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 1 
 
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 1 
 
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 6 
 
THE TRANSVAAL 
 
 FROM WITHIN 
 
 / 
 
 A Private Record of Public Affai 
 
 rs 
 
 BV 
 
 J. P. FITZPATRICK 
 
 Author of ' Thb Outspan.' 
 
 TORONTO : 
 
 WILLIAM BRIGGS 
 
 1900 
 
AKmiilUiro, Oitiiwa. l-""ijttu oi 
 
PREFACE 
 
 It was originally designed to compile a statement of the 
 occurrences of 1895-6 in the Transvaal and of the con- 
 ditions which led up to them, in the hope of removing the 
 very grave misunderstandings which existed. Everybody 
 else had been heard and judged, the Uitlander had only 
 been judged. It therefore seemed proper that somebody 
 should attempt to present the case for the Uitlander. The 
 writer, as a South African by birth, as a resident in the 
 Iransvaal since 1884, and lastly as Secretary of the Reform 
 Committee, felt impelled to do this, but suffered under the 
 disability of Tresident Kruger's three years' ban ; and 
 although it might possibly have been urged that a plain 
 statement of facts and explanations of past actions could 
 not be fairly regarded as a deliberate interference in politics, 
 the facts themselves when set out appeared to constitute 
 an indictment so strong as to make it worth while con- 
 sidering whether the Government of the Transvaal would not 
 regard it as sufficient excuse to put in force the sentence of 
 banishment. The postponement of publication which was 
 then decided upon for a period of three years appeared to be 
 tantamount to the abandonment of the original purpose, and 
 the work was continued with the intention of making it a 
 private record to be printed at the expiry of the term of 
 silence, and to be privately circulated among those who were 
 personally concerned or interested ; a record which might 
 perhaps be of service some day in filling in a page of South 
 African history. 
 
 The private circulation of that work during June of the 
 
 tH* 
 
viU 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 present year led to suggestions from many quarters that it 
 should be supplemented by a chapter or two dealing with 
 later events and published ; and the present volume is the 
 outcome of these suggestions. 
 
 It is realized that much of what might properly appear in 
 a private record will be considered rather superfluous in a 
 book designed for wider circulation. For instance, a good 
 deal of space is given to details of the trial and the prison 
 life of the Reformers, which are of no interest whatever to 
 the public, although they form a record which the men them- 
 selves may like to preserve. These might have been omitted 
 but that the writer desired to make no alterations in the 
 original text except in the nature of literary revision. 
 
 The writer may be charged by the " peace " party with 
 deliberately selecting a critical and anxious time as oppor- 
 tune to contribute a new factor to th( < already militating 
 against a peaceful settlement. Two replies could be made to 
 this : one an excuse and one an answer. It would be an 
 excuse that the writer did not deliberately select the time of 
 publication, but that the Transvaal Government in its 
 wisdom chose to impose silence for three years, and that 
 the project with which their action had interfered was 
 resumed at the earliest possible moment. The coincidence 
 of another crisis with the date of emancipation may be an 
 unlucky coincidence, or it may be a result. But there is 
 neither necessity nor intention to offer excuses. The 
 responsibility is accepted and the answer is that a case so 
 sound needs only to be understood, that a recital of the 
 facts must help to dispel the mists of race prejudice and mis- 
 understanding which are obscuring the judgment of many ; 
 and that a firm but strictly just and dignified handling of the 
 question by the Imperial Government is the only possible 
 way to avert a catastrophe in South Africa. It is essential 
 cherefore that first of all the conditions as they are should be 
 understood ; and this record is offered as a contribution to 
 that end. Let the measure of its truth be the measure of its 
 usefulness ! 
 
 The reader is not invited to believe that the case is 
 presented in such form as it might have been presented by 
 an impartial historian. It is the Transvaal from within, by 
 
PKKFACE 
 
 l» 
 
 one who feels all the injustice and indignity of the position. 
 With the knowledge, however, that a good case is spoiled by 
 overstatement and with the desire to avoid injustice to others 
 an earnest attempt has been made to state the facts fairly 
 In how far that attempt has been successful the reader 
 must decide for himself. 
 
 I. P F 
 
 July, 1899. 
 
NOTE 
 
 It has been impossible to avoid in this volume more or less pointed 
 reference to certain nationalities in certain connections ; for instance 
 such expressions as " the Boers," " the Cape Dutch," " the Hollanders," 
 " the Germans," are used. The writer desires to say once and for all 
 that unless the contrary is obviously and deliberately indicated, the 
 distinctions between nationalities are intended in the political sense 
 only and not in the racial sense, and it by mischance there should be 
 found something in these pages which ssems offensive, he begs the 
 more indulgent interpretation on the ground of a very earnest desire 
 to remove and not to accentuate race distinctions. 
 
 General references are also made to classes — " the civil service," 
 " the officials," &c. There are officials in the Transvaal service who 
 would earn the confidence and esteem of the public in any administra- 
 tion in the world. It is hardly necessary to say that there is no 
 intention to disparage them. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I.— ^ PRIVATE RECORD. 
 CHM'TKU I. 
 
 IN KARLIER OATS 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 • 
 
 CHAPIER III. 
 THE ORIGIN OK THE MOVEMENT 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 THE INVASION 
 
 AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 • • 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ARREST AND TRIAI Of THE REKORMERS . 
 
 11 EE IN GAOL 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 xili 
 
 • • 
 
 • • 
 
 • • 
 
 » » 
 
 I 
 
 44 
 
 117 
 
 137 
 
 «S» 
 
 173 
 
 200 
 
 a22 
 
 251 
 
XIT 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART 11.-^ POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THREE years' GRACE 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 TkCK 
 285 
 
 333 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX A . 
 
 * • » 
 
 Pretoria Convention. 
 
 APPENDIX B . . 
 
 ■ • • • , 
 
 London Convention. 
 
 APPENDIX c . 
 
 President Kruger's Affairs in the Raads. 
 
 APPENDIX D . 
 
 Volksraad Debates. 
 
 APPENDIX E . 
 
 ' • • • 
 
 Malaboch. 
 
 APPENDIX F . 
 
 The Great Franchise Debate 
 
 APPENDIX G . . 
 
 Terms of Dr. Jameson's Surrender. 
 
 APPENDIX H . 
 
 Sir John Willoughby's Report to the War Ofiice. 
 
 APPENDIX I . 
 
 Manifesto. 
 
 APPENDIX K . 
 
 The Case of the Chieftainess Tocremetsjani. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 • • • 
 
 Report on the Letter written on a Torn Telegram Form 
 signed "F. R.," by Mr. T. H. Gurrin, P:xpert m Hand- 
 writing. 
 
 369 
 
 1 
 
 377 
 
 ^* 
 
 38s 
 3S7 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 '1 
 
 395 
 
 1 
 
 39^ 
 
 1 
 
 404 
 
 411 
 
 423 
 
 432 
 
 43fi 
 
PACE 
 285 
 
 333 
 
 % 
 
 I 
 
 369 
 377 
 
 385 
 387 
 
 PART I. 
 
 A PRIVATE RECORD. 
 
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 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN EARLIER DAYS. 
 
 When, before resorting to extreme measures to obtain 
 what the Uitlanders deemed to be their bare rights, the final 
 aj)peal or declaration was made on Boxing Day, 1895, in the 
 form of the manifesto published by the Chairman of the 
 National Union, President Kruger, after an attentive con- 
 sideration of the document as translated to him, remarked 
 grimly: 'Their rights. Yes, they'll get them — over my dead 
 body !' And volumes of explanation could not better 
 illustrate the Boer attitude and policy towards the English- 
 speaking immigrants. 
 
 ' l/^tat c'est moi ' is almost as true of the old Dopper Pre- 
 sident as it was of its originator ; for in matters of external 
 policy and in matters which concern the Boer as a party 
 the President has his way as surely and as completely as any 
 anointed autocrat. To anyone who has studied the Boers 
 and their ways and policy — who has given m.ore than passing 
 consideration to the incidents and negotiations of the present 
 year* — it must be clear that President Kruger does something 
 more than represent the oj^inion of the people and execute 
 their policy : he moulds them in the form he wills. By the 
 force of his own strong convictions and prejudices, and of his 
 indomitable will, he has made the Boers a people whom he 
 regards as the germ of the Africander nation ; a people 
 chastened, selected, welded, and strong enough to attract and 
 assimilate all their kindred in South Africa, and then to 
 realize the dream of a Dutch Republic from the Zambesi to 
 Capetown. 
 
 • Written in 1896. 
 
THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 In the history of South Africa the figure of the grim old 
 President will loom large and striking — picturesque, as the 
 figure of one who by his character and will made and held his 
 people ; magnificent, as one who in the face of the blackest 
 fortune never wavered from his aim or faltered in his effort ; 
 who, with a courage that seemed, and still seems, fatuous, but 
 which may well be called heroic, stood up against the might 
 of the greatest empire in the world. And, it may be, pathetic, 
 too, as one whose limitations were great, one whose training 
 and associations — whose very successes — had narrowed, and 
 embittered and hardened him ; as one who, when the great- 
 ness of success was his to take and to hold, turned his back 
 on the supreme opportunity, and used his strength and qualities 
 to fight against the spirit of progress, and all that the en- 
 lightenment of the age pronounces to be fitting and necessary 
 to good government and a healthy State. 
 
 To an English nobleman, who, in the course of an inter- 
 view, remarked, ' My father was a Minister of England, and 
 twice Viceroy of Ireland,' the old Dutchman answered, 'And 
 my father was a shepherd !' It was not pride rebuking pride ; 
 it was the ever-present fact which would not have been worth 
 mentioning but for the suggestion of the antithesis. He too 
 was a shepherd, and is — a peasant. It may be that he knows 
 what would be right and good for his people, and it may be 
 not ; but it is sure that he realizes that to educate would be 
 to emancipate, to broaden their views would be to break 
 down the defences of their prejudices, to let in the new 
 leaven would be to spoil the old bread, to give unto all men 
 the rights of men would be to swamp for ever the party which 
 is to him greater than the State. When one thinks on the 
 one-century history of the people, much is seen that accounts 
 for their extraordinary love of isolation, and their ingrained 
 and passionate aversion to control ; much too that draws to 
 them a world of sympathy. And whea one realizes the old 
 Dopper President hemmed in once more by the hurrying tide 
 of civilization, from which his people have fled for generations 
 — trying to fight both fate and Nature — standing up to stem a 
 tide as resistless as the eternal sea — one sees the pathos of 
 the picture. But this is as another generation may see it. 
 To-day we are too close — so close that the meaner details, the 
 
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 the 
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 old 
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 I 
 
 I 
 
 ■t 
 
 IN EARLIER DAYS 3 
 
 blots and flaws, are all most plainly visible ; tlie coiruption, 
 the insincerity, the injustice, the barlxirity — all the unlovely 
 touches that will by-and-by be ftjrgotten — sponged away by 
 the gentle hand of time, when only the picturesque will 
 remain. 
 
 In order to understand the deep, ineradicable aversion to 
 English rule which is in the heart and the blood and the 
 bones of every Boer, and of a great many of their kindred 
 who are themselves British subjects, one must recall the 
 conditions under which the Dutch came under British rule. 
 When, in 1814, the Cape was finally ceded to Enj^land, it had 
 been twice acquired and held by conquest. The colonists 
 were practically all Dutch, or Huguenots who had adopted 
 Dutch as their language, and South Africa as their home. 
 In any case they were people who, by tra lition, teaching and 
 experience, must have regarded the English as their enemies ; 
 people in whom there must have been roused bitter resent- 
 ment against being handed over with the land to their 
 traditional enemies. Were they serfs or subjects ? has been 
 asked on their behalf. Had Holland the right, the power, 
 over freemen born, to say to them, ' You are our subjects, 
 on our soil, and we have transferred the soil and with it your 
 allegiance to England, whose sovereignty you will not be 
 free to repudiate.' The Dutch colonist said ' No.' The 
 English Government and the laws of the day said 'Yes.' 
 
 Early in the century the Boers began to trek away from 
 the sphere of British rule. They were trekkers before that, 
 indeed. Even in the days of Van Riebeck (1650) they had 
 trekked away from the crowded parts, and opened up with 
 the rifle and the plough new reaches of country ; pic^ueering 
 in a rough but i-^^st effective way, driving back the savage 
 races, and clearing the way for civilization. There is, however, 
 a great difference to be noted between the early treks of the 
 emigrants and the treks ' from British rule.' In the former 
 (v/ith few exceptions) they went, knowing that their Govern- 
 ment would follow them, and even anxious to have its 
 support and its representatives ; and the people who formed 
 their migrating parties were those who had no or insufficient 
 land in the settled parts, those who were starting life on their 
 own account, or those whose families could not be located 
 
 / 
 
THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 '■^ 
 
 and provided for in the cramped circumstances of the more 
 occupied parts. In the other case, rich and poor, old and 
 young, went off as in the days and in the fashion of Moses 
 or Abraham. They went without leave or help of the 
 Government ; secretly or openly they went, and they asked 
 nothing but to be left alone. They left their homes, theic 
 people, the protection of an established Government and a 
 rough civilization, and went out into the unknown. And 
 they had, as it appeared to them, and as it will appear to 
 many others, good reasons for taking so grave a step. 
 For, although the colonists of South Africa enjoyed better 
 government, and infinitely more liberty, under British rule, 
 than they had under the tyrannical regime of the Dutch 
 East India Company twenty years before (against which the 
 Boers had twice risen in rebellion) there were many things 
 which were not as they should have been. A generation had 
 grown up which knew nothing of the arbitrary and oppressive 
 rule of the old Dutch Company. Simple folks have long 
 memories, and all the world over injuries make a deeper and 
 more lasting impression than benefits ; and the older genera- 
 tion of Boers, which could recall a condition of things con- 
 trasting unpleasantly with British rule, also remembered the 
 executions of Slagters Nek — a vindication of the law which, 
 when all allowance has been made for disturbed times, and 
 the need of strong measures to stop rebellion in a newly- 
 acquired country, seems to us to-day to have been harsh, 
 unnecessary, and unwise in policy, and truly terrible in the 
 manner of fulfilment. 
 
 The Boers have produced from their own ranks no literary 
 champion to plead or defend their cause, and their earlier 
 history is therefore little known, and often misunderstood ; 
 but to their aid has come Mr. George McCall Theal, the South 
 African historian, whose years of laborious research have 
 rescued for South Africa much that would otherwise have 
 been lost. In his 'History of the Boers' Mr. Theal records 
 the causes of the great emigration, and shows how the Boers 
 stood up for fair treatment, and fought the cause, not of Boers 
 alone, but of all colonists. Boers and British were alike 
 harshly and ignorantly treated by high-handed Governors, 
 and an ill-informed and prejudiced Colonial Office, who made 
 
 f 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 5 
 
 no distinction on the grounds of nationality between the two ; 
 for we read that F^igiishmen had been expelled the country, 
 thrown in gaol, had their property confiscated, and their news- 
 papers suppressed for asserting their independence, and for 
 trifling breaches of harsh laws. The following extract gives 
 the best possible synopsis of the causes, and should whet an 
 appetite which can be gratified by the purchase of Mr. Theal's 
 book : 
 
 1 
 
 I the 
 
 'i* 
 
 :rary 
 
 1 
 
 irlier 
 
 1 
 
 ood ; 
 
 _ 
 
 outh 
 
 : 
 
 have 
 
 ; 
 
 have 
 
 < 
 
 :ords 
 
 i 
 
 5oers 
 
 
 Joers 
 
 
 ilike 
 
 
 lors, 
 
 
 lade 
 
 
 Why, then, did these men abandon their homes, sacrifice wh.atcver 
 property could not be carrit;d away, and flee from iMr^lisli rule as from 
 the most hateful tyranny ? The causes are stated in a great mass of 
 correspondence addressed by tlicm to the Colonial Government, and 
 now preserved, with other colonial records, in declarations published 
 by some of them before leaving, in letters fo their relatives and to 
 newspapers, and in hundreds of pages of printed matter, prepared by 
 friendly and hostile hands. The declaration of one of llie ablest men 
 among them assigns the following as the motives of himself and the 
 party that went with him : 
 
 'Graham's Town, 
 
 ^January 22, 1837 
 
 ' I. We despair of saving the colony from those evils which threaten 
 it by the turbulent and dishonest conduct of vagrants who are allowed 
 to infest the country in every part ; nor do we see any prospect of 
 peace or happiness for our children in a country thus distracted by 
 internal commotions. 
 
 ' 2. We complain of the severe losses which we have been forced to 
 sustain by the emancipation of our slaves, and the vexatious laws which 
 have been enacted respecting them. 
 
 ' 3. We complain of the continual system of plunder which we have 
 for years endured from the Kaffirs and other coloured classes, and 
 particularly by the last invasion of the colony, which has desolated tlie 
 frontier districts, and ruined most of the inhabitants. 
 
 '4. We complain of the unjustifiable odium which has been cast upon 
 us by interested and dishonest persons, under the name of religion, 
 whose testimony is believed in England, to the exclusion of all cviflcnce 
 in our favour ; and we can foresee, as the result of this prejudice, nothing 
 but the total ruin of the country. 
 
 ' 5. We are resolved, wherever we go, that we will uphold the just 
 principles of liberty ; but, whilst we will take care that no one is brought 
 by us into a condition of slavery, we will establish such regulations as 
 may suppress crime, and preserve proper relations between master and 
 servant. 
 
 ' 6. We solemnly declare that we leave this colony with a desire to 
 enjoy a quieter life than we have hitherto had. We will not molest any 
 peiiple, nor deprive them of the smallest property ; but, if attacked, we 
 shall consider ourselves fully justified in defending our persons and 
 effects, to the utmost of our ability, against every enemy. 
 
 ' 7. We make known that when we shall have framed a code of laws 
 for our guidance, copies siiall be forwarded to this colony for general 
 information ; bu' we take the opportunity of stating that it is our firm 
 
6 THE t:<ansvaal from within 
 
 resolve to make provision for the summary punishment, even with death, 
 of all traitors, without exception, who may be found amonj^^t us. 
 
 ' 8. Wi; purpose, in the course of our journey, and on arrival at the 
 country in which we shall permanently reside, to make known to the 
 native tribes our intentions, and our desire to live in peace and friendly 
 intercourse with them. 
 
 '9. Wc quit this colony under the full assurance that the English 
 Government has nothing more to require of us, and will allow us to 
 govern ourselves without its interference in future. 
 
 ' 10. We are now leaving the fruitful land of our birth, in wiiich we 
 have suffered enormous losses and continual vexation, and are about to 
 enter a strange and dangerous territory ; but we go witli a firm reliance 
 on an all-seeing, just, and merciful God, whom we shall always fear, and 
 huiiiblv endeavour to obey. 
 
 ' In tlie name of all who leave the colony with me, 
 
 •P. Retief.' 
 
 But formal declarations such as the above are not in all instances to 
 be trusted. It is much safer to compare numerous documents written 
 at different times, by different persons, and under different circum- 
 stances. For our subject this means of information is as complete as 
 can be desired. The correspondence of the emigrants with tlie Cape 
 Government was the work of many individuals, and extended over many 
 years. The letters are usually of great length, badly constructed, and 
 fcadly spelt — the productions, in short, of uneducated men ; but so 
 uniform is the vein of thought running through them all, that there is 
 not the slightest difficulty in condensing them into a dozen pages. 
 When analyzed, the statements contained in them are found to consist 
 of two charges, one against the Imperial Government, the other against 
 the agents in South Africa of the London Missionary Society. 
 
 The Imperial Government was charged with exposing the white in- 
 habitants of the colony, without protection, to robbery and murder by 
 the blacks ; with giving credence in every dispute to statements made 
 by interested persons in favour of savages, while refusing to credit the 
 testimony, no matter how reliable, of colonists of European extraction ; 
 with liberating the slaves in an unjust manner ; and generally with such 
 undue partiality for persons with black skins and savage habits, as to 
 make it preferable to seek a new home in the wilderness than remain 
 under the English Hag. 
 
 Tlie missionaries of the London Society were charged with usurping 
 authority that should properly belong to the civil magistrate ; with mis- 
 representing facts ; and with advocating schemes directly hostile to the 
 progress of civiHzation, and to the observance of order. And it was 
 asserted that the influence of these missionaries was all powerful at the 
 Colonial Office in London, by which the colony, without a voice in the 
 management of its affairs, was then ruled absolutely. 
 
 In support of the charges against the Imperial Government, the 
 emigrant':, dwelt largely upon the devastation of the eastern districts by 
 the Kaffirs' inroad of December, 1834, which was certainly unprovoked 
 by the colonists. Yet Lord Glenelg, who was then Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies, justified the Kaffirs, and not only refused to punish 
 them, but actually gave them a large slip of land, including the dense 
 jungles along the Fish River, that had long been part of the colony ; and 
 made no other provision against the recurrence of a destructive invasion 
 than a series of treaties with a number of barbarous chiefs, who had no 
 regard for their engagements. This event is the most prominent feature 
 
 \ 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 and 
 
 irping 
 ill mis- 
 Ito the 
 U was 
 It the 
 lin the 
 
 i 
 
 it, the 
 
 
 ^ts by 
 
 
 voked 
 
 
 State 
 
 
 unish 
 
 
 dense 
 
 
 ; and 
 
 J- 
 
 asion 
 
 i 
 
 ad no 
 
 1 
 
 ;ature 
 
 
 in the correspondence of the emigrants ; it is fairly recorded, and 
 the language used is in general much more moderate than that 
 employed by the English frontier coloni,-,ts when relating the same 
 circumstance. 
 
 Next stands the removal of all restraint from the coloured population 
 of the colony, without the protection to the whites ot even a Vagr;int 
 Act. Several of the colonial divisions liad hccn for ten or twelve y^ars 
 overrun by fugitives from the Basuto and lietshuana countries, who had 
 been driven from their own homes by the troubles already reconled. 
 These people were usually termed Mantatecs or Makatees, iTom the 
 supposition that they were all subjects of Ma N't.itisi. Towards the 
 eastern frontiers Kaffirs, and after the war Fingos, wandered about 
 practically wherever they chose. In the remainder of the colony 
 Hottentots, free blacks, and mixed breeds came and went as they 
 pleased. How is it possible, said the farmers, for us to cultivate the 
 ground, or breed cattle, with all these savages and semi-savages con- 
 stantly watching for opportunities to plunder ui; — with no police, and 
 no law under which suspicious characters can be arrested and made to 
 account for their manner of living ? 
 
 Much is said of the reproofs of Sir Benjamin D' Urban by tiic 
 Secretary of State, and, after 1838, of the dismissal of that Governor, 
 (i) The emigrants asserted that he was the best Governor the colony 
 had had since it became subject to England ; they dwelt upon his 
 benevolence, his ability, his strict justice, his impartiality to white and 
 black, his efforts to promote civilization ; and then they compkiined, 
 in words more hitter than are to be found when they referred to any 
 other subject, that the good Governor had been reproved, and finally 
 deprived of his office, because he had told the plain truth, regardless of 
 the London Missionary Society ; and had endeavoured to mete out to 
 black criminals the same justice that he would have meted out had 
 they been white. There is now no one in South Africa who does not 
 agree with the emigrants in this matter. Nearly half a century has 
 passed away since Sir Benjamin D" Urban was forced into retirement 
 by Lord Glenclg ; and during that period the principal measures which 
 he proposed have been approved of and adopted, while the successors 
 of those missionaries who were his bitter opponents are at present 
 among the strongest advocates of his system of dealing with the natives. 
 
 Sir Benjamin D'Urb.m remained in South Africa, after being deprived 
 of office, until the reversal of his policy towards the natives was 
 admitted by most people even in England to have been a mistake. 
 He did not leave the Cape until April, 1846, just after the commencement 
 of the War of the Axe. 
 
 Concerning the liberation of the slaves, there is less in this corre- 
 spondence than one might reasonably expect to find. ^Lany scores of 
 pages can be examined without any allusion whatever to it. Nowhere 
 is there a single word to be found in favour of slavery as an institution ; 
 the view of the emigrants, with hardly an exception, being fairly 
 represented in the following sentence, taken from a letter of tiie 
 Volksraad at Natal to Sir George Napier : ' A long and sad experience 
 has sufficiently convinced us of the injury, loss, and dearness of slave 
 labour, so that neither slavery nor the slave trade will ever be permitted 
 among us.' 
 
 [The allusions to the emancipation of slaves, and to slavery 
 as an institution, will be considered by many to need some 
 
 / 
 
■^ 
 
 8 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 modific.ition or exiilanation. The Dutch even to-day speak 
 of the emancipation as the real cause of the great exodus; 
 and the sj'stem of indenture, and the treatment of natives 
 generally by the Hoers, cannot fairly be regarded as warrant- 
 ing the view expressed by Mr. Theal in connection with this 
 letter to Sir George Napier.] 
 
 It IS allcf^cd, liowever, that the emancipation, as it was carried out, 
 was an act ot coiiliscation. It is stated that most of the slaves were 
 broii^lit to the colony in Eiij<lish ships, and sold by English subjects; 
 that when, in 1795, the colony was invited by Knqlish ofhcers of hi^h 
 rank to place itself under the protection of Knj^land, one of the 
 inducements held out was security in slave property ; at the same time 
 those olTicers warninj^ the colonists that if France obtained possession 
 she would liberate the slaves, as she had done in Martinicpic, tiiereby 
 ruining this colony as she had ruined that island ; that the Enj^lish 
 Government had recently and suddenly changed its policy, andrecjuired 
 them to conform to the change with equal alacrity, whereas thcv were 
 convinced that gradual emancipation, with securities against vagrancy, 
 was the only safe course. The emancipation had been sudden, and the 
 slaves had been placed upon a perfect political equality with their 
 former proprietors. The missionaries applauded this as a noble and 
 generous act of the Imperial Government, and they were told that by 
 everyone in England it was so regarded. Biit at whose expense was 
 this noble and generous act carried out ? Agents of the Imperial 
 Government had appraised the slaves, generally at less than their market 
 value. Two-fifths of this appraisement, being the share apportioned to 
 the Cape out of the twenty million pounds sterling voted by the 
 Imperial Parliament, had then been offered to the proprietors as 
 compens.ition, if they chose to go to London for it, otherwise they 
 could only dispose of their claims at a heavy discount. Thus, in point 
 of fact, only about one-third of the appraised amount had been received. 
 To all slave-holders this had meant a great reduction of wealth, while 
 to many of those who were in debt it was equivalent to the utter 
 deprivation of all property. 
 
 As regards the missionaries, a crusade was organized by 
 some of these worthies, who had themselves married Kaffir 
 women, and who spared no effort and showed no scruple in 
 blackenintj the name of colonist. 
 
 
 The views and interests of the colonists and of these men were so 
 different that concord was hardly possible. The missionaries desired 
 that the blacks should be collected together in villages : the colonists 
 were unwilling that they should be thus withdrawn from service. 
 'Teach them the first step in civilization, to labour honestly for their 
 maintenance, and add to that oral instruction in the doctrines of 
 Christianity,' said the colonists. 'Why should they be debarred from 
 learning to read and write ? And as there can only be schools if they 
 are brought together in villages, why should they not be collected 
 together?' replied the missionaries. 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 i 
 
 affir 
 e in 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 e so 
 
 ^ircd 
 nists 
 
 1 
 
 vice, 
 heir 
 s of 
 rom 
 ;hey 
 cted 
 
 ■■:( 
 1 
 
 Then came another and a larger question. By whom should tlie 
 waste places of tlie laud, the vast areas which wi.tc witliout other 
 occupants than a few roving Bushmen, be peonleii ? ' By the wfiitc 
 man,' said the colonists ; 'it is to the advantage of the world in all time 
 to come that the higher race should expand and be dominant here ; 
 it would be treason to humanity to prevent its growth where it can 
 grow witiiout wrong to others, or to plant an inferior stock where the 
 superior can take root and llourish.' ' By Africans,' said the misMonaries ; 
 'this is African soil ; and if mission stations are established on its deso- 
 late tracts, people will be drawn to them from the far interior, the 
 community will grow rapidly, those enlightened by Christianity here 
 will desire in their turn to enlighten their friends beyond, and thus the 
 Gospel teaching will spread until all Africa stretches out its hands to 
 God,' Coupled with such arguments, which were constantly used by 
 missionaries in the early part of this century, before their enthusiasm 
 was cooled by experience, were calculations that appealed strongly to 
 the commercial instincts of people in England. A dozen colonial 
 farmers required something like a hundred square miles of land for 
 their cattle runs ; on this same ground, under missionary supervision, 
 three or four hundred families of blacks could exist ; these blacks would 
 shortly need large quantities of manufactured goods ; and thus it would 
 be to the interest of tr;ule to encourage them rather than the coloni.>t.i. 
 'Already,' said they, ' after only a few years' training, many blacks can 
 read as well or better than the ordinary colonists, and are exhibiting a 
 decided taste for civilization.' 
 
 There w.as thus a broad line of demarcation between the colonists 
 and such of the missionaries as held these views, and the tendency on 
 each side was to make it still liroader. It was deepened into positive 
 antipathy towards those missionaries who, following Dr. V^andcrkemp s 
 example, united themselves in marriage with black women, and 
 proclaimed themselves the champions of the black population against 
 the white. Everyone acquainted with South African natives knows 
 how ready they are to please their friends by bringing forward charges 
 against anyone whom those friends dislike. Unfortunately the 
 missionaries Vanderkemp and Read were deceived into believing a 
 great number of charges of cruelty made against various colorii>ts, 
 which a little observation would have shown in most instances to be 
 groundless; and thereupon they lodged accusations before the High 
 Court of Justice. In i<Sii between seventy and eighty such cases came 
 before the Circuit Court for trial. There was hardly a family on the 
 frontier of which some relative was not brougiit as a criminal before 
 the judges to answer to a ciiarge of murder or violent assault. Several 
 months were occupied in the trials, and more than a thousand witnesses 
 were examined, but in every instance the most serious charges were 
 proved to be without foundation. Only a few convictions, and those of 
 no very outrageous crimes, resulted from these prosecutions, which 
 kept the entire colony in a ferment until long after the circuit was 
 closed. 
 
 Thus far everyone will approve of the sentiments of one party or the 
 other according to his sympathy, but in what follows no unprejudiced 
 person who will take the trouble to study the matter thoroughly can 
 acquit the anti-colonial missionaries of something more faulty than 
 mere error of judgment. For years their writings teemed with charges 
 against the colonists similar to those they had brought before the High 
 Court of Justice. These writings were circulated widely in Europe, 
 where the voice of the colonists was never heard, and they created 
 
10 
 
 THK TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 impressions there which no rofutafion made in South Africa could ever 
 couiifiTiict. The acts, the laii^u.ij^c, even the written petitions of the 
 colonists, were so distorted in accounts sent home, that these accounts 
 cannot now lie read by tiiose who have made themselves acquainted 
 witli the trutii, without the hvcliest feelings of indij^nation heinf^ excited. 
 
 The colonists learned that in Knpland they were rej^arded as cruel 
 barbarians because they refused to permit Hottentot herds, swarming 
 with vermin, to be seated in tiieir front rooms at tiie time of family 
 prayer. They found themselves pictured as the harshest of tiskm.islers, 
 as unfecl;n;j violators of native rij^lits. And of late years it had become 
 plain to them th.it the views of their opponents were beini^ acted upon 
 at the Colonial t)n"ice, while their comjilaints were wholly disre.tjarded. 
 
 Several causes of dissatisfaction, besides those above mentioned, 
 contributed to tlie impulse of emigration, but all in a very slight degree. 
 Judge Cloete, in his ' I'ive Lectures,' mentions the severe inmishment 
 inllicted upon the frontier insurgents of iJ<i5 as one of them ; and 
 there is no doubt tiiat it was so will) some families, though no trace of 
 it can be found in the correspondence of the emigr.ints. The substi- 
 tution in 1^27 of the Knglish for the Dutch language in the colonial 
 coiuts of law was certainly generally felt as a grievance. The alteration 
 in 1813 of the system of land tenure, the redemption in 1825 of the 
 paper currency at only thirty-six hundredths of its nominal value, and 
 the abolition in 1827 of the courts of landdrost and heemraden, 
 unque.slionably caused much dissatislaction, thougb all of these 
 measures are now admitted by everyone to have been benelici.il. The 
 long delay in issuing titles to far-ns, the cost of which has been paid to 
 Government years before, is mentioned as a grievance in some of the 
 declarations. 
 
 I 
 
 Two parties — men, women, and children — numbering 
 ninct3'-eight in all, pioneered the great trek ; of these twenty- 
 six survived fever and fighting, loss of provisions, waggons, 
 and cattle, and a long weary tramp from Zoutpansberg to 
 Dtl.'iooa IJay, and were rescued and taken thence to Natal, 
 and two children were carried off by the natives. The sur- 
 vivors were three women with their twelve children — seven 
 orphan children and four youths. Not a single grown man 
 escaped. 
 
 During the winter of 1836 preparations for emigration were being 
 made over the eastern and midland districts. The Governor was 
 perfectly helpless in the matter. The Attorney-General, Mr. A. 
 Olipliant, was consulted by the Governor, and gave his opinion that 
 ' it seemed next to an impossibility to prevent persons passing out of 
 the colony by laws in force, or by any which could be framed." On 
 August 19 Sir Benjamin D'Urban wrote to the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom, that ' he could see no means of stopping the 
 emigration, except by persuasion, ind attention to the wants and 
 necessities of the farmers.' In that direction the Governor had done 
 all that was in his power, but he could not act in opposition to the 
 instructions of the Secretary of State. Sir Andries Stockenstrom 
 himself, in replying to an address from the inhabitants of Uitenhage, 
 
f 
 
 IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 II 
 
 stated that ' !••• was not aware of any law wluch pievciilcd any of his 
 Majoty's siiliji ct.s from leaving his doiuiiiioiis and MttUii^ in aiiolhir 
 couiitrv ; and such u law, if U did exist, would he tyraiiiucil and 
 oppressive' 
 
 The story of the trckkcrs is one of siirpassinj^ intenst, and 
 must enlist for thcin the sympathy and unbounded adiniiiiiioii 
 of all. 
 
 By the middle of the yar 1837 there were over one 
 thousand wagg(jn.s between the Caledon and Vaal rivers — 
 truly a notable and alarming exodus; and the i^oers then 
 bejjan the work of carving' out new countries for themsilves. 
 Tlieii 'I. story surpasses all fiction in its vicissitudes, successes, 
 and tragedies. They fought and worked and trekked, onward, 
 always onward — never returning — on beyond the furthermost 
 outposts of civilization. 
 
