Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

-176-
"1 desire to express to your Honour my
sincere thanks for your having complied
with Panda '05 wish to have my brother, Mr
John Shepstone, appointed as resident
agent ofthis government on the Thukela.
It is a double satisfaction to me, because,
although such an appointment has been
long felt to be necessary by Panda, as
well as by your Honour's Government,
the difficulty has been the obvious danger
arisingfrom placing such a functionary in
the Zulu territory. The present
arrangement avoids this difficulty, and
will, I have no doubt, tend to prolong a
good understanding between us and
Panda, and the appointment ofthis officer
as presiding member of a court, to be
composed ofhimself and two or more of
the Zulu chiefs, for the adjustment of
disputes between British subjects and
Zulus, will remedy what Panda has long
felt to be a grievance of too serious a
nature for him to attempt to remedy
himself. "84
John Shepstone left Pietermaritzburg on 23 August 1852 to reside in the
neighbourhood ofthe Lower Thukela Wagon Drift. s ' His principle duties,
besides being a Resident Agent, were to retrieve all cattle brought into
Natal by refugees from Mpande, and to discourage by every means in his
power the entering ofrefugees into Natal." This, however, was to
S,
RP.P: From Sir Theophilus Shepstone to the Lieutenant Governor BCC Pine, Ene!. I
in No. 21, Pietermaritzburg, 19 August 1852.
G.H (1697): Gordon to I.W. Sbeptone. 11 August 1852. ene!. in Pine to Pakington. D.
33, 19 August 1852, pp. 73 - 4.
B.P.P.: Pine to Mpande, Encl, 3 in No. 21,26 July 1852, received by Gebbula and
Gambushe. enel. 4 in No. 21, 11 August 1852.