CONCLUSION.
The fall of Ulundi was looked upon by some as the finishing touch to the Zulu power and the end of the war, while others considered peace ensured only and completely by the capture of the king. Much, however, remained to be done before Natal could be thought of as at peace with her neighbours and herself, and what has been commonly called the “Settlement of Zululand,” was a task which required the gravest consideration and the most careful handling.
Sir Garnet Wolseley’s first act in this direction was to call together as many of the principal Zulu chiefs and officials as could be found, and to address them upon the situation. This meeting took place at Ulundi on the 1st of September, the day after the captive king’s departure for Port Durnford. About 200 Zulus, including two of Cetshwayo’s brothers, and his prime minister Mnyamana, had responded to the summons; and seating themselves in rows four deep, with the principal chiefs in front, a few paces from the flagstaff at Sir G. Wolseley’s tent, waited in perfect silence. When Sir Garnet, with his staff, at last appeared, he addressed the assembled chiefs through Mr. John Shepstone, who accompanied him as interpreter. He informed them that it was six years that very day since Cetshwayo was crowned king of the Zulus, and that he was now carried away never to return. This, he told them, was in consequence of his having broken his coronation promises, and having failed to make and keep such laws amongst his people as the Queen of England could approve, therefore his kingdom was taken from him; and would now be divided amongst a number of chiefs, who would be expected to rule with justice. In future no life was to be taken without trial, and trivial offences were to be punished by fines; no standing army would be allowed, nor the possession of guns and ammunition by any Zulu; nor would any stores be permitted to be landed on the Zulu coast, in case, under the guise of merchandise, arms should be brought into the country. The young men would be allowed to marry when and whom they pleased, provided they had sufficient for the support of a wife, and could obtain the consent of the girl’s parents, and “smelling out” for witchcraft was to be put down. Nevertheless, the Queen had no wish to force our laws and customs upon them. By their own rules of war and conquest, Zululand now belonged to her; but she had already enough land in Africa, and had therefore no intention of depriving the Zulus of theirs. Finally, the missionaries were not to be forced upon them, and the Zulus were even forbidden to encourage their settling amongst them.
To secure the fulfilment of all these commands, Sir G. Wolseley told the chiefs that he intended to leave an English officer as resident, to be the eyes and ears of England, to watch over the people, and to see the laws observed and that the chiefs ruled with justice and equity. With what machinery the officer in question was to perform so wide a task does not appear. Whether his position is to be a real one, requiring several British regiments to support it, or whether it is to be a mere farce, a fine-sounding pretence, remains yet to be proved.
At the conclusion of the General’s discourse he produced a document, the purport of which, he said, he had now told them, and which was to be signed by all the chiefs whom he had chosen as rulers of the land, to each of whom a duplicate copy would be given, while he retained a similar one himself.
The first to sign his name was Mr. John Dunn, whose chieftainship was by far the largest; and after him the Zulu chiefs touched the pen while Mr. Shepstone made their crosses for them, in place of the signature which they could not form.
For once in the history of Natal, all classes, from whatever widely differing motives, were united in condemning the arrangement.
“The so-called settlement of Zululand,” says The Cape Times, on September 16th, “is regarded with anything but satisfaction in Natal, if we may accept the press of that colony as representative of public opinion. Sir Garnet Wolseley was probably acting under instructions in making peace on a barbarian basis; such a peace, however, has no guarantee for continuance, but on the contrary an inherent weakness, forbidding any hope of permanence. A savage nation is now divided into a number of savage nations, each leaning to the other with all the force of common blood and common traditions, while to check the impulses of that force there is absolutely nothing beyond the influence of two or three British residents, unsupported by any armed retinue, and clothed with no more than a shadow of authority. And as the embodiment of British civilisation, and as Her Majesty the Queen’s own representative in Zululand, is placed Mr. John Dunn.... But whatever John Dunn’s merits may be, his appointment as Chief Resident in Zululand is a shock to civilisation. His ways are Zulu ways; his associations, Zulu associations; his very habits of thought imbued with the Zulu character. A white man who for twenty years or more has lived the Zulu life, wedded Zulu wives, and chosen their society in preference to that of such women as a white man should love and honour, is not the man to represent the Queen of England in a nation of savages. The settlement of Zululand means simply the appointment of a dozen Cetywayos, with a white man to look after them, who is a Cetywayo in all but colour. And now Sir Garnet Wolseley skips off in his light and airy fashion to the Transvaal, flattering himself that he has made things pleasant in Zululand. It is a miserable delusion....”
