THE RISING IN THE CAPE COLONY.
Having been in the full tide of the emotions of the Cape
Colony--emotions which led to the taking up of arms--we feel ourselves
justified in setting down those things which were to the Cape Colonist
the justification of a warlike and anti-British policy.
It is strange, when one bears in mind that England admittedly extends
greater liberties to her colonies than most other Powers, that many of
her subjects are a continual source of trouble and fear to her. How has
this to be accounted for? Is it because the colonists enjoy such great
liberty (?) and share in so many privileges? Or is it because so many of
them became British subjects _only because_ they were compelled to take
an oath of allegiance (or sign a declaration) to a government they
neither loved nor respected but hated and despised? In the former case
it would be base ingratitude on their part to rise in rebellion, in the
latter it seems almost natural. However it be, the lustre and beauty of
English history is sadly marred by the fact that often British artillery
had to bear on British subjects, and British arms had to be employed to
subdue England's own children.
Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the United States of America, India,
Afghanistan, Egypt, South Africa, and many besides of less importance,
have resisted British authority at different times. Some of these, like
the late Republics, were at one time or other laid in ruins and
devastated by British arms. For years and years their inhabitants were
subjected to awful persecutions. The blood of the best and bravest was
spilt like water, whilst millions were spent to conquer whole
populations--millions which might have been used for better and nobler
purposes. And to-day thousands of British subjects are ruled by the
point of the bayonet--by sheer force, not by common consent.
Having spent the greater part of the Anglo-Boer war time in the Cape
Colony, we had the opportunity of ascertaining some, if not all, of the
reasons why so many Colonial British subjects took up arms against the
forces of their lawful king and sovereign. These causes we shall here
narrate. By doing this we do not justify the action of those whose
sympathies led them to cast in their lot with the two Republics. We do
not wish to inculcate or foster the spirit of rebellion in any man, nor
to fan it by words of approval. But we do wish to make known to the
British public in particular that those Dutch colonists who sided with
the late Republics during the lamentable war did not do so because they
hated British rule or government or longed to shed the blood of English
fellow-subjects. Neither did they enlist in our ranks because they
regarded war as an adventurous game and mere child's play. In most cases
the rebels were, prior to the war, as loyal to the British crown, and as
devoted to British rule, as their fellow-English colonists ever were or
could have been. For they had been born and brought up under the British
flag; they knew no other, desired no better, even gloried in the flag of
England. To it they looked for succour and protection in the hour of
danger. Before the war the very men who fought against the British would
have volunteered their services, at a moment's notice, to the Home
Government if England was threatened in any way. Most of them, we are
sure, would have willingly sacrificed their goods, and even lives, to
shield the interests of the British Empire.
Now when these Dutch colonists took up arms they did not do so blindly,
but fully realised the grave responsibility involved in such a step.
They knew that the action was treasonable, and that, when captured, they
were liable to the utmost penalty of the law, such as confiscation of
goods, banishment, imprisonment for life, or death. Some of them,
before they enlisted, had been compelled by the military authorities to
be present at the execution of those who had unfortunately fallen into
the hands of the enemy. In spite of that most tangible warning, they
nevertheless joined the Boer ranks. What then were their reasons for
risking their very lives in a cause which might perhaps fail? Surely
such men as rose in rebellion had potent and valid reasons! To be
stigmatised for life by the title of rebel could not be deemed so great
an honour as to induce a man to face all the dangers and hardships of
war. Nor were these colonial rebels mercenaries; they were volunteers,
that came to the assistance of two small republics.
Those who were acquainted with the situation and with the political
parties at the Cape prior to the war expected and dreaded, in the event
of war with the Republics, a general outbreak in the Cape Colony, and
were not surprised when their expectations proved true.
The Cape Dutch, as well as their English neighbours, knew only too well
that, in the event of war, the whole of South Africa would suffer, that
the flames of it would spread far beyond the Republican borders, and
would be kindled in the adjoining British colonies. Thoroughly convinced
that that would be the result of a war on the two Republics they did all
in their power to prevent it. Had the English element in South Africa
been as eager as the Dutch to abide in peace and avoid bloodshed, there
certainly never would have been war. But, alas! one party had set its
heart upon it.
To precipitate matters and bring them to a crisis, the public in England
was inflamed by rumours of the wildest nature, and was, unfortunately,
enticed to believe anything and everything which was reported. British
interests, British paramountcy, etc., were supposed to be seriously
threatened by a great Pan-Africander conspiracy, which had for its
objective the total elimination of the Imperial factor in South Africa.
