The Concession from Lo Bengula.

In 1888 a treaty of amity and peace was concluded with Lo Bengula, which bound the King to refrain from entering into any correspondence or treaty with foreign Powers without the sanction of the High Commissioner for South Africa. Various syndicates were despatched to Matabeleland for the purpose of obtaining permission for the exploitation, mining and working of minerals in his territory, and a concession was granted to Mr. C. D. Budd, Mr. Rochfort Maguire, and Mr. F. R. Thompson, in consideration of the monthly payment of one hundred sovereigns to himself, His heirs and successors, the delivery of one thousand Martini breech- page 84 loading rifles and ammunition, and the placing of a gunboat, with guns suitable for defensive purposes, on the Zambesi river. This concession was, later on, enlarged by the acquisition of rights as to the disposal of vacant lands with due regard to existing native tenures.