The “engagements” into which the Zulu chiefs entered are:
“1. I will observe and respect whatever boundaries shall be assigned to my territory by the British Government through the Resident of the division in which my territory is situated.
“2. I will not permit the existence of the Zulu military system, or the existence of any military system of organisation whatever, in my territory, and I will proclaim and make it a rule that all men shall be allowed to marry when they choose and as they choose, according to the good ancient customs of my people, known and followed in the days preceding the establishment by Chaka of the system known as the military system; and I will allow and encourage all men living within my territory to go and come freely for peaceful purposes, and to work in Natal and the Transvaal and elsewhere for themselves or for hire.
“3. I will not import or allow to be imported into my territory by any person, upon any pretext or for any object whatever, any arms or ammunition from any part whatsoever, or any goods or merchandise by the sea-coast of Zululand, without the express sanction of the Resident of the division in which my territory is situated; and I will not encourage or promote, or take part in, or countenance in any way whatever, the importation in any other part of Zululand of arms or ammunition from any part whatever, or goods or merchandise by the sea-coast of Zululand, without such sanction, and I will confiscate and hand over to the Natal Government all arms and ammunition, and goods and merchandise, so imported into my territory, and I will punish by fine or by other sufficient punishment any person guilty of or concerned in any such unsanctioned importation, and any person found possessing arms or ammunition, or goods or merchandise, knowingly obtained thereby.
“4. I will not allow the life of any of my people to be taken for any cause, except after sentence passed in a council of the chief men of my territory, and after fair and impartial trial in my presence and after the hearing of witnesses; and I will not tolerate the employment of witch-doctors, or the practice known as smelling-out, or any practices of witchcraft.
“5. The surrender of persons fugitive in my territory from justice, when demanded by the government of any British colony, territory, or province, in the interests of justice, shall be readily and promptly made to such government; and the escape into my territory of persons accused or convicted of offences against British laws shall be prevented by all possible means, and every exertion shall be made to seize and deliver up such persons to British authority.
“6. I will not make war upon any chief or chiefs, or people, without the sanction of the British Government, through the Resident of the division in which my territory is situated.
“7. The succession to the chieftainship of my territory shall be according to the ancient laws and customs of my people, and the nomination of each successor shall be subject to the approval of the British Government.
“8. I will not sell, or in any way alienate, or permit, or countenance any sale or alienation of any part of the land in my territory.
“9. I will permit all people residing in my territory to there remain, upon the condition that they recognise my authority as chief, and any persons not wishing to recognise my authority and desiring to quit my territory I will permit to quit and to pass unmolested elsewhere.
“10. In all cases of dispute in which British subjects are involved I will appeal to and abide by the decision of the British Resident of the division in which my territory is situated. In all cases when accusations of offence or crime committed in my territory are brought against British subjects, or against my people in relation to British subjects, I will hold no trial and pass no sentence except with the approval of such British Resident.
“11. In all matters not included within these terms, conditions, and limitations, and in all cases provided for herein, and in all cases when there may be doubt or uncertainty as to the laws, rules, or stipulations applicable to matters to be dealt with, I will govern, order, or decide in accordance with the ancient laws and usage of my people.”
The following letter, addressed to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, and published in The Guardian of December 10th, 1879, by the Dean of ’Maritzburg, contains such valuable and important matter that we quote it verbatim:
The Deanery, ’Maritzburg, Natal,
September 27th, 1879.