The Dutch were plotting, so it was rumoured, to oust the British from
South Africa by driving them all into the sea on a certain day. What a
preposterous absurdity! And many were so innocent as to believe and
fear that a small nation of farmers would actually attempt to expel the
British from South Africa. The Boer may be ignorant, but he has more
common sense than to give such an idea even a thought.
The Cape Dutch, we are glad to state, left no stone unturned in their
attempts to avert a war on a kindred race which was bound to prove
calamitous to, and inflict endless misery on, thousands. Whilst
diplomatic negotiations went on between the Transvaal and English
Governments, and it became evident that these negotiations would in all
probability result in failure, Mr. Jan Hofmeyer,--"onze Jan," that
far-seeing, famous Cape politician,--and Mr. Harold, M.P., left for
Pretoria, and by the co-operation of President Steyn prevailed on
President Kruger to submit those proposals to the British Government
which the Colonial Secretary frankly admitted might form the basis of a
peaceful settlement. "We have nine-tenths of what we wanted," the
Colonial Secretary is reported to have said, "and the other tenth is not
worth our going to war for." Sad that that one-tenth should have
demanded the lives of thousands of men, women and children, millions of
pounds, besides ruin and misery to so many!
When war seemed inevitable and its declaration only a matter of time,
the Africander Party, which then constituted the majority in the Cape
Parliament, passed a resolution in Parliament, by which they solemnly
protested against any aggressive policy on the part of the Imperial
Government. They pointed out to the Home Government what endless woes a
war would entail, and how detrimental it would prove to Imperial
interests through the length and breadth of South Africa. At the same
time they stated, in the most unequivocal language, their strong
disapproval of extreme and coercive measures. This protest was slighted.
The members who subscribed their names to it, and who represented the
feeling of the Cape Dutch, were called disloyal. For to be loyal in
those days meant to side with the war party, and approve of all they
said and did. To think independently, and to express one's political
views frankly and fearlessly, was a sure sign of disloyalty, when one's
aims were for a peaceful solution of the difficulties of the moment.
Besides this Parliamentary resolution, the Cape Dutch drew up a large
petition, addressed to Queen Victoria, whom they all loved as a mother
and revered as a Queen. This petition was signed by thousands of women,
who entreated their gracious and tender Mother-Queen to refrain from a
policy which would result in bloodshed. This plea for peace and justice
also failed to accomplish anything. The voice of the Dutch colonists was
not heeded. Their petitions and protests were ignored and rejected time
and again. The petition, however, of some 21,000 Uitlanders in
Johannesburg, who clamoured for redress of grievances, immediately
called forth armed intervention!
This, then, was the attitude of the Cape Dutch before the declaration of
war: emphatic disapproval of any war policy. They disapproved of and
protested against war in South Africa, not because they were disloyal,
and had not the interests of the mother-country at heart, or because
they naturally sympathised with the Boers as being a kindred race. They
declared themselves against the Imperial war policy, because they knew
and were confident that it was by no means impossible to arrive at a
peaceful solution of all difficulties and disputes along friendly
diplomatic lines, by which the actual grievances of British subjects in
Johannesburg could be redressed, and political affairs so adjusted that
it would not be necessary to shed one drop of blood. So far from being
disloyal, they prided themselves in being British subjects, and, as
such, they claimed the rights and privileges to which all British
subjects are entitled. Their services in the interests of peace were,
however, not appreciated, but were construed into acts calculated to
encourage the enemy and to foster rebellion.
The Press had declared war months before it was actually proclaimed.
Feeling ran so high that men would not listen to reason. "Fight it out,"
was the frantic cry of many, who had not the remotest idea of what
"fighting it out" meant.
Though frustrated in their endeavours to prevent the threatened war, the
Cape Dutch, after hostilities had once begun, tried very hard to bring
about a speedy termination of the struggle, and to effect a settlement
which would be honourable to English and Dutch alike, and which would
secure all, if not more than all, that the English had ever demanded.
Let us note some of the steps they took.
When the Imperial Government announced their policy of annexation of the
Republics after the occupation of Bloemfontein and Pretoria, the voice
of the Cape Dutch was raised once more. They knew that Lord Roberts had
greatly mistaken the character of the people he had come to conquer when
he thought that no sooner would their capitals be occupied by his forces
than all the Boers would surrender. They were conscious of the fact that
a war of annexation would lead to one of conquest, and that the Boers,
rather than sacrifice their independence, would choose to fight to the
finish. Hence the colonial Dutch again strongly urged the Home
Government to discard the policy of annexation, which would crush and
destroy the national life of two small states, which had bravely fought
and struggled for their independent existence.
