"Her Majesty's Commissioners for the settlement of the Transvaal
territory, duly appointed as such by a Commission, &c., the 5th day
of April, 1881, do hereby undertake and guarantee on behalf of Her
Majesty, that from and after the 8th day of August, 1881, complete
self-government, subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty, her
heirs and successors, will be accorded to the inhabitants of the
Transvaal territory."

It is evident that this is not a treaty between two parties contracting
on a footing of equality. The English Government grants the Transvaal
the right of self-government, reserving the suzerainty under certain
conditions. I have already shown the difficulties in the way of carrying
out the Convention of 1881, the false position of the Resident who was
as one conquered, was supposed to control the actions of the conqueror;
and I have also spoken of the great and long suffering of the English
Government.

Mr. R.D. Faure, who acted as interpreter to the Conference of 1884, has
stated that "the Transvaal delegates asked for a clause suppressing the
suzerainty, and that Lord Derby refused it." To this Mr. R.G.W. Herbert,
Permanent Under Secretary for the Colonies, replied "that the
Commissioners did not venture to ask for the abolition of the
suzerainty." They confined themselves to asking in their letter to Lord
Derby of November 14th, 1883, that "the relation of dependence, _publici
juris_, in which our Country finds itself placed with regard to the
Crown of Great Britain should be replaced by that of two contracting
parties."

Lord Derby on 29th November, answered that "neither in form, nor in
substance could the Government accept such a demand." The Government