Sir,—Though I have not the honour of being known to you, yet, as the affairs of South Africa must necessarily engage the attention of Parliament when it next meets, I venture to hope you will not consider it an intrusion if I lay before you some of the conclusions I have arrived at after thirty years’ residence as a clergyman in Natal. I do so as I know from experience how extremely difficult it is for those who have passed their lives in the midst of a highly organised society, to realise the conditions of a colony, and especially of one which is brought into contact with the undeveloped races of South Africa. The first question that presents itself is, What is the meaning of the apparent antagonism of the native races, at the present time, to the white man? I attribute it immediately to the natives suddenly and unexpectedly finding themselves in the possession of firearms. When the Diamond Fields were first opened out, no restrictions were placed on the gun-trade by the Cape Government, and so soon as this became known the natives flocked there in thousands from all parts of South Africa, hiring themselves out to work, and stipulating to be paid in rifles. Young men everywhere will arm themselves if they can, and especially in a country in which there is abundant room for hunting, and still more so when the young men are savages, and know of no distinction except that which comes from exhibiting prowess in war. I do not myself think they were influenced by any feelings of hatred to the white man, or that there existed any deep-seated conspiracy amongst the chiefs or old men. But the young men suddenly discovered they could obtain firearms, so got them; and having got them, they then desired to use them. Everywhere they were armed, and so everywhere they began to talk of fighting; the leaven had been put in and the whole lump worked. The war which arose is now over, and the Cape Government is engaged in steadily disarming the natives under its rule; its loyal subjects, the Fingoes and the Basutos, as well as the recently conquered tribes. Sir Garnet Wolseley told the Zulus also to bring in their guns; but they have treated his order with contempt, and he has made no attempt to enforce it; the Zulus themselves, I am afraid, will soon adduce this as evidence that they were not beaten. I may say, also, the Natal Governor always placed restrictions on the natives possessing firearms, and, so far as he could, enforced those restrictions on his own natives returning from the Diamond Fields, and they have proved perfectly loyal. Whilst at the time I deprecated the reckless trade allowed by the Cape Government, still it seems to me rather hard, after having allowed the natives to purchase guns, to set to work to disarm them. The wisest course I consider would be to impose a tax on the possession of firearms generally, granting privileges to members of volunteer corps, etc. In that way, without drawing invidious distinctions between white and coloured, our own young men would be exempted from paying by serving as volunteers; and if the tax were a heavy one the natives would be deterred from keeping guns, and, further, the Government would know exactly to what extent they were armed.
To leave, however, the native races in general, and to confine ourselves to the Zulus. They never went to war with us, but we with them; they have always been excellent neighbours; for thirty years they have never been accused of stealing a sheep, or an ox, or a horse from the Natal side. Natal had no quarrel with them nor Cetywayo with us; it has been our misfortune that it has been found convenient to carry on the war from Natal; but Sir H. Bulwer, our Governor, has been true to the colony in insisting that it was no war of ours. If there was any justification of the war, it must be sought in the interests of Transvaal, and then it can only be accepted as a judgment. The Crown had not a shadow of right to annex the Transvaal. True, they were not governing themselves very well in that State; neither, perhaps, is Germany, but we do not annex Germany. We did take over the Transvaal, however, in direct violation of engagements which had been entered into with the Dutch Boers. Shepstone, in his proclamation, was obliged to say that we must read between the lines of that engagement—i.e. the promises of the British Government were worth nothing. The simple fact was that the Cape and Transvaal merchants had been overtrading in that republic; it was bankrupt, so many of them were on the brink of insolvency. I cannot say more without mentioning names, but there was no difficulty in seeing what influences were brought to bear on Lord Carnarvon. The Republic was annexed; farms were accepted at a nominal price in payment of debts, and resold again in London, say at sixpence per acre, which amply repaid the merchant, who thus saved himself, whilst the Boers were left without their independence, and poorer than ever. Had we stayed our hand, finding themselves hopelessly bankrupt, in a few months they might probably have sought our assistance, and then we could have annexed them without their having a grievance; as it is they cannot forget it. I am sorry for them, for they are a simple people. Shepstone went up as Governor, and Cetywayo at once asked to have his old disputes with the Boers arranged—in former days both he and his father, whenever they had had any difference with the Transvaal, always sent messengers in to the Natal Government to advise with it—and Shepstone, the Secretary for Natal Affairs, according to his wont, always temporised, admitting in a half-and-half way that they were right, but advising patience. When, however, he found himself at the Transvaal he suddenly sided with the Dutch, and Cetywayo became greatly incensed and declared himself betrayed. I believe he would at once have invaded the Transvaal, but from fear of us in Natal. He hesitated, however, and according to the old maxim, he who hesitates does not fight; but before he had quieted down Sir B. Frere interfered with his ultimatum, and Cetywayo stood grandly on the defensive. He is a savage, and his ambition was to be a great savage; I do not mean a cruel one, but a powerful, influential savage. He was ambitious, but disliked progress, and such men must fail; so he has fallen, but with dignity. He has never attacked a neighbour, white or black; he has defended his country bravely, and has been guilty of no excesses. It has been our war, not his. Sir B. Frere says most truly that almost everyone he spoke to encouraged him to go to war; but I am afraid he avoided those