MR. GORSTasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the consent of Her Majesty, as Suzerain of the Transvaal, was obtained by the Transvaal Government before a Boer force with three guns crossed the Convention Boundary and made war 495 Chief Montsioa; and, if not, whether Her Majesty's Government now see in this circumstance any reason to qualify their anticipations of the advantageous working of the Convention?
§ MR. COURTNEYThe Question of the hon. and learned Member proceeds upon an erroneous assumption of the facts. The Transvaal Government did not obtain the consent of the Suzerain before a Boer force crossed the Frontier, because, our information leads us to believe, they tried what they could to prevent what has happened. On Friday, in answer to the hon. Member (Mr. R. N. Fowler), I said we had no official information respecting the fighting reported in Reuter's telegram; but I thought it was probably a continuation of the feud that has for some time been waged between Moshette and Montsioa, two Native Chiefs. Intelligence since received entirely confirms that opinion. These two Chiefs, whose head kraals are outside the Transvaal Frontier, have been for some time at war; and as far back as October the Transvaal Government issued a Proclamation forbidding their subjects to take part in the hostilities. General Joubert himself visited the Frontier, and placed men along it to enforce the Proclamation. Nevertheless, in November, Moshette had enlisted Boer auxiliaries, and when Montsioa attacked him some of these auxiliaries were killed. What happened in January was apparently the return attack, the Boer auxiliaries this time aiding Moshette to defeat Montsioa. The Resident at Pretoria has been instructed, through the High Commissioner, to express to the Transvaal Government the expectation that they will take effectual steps to maintain the neutrality of Transvaal territory, and to prevent Transvaal burghers from encroaching on Native territories beyond the Frontier.
MR. GORSTI wish to ask whether the Chief now called Montsioa is the same Chief upon whom the Boers made war last year in order to punish him for his fidelity to the British during the Transvaal War?
§ MR. COURTNEYThe same Chief was attacked last year, not by the Boers, but by Moshette with Boor auxiliaries.
MR. GORSTIs Montsioa the same Chief with respect to whom an ultimatum was sent to the Transvaal Leaders last year by Sir Evelyn Wood?
§ MR. COURTNEYPerhaps the hon. and learned Gentleman will give Notice of the Question.