officers and men under their command, who on this occasion, as on all others during this most arduous and intricate warfare, now I hope arrived at its conclusion, have done their duty cheerfully and nobly, and on every occasion sustained the honour of the British arms.

The troops will all have returned to the respective stations which they occupied previously to the recent expedition by the end of next week.

The Orange River territory is at peace, as well as the whole extent of frontier, 400 miles of which I have traversed on my

return.

(Signed)

The Right Hon. the

I have, &c.,

GEO. CATHCART, Lieut.-General
Commanding Forces, Governor.

Secretary of State for the Colonies, &c. &c.

ENCLOSURE.

On the 2nd of December the following summons was sent to the Chiefs Moshesh, Molitsane, Sinkonyella, Moroko, and Gert Taibosch:

CHIEF MOSHESH,-Referring to my proclamation, bearing date Graham's Town the 15th of November last, which is enclosed, I now hereby call upon each of you, Chiefs Moshesh, Sinkonyella, Molitsane, Moroko, and Gert Taibosch, to meet me at my camp at Platberg on Monday the 13th of December next, in order to enable me to carry out the terms of the said proclamation. Given under my hand at my camp, Commissee Drift, Caledon River, this 2nd day of December, 1852. (Signed) GEO. CATHCART,

Governor and High Commissioner.

On the morning of the 13th his Excellency the Governor having arrived and encamped at Platberg, which place was

entirely deserted except by the venerable missionary, the Rev. Mr. Giddy, the two sons of Moshesh arrived in the evening, having swam the Caledon River with their horses, that river being in a state of flood. His Excellency did not receive them; but next morning Mr. Assistant Commissioner Owen undertook to accompany the two chiefs to their father's abode. at Thaba Bossiou, swimming the Caledon, and to be the bearer of the following message:

Platberg, December 14, 1852.

CHIEF MOSHESH,-When I was sent by the Queen to be Governor, and to command Her army in this part of the world, about six months past, I wrote to acquaint you and other chiefs, and I told you I would visit you as soon as the rebellion of the Gaikas and the Tambookies and the Hottentots was ended. This has been done, as you have no doubt learnt ; and I am now come to visit this country, as I have promised, and desire to see you and the other chiefs as my friends at my camp at Platberg without delay.

My proclamation will have told you the righteous cause in which I am come, and what it is my duty to do.

As I told you in my letter, I hope my visit to you may be in peace; but I must do justice, whether it be by war or in peace. I have been told that you are a great chief and a good man; but I find that though you are a man of good words, you have not done what you promised. I find, not only that you have not paid the fine of cattle imposed on you by the Assistant Commissioners, Major Hogge and Mr. Owen, and which you promised to pay, for the robberies of cattle and horses committed by your people, and with your knowledge, up to the time of your agreement with them, but since then you and the people over whom you rule, including Molitsani and Morosi, and your own son, Letsie, and certain robbers called Leteli and Bushuli, with their people, have been stealing cattle from your neighbours, and otherwise doing them

harm; even murders have been committed by them, and this village has been plundered and destroyed. In short, the Basuto people under your rule have become a nation of thieves. This state of things must not be, and I have come to put an end to it, and to restore peace between you and your neighbours, if I can; and if not, to put you and your people out of the way of doing them wrong, and this I must do promptly.

I will not, therefore, stop to talk, but tell you now, once for all, that having carefully inquired into the business, and judging as mercifully and justly as I can what is the amount of cattle and damage you should be required to restore, I demand of you ten thousand head of cattle and one thousand horses, to be delivered over to the British resident at this place within three days' time, in order to be restored to those from whom they have been stolen.

If this be not done I must go and take either cattle or other things from you and your people, and from Molitsani and his people; and if resistance be made it will then be war between us, and I must then take three times the amount of cattle, as well as kill many of your people, and destroy their dwellings and kraals, which I should be very sorry to be obliged to do; but if this cattle be paid within three days, and that I am assured peace is restored, I will take the army back again in peace.

Now, chief, if you are an honest man, it is for you to pay the just fine, which is not more than the cattle stolen, and save yourself and your people from ruin, or else prepare for war, for on the fourth day I must bring you to an account.

You must also pay back to Sinkonyella what you have stolen from him, and be at peace with him. Carolus Baatjie and his people must return to Platberg, and the boundaries fixed by Governor Sir Harry Smith must be respected.

When all this is done, you must remain at peace with all your neighbours, and the Basutos must cease to be a nation of thieves, for if I come again it will not be talk, but to make

an end of the Basuto nation, as has been done of the Gaikas and the Tambookie tribe of Mapassa.

(Signed) GEO. CATHCART,

Governor, and High Commissioner.

The next day the chief himself came to talk. This ultimatum was repeated to him. He returned home the same afternoon, professing and promising to endeavour to collect the cattle within the given time. His sincerity was, however, doubtful.

The following is a minute of the conference which took place on the occasion:

Governor.-I am glad to see you, and to make your acquaintance.

Moshesh.-I am glad to see the Governor, as since his arrival in this country I have been expecting a visit from him, which his letter to me in October last led me to expect.

Governor.-I told you in that letter that I hoped to meet you in peace, and I still hope so, as I look to you as the great chief in this part.

Moshesh.-I hope so too, for peace is like the rain which makes the grass grow, while war is like the wind which dries it up. You are right in looking to me, that is in accordance with the treaties.

Governor. I will not now talk much, but wish to know whether you received my message yesterday, in which I made the demand of cattle and horses. I have nothing to alter in that letter.

Moshesh. Do you mean the letter I received from Mr. Owen ?

Governor.-Yes.

Moshesh.-I received the letter, but do not know where I shall get the cattle from. Am I to understand that the 10,000 head demanded are a fine imposed for the thefts committed by my people, in addition to the cattle stolen?

Governor.-I demand but 10,000 head, though your people have stolen many more, and consider this a just award, which must be paid in three days.

Moshesh.-Do the three days count from yesterday or to

day?

Governor.-To-day is the first of the three.

Moshesh.-The time is short, and the cattle many. Will you not allow me six days to collect them?

Governor. You had time given you when Major Hogge and Mr. Owen made the first demand, and then promised to comply with it, but did not.

Moshesh.-But I was not quite idle. Do not the papers in the commissioners' hands show that I collected them?

Governor. They do, but not half of the number demanded. Moshesh. That is true; but I have not now control enough over my people to induce them to comply with the demand, however anxious I may be to do so.

Governor.-If you are not able to collect them, I must go and do it; and if any resistance be made it will then be war, and I shall not be satisfied with 10,000 head, but shall take all I can.

Moshesh.-Do not talk of war, for, however anxious I may be to avoid it, you know that a dog when beaten will show his teeth.

Governor. It will therefore be better that you should give up the cattle than that I should go for them.

Moshesh.-I wish for peace; but have the same difficulty with my people that you have in the colony. Your prisons are never empty, and I have thieves among my people.

Governor.-I would then recommend you to catch the thieves, and bring them to me, and I will hang them.

Moshesh. I do not wish you to hang them, but to talk to them and give them advice. If you hang them they cannot talk.

Governor.--If I hang them they cannot steal, and I am not

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