Lest they should
be too elated by such good tidings, they are, however, reminded that it
will be necessary to retain the law relating to passes, which is, in
the hands of a people like the Boers, about as unjust a regulation as
a dominant race can invent for the oppression of a subject people, and
had, in the old days of the Republic, been productive of much hardship.
The statement winds up by assuring them that their "interests will never
be forgotten or neglected by Her Majesty's Government." Having read the
document the Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal
the Chiefs were "allowed" to state their opinions to the Secretary for
Native Affairs.
In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no
allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under
the Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the
appointment of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their
attention was given to the great fact that the country had been ceded
to the Boers, and that they were no longer the Queen's subjects.
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