. This document which was at the time vulgarly
known as the "Hold-your-jaw" proclamation, not being followed by action,
produced but little effect.

On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it was
decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this time of
Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This deputation
proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach assuring it, in a
letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is "impossible, for many reasons,
. . . . that the Queen's sovereignty should now be withdrawn."

Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it
had also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the Zulu
boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to the
country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in that
direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with
Secocoeni satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the
Annexation this chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a British
subject, and even paid over part of the fine demanded from him by the
Boer Government to the Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In March 1878,
however, his conduct towards the Government underwent a sudden
change, and he practically declared war. It afterwards appeared, from
Secocoeni's own statement, that he was instigated to this step by
a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name--the same man who was concerned in the
atrocities in the first Secocoeni war--who constantly encouraged him to
continue the struggle. I do not propose to minutely follow the course of
this long war, which, commencing in the beginning of 1878, did not come
to an end till after the Zulu war: when Sir Garnet Wolseley attacked
Secocoeni's stronghold with a large force of troops,