ABSTRACT
A copy of the Matabele concession was sent by the High Commissioner to the Colonial Office, but before the arrival of the official despatch the Imperial Government heard rumours from unofficial sources of the terms of the agreement. A Matabele warrior, unaccustomed to the use of fire-arms, would, Sir S. Shippard thought, be far less formidable with only a rifle than when, assegai in hand, he stalked his victims as at present. Unfortunately for Maund and Tailyour, their arrival had only taken place when the negotiations for the concession were far advanced—Maund, indeed, having reached Bulawayo but two days in front of Sir Sidney Shippard. The idea appealed forcibly to Maund, who realised that such a mission would give him an advantage over Charles Dunell Rudd, and that, even if it did not result in his supplanting the Matabele concession with a new one of his own, it would enable him to claim favourable terms for his own backers.
