On the 18th July, 1882, the Cape Government proposed that General Gordon should visit Basutoland, but he was of opinion that unless the Government saw their way to grant what he suggested, there was little use in his going. In August, Mr. Sauer, the Secretary for Native Affairs, came to King William's Town, and asked Gordon to accompany him into the Basuto country. Much against his own opinion Gordon yielded, and went as far as Leribe; but finding that the idea in the mind of Mr. Sauer was that he might employ one portion of the Basutos to fight against the other, he remonstrated very strongly. Mr. Sauer then asked him privately to visit Masupha, but gave him no instructions officially. Gordon consented to do this much, but he let Mr. Sauer clearly understand that nothing would induce him to fight the Basutos, with the object of forcing bad magistrates on them, or treating them unjustly. Hoping to avert the horrors of war, Gordon, unarmed and without a flag of truce or any commission, went into the middle of a hostile people, who had never even heard his name. The charm of manner which he ever manifested in his dealings with native races gained the day, and he secured the confidence of these people. In his speech to them he said:—
"I have come here as a friend of the Basutos. I showed myself a friend, for when asked to come and fight, I would not. Now, when I come, I want first to do good for Basutos. The Basutos are of a good disposition. I say to the chief and people, How can Basutoland belong to Basutos? I tell all that the Government want to do good to the people. The Queen does not want the Colony to take land of Basutos, and what the Colony and the Queen are afraid of is that if abandoned the Basutos would be eaten up. I like the Boers; they are brave, and like their own government; and when they fought, they fought for their own government. England could have beaten the Boers if they liked, but thought it unjust. Which do Basutos think Dutch like best—Basutos or land? I think they like land best. Supposing Colony abandoned this country, by-and-by they have trouble with Free State; after that begins fighting; then I look forward ten years, and I see Dutch farms close here. I do not want that, the Colony does not, and the Queen does not, and no Basuto either. Then I say, Basutos, make friends with the Government....
"Suppose Boers drive you away, for me it would be all the same, and not much difference when you are put in the ground. I wish the Basutos would do what I say. What I want is for all to speak with one tongue. I cannot make myself black. I cannot make Masupha and his people do what I want, so I leave it to Jesus, who works everything. This is all I have to say—Do what you like; think well; pray to Jesus for advice."
No sooner had General Gordon gone on his peaceful mission than he discovered that Mr. Sauer had actually induced Lerethodi, a rival chief, to attack Masupha. This action not only endangered Gordon's life, but outraged his sense of honour to such an extent, that he decided forthwith to sever all connection with the Cape Government. It was, to say the least, extraordinary conduct, to send a messenger of peace to a rebel chief, and then, without waiting for any reply, to induce some of his own countrymen to attack and coerce him. It would perhaps not be fair to hold the whole of the Cape Government responsible for the action of a single man, but this curious proceeding confirmed General Gordon in an opinion he held, that white men often fail to practise towards the despised coloured men that honourable, upright dealing that might be expected from the leaders of civilised nations.
Mr. Arthur Pattison, writing to the Times on the 20th August 1885, after Gordon's death, said of Masupha, "If you trust him straightforwardly, he is as nice a man as possible, and even kind and thoughtful; but if you treat him the other way, he is a fiend incarnate. The late General Gordon divined his character marvellously, and was the only man Masupha had the slightest regard for." If our Government had more men of the type of General Gordon, we may rest assured that we should have fewer of these petty little "nigger wars," which, more often than not, are brought on by incapacity and want of sympathy on the part of our representatives abroad. One great charm about Gordon's character was his sympathy for the weak and helpless. It mattered not whether the helpless one were a king or a slave, so long as he was weak he was sure of having Gordon's sympathies and assistance in his troubles. Before leaving the Cape, Gordon made a most noble offer, which was that he should go on £300 per annum and live as a magistrate among the Basutos, so as to protect them from their enemies, but the offer was not accepted.
The way in which Gordon regarded his position is shown in the following passages from two of his letters:—
"King William's Town, October 6, 1882.—The telegrams will show you that the Cape Colony chapter of my life is over. I am so glad to be free of all this turmoil. There will be a fearful row, but these things have not moved me at all. I have thought more of a scuttler who shed tears when I spoke to him of God's living in him, than I have of all this affair."
"SS. Kinfauns Castle, October 20, 1882.—I shall, d.v., be in England when you get this. I shall go by sea to Gravesend, and on to Southampton at once. Whether men praise you, it does not make you better, or whether they blame you, it does not make you worse. God judges by motives, men by actions (Thomas à Kempis). When I went to the Cape I prayed for glory to God and the welfare of the people, so I am glad I got no glory out of it."
It may be well to introduce here a few words he wrote of the celebrated Zulu king whom we deposed and imprisoned at the Cape.
"May 20, 1882.—I went to see Cetewayo, and felt for him, and tried to cheer him. I gave him a stick with an ivory head—a beauty—which had been given me by the Sultan of Perak, who was a prisoner at the Seychelles. When I told Cetewayo that I had always been interested in him and that he must have hope, with a deep 'Ah!' he pointed upwards. He is a fine savage."