96 BRITISH SO I Til . 1 FRU : 1 .1 M) THE TEA XS I 'A A L 



door open and the oxen come out. They also thought it an act of 

 cruelty to make so small an engine draw such a huge train of cars. 



The conditions I have described, however, are rapidly changing 

 before the march of civilization. But beyond the j)resent outlook 

 there is a cloud on the horizon, very small now, but which may at no 

 distant day increase until it overshadows South Africa and sweep.s 

 it with the destructive force of a tornado. There has existed for some 

 time in South Africa an uneas}' consciousness of danger, from the fact 

 that many of the natives are restless and dissatisfied to a consider- 

 able extent. When it is considered that they so enormously outnum- 

 ber the white inhabitants, this is no imaginary' danger. 'Jhe Kafirs, 

 Zulus, Basutos, Swazis, Matabeles, and other trijjes of the Bantu race 

 are not now as a whole untutored savages or weaklings, Ijut a brave, 

 virile race. Many of them, particularly among the Kafirs and Basutos? 

 are well on the road to civilization, professing the Christian religion, 

 having school-houses and churches ; many of them also are tolerably 

 well educated, speaking both Dutch and English, and are no longer 

 willing to quieth' endure the lordly superiority claimed b}' the white 

 man over dark-skinned races ; they have begun to realize their griev- 

 ances and to long for the rights of free men. The Boers have always 

 ])een harsh and tyrannical in their treatment of the natives, a sur- 

 vival, perhaps, of the consequence of their long connection with negro 

 slavery and the struggles they have had, first with the Hottentots, 

 and later with the Kafirs and other I>antu tribes. The English have 

 treated the natives with greater humanit}' and justice than the Dutch 

 have done, and the government regulations for their management are 

 excellent, but the danger is that private cupi<lity and the struggle for 

 wealth may induce the white man to override or evade these regulations. 



The supreme question in the development of Africa is not the in- 

 crease of the power and prestige of England, Germany, France, or any 

 other European nation. All the nations that have been reconstruct- 

 ing the map of Africa must recognize the great responsibility they 

 have incurred toward the native races. After the present war-clouds 

 shall have })een dissipated the future of South Africa will rest largely 

 on the question of equity and integrity in the treatment of the natives. 

 If those principles are strictly observed, there will lie a bright prospect 

 before the country and its people, both white and colored ; but if the 

 white man closes his e3'es and does not recognize the handwriting on 

 the wall, he may receive a very rude awakening. 



