Sir B. Frere, in his covering despatch to the Secretary of State, remarks that the “enclosed extracts from demi-official letters,” from the Hon. Mr. Brownlee and the Hon. Mr. Littleton, “give an outline of the proceedings, and show that the messages were _carefully delivered_, _well explained_, and _thoroughly understood_, copies of the English text with Zulu translations being given to the Zulu envoys.” On turning to “the enclosed extracts,” however, we do not find in them a single word of the sort from either gentleman, while the extract from Mr. Littleton’s letter consists of not a dozen lines describing the spot where the meeting took place, and in which the writer’s opinions are limited to these: “they (the Zulus) seemed to take the award very quietly,” but “were evidently disturbed” by the ultimatum, and “Mr. Shepstone seemed to me to manage very well.” The young gentleman could not well say any more, as he did not know a word of Zulu; but one is puzzled to know how Sir B. Frere draws his deductions from either extract. How far the opinions of the other honourable gentleman are to be depended upon, may be gathered from the following assertion made by him some months after the Boundary Commissioners had deliberately decided that the Boers had no claim whatever to the disputed territory, but that it would be expedient to allow them to retain the Utrecht district. “The falsehood of the Zulu king with regard to the Utrecht land question,” says Mr. Brownlee, “is quite on a par with his other actions. After misleading the Natal Government upon the merits of the case, it is now discovered on the clearest and most incontrovertible proof[112] that a formal cession was made of this disputed land to the Transvaal Republic.”