Adamantia : the truth about the South African diamond fields : or, a ...

-t70towal'W; the South African and Free Stab.'Republics~lCtion"Relative to the assertion of their claima to THE LAJD)S OF TnKoCUmF W.A.rJmBOER! " •...·vidently having been deceived by, and actUflllybclieving, General Hay's mistatement that thediamond fields were .. tbc lands of Water'boer!" nndthat the Free State, since the discovery of the pre­·ciOllS stones, instcad of, as the fact existed, havittgbeen actually in p081!1ession of the ground for ID8Jl~'.years, had lately put forth " claims" to it!But, worse than all, 8-" a specimen of the high proficiencyin knowledge of foreign peoples and British··dependencies p088~SSed by the present Secretary ofState for the Colonies, is the reason he gives for his. JU . d·' gment, VIZ ••.-"Her Majesty's Govel'nment would see with great di.atiaCac­·tion any encroachment on the Griqua tepitory by those RepUblics,""MOB: WOULD OPBN 'l'O THE DOBBS All" :BXTJDfDBD FIELD :roB THElRF.lLA.VE-DEALDrG OPBllATIO:NS (!), and pro1Ja6lg lMil to tmlCk opprt,,;on ~ftile natiflH and disturbance of the peace."So far as the Orange Free State is concerned, Hmore ignorant, utterly and totally unfounded slanderwas never uttered against a nation. Aftel"\V8.1'W.when this or a similar effusion of Earl Kimberley'~ideas became publicly known, he had the pleasure ofvery completely retracting the same.Still, that, we see, was his reason for approving tIll'hostile, illegal, and unrighteous course of bullying androbbery initiated against the Free State by GeDf~r81Hay!.--------------------• Vide p. 65,' Blue Book. .. Oorrespondence respectfDg the U'ai1'lJ .. l.the Cape of Gooc1 Hope," London, 17th August, 1871.Digitized by Goog Ie