84 



BASUTOLAND. 



tciken under the protection of the British 

 Crown. Subsequently, without the consent of 

 the natives, the district was incorporated in 

 Capo Colony. The Basutos prospered exceed- 

 ingly until the Cape Government determined 

 to disarm them, and attempted to carry out 

 the measure by force. A war ensued, which 

 cost Cape Colony 6,000,000, while the Basu- 

 tos were still unsubdued. Finally, at the re- 

 quest of Cape Colony, the British Government 

 took over the administration of the district. 

 The policy of the Imperial Government was, 

 as described by Lord Derby, not to make Ba- 

 sutoland a Crown colony, or to introduce the 

 costly machinery of European officers, but to 

 have the Basutos employ their own machinery 

 of government and be governed according to 

 their own customs. Col. Clarke was appointed 

 Resident Commissioner, and given a force of 

 150 police to maintain order in Basutoland and 

 on the Free State frontier. 



Until their unhappy conflict with the Cape 

 Government and the attendant disorders, the 

 Basutos, who have always been considered the 

 finest type of the Caffre race, were a peaceful, 

 prosperous, industrious people, presenting a 

 shining example of a civilized native commu- 

 nity. The war waged upon them by the Cape 

 Government, which transcended the resources 

 of the colony, and which was aggravated by 

 pitting jealous and ambitious chiefs against one 

 another, caused wealth and civilized order to 

 vanish, and produced a startlingly sudden re- 

 lapse into indolence and savagery. The trans- 

 fer from colonial to imperial administration 

 did not arrest the process of disorganization 

 and impoverishment. Col. Clarke's efforts 

 were directed mainly to the preservation of 

 order on the Free State border. The Free 

 State Boers were subjected to annoyances 

 from the anarchic condition in Basutoland, 

 which were magnified in their minds by the 

 desire to get at their old enemies, whose rich 

 lands were saved from their greed by the inter- 

 vention of the British Government in 1868. 

 President Brand complained of a band of naked 

 and starving women who had taken refuge in 

 Free State territory, and, later, expressed fears 

 of raids into the Free State. In December, 1884, 

 Lord Derby replied to President Brand's com- 

 plaints with the assertion that the obligation 

 to police the border was mutual, and that, if 

 the treaty of Aliwal North contemplated the 

 maintenance of a force of over 150 men, the 

 Orange Free State was equally bound with the 

 British Government. He intimated to Sir 

 Hercules Robinson that, if Basutoland could 

 bear the expense of a larger force than Col. 

 Clarke's 150 men, he had no objection, but 

 would promise no imperial funds for the pur- 

 pose. The estimated revenue of Basutoland 

 for the year ending June 30, 1885, was 20,- 

 950. The budget of expenditures disposes ot 

 nearly the entire sum without making any pro- 

 vision for public works, education, or hospi- 

 tals, 9,816 appearing under the head of police 



expenditure. The natives agreed, upon being 

 taken over by the Imperial Government, to 

 pay a hut-tax of 10s. This they have gen- 

 erally refused to pay. Oply 5,000 was col- 

 lected in 1885, one quarter what the tax 

 formerly yielded when the population was 

 smaller. 



One chief cause of the demoralization and 

 anarchy of Basutoland was the spread of 

 drunkenness. With the exception of three, all 

 the chiefs became the slaves of the newly - 

 acquired habit. The ordinary administration 

 of justice was consequently entirely neglected. 

 The chiefs began to seize the cattle of their 

 people on false pretexts. Quarrels and mur- 

 ders, the ordinary concomitants of drunken de- 

 bauches among Caffres, grew frequent. Crimes 

 of violence were gratifying to the chiefs, be- 

 cause they afforded an excuse for imposing 

 fines. Col. Clarke did his utmost to stop the 

 traffic in brandy, but with his small police 

 force could not restrain the lawless traders. 

 Prior to the Basuto war, brandy-drinking was 

 unknown. The English authorities, upon as- 

 suming the administration, strictly prohibited 

 the sale of spirituous liquors. 



The practice of " eating up," or levying fines, 

 by the chiefs, has become so common that the 

 people have no desire to acquire cattle or other 

 property. Traders complain of extortions that 

 render business difficult. Chiefs do not hesi- 

 tate to shut up the store of any merchant who 

 offends them. Most of them impose an un- 

 authorized tax of 12 a year upon the traders, 

 who pay the English administration a license- 

 fee of 10. 



Upon the restoration of the imperial control 

 the Basutos divided into two parties. Two 

 thirds followed Letsea, who claimed to be para- 

 mount chief, in accepting the proposed regula- 

 tions. Masupha, the other great chief, declared 

 that he would be a "Queen's man," but only 

 to rule himself in the Queen's name. Yet the 

 loyal chief was not more willing than the rebel 

 to conform to the regulations and sacrifice his 

 authority as chief. Upon the rumor that Gen. 

 Warren's force was to be sent to Basuto- 

 land, as was the original intention that it 

 should be after the pacification of Bechuana- 

 land, loyal chiefs, like Lerothodi, as well as 

 the rebel chiefs, called out their fighting-men to 

 resist the invasion. The territory of Masupha 

 lies next to the Free State frontier. It was there 

 that the Resident Commissioner was obliged to 

 concentrate his small force, which was insuffi- 

 cient to secure respect for his authority, and 

 that outrages to traders occurred that were 

 likely to lead to international complications. 

 There, also, drunkenness was most prevalent, 

 for the Boers pay for work and goods in bran- 

 dy, and could not be restrained by their own 

 laws or the British regulations from importing 

 it into Basutoland. 



The presence of Samuel Moroko on the Free 

 State border was an additional source of dan- 

 ger. Upon the death of his father, chief of 



