THE TRANSVAAL. 171 



kraals any of those outbreaks of brutality or 

 indecency so prominently characteristic of large 

 sections of our civilised community. The Kaffir 

 population of the Transvaal greatly outnumbers 

 that of the whites, and upon the whole they now 

 enjoy good times, although in outlying districts, 

 such as Zoutpansberg, they are, or were a short 

 time ago, miserably fleeced by the officers employed 

 to collect the taxes. 



The Government has persistently winked at 

 these practices, and allowed the local officers a 

 free hand. As a consequence, war broke out this 

 year (1894), which might have taxed the Boer 

 power very severely for years to come had the 

 Kaffirs taken united action. As it was, they mis- 

 managed matters, failed to support the common 

 cause by concerted action, and were defeated. 

 Had the paramount Chief, Magato, supported his 

 feudatories, as it was expected he would, the war 

 might have been prolonged for years, and, whether 

 victorious or not in the end, the Republic of the 

 Transvaal would have been by far the heavier 

 loser, as Magato's territory is singularly capable 

 of defence from its inaccessible nature to horse- 

 men, or wheel transport, and so forth. If, 



