thirty-nine-fortieths of the people, and in defiance of the protest
of their Executive, as Mr. Anthony Trollope puts it, Sir Theophilus
said: 'Then and from thenceforth the Transvaal shall be British
property!' So he put up the Queen's flag.

Now, it is impossible to conceive anything more admirable for its
discretion, more wisely calculated as to the moment of its
occurrence, or more suavely and yet firmly done than this act. There
was not a blow struck, not a shot fired; and the first impulse of
nearly every person in the country, whether in principle opposed to
annexation or not, was to congratulate Sir Theophilus Shepstone on
the skill, tact, and good fortune with which he had put an end to the
excessive anxiety, the mental strain, the fears, hopes, and
expectations by which the whole country was paralyzed. Whether the
annexation be now held to be right or wrong, its execution, so far as
regards the act itself, was an unparalleled triumph of tact, modesty,
and firmness.

It was not discovered at the moment, and it never entered into any
man's mind to consider, that it was the presence in Pretoria of Sir
Theophilus himself that had created the anxiety, and caused the
paralysis; and that it was his arts and presence that had tightened
and strung up into quivering intensity the mind of the country. He
had broken the spell; he had introduced certainty in place of
uncertainty; and he was congratulated, and very properly so, for the
manner in which he had brought to a conclusion his hazardous mission.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone's despatches record his negotiations with
President Burgers, and the arrangement which allowed him to make a
formal protest against the annexation, so as to satisfy his