A conference, attended by thousands representing the whole Dutch
population of the Cape Colony, was held at Worcester on the 6th of
December, 1900. In that conference or congress of the people resolutions
were unanimously adopted discountenancing the policy which led to the
annexation of the two Republics. Six prominent men were chosen from the
Worcester delegates, and were deputed to go and appeal to the conscience
of the English people. It was hoped that, at least, in England--the home
of liberty--they would be allowed to plead their cause, and lay it bare
before the public. How enthusiastically (?) they were received in
England and Scotland is well known. _Warm_ receptions were extended to
them. "Away with them! Crucify them!" was the cry of the enraged war
party. Instead of their message being listened to, these men were
mobbed, hissed at and hooted; sometimes they had to flee so as not to
be the targets for the missiles of the mob. And the treatment of these
men, who represented at least 90,000 Dutch colonists, at the hands of
their fellow-British subjects, was that not an insult--a mockery of
liberty and equal rights?
Besides this deputation of the people, two of the leading ministers of
the Cape Parliament--Messrs. Merriman and Sauer--went to England on a
similar errand, but fared no better. In vain did they offer their
services to the Imperial Parliament by way of suggesting a basis for a
settlement, which would terminate a war of devastation and ruination.
The war party would have none of them. Forsooth, they too were traitors,
working against British interests!
The women-folk at the Cape were as anxious as the men, first to prevent,
and then to stop, the unfortunate war, the burdens of which they shared
with their husbands. Three times large numbers of them met in
conference, at Paarl, Worcester and Cape Town, and there they fearlessly
and strongly protested against the conduct of the war and the annexation
of the two Republics. Through the medium of these conferences they
expostulated and pleaded with the Home Government to abstain from what
they rightly regarded as a stupendous crime, the annihilation of two
small states by overwhelming forces. Their petitions, if they ever
reached the British Government, were treated with silent contempt. Did
they merit such treatment?
All this and much more was done in the interests of peace by the Dutch
colonists. Both before and during the war they did all they possibly
could to rescue or redeem South Africa from the horrors and calamities
of a disastrous war. They failed. Was it their fault? Was it right to
brand as rebels and traitors every Cape Colonial that protested against
the war, and refused to assist the mighty British Empire against the
Republics?
The Africander Bond--a political organization at the Cape--was the
scape-goat during the war. Those who were in search of a pretext for the
cause of the war and its continuation found it in this organization.
Everything that was low and mean was laid to the charge of the
Africander Bond. Its unwearied efforts to induce the English to
terminate a war, declared and carried on in direct opposition to the
wishes of tens of thousands of England's devoted subjects, were
construed into being so many encouragements for the Republicans to
continue the struggle. The Worcester conference was said to have
encouraged and invited General De Wet to invade the Colony--an invasion
which was planned long _before_ the conference was held, and which
failed in the first instance, and only succeeded three months after the
conference had met!
When all the efforts of the Cape Dutch failed, and the voice of the
people was not regarded but systematically suppressed, it is not strange
that there were men who found it impossible to remain silent and
inactive in such circumstances. Gradually their loyalty was being
undermined. The strain placed upon it was too great; it was stretched to
the breaking point. They enlisted and took the field against the forces
of that Government which they once loved so well, and then--despised.
This brings us to some of the more direct causes of the colonial
rebellion, which we shall enumerate in succession. The war with the
Republics was an aggression on a _kindred race_, and was declared and
conducted to the extreme displeasure, and in direct opposition to the
wishes, of the Dutch colonists, who spared themselves neither pain nor
trouble to ward off or terminate a war which was bound to inflict great
misery on themselves, and on thousands with whom they were intimately
connected by ties of blood and friendship. For are the Transvaal and
Free State Boers not the sons and daughters of those pioneers that
emigrated from the Cape Colony between the years 1834-40, in search of
an independent home beyond the Orange and Vaal rivers? Moreover, among
the burghers of the Republics there were several colonists who, prior to
the war, had settled in the Transvaal, chiefly in Johannesburg and
Pretoria, as well as in the Orange Free State. These colonial settlers
constituted another link in the chain which bound the Cape Dutch to the
Boers. They regarded the Republics as their native land, and
consequently came to their assistance in the hour of danger. There they
had found a home, acquired wealth in some instances, and thus would not
desert them when their services were most needed. Instead of abandoning
the two Republics to their sad fate, they were determined to support
them with all the energy and power at their command. On the battlefield
many of them distinguished themselves by their dauntless valour. They
willingly sacrificed their lives and property for their adopted
fatherland, which they loved even better than many a Boer. For when the
Boers became disheartened and surrendered ignominiously, the Colonials,
be it said to their everlasting honour, remained steadfast, thereby
putting to shame those burghers who were possessed of so little national
pride as to kneel at the invaders' feet and sue for mercy.