 And so the story rolls on, gaining pathos, but losing no 
 whit of interest from its etern.il sameness. They fought, and 
 worked, and starved, and died for their land of pruniisi*, where 
 they might hope to be alone, like the simple people of tlieir 
 one Book ; where they might never know the haled 15riti>ih 
 rule ; where they might never experience the forms and 
 trammels, the restlessness and changes, the worries, the 
 necessities or benefits, of progressing civilization. Their 
 quarrel had been with the abuses and blunders of one 
 Government ; but a narrow experience moved them to 
 mistrust all but their own pastoral jjatriarchal way, moulded 
 on the records of the liible, and to regard the evidences of 
 progress as warnings of coming oppression and curtailment 
 of liberty, and a departure from the simple and ideal way. 
 The abuses from which they suffered are no more ; th.e 
 methods which were unjust have been abandoned ; the 
 ignorance of the ruler has been dispelled ; in place of 
 despotism there is autonomy ; justice rules where ignorance 
 and bias sat; liberty where there was interference; protection 
 for oppression ; progress and civilization have increased as in 
 no other epoch ; and the nation and Government from which 
 they severed themselves have taken their place in the very 
 forefront of all. But the Boer sees with the eyes of sixty 
 years ago ! 
 
 The ideal was impossible, the struggle hopeless, the end 
 
12 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 certain. They trekked, and trekked and trekked again ; but 
 the flafT of England — emblem of all they hated — was close 
 by ; behind, beside, in front, or over them ; and the something 
 which they could not fight — the ever-advancing tide of 
 civilization — lapped at their feet, and slowly, silently, and for 
 ever blotted out the line where they had written, ' Thus far 
 and no further.' 
 
 The South African Republic had been in existence as an 
 independent State for twelve years when it reached that 
 condition of insolvency which appeared to invite, or at least 
 justify, annexation, as the only alternative to complete ruin 
 and chaos. And there are very few, even among the most 
 uncom[)romising supporters of the Boers, who seriously 
 attempt to show that the Transvaal had any prospect of 
 prolonging its existence as an independent State for more 
 than a few months when Sir Theophilus Shepstone annexed 
 it in 1877. The following picture is from a book published 
 by the late Alfred Aylward, the Fenian, more anti-British 
 than the Boer himself, who was present at the time, and 
 wrote his book in order to enlist sympathy for the movement 
 then (187S) organized to obtain a cancellation of the annexa- 
 tion. The value of Aylward's testimony would not be fairly 
 appreciated without some explanation. 
 
 Sir Bartle Frere describes him (and quotes Scotland Yard 
 authorities who !cnew him well) as one of the party who 
 murdered the policeman at Manchester, and one of the worst 
 and most active of the dynamiting Irishmen — a professional 
 agitator, who boasted of his purpose to promote the Transvaal 
 rebellion. Major Le Caron, too, stated on oath before the 
 Parnell Commission that money was sent by the Irish Rebel 
 Societies, through Aylward, to stir up the Transvaal rebellion. 
 This is what Aylward says : 
 
 All South Africa was for the moment at rest, with the exception of 
 the district of Utrecht, where an old-standing grievance with Cetewayo 
 was the cause of some httle alarm and excitement {i.e., Cetewayo's 
 threatened invasior). Still, the Transvaal was disturbed throughout its 
 whole extent by the expectation of some pending cliange — a change 
 coming from the outside, which had been invited by an active, discon- 
 tented party, chieHy foreigners, dwellers in town^-, non-producers, place- 
 luniters, deserters, refugees, land-speculators, ' development-men,' and 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 13 
 
 jxa- 
 
 the 
 
 I 
 
 ayo 
 
 ■1 
 •1 
 
 its 
 
 ■T^' 
 
 on- 
 
 '.' 
 
 ce- 
 
 ■^i 
 
 md 
 
 pests of Transvaal society generally, who openly preached resistance 
 to the law, refusal to pay taxes, and contempt of the natural and 
 guaranteed owners of the country in which they lived, in the distinctly 
 expressed hope that foreign intervention would fill the country with 
 British gold, and conduce to their own material prosperity. The Boers, 
 spread over a country larger than France, were stunned into stupor 
 by the demonstrative loudness of the party of discontent. In some 
 districts they (the Boers) were poor, and could not readily pay the 
 taxes imposed upon them by the wars and railway projects of the 
 Government. Their Volksraad was in Session, but its every action was 
 paralyzed by the gloom of impending dissolution. 
 
 The Republic owed ;£2i5,ooo, which it had no immediate means of 
 paying. Its creditors were clamorous ; whilst the Executive, turn to 
 which side it would, found itself confronted by threats, reproaches, 
 accusations of slavery and cruelty based upon hearsay, and wliich, like 
 the annexation that steadily approached, could not be met, because 
 neither of them had yet assumed the evidenced consistency of actual 
 fact. There was no public opinion to support the Government or to 
 save the Republic. The Boers lived far apart from each other, whilst 
 the annexationists and the party of disorder dwelt, in compact com- 
 munities, in towns and mining villages. Into the midst of this confusion 
 — into the capital of this bewildered State — entered Sir Theophilus 
 Shepstone and his staff. He had not come to seize the country — he 
 had come as ' an adviser, as a helper, and as a friend ' ; but his advent 
 was a blight — an incubus which rendered additionally powerless the 
 unfortunate President and his Council. The coming of Sir Theophilus 
 Shcpston J was, to the minds of nearly all, but too clearly the forerunner 
 of change. In the face of this additional whet to the anticipations of 
 the party of disturbance, something that has been described as anarchy 
 prevailed. Everyone waited ; all fell into a state of expectation ; no 
 one attempted to save the State, or repel the danger. At the same time, 
 there was no anarchy in the proper sense of the word. Justice sat on 
 her seat; criminals were arrested and brought to trial ; actions at law 
 were heard and determined ; and in no one place, save the gold fields, 
 was authority, even for a moment, defied. There the law vindicated 
 itself without having used violence or shed one drop of blood. Not 
 one siiijle public outrage, not one unpunished crime, marked this 
 period oi suspense, which is described by partizan writers as a time of 
 chaos and anarchy. 
 
 Peace was granted to Secocoeni, and the quietness and gloom of 
 the country became even more profound. 
 
 Now, had a commission, royal or joint, been opened in Pretoria to 
 inquire into the truth of the allegations made against the Government, 
 history miglit perhaps be able to record that judgment, followed by 
 justice, had overtaken the Transvaal. No commission was opened. 
 There was a banquet and a ball. The suspense increased in intensity. 
 Understrappers, and agents of the discontented faction, filled the 
 country with rumours of impending annexation, and sometimes of 
 impending conquest. The Boers, the inhabitants of the country, asked 
 day after day what was the mission of the English Commissioner. 
 They visited him in hundreds ; but he knew the wonderful advantage 
 to be gatliered from the heightening of the mystery, and the intensifying 
 of the e.\citem"nt. He listened to everyone ; but he maintained a 
 gloomy and impassive silence, neither checking the aspirations of the 
 am exationists, nor dissipating the forebodin;;^s of the farmers. 
 
 News arrived that tioons were i.-aicbing towiirds, and massing on, 
 
^?».«l 
 
 M 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Ij ': 
 
 tlie border ; rumours spread that annexation was inevitable. Sir 
 Theophilus sought not to alleviate the anxieties of the Government, 
 nor to quell the now rising alarm amongst the people ; he simply sat 
 still and listened, watcliing ihe writhings and strugglings of the doomed 
 Volksraad, and awaiting a favourable moment to end its existence. 
 
 At length someone determined to ask : ' Was it not possible to avert 
 this annexation which loomed before every mind, brooding like a 
 shadow upon the country ?' He went to Sir Theophilus ; he asked his 
 question ; and at length the cracle spoke. Without moving a muscle 
 of his wonderfully impassive countenance, without even raising his 
 eyes to look at the interlocutor, Sir Theophilus calmly murmured : ' It 
 is too late ! — too late !' And so, without the authorization of the home 
 Government, without the consent of her Majesty's High Commissioner, 
 without the concurrence of the Volksraad, against the will of thirty- 
 nine-fortieths of the people, and in defiance of the protest of their 
 Executive, as Mr. Antliony Trollope puts it, Sir Theophilus said : ' Then 
 and from thenceforth the Transvaal shall be British property I' So he 
 put up the Queen's flag. 
 
 Now, it is impossible to conceive anything more admirable for its 
 discretion, more wisely calculated as to the moment of its occurrence, 
 or more suavely and yet firmly done than this act. There was not a 
 blow struck, not a shot fired ; and the first impulse of nearly every 
 person in the country, whether in principle opposed to annexation or 
 not, was to congratulate Sir Theophilus Shepstone on the skill, tact, 
 and good fortune with which he had put an end to the excessive 
 anxiety, the mental strain, the fears, hopes, and expectations by which 
 the whole country was paralyzed. Whether the annexation be now 
 held to be right or wrong, its execution, so far as regards the act itself, 
 was an unparalleled triumph of tact, modesty, and firmness. 
 
 It was not discovered at the moment, and it never entered into any 
 man's mind to consider, that it was the presence in Pretoria of Sir 
 Theophilus himself that had created the anxiety, and caused the 
 paralysis ; and that it was his arts and presence that had tightened 
 and strung up into quivering intensity the mind of the country. He 
 had broken the spell ; he had introduced certainty in place of uncer- 
 tainty ; and he was congratulated, and very properly so, for the 
 manner in which he had brought to a conclusion his hazardous 
 mission. 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 Sir Theophilus Shepstone's despatches record his negotia- 
 tions with President Burgers, and the arrangement which 
 allowed him to make a formal protest against the annexation, 
 so as to satisfy his Irreconcilables, whilst he in reality not 
 only assented to the measure, but even assisted the com- 
 pletion of it, and discussed the details with Shepstone, who 
 in turn had revised President Burgers' ' protest.' 
 
 On April 3, 1 877, Shepstone had written to Frere : 
 
 
 Mr. Burgers, who had been all along, as far as his conversation and 
 professions to me went, in full accord with me, had suddenly taken 
 alarm ; he made impossible proposals, all of which involved infinite 
 delay, and, of course, dangerous agitation. As far as I am concerned, 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 15 
 
 it is impossible for me to retreat now, come what may. If I were to 
 leave the country, civil war would at once take place, as the natives 
 would consider it the sunshine in which they could make hay in the 
 Transvaal ; the goldfields are in a state of rebellion against the 
 Transvaal Government, and they are kept from overt acts only by 
 my warnings and entreaties. 
 
 And eight days later he wrote to Mr. Robert Herbert 
 enclosing his letter under ' flying seal ' to Frere : 
 
 There will be a protest against my act of annexation issued by the 
 Government, but they will at the same time call upon the pec pie to 
 submit quietly, pending the issue ; you need not be disquieted by such 
 action, because it is taken merely to save appearances, and the members 
 of the Government from the violence of a faction that seems for years 
 to have held Pretoria in terror when any act of the Government 
 displeased it. 
 
 You will better understand this when I tell you privately that the 
 President has from the first fully acquiesced in the necessity for the 
 change, and that most of the members of the Government have 
 CKpressed themselves anxious for it ; but none of them have had the 
 courage openly to express their opinions, so I have had to act 
 apparently against them ; and this I have felt bound to do, knowing 
 the state and danger of the country, and that three-fourths of the 
 people will be thankful for the change when once it is made. 
 
 Yesterday morning Mr. Burgers came to me to arrange how the 
 matter should be done. I read to him the draft of my Proclamation, 
 and he proposed the alteration of two words only, to which I agreed. 
 He brought to me a number of conditions which he wished me to 
 insert, which I have accepted, and have embodied in my Proclamation. 
 He told me that he could not help issuing a protest, to keep the 
 noisy portion of the people quiet — and you will see grounds for this 
 precaution when I tell you that there are only half a dozei, native 
 constables to represent the power of the State in Pretoria, and a 
 considerable number of the boers in the neighbourhood are of the 
 lowest and most ignorant class. Mr. Burgers read me, too, the draft of 
 his protest, and asked me if I saw any objection to it, or thought it too 
 strong. I said that it appeared to me to pledge the people to resist 
 by-and-by ; to which he replied that it was to tide over the difficulty of 
 the moment, seeing that my support, the troops, were a fortnight's 
 march distant, and that by the time the answer to the protest came, 
 all desire of opposition would have died out. I therefore did not 
 persuade him from his protest. 
 
 You will see, when the proclamation reaches you, that I have taken 
 high ground. Nothing but annexation will or can save the State, and 
 nothing else can save South Africa from the direst consequences. All 
 the thinking and intelligent people know this, and will be thankful to 
 be delivered from the thraldom of petty factions, by which they are 
 perpetually kept in a state of excitement and unrest, because the 
 Government, and everything connected with it, is a thorough sham. 
 
 This arrangement with President Burgers was a most 
 improper compromise on both sides. Moreover, Shepstone 
 
 m: 
 
If) 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 received the protests of the Executive Council and of the 
 Volksraad before he issued his proclamation. He had plenty 
 of evidence to show that even if his action was approved by 
 the majority, the Boers were sufficiently divided to demand 
 some delay. He knew that the members of the Government 
 and of the Raad would not face the responsibility of 
 relinquishing the State's independence, although he received 
 private assurances and entreaties encouraging him to act. 
 He had representations and deputations from the Boers 
 themselves, sufficient in weight and number to warrant his 
 belief that a large proportion of the people desired annexa- 
 tion. He should not have allowed the 'hedging' that was 
 practised at his expense. The Boer leaders were ' between 
 the devil and the deep sea.' There can be no doubt what- 
 ever that they dearly loved and prized their independence 
 and would have fought even then for it had they been in a 
 position to preserve and profit by it ; but they were not. 
 They dared neither ask for relief at the price of annexation, 
 nor reject the proffered relief at the price of continuing the 
 hopeless struggle. So they compromised. They took the 
 relief, they accepted pay of the new Government, and entered 
 a protest, so as to put themselves right with the records and 
 stand well with untamed ones of the party. 
 
 The Act of Annexation is so generally condemned by the 
 friends and sympathizers of the Boers, and is so persistently 
 quoted by them as the cause of the Boer War, that it is only 
 right to show clearly what the opinion was at that time ; and 
 if it be deemed that overmuch space is given to this matter, 
 the answer is, that it is quoted now as the crime which gave 
 rise to the present hatred and mistrust of England, and it is 
 all-important that the truth should be clear. 
 
 This is what Mr. J. F. Celliers, the patriotic editor of the 
 Boer newspaper, De Volkssteni, wrote in reviewing the work 
 of the special session of the Volksraad, convened to deal with 
 the questions of Lord Carnarvon's Federation Bill, and the 
 rescuing of the country from ruin and chaos : — ' During the 
 session we have repeatedly had occasion to comment on the 
 doings of the Raad. These comments have not been favour- 
 able, and we regret to say that we have found in the closing 
 scenes of our Legislature no reason to alter our opinions.' 
 
 
 li 
 
 \ 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 17 
 
 Then follows a scathing account of the ' work done,' in which 
 occur such references as : — ' With the exception of a couple of 
 members, no one had the sense or manli-iess to go into the 
 question of confederation'; and 'The most surprising feature 
 of the whole affair was this — that most of the speakers 
 seemed not to have the faintest conception of the desperate 
 ondition in which the country stood. . . .' And again, 
 jnder date of March 28 : ' About three months ago we said 
 we would prefer confederation under the British flag if the 
 state of anarchy then threatening were to continue. We 
 know that a good and stable Government is better than 
 anarchy any dsy. 
 
 It is noteworthy ^)iat the writer of the above is the same 
 Mr, Celliers who, two years later, was put in gaol by Colonel 
 Lanyon on a charge of sedition, because he attacked the 
 Administration for its failure to keep the promises made at 
 the time of annexation. 
 
 Three thousand out of eight thousand voters actually 
 signed petitions in favour of annexation. In the Raad, 
 President Burgers openly reproached members for pro- 
 claiming in public, and for improper reasons, views 
 diametrically opposed to those privately expressed on the 
 confederation and annexation questions ; and refused to 
 consult with three out of four members appointed as a 
 deputation to confer with him on these subjects, because 
 they had not paid their taxes, and had so helped by example, 
 not less than by the actual offence, to cause the ruin of tht 
 country and the loss of independence. And on March 3 
 President Burgers read an address to the Raad, in which the 
 following words occur : 
 
 ' I would rather be a policeman under a strong Government than the 
 President of such a State. It is you — you members of the Raad anc' 
 the Boers — who have lost the country, who have sold your indepen 
 dence for a soupe (a drink). You have ill-treated the natives, you have 
 shot them down, you have sold them into slavery, and now you have to 
 pay the penalty.' 
 
 -I 
 
 ' We should delude ourselves by entertaining the hope that matters 
 would mend by-and-by. It would only be self-deceit. I tell you 
 openly, matters are as bad as they ever can be ; they cannot be worse. 
 These are bitter truths, and people may perhaps turn their backs on 
 me ; but then I shall have the consolation of having done my duty.' 
 * * * « * * c 
 
i8 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 ' It is said here this or that man must be released from taxes, because 
 the Kaffirs have driven them off their farms, and occupy the latter. By 
 this you proclaim to the world that the strongest man is master here, 
 that the rifjht of the strongest obtains here.' [Mr. Mare : 'This is not 
 true.'] 'Tlien it is not true what the honourable member, Mr. Breyten- 
 bach, has told us about the state of the Lydenburg district ; then it is 
 not true either what another member has said about the farms in Zout- 
 pansberg, which are occupied by Kaffirs. Neither is it true, then, what 
 I saw with iiiv own eyes at Lydenburg, where the burghers f ad been 
 driven off their farms by the Kafi'irs, and where Johannes was 
 ploughing and sowing on the land of a burgher. These are facts, and 
 they show that the strongest man is the master here. The fourth 
 point which we have to take into account affects our relations with our 
 English neighbours. It is asked, What have they got to do with our 
 position ? I tell you, as much as we have to do with that of our Kaffir 
 neighbours. As little as we can allow barbarities among the Kaflirs on 
 our borders, as little can they allow that in a state on their borders 
 anarchy and rebellion should prevail.' 
 
 ' Do you know what has recently happened in Turkey ? Because no 
 civilized government was carried on there, the Great Powers interfered 
 and said, " Thus far, and no further." And if this is done to an empire, 
 will a little republic be excused when it misbehaves ?' 
 
 ' Complain to other Powers, and seek justice there ? Yes, thank God ! 
 justice is still to be found, even for the most insignificant ; but it is 
 precisely the justice which will convict us. If we want justice, we 
 must be in a position to ask it with unsullied hands.' 
 
 ' Whence has arisen that urgency to make an appeal for interference 
 elsewhere ? Has that appeal been made only by enemies of the State ? 
 Oh no, gentlemen ; it has arisen from real grievances. Our people 
 have degenerated from their former position ; they have become de- 
 moralised ; they are not what they ought to be.' 
 
 'To-day a bill for ;£i,ioo was laid before me for signature; but I 
 would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that paper, for I 
 have not the slightest ground to expect that when that bill becomes due 
 there will be a penny to pay it with.' 
 
 The President added, and his statements remained uncon- 
 tradicted : 
 
 
 The principal thing which had brought them to their present position 
 was that to which they would not give attention. It was not this or 
 that thing which impeded their way, but they themselves stopped the 
 way ; and if they asked him what prevented the people from remaining 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 19 
 
 I- 
 
 independent, he answered that the Republic was itself the obstruction, 
 owwi^ to the inherent incapacity and weakness of the people. But 
 whence this weakness ? Was it because they were deformed ? because 
 they were worse than other people ? because they were too few and too 
 insignificant to occupy the country ? Those arguments did not weigh 
 with him. They were not true ; he did not consider them of any 
 importance. The people wen; as good as any other people, but they 
 were completely demoralized ; they had lost faith in God, reliance 
 upon themselves, or trust in each other. Hence he believed they were 
 inherently weak. 
 
 He did not believe that a new constitution would save them ; for as 
 little as the old constitution had brought them to ruin, so little would a 
 new constitution bring them salvation. 
 
 The Great Powers, with all their greatness, all their thousands of 
 soldiers, would fall as quickly as this State had fallen, and even more 
 quickly, if their citizens were to do what the citizens of this State had 
 done;' if the citizens of England had behaved towards the Crown as 
 the burghers of this State had behaved to their Government, England 
 would never have stood as long as she had, not even as long as this 
 State had stood. This State owed obligations to other countries ; they 
 knew that the fire which had nearly consumed this State would, if felt 
 by them, very soon consume them also. 
 
 In several of the cities of Holland there were people who had sub- 
 scribed for only one debenture, because Uicy thought men of their own 
 blood were living in South Africa. What was the consequence ? The 
 interest up to July last had been paid ; in January of this year ;^2,25o 
 was due for interest, and there was not a penny to meet it. 
 
 )Osition 
 this or 
 )ed the 
 laining 
 
 To take up arms and fight was nonsense ; to draw the sword would 
 be to draw the sword against God, for it was God's judgment that the 
 State was in the condition it was to-day ; and it was their duty to inquire 
 whether they should immerse in blood the thousands of innocent 
 inhabitants of this country, and if so, what for ? For an idea — for 
 something they had in their heads, but not in their hearts ; for an 
 independence which was not prized. Let them make the best of the 
 situation, and get the best terms they possibly could ; let them agree to 
 join their hands to those of their brethren in the south, and then from 
 the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there 
 was something grand in that — grander even than their idea of a 
 Republic — something which ministered to their national feeling. And 
 would this be so miserable ? Yes ; this would be miserable for those 
 who would not be under the law, for the rebel and revolutionist, but 
 welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order. 
 
 They must not underrate their real and many difficulties. He could 
 point to the south-western border, the Zulu, the goldfields, and other 
 
'I'-H. 
 
 20 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 questions, and show them that it was their duty to come to an arrange- 
 ment with the British Government, and to do so in a bold and manly 
 manner. An hon. member on Saturday last had spoken with a fervent 
 patriotism ; but he liad failed to appreciate the reference, because it 
 amounted to this — that they must shut their eyes to everything, so as to 
 keep their independence. 
 
 •II 
 
 President Burgers, who left the Transvaal broken-hearted, 
 more by the cruel and mean intriguing and dissensions 
 among, and disloyalty of, his own peo[)Ie, which made the 
 annexation possible, than by the Act itself, when dying left 
 a statement of the case. It is too long to reproduce in its 
 entirety. He shows how the English faction worked for 
 annexation, and how the Dopper party, headed by Kruger, 
 allied themselves with the former in intrigue against the 
 Government, thwarting all effort at reform and organization, 
 and encouraging the refusal to pay taxes. He states plainly 
 that this course was pursued by Kruger in order to oust him 
 from power, and secure the Presidency for himself. He 
 shows how he opposed ' that other element which had for- 
 merly worked in secret, viz., British interference, which got 
 a strong support from the Boers themselves, and one of their 
 chief leaders, P. Kruger, who had betrayed me, after 
 promising me his and his party's support.' He gives the 
 final scene as follows : 
 
 The Volksraad had gone away, having done nothing but harm. The 
 members of the Executive had gone home, as if all were safe, and I sat 
 with a half-new Cabinet and part of an old one, half discliarged. Yet 
 I made one attempt more, and drafted a letter to Shepstone, intimating 
 that I would oppose the annexation by force of arms, etc. ; and showed 
 this to two members of the Executive. The response to my appeal, 
 however, was so weak (one of them being in league with the English) 
 that I had to abandon the project, and try to prepare for the worst. 
 When, therefore, Shepstone's announcement came — that he could wait 
 no longer, that he had given us time enough to reform, and that he 
 must issue his proclamation — I could do no more than advise a protest, 
 and an appeal to foreign powers. This having been agreed to by my 
 Government, I met Shepstone in presence of the Executive, and what 
 could be saved for the country, such as its language, its legislature, the 
 position of its officials, etc., was arranged. Before issuing his procla- 
 mation, Shepstone desired to see copies of both mine and the 
 Government protest. This I promised, on condition he showed me his 
 proclamation before publication : to which he agreed. To one clause I 
 greatly objected, and protested — namely, the threat of confiscation of 
 property for disobeying the proclamation. I pointed out that this was 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 21 
 
 il ;l 
 
 barbarous, and would be punishing a man's innocent family for his 
 actions. The clause was omitted. This is the origin of the lie that I 
 helped Shepstone in drawing up his proclamation. In justice to 
 Shepstone, I must say that I would not consider an officer of my 
 Government to have acted faithfully if he had not done what Shepstone 
 did ; and if the act \v:!S wrong (which undoubtedly it was), not he, but 
 his Government, is to blame for it 
 
 
 Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen left within a month to protest 
 in Knfjhind against the annexation. 
 
 Sir T. Shepstone wrote (May 9) : ' Mr. Paul Kruger and 
 his colleague, Dr. Jorissen, D.D., the Commission to Europe, 
 leave to-day. I do not think that either of them wishes the 
 Act of Annexation to be cancelled ; Dr. Jorissen certainly 
 does not' And Mr. J. D. Barry, Recorder of Kimberley, 
 wrote to Frere (May 15) : 'The delegates, Paul Kruger and 
 Dr. Jorissen, left Pretoria on the 8th, and even they do not 
 seem to have much faith in their mission. Dr. Jorissen 
 thinks that the reversal of Sir Theophilus's Act would not 
 only be impossible, but a great injury to the country.' 
 
 It is not necessary to seek hostile testimony to establish 
 the fact that the Boers as a whole acquiesced in the an- 
 nexation ; the foregoing quotation from Aylward's book 
 supplies all that is needed — unintentionally, perhaps. The 
 Zulu menace, which Aylward so lightly dismisses, was a very 
 serious matter ; the danger a very real one. It has frequently 
 been asserted by the Boers and their friends that the Zulu 
 trouble was fomented by a section of the Natal people, and 
 that Sir Theophilus Shepstone himself, if he did not openly 
 encourage the Zulu King in his threats and encroachments 
 on the Transvaal, at any rate refrained from using his unique 
 influence and power with the Zulus in the direction of peace, 
 and that he made a none too scrupulous use of the Zulu 
 question when he forced the annexation of the Transvaal. 
 It is stated that, in the first place, there was no real danger, 
 and in the next place, if there were, such was Sir Theo- 
 philus's power with the Zulus that he could have averted it; 
 and in support of the first point, and in demolition of Sir T. 
 Shepstone's pro-annexation arguments, the following extract 
 from the latter's despatches is quoted by Aylward and 
 others : 
 
 
aa 
 
 THE TliANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Extract from Despatch, dated Utrecht, Transvaal, 
 January 29, 1878. 
 
 Sir 7". Shepstone to Sir H. Bulwer. 
 
 I'ax. 12. ' Although this question has existed for many years, and the 
 settlement of it has been long postponed, yet on no former occasion has 
 it assumed so serious an aspect, or included so wide an area of terri- 
 tory ; never before has there existed any bar to the farmers occupying 
 tiicir farms after an absence more or less temporary, caused by a tem- 
 porary and local scare. Practically, the line of occupied farms has not 
 been heretofore affected by the dispute about the beaconed boundary, 
 but now the prohibition to these has become absolute by Zulu claims 
 and action. Ruin is staring the farmers in the face, and their position 
 is, for the time, worse under Her Majesty's Government than ever it was 
 under the Republic' 
 
 'S 
 
 
 Had Sir T. Shepstone's power been as great as repre- 
 sented, it is fair to suppose that it would have been exerted, 
 and would have prevailed in support of his own adminis- 
 tration ; but it seems clear that he could do nothing ; and as 
 to the reality of the danger, nothing could better establish 
 that than the unpleasant admissions in the foregoing extract 
 and the initial disasters in the Zulu War a year later. The 
 Boers' protective power was not lessened by the annexation 
 — quite otherwise. It was supplemented by British money, 
 arms, and soldiers, and the prestige of the British flag, and 
 yet things happened as above described. What would they 
 have been under the old conditions ? 
 
 The day before he issued the proclamation Sir T. Shep- 
 stone sent a messenger to Cetewayo, telling him that the 
 Transvaal would be under British sovereignty, and warning 
 him against aggression in that direction. Cetewayo replied : 
 ' I thank my father Somtseu (Shepstone) for his message. I 
 am glad that he has sent it, because the Dutch have tired me 
 out, and I intended to fight with them once, only once, and 
 to drive them over the Vaal. Kabana, you see my impis are 
 gathered. It was to fight the Dutch I called them together. 
 Now I will send them back to their houses.' (C. 1883 
 p. 19.) 
 
 Colonel A. W. Durnford, R.E., in a memorandum of July 5, 
 1877, wrote: 
 
 About this time (April 10) Cetewayo had massed his forces in three 
 corps on the borders, and would undoubtedly have swept the Trans- 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 23 
 
 vaal, at least up to the Vaal River, if not to Pretoria itself, had the 
 country not been taken over by the English. In my opinion, he would 
 have cleared the country to Pretoria. 
 
 ' I am convinced,' wrote Sir A. Cunynghame, June 12, from 
 Pretoria, ' that had this country not been annexed, it would 
 have been ravaged by the native tribes. Forty square miles 
 of country had been overrun by natives, and every house 
 burned, just before the annexation.' And he wrote a^jain, 
 July 6 : ' Every day convinces me that unless this country 
 had been annexed it would have been a prey to plunder and 
 rapine from the natives on its border, joined by Secocoeni, 
 Mapok, and other tribes in the Transvaal. Feeling the 
 influence of the British Government, they are now tranquil.' 
 
 So much for the reality of the danger. As to the causes of 
 it and the alleged responsibility of Natal, Sir Bartle Frerc, in 
 a letter to General Ponsonby, made the following remarks : 
 
 The fact is, that while the Boer Republic was a rival and semi-hostile 
 power, it was a Natal weakness rather to pet the Zulus as one might 
 a tame wolf, who only devoured one's neignbour's sheep. We always 
 remonstrated, but rather feebly ; and now that both flocks belong to us, 
 we are rather embarrassed in stopping the wolf's ravages. 
 
 Sir B. Frere realized fully the dangers, and gave his testi- 
 mony as to Boer opinion. On December 15, 1877, he wrote, 
 concerning his policy towards the Zulus : 
 
 My great anxiety is, of course, to avoid collision, and I am satisfied 
 that the only chance I have of keeping clear of it is to show that I do 
 not fear it. The Boers are, of course, in a state of great apprehension, 
 and I have ordered those of the two frontier districts of Utrecht and 
 Wakkerstrom to hold themselves in readiness, should I find it necessary 
 to call upon them for active service. 
 
 
 Sir T. Shepstone also wrote, concerning the reality of the 
 danger, under date December 25 : 
 
 :, 
 
 The Boers are still flying, and I think by this time there must be 
 a belt of more than a hundred miles long and thirty broad, in which, 
 with three insignificant exceptions, there is nothing but absolute deso- 
 lation. This will give your Excellency some idea of the mischief which 
 Cetewayo's conduct has caused. 
 
94 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 And again (April 30, 1878): 
 
 I find that Sccococni acts as a kind of lieutenant to Cetcwayo. He 
 received directions from the Zulu Kin^', and these directions are by 
 Secucoeni issued to the various Basuto tribes in the Transvaal. 
 
 I 
 
 Sir T. Shepstone rushed the annexation. He plucked 
 the fruit that would have fallen. He himself has said 
 that he might have waited until the Zulus actually made 
 their threatened murderous raid. That might have been Mac- 
 chiavelian statecraft, but it would not have been humanity; 
 and there was nothing in the attitude of the Boer leaders 
 at the time of the annexation which foreshadowed the fierce 
 and determined opposition which afterwards developed. 
 The fact seems to be that the people of the Transvaal were 
 either in favour of the annexation, or were overpowered and 
 dazed by the hopelessness of the Republic's outlook ; and they 
 passively assented to the action of Sir Theophilus Shepstone 
 and his twenty-five policemen. The Boers were quite unable 
 to pay the taxes necessary to self-government and the prose- 
 cution of the Kaffir wars. The Treasury was empty — save 
 for the much-quoted 12s. 6d. The Government ;^i bluebacks 
 were selling at is. Civil servants' salaries were months in 
 arrear. The President himself — the excitable, unstable, 
 visionary, but truly enlightened and patriotic Burgers — had 
 not only drawn no salary, but had expended his private for- 
 tune, and incurred a very heavy liability, in the prosecution of 
 the unsuccessful Secocoeni v'^y. No amount of ex post facto 
 evidence as to the supposed feelings and opinions of the Boers 
 can alter a single one of the very serious facts which, taken 
 together, seemed to Sir Theophilus to justify the annexation. 
 But it all comes down to this : If the passive acquiescence in 
 the annexation coincided strangely with the Republic's failure 
 to defeat its enemies and pay its debts, it is no whit less odd 
 that Lord Carnarvon's anxiety for the Republic's safety syn- 
 chronized with his attempt to confederate South Africa. 
 
 The real mistakes of the British Government began after 
 the annexation. The failure to fulfil promises ; the deviation 
 from old ways of government ; the appointment of unsuitable 
 officials, who did not understand the people or their language; 
 the neglect to convene the Volksraad or to hold fresh elec- 
 
"v* 
 
 ■ \ 
 
 I\ KARLIKK DAYS 
 
 as 
 
 11 
 
 ti'ons, as definitely promised ; the establishment of personal 
 rule by military men, who treated the liocrs with harshness 
 and contempt, and would make no allowance for their simple, 
 old-fashioned ways, their decp-scatcd prejudices, and, if you 
 like, their stupid opposition to modern ideas ; these things 
 and others caused great dissatisfaction, and gave ample 
 material for the nucleus of irrcconcilables to work with. 
 
 Daring the occupation period Mr. Kruger took office under 
 the liritish Government, as also did Dr. Jorissen and Chief 
 Justice (then Judge) Kotz6, and indeed all the officials who 
 had protested against the annexation, except Mr. Piet Joubert, 
 who declined to do so, and who, if actions be the test and n(it 
 words, was the only honest protestant. Mr. Kruger retained 
 his office for some time after he had concerned himself in the 
 Repeal agitation, but finally resigned his post on being re- 
 fused an increased remuneration, for which he had repeatedly 
 applied. There can be but little doubt that had this induce- 
 ment been forthcoming, he would have remained a loyal 
 British subject. 
 
 The effect of the annexation was to start the wells of plenty 
 bubbling — with British gold. The country's debts were paid. 
 Secocoeni and Cetewayo would be dealt with, and the respon- 
 sibility for all things was on other and broader shoulders. 
 With the revival of trade, and the removal of responsibilities 
 and burdens, came time to think and to talk. The wave of 
 the magician's wand looked so very simple that the price 
 began to seem heavy. The eaten bread was forgotten. The 
 dangers and difficulties that were past were of small account 
 now that they were past ; and so the men who had remained 
 passive, and recorded formal protests when they should have 
 resisted, and taken steps to show that they were in earnest, 
 began their Repeal agitation. All the benefits which the 
 Boers hoped from the annexation had now been reaped. Their 
 pressing needs were relieved. Their debts had been paid ; 
 their trade and credit restored ; their enemies were being 
 dealt with. Repeal would rob them of none of these ; they 
 would, in fact, eat their cake and still have it. The Zulu 
 question had been taken up, and could not now be left by the 
 Imperial Government to settle itself. The debts discharged 
 for them and the outlays incurred might, it is true, be charged 
 
THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 to them. They could not be repaid, of course, for the same 
 reason that you cannot get blood from stone ; and the amount 
 would, therefore, be a National Debt, which was exactly what 
 they had been trying for years to incur, and the condition of 
 their credit had made it impossible to do. 
 
