Bluffing his way past the Colonial Office

Fundamental to the success of Sir George's military pensioner scheme was the need for money — and lots of it. He estimated that the plan would cost about £45,000 per year but clearly the funds could not be raised locally.

Although the Cape Colony did have such funds available, no amount of pleading would have coaxed such a sum of money from the new Parliament — only to see it transferred to the British Kaffrarian coffers.

Sir George had therefore to cajole the money out of a reluctant British Treasury and he did so through a series of bluffs.

The Governor had in his hand what he believed was a reasonable set of cards but, like any good poker player, he had to enhance their value by bluffing the Colonial Office into believing that his hand was much better than theirs.

He therefore launched a combination of argument and threat — knowing that the Colonial Office was possibly ignorant of the true state of affairs in Southern Africa.

The Governor was also aware that the Imperial Government was paranoid about the possibility of yet another frontier war which would not only cost a small fortune but would also demand extra troops — and at a time when Britain was already at war with Russia and therefore had no troops to spare.

He was mindful too of the fact that almost any story he devised to fuel these fears would pass virtually unchallenged by his superiors in England whose minds were focussed elsewhere.

Sir George therefore conceived a clever ploy of prophesying yet another impending frontier conflict that would make the Mlanjeni War look like a tea-party — but which could be prevented by the adoption of his own "inexpensive" plan.

Although his solution would indeed cost a huge sum, it was nevertheless far, far cheaper than the millions which an open war would consume.

Sir George set about the task of persuasion with speed and dedication, and the timing of his despatches is most significant. He had clearly thought through this strategy even before arriving in Cape Town — possibly while he was still in New Zealand.

Within only three days of his arrival at the Cape — before he had even visited the frontier — he was already reporting what has subsequently been called "the curious war scare". At that very moment, he said, there were so many Xhosa warriors gathering that it was becoming difficult to maintain the peace at all.

Sir George allowed a mere week to pass before further inflaming the fears of the paranoid Colonial Office. He had looked at the faces of those controlling the British Treasury and had seen fear in their eyes as they surveyed the hand of cards which had been dealt them.

Their cards all carried pictures of conflict — British expeditions and heavy losses against Russia on the Crimean Peninsula, frontier wars in South Africa, whispers of insurrection in India — all of this threatening a massive hole into which the Treasury was being forced to pour its money.

Without blinking, therefore, Sir George upped the stakes. All was not well in Kaffraria, he wrote, and he feared that an immediate outbreak "was determined upon". Farmers were already abandoning their homes and he was being forced to send a military force post haste to the frontier — while it might be necessary even to call for reinforcements from Mauritius.

The Mlanjeni War, he argued, had cost as much as £1 million per year. The next war would be far more expensive and would entail the deployment of an even greater force. Circumstances, however, were now very different because of Britain's current involvement in the Crimean War.

A further three days were allowed to pass before the Governor — having now been at his card table a mere two weeks — was ready to propose his final solution to the problems of the frontier — the acculturation of the Xhosa people, with the resulting financial implications.

Britain, of course, would have to foot the bill for at least £40,000 annually — although the Governor hastily added that he had no doubt the rest of the funds could be raised locally.

The carrot that the Governor offered was irresistible: the maintenance of peace — and at a comparatively cheap price to boot. Sir George's assumptions were correct. The Colonial Office was indeed desperately afraid of a frontier war and was not in a position to question the exact truth of his statements — and, when truth be told, there was actually very little of substance to any of the Governor's warnings.

The Imperial Government therefore conceded. It threw in its hand of cards immediately without calling Sir George's bluff. It accepted his proposal in its entirety, put up the money and urgently advertised for pensioner soldiers to emigrate to British Kaffraria.

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