en, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal
Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general
reader.

Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which
Sir Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They were
after all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a _casus belli_
to a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the opinion of
Sir B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first principle of
existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the ground that the
Zulu army was a menace to the white population of South Africa, and that
it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest at some future time it
should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to say that the capture of
two Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent murder, or the expulsion on
political grounds of a few missionaries, justified us in breaking up a
kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war
upon the Zulus because he was afraid, and had good reason to be
afraid, that if he did not, Cetywayo would before long sweep either
the Transvaal or Natal; whilst, on the other hand, the Zulus fought us
because our policy was too philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody
else. This statement may appear strange, but a little examination into
Zulu character and circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct.

It must be remembered that for some years before Panda's death the Zulus
had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended the
throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and
therefore of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an
end, and that the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy.
They did not greatly care in what direction the activity developed
itself, provided it did develop. It must also be borne in mind that
every able-bodied man in the Zulu country was a member of a regiment,
even the lads being attached to regiments as carriers, and the women
being similarly enrolled, though they did not fight. The Zulu military
system was the universal-service system of Germany brought to an
absolute perfection, obtained by subordinating all the ties and duties
of civil life to military ends. Thus, for instance, marriage could not
be contracted at will, but only by the permission of the king, which was
generally delayed until a regiment was well advanced in years, when a
number of girls wer