 The causes of discontent before given were serious, but the 
 failure to fulfil promises was not deliberate. Circumstances 
 combined to prevent Sir Bartle Frere from visiting the Trans- 
 vaal, as intended and promised. Native wars (Gaika and 
 Galeka), disagreements between the Colonial and Imperial 
 authorities, the obstructions and eventual dismissal of the 
 Molteno-Merriman Ministry — the first under Responsible 
 Government — Natal and Diamond-fields affairs, and, above 
 all, the Zulu War, all combined to prevent Sir Bertie Frere 
 from fulfilling his obligations to settle Transvaal matters. 
 
 In the meantime two deputations had been sent to Eng- 
 land, representing the Boers' case against annexation. The 
 active party among the Boers, i.e., the Voortrekker party, the 
 most anti-British and Republican, though small in itself, had 
 now succeeded in completely dominating the rest of the Boers, 
 and galvanizing them into something like national life and 
 cohesion again — a result achieved partly by earnest per- 
 suasion, but largely also by a kind of terrorism. 
 
 Sir Bartle Frere, who managed at last to visit the Trans- 
 vaal, in April, 1879, had evidence of this on his journey up, 
 and in a despatch to Sir M. Hicks Beach from Standerton oo 
 the 6th of that month he wrote : 
 
 I was particularly impressed by the replies of a very fine specimen of 
 a Boer of the old school. He had been six weeks in an English prison, 
 daily expecting execution as ?. rebel, and had been wounded by all the 
 enemies against whom his countrymen had fought — English, Zulus, 
 Basutos, Griquas, and Bushmen. 
 
 ' But,' he said, ' that was in the days of my youth and inexperience. 
 Had I known then what I know now, I would never have fought against 
 the English, and I will never fight them again. Old as I am, I would 
 now gladly turn out against the Zulus, and take fifty friends of my own, 
 who would follow me anywhere ; but I dare not leave my home till 
 assured it will not be destroyed and my property carried off in my 
 absence, by the men who call me " rebel" because I will not join them 
 against the Government. My wife, brought up like a civilized woman 
 in the Cape Colony, has had five times in her life to run from the house 
 and sleep in the veld when attacked by Zulus and Basatos. One of our 
 tv/elve sons was assegaied in sight of our house, within the last ten 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 27 
 
 years, by a marauding party ; and in my absence from the house, when 
 it was surrounded by Basutos, my wife had to fly in 1'.. .• night by herself, 
 leading one child and carrying another on her back. She walked nearly 
 .Ifty miles through the Lion Veld, seeing three lions on the way, before she 
 reached a place of safety. It is not likely that we should forget such 
 things, nor wish them to recur ; but how can I leave her on my farm 
 and go to Zululand, when the malcontent leaders threaten me that if 
 I go they will burn my house and drive off all my stock ? Assure me 
 that we are not to be deserted by the English Government, and left to 
 the mercy of these malcontent adventurers, and I and my people will 
 gladly turn out to assist Colonel Wood.' 
 
 / find that this idea that the English Government will give up the Trans- 
 vaal, as it formerly did the Orange Free State, has been industriously 
 propagated, anil has taken a great hold on the minds of the well-disposed 
 Boers, and is, I believe, one main cause of reluctance to support the Govern- 
 ment actively. 
 
 They argue that what has been done before may be done again, and they 
 have no feeling of assurance that i) they siand by the English Government 
 to-day they ivill not be left to bear the brunt of the malcontents' vengeance 
 when a Republic is established. 
 
 And again on the 9th, from Heidelberg : 
 
 The idea that we should somehow be compelled or induced to abandon 
 the country had taken great hold on the minds of some of the more intelli- 
 gent men that I met. It has been seduously written up by a portion of 
 the South African press, English as well as Dutch. I marked its effect 
 particularly on me", who said they had come from the old Colony since 
 the annexation, but would never have done so had they believed that 
 English rule would be withdrawn, and the country left to its former 
 state of anarchy. . . . 
 
 But there is great practical diffir ily in conveying to the mass of the people 
 any idea of the real power '* C. eminent. 
 
 It is not possib'"* to pen a more severe and pregnant com- 
 ment on the aft.',r-p;.ii"y of England than that sug^-ested by 
 the italicized lines, vrilten as they were by En^'-"- "<- Pleni- 
 potentiary — an idea reported to headquarters, not as a feeler, 
 but as a suggestion so absurd that it called for no expression 
 of opinion. But he lived to find that it was not too absurd 
 to be realized ; and perhaps, after all, it was written as a 
 v.'arning, and the wise and cool-headec' old statesman in his 
 inmost soul h.id a premonitior of what eve ntuaii) occurred. 
 
 Sir Bartle Frere met the Boers "p che^.ir capip, .md discussed 
 with them their grievances. He-, irfuraic-d them that he had 
 no power to revoke the annexc.tior^ , a ;r woi Id he recommend 
 it, as, in his judgm.ent, such a course -ov-a be a reversion to 
 chaos and ruin. The Boers press "id i;teadily for nothing less 
 
\^^ 
 
 28 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 than repeal. Sir Bartle Frere reported the historical meeting 
 at Erasmus Farm to Sir M. Hicks Beach : 
 
 April 14, 1879. 
 
 They were evidently much disappointed. . . . Our meeting separated 
 with no more definite decision than that they must report to the 
 'people,' and he guided by their decision as to what was to be done. 
 
 If I may judge from the gentlemen composing the deputation, and 
 others of their class, whom I have had the honour of meeting since 
 coming to the Transvaal, the leaders are, with few exceptions, men who 
 deserve respect and regard for many valuable and amiable qualities as 
 citizens and subjects. . . . 
 
 Of the results of our meeting it is impossible at present to say more 
 than that it must have cleared away misconceptions on all sides If 
 they have learnt anything as to the finality of the act of annexation — 
 chat I have no power to undo it, and do not believe that it will ever b* 
 undone, in the only sense in which they will ask it — I have, on the othei 
 hand, been shown the stubbornness of a determination to be content 
 with notliing else, for which I was not prepared by the general testi- 
 mony of officials who had been longer in the country, and who pro- 
 fessed to believe that the opposition of the Boers was mere bluster, and 
 that they had not the courage of their professed opinions. ... I feel 
 assured t!iat the majority of the Committee felt very deeply what they 
 believed to be a great national wrong. . . . But my conviction is that 
 the real malcontents are far from being a majority of the whole white 
 population, or even of their own class of Boer farmers. 
 
 I have no doubt whatever that if the Executive were in a position to 
 assert the supremacy of the law, to put an effectual stop to the reign 
 of terrorism which exists at present, the discontented minoritj would 
 cease to agitate, and would soon cease to feel grievances which a very 
 brief discussion shows to be in the main sentimental ; not the less 
 keenly felt on that account, but not likely to survive the prospi^rity and 
 good government, with a fair measure of self-government in its train, 
 which are within their reach under British rule. 
 
 And, again, he wrote to Lady Frere : 
 
 Pretoria, April 20, 1879. 
 
 Viy last letter had not been gone many hours by the mail express 
 when Lanyon ran into my room, to tell me that the Boer camp was 
 actually broken up and the Boers dispersing. 
 
 I need not tell you how thankful I was. The one thing I dreaded 
 was civil war and bloodshed, and had a single malcontent been shot, I 
 shou'd have considered it a greater misfortune than the death of a dozen 
 Piet Retiefs, or ITys, dying like heroes in the field of battle for their 
 country and brethren. So you may imagine how thankful I felt to 
 the Giver of all good, who has guided and protected us through 
 life. 
 
 I am to see a deputation from the Boers' Committee again to-niorrow, 
 and then I hope we shall have done with meetmgs and grievarices — for 
 the present a phrase which they carefully put into all references to 
 their breaking up, and which they evidently mean. // was ue ir to me 
 that ii was not the annexation, so much as the neglect to fulfil ,','.. promises 
 
 i 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 29 
 
 and the expectations held out by Shepstone when he took over the Govern- 
 ment, that has stirred up the great mass of the Boers, and given a handle ta 
 agitators.^ 
 
 There it is in a single sentence ! It was not the annexa- 
 tion which caused the war ; for nine men in every ten 
 admitted that it was welcomed and justified by considera- 
 tions of general Sout-h African policy, or else simply in- 
 evitable. No ! It was the failure to fulfil the conditions of 
 annexation ! 
 
 In ' A Narrative of the Boer War,' Mr. Thomas Fortescue 
 Carter has given with admirable skill and impartiality a full 
 account of the causes which led to the outbreak. His history 
 is, indeed, so determinedly just as to have met with consider- 
 able disapproval in quarters where feelings are hot on either 
 side, and where plain truths are not palatable. Mr. Carter 
 resided in the country for years before the annexation, and 
 went through the war as correspondent of a well-known 
 London daily, and this is his opinion ; 
 
 
 Anyone who knows the acquaintance Sir T. Shepstone had with the 
 Boers of the Transvaal, years prior to the annexation, cannot doubt that, 
 regarded as a friend and almost as one of themselves, no one better 
 than he could have been selected for the task of ascertaining the desires 
 .'' the people ; and no one who knows Sir T. Shepstone will believe 
 (h I. ' " did not take sufficient evidence to prove to any man that the 
 iloei .verc anxious to be extricated from the dilemma they wore in, and 
 rt^ll^ willing at that time tiiat their country should be annexed. Men 
 v^':- during the late war were our foes were at the time of the annexa- 
 ♦; > • clamouring for it, welcoming Sir Thcophilus Shepstone as the 
 i .'iivere'- and saviour of the country. I mention Swart Dirk Uys, an 
 eminent Boer, v^ho fought against the English in 1880-81, as one 
 auiongst the hundreds and thousands who went out to meet Sir Theo- 
 philus Shepstone v.'ith palm branches in their hands. 
 
 The natural aversion of the people to English rule was overcome for 
 the moment by their greater aversion to bemg wiped off the face of the 
 Transvaal by the blacks ; that was a contingency staring them in the 
 face, and yet not even that imminent common danger availed to secure 
 unity amongst them, or would rouse men individually to t;ike upon their 
 shoulders the responsibility which rests upon every menilicr of a State. 
 
 The Boer Volksraad, after promising to appeal to tlieir constituents 
 on the subject of the new constitution proposed, almost immediately 
 P'4.>scd a measure, which was familiarly styled bv tlie people the ' Hou 
 jou sraoel law.' The literal translation of this term is ' Hold your 
 
 * Several of the letters and despatches given in this volume are quoted 
 from Mr. Martineau s excellent ' Life of Sir Bartle Frere,' a porlioii of 
 which book was lately published in cheaper form, under the title of 
 ' The Transvaal Trouble and How it Arose.' 
 
i^mimmmimim 
 
 30 THE tkaaSVAal from within 
 
 jaw.' In brief, it was an Act which made i-t high treason for any man 
 to discuss the question of either confederation or annexation. 
 
 I come to the conclusion, then, that the cause of the annexation was 
 England's historical greed of territory, especially rich territory ; and 
 that, however unworthy the motive on the part of the visiting power, 
 the Boers did not at that time receive the visitor with other feelings 
 than those of satisfaction, and practically surrendered their country 
 voluntarily and gladly to the ruler of a greater power, under the im- 
 pression that Sir Theophilus Shcpstone would be permitted to carry 
 out, and that he therei'oic would carry out, the promises lie made them. 
 As the programme was open before them, they had everything to gain 
 and nothing to l"<e, except the loss entailed by nominal government by 
 the British. No an, whether Boer or HrHisher, who was living in the 
 Transvaal, or knt ■" • feelings of the Boers at the time of annexa- 
 tion, would in 1S7; ... ;iven any other account of the feeling of the 
 nation; and if I ha. . j med too low an opinion of the motives of 
 English statesmen at tna. i.me, and am not justified in attributing the 
 annexation to greed instead of to the purer and nobler desire to protect 
 England's colonies, or even the Transvaal itself, from the inroads of 
 savages, then my excuse must be that the failure of Engb.nd to send 
 out at that time a force equal to the task of restraining those savages 
 and maintaining peace, has helped materially to lead me to the unwar- 
 <a:-itab!e conclusion.' 
 
 .1 • t 
 
 And so came the war. The history of it is written that all 
 may read ; and it is not necessary here to refer at length to 
 the details of it. The utterly unjust treatment of Bezuiden- 
 hout at Potchefstrooni was the immediate cause of the out- 
 break. The armed interference of the Potchefstroom burghers 
 'vith the Imperial officials followed on December 16, to be 
 in turn succeeded by the battle of Bronkhorst Spruit on the 
 20th. 
 
 Tlie following account of the affair is taken from Mr. 
 Carter's book : 
 
 All went well on this day till about 2.30 p.m., when the following was 
 about the order of march : One mounted infantryman in advance of 
 the main body next the band ; of F company, forty men ; of A com- 
 pany, forty men ; then followed the quarter-guard, thirteen men ; and 
 provost-escort and prisoners, twenty-three men. The remainder of the 
 force was posted along the string of waggons, with the exception of the 
 rear-guard of about twenty men, which were some distance behind. 
 Colonel Anstruther, Captains Nairne and Elliott, Lieutenant Hume, and 
 Adjutant Harrison were riding just in front of the band, when suddenly 
 Boers appeared all round. The locality that the regiment had reached 
 at the time was one where stood several farms, and the trees surround- 
 ing these homesteads afforded cover under which a hostile force could 
 
 ' It is only fair to state that at that time the Home Government 
 believed the prestige of the Imperial authority to be sufficient for all 
 purposes. 
 
 ;« 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 31 
 
 assemble without being perceived from a distance. On the right was a 
 ravine with wood in it, and amongst that the Boers were lying in 
 ambush. How unexpected was the appearance of a force of Boers to 
 the English may be judged from the fact that the band of the regiment 
 was playing at the time. Colonel Anstruther, immediately he caught 
 sight of the enemy on the crest of a slight rise to the front, called a halt, 
 and the order was passed to the rear for the waggons to close up. 
 Before this could be done a messenger from the enemy, carrying a white 
 flag, came forward and handed ine Colonel a note signed by Piet 
 joubert, and countersigned by other Boer leaders, desiring him to halt 
 where he was until a reply had been received from Sir Owen Lanyon 
 to the ultimatum the Boers had addressed to him. The message also 
 contained the warning that if the soldiers advanced beyond a small 
 stream in front of them, it would be taken as a declaration of war. 
 Colonel Anstruther, with Conductor Egerton, had ridden out in front of 
 the advanced guard to meet this flag of truce ; after he had read the 
 message, the bearer of it informed him verbally that two minutes were 
 allowed for his decision. Colonel Anstruther verbally replied that he 
 should march on to Pretoria, and, to use his own words, as published 
 in his despatch written just before he died, the Boer messenger ' said 
 that he would take my message to the Commandant-General ; and I 
 asked him to let me know the result, to which he nodded assent. 
 Almost immediately, however, the enemy's line advanced.' 
 
 Whilst this short parley was going on, every effort was being made 
 in the rear to get the waggons up, but without much good result, because 
 when the Boers opened hre the rear-guard would be at least half a mile 
 behind the head of the column. Even those who were guarding the 
 waggons had not time to join the main body. When Colonel Anstruther 
 saw the Boers advancing, he gave the order to his men to extend in 
 skirmishing order, but before they could open out to more than loose 
 files they were met with a murderous volley, and at the same time Boers 
 on the right and left flank and in the rear, who had previously measured 
 and marked off the distances, picked off every man within sight. Our 
 men returned the fire as best they could, but in less than ten minutes 
 120 were either killed or wounded, besides a large proportion of the 
 oxen in the waggons shot. The officers who exposed themselves were 
 picked off almost immediately by the Boer marksmen. Captain Nairne, 
 Lieutenant M'Sweeney, Lieutenant and Adjutant Harrison, Lieutenant 
 Hume, Deputy- Assistant Commissary-General Barter, Conductor Eger- 
 ton, Surgeon Ward, were all wounded, besides Colonel Anstruther him- 
 self, who was shot in two or three places. 
 
 It was useless to contend against such odds, and the ' cease fire ' was 
 sounded, and handkerchiefs waved to denote submission. During this 
 unequal struggle, Mrs. Smith, the widow of the bandmaster of the 
 regiment, who, with the wife of Sergeant-Major Fox and some cliildren, 
 were riding in one of the foremost waggons, came fearlessly up to 
 where the wounded lay, and, tearing strips from her clothing, helped 
 the surgeon to bandage the wounds. The sergeant-major's wite was 
 severely wounded, as was also Fox himself. There was no lack of 
 heroism during those awful ten minutes, whilst men were being shot 
 down like dogs. Lieutenant Harrison was shot through the head while 
 cheering on his men ; Lieutenant Hume was equally conspicuous for 
 his coolness. An orderly-room clerk named Maistre and the Sergeant- 
 Master-Tailor Pears quietly concealed the regimental colours in a 
 waggon-box when they saw the danger of them falling into the hands 
 of the enemy ; and their work was not in vain, as Conductor Egerton 
 
32 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 managed subsequently to wrap them round his body under his tunic, 
 and having obtained permission after the fight was over to walit to 
 Pretoria for medical assistance, he carried them safely to the capital, as 
 well as the disastrous news of the engagement. Forty-two miles 
 traversed by a wounded man on foot in eleven hours is in itself a feat 
 worth mentioning, and one the value of which can only be really esti- 
 mated by those who know what South African roads are in the rainy 
 seasons. 
 
 As soon as our force surrendered, Franz Joubert, who had been m 
 command of the Boers, and who, it is said, fired the first shot, with the 
 exclamation, ' What is the use of waiting ? ' came forward with some 
 of his men, and on finding poor Colonel Anstruther severely wounded 
 expressed sorrow. 
 
 Whether the affair of Bronkhorst Spruit can be called an act of 
 treachery on the part of the Boers is rather a nice question. Colonel 
 Anstruthcr's w^x '' —the words of a dying man — rather go to prove that 
 he was unfair!'^ u :;ated, though he does not say so directly. He was 
 given to understand by the messenger who came with the flag of truce 
 that another communication would be made to him as soon as his 
 reply to the le "-st t*" a't had been reported to the Boer Commandant. 
 The only reply givea him was ' a murderous volley.' The Boers 
 cannot lay claim to much bravery or superiority (except in numbers) 
 over our soldiers in this fight. Theirs was a deliberately-planned 
 ambush to entrap men who had no idea that they were marcliing in an 
 enemy's country. Bronkhorst Spruit engagement is the one during the 
 whole of the war which does not redound to the credit of the Dutch, 
 even if it does not reflect great discredit upon them. If a reasonable 
 time had been allowed Colonel Anstruther to give his leply, the Q4th 
 could not then say, as they do say and will say, that they were 
 treacherously surprised. ' Two minutes ' looks, under the circum- 
 stances, very much like an idle pretence of fair dealing to cover cin 
 intentional act of cowardice which subsequent conduct could hardly 
 palliate. The Boers say that they had not more men than were march- 
 ing with the Q4th on that occasion ; that statement is worth very little, 
 considering tlie evidence of our officers, and, above all, the harsh 
 evidence of the facts that the 94th was from advance-guard to rear- 
 guard practically surrounded and outnumbered in every direction. 
 
 The preparedness of the Boers and the precision of their 
 fire may be gathered from the testimony of Dr. Crow, of 
 Pretoria, who attended the wounded, and vouched for an 
 average of five wounds per man. Dr. Crow also wrote : 
 
 But as disastrous as the late war in the Transvaal had been to British 
 prestige, thank God those at Bronkhorst Spruit clid their duty and died 
 like men, a noble example to any army. If any stain has been cast on 
 the British flag in the Transvaal, the gallant 94th did all that was 
 possible by their deeds at Bronkhorst Spruit to obliterate it. 
 
 The new^s of this affair was received with horror, and the 
 feelings roused by the details of it have never been allayed. 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 33 
 
 Race-hatred may have its origin in a hundred little incidents, 
 but in the Transvaal there were two which undoubtedly, 
 whether justly or otherwise, gave a character to the Boers 
 that has embittered feeling against them more than any 
 which had occurred in generations previous. The second 
 affair followed very closely on the Bronkhorst Spruit engage- 
 ment — i.e., the infamous murder of Captain Elliot, the 
 only surviving unwounded officer from Bronkhorst Spruit. 
 Captains Elliot and Lambert were taken prisoners, and were 
 offered the choice of two alternatives — either to remain 
 prisoners of w^r ''iiring the hostilities in the Transvaal, or 
 to be released on parole d'honneur on condition that they 
 should leave the Transvaal at once, cross into the Free State 
 under escort, and not bear arms against the Republican 
 Government during the war. The second alternative was 
 chosen. They received an escort and free pass from Com- 
 mandant-General Piet Joubert. The following is extracted 
 from Captain Lambert's Report to Sir George Colley on 
 January 5 : 
 
 We started about i p.m. from the Boer camp, passing through the 
 town of Heidelberg. After going about six to eight miles, I noticed we 
 were not going the right road, and mentioned the fact to the escort, 
 who said it was all right. Having been ' look-out ' of&cer in the 
 Transvaal, I knew the district well. I was certain we were going 
 wrong, but we had to obey orders. At nightfall we found ourselves 
 nowhere near the river drift, and were ordered to outspan for the night, 
 and next morning the escort told us they would look for the drift. 
 Inspanning at daybreak, we again started, but after driving about for 
 some hours across country, I told the escort we would stop where we 
 were while they went to search for the drift. Shortly after they 
 returned and said they had found it, and we must come, which we did, 
 eventually arriving at the junction of two rivers (Vaal and Klip), where 
 we found the Vaal impassable, but a small punt, capable of holding only 
 two passengers at most, by which they said we must cross. I pointed 
 out that it was impossible to get my carriage or horses over by it, and 
 that it was not the punt the General said we were to cross. The escort 
 replied it was Pretorius's punt that the General told them to take us, 
 and we must cross ; that we must leave the carriage behind and swim 
 the horses, which we refused to do, as we then snould have had no 
 means of getting on. I asked them to show me their written instruc- 
 tions, which they did (written in Dutch), and I pointed out that the 
 name of Pretorius was not in it. I then told them they must either take 
 us back to the Boer camp again or on to the proper drift. We turned 
 back, and after going a few miles the escort disappeared. Not knowing 
 where we were, I proposed to Captain Elliot we should go to the 
 banks of the Vaal, and follow the river till we came to the proper punt. 
 
34 
 
 THE TKANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 After travelling all Monday, Tuesday, and up till Wednesday about 
 I p.m., when we found ourselves four hours, or twenty-five miles, from 
 Spencer's punt, we were suddenly stopped by two armed Boers, who 
 handed us an official letter, which was opened, and found to be from 
 the Secretary to the Republican Government, stating that the members 
 were surprised that, as officers and gentlemen, we had broken our parole 
 d'honneur, and refused to leave the Transvaal ; that if we did not do so 
 immediately by the nearest drift, which the bearers would show us, we 
 must return as prisoners of war ; that as through our ignorance of the 
 language of the country there might be some misunderstanding, they 
 were loth to think we had willingly broken our promise. We explained 
 that we should reply to the letter, and request them to take it to their 
 Government, and were prepared to go with them at once, 'xney took 
 us back to a farmhouse, where we were told to wait until they fetched 
 their commandant, who arrived about 6 p.m., and repeated to us the 
 same that was contained in our letter of that day. We told him we 
 were ready to explain matters, and requested him to take our answer 
 back to camp. He then ordered us to start at once for the drift. I 
 asked him, as it was then getting dark, if we could start early next 
 morning, but he refused. So we started, he having said we should 
 cross at Spencer's, being closest. As we left the farmhouse, I pointed 
 out to him that we wei.; going in the wrong direction; but he said, 
 ' Never mind ; come on across a drift close at hand.' When we got 
 opposite it, he kept straight on ; I called to him, and said that this was 
 where we were to cross. His reply was, 'Come on !' I then said to 
 Captain Elliot, * They intend taking us back to Pretoria,' distant some 
 forty miles. Suddenly the escort (which had all at once increased from 
 two to eight men, which Captain Elliot pointed out to me ; and I 
 replied, ' I suppose they are determined we shall not escape, which 
 they need not be afraid of, as we are too keen to get over the border ') 
 wheeled sharp down to the river, stopped, and, pointing to the banks, 
 said, 'There is the drift — cross !' I drove my horses into the river, 
 when they immediately fell ; lifted them, and drove on about five or six 
 yards, when we fell into a hole. Got them out with difficulty, and 
 advanced another yard, when we got stuck against a rock. The current 
 was now so strong and drift deep, my cart was turned over on to its 
 side, and water rushed over the seat. I called out to the commandant 
 on the bank that we were stuck and to send assistance, or might we 
 return, to which he replied, ' If you do, we will shoot you.' I then 
 tried, but failed, to get the horses to move. Turning to Captain Elliot, 
 who was sitting beside me, I said, 'We must swim for it' ; and asked 
 could he swim, to which he replied, ' Yes.' I said, ' If you can't, I 
 will stick to you, for I can.' While we were holding this conversation, 
 a volley from the bank, ten or fifteen yards off, was fired into us, the 
 bullets passing through the tent of my cart, one of which must have 
 mortally wounded poor Elliot, who only uttered the single word 
 *0h !' and fell headlong into the river from the carriage. I imme- 
 diately sprang in after him, but was swept down the river under the 
 current some yards. On gaining the surface of the water, I could see 
 nothing of Elliott, but I called out his name twice, but received no 
 reply. Immediately another volley was fired at me, making the water 
 hiss around where the bullets struck. I now struck out for the opposite 
 bank, which I reached with difficulty in about ten minutes ; but as it 
 was deep, black mud, on landing I stuck fast, but eventually reached 
 the top of the bank, and ran for about two hundred yards under a 
 heavy fire the whole while. 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 35 
 
 The Boers ♦!ien invaded Natal and took up a position on 
 Laing's Nek, four miles inside the Natal border, from which, 
 on January 28, Sir George Colley endeavoured to oust them 
 with a mounted force of 70 men and some 500 men of the 
 58th Regiment The position is one difficult enough to climb 
 unencumbered by military accoutrements, but the disposition 
 of the little mounted force covered the approach. By some 
 unexplained mistake, however, half of the mounted infantry 
 charged and carried the Boer position before the 58th had 
 climbed the hill, but were too weak to hold it and retired, leav- 
 ing the 58th uncovered in a terrible ascent. But few of the 
 exhausted men reached the top of the hill, and those, led by 
 Colonel Deane, only to be shot down. Of the mounted men, 
 17 were killed and wounded ; of the 58th, 73 were killed and 
 100 wounded. The result was absolute defeat of the British 
 forces. The number of Boers engaged is not known, but 
 the force behind the Nek consisted of several thousands, and 
 no doubt a fair proportion engaged in the fight. 
 
 On February 8 General Colley made a demonstration in 
 force on the Ingogo Heights. The force consisted of under 
 300 men, with 4 guns and 38 mounted men. On the Boer 
 side there were about 1,000 men, and the fight lasted from 
 morning until after dark. It was a drawn fight, in which 
 both parties left the battlefield at night. There cannot be 
 any doubt, however, that the balance of advantage was with 
 the Boers, since the loss on the British side was very severe : 
 76 men were killed and 69 wounded. 
 
 On February 27 came Majuba, when Sir George Colley 
 designed to retrieve his fortunes and strike an effective blow 
 without the aid of his second-in-command, Sir Evelyn Wood, 
 whom he had sent to hurry up reinforcements. The scaling 
 of the mountain at night was a fine performance The 
 neglect to take the rocket apparatus or mountain guns, or 
 to fortify the position in any way, or even to acquaint the 
 members of the force with the nature of the position which 
 they had taken up in the dark, and the failure to use the 
 bayonet, were the principal causes of disaster. The Boers 
 attacked in force a position which should have been abso- 
 lutely impregnable, held as it was by a force of 554 soldiers. 
 The Boer force is not known, but probably consisted of 
 
 
36 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 upwards of 1,000 men, since Christaan Joubert after the 
 fight offered to take a portion of the men, numbering, as he 
 said, some 500, to attack a small British laager on one of the 
 spurs of the mountain. The splendid feat of taking the hill- 
 top, however, was accomplished by a small storming party 
 of less than 200 men, the balance of the Boer forces covering 
 the approach of their comrades by an accurate and incessant 
 long-range fire. The result, as is known, was terrible disaster: 
 92 killed and 134 wounded, and a number taken prisoners, 
 represented the British loss, whilst the Boers lost i killed 
 and 5 wounded. No attempt had been made to occupy 
 positions below the crown of the hill which commanded the 
 approaches, and the Boers were able to creep up under good 
 cover from place to place by the exercise of their admirable 
 tactics. It is impossible to detract from the performance of 
 the Boers, and a glance at the position leaves one more aston- 
 ished than ever that a successful attack could ever have been 
 made upon it. The Boers displayed on this day the finest 
 fighting qualities. The generalship of their fighting Com- 
 mandant, Nikolas Smit, was of the highest order. The 
 cleverness of the attack, and the personal bravery and 
 audacity of the storming party are beyond praise. 
 
 By the time Sir Evelyn Wood had ranged his forces for 
 an effective and extended attack on the Boers, and by the 
 time Sir Frederick Roberts with the command of about 
 10,000 men had reached South Africa, the administration of 
 Mr. Gladstone had awakened to the fact that the war was an 
 unjust — not to say costly — one. An armistice was arranged 
 and peace made without another blow. 
 
 The terms of the settlement proposed by the Liberal 
 Government fitly illustrate the generosity of their motives. 
 They proposed doing ' simple justice ' to the Boers, but at the 
 same time retaining the districts of Lydenburg, Middelburg, 
 Wakkerstroom, and Utrecht, not to mention handing back 
 Zoutpansberg to the original native occupants. So anxious 
 were the Boer leaders to effect a peaceful settlement, so 
 fearful were they of the actions of their followers, that when 
 they arranged the long armistice they did not announce to 
 their party the intentions of the British Government regard- 
 ing the above districts. General Joubert did not communicate 
 
 :v 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 37 
 
 to his army the terms of peace, but simply stated that a Royal 
 Commission was to settle everything. A month later, when 
 some inkling of the terms reached the Boers, a solemn protest 
 and warning was issued, and when the Royal Commission 
 actually sat, the British representatives were informed that 
 any such curtailment of the territories would be followed by 
 a resumption of hostilities. Needless to say the proposals 
 were abandoned and the Boers got their way. So ended the 
 war. 
 
 Ingogo has been called a drawn battle. Bronkhorst Spruit 
 was — such as it was. At Laing's Nek and Majuba the Boers 
 beat us, as Mr. Carter fairly puts it, ' when they were on the 
 top of the hill and we were at the bottom, and when we were 
 on the top of the hill and they were at the bottom.' The 
 narrative of these events is about as humiliating a one as an 
 Englishman can read. Here and there it is redeemed by the 
 heroic conduct of individuals in the midst of general disaster. 
 In the smaller affairs, such as the particularly gallant defences 
 of Standerton, Potchefstroom, and Rustenberg, where little 
 garrisons held their own with conspicuous ability and courage, 
 there is something to cheer the disheartened reader. The 
 defence of Potchefstroom by Colonel VVinslow should be read 
 in full for several reasons. The siege of Standerton witnessed 
 several acts of valour, but, above all, that of Hall the volunteer, 
 who single-handed deliberately engaged a force of over 300 
 Boers, drawing their fire on himself in order to warn his 
 comrades of the danger of being cut off and to give them a 
 chance of escape — a noble act in which the gallant fellow 
 achieved his object but lost his life. It was in Rustenbcrcr 
 where Captain Auchinleck, with about seventy men ar t.r' 
 only with rifles, held his laager against hundreds of the 
 enemy, fighting day and night for weeks ; and eventually 
 drove off the Boers who were trenching towards his position 
 by charging at night with from nine to fourteen of his men 
 and clearing the enemy out of the trenches with the bayonet. 
 This performance he repeated three times, himself badly 
 wounded on each occasion. The impression created on the 
 enemy by these tactics was such that they overcame their 
 desire to get at close quarters with him and left him severely 
 Tilone. 
 
33 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 It is not necessary to refer in great detail to the settle- 
 ment. In effect it was that the Boers gained nearly all 
 that they required, but not until the haggling and threat- 
 ening had robbed concessions of all appearance of grace 
 and justice. The natives were referred to in the conventional 
 spirit. The unfortunate loyalists were left to take care ot 
 themselves. The men who had entered the Transvaal, and 
 invested their capital and expended their energies there 
 upon the most positive and sacred assurances of the British 
 Government that the Queen's authority would never be 
 withdrawn, — assurances given in public by the Conservative 
 Government and confirmed by Mr. Gladstone's Government, 
 assurances published by Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley, who said that ' as long as the sun would shine 
 the British flag would fiy over the Transvaal,' — were heart- 
 lessly abandoned, their protests were tmheeded, the com- 
 pensation allotted to them, namely, ;^ 1,400,000, was amended 
 by the elimination of the million, their representations to 
 Mr. Gladstone's Government were finally left unanswered — 
 unless it be that the sneering reference made by that right 
 honourable gentleman in the House of Commons to • in- 
 terested contractors and landjobbers' may be considered 
 an adequate answer to a protest as moderate, as able, as 
 truthful, and as necessary as Mr. Gladstone's remark was 
 the reverse. In very truth, the position in which the British 
 Premier had placed himself through his intemperate speeches 
 in the Midlothian campaign, and his subsequent 'explaining 
 away,' was an extremely unpleasant one. In Opposition 
 Mr. Gladstone had denounced the ar/iexation and demanded 
 a repeal. On accession to power he adopted the policy of 
 his predecessors, and affirmed that the annexation could 
 never be revoked. On June 8, 1880, he had written to 
 this effect to Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, the Transvaal 
 deputation. Later on, in answer to an appeal that he should 
 allay the apprehensions of the loyalists, who feared the 
 results of the Boer agitation, he referred them to this very 
 letter as a final expression of opinion, and authorized the 
 pubiiration of this message. When, however, peace had 
 been concluded, and the loyalists, amazed and heartbroken 
 at their threatened desertion, reminded him of his pledges 
 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 S9 
 
 and implored him to respect them, he answered them in a 
 letter which is surely without parallel in the record of self- 
 respecting Governments. To people who had staked their 
 lives and their all upon pledges given in turn by both Con- 
 servative and Liberal administrations, desertion was wholly 
 indefensible, and it must be said that Mr. Gladstone's 
 method of dealing with the loyalists' addresses by dexterous 
 ' explaining away ' of his pledges, only added to the bitter- 
 ness. But what answer could be made to a protest which 
 reminded the right honourable gentleman of the follow- 
 ing deliberate and official expression of his Government's 
 policy ? — 
 
 In your letter to me (wrote Mr. White for the loyalists) you claim 
 that the language of your letter does not justify the description given. 
 With the greatest respect I submit that it does, ar I will quote the 
 words on which I and also my colleagues base the opinion that it does 
 unequivocally pledge the Government to the non-rclinquishment of the 
 Transvaal. 
 