These Transvaal and Free State Colonials had their relatives in the Cape
Colony, so that the Dutch of South Africa may almost be regarded as one
large family, linked together from Table Bay to the Zambezi by bonds of
blood, religion and marriage. Hence it was impossible to strike a blow
at the two states without touching the very heart of the Cape
Dutch--impossible to inflict losses and bring ruin upon some members of
the family without seriously disturbing and distressing the rest. The
physical boundaries separating the British colonies from the Republics
made no separation as far as the people were concerned. In speech,
religion, character, and blood, the Dutch are essentially one throughout
South Africa. And it was owing to this fact that the Cape Dutch felt for
the Republicans as none else could have felt. Their strong sympathies
took the form of practical assistance when they shouldered their rifles
and took the field against the enemies of the Republics. But this was
not done before their protests, petitions, and all other constitutional
measures had signally failed, and were utterly ignored by the British
Government. Then only did they resort to aggressive measures.
However strongly some might condemn their action, still we believe that
any other people, even the English themselves, and they probably to a
far greater extent, would, in like circumstances, have acted similarly.
If England had been invaded by a foreign foe, and English homes
destroyed and burnt _en masse_, and English women and children removed
in thousands to disease-stricken camps, and English officers and
soldiers court-martialled or deported to distant islands and countries,
we ask, would Scotland, for instance, have looked on with stolid
indifference and cold apathy? Would she not, as well as all other true
Englishmen, wherever they were, have protested most emphatically against
such a war; and if their protests were slighted, would they not have
assisted their fellow-Englishmen? Verily they would, were they subjects
or not of the invaders.
This is exactly what the Cape Dutch did when some of them rose in
rebellion. Their loyalty was gradually undermined as the war assumed the
character of conquest and extermination. It was too much for many a
Colonial to be a silent spectator when thousands of women and children
pined away in concentration camps; and the military authorities,
apparently wreaking vengeance on these because the burghers would not
surrender, positively refused to allow these Boer families to reside
with their relatives or friends in the Cape Colony, or live _at their
own cost_ in garrisoned towns, where they would have no intercourse with
the burghers. When the weak and defenceless became the victims of the
war, and received such treatment, the Cape Dutch were incited to violent
actions. They rose to protect the weak against the strong, the few
against the many. In so doing have they committed the unpardonable sin?
Or will there be mercy even for these?
The Colonists were left unprotected at the tender mercy of the Boer
forces. When the Boers, on the declaration of war, crossed the colonial
borders and pushed ahead into British territory, they found the
districts and most of the villages in an entirely defenceless condition.
The garrison of Aliwal North consisted of three Cape policemen.
Colesberg, Venterstad, Burghersdorp, Lady Grey, James Town, Dordrecht,
Rhodes, and many other places were occupied one after the other, without
being in the least protected. In Natal, Griqualand West, and British
Bechuanaland it was not any better.
The Colonists thought that they were subjects of a vast and mighty
empire, to which they could confidently look for protection against
invaders. If they had any fears, these were hushed, for surely the
mother-country was powerful enough to shelter them from the withering
blasts of war. To their astonishment the mother-country could protect
neither their persons nor their property, but entrusted all to the care
of the Boer commandoes. Had the Colonists no claim to protection? Was it
their fault that the British Government had accepted an ultimatum before
they were prepared to extend to their colonial subjects that protection
to which they certainly had a lawful claim? Such questions the Colonists
asked themselves and the Home Government.
Left unprotected, and literally forsaken for months by their own
Government, they yielded to the temptation to make common cause with the
Boers, whom they met and saw daily. They enlisted in considerable
numbers, and so cast in their lot for better or for worse with the
Boers. Still the majority of the colonial farmers remained at home, and
those who joined the Boer ranks at the commencement of the war were, as
a rule, commandeered or called up. By proclamation all Colonists who
resided within the occupied territory received the option either of
leaving it within a certain time, or of staying, on condition of
submitting to the Martial Law regulations of the new Government.
