the
diggings along the Vaal. Four days after this award had been made, Sir
Henry Barkly proclaimed the grant to the native chiefs a part of the
British dominions, as the Crown Colony of Griqualand West, which was
placed under the administration of a Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Richard
Southey.1 Thus the control of the Diamond Fields was finally
determined, and it is impossible to doubt that this settlement was
greatly contributory to the extraordinary advance of diamond mining in
these fields, as well as to the uplifting and development of the
Colonies, and to the push of civilization into the heart of the dark
continent. It has been contended that the award was unjust to both of
the Boer Republics, and this contention has been supported by the
citation of a court decision rendered several years later, and the
allowance of £ 90,000 to the Orange Free State by the London Convention of 1876, in compensation for losses sustained
1 " South Africa," Theal.