 The actual words of your letter are : 
 
 ' Looking at all the circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the 
 rest of South Africa, and to the necessity of preventing a renewal of 
 the disorders, which might lead to disastrous consequences, not only to 
 the Transvaal, but to the whole of South Africa, our judgment is that 
 the Queen cannot be advised to relinquish the Transvaal /hut, consistently 
 with the maintenance of that sovereignty, we desire that the white 
 inhabitants of the Transvaal should, without prejudice to the rest 
 of the population, enjoy the fullest liberty to manage their local 
 affairs.' 
 
 But your letter of the 8th of June not only contained this final and 
 absolute announcement of the policy of England, but it gave the reasons 
 for arriving at it in words which so aptly express the case of the 
 loyalists that I quote them in extenso. They are as follows : 
 
 ' It is undoubtedly matter for much regret that it should, since the 
 annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of 
 Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation ot that 
 territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it were 
 presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of things which 
 has existed for a considerable period, during which obligations have 
 been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, towards the native 
 population, which cannot be set aside.' 
 
 In your speech in the House of Commons, on the debate on Mr. 
 Peter Rylands' motion condemning the annexation of the country and 
 the enforcement of British supremacy in it, which was defeated by a 
 majority of ninety-six, on the 21st of January in the current year, you 
 used words of similar import. You are reported in the Times of the 
 22nd of January as saying ; 
 
 ' To disapprove the annexation of a country is one thing ; to abandon 
 that annexation is another. Whatever we do, we must not blind our- 
 selves to the legitimate consequences of facts. By the annexation 
 
'V. 
 
 40 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 of the Transvaal we contracted new obligations. ... I must look at 
 the obligations entailed by the annexation, and if in my opinion, and 
 in the opinion of many on this side of the House, wrong was done by 
 tlie annexation itself, that would not warrant us in doing fresh, distinct, 
 and separate wrong by a disregard of the obligation which that annexation 
 entailed. These oljligations have been referred to in this debate, and 
 have been mentioned in the compass of a single sentence. First, there 
 was the obligation entailed towards the English and other settlers in 
 the Transvaal, perhaps including a minority, though a very small 
 minority, of the Dutch Boers themselves ; secondly, there was the 
 obligation to the native races ; and thirdly, there was the obligation 
 we entailed upon ourselves in respect of the responsibility which was 
 already incumbent upon us, and which we, by the annexation, largely 
 extended, for the future peace and tranquillity of South Africa.' 
 
 m:M 
 
 Nor was this all. The loyalists proceeded to remind him 
 that Lord Kimberley, his Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 had telegraphed in May, 1880, ' Under no circumstances can 
 the Queen's authority in the Transvaal be relinquished,' and 
 had confirmed the telegram in a despatch following ; and 
 that his lordship had also stated in the House of Lords 
 on May 24 that ' . . . after a careful consideration of the 
 position, we have come to the conclusion that we could not 
 relinquish the Transvaal. Nothing could be more un- 
 fortunate than uncertainty in respect to such a matter.' 
 (Hansard, cclii., p. 208.) 
 
 The effects of the settlement, and tlie exposures in con- 
 nection with it, and the attitude of the Imperial Government 
 were most deplorable. No credit was given by the Boers 
 to a Government which became magnanimous only after it 
 v/as defeated. No feeling but contempt, disgust, and even 
 hatred, could be entertained by the loyalists for the Govern- 
 ment which had so shamelessly deserted them. The settle- 
 ment has left its indelible mark upon the sentiment of South 
 Africa. The war, it will generally be admitted, was a most 
 unfortunate occurrence. Only one thing could have been 
 more unfortunate, and that was such a settlement as actually 
 was effected — a settlement which satisfied no one, which 
 outra<,^e(' all, which threw South Africa into a state of boiling 
 discontent. In some quarters the defeats of Majuba and 
 Laing's Nek rankled deeply ; yet they were fair fights, and 
 Time can be trusted to allay the feelings of those who are 
 worsted in a fair fight ; but there were other matters which 
 
 A/' 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 4J 
 
 roused a spirit in the EnjTi'sh-speaking people of South 
 Africa that had never been known before. 
 
 The former records of the Boers, favourable and unfavour- 
 able, are consistent with the records established in the War 
 of Independence. None dare belittle the spirit which moved 
 them to take up arms against the greatest Power in the world. 
 Their ignorance may have been great, but not so great as 
 to blind them to the fact that they were undertaking an 
 unequal contest. It is not possible to say, with due regard 
 to their records, that they are not a courageous people. 
 Individual bravery, of the kind which takes no heed of 
 personal risk, reckless heroic dash, they have not, nor do 
 they pretend to have. Their system is entirely otherwise. 
 They do not seek fighting for fighting's sake. They do 
 not like exposing themselves to risk and danger. Their 
 caution and their care for personal safety are such that, 
 judged by the standard of other people's conduct in similar 
 positions, they are frequently considered to be wanting in 
 personal courage. It seems a hard thing to say of a people 
 who have produced men like the first Bezuidenhout, who 
 fought and died single-handed against the British troops ; 
 men like Piet Retief, as gallant a man as ever walked ; men 
 like Piet Uys, an example to all men for all time, and only 
 one of many generations in one family of equally gallant 
 Dutchmen ; but it would truly seem that such examples do 
 not occur with such frequency among the Boers as among 
 nations with whom they have been compared. Where they 
 have been able to choose their own positions, or where they 
 have been stimulated by previous successes, they have done 
 all that could possibly be asked of them ; but their particular 
 military system does not conduce to success under circum- 
 stances where men are suddenly and unexpectedly called 
 upon to exhibit the virtues of discipline, to make what to 
 the individual may appear a useless sacrifice of life, or, in 
 cold blood and in the face of previous defeat, to attempt 
 to retrieve a lost position. 
 
 The Boer military power has been called the biggest 
 unpricked bubble in the v/orld. Whether this be so or not 
 — whether the early conilicts between the British troops and 
 the Boers in the Cape Colony and Naial justify the view 
 
42 
 
 'HE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 that the Boers cannot take a beating and come up again — 
 is a matter for those to decide who will give their impartial 
 attention to the records. 
 
 Whilst conspicuous personal daring among the Boers may 
 not be proverbial, it must be remembered to their everlasting 
 credit that they, as did the Southerners in the American 
 Civil War, robbed the cradle and tht grave to defend their 
 country. Boys who were mere children bore rifle ery 
 nearly as long as themselves ; old men, who had urely 
 earned by a life of hardship and exposure an immunity 
 from such calls, jumped on their horses and rode without 
 hesitation and without provision to fight for their indepen- 
 dence. 
 
 There were, however, unfortunately, matters connected 
 with the war which gave birth to a bitter and aching 
 desire for revenge. Bronkhorst Spruit and the murder of 
 Captain Elliot were among the earliest. Another was the 
 shooting of Dr. Barbour (who was killed instantly) and 
 Mr. Walter Dyas (wounded) by their escort under circum- 
 stances similar to those of the Ei'iott murder, with the 
 exception that in this case the prisoners had been released 
 on foot and in daylight, and were then shot down. 
 
 But there were others too. There was the murder ot 
 Green in Lydenburg, who was caPed to the Boer camp, 
 where he went unarmed and in good faith, only to have 
 his brains blown out by the Boer with whom he was con- 
 versing ; there was the public floggi.;?y of another English- 
 man by the notorious Abel Erasmas because he was an 
 Englishman and had British sympa'-hies ; and there were 
 the various white flag incidents. At Ingogo the Boers raised 
 the white flag, and when in response to this General Colley 
 ordered the hoisting of a similar flag to indicate that it was 
 seen, a perfect hail of lead was poured on the position where 
 the General stood ; and it was obvious that the hoisting of 
 the flag was merely a ruse to ascei'ain where the General 
 and his staff were. There was the ambulance affair on 
 Majuba, when the Boers came upon an unarmed party 
 bearing the wounded with the red cross flying over them, 
 and after asking who they were and getting a reply, fired 
 a volley into the group, killing Surgeon-Major Cornish. 
 
IN EARLIER DAYS 
 
 45 
 
 There was the siege of Potchefstroom, during which the 
 Boer force under Commandant Cronj6 were guilty of actions 
 contrary to the usages of civilized warfare. They are 
 matters of history, and can easily be verified. Reference is 
 made to them elsewhere in this volume in connection with 
 Commandant Cronjd's iction on another occasion. 
 
 And so the war left the country, as wars will, divided into 
 two parties, with feelings towards each other that are deplorable 
 enough in themselves, aiid not easily allayed. The curtain 
 was rung down, and the scene was lost to the view of the 
 world, but the play went on all the same behind the curtain. 
 And this is what the new Government said to the world on 
 August 8, 1 88 1, when they took over the administration of 
 the country: 
 
 ■ f 
 
 To all inhabitants, withput exception, we promise the protection of 
 the law, and all the privileges attendant thereon. 
 
 To inhabitants who are not burghers, and do not wish to become 
 such, we notify that they have the right to report themselves to the 
 Resident as British subjects, according to Article 28 of the now settled 
 Convention. But be it known to all, that all ordinary rights of property, 
 trade, and usages will still be accorded to everyone, burgher or not. 
 
 We repeat solemnly that sur motto is, ' Unity and reconciliation.' 
 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 In 1882 Sir Bartle Frere wrote, ' I have never been able to 
 discover any principle in our policy in South Africa except 
 that of giving way whenever any difficulty or opposition is 
 encountered.' The remark is still as true as when it was 
 penned, and South Africa — the ' Grave of Reputations,' ^ as 
 it has long been called — must by this time be regarded with 
 doubtful emotions by successive Colonial Secretaries. What 
 is it about South Africa, one asks, that has upset so many 
 men of capacity and experience ? Who can say ? Often — 
 most often — it is the neglect to thoroughly study and know 
 what are called the ' local conditions,' and to pay due heed to 
 local experience. Sometimes it is the subordination of State 
 policy to party considerations which has ruined the Proconsul : 
 witness Sir Bartle Frere, whose decisive action, firm character, 
 and wise and statesmanlike policy are now — now that he is 
 dead — recognised universally, as they have always been in 
 South Africa. Perhaps there is something in Africa itself 
 which makes it a huge exception to the rules of other lands ; 
 the something which is suggested in the ' rivers without 
 water, flowers without scent, and birds without song ' ; a con- 
 trariness which puts the alluvial gold on the top of mountain 
 ranges and leaves the valleys barren ; which mocked the 
 experience of the world, and showed the waterworn gravel 
 deposit to be the biggest, richest, deepest, and most reliable 
 
 » Among the first notes which poor Colley — brave, wise, generous, and 
 unlucky — wrote after taking office, was one containing these words : 
 ' Whether I . . . shall find that South Africa is to me, as it is said to be 
 in general, " the grave of all good reputations," remains to be seen.' 
 
 44 
 
 i 
 
 vllv 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 45 
 
 gold reef ever known ; which placed diamonds in such con- 
 ditions that the greatest living authority, who had undertaken 
 a huge journey to report on the occurrence, could only say, 
 in the face of a successful wash-up, 'Well, there may be 
 diamonds here, but all I can say is they've no right to be ' ; 
 the something which many, many centuries ago prompted 
 the old Roman to wri ~ ' Ex Africa semper aliquid novi 
 afifert,' and which is in the mind of the South African to-day 
 when he says, 'The impossible is always happening in 
 Africa.' 
 
 There is this to be said for the Gladstone Ministry in 1881 : 
 that, having decided on a policy of scuttle and abandonment, 
 they did it thoroughly, ai, though they enjoyed it. A feeble 
 vote-catching provision, with no security attached, was inserted 
 in the Pretoria Convention relative to the treatment of natives, 
 but no thought or care was given to the unfortunate British 
 subject who happened to be a white man, and to have fought 
 for his Queen and country.^ The abandonment was com- 
 plete, without scruple, without shame. It has been written 
 that ' the care and forethought which would be lavished on a 
 favourite horse or dog on changing masters were denied to 
 British subjects by the British Government' The intensity 
 and bitterness of the resentment, the wrath and hatred — so 
 much deeper because so impotent — at the betrayal and 
 desertion have left their traces on South African feeling ; 
 and the opinion of the might and honour of England, as it 
 may be gleaned in many parts of the Colonies as well as 
 everywhere in the Republics, would be an unpleasant revela- 
 tion to those who live in undisturbed portions of the Empire, 
 comfortable in the belief that to be a British subject carries 
 the old-time magic of ' Civis Romanus sum.' 
 
 The Transvaal State, as it was now to be called, was 
 re-established, having had its trade restored, its enemies 
 crushed — for Secocoeni and Cetewayo were both defeated 
 and broken — and its debts paid or consolidated in the form 
 of a debt to England, repayable when possible. For some 
 time not even the interest on this debt was paid. 
 
 Numbers of British subjects left the country in disgust and 
 despair. Ruined in pocket and broken in spirit, they took 
 
 ' See Appendix A for the full text of the Pretoria Convention. 
 
 
m 
 
 46 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 what little they could realize of their once considerable 
 possessions, and left the country where they could no longer 
 live and enjoy the rights of free men. For some years the 
 life of a Britisher among the Boers was far from happy. It 
 is not surprising — indeed, not unnatural — that people un- 
 softened by education and the conditions of civilization, 
 moved by fierce race prejudice, and intoxicated by unbroken 
 and unexpected success, should in many cases make the 
 vanquished feel the conqueror's heel. The position of men 
 of British name or sympathies in the country districts was 
 very serious, and the injustice done to those who had settled 
 since the annexation, believing that they were to live under 
 the laws and protection of their own Government was grave 
 indeed. 
 
 The Government of the country was vested in a Trium- 
 virate with Mr. Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger as 
 Vice-President during the period immediately following the 
 war; but in 1882 the old form was restored and Mr. Kruger 
 was elected President, an office wh-'^'h he is now holding for 
 the third successive term.i 
 
 Prior to the war the population of the country was reckoned 
 by both Dutch and English authorities to be about 40,000 
 souls, the great majority of whom were Dutch. The memorial 
 addressed to Lord Carnarvon, dated January 7, 1878, praying 
 for repeal of the annexation, was ' signed by 6,591 qualified 
 electors out of a possible 8,000,' as is explained in the letter 
 of the Transvaal delegates to Sir M. Hicks-Beach dated 
 July 10, 1878. The fact, already mentioned, that 3,000 
 electors had petitioned for the annexation only means that 
 some of them changed their minds under pressure or convic- 
 tion, and helped to swell the number of those who later on 
 petitioned for repeal. The signatories to the above memorial 
 would include practically all the Dutch electors in the country, 
 and the remaining 1,400 or so would probably be the non- 
 Boer party who preferred British rule, and could not be coerced 
 into signing memorials against it These figures are useful 
 as a check upon those now put forward by the Transvaal 
 Government to combat the assertion that the Uitlanders 
 outnumber the Boers. Recognizing the fact that the Boers 
 
 • In February, 1898, he was elected for the fourth time. 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 47 
 
 
 are a singularly domestic and prolific people, one may allow 
 that they numbered 35,000 out of the total population, an 
 estimate that will be "^een to be extremely liberal. At the 
 time that the above figures were quoted by the Transvaal 
 delegates every Boer y ^uth over the age of twenty-one was a 
 qualified voter, so that it would seem that the qualified Boer 
 voter had an average of one wife and 4"3 children, a fair 
 enough allowance in all conscience. These figures should be 
 borne in mind, for the present Boer population consists of 
 what remains of these 35,000 souls and their natural increase 
 during eighteen years. There are other Dutch immigrants 
 from the Cape Colony and Free State : these are aliens, who 
 have the invaluable qjalification of hating England and her 
 sons and her ways and her works ; but, as will be made clear 
 when the Franchise Law is explained, the present Boer 
 electorate consists — or, without fraud or favouritism, should 
 consist — of the ' possible 8,000 ' and their sons. 
 
 Many a champion of liberty has lived to earn the stigma 
 of tyrant, and the Boer^ who in 1835 had trekked for liberty 
 and freedom from oppressive rule, and who had fought for it in 
 1880, began now themselves to put in force the principles 
 which they had so stoutly resisted. In the Volksraad Session 
 of 1882 the first of the measures of exclusion was passed. 
 The Franchise, which until then — in accordance with Law 
 No. I of 1876 — had been granted to anyone holding property 
 or residing in the State^ or, failing the property qualification, 
 to anyone who had qualified by one year's residence, was now 
 altered, and Law No. 7 of 1882 was passed which provided 
 that aliens could become naturalized and enfranchised after 
 five years' residence, thus attaining the status of the oldest 
 Voortrekker. The feeling was now very strong against the 
 Annexation Party, as they had been called, that is to say, the 
 men who had had the courage of their convictions, and had 
 openly advocated annexation ; and as usual the bitterest 
 persecutors and vilifiers were found in the ranks of those 
 who, having secretly supported them before, had become 
 suspect, and had now need to prove their loyalty by their 
 zeal. The intention was avowed to keep the party pure and 
 undiluted, as it was maintained by many of the Boers that 
 former proselytes had used their newly-acquired privileges to 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
 A \ 
 
48 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 vote away the independence of the country. The view was 
 not unnatural under the circumstances, and this measure, had 
 it not been a violation of pledges, might have found defen- 
 ders among impartial persons ; but unfortunately it proved to 
 be not so much a stringently defensive measure which time 
 and circumstances might induce them to modify, as the first 
 step in a policy of absolute and perpetual exclusion. It was 
 the first deliberate violation of the spirit of the settlement, 
 and, although there is no clause in the Pretoria Convention 
 which it can be said to contravene, it was, as Mr, Chamberlain 
 has since styled it, ' a violation of the status quo as it was pre- 
 sent to the minds of her Majesty's Ministers at the time the 
 Convention was negotiated.' But the Gladstone Ministry, 
 which had paid so heavily to get rid of the Transvaal question, 
 was certainly not going to re-open it for the sake of holding 
 the Boers to the spirit of the settlement. 
 
 Another precaution was taken to keep all the power in the 
 hands of the Boers. The various towns which had formerly 
 been entitled to representation in Parliament were deprived 
 of this right, and have remained disfranchised ever since. 
 Mr. Kruger feared that the enlightened thought of the towns 
 would hinder the growth of his ' national policy.' 
 
 It was not too late even at this time to have bloodlessly 
 settled the Transvaal question for ever by a fair but thoroughly 
 firm attitude towards the restored Republic. No doubt 
 British Ministers, conscious of an act of supreme self-restraint 
 and magnanimity, believed that some reciprocal justice would 
 be evoked. At any rate, it is possible that this was the 
 reason which guided them, and not continued callous indiffer- 
 ence to the fate of British subjects and the future of South 
 Africa. In such case, however, they must have forgotten ' the 
 fault of the Dutch ' — which Andrew Marvell's couplet has 
 recorded — of 'giving too little and asking too much.' The 
 Transvaal Boers are very practical people, and no matter 
 what they may receive or how they get it, whether by way 
 of diplomacy or barter or the accident of good luck or deed 
 of gift, they never neglect to press and scheme for more. 
 It is an unpleasant feature in the Boer character, prominent 
 alike in peisonal and general relations, begotten, mayhap, 
 of hard life, constant struggle, and lack of education and 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 49 
 
 its softening and elevating influence. It is a feature which is 
 common to all uneducated peoples who have suffered great 
 hardships, and it will no doubt disappear in time ; but it is 
 one which has to be reckoned with at the present day, and 
 one which, when recognized at its true value, sustains the 
 contention that the Boers, in dealing with those whom they 
 regard as not of them, will recognise no right and do no 
 justice unless compelled to do so. The considerations of a 
 narrow and selfish policy are stronger than the sense of right 
 and wrong. 
 
 British Ministers and the British people when glowing 
 with a mildly enthusiastic satisfaction at their tolerant and 
 even generous attitude towards a weaker opponent may 
 imagine that they have sown good seed which in time will 
 bear ample fruit ; but it is not so. Nothing but firmness and 
 strict justice will avert a bloody day of reckoning. Nothiiig 
 but prompt and effective veto on every attempt to break or 
 stretch the spirit of past undertakings will bring it home to 
 the Transvaal Government that all the give cannot be on 
 the one side and all the take on the other ; that they cannot 
 trade for ever on the embarrassment of a big Power in dealing 
 with a little one ; and that they must comport themselves with 
 due regard to their responsibilities. 
 
 Almost the first use made by the Transvaal Government 
 of their recovered power was one which has wrought much 
 mischief to the State. The Triumvirate who ruled the 
 country in 1882 granted numbers of concessions, ostensibly 
 for the purpose of opening up industries or developing 
 mining areas. The real reasons are generally considered to 
 have been personal, and the result was the crushing of 
 budding activities, and the severe discouragement of those 
 who were willing to expend capital and energies in legitimate 
 work. Favouritism pure and simple dictated these grants. 
 It is hardly too much to say that the system and spirit then 
 introduced rule to this day, for although the Volksraad has 
 taken definite resolution condemning the principle of mono- 
 polies and contracts conferring preferential rights of any sort, 
 the spirit of this resolution is violated whenever the President 
 and Executive deem it fit to do so — witness, for instance, 
 the monopoly granted in December, 1895, ^^ the free 
 
 ' - '{ i 
 
 't 
 
 j-;il 
 
 r ■ 
 
50 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 \i '1 
 
 1 II 
 
 importation of produce, which is disguised as a Government 
 agency with a ' commission ' to the agent ; but it is really a 
 monopoly and nothing else ! 
 
 The Boers were not satisfied with the Convention of i88i. 
 They desired the removal of the Suzerainty, the cancellation 
 of the clauses referring to natives, and the restoration of the 
 title of the South African Republic in lieu of that of the 
 Transvaal State. They also desired (but did not expect to 
 obtain) complete freedom in regard to their external rela- 
 tions, and they lost no time in trying how far they would be 
 allowed to go in the direction of stretching the spirit of the 
 Convention. Nothing in that ineffectual and miserable 
 document is clearer than the definition of certain boundaries, 
 and the provision that no extension shall be allowed. This 
 hemming of them in — or shutting them up in a kraal, as 
 President Kruger has expressively put it — was intensely 
 repugnant to them. It cut into one of the most deeply- 
 rooted habits of the Boer. His method of trek and expansion 
 has been, to begin by making small hunting excursions into 
 adjacent native territories, to follow up with grazing his 
 cattle there until he created in his own mind a right by 
 prescription, and then to establish it either by force or else 
 by written agreement, too often imperfectly translated. This 
 was oftentimes varied or supplemented by helping the 
 weaker of two rival chiefs, and so demolishing the power of 
 a tribe. The expulsion of the native followed as a natural 
 result. 
 
 In the Transvaal itself there was, and still is, an immense 
 quantity of unoccupied land, and the Boers were quite un- 
 able to properly control, utilize, and administer their own 
 immense territory, but ' land hunger ' is theirs as a birth 
 curse. The individual cannot bear to see the smoke of his 
 neighbour's chimney ; he will not cultivate 50 acres, but 
 wants 50,ocx) ; the ' nation ' wants Africa — no less. They 
 coveted Swaziland, Zululand, Bechuanaland, Matabeleland, 
 Mashonaland, and Tongaland, and set to work by devious 
 methods to establish claims to these countries. 
 
 In Bechuanaland they took sides ; that is to say, parties of 
 freebooters from the Transvaal took up the cause of certain 
 native chiefs against certain others. The London Convco- 
 
 H. 
 
%m 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 s> 
 
 tion in 1884 disposed of this quarrel by fixing the south- 
 western boundaries of the Republic, and olacing two of the 
 disputing chiefs under the Transvaal, and the other two 
 under British protection. Notwithstanding this, however, the 
 new Convention was no sooner signed than the scheming was 
 resumed, and before a year had passed a party of Transvaal 
 Boers, several of them now holding high official positions under 
 the Republic, raided the territory of the chiefs in the British 
 Protectorate, and even attacked the chief town Mafeking. 
 This was followed by a proclamation by President Kruger 
 placing the territory under the protection of the Republic. 
 Mr. Rhodes, who had already made himself conspicuous by 
 his advocacy of holding the highway to the interior open, 
 was instrumental in inducing the Imperial Government to 
 make a determined stand against this. An ultimatum 
 moved the Transvaal Government to withdraw the pro- 
 clamation and forced the Boers to leave the country — only, 
 however, when and because the demand was backed by the 
 Warren expedition at a cost of over a million and a half 
 to the British taxpayer ! This expedition was sent by Mr. 
 Gladstone, the Boer benefactor — notwithstanding all his 
 anxiety to prove the Transvaal settlement a good one ! The 
 action of the Transvaal, and the most brutal murder of Mr. 
 Bethell by the individuals above referred to as holding high 
 official positions under the Republic, gave indications of the 
 bent of the Boer authorities which people in South Africa 
 did not fail to take note of. Bethell had been wounded in 
 the invasion of the territory by the Boers, and as he lay 
 helpless the ' prominent Transvaal official ' came up and, 
 seeing a repeating rifle lying beside him, asked him to show 
 them how it worked. He did so, and the ' prominent official ' 
 taking it up under pretext of examining it shot Bethell dead 
 with his own weapon. 
 
 In Zululand similar tactics were resorted to by the 
 Republic. Transvaal Boers invaded Zululand and (1884) 
 took up the cause of Dinizulu, a son of the dead Cetewayo, 
 and established him as king, upsetting Sir Garnet Wolseley's 
 settlement They then proceeded to seize the country, but 
 the British Government intervening at this point, rescued 
 some two-thirds for the Zulus. A glance at the map will 
 
s» 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 show that the intention of the Roers was to get to the sea, 
 and also that the unhicky Zulus, who had been broken by 
 the IJritish Goveninnent - and very ri^jhtly too — because they 
 were a menace to the Transvaal, even more than to Natal, 
 were now deprived of the pick of their country, plundered 
 and harried by the very people who had bet n at their mercy 
 until the Imperial Government stepped in. It is very note- 
 worthy that, with the splendid exception of the lion-hearted 
 Pict Uys and his sons, who fought and died (father and one son) 
 in the Zulu war side by side with the Britishers whom he was 
 keenly opposing on the annexation question, none of the 
 Boers came forward to help in the Secocoeni or Zulu wars, 
 although these wars were undertaken, the one entirely, and 
 the other mainly, on their account. But a great many were 
 ready to raid and annex as soon as the Zulu power was 
 broken. 
 
 Swaziland became in turn the object of the Boer Govern- 
 ment's attentions. First, grazing concessions were obtained ; 
 and next, other concessions for the collection of Customs 
 and Revenue dues, for telegraphs, railways, banking, survey- 
 ing, and goodness only knows what. One individual applied 
 for and obtained a concession for the balance of ungranted 
 concessions, and another applied for a grant of the Chief 
 Justiceship. What chance the unfortunate native had in 
 such a condition of things can be imagined. The Transvaal 
 bought up all the concessions necessary to make government 
 of the country absolutely impossible, except with their co- 
 operation. The secret service fund of the Republic provided 
 means for making the representatives of the Swazi nation =;ee 
 things in a reasonable light, so that when the time car^. 
 investigate the title to concessions and to arrange 1 .e 
 future administration of the country the result was a forv >ne 
 conclusion. The judge appointed by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment on the Special Joint Commission to inquire into the 
 concessions and matters in general let some light on the 
 manner in which these concessions were acquired and 
 granted, by pertinent questions to the concessionaires and 
 interpreters. He asked, for instance, 'Do you swear that 
 you interpreted this document verbatim to the king ? ' — 
 •Yes.' 'Will you kindly tell to the Court what is the 
 
 I. .'^ 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 53 
 
 Kaffir for "ad valorem duties" and " et cetera, et cetera 
 et cetera," or how you interpreted and explained the signifi- 
 cance of the "survey," " nnint," " revenue," and " townships" 
 concessions ? ' 
 
 The picture of the obese and drunken chief surrounded by 
 fawning harpies was a shameful and disgusting one. One 
 example is sufficient to show how the thing was done. A 
 concession for gambling was applied for. The man who 
 interpreted knew a smattering of ' kitchen ' Kaffir, and his 
 rendering of the 'monopoly for billiards, card playing, 
 lotteries, and games of chance' was that he alone should 
 be allowed to ^ tchia ma-ball (hit the balls), /^/<z/^ ma-paper 
 (play the papers), and tata zonki mail (and take all the 
 money).' The poor drunken king nodded sleepily to the 
 first two clauses, but to the bald proposition of taking all the 
 money, which he could understand, he violently objected. 
 The concession was, however, subsequently granted on the 
 representations of a more tactful interpreter. 
 
 A very flagrant breach of the spirit of the London Conven- 
 tion, and a very daring attempt at land-grabbing, was the 
 proposed last will and testament of the Swazi King Umban- 
 dine, which provided that the governing powers should be 
 assic,med to Mr. Kruger as executor of the King and tru.stee 
 and administrator of the country. His project was de- 
 feated ; but the aim of the Boer Government was ultimately 
 achieved, nevertheless, and Swaziland has now been handed 
 over to the control of the Republic in spite of the prayers 
 and protestations of the Swazis themselves, who had proved 
 in the past with very practical results to be useful, ready 
 and loyal allies of the British Government 
 
 While Swaziland was being entoiled the Transvaal Govern- 
 ment were not idle elsewhere. Matabeleland was looked 
 upon as the heritage of the Boer, because of the ' old friend- 
 ship ' with the Matabele, — whom they had driven out of their 
 cou' ^ry, nov/ the Transvaal ; and Mashonaland was theirs 
 because it was their ancient hunting-ground. That the Boers 
 did not abandon their old schemes merely because they had 
 agreed by treaty to do so is shown by a letter which was 
 found at Lo Bengula's kraal by Mr. F. Thompson when 
 he went up to negotiate for Mr. Rhodes. The stealthy 
 
 - L 
 
 • 
 
 , 1 
 
 
 
 
 % ^ 
 
 
 

 54 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 grovelling of the Commandant-General before a savage native 
 chief, the unctuous phraseology, the hypocritical assurances 
 of an undying friendship between Boer and Matabele so long 
 as there are living one of each race, throw a lurid light upon 
 the conduct of Boer diplomacy with native tribes, and 
 explain much of the ineradicable fear and distrust which are 
 felt on the native side in all dealings with the aggressive 
 Boer. The letter reads : 
 
 Marico, 
 The South African Republic, 
 
 March 9, 1882. 
 
 To the great ruler the Chief Lo Bengula, the son of Umzilikatse, the 
 great K'tig of the Matabili nation. 
 
 GREAf Ruler, 
 
 When this letter reaches you, then you will know that it comes 
 from a man who very much desires to visit you, but who, being a man 
 of the people, cannot get loose to make such a long journey. There- 
 fore he must now be satisfied with writing a letter to carry his regards 
 to the son of the late King of the Matabele, our old friend Umzilikatse. 
 When J say that I desire to see you, it is not to ask for anything, but to 
 talk of something, and to tell Lo Bengula of the affairs and things of 
 the world, because I know that there are many people who talk and 
 teil about these matters, whilst there are but few who tell the truth. 
 Now, when a man hears a thing wrong, it is worse than if he had never 
 heard it at all. Now, I know that Lo Bengula has heard some things 
 wrongly, and for this reason would I tell him the real truth. Now, you 
 must have heard that the English — or as they are better known the 
 Englishmen — took away our country, the Transvaal, or, as they say, 
 annexed it. We then talked nicely for four years, and begged for our 
 countrj'. But no ; when an Englishman once has your property in his 
 hand, then is he like a monkey that has its hands full of pumpkin-seeds 
 — if you don't beat him to death, he will never let go — and then all our 
 nice talk for four years did not help us at all. Then the English com- 
 menced to arrest us because we were dissatisfied, and that caused the 
 shooting and fighting. Then the English first found that it would be 
 better to give us back our country. Now they are gone, and our 
 country is free, and we will now once more live in friendship with Lo 
 Bengula, as we lived in friendship with Umzilikatse, and such must be 
 our friendship, that so long as there is one Boer and one Matabele 
 living these two must remain friends. On this account do I wish to see 
 Lo Bengula, and if I may live so long, and the country here become 
 altogether settled, and the stink which the English brought is first blown 
 away altogether, then I will still ride so far to reach Lo Bengula, and 
 if he still has this letter then he will hear the words from the mouth of 
 the man who now must speak with the pen upon paper, and who, 
 therefore, cannot so easily tell him everything. The man is a brother's 
 child of the three brothers that formerly — now thirty-two years ago — 
 were at Umzilikatse's, and then made the peace with him which holds to 
 this day. He still remembers well when the first Boers, Franz Joubert, 
 Jann Joubert, and Pietcr Joubert, came there, and when they made the 
 
 it 
 
 i '■', 1 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 ss 
 
 peace whereby Umzilikatse could live at peace and the Boers also, 
 and the peace which is so strone that the vile evil-doers were never 
 able to destroy it, and never shall be able to destroy it as long as there 
 shall be one Boer that lives and Lo Bcngula also lives. 
 
 Now I wish to send something to give Lo Bengula a present as a 
 token of our friendship. I send for Lo Bengula with the gentleman 
 who win bring him this letter a blanket and a handkerchief for his 
 great wife, who is the mother of all the Matabele nation. I will one 
 day come to see their friendship. The gentleman who brings the 
 letter will tell you about all the work which I have to do here. Some 
 bad people have incited Kolahing, and so he thought he would make 
 fortifications and fight with us, but he got frightened, and saw that he 
 would be killed, therefore I made him break down the fortifications 
 and pack all the stones in one heap, and he had then to pay 5,000 
 cattle and 4,000 sheep and goats for his wickedness. Now there is 
 another chief, Gatsizibe — he came upon our land and killed three 
 people and plundered them — he must also pay a fina, or else we will 
 punish him or shoot him, because we will have peace in our country. 
 Now greetings, great Chief Lo Bengula, from the Commandant-General 
 of the South African Republic for the Government and Administration. 
 
 P. J JOUBKRT. 
 
 A big trek (the Banjailand trek) was organized in 1890 and 
 1 89 1 by General Joubert and his relatives and supporters to 
 occupy a portion of the territory already proclaimed as under 
 British protection and the administration of the Chartered 
 Company. The trekkers were turned back at Rhodes's Drift, 
 stopped by the firmness and courage and tact of Dr. Jameson, 
 who met them alone and unarmed ; and also by the proclama- 
 tion of President Kruger, to whom it had been plainly inti- 
 mated that the invasion would be forcibly resisted and would 
 inevitably provoke war. The matter had gone so far that the 
 offices of the Republic of Banjai had already been allotted. 
 The President's proclamation instead of being regarded as 
 the barest fulfilment of his obligations — very grudgingly done 
 under pressure of threats — was vaunted as an act of supreme 
 magnanimity and generosity, and was used in the bargaining 
 for the cession of Swaziland. 
 