Under this strange thing, called Martial Law, these Colonists were
summoned to join the ranks of the Boers. In how far this action of
commandeering Colonists was commendable on the part of the Republics is
difficult to say for one not versed in all the technicalities of
International Law, or in the terms prescribed by the various
Conventions. It seemed, however, that as far as the Republics were
concerned, International Law and Convention obligations did not exist at
all. The policy of the Republics all through the war, as one might
expect, was to secure and maintain the friendship and sympathy of their
colonial brethren. The Colonist was treated as a friend, and not as an
enemy. His person and property were respected so long as he remained
neutral. Strict neutrality, and nothing more, the Boers enjoined,
especially towards the end of the war.
To be fair towards the Republics, we have to note that when the
Colonists were commandeered at the commencement of the war--for it was
_only then_, and not later, that they were summoned to the front--the
object of the States was not to force them into their service. It was
more a precautionary measure to protect the Colonist should he fall into
the hands of the enemy. The fact that he had been commandeered, when
taken into account, might, and did, tend to mitigate his punishment.
This commandeering was never rigorously enforced. Occasionally officers
acting on their own responsibility, and without instructions from the
Boer governments, commandeered and pressed Colonists to take up arms
without their consent; but such cases were exceptional, and were
disapproved of. What the Boers wanted were men who volunteered their
services, and came to them, not because they were disloyal to their
Government, but because such a strain was laid upon them that they were
compelled to come. Upon such men they could rely, and they proved
themselves worthy of the confidence placed in them.
The various war proclamations issued by the British from time to time
goaded the Colonists into rebellion.
[Illustration: COMMANDANT W.D. FOUCHÉ.]
If all the proclamations which were circulated in the Republics and
British colonies were published they would constitute a volume of no
mean dimensions, and might afford instructive reading "to principalities
and powers" planning to enlarge their dominions by the assistance, and
on the basis, of proclamations. In South Africa these "paper sheets"
were by far the most formidable allies of the British Empire. They
wrought greater havoc among the Boer forces than all the British
batteries ever did; for when they first began to explode in the midst of
the burghers the latter dropped down thick and fast. Thousands were
lured away from the posts of duty by the fascinating and seemingly
generous proposals contained in some proclamations. Had the
Field-Marshal only understood the Boer character better, and strictly
adhered to his first proclamation, and not violated its conditions, and
replaced it by others calculated to harass the surrendered Boer to such
an extent that war, with all its hardships and dangers, seemed
preferable to a life of continual dread and vexation, thousands of
surrendered burghers who enlisted would assuredly never have fired a
shot at the British troops. And it is just possible that that
proclamation would have secured victory for the British arms at a much
earlier date had it been abided by with more discretion. But then others
came in quick succession. And so it often happened that by proclamation
a burgher would be disarmed while another would compel ten others to
take the field. They were undoubtedly the best commandeering agents the
Boers ever had. Thousands of Boers and Colonists were from time to time
commandeered by the stringent and drastic obligations imposed upon them
by these proclamations. On the other hand they facilitated matters very
greatly for the enemy. Where the soldier could not go the proclamation
was sent; what the former could not do the latter often successfully
accomplished. Officers and burghers who had baffled the enemy by their
movements, and had routed them time and again, were captured
by--proclamations.
Everything and anything the enemy required was secured by proclamation.
Horses, mules, donkeys, oxen, ammunition, rifles, barley, wheat, hay,
corn, maize, vehicles, and even luxuries, such as sugar, jams, etc.,
were all gathered in by--proclamations. Besides, by proclamation the
non-combatant farmer, who was supposed to be neutral, was compelled to
report, at the nearest column or British post, the presence or
whereabouts of any armed Boer or Boers that he might happen to know
of--and that immediately, even at the risk of being shot should he fall
into the hands of the enemy he was reporting. Losing his life was, of
course, a matter of little consequence to the British.
When the enemy adopted such tactics, the Boers had to counteract their
proclamations by circulating others. Now in doing that the
non-combatants were placed between two fires. They had to serve two
masters in carrying out the instructions of proclamations diametrically
opposed to each other. The man who was ingenious enough to act a double
part, who could steer clear of Charybdis and Scylla, alone evaded
trouble. There were, however, not many who succeeded in pleasing or
duping both parties for any length of time.