who, he was told, were against war—and when will not Englishmen advise war? No argument was used, except the one that Cetywayo might overrun Natal at any moment; but he had never shown a disposition to do so, and we were stronger than men would allow. Men who do not trust in the arm of God do not see the defences which surround them. The Tugela, the river which separates Natal from Zululand, was a great protection, as in summer-time, even if fordable, the Zulus would not cross it, lest it should rise in their rear; and in the winter, our dry season, they cannot keep the field, as their naked bodies are quite unable to bear exposure to the cold nights. Moreover, though our own army will never acknowledge it, Cetywayo’s force did not exceed 30,000 naked savages. Of course we are told they were 60,000 or 80,000 strong; but if you casually inquire of any officer who has been in Zululand whether the kraals were thickly dotted over the country, he will tell you artlessly, “No, quite the contrary.” I have again and again inquired of traders as to the density of the population relative to Natal. I have inquired of those who have lived at Ulundi, and have seen Cetywayo’s regiments mustered, and I am confident that 30,000 is the very outside at which the Zulu force could be put. I may return to this. I mention it now to show why I do not agree with Sir Bartle in his view of our position; and certainly I cannot admit, because a neighbour is powerful, that therefore we are justified in going to war with him.
But, now that we have been at war, on what terms is peace to be arranged? In the Cape Colony the natives—as the Basutos, the Fingoes, and others—live in districts to themselves, not intermingled with the white man. The young men leave their homes, and go into the colony, and work for a time in the towns or on the farms; but their home is in Basutoland, Fingoland, etc. The same holds good in the Transvaal. The natives there are on the border; but Natal is the one exception to this rule; in this colony we live intermingled; and a few years ago we were regarded as living in the crater of a volcano. It was thought that the Natal natives, who outnumber the European settlers eighteenfold, might at any moment overwhelm us, so that Cape politicians and others refused to be connected with this colony. In 1876, however, before the rising of the natives on the frontier, I was bold enough to point out to my fellow-colonists that our supposed weakness was in reality our strength. And so it has proved. During the last two years Natal has been the oasis of South Africa; everywhere else the natives have either been in arms, or shown themselves disaffected, if we except the Fingoes; but the position in which they stand to the Kafir tribes around them compels them to be loyal, so they are scarcely to be taken into account.
Whilst, then, throughout South Africa the natives have been a source of uneasiness, the overwhelming native population of Natal (360,000, against 22,000 whites) has been perfectly true to the Government, and the grounds of their loyalty are now, I think, recognised in Natal. They are these: 1. The natives are not, like Englishmen, self-reliant, but naturally dependent; consequently, they use the machinery of Government much more than we do. An Englishman dislikes appealing to a magistrate, as it implies a want of power to take care of himself or to govern his dependents. Not so the native; he habitually leans upon the magistrate. Thirty years ago in Natal the native leant upon his chief; now he has become familiar with the magistrate, who has become a necessity to him. I argue, therefore, that a people will not plot or even desire to throw off an authority which enters into their daily life. 2. Natives who have resided amongst white men feel the need of their presence. The native races cannot develop themselves—nor, when in some degree developed, can they stand by themselves—as their wills are weak, and intellectually they are lawyers, fond of argument, but without imagination; so they can neither plan nor construct. In their independent state they have no criminal law, no commercial code, no municipal one, no law of tenure of landed property; they possess only a few customs regulating marriage and the division of their cattle amongst the family; but, scattered amongst white men, they are able to expand. The effect is seen in many ways—amongst others, in the increase of their families. 3. They are naturally fond of trading. In many ways they may be compared to the Celtic race, as they cannot rise above the tribal organisation; but, unlike the Celt, they are not intellectual; and, unlike him, their natural bent is towards trading. They are good soldiers, but they prefer trading to everything; consequently, on this account, they are unwilling to separate from the white man. 4. The natives never go to war unless they can first send their cattle to the rear; but this they cannot do when distributed amongst the Europeans, and this operates alone as a great check. During the thirty years I have been in Natal we have only had three chiefs give the slightest trouble, and these three have all been on the borders, and so have been able to send their cattle away. I am convinced, therefore, that, if the Government wishes to maintain peace and to develop the native races, it should intermingle them with the Europeans. The Aborigines Society at home will probably object. It is easy to say the white man seeks only to dispossess the native, but whatever the individual motive, the white man is the benefactor by his presence. He may have hunted down the North American Indian and the Aborigines of Australia, but not so in South Africa. Here not only does the magistrate protect him, but the Kafir is a worker, which the North American Indian and the native of Australia is not. The white man wants the Kafir’s labour, and to secure it has to be just and kind. A farm-servant in England is by no means so independent as a Kafir out here. Mix up the races therefore, and to some extent at least the problem of governing and improving the native race is solved. After the defeat at Isandhlwana, new-comers like the military thought our natives might rise; but their wives, children, waggons, cattle, etc., were in the colony, so they made common cause with us, and showed themselves zealously loyal. I consider it, therefore, to be most foolish to try and keep the races apart; we must intermingle them. It was Alexander’s principle and the Roman rule; the present European families have been founded on this method—so we must go on mingling, not separating.