 In Tongaland Boer emissaries were not idle ; but the . 
 failed, owing to the fact that the Tonga Queen Regent, 
 Zambili, a really fine specimen of the savage ruler, would 
 have nothing to do with any power but England, whose 
 suzerainty she accepted in 1887. Being shut oft' here, 
 the Boer Government made another bid for seaward exten- 
 sion, and, through their emissaries, obtained certain rights 
 from two petty chiefs, Zambaan and Umbegesa, whom they 
 
 - Uk 
 
 iS'i 
 
 
56 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 represented as independent kings ; but Lord Rosebery 
 annexed their territories in 1894, 21"^ so put a final stop to 
 the Transvaal schemes to evade the Convention by intrigue 
 with neighbouring native tribes. 
 
 Nothing can better illustrate the Boers' deliberate evasion 
 of their treaty obligations than their conduct in these matters. 
 The Pretoria Convention defined the Transvaal boundaries 
 and acknowledged the independence of the Swazis, and yet 
 the British Government's delay in consenting to the annexa- 
 tion of Swaziland by the Republic was regarded for years 
 as an intolerable grievance, and was proclaimed as such so 
 insistently that nearly all South Africa came at last to so 
 regard it. 
 
 The Boers' consent to the Chartered Company's occupation 
 of Mashonaland was looked upon as something calling for a 
 quid pro quo, and the annexation of Zambaan's land is now 
 regarded as an infamous act of piracy by England, and an in- 
 fringement of the Republic's rights, which the Dutch papers 
 denounce most vehemently. The Boer Government made it 
 clear, not less in their purely internal policy than in these 
 matters of extensions of territory, that they intended pursuing 
 a line of their own. 
 
 In 1882, the property known as ' Moodies,' consisting of a 
 number of farms bearing indications of gold, was thrown open 
 to prospectors. The farms had been allotted to Mr. G. Piggott 
 Moodie when he was Surveyor-General, in lieu of salary 
 which the Republic was unable to pay. This was the begin- 
 ning of the prospecting era which opened up De Kaap, Wit- 
 watersrand, and other fields ; but it was a small beginning, 
 and for some time nothing worth mentioning was discovered. 
 The Republic was again in a bad way, and drifting backwards 
 after its first spurt. The greatest uncertainty prevailed 
 amongst prospectors as to their titles, for in Lydenburg, at 
 Pilgrim's Rest, and on the Devil's Kantoor, concessions had 
 been granted over the heads of the miners at work on their 
 claims, and they had been turned off for the benefit of men 
 who contributed in no way to the welfare and prosperity of 
 the State. It has been stated in the Volksraad that not one 
 of those concessionaires has even paid the dues and rents, or 
 complied with the other conditions stipulated in the contracts. 
 
 
 t 
 
 \\W% 
 
'' !l 1 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 57 
 
 Many of the miners left the country in disgust. The Lyden- 
 burg district was practically locked up for fourteen years 
 owing to the concession policy, and has only lately been 
 partly released from the bonds of monopoly. 
 
 In 1884 Messrs. Kruger and Smit proceeded to Europe to 
 endeavour to raise funds, which were badly needed, and also 
 to obtain some modifications of the Convention. The 
 attempt to raise funds through the parties in Holland to 
 whom the railway concession had just been granted failed, 
 but the delegates were more fortunate in their other nego- 
 tiations. They negotiated the London Convention which fixed 
 certain hitherto undefined boundaries ; and in that document 
 no reference was made to the suzerainty of Great Britain. 
 They also secured the consent of the British Government to 
 the alteration of the title of the country. Instead of Transvaal 
 State it became once more the ' South African Republic' ^ 
 During this visit there occurred an incident which provides the 
 answer to Mr. Kruger's oft — too oft — repeated remark that 
 ' the Uitlanders were never asked to settle in the Trans- 
 vaal, and are not wanted there.' Messrs. Kruger and Smit 
 were staying at the Albemarle Hotel, where they found 
 themselves, after some weeks' delay, in the uncomfortable 
 position of being unable to pay their hotel bill. In their 
 extremity they applied to one Baron Grant, at that time 
 a bright particular star in the Stock Exchange firma- 
 ment. Baron Grant was largely interested in the gold 
 concessions of Lydenburg, and he was willing to assist, but 
 on terms. And the quid pro quo which he asked was some 
 public assurance of goodwill, protection, and encourage- 
 
 ment to British settlers in the Transvaal. 
 
 Mr. Kruger re- 
 
 • For full text of London Convention, see Appendix B. (July, 1899). A 
 very extensive correspondence has passed on the subject of the suze- 
 rainty. The Transvaal Government now construe the omission of the 
 Preamble to the 1881 Convention as the result of an agreement to abolish 
 the suzerainty. Mr. Chamberlain points out that the London Conven- 
 tion contains specific and not implied amendments of the Pretoria Con- 
 vention ; that the direct request for abolition of the suzerainty was 
 refused by Lord Derby ; that the preamble as the fundamental declara- 
 tion must be deemed to be in force ; and that if not, the same reason 
 which is adduced against the continued existence of the suzerainty would 
 hold good against the independence of the Transvaal, for in the preamble 
 of the 1 88 1 Convention alone is any mention made of either the grant 
 or the reservation. 
 
S8 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 sponded on behalf of the Repubh'c by publishing in the 
 London press the cordial invitation and welcome and the 
 promise of rights and protection to all who would come, so 
 frequently quoted against him of late. 
 
 By this time Moodies had attracted a fair number of 
 people, and the prospects of the country began, for the first 
 time with some show of reason, to look brighter. No 
 results were felt, however, and the condition of the Govern- 
 ment officials was deplorable. Smuggling was carried on 
 systematically ; in many cases officials ' stood in ' with 
 smugglers. They were obliged either to do that or to 
 enforce the laws properly and get what they could by 
 seizing contraband goods. There were two objections to the 
 latter course, however. One was that the country was large 
 and detection difficult with men who were both daring 
 and resourceful ; and the other was that the officials were not 
 sure of receiving their share of the spoil from a Government 
 so hard pressed as this one was, and whose higher officials 
 also had difficulties about payment of salaries. In many 
 cases salaries were six months in arrear ; and other cases 
 could be quoted of officials whose house-rent alone amounted 
 to more than their nominal remuneration. Yet they con- 
 tinued to live, and it was not difficult to surmise how. Another 
 significant fact was that goods subject to heavy duties — such 
 as spirits, hams, etc. — could be bought at any store at a price 
 which was less than original cost plus carriage and duty. 
 Smuggling was a very palpable fact, and — quoth the public 
 and the officials — a very convenient and even necessary 
 evil. 
 
 The principle on which the Customs officials conducted 
 the business of their office was observed by other officials 
 of the Republic, and in one department, at least, the abuses 
 have had a very far-reaching and serious effect. The Field- 
 cornets — district officials v/ho act as petty justices, registering, 
 and pass officers, collectors of personal taxes, captains of the 
 burgher forces, etc., etc. — are the officers with whom each 
 newcomer has to register. This is an important matter, because 
 the period of residence for the purpose of naturalization and 
 enfranchisement is reckoned from the date of registration in 
 the Field-cornet's books. As these officials were practically 
 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 59 
 
 turned loose on the public to make a living the best way they 
 cculd, many of them, notwithstanding that they collected the 
 taxes imposed by law, omitted to enter the names of new 
 arrivals in their books, thus securing themselves against 
 having to make good these amounts in event of an inspec- 
 tion of the books. Many of the Field-cornets were barely 
 able to write ; they had no ' offices,' and would accept taxes 
 and registrations at any time and in any place. The chances 
 of correct entry were Lnerefore remote. The result of this is 
 very serious. The records are either ' lost ' when they might 
 prove embarrassing, or so incorrectly or imperfectly kept as 
 to be of no use whatever ; and settlers in the Transvaal from 
 1882 to 1890 are in most cases unable to prove their registra- 
 tion as the law requires, and this through no fault of their 
 own. 
 
 In the country districts justice was not a commodity 
 intended for the Britisher. Many cases of gross abuse, and 
 several of actual murder occurred ; and in 1885 the case of 
 Mr. Jas. Donaldson, then residing on a farm in Lydenburg — 
 lately one of the Reform prisoners — was mentioned in the 
 House of Commons, and became the subject of a demand 
 by the Imperial Government for reparation and punishment. 
 He had been ordered by two Boers (one of whom was in the 
 habit of boasting that ne had shot an unarmed Englishman 
 in Lydenburg since the war, and would shoot others) to 
 abstain from collecting hut taxer; on his own farm ; and on 
 refusing had been attacked by them. After beating them 
 off single-handed, he was later on again attacked by his 
 former assailants, reinforced by three others. They bound 
 him with reims (thongs), kicked and beat him with sjamboks 
 (raw-hide whips) and clubs, stoned him, and left him uncon- 
 scious and so disfigured that he was thought to be dead when 
 found some hours latei. Ou receipt of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment's representations, the men were arrested, tried and 
 fined. The fines were stated to have been remitted at once 
 by Government, but in the civil action which followed Mr. 
 Donaldson obtained ;^S0O damages. The incident had a 
 distinctly beneficial eff jct, and nothing more v/as heard of the 
 maltreatment of defenceless men simply because they were 
 Britishers. Moreover, with the improvement in trade which 
 
00 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 followed the gold discoveries of 1885 and 1886 at Moodies 
 and Barberton, the relations between the two races also 
 improved. Frequent intercourse and commercial relations 
 begot a better knowledge of each other, and the fierce hatred 
 of the Britisher began to disappear in the neighbourhood of 
 the towns and the goldfields. 
 
 In 1886 the wonderful richness of the Sheba Mine in 
 Barberton attracted a good deal of attention, and drew a 
 large number of persons — prospectors, speculators, traders, 
 etc. — to the Transvaal. Before the end of 1887 ten or twelve 
 thousand must have poured into the country. The effect was 
 magical. The revenue which had already increased by 
 50 per cent, in 1886, doubled itself in 1887, and then there 
 came unto the Boer Government that which they had least 
 expected — ample means to pursue their greater ambitions. 
 But unmixed good comes to few, and with the blessings of 
 plenty came the cares of Government, the problem of dealing 
 with people whose habits, thoughts, ambitions, methods, 
 language, and logic differed utterly from their own. Father 
 Abraham on the London Stock Exchange would not be much 
 more ' at sea ' then the peasant farmers of the Volksraad were 
 in dealing with the requirements of the new settlers. 
 
 Agitations for reforms commenced early in Barberton. At 
 first it was only roads and bridges that were wanted, or the 
 remission of certain taxes, or security of title for stands and 
 claims. Later on a political association named the Transvaal 
 Republican Union was formed in Barberton, having a con- 
 stitution and programme much the same as those of the 
 Transvaal National Union, formed some five years later in 
 Johannesburg. The work of this body was looked on with 
 much disfavour by the Government, and it was intimated 
 to some of the prominent members that if they did not cease 
 to concern themselves with politics they would suffer in their 
 business relations, and might even be called upon to leave 
 the country. Many reforms were specified as desirable, and 
 the franchise question was raised, v^ith the object of getting 
 the Government to make some reasonable provision in lieu of 
 the registration clause, which was found in most cases to be 
 an absolute bar. 
 
 The discovery of the Witwatersrand conglomerate forma- 
 
 itv-* 
 
 •!*•'] 
 
^l 'i 
 
 III 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 6) 
 
 tion soon helped to swell the flowing tide of prosperity. In 
 the middle of 1887 the regular output of gold commenced, 
 and the fields have never ' looked back ' since. Johannes- 
 burg — named after Mr. Johannes Rissik, the Surveyor- 
 General of the Transvaal — was soon a far greater problem 
 than Barberton had been. The shareholders in the mines 
 soon found it necessary to have some organization to pro- 
 tect their interests and give unison to their policy, and 
 to preserve the records and collect information for the in- 
 dustry. The Witwatersrand Chamber of Mines was then 
 formed, a voluntary business association of unique interest 
 and efficiency. The organization includes all the repre- 
 sentative and influential men, and every company of any 
 consequence connected with the mining industry ; and it 
 has, through its committee and officials, for eight years 
 represented to the Volksraad the existence of abuses and 
 grievances, the remedies that are required, and the measures 
 which are felt to be necessary or conducive to the progress 
 of the industry in particular, or the welfare of the State in 
 general. The President, Executive and Volksraad, by neglect 
 of their obvious duties, by their ignorance of ordinary public 
 affairs, by their wilful disregard of the requirements of the 
 Uitlanders, have given cohesion to a people about as hetero- 
 geneous as any community under the sun, and have trained 
 them to act and to care for themselves. The refusal year 
 after year to give a charter of incorporation to the Chamber, 
 on the grounds that it would be creating an imperium in 
 imperio, and the comments of Volksraad members on the 
 petition, have made it clear that the Government view the 
 Chamber with no friendly eye. The facts that in order to 
 get a workable pass law at all the Chamber had to prepare 
 it in every detail, together with plans for the creation and 
 working of a Government department ; and that in order 
 to diminish the litigation under the gold law, and to make 
 that fearful and wonderful agglomeration of erratic, experi- 
 mental, crude, involved, contradictory and truly incom- 
 prehensible enactments at all understandable, the Chamber 
 had to codify it at its own expense and on its own initiative, 
 illustrate both the indispensable character of the organization, 
 and the ignorance and ineptitude of the Government. 
 
tfa 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 The records of the Volksraad for the last ten years may be 
 searched in vain for any measure calculated constructively 
 to advance the country, or to better the conditions of the 
 v/orkers in it, with the few — very few — exceptions of those 
 proposed by the Chamber of Mines. The country has, in 
 fact, run the Government, and the Government has been 
 unable to ruin it. 
 
 Shortly after the discovery of the Rand conglomerates, 
 it became clear that a railway would have to be built 
 between the coalfields and the miiias — some fcity miles. 
 But it was a fixed principle of the Boers that no railways 
 (with the exception of the Delagoa Bay line, which, as 
 the means of diverting trade from British channels, was 
 regarded as a necessary evil) should be built, since they 
 could compete successfully with the ox-waggon, and thus 
 deprive the ' poor burgher ' of his legitimate trade spoil ; 
 and great difficulty was experienced m getting the consent 
 of the Raad. As a matter of fact, the permission to build 
 it was only obtained by subterfuge ; for it was explained 
 to the worthy law-makers that it was not a railway at all — 
 only a steam tram. And the Rand Steam Tram it is called 
 to this day. 
 
 The Delagoa Railway — the darling scheme of Presidents 
 Burgers and Kruger in turn — was take a seriously in hand as 
 soon as it was possible to raise monej on almost any terms. 
 The concession for all railways in the State was granted 
 on April i6, 1884, to a group of Hollander and German 
 capitalists, and confirmed by the Volksraad on August 23 
 following. The President's excuse for granting and pre- 
 serving this iniquitous bond on the prosperity of the State 
 is, that when the country was poor and its credit bad, 
 friends in Holland came forward and generously helped 
 it, and this must not be forgotten to them. As a matter 
 of fact, friends accepted the concession when the State was 
 poor and its credit bad, but did nothing until the State's 
 credit improved to such an extent as to be mortgageable. 
 Then the friends granted certain favourable terms under their 
 concession to other friends, who built the first section of the 
 line at preposterous rates, and repaid themselves out o*" 
 moneys raised on the State's credit 
 
 ,iJ«'' I1! 
 
i',: 
 
 ' . ■ 1 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 09 
 
 A well-known South African politician, distinguished alike 
 for his ability and integrity, who visited the Transvaal 
 during the progress of the reformers' trial, and was anxious 
 in the interests of all South Africa to find a solution of the 
 differences, put the position thus to some of the leading men 
 of the Rand : ' You can see for yourselves that this is no 
 time to ask for the franchise ; for the time being, Jameson's 
 invasion has made such a suggestion impossible. Now, 
 tell me in a word, Is there any one thing that you require 
 more than anything else, which we can help you to get?' 
 The answer was : ' The one thing which we must have — not 
 for its own sake, but for the security it offers for obtaining 
 and retaining other reforms — is the franchise. No promise 
 of reform, no reform itself, will be worth an hour's purchase 
 unless we have the status of voters to make our influence 
 felt. But, if you want the chief economic grievances, they 
 are: the Netherlands Railway Concession, the dynamite 
 monopoly, the liquor traffic, and native labour, which, to- 
 gether, constitute an unwarrantable burden of indirect taxa- 
 tion on the industry of over two and a half millions sterling 
 annually. We petitioned until we were jeered at ; we 
 agitated until we — well — came here [Pretoria Gaol] ; and we 
 know that we shall get no remedy until we have the vote 
 to enforce it. We are not a political but a working com- 
 munity, and if we were honestly and capably governed 
 the majority of us would be content to wait for the franchise 
 for a considerable time yet in recognition of the peculiar 
 circumstances, and of the feelings of the older inhabitants. 
 That is the position in a nutshell.' 
 
 NetheriandB The Netherlands Railway Company is then 
 Railway a very important factor. It is unnecessary to 
 go very fully into its history and the details of its 
 administration. As the holder of an absolute monopoly, 
 as the enterprise which has involved the State in its 
 National Debt, and as the sole channel through which such 
 money has been expended, the Company has gradually 
 worked itself into the position of being the financial depart- 
 ment of the State ; and the functions which are elsewhere 
 exercised by the heads of the Government belong here, 
 in practice, entirely to this foreign corporation. Petitions 
 
 'in 
 
 K 
 
<H 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WIIHIN 
 
 for the cancellation of this concession were presented 
 in 1888, when the profjressive element in the first Volksraad 
 consisted of one man — Mr. Loveday, one of the loyalists in 
 the war. The agitation begun and carried on by him was 
 taken up by others, but without further result than that <.f 
 compelling the President to show his hand and step forward 
 as the champion of the monopoly on every occasion on which 
 it was assailed. During the years 1893-96 the President 
 stoutly defended the Company in the Volksraad, and by 
 his influence and the solid vote of his ignorant Dopper 
 Party completely blocked all legislation tending to control 
 the Company. Indeed at the end of the Session of 1895, 
 on receiving representations from the business communities 
 of the Republic as to the desirability of removing lihis 
 incubus from the overtaxed people, the President stat'jd 
 plamly that the Netherlands Railway Concession was a 
 matter of high politics and did not concern any but the 
 burghers of the State, and that he would receive no 
 representations from the Uitlanders on the subject nor 
 would he permit them to discuss it. 
 
 Very shortly after the granting of this railway concession 
 came the appointment of Dr. Leyds as State Attorney for the 
 Republic, he having been recommended and pushed forward 
 by the gentlemen in Holland to whom the concession had 
 been granted. It is stated that he was sent out as the 
 agent of the concessionaires in order to protect and advance 
 their interests, although at the same time in the service 
 of the Republic. It is only necessary to add that Mr. 
 Beelaerts van Blokland, the Consul-General for the 
 Republic in Holland, is the agent of the concessionaires 
 in that country, and the accord with which these two gentle- 
 men, as railway commissioners at their respective ends, have 
 always acted becomes intelligible. Several of the vital 
 conditions of the concession have been freely violated, the 
 first being that a certain section of the line (Nelspruit) should 
 be completed within four years. It was not completed for 
 eight. The concession really became void several times 
 during the years prior to 1890, but always found a stalwart 
 champion in the President, who continued to defend the 
 concessionaires for some two years after they had failed 
 
 ¥ 
 
 i'<- 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 «S 
 
 m 
 
 to get their capital subscribed. The Company was floated 
 on June 21 1887 on the most peculiar terms, the capital 
 of ;^i66,666 being in 2,000 shares of 1,000 guilders, or 
 jCS^ 6s. 8d. each. The shares were subscribed for by the 
 following groups : 
 
 German 
 Hollander 
 The Republic 
 
 819 shares, carrying 30 votes. 
 
 581 „ ,. 76 „ 
 
 600 „ „ 6 „ 
 
 The trust-deed, which limited the Republic to 6 out of 112 
 votes, although it subscribed about one-third of the capital, 
 and gave to the smallest holders, the Hollanders, twice as 
 many votes as all the others put together, was passed by Dr. 
 Leyds, in his capacity of legal adviser of the Government, 
 having previously been prepared by him in his other capacity. 
 The sum of ;^i 24,000 appears to have been expended on 
 construction ten months before any contract was given out 
 for the same or any work begun, and fifteen months before 
 any material was shipped. 
 
 The contract for the construction of the first sixty miles 
 compels admiration, if only for its impudence. In the first 
 place the contractors, Van Hattum and Co., were to build 
 the line at a cost to be mutually agreed upon by them and 
 the railway company, and they were to receive as remunera- 
 tion 1 1 per cent, upon the amount of the specification. But 
 should they exceed the contract price then the 1 1 per cent 
 was to be proportionately decreased by an arranged sliding 
 scale, provided, however, that Van Hattum and Co. did not 
 exceed the specification by more than 100 per cent., in which 
 latter case the Company would have the right to cancel 
 the contract. By this provision Messrs. Van Hattum and 
 Co. could increase the cost by lOO per cent., provided they 
 were willing to lose the 11 per cent, profit, leaving them a 
 net gain of 89 per cent. They did not neglect the oppor- 
 tunity. Whole sections of earthworks cost ;^23,500 per mile, 
 which should not have cost ;^8,000. Close upon a thousand 
 Hollanders were brought out from Holland to work for a 
 few months in each year on the line and then be sent back 
 to Holland again at the expense of the Republic. In a 
 country which abounded in stone the Komati Bridge was 
 
66 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 built of dressed stone which had been quarried and worked 
 in Holland and exported some 7,000 miles by ship and rail. 
 
 These arc a few instances out of many. The loss to the 
 country through the financing was of course far greater than 
 any manipulation of the construction could bring about. In 
 the creating of overdrafts and the raising of loans very large 
 sums indeed were handled. Three-quarters of a million in 
 one case and a million in another offered opportunities which 
 the Hollander-German gentlemen who were doing business 
 for the country out of love for it (as was frequently urged on 
 their behalf in the Volksraad) were quick to perceive. The 
 5 per cent, debentures issued to raise the latter sum were sold 
 at ;{I^95 15s. ; but the financiers deducted £$ commission from 
 even this, so that the State has only benefited to the extent 
 of £go iss. This transaction was effected at a time when 
 the State loan known as the Transvaal Fives — raised on 
 exactly the same interest and precisely the same guarantee — 
 •"as quoted at over par. What, however, was felt to be worse 
 than any detail of finance was that this corporation of 
 foreigners had gradually obtained complete control of the 
 finances of the State, anO through the railway system it prac- 
 tically dictated the relations with the other Governments in 
 South Africa, by such measures for instance as the imposi- 
 tion of a charge of 8Jd. per ton per mile on goods travelling 
 over their lines coming from the Cape Colony, whilst the 
 other lines are favoured by a charge of less than half that. 
 The burdens placed upon the mining industry by the exces- 
 sive charges imposed for political purposes were, in the case 
 of the poorer mines, ruinous. The right which the Company 
 had to collect the Customs dues for account of the State, 
 to retain them as security for the payment of interest on their 
 shares and debentures, and to impose a charge for collection 
 quite disproportionate to the cost, was another serious griev- 
 ance. It was hopeless, however, to deal with the whole ques- 
 tion. The Government had set its face against any reform in 
 this quarter. It was not possible to obtain even ordinary 
 working facilities such as any business corporation unpro- 
 tected by an absolute monopoly would be bound to concede 
 of its own accord, in order to catch a measure of trade. 
 
 The Government have the right, under the agreement with 
 
 ib. A 
 
AFTER THP: war 
 
 67 
 
 the Company, to take over the railway on certain conditions, 
 of which the following arc the most important : 
 
 (a) The Company shall receive one year's notice of the 
 
 intention to take over. 
 (3) The Company shall receive twenty times the amount 
 
 of the average of the last three years' dividends. 
 {c) The Company shall receive as a solatium for the un- 
 expired period of the concession an amount equal 
 to one per cent, of its nominal capital for each 
 year up to the year of expiring (191 5). 
 The Government can take over the Krugersdorp-Johannes- 
 burg-Boksburg Tramway against payment of the cost of con- 
 struction. 
 
 If the Volksraad should not during this Session' decide to 
 nationalize the railway no change can take place before 1898, 
 so that the three years 1895 to 1897 would have to be taken 
 as a basis and therefore the 6 per cent, for 1894, the only low 
 dividend, would not come into the calculation. This would 
 of course considerably increase the purchase price — e^., 
 
 I ; 
 
 1805 
 
 • •• 
 
 • •• 
 
 9 per c 
 
 1896 
 
 • •• 
 
 • • • 
 
 14 
 
 1897 
 
 • •• 
 
 • • ■ 
 
 14 .. 
 
 Total 
 
 (estimate), 
 
 37 
 
 That is to say an average distribution of 12"33 P^r cent for 
 the three years. The purchase price would thus be : 
 
 I2'33X20 = 246'66 per cent. 
 17 years' premium 17 „ 
 
 Total 
 
 263*66 
 
 This has been clearly explained to the Volksraad but with- 
 out avail, the President's influence on the other side being too 
 strong. During the Session of 1895 it was made clear that 
 asritation against the Company was as futile as beating the 
 air. When the Hollander clique found that they could no 
 ionger convince the Boers as a whole of the soundness of their 
 business and the genuineness of their aims, and when they 
 
 • Written August, 1 S96. 
 
 * 
 
 i ' 
 
 J 
 
68 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 failed to combat the arguments and exposures of their critics, 
 they resorted to other tactics, and promulgated voluminous 
 reports and statements of explanations which left the unfor- 
 tunate Volksraad members absolutely stupefied where they 
 had formerly only been confused, » 
 
 The following is taken from an article in the Johannesburg 
 Mining Journal, dealing with the burdens imposed by the 
 railway company upon the industry : 
 
 Railway Monopoly. 
 
 This is another carefully dosi<_;nc'd burden upon the mines and 
 country. The issued capital and loans of the Netherlands Company 
 now total ab( ut ;^7,ooo,ooo, upon which an average interest of about 
 5^ per cent. — <:;uaranteed by the State — is paid, ecpial to ;^370,ooo per 
 annunL Naturally the bonds are at a high premium. The Company 
 and its liabilities can be taken over by the State ai a year's notice, and 
 the necessary funds for tliis purpose can He raised at 3 per cent. An 
 offer was recently made to the Government to consol-date this and 
 other liabilities, but the National Bank, whicii is another concession, has 
 the monopoly of all State loan business, and this circumstance effec- 
 tually disposed of the proposal At 3 per cent, a saving of ;£i6o,ooo per 
 annum would be made in this monopoly in interest alone. The value 
 represented by the Custom dues on the Portuguese border we are not 
 in a position to estimate, but roughly these collections and the 15 pe»- 
 cent, of the profits paid to the management and shareholders must, 
 with other leakages, represent at least another ;^ioo,ooo per annum, 
 whicli should be savtd the country. As the revenue of the corporation 
 now exceeds ;^"2,ooo,ooo a year, of which only half is expended in 
 working costs, the estimate we have taken does not err upon the side of 
 extravagance. By its neglect of its duties towards the commercial and 
 mining community cnormoL'S losses are involved. Thus, in the coal 
 traffic, the rate — which is now to be somewhat reduced — has been 31!. 
 per ton per mile, .\ccording to the returns of the Chamber of Mines, 
 the coal production of the Transvaal for 1895 was 1,045,121 tons. This 
 is carried an average di:;tance of nearly thi; ty miles, but taking the dis- 
 tance at tuenty-four miles the charges are 6s. per ton. At i^d. per ton 
 per mile— three times as much as the Cape railways charge — a saving 
 upon the coal rates of 3s. per ton would follow, equal to ;{, 150,000 per 
 annum. Again, by the 'bagging' system, an additional cost of 2S. 3d. 
 per ton is incurred — details of this item have been recently published 
 inthispa-^er — and if this monopoly were run upon ordinary business 
 lines, ;• fuither saving of /!i 10,000 would be made by carrying coal in 
 bulk. The interest upon the amount required to construct the neces- 
 sary sidings for handling the coal, and the tram-lines required to trans- 
 
 • To those who are not familiar with the conditions of the country, 
 it will seem incredible that the legislative body could be ' fooled ' on 
 such a subject. The extracts from tin; newspaper reports of the Kaad's 
 proceedings, printed in Appendix D of tiiis volume, will help them to 
 under.'-tan'J and believe. 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 69 
 
 port it to the mines, would be a mere fraction upon this amount ; and as 
 the coal trade in the course of a short time is likely to see a 50 per cent, 
 increase, the estimate may be allowed to stand at this figure without 
 deduction. No data are available to fix the amount of the tax laid upon 
 the people generally by the vexatious delays and losses following upon 
 inefficient railwaj administration, but the monthly meetings of the local 
 Chamber of Commerce throw some light upon these phases of a mono- 
 polistic management. The savings to be made in dealing with the coal 
 traffic must not be taken as exhausting all possible reforms ; the par- 
 ticulars given as to this traffic only indicate and su,ff;est the wide area 
 covered by this monopoly, which hitherto has m' ^c but halting and 
 feeble efforts to keep pace with the requirements of the public. Deal- 
 ing as it does with the imports of the whole country, which now 
 amount in value to ;£io,ooo,ooo, the figures we have given must serve 
 merely to illustrate its invertebrate methods of handling traffic, as well 
 as its grasping greed in enforcing the rates fixed by the terms of its con- 
 cession. Its forty miles of Rand steam tram-line and thirty-five miles 
 of railway from the Vaal River, with some little assistance from the 
 Delagoa line and Customs, brought in a revenue of about ;£i, 250,000 in 
 1895. Now that the Natal line is opened the receipts will probably 
 .-amount to nearly ;£3,ooo,ooo per annum, all of which should swell the 
 ordinary revenue of the country, instead of remaining in the hands of 
 foreigners as a reservoir of wealth for indigent Hollanders to exploit. 
 The total railway earnings of the Cape and Natal together over all theii' 
 lines amounted to ;£3,9i6,566 in 1895, and the capital expenditure on 
 railways by these colonies amounts to ^26,000,000. The greater por- 
 tion of these receipts come from the Rand trade, which is compelled to 
 pay an additional £2,500,000, carrying charges to the Netherlands Com- 
 pany, which has ;^7,ooo,ooo of capital. Thus, railway receipts in South 
 Africa amount now to ;g7,ooo,ooo per annum, of which the Rand con- 
 tributes at least ;£5,ooo,ooo. 
 
 The revenue of the company is now considerably over ;£3,ooo,ooo 
 per annum. The manager" :»'"': c'aim that their expenses amount to but 
 40 per cent, of revenue, z:id i. is is regarded by them as a matter for 
 general congratulation. Tiie Uitlanders contend that the concern is 
 grossly mismanaged, and Ihac the low cost of working is a fiction. It 
 only appears low by t..o ..rast with a revenue swollen by preposterously 
 heavy rates and protected by a monopoly. The tariff could be reduced 
 by o:iC \\a.i! ; that is to say, a remission of taxnition to the tune of one 
 and a half million annually could be effected without depriving the 
 Company of a legitimate and indeed very handsome profit. 
 
 The Selati Railway Scheme ! ' Conceived in 
 E&uway Jniqu'ty, delivered in shame, died in disgrace !' 
 might be its history, but for the fact that it is 
 not quite dead yet. But very nearly ! The concession was 
 obtained during the Session of 1890 by a member of the First 
 Volksraad, Mr. Barend J. Vorster, jun., who himself took part 
 in and guided the tone of the debate which decided the 
 granting of the concession. The Raad resolved to endeavour 
 to obtain the favourable opinions of their constituents, but 
 
70 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 before doing so the generous Mr. Vorster made what he was 
 pleased to call 'presents' to the members — American spiders, 
 Cape carts, gold watches, shares in the Company to be floated, 
 and sums in cash — were the trifles by which Mr. Vorster won 
 his way to favour. He placated the President by presenting to 
 the Volksraad a portrait of his Honour, executed by the late 
 Mr. Schroeder, South Africa's one artist. The picture cost 
 £Coo. The affair was a notorious and shameless matter of 
 bribery and the only profit which the country gained from it 
 was a candid confession of personal principles on the part of 
 Mr. Kruger himself, who when the exposure took place 
 stated that he saw no harm in members receiving presents. 
 Debentures to the amount of ;^5C)0,000 were issued, bearing 
 Governm.ent guarantee of 4 per cent. The Company received 
 £70 for each ;^iOO debenture. Comment is superfluous. A 
 second issue of a million was made, nominally at £g'^ los., 
 but the Company only received £?>6 — a commission to the 
 brokers or agents of 8 J per cent, at a time when the Com- 
 pany's previous issue of 4 per cents, were standing at £g7 in 
 the market. The costs of flotation were charged at upwards 
 of x^3 2,000 J the expenses of one gentleman's travelling, etc., 
 ;^6,ooo. 
 
 But these are ' trifles light as air.' This Selati Railway 
 Company, which being guaranteed by Government is really 
 a Government liability, arranged with a contractor to build 
 the line at the maximum cost allowed in the concession, 
 ^9,600 per mile. Two days later this contractor sub-let the con- 
 tract for £7,002 per mile. As the distance is 200 miles, the 
 Republic was robbed by a stroke of the pen of ;^5 19,600 — 
 one of the biggest ' steals ' even in the Transvaal. During 
 the two years for which Dr. Leyds was responsible as the 
 representative of the Republic for the management of this 
 affair, none of these peculiar transactions were detected — 
 at any rate none were reported or exposed ; but on the 
 accession to office of an ignorant old Boer the nest of 
 swindles appears to have been discovered without any diffi- 
 culty. And it is generally admitted that Dr. Leyds is not a 
 fool. This exposure took place at the end of the Session 
 of 1894, and, inured as the Uitlanders had become to jobs, this 
 was an eye-opener even for them, and the startled community 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 71 
 
 began wondering what more might be in store for them — 
 the unfortunate tax-payers — who had to bear the brunt of 
 it all. 
 
 Turning to the finances of the country, the fol- 
 lowing f-^.bles are as instructive as anything can be : 
 
 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN 
 
 REPUBLIC 
 
 Fiscal period. 
 
 Aug. 1, 1871 to July 31, 1872 ... 
 I, 1872 „ Jan. 31, 1873 
 
 Feb. 1, 1873 
 
 „ I, 1874 
 
 ,, h 1875 
 „ I, 1876 
 
 )) 1, i'^77 
 
 .\prili2, 1877 
 
 )iu., I, 1878 
 
 „ I, 1879 
 
 „ I, 1880 
 
 „ I, 1881 
 
 Aug. 8, 1881 
 
 Jan. I, 1882 
 
 „ I, 1883 
 
 „ I, 1884 
 
 April I, 1884 
 
 „ I, 1885 
 
 „ I, 1886 
 
 Jan. I, 1887 
 
 31. 1874 
 
 1) II 3*1 
 » I, 31. 
 1) 1) 3*1 
 „ April 12, 
 „ Dec. 31, 
 11 II 3^1 
 .. .. 3I1 
 11 II 3*1 
 „ Oct. 14, 
 „ Dec. 31, 
 
 II i. 311 
 
 ,, Mar. 31, 
 11 II J^i 
 ,1 ., 31, 
 II Dec. 31, 
 
 1H75 ... 
 
