Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/52

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History of the Cape Colony.
[1874

collision with the colonial government, he called upon them to cease hostilities. They did so, and within a few weeks there was peace throughout the territory.

In October the secretary for native affairs authorised Mr. Orpen to announce to Umhlonhlo and Umditshwa that they and their people were received as British subjects. Makaula, chief of the Bacas, and Makwai, chief of a clan of refugee Basuto, had repeated their applications, but the colonial government considered it advisable to let their cases stand over for a while, as they were not pressing. Formal notification of their acceptance was made to the two Pondomsi chiefs on the 22nd of October, and information thereof was sent to Umqikela and Ndamasi. These chiefs objected, first to the line from the Umtata to the Umzimvubu between Nomansland and Pondoland, secondly to the reception as British subjects of chiefs and people whom they claimed as being under their jurisdiction, and thirdly to the appointment of British officials in Pondo territory without their consent. But they declared that they had every desire to remain at peace with the colonial government, and would therefore respect the new arrangement.

The failure of the rebellion of the Hlubis under Langalibalele in Natal[1] did much to strengthen the authority of the Cape government in Nomansland. The rebels had many relatives living in this territory under Ludidi, Langalibalele's brother, Zibi, Langalibalele's second cousin, and several other chiefs, and it was at first supposed that they would try to make their way to their kinsmen. To prevent this, Mr. Orpen enrolled a band of Batlokua and Basuto, and when it was ascertained that the rebels had gone to Basutoland, he actually went across the Drakensberg to assist the colonial forces against them with two hundred and thirty-five picked men under Lehana and Lebenya. But the country he had to traverse was the most rugged in South Africa,