The Boer proclamations levelled at those of the English made it
specially irksome to the Colonists, who were finally encompassed by a
host of proclamations. When they failed to obey the English
proclamations they were fined, cast into gaol, and treated as criminals.
When they obeyed the English, and consequently violated the Boer
proclamations, they had to undergo the penalty, fines, corporal
punishment, and even death, imposed by the Boers. The English said:
"This do, and thou shalt live"; the Boers: "This do not, and thou shalt
live."
As far as possible the Colonists were left unmolested on their farms by
the Boers, who expected them, as non-combatants, to remain strictly
neutral. The English proclamations, on the other hand, converted these
non-combatant farmers into scouts, and often into spies. They had to
give the enemy every information concerning the Boer commandoes--as to
their strength, the condition of their horses, the number of unarmed
burghers, of servants, their movements and plans, as far as they could
discover these, etc., etc. In some instances they were commandeered to
take upon themselves the dangerous responsibility of acting as guides to
the British columns, and were then dismissed to return to their farms
and pose as non-combatants. This the Boers could not tolerate, and had
to prevent by forbidding it through counter-proclamations, which the
enemy laughed to scorn. The unfortunate farmer could not similarly
slight and ignore them. He _had_ to obey them, or abide the
consequences.
When the Colonists were subjected to vexations of such a serious nature,
and when the British persisted in rigorously enforcing their
proclamations, the position of the Colonists became untenable and drove
them into rebellion. Had the military authorities exercised greater
wisdom and more common sense, so many British subjects would not have
fallen away. There were colonial rebels who never, never would have
lifted a rifle, whose loyalty was beyond all questioning, but the
pressure laid upon them by proclamations so numerous, onerous and odious
in character, forced them to fight for or against the Boers. To do the
former would be disloyal and treasonable, to acquiesce in the latter
would be violating the dictates of conscience. Was it the fault of the
Colonists that they were placed in such an awkward position?
Martial Law and the way it was administered has been one of the leading
causes of the colonial rebellion. As long as the Colonists were
permitted to express their sentiments or political views through the
medium of congresses, conferences, public meetings, resolutions and
petitions, they cherished the hope that the Home Government would
eventually listen to their pleas. But when Martial Law was declared, the
constitution of the Cape Colony was virtually suspended, and the
Colonists were deprived of most, if not all, of their
liberties--liberties of speech, of the Press and of conscience. Under
Martial Law none, not even the most loyal, were allowed to write or say
anything which did not harmonize exactly with the views and actions of
the Imperial Government as represented in South Africa. Now, when men
may neither speak nor write, they are apt to act. The Colonists, being
compelled by this most wonderful of all laws--if law it be at
all--acted. For this law justified all things, as far as the war party
was concerned, while it condemned the rest indiscriminately. It gave
armed men unlimited power over the unarmed. It allowed the strong to
crush the weak, the rich to rob the poor, and the scoundrel to lodge in
gaol the man of honour and reputation. Nothing so exasperated the
Colonists as the odious manner in which the Martial Law regulations were
carried out, and nothing made greater rebels than the harshness of these
regulations.
As the situation in the Cape Colony became more and more serious, the
most arbitrary and despotic methods were adopted to quell the rebellion
by trying to intimidate the Colonists. The policy of the gallows was
unscrupulously brought into practice, and the barbarous method of
compelling the Dutch residents to attend the execution of their
fellow-Dutch was enforced. At Burghersdorp, Cradock, Middelburg, and
various other places several rebels were executed. The chief Dutch
residents were compelled not only to listen to the public promulgation
of these death sentences, but had also to be present at the execution.
On July 10, 1901, the execution of one Marais took place at Middelburg.
At 9 A.M. he was executed in the presence of the leading residents.
Among these was Mr. De Waal, M.L.A., who entered the precincts of the
gaol attired in deep mourning. The scene proved too much for him; he
broke down completely before the executioner had drawn the bolt.
Now these tragic enactments influenced the Colonists in one of two ways.
Some of them--the more timid--who were eye-witnesses of the executions
of their fellow-Dutch, became so intimidated that nothing could induce
them to take up arms against the British. Others--and these not a
few--instead of being over-awed and frightened, got infuriated. In the
awful presence of the gallows, on which their beloved countrymen ended
their earthly career, there and then, as they gazed on them in silent
sorrow, they took a solemn oath that, come what may, _avenge_ they would
the blood of their kindred. From the gallows they went to their
different homes with impressions and feelings so deep and bitter that
not even "Time's effacing finger" will be able to wipe them out for
centuries to come. From these heartrending scenes they turned their
faces, and anxiously awaited the first Boer commando.