 1876 ... 
 
 1877 ... 
 
 1877 ... 
 187; ... 
 
 1878 ... 
 
 1879 ". 
 
 1880 ... 
 
 1881 ... 
 l8>ii ... 
 188? ... 
 
 1883 ... 
 
 1884 ... 
 
 1885 ... 
 
 1886 ... 
 1886 ... 
 
 Revenue. 
 
 £. 
 40.988 ... 
 
 43>23') ... 
 49,318 ... 
 
 5?,553 -.. 
 64,.S82 ... 
 62,762 ... 
 
 25i732 ... 
 
 54,127 ... 
 76,774 ... 
 
 93-409 ... 
 174.060 ... 
 
 25,326 ... 
 
 37,908 ... 
 177,407 ... 
 143,324 ... 
 
 44,557 ... 
 101,596 ... 
 177,877 ... 
 196,236 ... 
 
 Expendi- 
 ture 
 
 £ 
 35.714 
 
 41,813 
 45,482 
 
 61,785 
 69.394 
 64,505 
 
 I7i235 
 
 70,003 
 
 89,063 
 
 177,596 
 
 H+,943 
 
 180,707 
 
 33,442 
 114,476 
 
 184,344 
 18.922 
 184,820 
 162,709 
 154,636 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Gold discovered 
 in LydtiiDurg. 
 
 British Govt 
 Boer Govt. 
 
 31, 1887 
 
 I, 1888 „ 
 
 1, 1889 „ 
 
 I, 1890 „ 
 
 I, 1891 „ 
 
 1,1892 „ 
 
 1, iJ'o? ., 
 
 I, I '^94 „ 
 
 1. i^9?. ,1 
 
 1, 1 890 „ 
 
 li 1897 „ 
 
 1, 1898 „ 
 
 1, 1899 „ 
 
 „ 31, 1888 ... 884,440 
 „ 31, 1889 ... i,577i445 
 
 31, 1R90 
 
 31, 1801 
 31, 1892 
 
 3I1 1893 . 
 31, i8i>4 . 
 
 3I1 1895 . 
 31, i80 . 
 31, 1897 . 
 31, 1898 . 
 31, 1899 . 
 
 Sheba floated. 
 Rand proclaimed 
 Sept. 8, 1886. 
 637i749 ••• 5941834 Shares quoted 
 Johannesburg 
 Stock Exchange. 
 Telegraph 
 opened 
 Johannesburg 
 April 26, 1887. 
 720,492 Boom, Nov. 1888 
 1,201,135 to Jan. 1889. 
 
 Slump.Mar. 1889 
 
 1,229.061 
 
 967,192 
 
 1,255.830 
 
 ,. 1,702,685 
 
 ,. 2,247,728 
 
 .. 2,923,048 
 
 .. 3,912,095 
 
 .. 3,956,402 
 
 .. 3,329-958 
 
 ,. 4,087,852 
 
 1,386,461 
 
 1,350,074 
 1,187,766 
 
 1,302,054 
 1.734.728 
 1,948,249 
 3.732,4<;2 
 3.898,816 
 3,476,844 
 3.951.234 
 
 Baring Crisis. 
 Railway reached 
 
 Johannesburg 
 
 Sept. 15. 
 
 (Budget). 
 
 The figures (or llic period from 1871 to the end of 1887 are taken from 
 
 The above has been brought up to date for publication, July, 1899. 
 
72 
 
 THE TKANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Jc'ppe's Transvaal Alinaiiu- for 1889. They reprosciil Ihu onlinary Revenue 
 and lv\pcn(litiire arrived at .after the dediietiim of llie items ' Sp /cial 
 Keccipts,' ' Speeial Depnsils,' 'Deposits Withdrawn,' 'Advances Ivefmided,' 
 'Advances made' and ' Fixed Deposits' from the totals ijiven in tiie Ofl'icial 
 Government Retinns, 
 
 Tlie li.mires for the years 1888 to 1899 are those of the piibHslied Govern- 
 ment Reliinis afler tlie deduction of — 
 
 Fixed deposits from 1SS8 to 1893 inclusive. 
 
 The sale and purchase of explosives from i;^c)5 to 1898 inclusive. 
 
 Tlie owner's share of claim licenses from 1(^93 to i!^99 inclu ive. 
 
 Delajfoa Bay Customs Dues paid to the Netherlands Railway for 1898 
 and 1899. 
 
 The dynamite mon"poly has always been a 
 Monopoly '^'^^^ burning question with the Uitlanders. This 
 concession was granted shortly after the Barberton 
 Fields were discovered, when the prospects of an industry 
 in the manufacture of explosives were not really very great. 
 The concessionaire himself has admitted that had he fore- 
 seen to what proportions this monopoly would eventually 
 grow he would not have had the audacity to apply for it. 
 This, of course, is merely a personal question. The fact 
 which concerned the industry was that the right was granted 
 to one man to manufacture explosives and to sell them at a 
 price nearly 2CX) per cent, over that at which they could be 
 imported. It was found upon investigation after some years 
 of agitation that the factory at which this 'manufacture' 
 took place was in reality merely a depot in which the already 
 manufactured article was manipulated to a moderate extent so 
 as to lend colour to the President's statement that a local 
 industry was being fostered. An investigation held by order 
 of the Volksraad exposed the imposition. The President him- 
 self stated that he found he had been deceived and that the 
 terms of the concession had been broken, and he urged the 
 Raad to cancel it —which the Raad did. The triumph was 
 considerable for the mining intlustry and it was the more 
 ap|,>reciated in that it was the solitary success to which 
 the Uitlanders could point in their long series of agitations 
 for reform. But the triumph was not destined to be a lasting 
 one. Within a few months the monopoly v/us revived in an 
 infinitely more obnoxious form. It was now called a Govern- 
 ment monopoly, but 'the agenc; ' was bestowed upon a partner 
 of the gentleman who had formerly owned the concession, 
 the President himself vigorously defending this course and 
 
A'/IKR THE WAR 
 
 73 
 
 i^nDiing his own judj^ment on the case uttered a few months 
 previously. Land cii ]'olk^ tlic Pretoria Dutch newspaper, 
 exposed the whole of this transaction, including the system 
 of bribery by wliich the concessionaries secured their renewal, 
 and amon;,; other things made the charge which it has con- 
 tinued to repeat ever since that Mr. J. M. A. Wolmarans, 
 member of the Executive, received a commission of one 
 shilling per case on every case sold during the continuance 
 of the agency as a consideration for his support in the 
 ICxecutive Council, and that he continues to enjo>' this 
 remuneration, which is estimated now to be not far short of 
 ^10,000 a year. Mr. VVolrnarans, for reasons of pride or 
 discretion, has declined to take any notice of the charge, 
 although frequently pressed to take action in the matter. It 
 is calculated that the burden imposed u[)on the Witwatersrand 
 Mines alone amounts to ,03oo,ooo per annum, and is, of 
 course, daily increasing. 
 
 The question of the franchise, which has 
 La^g achieved the greatest prominence in the Uitlander 
 agitation, is one with which few people even in 
 the Transvaal are familiar, so man)' and peculiar have been 
 the changes effected in the law. Lawyers differ as to 
 whether certain laws revoke or merely supplement previous 
 ones, and the President himself — to the grim amusement of 
 the Uitlanders — frequently goes astray when he speaks on 
 franchise. The first law on burgher and electoral rights 
 is No. I of 1876, which remained in force until 1882. By it 
 the possession of landed property or else residence for one 
 year qualified the settler for full burgher privileges. Law 
 No. 7 of 1882 was the first attempt of the restored Republic 
 to deal with the question. It was then enacted that an alien 
 could be naturalized and enfranchised after five years' 
 residence, such residence to be proved by tlie Field-cornet's 
 books of registration. It has already been explained that 
 these records in nine cases out of ten were either improperly 
 kept or non-existent. 
 
 In i8go Law No. 4 was passed, creating the Second 
 Volksraad and altering the Grondwet (or constitution) 
 accordingly. By this law the franchise was indirectly altered 
 without riq)caling those portions which may be at variance 
 
74 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 with or repujjnant to the imph'ed alterations, and this wa? 
 done by simply defining what class of electors should vote 
 for members of the First Raad, and what class for members 
 of the Second. Thus, ' the members of the First Volksraad 
 shall be elected by those enfranchised burghers who have 
 obtained the right of voting before this law comes in force 
 or thereafter by birth in the State, and on having attained 
 the age of sixteen years.' Secondly, all those who became 
 naturalized and enfranchised after this law was passed could 
 not vote for members of the First Volksraad, but a subsequent 
 article in the law provides that the higher rights can be 
 obtained by those who shall have bicn eligible for ten years 
 for election to the Second Volksraad ; and it is then explained 
 that, in order to be eligible for the Second Volksraad, it is 
 necessar)^' to be thirty years of age, to be a member of the 
 Protestant Church, to live and have landed property in the 
 Republic, and to have been a naturalized subject for two 
 years. Thus the full electoral privileges were only obtainable 
 after fourteen years' residence in the State, and the possession 
 of the other qualifications of religion, property, etc. 
 
 Next came Law No. 13 of 1891, which was rather a codi- 
 fication than an alteration of previous laws. In 1892 another 
 law was passed again explaining, but not materially altering 
 the franchise. In 1893 Law No. 14 was passed as an amend- 
 ment of previous laws : further juggling the position — further 
 hedging in the sacred preserve. As the law was superseded 
 in the following year it is unnecessary to go into details ; but 
 note how the measure became law ! It was not published 
 in the Staats Courant for three months as required by law ; 
 it was not published at all ; nor was any special resolution 
 taken affirming that it was a matter of extreme urgency and 
 therefore to be held exempt from that rule of procedure ; so 
 that the High Court ought to be able to declare it null and 
 void. The circumstances of its introduction could not be 
 considered to warrant the plea of urgency. On the 29th and 
 30th June, 1893, memorials upon the franchise question were 
 laid before the Raad. From Johannesburg came one memorial 
 bearing 4,507 signatures out of the grand total of 6,665 
 memorialists. It was in favour of extension of the franchise. 
 Another memorial from 103 Free State burghers was in 
 
 '■ ■! 
 
AFTKR THE WAR 
 
 75 
 
 favour of extension, another from Barberton from 40 burghers 
 also for extension. Seven memorials, bearing 444 signatures, 
 were against extension. All the others concerned minor 
 alterations in Law 13 of 1891, and di<I not affect the franchise. 
 The Raad appointed a commission and on the 8th of St'p- 
 tember received its report, together with a draft law which had 
 not before seen the light of day. After a discussion lasting pirt 
 of one morning the law was passed provisionally ; and to be 
 of full force and effect until confirmed by the Raad in the 
 following year. Thus again were the fundamental political 
 conditions entirely altered by the passing of a law which two 
 hours before had not been heard of. 
 
 Law No. 3 of 1894 purports to ruperscde all other laws. 
 Therein it is laid down that all persons born in the State, 
 or who may have established their domicile therein before 
 May 29, 1876, are entitled to full political privileges. Those 
 who have settled in the country since then can become 
 naturalized after two years' residence dating from the time 
 at which their names were registered in the Field-cornet's 
 books. This naturalization confers the privilege of voting 
 for local officials, Field-cornets, landdrosts,' and for members 
 of the Second Raad. It is however stipulated that children 
 born in the country shall take the status of their fathers. 
 The naturalized subject after having been qualified to vote 
 in this manner for two years becomes eligible for a seat in 
 the .Second Volksraad — />., four years after the registration 
 of his name in the Field-cornet's books. After he shall have 
 been qualified to sit in the Second Volksraad for ten years (one 
 of the conditions for which ts that he must be thirty years of 
 age) he may obtain the full burgher rights or political privileges, 
 provided the majority of burghers in his Ward will signify 
 in writing their desire that he should obtain them and pro- 
 vided the President and Executive shall see no objection to 
 granting the same. It is thus clear that, assuming the Field- 
 cornet's records to be honestly and properly compiled and to 
 be available for reference (which they are not), the immigrant, 
 after fourteen years' probation during which he shall have 
 given up his own country and have been politically emascu- 
 
 ' Except on the goldfields, where Ihe appointments are made by 
 Government. 
 
76 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 lated, and having attained the age lof at least forty years, 
 would have the privilege of obtaining burgher rights should 
 he be willing and able to induce the majority of a hostile 
 clique to petition in writing on his behnlf and should l>e then 
 escape the veto of the President and Executive. 
 
 This was the coping-stone to Mr, Kruger's Chinese wall. 
 The Uitlanders and their children were disfranchised for 
 ever, and as far as legislation could make it sure the country 
 was preserved by entail to the families of the Voortrekkers. 
 The measure was only carried because of the strenuous 
 support given by the President both within the Raad and at 
 those private meetings which practically decide the important 
 business of the country. The President threw off all disguise 
 when it came to proposing this measure of protection. For 
 many years he had been posing as the one progressive factor 
 in the State and had induced the great majority of people 
 to believe that while he personally was willing and even 
 anxious to accede to the reasonable requests of the new popu- 
 lation his burghers were restraining him. He had for a 
 time succeeded in quelling all agitation by representing that 
 demonstrations made by the tax-bearing section only em- 
 barrassed him in his endeavour to relieve them and aggra- 
 vated the position by raising the suspicions and opposition 
 of his Conservative faction. 
 
 In 1893 ^ petition signed by upwards of 13,000 aliens in 
 favour of granting the extension of the franchise was received 
 by the Raad with great laughter. But notwithstanding this 
 discouragement, during the following year a monster petition 
 was got up by the National Union. It was signed by 35,483 
 Uitlanders — men of an age and of sufficient education to 
 qualify them for a vote in any country. The discussion 
 which took place on this petition was so important, and the 
 decision so pregnant with results, that copious notes of the 
 Volksraad debate are published in this volume (Appendix). 
 The only response made to this appeal was a firmer riveting 
 of the bonds. It is but just to say that the President 
 encountered determined opposition in his attempt to force 
 his measure through the Raad. The progressive section 
 (progressive being a purely relative term which the peculiar 
 circumstances of the country alone can justify) made a stand, 
 
 Ai'. 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 77 
 
 but the law was carried nevertheless. Eye-witnesses of the 
 scene state that two or three of the intelligent and liberal- 
 minded farmers belonging to this progressive party, men who 
 were earnestly desirous of doing justice to all and furthering 
 the interests of the State, declared at the close of the debate 
 that this meant the loss of independence. ' Now,' said one 
 old Boer, ' our country is gone. Nothing can settle this but 
 fighting, and there is only one end to the fight. Kruger and 
 his Hollanders have taken our independence more surely than 
 ever Shepstone did.' The passing of this measure was a 
 revelation not only to the Uitlanders, who still believed that 
 reasonable representations would prevail, but to a section 
 of the voters of the country who had failed to realize Mr. 
 Kruger's policy, and who honestly believed that he would 
 carry some conciliatory measures tending to relieve the strain, 
 and satisfy the large and ever-ii. creasing industrial p.pulation 
 of aliens. The measure was accepted on all hands as an 
 ultimatum — a declaration of war to the knife. There was 
 only one redeeming feature about it : from that time forward 
 there could be no possibility of misunderstanding the position, 
 and no reason to place any credence in the assurances of 
 the President. When remonstrated with on this subject of 
 the refusal of the franchise, and when urged by a prominent 
 man whose sympathies are wholly with the Boer to consider 
 the advisability of ' opening the door a little,' the President, 
 who was in his own house, stood up, and leading his adviser 
 by ihe arm, walked into the m?<idle of the street, and pointed 
 to the Transvaal flag flying over the Government buildings, 
 saying, ' You see that flag. If I grant the franchise I may as 
 well pull it down.' 
 
 It is seldom possible to indicate th(t precise period at which 
 a permanent change in the feeling of a people may be con- 
 sidered to have been effected, but the case of the Uitlanders 
 undoubtedly presents one instance in which this is possible. 
 Up to the passing of this law quite a considerable section 
 of the people believed that the President and the Volksraad 
 would listen to reason, and would even in the near future 
 make considerable concessions. A larger section, it is true, 
 believed nothing of the sort, but at the saine time were so 
 far from thinking that it would be necessary to resort to 
 
7« 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 extreme measures that they were content to remain passive, 
 and allow their more sanguine comrades to put their con- 
 victions to the test It is not too much to say that not one 
 person in a hundred seriously contemplated that an appeal 
 to force would be necessary to obtain the concessions which 
 were being asked. It might be said that within an hour the 
 scales dropped from the eyes of the too credulous community, 
 and the gravity of the position was instantly realized. The 
 passage of the Bill and the birth of the revolutionary idea 
 were synchronous. 
 
 In a brief sketch of events, such as this is, it is not possible 
 with due regard to simplicity to deal with matters in chrono- 
 logical order, and for this reason such questions as the 
 franchise, the railway, dynamite, and others have been 
 explained separately, regardless of the fact that it has 
 thereby become necessary to allude to incidents in the 
 general history for which no explanation or context is 
 supplied at the moment. This is particularly the case in 
 the matter of the franchise, and for the purpose of throwing 
 light on the policy of which the franchise enactments and 
 the Netherlands Railway affairs and other matters formed 
 a portion, some explanation should be given of President 
 Kruger's own part and history in the period under review. 
 
 Mr. Kruger was elected President in 1882, and re-elected 
 in 1888 v/ithout serious opposition, his one rival, General 
 Joubcrt, receiving an insignificant number of votes. The 
 period for which he was now elected proved to be one of 
 unexpected, unexampled prosperity, furnishing him with the 
 means of completing plans which must have seemed more 
 or less visionary at their inception ; but it was also a period 
 of considerable trial. The development of the Barberton 
 Goldfields was a revelation to the peasant mind of what the 
 power of gold is. The influx of prospectors was very con- 
 .siderable, the increase of the revenue of the State appeared 
 simply colossal ; and no sooner did the Boer rulers begin 
 to realize the significance of the Barberton boom than they 
 were confronted with the incomparably greater discoveries 
 of the Witwatersrand. The President did not like the 
 Uitlanders. He made no concealment of the fact. He 
 could never be induced to listen to the petitions of that com- 
 
 m 
 
 4 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 79 
 
 munity, nor to do anything in the way of roads and bridges 
 in return for the very heavy contributions which the httle 
 community sent to the Republic's treasury. In those days 
 he used to plead that the distance was great, and the time 
 required for coach-travelling was too considerable ; but the 
 development of the Witwatersrand and the growth of 
 Johannesburg within thirty-two miles of the capital, while 
 disposing of the pretexts which held good in the case of 
 Barberton, found Mr. Kruger no more inclined to make the 
 acquaintance of the newcomers than he had been before. 
 Notwithstanding that the law prescribes that the President 
 shall visit all the districts and towns of the State at least 
 once during the year, notwithstanding, also, the proximity of 
 Johannesburg, the President has only visited the industrial 
 capital of the Republic three times in nine years. The first 
 occasion was in the early days — a visit now remembered 
 only as the occasion of the banquet at which Mr. Cecil 
 Rhodes, then one of the pioneers of the Rand, in proposing 
 the President's health, appealed to him to make friends with 
 the newcomers, and to extend the privileges of the older 
 residents to ' his young burghers — like myself That was 
 before Mr. Rhodes had secured his concession, and long 
 before the Charter was thought of. 
 
 There is an unreported incident which occurred a year or 
 two later, concerning the two strong men of Africa — it was 
 a ' meeting ' which didn't take place, and only Mr. Rhodes 
 can say how it might have affected the future of South 
 Africa had it come off. The latter arrived by coach in 
 Pretoria one Saturday morning, and, desiring to see the 
 President, asked Mr. Ewald Esselen to accompany him and 
 interpret for him. Mr. Rhodes, knowing the peculiar ways 
 of Mr. Kruger, waited at the gate a few yards from the house 
 while Mr. Esselen went in to inquire if the President would 
 see him. Mr. Kruger's reply was that he would see Mr. 
 Rhodes on Monday. Mr. Esselen urged that as Mr. Rhodes 
 was obliged to leave on Sunday night the reply was tanta- 
 mount to a refusal. The President answered that this was 
 ' Nachtmaal ' time and the town was full of his burghers, 
 and that he made it a rule, which he would violate for no 
 one, to reserve the Saturdays of the Nach^.naal week for his 
 

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 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 burghers so as to hear what they had to say if any wished 
 to speak to him, as his burghers were more to him than any- 
 one else in the world. 'I do no business on Sunday,' he 
 concluded, 'so Rhodes can wait or go!' Mr. Rhodes did 
 not wait. When he heard the answer he remarked to Mr. 
 Esselen, ' The old devil ! I meant to work with him, but I'm 
 not going on my knees to him. I've got my concession 
 however and he can do nothing.' 
 
 The second visit of Mr. Kruger to Johannesburg was the 
 famous one of 1890, when the collapse of the share market 
 and the apparent failure of many of the mines left a thriftless 
 and gambling community wholly ruined and half starving, 
 unable to bear the burden which the State imposed, almost 
 wholly unappreciative of the possibilities of the Main Reef, 
 and ignorant of what to do to create an industry and restore 
 prosperity. This, at least, the community did understand, 
 that they were horribly overtaxed ; that those things which 
 might be their salvation, and are necessary conditions for 
 industrial prosperity — railways, cheap living, consistent and 
 fair govern me it — were not theirs. The President visited 
 Johannesburg with the object of giving the assurance that 
 railways would be built. He addressed a crowd of many 
 thousands of people from a platform at the Wanderers' Club 
 pavilion. He did not conceal his suspicions of the people, 
 and hij attempts to conceal his dislike were transparent and 
 instantly detected, the result being that there was no harmony 
 between his Honour and the people of Johannesburg. Later 
 in the evening the crowd, which had hourly become larger 
 and more and more excited and dissatisfied, surrounded the 
 house which the President was occupying, and, without desire 
 to effect any violence, but by simple pressure of numbers, 
 swept in the railings and pillars which enclosed the house. 
 Most fortunately the Chief of Police had withdrawn all the 
 Boer members of the force, and the crowd, to their surprise, 
 were held back by Colonial, English, and Irish ' bobbies.' 
 This was probably the only thing that prevented a very 
 serious culmination. As it was, some excited individuals 
 pulled down the Transvaal flag from the Government build- 
 ings, tore it in shreds and trampled it under foot The 
 incident should have been ignored under the exceptionally 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 81 
 
 « Hi 
 
 trying condittons of the time, but the Government determined 
 tf. make much of it. Some arrests were effected, and men 
 thrown into prison. Bail was refused ; in fact, ' martyrs ' 
 were made, and the incident became indelibly stamped on 
 the memory of both Boer and Uitlander. The President 
 vowed that he would never visit the place again, and without 
 doubt made use of his experience to consolidate the feeling 
 of his burghers against the Uitlanders. 
 
 At H meeti/ig of burghers several months after this mcident, 
 he referred to the agitation and constant complaining of the 
 Uitlanders, and stated that they had only themselves to 
 thank for all their troubles, and yet they would blame the 
 Government. He then proceeded to entertain his hearers 
 with one of the inevitable illustrations from life in the 
 lower animal kingdom. ' They remind me,' said his Honour, 
 ' of the old baboon that is chained up in my yard. Wher. 
 he burnt his tail in the Kaffir's fire the other day, he jumped 
 round and bit me, and that just after I had been feeding him." 
 For five years Mr. Kruger was as good as his word. He 
 would not even pass through Johannesburg when convenience 
 suggested his doing so, but made circuits by road to avoid 
 the place of detestation. It was on one of these visits to 
 Krugersdorp, a township within the Witwatersrand Fields, 
 twenty miles from Johannesburg, that the President, appre- 
 ciating the fact that besides his beloved burghers there might, 
 owing to the proximity of the fields, be .some unregenerate 
 aliens present, commenced his address as follows : ' Burghers, 
 friends, thieves, murderers, newcomers, and others.' This 
 was not ill-judged and laborious humour ; it was said ia 
 absolute earnest. The references were repeated at various in- 
 tervals in the address and here explained by allusions to the 
 Scriptures and to the all-merciful God throu;^'h Whom even 
 the worst might hope to be redeemed, the inlerence clearly 
 being that even the Uitlander, by the grace of God (and, no 
 doubt, Mr. Kruger), might hope in time to approach the fit- 
 ness of the burgher. 
 
 In the meantime another affair occurred, which revived 
 much of the old feeling expressed at the time of the flag affair. 
 War was declared against Malaboch, a native chief with a 
 following of a few hundreds, who had, it was alleged, refused 
 
 r. 
 
82 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 to pay his taxes. Such wars arc of frequent occurrence In 
 
 the Transvaal, the reasons assigned being usually some failure 
 to pay taxes or to submit to the discipline of the Native Com- 
 missioners. In this case British subjects were commandeered 
 — that is, requisitioned to fight or to find in money or in kind 
 some contribution to the carrying on of the war It was felt 
 that the position of the Republic did not warrant at that time 
 a resort to commandeering, a measure which no doubt was 
 necessary in the early days when the Republic had no cash ; 
 but with a declared surplus of about iJi, 000,000 in the 
 Treasury, it was deemed to be an uncivilized and wholly un- 
 necessary measure, and one capable of the grossest abuse, 
 to permit men of inferior intelligence and training, and of no 
 education, such as the Field-cornets are, to use their discretion 
 in levying contributions upon individuals. The Uitlanders 
 were especially sensible of the injustice done to them. They 
 had been definitely refused all voice in the affairs of the State, 
 and they already contributed nine-tenths of the revenue. They 
 received in return an infinitesimal portion in the shape of 
 civil administration and public works, and they were distinctly 
 not in the humour to be placed at the mercy of Boer officials, 
 who would undoubtedly mulct them and spare the burghers. 
 Protests were made ; and five of the men commandeered in 
 Pretoria, having point-blank refused to comply with the 
 orders, were placed under arrest The High Commissioner, 
 Sir Henry (now Lord) Loch, was appealed to, and, acting 
 on instructions from the Imperial Government, immediately 
 proceeded to Pretoria. The excitement was intense. In 
 Johannesburg a number of men were prepared to make a 
 dash on Pretoria to effect the forcible release of the prisoners, 
 and had any steps been taken to enforce the commandeering 
 law within the VVitwatersrand district, without doubt a col- 
 lision would have taken place. The supply of arms in the 
 town was, it is true, wholly inadequate for any resistance to 
 the Boers, but in the excitement of tlie time this was not 
 considered. 
 
 Sir Henry Loch's visit had the effect of suspending all 
 action ; but the opinion in Pretoria was that should the High 
 Commissioner proceed to Johannesburg there would be such 
 an outburst of feeling that no one could foresee the results. 
 
 ^ 
 
 • u 
 
f 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 «2 
 
 Every effort was made to prevent him from going. Amonj^ 
 other steps taken by the President was that of sending over 
 for the President of the Chamber of Mines, Mr. Lionel Phillips, 
 and requesting him, if he had the interests of the State and 
 the welfare of the community at heart, to use his influence to 
 dissuade the High Commissioner from visiting the town in its 
 then excited state. Sir Henry Loch, in deference to the 
 opinion expressed on all sides, agreed not to visit Johannes- 
 burg, but to receive deputations from Johannesburg people at 
 his hotel in Pretoria. The High Commissioner's visit was 
 successful. The Government agreed to absolve British 
 subjects from the operation of the Commando Law ; but 
 the men who had been arrested and already sent under 
 guard to the front were allowed to proceed and receive their 
 discharge at the scene of war, and were compelled to find 
 their own way back, receiving no consideration or compensa- 
 tion for the treatment to which they had been subjected. In 
 this respect it is difficult to say that Sr Henry Lrch achieved 
 all that might have been exjjected from him. Possibly, to 
 insist on more than he did would have left President Kruger 
 no alternative b: t to refuse at all risks. The Volksraad being 
 then in session, there may have been some diplomatic reasons 
 for not pressing matters too hard. 
 
 A trivial incident occurred which once more excited bad 
 party feeling. The High Commissioner was met at the 
 railway-station by the President in his carriage. The enthu- 
 siastic crowd of British subjects shouldered aside the escorts 
 provided by the Government, took the horses from the carriage, 
 and drew it down to the hotel. In the course of the journey 
 an individual mounted the box-seat of the carriage with the 
 Union Jack fastened on a bamboo, and in the excitement of 
 the moment allowed the folds of England's flag to gather 
 round the President. His Honour rose very excitedly and 
 struck at the flag with his valking-stick ; but in blissful 
 ignorance of what was going on behind him the standard- 
 bearer continued to flip his Honour with the flag until the 
 hotel was reached. There it was understood that the Presi- 
 dent would leave the carriage with the High Commissioner, 
 and under this misapprehension those who had drawn the 
 carriage down left their posts and joined the cheering crowd 
 
 
 
 I ,. Wh!LL,.L 
 
 ^-iPWir;^, 
 
r^m 
 
 84 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 thronging round the hotel. The President was unfortunately 
 left in the carriage with neither horses nor men to move him, 
 and there he was obliged to wait until a number of burghers 
 were called up, who drew his Honour off to his own house. 
 The affair was wholly unpremeditated and almost unobserved 
 at the time, but it was unfortunately construed oy the Presi- 
 dent as a deliberate insult, and it increased, if possible, his 
 dislike for the Uitlander. 
 
 The difficulty of dealing with a man of Mr. Kruger's nature 
 and training was further illustrated by another occurrence in 
 these negotiations. During a meeting between the President 
 and the High Commissioner in the presence of their respective 
 staffs the former became very excited and proceeded to speak 
 his mind very openly to his friends, referring freely to certain 
 matters which it was undesirable to mention in the presence 
 of the British party. Mr. Ewald Esselen, the late State 
 Attorney, wrote in Dutch in a very large round schoolboy 
 hand, ' Be careful I There is an interpreter present,' and 
 handed the slip of paper to the President. The latter stopped 
 abruptly, looked at the slip of paper, first one way and 
 then another, and after a long pause threw it on the table 
 laying, ' Ewald, what does this mean ? What do you write 
 things to me for ? Why don't you speak so that one can 
 inderstand ?' 
 
 Early in 1895 efforts were made by the Dutch officials in 
 Johannesburg and a number of private individuals to induce 
 the President to visit the place again, when it was thought 
 that a better reception would be accorded him than that 
 which he had experienced on his visit in 1890. Mr. Kruger 
 steadily refused for some time, but was eventually persuaded 
 to open in person the first ::^*-icultural show held on the Wit- 
 watersrand. Every precaution was taken to insure him a 
 good welcome, o»-, at least, to avoid any of those signs which 
 would indicate that Johannesburg likes President Kruger no 
 more than he likes Johannesburg ; and even those who were 
 most conscious of the President's malign influence did all in 
 their power to make the visit a success, believing themselves 
 to be in duty bound to make any effort, even at the sacrifice 
 of personal sympathies and opinions, to turn the current of 
 feeling and to work for a peaceful settlement of the difficulties 
 
 .1 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 •5 
 
 which unfortunately seemed to be thickening all round. The 
 event passed off without a hitch. It would be too much to 
 say that great enthusiasm prevailed ; but, at least, a respect- 
 ful, and at times even cordial, greeting was accorded to the 
 President, and his address in the agricultural show grounds 
 was particularly well received. The President returned to 
 Pretoria that night and was asked what he thought of the 
 affair : * Did he not consider it an amende for what had 
 happened five years before ? And was he not convinced from 
 personal observation that the people of Johannesburg were 
 loyal, law-abiding, and respectful to the head of the Govern- 
 ment under which they lived ?' Mr. Kruger's reply in the 
 vernacular is unprintable ; but the polite equivalent is, ' Ugh! 
 A pack of lick-spittles.' In spite of a subsequent promulga- 
 tion it seems clear that there is no ' forget and forgive ' in his 
 Honour's attitude towards Johannesburg. The result of this 
 interview became known and naturally created a very bad 
 impression. 
 
 During his second term of office Mr. Kruger lost much of 
 his personal popularity and influence with the Boers, and 
 incurred bitter opposition on account of his policy of favouring 
 members of his own clique, of granting concessions, and of 
 cultivating the Hollander faction and allowing it to dominate 
 the State. 
 
 Outside the Transvaal Mr. Kruger has the reputation of 
 being free from the taint of corruption from which so many 
 of his colleagues suffer. Yet within the Republic and among 
 his own people one of the gravest of the charges levelled 
 against him is that by his example and connivance he has 
 made himself responsible for much of the plundering that 
 goes on. There are numbers of cases in which the President's 
 nearest relatives have been proved to be concerned in the most 
 flagrant jobs, only to be screened by his influence ; such cases, 
 for instance, as that of the Vaal River Water Supply Conces- 
 sion, in which Mr. Kruger's son-in-law 'hawked' about for the 
 highest bid the vote of the Executive Council on a matter 
 which had not yet come before it, and, moreover, sold and duly 
 delivered the aforesaid vote. There is the famous libel case 
 in which Mr. Eugene Marais, the editor of the Dutch paper 
 Land en Vo/k, successfully sustained his allegation that the 
 
 •:|N!H^N'li 
 
 ■ 1,1 
 
 ill 
 
 m 
 
 ■■'1 
 
 If 
 
86 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 President had defrauded the State by charging heavy travelling 
 ex])enses for a certain trip on which he was actually the guest 
 of the Cape Colonial Government.^ 
 
 The party in opposition to President Kruger, with General 
 Joubert at its head, mi^ht, for purposes of nomenclature, be 
 called the Progressive i'arty. It was really led by Mr. Ewald 
 Esselen, a highly-educated South African, born in the Cape 
 Colony of German parentage, educated in Edinburgh, and 
 practising as a barrister at the Pretoria Bar. Mr. Esselen was 
 a medical student at the time of the Boer War of Indepen- 
 dence, and having then as he still has enthusiastic Boer 
 sympathies, volunteered for medical service during the war. 
 lie subsequently became attached to the President's staff, 
 and finally, on completing his legal education, was appointed 
 Judge of the High Court in the Transvaal. Relinquishing 
 his seat on the Bench after some years of honourable service 
 he returned to the Bar, and became an active factor in politics. 
 Mr. Esselen, from being the closest personal adherent of Mr. 
 Kruger, became for a time his most formidable opponent and 
 his most dreaded critic. A campaign was organized for the 
 presidential election and feeling ran extremely high. To 
 such lengths, indeed, did the Boer partisans go that for some 
 months the possibility of a resort to arms for the settlement 
 of their differences was freely discussed by both parties. The 
 election took place in 1893, and at the same time elections of 
 members for the First Volksraad were in progress. Mr. 
 Kruger made masterly use of his position in office and of his 
 authority over the ofificials appointed during his regime, and 
 for the time being he converted the Civil Service of the 
 country into an election organization. Not even the enemies 
 of the President will deny that he is both a practised diplomat 
 and a determined fighter. By his energy, intrigue, personal 
 influence, and intense determination, he not only compelled 
 his party to the highest effort, but to a large extent broke the 
 spirit of the opposition before the real struggle began. There 
 are two stages in the Presidential election at which a fight can 
 under certain circumstances be made. There were certainly 
 two stages in this election. The first is at the polls ; the 
 second is in the Volksraad, when objections have to be 
 ■ For Volksraad records on this subject see Appendix C. 
 
