A great blow to British prestige was struck in 1881, and the result of the disaster of Majuba Hill was the establishment of a Second Republic which in its turn overprinted the Queen Victoria stamps with a Dutch inscription "Een Penny" (Fig. 92), subsequently returning to the original Arms design of South African Republic stamps ([Fig. 86]).
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95 96 97
Just before the outbreak of the last South African War in 1899 the ascendancy of President Kruger had led to the ambition to see his features depicted upon the postage stamps of his country, and a new stamp design ([Fig. 93]) was prepared for this purpose, and a special paper was manufactured watermarked Z.A.R. (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek) as illustrated in Fig. 94. But the stamp was never issued, and the quantity of the "Z.A.R." paper was sold and used for purposes very different from that for which it was prepared. In 1900, after the late Lord Roberts' march to Pretoria, the contemporary South African Transvaal stamps came under British control again, and were issued at first with the overprinted initials of Queen Victoria, V.R.I. (Fig. 95), and later of King Edward, E.R.I. (Fig. 96). These were superseded in due course by the London printed issue of Transvaal stamps bearing the portrait of King Edward (Fig. 97).
Orange River Colony. On March 17, 1900, Field Marshal Lord Roberts issued the following
PROCLAMATION.