'I am convinced,' wrote Sir A. Cunynghame, June 12, from Pretoria,
'that had this country not been annexed, it would have been ravaged
by the native tribes. Forty square miles of country had been overrun
by natives, and every house burned, just before the annexation.' And
he wrote again, July 6: 'Every day convinces me that unless this
country had been annexed it would have been a prey to plunder and
rapine from the natives on its border, joined by Secocoeni, Mapok,
and other tribes in the Transvaal. Feeling the influence of the
British Government, they are now tranquil.'

So much for the reality of the danger. As to the causes of it and the
alleged responsibility of Natal, Sir Bartle Frere, in a letter to
General Ponsonby, made the following remarks:

The fact is, that while the Boer Republic was a rival and
semi-hostile power, it was a Natal weakness rather to pet the Zulus
as one might a tame wolf, who only devoured one's neighbour's sheep.
We always remonstrated, but rather feebly; and now that both flocks
belong to us, we are rather embarrassed in stopping the wolf's
ravages.

Sir B. Frere realized fully the dangers, and gave his testimony as to
Boer opinion. On December 15, 1877, he wrote, concerning his policy
towards the Zulus:

My great anxiety is, of course, to avoid collision, and I am
satisfied that the only chance I have of keeping clear of it is to
show that I do not fear it. The Boers are, of course, in a state of
great apprehension, and I have ordered those of the two frontier
districts of Utrecht and Wakkerstroom to hold themselves in