On one occasion no less than fifteen colonists, who were forced to
attend the execution of a fellow-colonist, came to my commando and
begged me to provide them with horses and rifles. Nothing could induce
them to return, for they had seen a comrade slain, and that was
sufficient. And so time and again colonists joined the Boer ranks
because they had to witness scenes calculated to stir up the most
callous and indifferent. If these were moved, how much more the hearts
and hands of those linked by ties of blood and love to the fallen! One
brother would enlist because the other was heavily fined or imprisoned
simply on suspicion. Two or more colonists would club together and join
the Boer ranks after a friend or relative of them had been executed. To
cite a few instances:--
In the Middelburg district a certain farmer, by name Van Heerden, was
commandeered by an English patrol to act as guide. Reluctantly he
obeyed, and led the patrol to the best of his ability. Not far from his
home the Boers opened fire on them. The British retreated, leaving their
wounded behind. Van Heerden himself was dangerously wounded. He was
carried off the field by his wife and servants and laid up in his house.
A few days after the column to which the patrol belonged arrived at Van
Heerden's farm. The officer in command entered the house of the wounded
man in a raging temper, and ordered him to be carried out and shot
immediately. In vain did the wife of Van Heerden expostulate and plead
with the unmerciful officer to spare the life of her wounded husband.
Van Heerden was carried out, tied to a chair placed beside a stone wall,
and seven Lee-Metford bullets penetrated the brain of the man who was
wounded, perhaps mortally, _in the service of the British army_! That
was his reward. Even that did not satisfy those who thirsted for blood,
for the house of the unfortunate man was forthwith looted, and his widow
and orphans robbed of everything. A few days after this sad event had
occurred our commando arrived at the same farm. The spot where the
victim sat was pointed out to me; the marks of the bullets, the blood
and the brain against the wall were still distinctly discernible, and
seemed to cry to heaven for revenge. And there was the family of the
departed--stripped of everything. The burghers contributed from their
scanty means what they could in support of the widow and orphans.
No wonder that the brothers of this unfortunate man took up arms and
became the most pronounced, the most bitter enemies of those who
ruthlessly slew, if not murdered, their brother. One of them--Jacobus
van Heerden--whenever he spoke of his brother's death, would bite his
lips, his face would flush, and one could hear him mutter: "My brother's
blood shall be avenged." In the whole commando there was not a more
dauntless man than he. But, alas! he too passed away. A bullet was
destined to pierce his skull. At a farm, Leeuwfontein, in the district
of Murraysburg, he was shot by a Kaffir.
On another occasion four Colonists were arrested; two of these were shot
in cold blood, while the other two were imprisoned, _because_ the
railway line was blown up and a train derailed by the Boers near their
home. They were accused of having known all about the Boers, who had
destroyed the railway line _during the night_--an accusation which, on
later investigation, proved false.
When such crimes were perpetrated in the name of Martial Law, we are
rather surprised that all the Colonists did not rise to a man. What
would the English have done if subjected to such treatment? The Dutchman
is naturally slow to move, and very patient. He seems born to suffer and
endure. But Martial Law imposed such heavy burdens upon him that he
could not but resent them. Where the Boers were too lax in enforcing
their Martial Law regulations, the English went to the other extreme in
applying theirs too strenuously.
Well may we ask whether it was a wise policy which converted so many
Colonists into bitter enemies, by subjecting them to such revolting
measures.
The enlisting of blacks by the British induced many Colonists to cast in
their lot with the Boers. If natives were to be employed to crush a
kindred race, the Colonists thought that they were justified in
rendering assistance to their fellow-Dutch.
Moreover, these armed natives, once promoted to the rank of soldiers,
tantalized the farmers, who were formerly their masters, to an
inconceivable degree. With rifle in hand they would go to these and
treat them in the most insulting manner. They would commandeer bread,
butter, milk, clothes, horses, and everything else they pleased, and woe
to the man or woman that did not promptly answer their demands.
The farmers of the Western Province of the Cape Colony suffered perhaps
most in this respect. The natives had all congregated in the villages,
and there they were armed to assist in the work of destruction, while
the farmer, who required their services, had to tend his flocks and
plough his fields all alone.
