In 1840, a number of Dutch Boers, dissatisfied with the Government of Cape Colony, established themselves in Natal, where their treatment of the natives was so unjustifiable that a general rising was imminent, and the British Government was compelled to interfere, and itself take charge of the district. This the Boers resented, so they crossed the Vaal and established themselves afresh in the wilderness. In 1854, the British Government recognised the Transvaal or South African Republic, and in 1881 a fresh Convention was agreed to by which the Boers were confirmed in full possession of the land, subject to the recognition of the British suzerainty. The flag of the Transvaal Government is shown in Fig. 253. Now have we journeyed the whole world over and found in every land the emblems of nationality and patriotism. Unfamiliar as many of these may appear to us, they each represent a symbol endeared to thousands or hundreds of thousands of hearts, and thus are they full of warm human interest. For these various strips of gaily-coloured bunting, men have given without hesitation their lives, have poured out blood and treasure without stint or count of cost, and wherever they encounter them the wide world over, the wanderers forget for a while the alien shore or waste of ocean as their thoughts turn to the dear homeland. * * * * * {127} CHAPTER V. Flags as a Means of Signalling--Army Signalling--the Morse Alphabet--Navy Signalling--First Attempts at Sea Signals--Old Signal Books in Library of Royal United Service Institution--"England expects that every man will do his duty"--Sinking Signal Codes on defeat--Present System of Signalling in Royal Navy--Pilot Signals--Weather Signalling by Flags--the International Signal Code--First Published in 1857--Seventy-eight Thousand different Signals possible--Why no Vowels used--Lloyd's Signal Stations. We propose in this, our final chapter, to deal with the use of flags as a means of signalling; a branch of the subject by no means wanting either in interest or in practical value.