Native Life in South Africa Part 38

Chapter XXIII The Boer Rebellion

Arm, arm, Burghers; we never had more cause!

The Goths have gathered head; and with a power of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil, They hither march amain, under conduct Of Manie, son to old Gerit Maritz, Who threats in course of his revenge, to do As much as ever Black Bambata did.

The following telegram was published by the South African Government: --

== October 13, 1914.

Ever since the resignation of General C. F. Beyers as Commandant-General of the Citizen Force, there have been indications that something was wrong with the forces in the north-west of the Cape Province, which were placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel S. G. Maritz.

The Government at once arranged to send Colonel Conraad Brits to take over the command from Lieutenant-Colonel Maritz.

On the 8th instant Colonel Brits sent a message to Maritz to come in and report to him. To this message Maritz replied in a most insolent manner that he was not going to report to anybody.

All he wanted was his discharge, and Colonel Brits must come himself and take over his command.

Colonel Brits then sent Major Ben Bouwer to take over the command.

An Ultimatum

On arrival at Maritz's camp, Major Bouwer was taken prisoner with his companions, but personally was subsequently released and sent back with an ultimatum from Maritz to the Union Government to the effect that:

Unless the Government guaranteed to him before ten o'clock on Sunday morning, October 11, that they should allow Generals Hertzog, De Wet, Beyers, Kemp, and Muller to meet him where he was, in order that he might receive instructions from them, he would forthwith make an attack on General Brits's forces and proceed further to invade the Union.

Major Ben Bouwer reported that Maritz was in possession of some guns belonging to the Germans, and that he held the rank of General commanding the German troops.

He had a force of Germans under him in addition to his own rebel commando.

He had arrested all those of his officers and men who were unwilling to join the Germans, and had then sent them forward as prisoners to German South West Africa.

Major Bouwer saw an agreement between Maritz and the Governor of German South West Africa guaranteeing the independence of the Union as a republic, ceding Walfish Bay and certain other portions of the Union to the Germans, and undertaking that the Germans would only invade the Union on the invitation of Maritz.

Major Bouwer was shown numerous telegrams and helio messages dating back to the beginning of September. Maritz boasted that he had ample guns, rifles, ammunition, and money from the Germans, and that he would overrun the whole of South Africa.

In view of this state of affairs the Government is taking the most vigorous steps to stamp out the rebellion and inflict condign punishment on all rebels and traitors. A proclamation declaring martial law throughout the Union will appear in a Gazette Extraordinary to-day.*

-- * "U. G. No. 10-'15", pp. 22-24.

This treachery was more fully described by a Cape Attorney -- a subaltern in the Citizen Force under Maritz -- in the following letter to the 'Transvaal Leader':

== "We arrived at Kakamas," he writes, "after a long and wearisome trek through Bushmanland, a company of about eighty, consisting mostly of raw farmer youths.

"We remained in camp for about six weeks, and, in the first week of October, orders came from Maritz for 200 troops, comprising the Calvinia, Clanwilliam, and Kenhardt men, to strike camp and trek toward the German border.

"Two days later the remaining men in camp, consisting of the Kakamas members of the Defence Force, some Kakamas Volunteers, and our own troop, altogether about 300 men, likewise trekked in that direction. After two days' riding, we came to a farm called Blokzijnputs, where we met the first 200 men.

"The village of Keimoes was crowded with German troops; our men and officers were walking and talking among them on the friendliest possible terms, and the German and the old Transvaal Republican flags were flying side by side.

"In a very short time we were made fully aware of the position.

The act of treachery which led up to it was being freely discussed by everybody, and then I realized that 'we' -- I say 'we', for I never for one second doubted that most of our men would refuse to turn rebels -- had been caught like rats in a trap.

"But a further shock awaited me. About half an hour after our arrival we were summoned to fall in before Maritz, who then addressed the crowd.

"He first spoke about the Government wishing to force him over the border with a lot of untrained and unarmed youngsters, and went on to say that he refused to sacrifice their lives.

