to be delivered from the thraldom of petty factions, by which they
are perpetually kept in a state of excitement and unrest, because the
Government, and everything connected with it, is a thorough sham.

This arrangement with President Burgers was a most improper
compromise on both sides. Moreover, Shepstone received the protests
of the Executive Council and of the Volksraad before he issued his
proclamation. He had plenty of evidence to show that even if his
action was approved by the majority, the Boers were sufficiently
divided to demand some delay. He knew that the members of the
Government and of the Raad would not face the responsibility of
relinquishing the State's independence, although he received
private assurances and entreaties encouraging him to act. He had
representations and deputations from the Boers themselves,
sufficient in weight and number to warrant his belief that a large
proportion of the people desired annexation. He should not have
allowed the 'hedging' that was practised at his expense. The Boer
leaders were 'between the devil and the deep sea.' There can be no
doubt whatever that they dearly loved and prized their independence,
and would have fought even then for it had they been in a position
to preserve and profit by it; but they were not. They dared neither
ask for relief at the price of annexation, nor reject the proffered
relief at the price of continuing the hopeless struggle. So they
compromised. They took the relief, they accepted pay of the new
Government, and entered a protest, so as to put themselves right
with the records and stand well with untamed ones of the party.

The Act of Annexation is so generally condemned by the friends and
sympathizers of the Boers, and is so persistently quoted by them as
the cause of the Boer War, that it is only right to show clearly what