Government by Proxy. Ten years of Cape Colony rule in Lesotho 1871-1881

(Morija: Morija Sesuto Book Depot, 1971). 8vo; original green rexine, lettered in black on spine and upper cover; pp. (viii) + 116, incl. index; plates; maps, incl. folding. Very good condition. Uncommon. The author attempts "to describe how, between 1871 and 1881, the Cape government on behalf of the British Government, performed the task of ruling the Basotho, who had become British subjects in March 1868. Several problems arose from this exercise in government by proxy. The attitude of the Basotho towards the Cape, for example, hinted at their dissatisfaction with the arrangement. From time to time their spokesmen said they would have preferred direct rule by England, and were a little unhappy to find themselves wards of the Cape Colony. The Cape's relations with the republic of the Orange Free State were in danger of becoming less cordial because of the treatment of the Basotho by the officials and/or ordinary citizens of that country, which sometimes elicited protests from the Cape authorities. Then there was always the question of the Cape's administration of the Africans within its borders, which could influence it to manage the affairs of Lesotho in a manner likely to be unpopular with the Basotho." .