Stkukuni War, and Fall of President Burger* 143 



mittee), that he intended to shoot Prinsloo and 

 repeated it before the full Raad, pointing to Prinsloo 

 as a traitor. I also had to settle a dispute between 

 Stephanus Roos and Colonel Ignatius Ferreria, and 

 there were many painful episodes that I will not 

 mention here. Stephanus Roos led the storming 

 party on Majuba in 1880, and was shot on Mapoch's 

 Hill, on the anniversary of the day on which Sir 

 George Colley was shot on Majuba. There was a 

 superstitious feeling among the Rustenberg Boers 

 where he lived about it. The church bells were rung 

 and much said on the strange coincidence. Mr. 

 Burgers had been promised by the Boers at Seku- 

 kuni's that they would pay a special war tax, to pay 

 for the volunteers who were left behind. As member 

 for Pretoria district, I held several meetings, largely 

 attended, and begged them to pay the 10 tax per 

 farm as imposed. I was told, that my statement 

 that there was danger of their losing their country 

 if they would neither fight nor pay did not frighten 

 them, and many said that they did not trust their 

 Government, some said they preferred the British 

 rule to the unrest and bankruptcy that they had 

 endured for so long. When Sir Theophilus Shepstone 

 afterwards annexed the Transvaal, this 10 tax 

 (which had been paid by only a few), was remitted. 



One of the causes of discontent during Mr. 

 Burgers' Presidency was the imposition of a railway 

 tax of 30/- on the farms, while no railway was being 

 built. Mr. Burgers had gone to Europe, authorized 

 to raise a loan for the purpose of constructing a rail- 

 way from Pretoria to Delagoa Bay. Mr. Hall was 

 appointed to survey the line, which he carried 

 through Swaziland, on to to the plateau near Klip- 

 staple. This route was after the annexation again 

 surveyed by Mr. Farrell, but subsequently, under 



