atches and memoranda he shows that, not least among his
accomplishments, was the gift of being able to write well, and to the
point. His memorandum on the reform of the Cape army was very able,
though too long to reproduce here. Briefly stated it showed how an army
of 8000 men could be maintained instead of the 1600 men then under
arms, and at a reduced cost of L7000 per annum! He also pointed out how
unjustly the Basutos had been treated, and suggested as a remedy that
they should be invited to assemble a general council in which to
ventilate their grievances, and that steps should be taken to remove
these grievances. He advocated giving them a semi-independent position,
with power to manage their own affairs, and to administer justice
without the intervention of foreign magistrates, some of whom, in
Gordon's opinion, were very corrupt.

Those who have studied the affairs of South Africa, and the history of
Christian missions there, will not need to be told what an interesting
people the Basutos are. But for others, it may be as well to say that
this branch of the Kaffir race are not only among the most civilised of
all the African races, but a large proportion of them are Christian in
something more than name. The old chieftain Moshesh, who reigned some
fifty years ago, was a man of marked ability, and, though a great
soldier, he hated war. Having heard of the work of the celebrated Dr.
Moffat among the Korannas, he sent to invite this "man of prayer, and
teacher of the Christian religion," to visit him. To cut a long story
short, some French Protestant missionaries responded to the invitation,
and were wonderfully blessed in their work. Hundreds of converts were
received into the Christian Church, and instead of war and bloodshed
prevailing, men were instructed how to cultivate fields and build
houses.

In the Kaffir war of 1852 Sir George Cathcart was informed that Moshesh
was the centre of intrigue, and, ill-advised, he attacked that
chieftain and was defeated. When the attack was about to be renewed, he
received from Moshesh the following message: "O my master, I am still
your servant; I am still the child of the Queen. Sometimes a man beats
his dog, and the dog puts his teeth into his hands, and gives him a
bite: nevertheless the dog loves the master, and the master loves the
dog, and will not kill it. I am vexed at what happened yesterday; let
it be forgotten." Fortunately Sir George Cathcart had sufficient
no