 !» 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 87 
 
 lodtjed against candidates and a commission of investigation 
 appointed, and the steps necessary for the installation of the 
 new President have to be discussed. Mr. Kruger and his 
 party took ample precautions. It has been stated openly 
 and without contradiction, and is accepted in the Transvaal 
 as an unquestionable fact, that at least three profjerly elected 
 members of the Volksraad were 'jockeyed ' out of their seats 
 because they were known to have leanings towards General 
 Joubert. A number of his supporters among the prominent 
 officials of the Civil Service were disfranchised by the action 
 of President Kruger because they had favoured his rival. In 
 a country where the matters of Government have been so 
 loosely conducted it is no doubt fairly easy to find flaws, and 
 the President experienced no difficulty in establishing suffi- 
 cient case against General Joubert's supporters to satisfy the 
 persons appointed by him to investigate matters. On various 
 pretexts newly-elected members were debarred from taking 
 their seats. In one case, a strong supporter of General 
 Joubert, who was returned by a majority of something like 
 six to one, was kept out of his seat by the mere lodging of an 
 objection by his opponent, the former representative of the 
 constituency ; there being a provision in the law that objec- 
 tions with regard to elections shall be heard by the Volksraad, 
 and that, pending the return of a new member, the member 
 last elected for the constituency shall continue to represent it. 
 That the objection lodged in this case was ridiculous in the 
 extreme had no bearing on the immediate result. The 
 President, with admirable gravity, said, * The law provides 
 that all objections must be heard by the Volksraad, and that 
 pending the decision the old member (a strenuous supporter 
 of his Honour) shall retain his seat ; and before all things we 
 must support the law.' In the case of Mr. Esselen, who was 
 elected member for Potchefstroom, the most flagrant abuses 
 were proved to have been committed by the polling officer, 
 the landdrost, dead and absent men having (according to 
 him) rolled up freely to vote for the Krugerite candidate. 
 Numbers of Mr. Esselen's supporters were disqualified on 
 various pretexts, and the voting bemg conducted openly the 
 moral suasion and close supervision of the official (Krugerite) 
 party were very eflective. Mr. Esselen was declared to have 
 
 U< 
 
 
 
 I 11 
 
 ii 
 
88 
 
 THS TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 lost his seat by seven votes. Scrutinies were demanded and 
 objections lodged, but without avail. The tactics above 
 indicated were pursued in every case. The old Volksraad 
 having been filled with Mr. Kruger's creatures, it was, of 
 course, his interest to support the return of old members. 
 He was thus enabled by the law above quoted to retain an 
 old member in the Volksraad pending the decision in a case 
 of dispute. Mr. Essclen's defeat was a crushing blow to the 
 Joubert party, as the want of a leader in the House itself 
 completely demoralized the General's followers. The elect^ion 
 for President proceeded, and General Joubert was, without 
 any doubt whatever, elected by a very considerable majority. 
 The tactics already described were again followed, and the 
 result was announced as : Kruger, 7,88 1 ; Joubert, 7,009. 
 Objections were lodged by General Joubert, but, deprived 
 of the services of Mr. Essclen in the First Raad, and overawed 
 by the fierce determination of his opponent, the General, 
 finding himself in for a struggle, lost heart as usual and 
 collapsed. 
 
 The difference between the two men is remarkable. Mr. 
 Kruger, to his credit be it said, has not the remotest concep- 
 tion of the meaning of fertr, aiid womM not know how to begin 
 to give in. Mr. Joubert, 'Slim (sly) Piet,' as he is called, 
 possessing a considerable share of the real Africander cun- 
 nmg, is yet no match for his rival in diplomacy, and has none 
 of his grit and courage. In later years this has been proved 
 a score of times, and it is, therefore, the more interesting to 
 recall that at the time of the annexation General Joubert 
 refused to compromise his principles by taking oflfice under 
 Shepstone, whilst Mr. Kruger was not so staunch ; and both 
 before and during the war General Joubert refused to accept 
 less than what he considered to be his rights, and steadily 
 and frequently proclaimed his readiness to fight whilst Mr. 
 Kruger was diplomatizing. 
 
 The Commission appointed by the Raad to investigate 
 matters was constituted chiefly of Mr. Kruger's supporters, and 
 the result was a foregone conclusion. They confirmed the 
 result of the election as declared ; and Mr. Kruger, with the 
 grim humour which upon occasions distinguishes him, seeing 
 an opportunity for inexpensive magnanimity which would 
 
 I 
 
 % 
 
AFIER THE WAR 
 
 gratify himself and be approved by everyone— except iht- 
 recipients — appointed the most prominent supporters of his 
 rival in the Volksraad to be the official deputation towelcom<r 
 the new President. 
 
 The President did not neijlect those who had stood by him 
 in his hour of need. Mr. Kock, landdrost and pollinjj-office! 
 of Potchefstroom, who had deserved well of his patron, if for 
 nothing more than the overthrow of Mr. Esselen, was ap- 
 pointed member of the Executive to fill a position created 
 purposely for him. The membership of the Executive is 
 expressly defined by the Grondwet ; but his Honour is not 
 trammelled by such consideration.s. He created the position 
 of Minute Keei^er to the Executive with a handsome salary 
 and a right to vote, and bestowed this upon his worthy 
 henchman. 
 
 The Executive Council thus constituted consisted of six 
 members ; and here again the President contrived to kill two 
 birds with one stone, the expression of his gratitude being by 
 no means unprofitable. After so bitter a struggle and the 
 resort to such extreme measures as he had been obliged to 
 use, he anticipated no little opposition even within the inner 
 circle, and, in any case, he as usual deemed it wise to provide 
 against all contingencies. Dr. Leyds' vote he knew he could 
 count on, the interests of the party which the State Secretary 
 represents being such that they are obliged to work with Mr. 
 Kruger. The appointment, therefore, of Mr. Kock gave his 
 Honour one half of the Executive, and the casting-vote which 
 pertains to his office turned the scale in his favour. What- 
 ever, therefore, might be his troubles with the Volksraad 
 when, by process of justice, reform, or death his adherents 
 should be gradually removed from that Chamber, his position 
 was, humanly speaking, assured in the Executive Council for 
 the term of his office. 
 
 The opposition to Mr. Kock's appointment was extremely 
 strong, culminating in the formulation of charges of theft 
 ag?.inst him by Mr. Eugene Marais, the spirited editor of the 
 lea ling Dutch paper, Land en Volk. The charge alleged 
 against Mr. Kock was that during his term of office as land- 
 drost at Potchefstroom he had appropriated the telegraph- 
 wires ia order to fence his own farm. Feeling ran so high 
 
 HHi 
 
 !' I'- 
 
 ll'! 
 
 if-*- 
 
 » 
 
90 
 
 THP TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 that it became necessary to hold an investigation. A trial in 
 the ordinary courts was not f)ermitted,.but a Special Com- 
 missioner, one not qualified by legal experience or official 
 position to preside in such a case, was selected. By a posi- 
 tively ludicrous exercise of discretion in the matter of admis- 
 sion of evidence Mr. Kock was cleared. Mr. Marais, nothing 
 daunied, continued his exposures, challenging that action 
 should be taken against himself for libel, and finally pro- 
 ducing photographs taken by competent witnesses showing 
 the corpus delicti in situ. The President and Mr. Kock were 
 not to be drawn, however, and, secure in their newly-acquired 
 positions, they declined the offer of battle and rested on their 
 laurels. 
 
 For some time the Opposition, now called the Progressive 
 Party, was completely demoralized, and it was not until the 
 following year that individuals again endeavoured to give 
 cohesion to the party. Appeals were made by them to pro- 
 minent individuals and firms associated with the mining 
 industry for financial support in the manner in which it is 
 contributed in England for electioneering purposes. A deter- 
 mined and well-sustained eflTort was made to educate Boer 
 opinion to better things, and to bring such influence to bear 
 on the electorate as would result in the return of a better 
 class of men to the Volksraad. Newspapers conducted with 
 this end in view were circulated throughout the country, and 
 when the elections for the Volksraad took place, specially 
 qualified agents were sent to ascertain the feeling of the 
 districts, and to work up an opposition to the existing 
 methods of Government. In every case endeavours were 
 made to select a popular resident within a district o! 
 more enlightened views and higher character than his 
 fellows. A good many thousand pounds were contributed 
 and expended for this purpose. Absolutely no stipulation 
 was made by the contributors to this fund, except that the 
 aim should be for honest and decent government The funds 
 were placed unreservedly in the hands of well-known and 
 highly respected men who were themselves burghers of the 
 State, and the Uitlanders laid themselves out for one more 
 eflTort to effect the reforms by peaceful means and pressure 
 from within the State. The elections came off and were 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 9> 
 
 regarded as a triumph for the Progressive Party, which it was 
 alleged had secured some sixteen out of twenty-six seats in 
 the First Volksraad, and a similar majority in the Second. 
 Hope revived and confidence was restored among the Uit- 
 landers, but old residents in the country who knew the IVier 
 character warned the alien community not to expect too 
 much, as it was a question yet to be decided how many of 
 those who were Progressives at Ihe time of the election would 
 stand by their professions when brought face to face with the 
 I'rcsident and his party in battle array. 
 
 The warning was too well warranted. The Volksra ' so 
 constituted was the one which rejected with sullen incivility 
 (to apply no harsher term) the petition of 40,000 U'tlanc'ers 
 for some measure of franchise reform. This Pro^rc. ..ive Raad 
 was also the t*- vhich passed the Bills curtailing the !'b. >'i.y 
 of the press, and prohibiting the holding of public rrvje'ings 
 and tht organization of election committees, and which dis- 
 tinguished itself by an attempt to wrest from the Hi;^h Court 
 the decision of a matter still sub judice — the cyanid* case. 
 
 In this case the mining industry had combined to test t;he 
 validity of certain patents.* In spite of attempts at reason- 
 able compromise on behalf of the mines, and these failing, in 
 spite of every effort made to expedice the hearing of the case, 
 the question continued to hang for some years, and in the 
 meantime efforts were being made during two successive 
 sessions of the Volksraad to obtain the passage of some 
 measure which would practically secure to the holders of the 
 patents a monopoly for the use of cyanide, or an indefeasible 
 title to the patents, whether valid in law and properly acquired 
 or not. These attempts to evade the issue were in them- 
 selves a disgrace to a civilized nation. Failing the obtaining 
 of an absolute monopoly, an endeavour was made to pass a 
 law that all patents held v/ithout dispute for a certain period 
 should be unassailable on any grounds. There was a thin 
 attempt at disguising the purpose of this rr.easure, but so thin, 
 that not even the originators could keep up the pretence, and 
 the struggle was acknowledged to be one between the sup- 
 
 • The decision of the High Court was given in November, 1896, in 
 favour of the combined companies on all points, and the patents were 
 thus declared to be invalid 1 
 
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 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 porters of an independent court of justice and honest govern- 
 ment on the one side, and a party of would-be concessionaires 
 — one might say ' pirates ' — on the other. The judges made 
 no secret of their intention to tender their resignations should 
 till.' measure pass ; the President made no secret of his desire 
 that it should pass. His party voted as one man in favour of 
 it, and the coffee meetings on the Presidential stoep were 
 unanimously for it. The Raad was exactly divided on the 
 measure, and it was eventually lost by the casting-vote of 
 the chairman. No absolute harm ^vas done, but the revela- 
 tion of the shameful conditions of affairs in a Raad of which so 
 much good was expected did as much as anything could do to 
 destroy all hope. It was a painful exhibition, and the sordid 
 details which came to light, the unblushing attempts to levy 
 blackmail on those who were threatened with pillage by 
 would-be concessionaires, the shameless conduct of Raad 
 members fighting as hirelings to impose a fresh burden on 
 their own country, sickened the overburdened community. 
 
 The Bewaarplaatsen question also excited much discussion, 
 but was not a subject of such close interest to the Uitlander 
 community as others, for the reason that but few companies 
 were directly concerned. Bewaarplaatsen is a name given to 
 areas granted for the purpose of conservation of water, for 
 depositing residues of crushed ore, etc.— 'n fact, they are 
 grants of the surface rights of certain areas at a lower rate of 
 license than that paid upon claim or mineral areas. This 
 variation in the licensed areas was a wholly unnecessary 
 complication of the gold law, the difference in cost being 
 inconsiderable, and the difference in title affording untold 
 possibilities of lawsuits. In some cases companies had taken 
 out originally the more expensive claim-licenses for ground 
 the surface only of which it was intended to use. They had 
 been compelled, by order of the Government, to convert these 
 claims at a later period into bewaarplaatsen. They were 
 almost invariably situated on the south side of the Witwaters- 
 rand Main Reef, for the reason that, as the ground sloped to 
 the south, the water was found there, the mills would naturally 
 be erected there, and the inclination of the ground offered 
 tempting facilities for the disposal of residues. After some 
 y-eais of development on the Main Reef it became clear 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 i'nzt the banket beds, which were known to dip towards the 
 south, became gradually flatter at the lower levels, and, con- 
 sequently, it was clear that bodies of reef would be accessible 
 vertically from areas south of the reef which had formerly- 
 been regarded as quite worthless as gold-bearing claims. The 
 companies which owned these bewaarplaatsen now contended 
 that they should be allowed to convert them into claims, as, 
 by their enterprise, they had exploited the upper levels and 
 revealed the conditions which made the bewaarplaatsen valu- 
 able. The companies had endeavoured to convert these 
 bewaarplaatsen into claims when they first discovered that 
 there was a possibility of their becoming valuable, and that at 
 a time when the areas themselves were of extremely little 
 market value to any except the holders of the surface rights. 
 They were unsuccessful in this through some lack of pro- 
 vision in the law, and year after year the subject was fought 
 out and postponed, the disputed ground all the time becoming 
 more and more valuable, and consequently a greater prize 
 for the concessionaire and pirate, and a greater incentive to 
 bribery on all hands, until it came to be regarded by the 
 worthy members of the Volksraad as something very like a 
 special dispensation of Providence, intended to provide 
 annuities for Volksraad members at the expense of the un- 
 fortunate owners. After a particularly fierce struggle, the 
 Volksraad went so far as to decide that those companies 
 which had been obliged to convert their original claim- 
 holdings into bewaarplaatsen should be allowed to re-convert 
 them to claims and to retain them. Even this was only 
 gained after the Minister of Mines had, on his own responsi- 
 bility, issued the claim licenses, and so forced the Volksraad 
 to face the issue of confirming or reversing his action ! 
 
 In this matter the President again fought tooth and nafl 
 against the industry, and most strenuous efforts were made 
 by him and his party to obtain a reversal of the decision, 
 but without effect. This, however, only disposed of a small 
 portion of the groum . at stake. With regard to those areas 
 which had never bien held as claims, the issue lay between 
 two parties known respectively as the companies, who were 
 the surface-owners, and the applicants. The applicants, 
 according to the poUte ficdon, were those who, having no 
 
 mm' 
 
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 •J " 
 
 
94 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 \ 
 
 claim superior to that of any other individual member of the 
 public, had happened to have priority in order of application. 
 As a matter of fact, they were Government officials, political 
 supporters and relatives of the President, financed and guided 
 by two or three of the professional concession-hunters and 
 hangers-on of Mr. Kruger's Government. Notwithstanding 
 the existence of a law specifically prohibiting Government 
 servants from concerning themselves in other business and 
 speculations, the parties to this arrangement entered into no- 
 tarial contracts determining the apportionment of the plunder, 
 and undertaking to use their influence in every way with the 
 President and his party and with members of the Volksraad 
 to secure the granting of the rights in dispute to themselves. 
 With them was associated the originator and holder of 
 another infamous monopoly, and it was stated by him in 
 the Chamber of Mines, that should they fail to obtain these 
 rights for themselves they were prepared to co-operate with 
 another party and force the Government to put them up for 
 public auction, so that at any rate the mines should not have 
 them. The object of this threat was to compel the mining 
 companies to come to terms with him and compromise 
 matters. 
 
 One of the notarial contracts referred to has been made 
 public, and it contains the names of Mr. ' Koos ' Smit, the 
 Government Railway Commissioner, and one of the highest 
 officials in the State ; Landdrost Schutte, Chief Magistrate of 
 Pretoria, and Mr. Hendrik Schoeman, one of the most pro- 
 minent commandants in the Transvaal and a near relation 
 of the President. Needless to say, all are members of the 
 Kruger family party, and were most prominent supporters 
 of his Honour at the time of the [893 election. They claim 
 that they were definitely promised a concession for the 
 bewaarplaatsen as a reward for their services in this election. 
 The precedent quoted on behalf of the companies in support 
 of their claim is that of the brickmaker's license under the 
 Gold Law. Brickmakers have privileges under their license 
 similar to those granted with bewaarplaatsen, but in their 
 case it is provided that should gold be discovered or be believed 
 to exist in the areas granted under their licenses, the holder 
 of the license shall have the right to convert his area into 
 
 4 • » 
 
AFTEP THE WA« 
 
 •tS 
 
 mining claims on complying with the ordinary provisions of 
 the Gold Law. The companies urged that this reveals the 
 intention of the law, and that such a condition was omitted 
 in connection with bewaarpiaatsen simply and solely through 
 oversight, and because at that time it never occurred to any- 
 one to suppose that the gold-bearing deposits would shelve 
 off and be accessible at such great distances from the outcrop 
 as where the bewaarpiaatsen are located. The companies 
 moreover pointed out that these areas were in every case 
 located in the middle of property held under mining licenses, 
 that they themselves owned the surface of the property and 
 therefore no one else could work on them, that the areas 
 were in themselves too small and too irregular in shape to be 
 worked independently of the surrounding ground, and that 
 the granting of them to others could not be justified by any 
 right on the part of applicants, and would merely be placing 
 in their hands the means of imposing on the owners of the 
 surfaces and the adjacent claims an excessive purchase price 
 or the alternative of being blocked in the development of 
 their own ground. After the Second Raad had decided in 
 principle in favour of the surface-holders, action was taken by 
 the First Raad, and a change of front was effected by a 
 measure alteration, which hung the question up for another 
 year. Everyone realized that this was secured by the in- 
 fluence of the President in the first place and by the pliability 
 of Raad members In the second, on the ground that the 
 matter was too profitable to them personally to be disposed 
 of until it became absolutely compulsory.' 
 
 ' During the session of '96 the Volksraad decided to put the 
 bewaarpiaatsen up for public auction, the proceeds of the sale to be 
 divided equally between the Government and the original owners 
 of the farms on which the bewaarpiaatsen had been granted. The 
 alleged reason for this decision is that the areas in question are 
 immensely valuable, and the State and the owners should profit by 
 them, whilst the companies should be afforded an opportunity of 
 acquiring them at a fair price. The real reason is that the companies 
 had refused to be blackmailed further ; and the ' defence ' funds not 
 being forthcoming, the gentlemen of the back-stairs had introduced 
 the ingenious arrangement safeguarding the original owners' rights, 
 having previously ' arranged ' with the same owners. The excuse that 
 the areas are too valuable to be given away to the companies is 
 as illogical and ridiculous as the excuse that the Uitlanders are too 
 numerous to justify the granting of the franchise now. When the 
 questions were first raised there were neither great values nor large 
 
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 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 One of the first concessions g^ranted by the Boer Govern- 
 ment after the restoration of the country to them was the 
 liquor monopoly. Under this grant a factory established 
 within a few miles of Pretoria has the sole right to distil 
 spirits. Time and very considerable experience are in all 
 countries necessary for the manufacture of good liquor, and 
 the natural conditions are not more favourable to the in- 
 dustry in the Transvaal than elsewhere, consequently the 
 product is not regarded with great favour. The enterprise, 
 however, is a very prosperous one, being dependent almost 
 entirely upon the sale of liquor to natives. For a number of 
 years representations were made by the Chamber of Mines 
 on behalf of the industry, by individuals and by public 
 petitions, with the object of controlling the liquor trade and 
 properly enforcing the laws which already existed. The 
 following terse summary of the evils resulting from this sale 
 of liquor is taken from the report of the Chamber of Mines 
 for 1895. Unfortunately the remarks apply equally well 
 to-day : 
 
 There is, indeed, no doubt that one of the greatest difficulties witti 
 which local employers have to deal is the question of the liquor trade. 
 In very many cases the liquor supplied to the natives is of the vilest 
 quality, quicldy inflaming those who take it to madness, and causing the 
 
 numbers in existence. They were questions of principle and justice ; 
 and the fact that ' values ' and ' numbers ' have grown during the years 
 of struggle in no way justifies the course taken, but rather shows very 
 clearly the magnitude of the injustice done during the years of un- 
 justifiable denial. 
 
 This decision shows with admirable clearness how the Uitlander 
 fares at the hands of the Government. There were, in the last stage 
 of the affair, four parties concerned : the Government, who are by 
 law expressly debarred from selling claims (except in case of over- 
 due licenses), and are obliged to allot them for the consideration 
 of specified license fees only ; the owners of the farms, who are 
 similarly debarred and are compensated in other ways for the throwing 
 open of their farms ; the ' appUcants,' who have been described else- 
 where ; and the surface-owners, the mining companies, vvlio were 
 in possession. Only one of these parties had the slenderest claim to 
 compensation — namely, the companies, who must inevitably be dis- 
 turbed in the possession of the surface by allowing others to work 
 on or under it. But they get nothing ; whilst the Government and 
 the 'owner' (both of whom had years before derived the fullest profit 
 allowed by law from these areas in the form of licenses), and tho 
 ' applicants ' (who have allied themselves with the ' owner:* '), divide as 
 onmreusation th« proceeds of the ancti<»K • 
 
 ll 
 
 ■■ !♦ 
 
11 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 97 
 
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 faction fights which sometimes have fatal results, and always lead to 
 the, at any rate, temporary disablement of some of the combatants, and 
 the damaging of property. Accidents, too, are often attributable to the 
 iiffects of drink, and altogether, as stated in the resolutions, a large 
 percentage of the deaths among the natives here is directly due to 
 drink. In its bearing on the labour question, drink also plays an 
 important part. The shortness in the supply, as compared with the 
 demand for labour, has been accentuated by it. Where possible more 
 natives are kept in the compounds than are actually required for 
 the work to be done, to make allowance for those who are disabled 
 by drink. 
 
 The granting of licenses to liquor houses was carried to 
 such an extreme that at last the entire community rose 
 against it, and the expression of opinion was so strong that 
 the Government was compelled to make a show of deferring 
 to it Involved in the liquor question was the matter of 
 police, and arising out of this, again, was the question of 
 dealing with crime in general, including the gold and 
 amalgam stealing that was known to be carried on on a 
 considerable scale at the expense of the companies. 
 
 The Attorney-General, or State Attorney, as he is called in 
 the Transvaal, is the responsible head of the Law Depart- 
 ment, and until lately was the departmental head of the 
 police. The gentleman then occupying the position of State 
 Attorney was peculiarly unfit — in the midst of that world o. 
 unfitness — for the duties which he was supposed to perform. 
 He was removed from office, and after considerable negotia- 
 tion Mr. Esselen was prevailed upon at a great monetary 
 sacrifice to accept the position of State Attorney, he stipulating 
 that he should have a free hand in reorganizing the detective 
 and police forces. During the months in which Mr. Esselen 
 continued in office aamirable reforms were introduced, and 
 a very appreciable influence was exercised on the condition 
 of affairs in Johannesburg. It is inadvisable to state ex- 
 plicitly the nature of the objections which existed against 
 some of the officials employed under the former regime ; 
 it is sufficient that they were proved to be participators 
 in the offences which they were specially employed to 
 suppress. Mr. Esselen's first step was to appoint as chief 
 detective an officer borrowed from the Cape Colonial Govern- 
 ment, Mr. Andrew Trimble, who in a very little while showed 
 that courage and honesty of purpose could not only effect 
 
 i\ 
 
98 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 considerable reforms, but could provoke the undisguised and 
 fierce hostility of a very large section of the community. 
 The canteen keepers were up in arms ; the illicit gold buyers 
 left no stone unturned ; the hangers-on of the Government 
 lost no opportunity in their campaign against Mr. Esselen 
 and his subordinate and their reforms. The liveliest satisfac- 
 tion however was expressed by all those whose interest it 
 was to have matters conducted decently and honestly, and 
 who had no interest in crime except so far as its suppression 
 was concerned. Representation was secured for the Chambei 
 of Mines upon one of the licensing bodies, and here, too, a 
 very appreciable result followed. During Mr. Esselen's term 
 of office all went well as far as the public were concerned, but 
 influences were soon at work to undermine the two reforming 
 officials. It was represented to the President that Mr. 
 Trimble had once been in the British army ; that he was 
 even then a subject of the Queen, and entitled to a pension 
 from the Cape Government. The canteen interest on the 
 Ljoldfields, playing upon the prejudices of the Boers, 
 represented that this was unfitting the dignity of the 
 Republic. The President, who was too shrewd to be caught 
 with such chaff, was perfectly ready to support them for 
 the sake of the liquor interest, which for him constitutes a 
 very useful electioneering and political agency throughout 
 the country. Mr. Esselen was sent for, and it was repre- 
 sented to him by the President that the employment of 
 a British subject in such a responsible office as that of chief 
 detective was repugnant to the burghers. The reply was 
 that it was competent for the Executive to naturalize Mr. 
 Trimble at once and so remove the objection, the Govern- 
 ment having power in special cases to dispense with the 
 conditions of the Naturalization Law — a power frequently 
 exercised in the case of their Hollander friends. The 
 President, in reply, stated that it could not be done, and 
 he appealed to Mr. Esselen to select a man of another 
 nationality — ' a Frenchman, German, or even an American ' 
 — this last being a concession wrung from him by Mr. 
 Esselen's soothing suggestion that the Chief of Police should 
 be familiar with the language of the criminal classes. The 
 hitch was maintained for some months, but finally the 
 
•■'i I 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 99 
 
 influences on the side of the President became too strong, 
 and when it became clear that the many months of laborious 
 work and self-sacrifice which had been given in the interests 
 of reform were to be nullified by the appointment of a 
 creature who would connive at every breach of the law, Mr. 
 Esselen decided to stand or fall by his subordinate, the result 
 being a triumph for the President. 
 
 In Mr. Esselen's place there was appointed as State 
 Attorney Dr. Coster, a Hollander, who however declined 
 to have anything to do with the organization of the police ; 
 and in Mr. Trimble's stead reappeared the individual whom 
 he had superseded and whose services had been dispensed 
 with.^ The triumph of the back-door influences was again 
 complete and the blow was a very nasty one to the mining 
 industry. 
 
 Small wonder that at about this time the Uitlander com- 
 munity stopped all agitation, and that a mood of sullen 
 opposition and discontent took its place. Hope was abso- 
 lutely dead as abuse after abuse and scandal after scandal 
 were showered upon them during the Session of 1895. Some 
 of the acts of the Volksraad cut at the foundation of all 
 security. In the early days of the Republic the Volksraad 
 members had taken it upon themselves to reverse several 
 of the decisions of the High Court, and in one case where 
 the Government was being sued for the fulfilment of a 
 contract the Volksraad had passed a resolution absolving 
 the Government from certain terms of the contract The 
 decision of the Court, delivered by Chief Justice Kotze, 
 was to the effect that if the Volksraad should take a decision 
 in conflict with an existing law, that law became ipso facto so 
 far modified. In another case (the Dom's case) a resolution 
 was passed disabling the aggrieved individual from taking 
 action against the Government; in another, where the responsi- 
 bility of the Government for the maintenance of roads had 
 been indicated by a judgment for £1,000 damages, a law was 
 passed in defiance of the conditions of the Grondwet, which 
 stipulates for a period of notice and publication for proposed 
 
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ICO 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 ! ' 
 
 enactments, absolving the Government from all damages of 
 this nature. 
 
 I^Iore than once laws were passed with retroactive effect — 
 truly one of the grossest abuses possible for a civili/ed 
 Government. But perhaps the most startling case of all 
 was that concerning the proclamation of the farm Witfon- 
 tein. This farm had been proclaimed a public digging 
 open for pegging on a certain hour of a certain day. An 
 unprecedented rush of j^cggers took place. The Government, 
 fearing a riot and ignoring their obvious duty in the matter 
 of police protection and the maintenance of order, issued an 
 illegal notice withdrawing the proclamation, ?nd decided to 
 give out the claims by means of lottery. Numbers of pro- 
 spectors pegged out claims notwithstanding this, and the 
 prospect of legal dikflculties being imminent the Government 
 submitted a measure to the Volksraad, passed also in defiance 
 of Grondwet provisions, which was broadly to the effect that 
 all persons who considered that they had claims for damages 
 against the Government in regard to the farm Witfontein 
 and the proclamation thereof, had none, and that the Govern- 
 ment was absolved from all liability in this respect. This 
 enactment was only passed after several persons had signified 
 their intention to sue the Government. The Raad was in fact 
 becoming familiar with the process of lampering with the 
 Grondwet and members appeared ready to act on the dic- 
 tates of their own sweet will without regard to consequences 
 or laws. 
 
 On several occasions the President and Executive had 
 treated with contempt the decisions of the High Court, and 
 had practically and publicly reversed them. There are many 
 instances which it is not necessary to quote but among the 
 best-known and most instructive ones are the two cases 
 known as the ' Rachmann ' and ' April* cases. Rachmann 
 was an Indian and a British subject, well educated, far better 
 educated indeed than the Boer of the country. In following 
 a strayed horse he had trespassed on the farm of one of tlie 
 members of the First Raad. He was arrested and charged 
 with intent to steal, tried by the owner's brother, who was a 
 Field-cornet (district justice), and sentenced to receive twenty- 
 five lashes and to pay a fine, the same sentence being meted 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 lOl 
 
 out to hij Hottentot servant who accompanied him. Rach- 
 mann protested and noted an appeal, stating (which was the 
 fact) that it was not within the power of a Field-cornet to 
 inflict lashes, and at the same time he offered security to the 
 value of ;^40 pending the appeal, llis protests were dis- 
 regarded and he was flogged. Not being a native in the 
 sense in which the law uses the term — /.<?., a member of the 
 aboriginal races — he could plead that he was not within the 
 jurisdiction of a Field-cornet, and there is no doubt that the 
 punishment was inilicted with full knowledge of its illegality 
 Rachmann sued Mr. George Meyer, the Field-cornet in ques- 
 tion, in the Circuit Court and obtained judgment and a 
 considerable sum in damages, the presiding judge. Dr. 
 Jorissen, animadverilng with severity upon the conduct of 
 the official. Meyer shortly afterwards obtained from Govern- 
 ment the amount of his pecuniary loss through the affair, 
 the President stating that he had acted in his official capacity 
 and that they should protect him. 
 
 The ' April' case was one in v/hich an unfortunate native 
 named April, having worked for a number of years for a 
 farmer on promise of certain payment in cattle and having 
 completed his term, applied for payment and a permit to travel 
 through the district. On some trivial pretext this was refused 
 him, his cattle were seized, and himself and his wives and 
 children forcibly retained in the service of the Boer. He 
 appealed to the nearest official, Field-cornet Prinsloo, who 
 acted in a particularly barbarous and unjustifiable manner, so 
 that the Chief Justice before whom the case was heard (when 
 April having enlisted the sympathy of some white people 
 was enabled to make an appeal) characterized Prinsloo's 
 conduct as brutal in the extreme and a flagrant abuse of 
 power perpetrated with the aim of establishing slavery. 
 Judgment was given against Prinsloo with all costs. Within 
 a few days of this decision being arrived at the President 
 addressing a meeting of burghers publicly announced that the 
 Government had reimbursed Prinsloo, adding, 'Notwithstand- 
 ing the judgment of the High Court, we consider Prinsloo 
 to have been right.' 
 
 Actions of this kind have a distinct and very evil influence 
 ui:>on the supply of native labour. No attempt is made to 
 

 ti/i 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 'I 
 
 supply the industry with natives, or to protect the natives 
 whilst on their way to and from the mines. The position 
 became so bad that the Chamber of Mines instituted a depart- 
 ment with a highly-paid ofificial at its head to organize supply. 
 It would inadequately describe the position to say that the 
 Government have rendered the Chamber of Mines no assist- 
 ance. Indeed, it appears as though the officials in the country 
 had of set purpose hindered in every way possible the work 
 so necessary to the working of the industry on profitable 
 lines. Agencies were established in all the neighbouring 
 territories. Some of the tribes declined to work in the 
 Transvaal on account of the risks of highway-robbery and 
 personal violence which they ran gn route. In one case an 
 effort was made by certain mine-owners to meet the difificulty 
 by importing a whole tribe — men, women, and children — from 
 Basutoland and locating them upon an adjacent farm. There 
 is however a law known as the Plakkerswet, or Squatters' 
 Law, which, framed with that peculiar cunning for which the 
 Transvaal Government have achieved a reputation, has the 
 appearance of aiming at the improvement of the native labour 
 supply whilst in effect it does tht^ opposite. It provides that 
 not more than five families may reside upon one farm, the 
 'family' being an adult male with or without 'A'omen and 
 children. Ostensibly the law purports to prevent the squatting 
 together of natives in large numbers and in idleness. As a 
 matter of fact however the law is not applied in the cases of 
 Boer farmers. From the President downwards the Boers 
 own farms on which hundreds of families are allowed to 
 remain, paying their hut-taxes and contributing largely to the 
 prosperity of the land-owner. In the case of the Uitlander 
 however there seems to be a principle at stake, as the mine- 
 owners above referred to found to their cost. No sooner had 
 they located their tribe and provided them with all the con- 
 ditions necessary to comfort than an official came down to 
 them, Plakkerswet in hand, and removed all except the five 
 allowed by law and distributed them among his friends and 
 relations. The experiment has not been repeated. 
 