"After a bitter attack on the characters of Generals s.m.u.ts and Botha, he denounced the British Empire as a whole, and wound up by declaring himself an out and out rebel.

"He stated that he was going to fight against the Union and Imperial Governments for the independence of South Africa, and called upon all who were unwilling to follow him, or 'had the English feeling in them', to stand on one side.

"Ten Loyal out of Six Hundred"

"This speech was followed by a short speech in German by the representative of the Governor-General of German South-West Africa.

"Then followed a scene which can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it.

All our men started to shout, cheer, and throw up their hats -- all except ten of us, who stood there looking, I suppose, more dead than alive.

Just imagine, out of 600 men actually trekking towards the border to invade German territory only ten refused to turn rebels.

"However, after recovering somewhat, we approached our captain (Beukes) and told him we were not going to join Maritz, and asked him to see that we were not sent to Windhuk. This Maritz had given us to understand was the only alternative to joining him."

The writer proceeds to state that after being kept prisoners for some time they were set free forty miles from a Union troop frontier post.

-- 'Central News'.*

-- * See also Appendix to the "Report of the Select Committee on Rebellion", S.C. 1-'15.

In the "Free" State

General De Wet organized large commandos and took possession of the town of Heilbron, held up a train and captured Government stores and ammunition, some prominent Burghers being among his active supporters; so much so that, a week later, when President Steyn was endeavouring to get him to Bloemfontein, in order to persuade him to discuss terms of peace with General Botha, he had no fewer than 3,000 men under him.

General De Wet publicly unfurled the rebel banner in October, when he entered the town of Reitz at the head of an armed commando.

Some of his men a.s.saulted the postmaster, who was in the act of telegraphing the news to the capital, and destroyed his instruments.

The guerrilla General addressed an open-air meeting, which he ordered the Magistrate to attend. When that official "refused to attend a rebel meeting" General De Wet sent six men to compel him, and to use violence if necessary.

Having thus forcibly secured the attendance of the Magistrate, he proceeded to unbosom himself as follows: "Ladies, gentlemen, and burghers, I have asked you to come together here to explain to you my position."

Then turning to the Magistrate, he said: "Magistrate, I want you to get a shorthand writer to take down every word that I am going to say, because whatever I may do in future I can never commit a greater act of rebellion than I have already committed.

I am going through to Maritz, where we will receive arms and ammunition, and from there we are going to Pretoria to pull down the British flag and proclaim a free South African republic. All those who side with me must follow me, and those who side with the Government must go to it.

I signed the Vereeniging Treaty and swore to be faithful to the British flag, but we have been so downtrodden by the miserable and pestilential English that we can endure it no longer. His Majesty King Edward VII promised to protect us, but he has failed to do so, and allowed a Magistrate to be placed over us who is an absolute tyrant, and has made it impossible for us to tolerate it any longer. I was charged before him for beating a native boy. I only did it with a small shepherd's whip, and for that I was fined 5s.* (Here the Magistrate interrupted him and asked him whether he did not plead guilty. He admitted that he had pleaded guilty, and ordered the Magistrate to keep quiet, and he would allow him to say as much as he liked when he had finished speaking, and if he would not hold his tongue he would make him hold it.)

-- * General s.m.u.ts, after this, christened the rising as "the Five Shilling Rebellion".

"But," continued General De Wet, "after the Magistrate had delivered judgment, instead of reprimanding the boy and ordering him in future to be obedient and do his duty, he looked at the Native as if he would like to give him a kiss. The Magistrate is a brother-in-law of a man for whom I have the greatest respect and who is very dear to me (President Steyn), and for that reason I will give him another chance, otherwise I would have taken him prisoner and handed him over to the Germans.

The Magistrate's father was one of the staunchest pillars of the church, and if he were alive to-day he would be heart and soul with me in this movement, and condemn the dastardly act of robbery which the Government are going to commit.