I send you a copy of Sir Garnet Wolseley’s conditions of peace, as published in The Natal Witness. They are universally condemned here. 1. The chiefs are to be under British Residents, and they must be supported by a force. But who is to pay? It is said the Zulus are not to be taxed, as that would amount to annexation; or, rather, it would test Sir Garnet’s arrangements. If he is afraid to tax the Zulus the Residents will be afraid to control them. The test of defeat with Kafirs is the loss of cattle—they do not estimate the loss of life; but we have not taken cattle. Indeed, the balance is on their side: they have carried off more than we have.[180] The test of submission is obedience, and they have with one accord disobeyed the order to give up their guns. The test of the Queen’s authority in South Africa is the payment of taxes. Even Cetywayo offered to pay a hut-tax; and if Sir Garnet does not impose one, all the young men in Zululand, before a year is over, will point to their cattle, their guns, and their immunity from taxes, and boast that they were not beaten. If the Zulus are to be controlled by British Residents they should pay a hut-tax. Our natives pay a hut-tax of 14s. per hut. I have understood that the Cape Government wish it to be uniform throughout South Africa, and to be fixed at £1. We estimate the population at three-and-a-half persons to a hut, and at 14s. it amounts to 4s. per head. Besides that the natives on farms pay rent to the farmer, and the more they adopt our habits the more do they pay through the Customs. The Zulus could readily pay £1 per hut, or, say £36,000 per annum. Cetywayo’s Government was an expensive one. His commissariat alone was a heavy drain upon the resources of the people. Savages, as well as civilised persons, understand that they must support their Government; the Zulus, therefore, would recognise the justice of being taxed; and not to tax them is, I consider, to abandon one of the duties of Government. Moreover, it is said we are to be taxed to pay our quota of the recent expenditure. But our natives will hardly understand first fighting the Zulus, and then having to pay for it. It will seem to them as if they were the offending party, if they, and not the Zulus, are taxed. 2. The conditions discourage trade. It ought to be encouraged to the utmost. Instead of forbidding importation by sea, a Custom-house should be established at the one port or landing-place, 3. The alienation of land is forbidden, in order to keep out the white man; but he should be encouraged to enter, and so long as the land is held in common by the whole tribe there will be no improvement in agriculture. Or, to take the conditions in order—2 is impossible; the young men will be quarrelling with one another at weddings and other gatherings, tribal fights will ensue, and the chiefs must have a force at their command. 3 I have touched upon. 4 is nugatory; if a chief wishes to put to death he can give a man a mock trial and have done with it. 6 overlooks that wars often do not begin with the chiefs; the young men bring them about. 8 I have touched upon. The whole implies the active and constant superintendence of the Resident, and that will be resisted: some kraal or kraals will be disobedient to orders, the chief will be unable or unwilling to enforce obedience, and the Resident must call in other assistance at great expense; and at whose? There is nothing enduring, nothing practical in this settlement, if it deserves to be called such. It is not likely to last, and everyone expects, after a short interval, more bloodshed and more reckless expenditure. The burden cannot be thrown on the Colony, as the Government has not been consulted on the terms of peace. The whole thing is a cruelty to the Zulus, to the colonists, and to the suffering home population, for there will be another £3,000,000 or more to be voted yet; but during the whole time meat was 8d. and bread 4d. per pound. 1s. 6d. per diem was consequently ample allowance for the keep of a soldier; of course I am aware there were numerous other sources of expenditure, but it is extreme folly to send an army out to a distant place, with power to draw upon the Treasury at will; it is too great a trial for human nature. As a blind, all sorts of things are said about the colonists; a great deal or even all may be true, but it does not explain half. That, however, is by the way; but I must mention, before concluding, that one of the newly-appointed chiefs is a white man named John Dunn. He left home when about fifteen or sixteen, and has since lived with the Zulus, taking to himself a number of wives. This appointment is looked upon as an outrage to public morals and as an insult to the colonists. I say nothing about the missionaries, as I do not wish that they should lean upon the civil power; the Church must do her proper work in her proper way. I simply write as an Englishman, to one who largely guides the counsels of the nation, to lift up my voice against what has been done, and is being done, in this part of the empire. Trusting you will excuse my thus trespassing upon your time, believe me to remain yours most respectfully,
James Green,
Dean of ’Maritzburg.