In Calvinia was an infamous Hottentot column, five hundred strong. These
Hottentots were the scare and plague of the whole district. By their
actions they goaded the Calvinia farmers into rebellion.
Let us summarize these causes mentioned--causes which to some extent
account for the rising in the Cape Colony. They were:--
(_a_) War on a kindred race without consent of Colonists.
(_b_) The Colonists left unprotected, and thus exposed to danger and
temptation.
(_c_) The Colonists harassed by multitudinous proclamations and
(_d_) Subjected to embarrassing Martial Law regulations.
(_e_) The arming of natives against Colonists and Republicans.
Other causes why so many once loyal and devoted British subjects took up
arms against the English may be cited, but the aforementioned are the
principal ones. By enumerating them we express neither approval nor
disapproval of the action of the Colonists; for we admire nothing more
in friend or foe than unfeigned devotion and loyalty to country and
people. The traitor and renegade are to be pitied, and their actions
despised. We could not but admire the loyalty of many a colonist under
such untoward circumstances; when that loyalty was stretched to the
breaking-point, when it became impossible for them to remain such any
longer, then and then only we gladly welcomed them and equipped them as
best we could.
Those who stigmatize the Colonists as traitors, rebels, or renegades,
would do well to take into account the peculiar position in which they
were placed by the war, before passing a rash judgment on them. To be
fair towards the Colonists we must take into consideration the causes
which produced the effects. Only after a thorough investigation of the
causes could a just sentence be passed on the colonial rebel. If
governments have no responsibility whatever towards their subjects or
citizens, and no binding obligations to fulfil in respect to them, then
only may the investigation of causes be discarded.
None lament more the sad results of the South African war than the
writers of these pages. Before the war Dutch and English lived and
worked side by side as friends and brothers. The two races, once
hostile, began to understand and respect one another more and more. In
the schools the Dutch and English languages had equal rights. In some
Dutch Reformed Churches English sermons were delivered by Dutch pastors
to Dutch and English congregations. The railways of the Free State were
almost exclusively controlled by English officials. In the Government
offices Dutch and English clerks worked together. The principal villages
of the Orange Free State were almost more English than Dutch. The
British subjects were perfectly content with the Free State Government
and desired no better. In the Transvaal the state of affairs was much
the same. Before the Jameson Raid there existed a kindly feeling between
Dutch and English. If time and patience had only been exercised, no
blood would have been shed, there never would have been war in South
Africa. But what time and patience would have wrought, the war party
undertook when they plunged the land into a war the effects of which
will be felt by more than one generation.
Thousands of British subjects have been estranged from the
mother-country and turned into implacable enemies by the war. In many a
home there is a vacant chair, and round many a fireside one is missing
at eventide. Several families, once so happy and content, now mourn the
irreparable loss of a father or brother, a mother or sister. Thousands,
who were well-to-do before the war, are now poverty-stricken. Who then
shall adequately depict the misery and woe which has entered so many
homes since the first shot was fired in South Africa? And to-day, when
the roar of cannons, the din of rifles and the clatter of arms have been
hushed, there are men pining away in foreign countries because they may
not return to their native land. There are the unhappy exiles in
Belgium, Holland, France and America. Their families are left to the
mercy and care of friends and relatives in South Africa. How their
hearts are yearning to go to these, but...! Besides these exiles there
are those undergoing sentences of penal servitude either for life or for
long periods. There are the burghers in Bermuda and in India who,
because they cannot conscientiously take an oath of allegiance to the
British Government, are not allowed to return to their native land. As I
ponder over the condition of these unhappy cases my heart seems to
break, and a feeling of compassion mingled with sorrow inexpressible
rises in my bosom.
While referring to these, I would dare to plead earnestly with the
Imperial Government to display mercy and generosity. Exercise these
towards the exiled, not only for their sake, but also for the sake of
their families and for the promotion of peace in South Africa. Is it too
much to plead for a general amnesty? Will that not lessen the intense
race-hatred between two peoples destined to live in the same land?
True reconciliation is the foundation on which the structure of a united
South Africa shall be raised. Without reconciliation there can be no
co-operation, and South Africa will be in the future what it has been in
the past--a land of strife and discord. Adhere to a policy of severity
and the gulf between Dutch and English will grow deeper and deeper as
the years roll by. There will be another Ireland, instead of a land
where "peace and rest for ever dwell."