ABSTRACT
Before the end of his first year in the Transvaal Shepstone had come to the conclusion that a successful Zulu war would be the quickest way of putting an end to his difficulties in the Transvaal. The defeat of Cetywayo, he hoped, would be rewarded by the loyalty of the Dutch and the submission of the natives. A policy that called for the more adequate defence of Cape Town, called equally for the annexation of Zululand and the extension of an insulating British influence over the coastline to the north of the new confederation. The Transvaal Government had never exercised any jurisdiction, civil or criminal, nor had they ever governed any of the natives resident on the land. They had never received taxes or land rent from the Zulu inhabitants, and had never appointed any Government officer there. Even less did the Colonial Office have the conviction now to endow its undesirable possession with a truly liberal constitution.