But at all events we had gained one definite result by all the blood and money spent in the Zulu war. The most important and earnestly insisted on immediate cause of our attack upon Zululand was the invasion of our soil, and the violation of our sanctuary, committed by Mehlokazulu and his brother, sons of Sihayo, when they seized and carried off two women who had taken refuge in Natal. We “requested” the Zulu king to deliver up the young men to us for judgment and for punishment, and he begged us to accept a fine in lieu of the persons of the offenders. We declined this proposal and repeated our request, which suddenly became a “demand” when it appeared in the ultimatum, and as such remained.
It was said at the time that, had the young men been given up even after the troops had crossed the border, hostilities would have been suspended until the rest of the demands could be complied with. But they were not, so we went to war.
And now, at last, the war was over, one of Sihayo’s sons had fallen in battle, and Mehlokazulu, the other, was in our hands. Here was what we had fought for, and obtained! What would be done with him? By the military authorities he could only be treated like any other prisoner of war, and released unharmed amongst the other Zulus. He was therefore handed over to the civil authorities at Pietermaritzburg to be tried by them, although he was denied the same advantages of counsel which are accorded by law to other civil prisoners.
This denial was commented upon unfavourably by those who desired justice to be done, but, apparently, Mehlokazulu required no counsel, for he was not tried. He had committed no offence on British soil punishable in a Zulu subject by British law. His own king could have punished him by our request, but we had deposed and transported that king, and there was no law by which we could have inflicted anything beyond a trifling fine for trespass upon the man whom we had compassed heaven and earth, and shed so much of England’s noblest blood, to seize. The magistrate declined to commit him for trial, and Mehlokazulu was permitted to return to his home. “Doubtless,” remarks The Natal Colonist of October 27th, “the legal adviser of the Crown was concerned in the case, and framed the charge which there was the best chance of being substantiated. And this is the result—‘there was no evidence to maintain the charge.’... It is a miserable conclusion to a most miserable affair.... The charge which, as we have seen, is almost made the chief occasion of the war which has desolated so many homes, and cost millions of money, completely breaks down when brought to the test of legal trial, and the prisoner is, of necessity, set at liberty. We never believed much in the other pretexts for the war put forward by Sir Bartle Frere, but we confess that we always thought the outrage by Sihayo’s sons was one to be visited with condign punishment, whether it was one which would justify war or not; and even though we knew it was only a pretext, seeing that it only took place long after war had been determined on, and preparations for it had been begun to be made.”
“But the ultimatum and its demands are things of the past. Rivers of blood have flowed to enforce these demands, and now they are put on one side as utterly valueless, both by the settlement of Zululand and the release of Sirayo’s son.”[181]
With this humiliating fact we must close our record of the Zulu War. In doing so, we feel that too many of the circumstances which we have thus recorded reflect no credit on the name of England—that name which as English men and women we most desire should be honoured by the world at large; and we realise with pain that, so far as our work may be perused by dwellers upon other shores, so far have we lessened the glory of our motherland in their eyes. But, however much we may regret the necessity, we do not therefore think it a less imperative duty to bring to the light as much as possible whatever wrong and injustice has been committed and concealed by those to whom England has entrusted her power and her fame. That the light of publicity should be thrown upon them is the first step towards their cure, or at least towards the prevention of any further wrong, and it is with the truest loyalty to our Sovereign, and the deepest love and reverence for our country, that we have undertaken the task now completed.
THE END.
CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.