 Early in 1894 the Chamber of Mines received assurances 
 from the Government that if they would prepare a Pass Law 
 which would include provisions for the protection of natives, 
 
U'i 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 >03 
 
 for the regulation of their relations with employers, and for 
 their right to travel within the country, the Government would 
 give their support to the measure and would endeavour to 
 have it adopted by the Volksraad. The Commissioner for 
 Native Affairs, General Joubert, admitted his inability to deal 
 with so complex an affair, and gratefully accepted the aid of 
 the Chamber. Such a concession on the part of the Govern- 
 ment was regarded as highly satisfactory ; the law was 
 prepared, everything was explained and agreed to, the 
 support of the Government was promised to the draft law, 
 and it was anticipated that it would come into force during 
 the Session of 1894. Such was not the case. It remained 
 pi^ycon-holed throughout 1894 and 189$, and in the last days 
 of the latter Session the law was passed; but an important 
 omission occurred. The Government forgot to create the 
 department to carry out the law, so that by the end of 1895 
 the men were no nearer having a workable law than ever. 
 But reforms when introduced by the Transvaal Government, 
 are not usually without an object, although not necessarily 
 the declared one. An opportunity was here presented to the 
 President to recognize past services, and he appointed to an 
 office which required the highest intelligence, experience, 
 character and zeal an individual who had been implicated in 
 two disgraceful charges and who, having failed to clear himself 
 had been dismissed his office by the Boer Government not 
 two years previously. There was but one explanation t'oriii- 
 coming. The individual in question was a political supporter 
 of the President and brother of a member of the Executive 
 Council. No department has yet been created ; but a chief 
 has been appointed at a good salary, and the Pass Law has 
 been proclaimed in one district of the Witwatersrand out of 
 several ; so that a measure which was designed to effect an 
 immense saving in expense and convenience to the mining 
 industry was by the appointment of an improper man and the 
 neglect to organize a department rendered quite useless, and 
 by partial promulgation it was made even detrimental.^ 
 
 ' (July, 1899.) Provision was made for the costs of this department 
 by doubling the pass fee. In the early days of Johannesburg as soon 
 as it became evident that hospital accommodation was necessary, 
 application was made to the Government for a site (which was granted 
 
 
 : ■ l^i# 
 
 '' • , 
 
 iiii 
 
 
 i|. ... 
 
r^m 
 
 104 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 It has b(>(;n aptly said of the Boers — and the present Instance 
 illustrates the truth of the remark — that reform with them 
 seems to be impossible ; because, in the first place, they do 
 not know what to do ; in the second place, if they did, they 
 have not got the men to do it ; and, in the third place, if they 
 had the men, they show no conception of a duty higher than 
 that of utiii/.ing every opportunity for personal advantage.' 
 
 oil tlic liill then outside the town), and fcr some monetary assistance. 
 A fmul was also publicly subscribed and the hospital built. F"or the 
 maintenance of the iiospital two plans were adopted : one, the collection 
 of funds once a year, i.e., Hospital Saturday, a source which had 
 yielded steadily between ;^2,ooo and ;^3,ooo; two, having in view 
 the immense number of native cases which required treatment and 
 tiie extent to which a native is responsible for unsanitary conditions, it 
 was proposed to impose upon them a fee of is. per month for their 
 passes, the proceeds of this to be devoted entirely to the hospital. 
 For several years this continued to yield sufficient for the purpose. The 
 Transvaal Government, althouj^h accepting the plan proposed by the 
 Uitlanders and for a considerable time carrying it out faithfully, did not 
 establish tiie right permanently but adoptedf the formality of voting the 
 proceeds of the pass-fee year by year. There came a year when the 
 Kaad in its wisdom decided that this source .:f revenue was too pre- 
 carious for so wortiiy an object as the hospital, and they decided to 
 vote instead an annual subsidy of ;^30,ooo. It was then known that 
 tiie fees of the past year iiad amounted to over ;£[4o,ooo and there 
 was every prospect of steady annual increase. This explains why 
 a seemingly generous subsidy by the Government does not meet 
 with that hearty recognition to which it is apparently entitled. When 
 a Fass Department was proposed, the Government inquired how 
 it was suggested to maintain it. The Chamber of Mines proposed 
 to raise the pass fee from is. to 2s. per month, the extra shilling 
 to be devoted entirely to the administration of the Pass Law. With 
 the experience of the hospital shilling in mind particular care was 
 taken to have the agreement minuted and confirmed in writing. 
 Nevertheless, it transpired in the evidence given at the Industrial 
 Commission that t!ie department was being run at a cost of slightly 
 over ;£i2,ooo a year, whilst the proceeds of the shilling reached the 
 respectable total of ;^i5o,ooo a year. The Government, therefore, 
 by a breach of agreement, make ;£i 38,000 a year out of the 
 pass fund, and £120,000 a year out of the hospital fund ; and the 
 mining industry suffers in the meantime through maladministration 
 in the department, and are doubly taxed in the sense that the 
 companies have been obliged to establish and maintain at their own 
 cost other hospitals all along the reef. It is not suggested that the 
 companies should not provide hospitals, the point is that having 
 establislied a fund, which although nominally paid by the natives really 
 lias to be made up to them in wages, they were entitled to the benefit 
 of that fund. 
 
 ' The story is told of two up-country Boers who applied to the 
 President for appointments, and received the reply, ' What can I do 
 for you ? All the important offices are filled, and you are not educated 
 enough to be clerks ! ' 
 
]l 
 
 At* IKK I HE WAK 
 
 105 
 
 To the uninitiated it may well be a puzzle that President 
 Kruger should encouraj^c a system aiming so directly at the 
 strangling of an industry which Is the mainstay of the countr)-; 
 but in order to appreciate his motives it Is necessary to sec 
 tilings from his point of view. He and his p.irty are not 
 desirous of cheaijcning the cost of production. lie does not 
 aim at enabling the ever-increasing alien population to work 
 lower-grade mines, and so double or treble the number of 
 immigrants, even though it should profit the revenue of the 
 country. A proposal was once made to jjroclaim as a jniblic 
 field the town lands of Pretoria — that is to say, to enable the 
 public t'^ prospect, r-d if results warranted, to open up mines 
 on the lands — som«. thousands of acres in extent — surrounding 
 the town. The President attended the debate in the Second 
 Raad and violently opposed the measure. The appeal at the 
 end of his address is perhaps as instructive as anything Mr. 
 Kruger has said. 'Stop and think what you are doing," he 
 exclaimed, • before you throw fresh fields open. Look at 
 Johannesburg. See what a trouble and expense it is to us. 
 We have enough gold and enough gold -seekers in the country 
 already. For all you know there may be another Witwaters- 
 rand at your very feet' 
 
 In January, 1891, the average wage for native labourers 
 was £2 2s. per head per month. In 1893 it had risen to 
 £2 1 8s. lod., in 1895 to £s 3s. 66. In other South African 
 States wages rule from 15s. to 30s. per month, and the failure 
 to facilitate the introduction of natives from outside and to 
 protect them is largely responsible for the high figures paid on 
 the Rand. Unquestionably the ill-will of the Boer Govern- 
 ment is to blame for the consistent neglect of this growing 
 need of the mines. If decent protection and facilities were 
 given, the wage could be reduced to .^i 15s. per month. The 
 Government has it in its power to give the mines labour at 
 this price, but, as a matter of fact, there is no desire to see 
 the lower-grade mines working. A reduction of ;^i a month 
 — that is, to £2 3s. 6d. — would mean an annual saving of 
 ;C650,ooo, and the main reason why nothing has been done to 
 obtain this reduction is that President Kruger holds that the 
 gold fields are already big enough and that their further 
 extension would be a calamitv. 
 
 
io6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Early in 1895 considerable suspicion and uneasiness were 
 aroused by indications of the growth of the German policy. 
 The commercial section of the community was disturbed by 
 reports of secret arrangements favouring German importers. 
 Facilities were given, and ' through rates ' quoted from Ham- 
 burg to Johannesburg at a reduction which appeared to be 
 greater than any economies in sea transport, coupled with the 
 complete elimination of agency charges, would warrant. The 
 formal opening of the Delagoa Bay Railway by the President 
 furnished him with an opportunity to express with significant 
 emphasis his friendliness for all things German. At a banquet 
 given in honour of the German Emperor's birthday, January 
 27, 189s, the President, after eulogizing the old Emperor 
 William, the present Emperor, and the loyalty of the Germans 
 in the Transvaal, continued : 
 
 The latter I experienced once again at the time of the Kaffir War. 
 One day three or four Germans came to me and said : ' We are indeed 
 not naturalized, and are still subjects of our Emperor in Germany, but 
 we enjoy the achantages of this country, and are ready to defend it in 
 accordance with its laws. If your Excellency requires our services, we 
 are willing to march out.' And they marched. That is the spirit which 
 I admire. They were under the laws, they worked under the laws, 
 they obeyed the laws, and they fell in war under the laws. All my 
 subjects are not so minded. The English, for instance, although they 
 beiiave themselves properly and are loyal to the State, always fall back 
 upon England when it suits their purpose. Therefore I shall ever 
 promote the interests of Germany, though it be but with the resources 
 of a child, such as my land is considered. This child is now being 
 trodden upon by one great Power, and the natural consequence is that 
 it seeks protection from another. The time has come to knit ties of the 
 closest friendship between Germany and the South African Republic — 
 ties such as are natural between father and child. 
 
 L' I 
 
 t. 
 
 The very considerable increase in the number of Germans, 
 and the positive statement that a great many men of military 
 training were coming out for sei^vice in the Transvaal, that 
 officers were being employed to work up the artillery and to 
 design forts, all tended to increase the feeling of intense dis- 
 satisfaction and uneasiness which culminated in the outbreak 
 at the close of the year. Dr. Leyds, it was well known, went 
 on a political mission to Lisbon and to Berlin, and it was 
 stated that large sums had been withdrawn from the Treasurj' 
 and charged to the secret service fund, the handling of which 
 was entrusted to this gentleman. Dr. Leyds' perscnai 
 
M 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 m7 
 
 popularity, never very great, was at the lowest possible ebb. 
 He was regarded as the incarnation of Hollanderism — the 
 ' head and front ' of that detested influence. It was not 
 credited to him in the Transvaal, as it has been elsewhere, 
 that he designed or prompted the policy against the Uitlanders. 
 There it is fully appreciated that there is but one man in it, 
 and that man President Kruger. Dr. Leyds and others may 
 be and are clever and willing tools. They may lend acidity 
 or offensiveness to a hostile despatch, they may add a twist 
 or two to a tortuous policy, but the policy is President Kruger's 
 own, the methods are his own, all but the minor details. 
 Much as the Hollander-German clique may profit by their 
 alliance with Mr. Kruger, it is not to be believed that he is 
 deceived. He regards them as handy instruments and ready 
 agents. If they profit by the association, they do so at the 
 expense of the accursed Uitlander ; but there is no intention 
 on Mr. Kruger's part to allow Germany or Holland to secure 
 a permanent hold over the Republic, any more than he would 
 allow England to increase hers. He has played off one against 
 another with consummate skill. 
 
 Early in his official career Dr. Leyds was guilty of an 
 indiscretion such as few would have suspected him of. 
 Shortly after his appointment as Attorney-General he wrote 
 to a friend in Holland, giving his opinion of the Members 
 of the Executive. His judgment was sound ; except of one 
 man. Unfortunately for Dr. Leyds, he quarrelled with his 
 correspondent ; ani) the letter was of such a nature that, 
 when published, it made extremely unpleasant reading. 
 Generals Joubert and Smit, who had been described with 
 admirable truth and candour, were so enraged that they 
 demanded the ii stant dismissal of the * conceited young 
 popinjay' who had dared to criticise his masters. The 
 President, however, who had been described as an ignorant, 
 nanow-minded, pig-headed, and irascible old Boer whom — 
 with the others thrown in — the writer could play with and 
 twist round his finger as he chose, was not disturbed by the 
 criticism. In reply to appeals for forgiveness on the score 
 of youth, and in spite of the opposition of his colleagues, 
 President Kruger agreed to retain Dr. Leyds in office, 
 remarking that he wa.^ a capable young fellow and would 
 
 "-- "■'"■ 
 
io8 
 
 THE TLANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 know better in course of time, and explaining to him person- 
 ally that he would keep him tliere just as long as it suited 
 his (the President's) convenience. The association has lasted 
 for ten years, so it is to be presumed that Dr. Leyds has 
 changed his opinion of President Kruger, and frankly realized 
 his position. 
 
 During the early part of 1896, when <"he question of the 
 release on bail of the reform prisoners seemed to be of some 
 moment, a well-known Pretoria man, friendly to the Govern- 
 ment, called upon President Kruger and urged the advisability 
 of allowing the prisoners out on bail, and with considerable 
 lack of tact explained that it was well known that the 
 President's humane nature inclined him to be lenient, but 
 that the malign influence of others was believed to be 
 swaying him in this matter. The old President jumped up 
 in a huff and said, ' Ja, ja, ja ! You always say it is somebody 
 else ! First, it was Jorissen who did everything ; then it was 
 Nellmapius ; and then it was Leyds. Well, Jorissen is done 
 for ; Nellmapius is dead ; Leyds is in Europe — who is it 
 now ?' 
 
 The President's opinion of himself may be commended as 
 food for reflection to those who think they know everything 
 about the inner workings of the Transvaal. 
 
 Dr. Leyds' reputation, unfavourable as it had been, was 
 not improved by the Selati Railway exposure. Rightly or 
 wrongly, in this matter, as in the jobs of the Netherlands 
 Railway and several others of considerable magnitude, he has 
 been held responsible in the public mind for the financial loss 
 which the Republic sustained. When he left, ostensibly on 
 a recruiting trip, few — very few — believed that the illness was 
 a physical one. It is alleged that a gentleman on President 
 I'^aure's staff, on hearing that Dr. Leyds had gone to Berlin 
 to consult a physician, inquired what the ailment was? ' Mai 
 de gorge,' was the reply. 'Ah,' ;^aid the offlcer, ' mal de gorge 
 — diplomatique.' And that was the opinion in the Transvaal, 
 albeit differently expressed. 
 
 It is impossible within the limits of this volume nor is it at 
 all necessary to review all the measures which have been 
 passed by the Volksraad and pressed by he Government 
 unnecessarily burdening the Uitlanders and unjustifiably 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 109 
 
 assailing their rights ; such for instance as the Election 
 Law, which made it a crime to form Committees or do any 
 of those things which are regarded everywhere as part of the 
 legitimate business of elections — thus leaving Mr. Kru^xr the 
 sole master of electioneering machinery, namely, the Govern- 
 ment officials. The Public Meetings Act was another 
 monstrous infringement of rights. By it a policeman has 
 the right to disperse any gathering of more than seven 
 persons, if in his opinion it be desirable. Imagine it ! 
 Liberty of Speech against the Discretion of a Transvaal 
 policeman ! But the list would be long, and the tale 
 monotonous. And as long and equally monotonous would 
 be the list of the measures proposed or threatened, but 
 fortunately not carried. However, the review of the period 
 prior to 1896, and the statement of the causes leading to the 
 outbreak, may fitly be brought to a close by the recital of 
 some of the measures under both the above headings which 
 grace the records of the Session of 1895. 
 
 As is well known, the Grondwet (the written constitution 
 of the country) prescribes certain formalities for the intro- 
 duction of new laws. In order to evade the law, and so avoid 
 hostile criticism of proposed measures, in order, in fact, to 
 prevent the public and even the Volksraad members from 
 knowing and studying or explaining and digesting the 
 intended legislation, it has become the practice of the 
 Government to propose and rush through the most radical 
 and important enactments in the form of amendments or 
 explanations of existing laws. Prior to 1895 the Transfer 
 Law imposed a tax of 4 per cent, upon the purchase-price of 
 fixed property ; and in the case of sales for shares a valuation 
 of the property was made by the Government district officials, 
 and transfer duty was paid on the amount of the valuation. 
 This was universally done in the case of claims, which must 
 of necessity in most instances be transferred several times 
 before they become registered in the name of the company 
 eventually working them. It was admitted that to pay 4 per 
 cent, of full value on every transfer, or to pay 4 per cent, on 
 the nominal value of ground on which years of work would 
 have to be done and large f 'ims of money expended before 
 shareholders could reap one pennyworth of profit would be 
 
I, 
 
 IIJ 
 
 THE TIUNSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 iniquitous. In 1895, however, the Raad thought otherwise, 
 and amended the law by the insertion of the words ' in cash 
 or shares ' after the words ' purchase-price.' The result is, 
 that owners who have acquired claims at great cost, who have 
 paid licenses continuously on their claims, and who have paid 
 full transfer duty on each nominal change of ownership, 
 necessary to consolidation into workable blocks or groups, 
 are now required to pay again in cash 4 per cent, on the total 
 capital allotted in respect of these claims in the company 
 formed to work Ihem. Members of the Raad, in supporting 
 this measure, did not hesitate to argue that it was a good law, 
 because the burghers did not sell their farm? for shares, but 
 for cash, and it was right to tax those people who deal in 
 shares. 
 
 The sense of insecurity which obtains during the Sessions 
 of the Raad is due scarcely less to the threats which are not 
 fulfilled and attempts which do not succeed, than to what is 
 actually compassed. A direct tax on gold has more than once 
 been threatened ; concessions for cyanide, jam, bread, biscuits, 
 and woollen fabrics were all attempted. The revival of an 
 obsolete provision by which the Government can claim a 
 royalty on the gold from ' mynpachts,' or mining leases, has 
 been promised, and it is almost as much expected as it is 
 dreaded. 
 
 With a monotony which is wearying, but which does not 
 diminish the unfortunate Uitlanders' interest in the subject, 
 the burden of every measure falls on the alien. One more 
 instance will suffice. It illustrates the Hollander-Boer genius 
 for fulfilling the letter and breaking the spirit of a covenant. 
 It was notified that Government were about to introduce a 
 war tax, and that this tax was to be one of ;^20 per farm, to 
 be levied in event of war if in the opinion of the Government 
 it should be necessary. Much surprise was felt that anything 
 so unfavourable to the Boers as a tax on farms should be 
 proposed. When the measure came on for discussion it was 
 found to contain provisions exempting the owner who per- 
 sonally resided on his farm, and especially and definitely 
 taxing those farms which are owned by companies, associa- 
 tions, corporations, or partnerships. The Boer, it is well 
 known, takes no shares in companies, joins no associations, 
 
APfER THE WAR 
 
 III 
 
 and has partnership with no one. This law was shelved in 
 1895, but has since been passed.* It is of a piece with the 
 rest. Having sold his farm to the Uitlander, the Boer r^ow 
 proceeds to plunder him : and * plunder ' is not too strong a 
 word when it is realized that the tax falls, not on the really 
 valuable farms of the high veld, which are nearly all owned 
 by individuals, and are all occupied, but on the undeveloped 
 outlying f? ., the rentable value of which would not on the 
 average suhi^e to pay the tax ! Indeed, one very large land- 
 owner stated to the Government at the time, that if this law 
 were passed and put in force, they might take all his rentals 
 good and bad in lieu of the tax, as it would pay him better ! 
 
 These were matters which more immediately concerned 
 persons of certain means. There is another matter, however, 
 which very directly concerned every individual who had any 
 intention of remaining in the country ; that is, the matter of 
 education. A dead set had always been made by the Trans- 
 vaal Governrient against any encouragement of liberal educa- 
 tion which would involve the use or even recognition of the 
 English language. Indeed, some of the legislators have been 
 known to express the opinion that education was not by any 
 means desirable, as i^ taught the rising generation to look 
 with contempt on the hardy Voortrekkers ; and an interesting 
 debate is on record, in which members pointedly opposed the 
 granting of facilities for the education of their own women- 
 kind, on the ground that presently the women would be found 
 reading books and newspapers instead of doing their work, 
 and would soon get to know more than their fathers, hus- 
 bands, and brothers, and would, as a consequence, quickly 
 get out of hand. It did not seem to occur to these worthy 
 gentlemen that the proper course would be to educate the 
 men. But it would not be fair to take this view as the 
 representative one. On the point of the English language, 
 however, and the refusal to give any facilities for the educa- 
 tion of Uitlander children, the Boer legislature is practically 
 unanimous. The appalling consequences of allowing the 
 voung population to grow up in absolute ignorance were 
 realized by the people of Johannesburg, and efforts were 
 
 • Qulyi 1899.) The law has been declared by the law officers of the 
 Crown to be a breach of the London Convention. 
 
 
■»■ 
 
 112 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 constantly made to induce the Government to recognize the 
 evil that was growing in the State. The efforts were so 
 entirely unsuccessful that the Uitlanders found in this as in 
 other cases that nothing would be done unless they did it 
 for themselves. A fund was opened, to which very liberal 
 donations were made. The services of a Director-General 
 were secured, and an Educational Council was elected. A 
 comprehensive scheme of education — in the first place for the 
 Rand district, but intended to be extended ultimately for the 
 benefit of the whole of the Uitlander population in the Trans- 
 vaal — was devised, and it was calculated that in the course of 
 a few years a fund of close upon half a million of money 
 would be required, and would be raised, in order to place 
 educational facilities within the reach of the people. Need- 
 less to say, this did not at all square with the policy of the 
 Transvaal Government, and the scheme was looked upon 
 with the utmost disfavour. In order to defeat it, the Super- 
 intendent-General of Education, Dr. Mansvelt, a Hollander, 
 who for six years had degraded his high office to the level of 
 a political engine, felt himself called upon to do something — 
 something to trail the red herring across the too hot scent ; 
 and he intimated that more liberal measures would be intro- 
 duced during the Session of 1895, and in his report proposed 
 certain amendments to the existing law, which would (in 
 appearance, but, alas ! not in fact) improve the condition of 
 the Uitlander. The following letter appearing in the London 
 Times, on October 3, 1896, although dealing with a period 
 some months later than that under review, explains the 
 position with authority and clearness — a position which has 
 not been materially altered, except for the worse, during 
 Dr. Mansvelt's regime. It will be noted that the last-named 
 gentleman coupled with his ' liberal ' provisions the sugges- 
 tion that all schools, except those of the State, should be 
 suppressed. Such a suggestion reveals very clearly the 
 aim of this ' Reform ' measure. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I trust you will allow me a little space with a view to enable 
 me to correct, by the application of a little wholesome fact, the erro- 
 neous impression which has been created in England with reference to 
 the education of Uitlanders in the Transvaal by recent crude and 
 ill-considered expression* of opinion, notably bv Itfr. Reginald Statham 
 and Mr. Chamberlain. 
 
 '^ 
 
AFTER THE WAR 
 
 "3 
 
 Mr. , in a letter addressed to one of your contemporaries, in- 
 formed the British public that in view of a liberal Government grant of 
 £4 per head per annum, the Transvaal Uitlander had nothing to 
 complain of in respect to education. As Mr. claims to be com- 
 pletely informed on Transvaal politics, he can only have been guilty of 
 a deliberate, if not malicious stippressio vert wlicn he omitted to say 
 that, like most of the legislation of this country, which has for its 
 ostensible object the amelioration of the condition of the Uitlander, 
 this measure, which looks like munificence at first sight, has been 
 rendered practically inoperative by the conditions wliich hedge it 
 round. Take, for example, a school of 100 children. Strike out ten as 
 being under age, ten as having been too short a time at school, twenty 
 as suspected of being of Dutch parentage. Out of the sixty that 
 remain suppose fifty satisfy the inspector in the Dutch language and 
 history, and you have as your allowance for the year ;£2oo — a sum 
 which is insufficient to pay the Dutch teacher employed to bring the 
 children up to the required standard in that language. It is small 
 wonder, then, that most teachers prefer to dispense with this Will-o'- 
 the-wisp grant altogether, seeing that the efforts of some to earn it have 
 resulted m pecuniary loss. The actual sum expended on Uitlander 
 schools last year amounted to ;^65o, or is. lod. a head out of a total 
 expenditure for education of ;^63,ooo, the expenditure per Dutch child 
 amounting to £8 6s. id. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain considers the new educational law for Johannes- 
 burg as a subject for gratulation. I should have thought that his 
 recent dealings with Pretoria would have suggested to him as a states- 
 man that felicitations upon the passing of a vague and absolutely 
 undefined measure might possibly be a little too premature. A Volks- 
 raad, which only rejected the forcible closing of private schools by a 
 majority of two votes, is hardly likely to give the Executive carte blanche 
 to deal with Uitlander education without some understanding, tacit or 
 declared, as to 1 -»v this power is to be wielded. Be that as it may, 
 nearly two months have elapsed since the passing of a measure which 
 was to come into operation at once, and nothing has been done. In 
 the meantime, we can learn from the inspired press and other sources 
 that English schools which desire aid under the new law must be 
 prepared to give instruction in Standard V. and upwards, and entirely 
 in the Dutch language. So far, the Superintendent of Education, 
 whether acting under instructions or on his own initiative, has been 
 absolutely immovable on this point, and the much -vaunted law 
 promises to be as much a dead letter as the is. lod. grant. The Johan- 
 nesburg Council of Education has exerted its influence to secure such 
 an interpretation of the new law as would lead to the establishment of 
 schools where Dutch and English children might sit side by side, and 
 so work towards establishing a bond of sympathy and the eventual 
 blending of the races. The Pretoria authorities however refuse to 
 entertain the idea of meeting the Uitlander in a conciliatory spirit on 
 anytliing like equal terms, but will only treat with us on the footing of 
 master and servant. A curious and almost inexplicable feature of the 
 situation is the fact that hundreds of Boers are clamouring for the 
 better instruction of their children in English, but which is steadfastly 
 refused them. 
 
 I might enlarge on what I have written, and point out thi injustice 
 and the gross system of extortion practised by the Government in 
 making Johannesburg pay something like £7 per head for the educa- 
 tion of Dutch children, whilst it has to pay from ;^5 to £15 per annum 
 
 T'f^f 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
Ty^mmi 
 
 "4 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 for the education of each child of its own, meanwhile leaving hundreds 
 growing up in the blackest ignorance and crime. Any comment 
 would, however, lay me open to the charge of bias and partisanship, 
 and I therefore confine myself to the simple statement of a few facts, 
 which I challenge anyone to controvert, leaving the reader to draw his 
 own conclusions. 
 
 I am, sir, yours, etc., 
 
 John Robinson, 
 
 Director -General Johannesburg 
 Educational Council. 
 
 Imagine it ! ;^6so used for the children of those who con- 
 tributed nine-tenths of the £6T),ooo spent on education ! 
 
 The succession of flagrant jobs, the revelation of abuses 
 unsuspected, the point-blank refusal to effect any reasonable 
 reforms had filled the Uitlanders' cup perilously full, and 
 during the latter half of 1895 the prospect of any change for 
 the better, except at the cost of fighting, was generally 
 realized to be very poor indeed. 
 
 Trouble came to South Africa with the end of 1895. It 
 very nearly came earlier. Mention has been made that the 
 Netherlands Railway Company practically dictates the re- 
 lations of the Transvaal with the other States in South Africa 
 by means of its tariffs. The competition between the Cape, 
 Natal and Delagoa lines having become very keen, and the 
 Cape service by superior management and easier gradients 
 having secured the largest share of the carrying trade, 
 attempts were made to effect a different division of profits. 
 Negotiations failed to bring the various parties to terms, and 
 owing to the policy of the Netherlands Railway Company, 
 the Cape Colony and Free State, whose interests were 
 common, were in spirit very hostile to the Transvaal, and 
 bitterly resentful of the policy whereby a foreign corporation 
 was aided to profit enormously to the detriment of the sister 
 South African States. After all that the Colonial and Free 
 State Dutch had done for their Transvaal brethren in days 
 of stress and adversity, it was felt to be base ingratitude to 
 hinder their trade and tax their products. 
 
 The Cape Colony-Free State line ends at the Vaal 
 River. Thence all goods are carried over the Netherlands 
 Railway Company's section to Johannesburg, a distance of 
 about fifty miles. In order to handicap the southern line, an 
 excessive rate was imposed for carriage on this section. 
 
m 
 
 \\\d\ 
 
 AFTER THE WAR 
 
 "5 
 
 Even at the present time the tariff is 8?;d. per ton per mile, 
 as against a rate of about 3d. with which the other two lines 
 are favoured. Notwithstanding this, however, and the ob- 
 structions placed in the way by obnoxious regulations and 
 deliberate blocking of the line with loaded trucks at Vereen- 
 iging, and also the blocking of Johannesburg stations by 
 non-delivery of goods — measures which resulted sometimes 
 in a delay of months in delivery, and sometimes in the 
 destruction or loss of the goods — the Southern line more 
 than held its own. The block was overcome by off-loading 
 goods at the Vaal River and transporting them to Johan- 
 nesburg by mule and ox waggons. 
 
 Mr. Kruger and his Hollander friends were almost beaten 
 when the President played his last card. He intimated his 
 intention to close the Vaal River drifts against over-sea 
 goods, and, by thus preventing the use of waggons, to force 
 all traffic on to his railways upon his terms ; and as the 
 threat did not bring the Colony and Free State to the 
 proper frame of mind, he closed them. This w?s a flagrant 
 ureach ot the London Convention, and as such it was 
 reported by the High Commissioner to Mr. Chamberlain, and 
 imperial intervention was asked. Mr. Chamberlain replied 
 that it was a matter most closely affecting the Colony, and 
 he required, before dealing with it, to have the assurance of 
 the Colonial Government that, in the event of war resulting, 
 the cost of the campaign would be borne, share and share 
 alike, by the Imperial and Colonial Governments, and that 
 the latter would transport troops over their lines free of 
 charge. Such was the indignation in the Colony at the 
 treatment accorded it that the terms were at once agreed to 
 — a truly significant fact when it is realized that the Ministry 
 undertaking this responsibility had been put and was main- 
 tained in office by the Dutch party, and included in its 
 members the best and most pronounced Africander repre- 
 sentatives. But Mr. Kruger is not easily 'cornered.' His 
 unfailing instinct told him that business was meant when he 
 received Mr. Chamberlain's ultimatum to open the drifts. 
 The President ' climbed down ' and opened them ! He has 
 several advantages which other leaders of men have not, and 
 among them is that of having little or no pride. He will 
 
 Mill 
 
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f 
 
 ii6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 bluster and bluflf and bully when occasion seems to warrant 
 it ; but when his judgment warns him that he has gone as far 
 as he prudently can, he will alter his tactics as promptly and 
 dispassionately as one changes one's coat to suit the varyintr 
 conditions of the weather. Mr. Kruger climbed down ! It 
 did not worry him, nor did he take shame that he had failed. 
 He climbed down, as he had done before in the Stellaland 
 affair, the Banjailand trek, the commandeering incident, and as 
 he no doubt will do in others ; for he may bluff hard, but it will 
 take a great deal to make him fight. There is one matter 
 upon which Mr. Kruger's judgment is perfect : he can judge 
 the ' breaking strain ' to a nicety. He climbs down but he is 
 not beaten ; for as surely as the dammed stream will seek its 
 outlet, so surely will the old Dutchman pursue his settled 
 aim. 
 
 War is war, and always bad ; but sometimes worse ; for 
 the cause is still a mighty factor, as those may sec who 
 contrast the probable effects upon the people of South Africa 
 01 war on the drifts question with the actual results of the 
 jjimeson raid. 
 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT. 
 
 ■ 1 ' I 
 
 ill 
 
 I 
 
 Having failed in their constitutional attempts to secure a 
 reasonable voice in the government, or any redress of their 
 grievances, there came the time when men's thoughts 
 naturally turned to the last expedient — force. Up to and so 
 late as the Volksraad Session of 1895 a constitutional 
 agitation for rights had been carried on by the Transvaal 
 National Union, a body representing the unenfranchised 
 portion of the population. Of its members but few belonged 
 to the class of wealthy mine and land owners : they had so 
 far abstained from taking any part in a political organi- 
 zation which was viewed with dislike and suspicion by the 
 Government and the great majority of the Boers. It has 
 been asserted by a few Progressive members of the Raad 
 that many of the Boers were themselves opposed to the 
 policy adopted towards the newcomers ; but, whilst this may 
 be to some extent true, it is more than questionable whether 
 any of the burghers were willing to concede a share in tlie 
 power of government, although it is certain that great 
 numbers would not have taken active steps against the 
 Uitlanders but for the invasion by a foreign force. Any 
 extending of the franchise means to the great majority of 
 the Boers a proportionate loss of independence. 
 
 When the matter of the Independence of the Republic 
 is discussed it must not be forgotten that independence 
 conveys something to the Boers which is radically different 
 from what it means to anyone else. That the State should 
 continue for ever to be independent and prosperous — a true 
 republic — would be mockery heaped on injury if the absolute 
 
 117 
 
 Mh! 
 
 
\ 
 
 llM 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 dotnination by the Boer party should cease ; and when the 
 parrot-like cry of ' The Independence of the State is 
 threatened ' is raised again and again a propos of the most 
 trivial measures and incidents, this idea is the one that 
 prompts it. Instances innumerable could be quoted seem- 
 ingly illustrating the liocr legislators' inability to distinguish 
 between simple measures of reform and justice, and measures 
 aimed at undermining the State's stability and independence. 
 It is not stupidity! It is that the Boer realizes at least one 
 of the inevitable consequences of reform — that the ignorant 
 and incapable must go under. Reform is the dcath-knell of 
 his oligarchy, and therefore a danger to the independence of 
 the State — as he sees it. Until the European people who 
 have lately become so deeply concerned in Transvaal affairs 
 realize how widely divergent are the two interpretations of 
 ' Independence,' they will not have begun to understand the 
 Trai.svaal Question. 
 
 The National Union did not represent any particular class 
 in the Uitlander community. It was formed of men drawn 
 from all classes who felt that the conditions of life were be- 
 coming intolerable, and that something would have to be 
 done by the community to bring about reforms which the 
 legislature showed no signs of voluntarily introducing. 
 
 When it is said that it consisted of men drawn from all 
 classes, the qualification should be made that the richer 
 classes, that is to say, the capitalists of the country, were 
 very meagrely if at all represented. M.uiy efforts had been 
 made to enlist the sympathies of the cupitalists, and to 
 draw them into the movement, but th.; ' Dig firms,' as they 
 were styled, for a very long time refused to take any part 
 whatever, preferring to abstain entirely rather than associate 
 themselves with a definite agitation. They pleaded, and no 
 doubt fairly, that in case of failure they with their vested 
 interests would be the ones to suffer, while in the event of 
 success they would not benefit in a greater degree than the 
 individuals who had little or no materul stake. One by one 
 however they were drawn into the political movement to 
 the extent of supplying funds for carrying on the reform 
 agitation, or of giving monetary support to those who were 
 stimulating and organizing the Progressive party among the 
 
 
[ I 
 
 THE ORIGIN Of THK MOVEMENT 
 
 ii'v 
 
 Boers. There can be no doubt that prior to 1895 th^ 
 wealthier men without exception refused to consider the 
 possibility of violent measures. It was only when they 
 realized that the Boer party were detenninedly hostile — 
 organizing very large encroachments upon the privileges of 
 the Uitlanders and designing fresh burdens to be borne by 
 them — and when it became clear that the dangers threatening 
 as a result of their own supine attitude were worse than any 
 disfavour with which they might be viewed on account of 
 political action, that they began to take an active part with 
 others in the agitation for reform. It was not utitil the 
 Volksraad in the Session of 1895 revealed their real policy 
 and their fixed determination to effect no reform that men 
 began to talk of the possibility of revolutionary measures 
 becoming necessary. The subject once mooted was fre- 
 quently discussed, and once discussed became familiar ; and 
 the thing which a few months before had been regarded as 
 out of the bounds of possibility came to be looked upon as 
 a very probable contingency. The extraordinary boom 
 in shares, land, and all kinds of property, which lasted 
 throughout the year, no doubt operated against the matur- 
 ing of this feeling, but it nevertheless continued to grow. 
 The most dissatisfied section of the Rand was, naturally 
 enough, that one which included the South African 
 Uitlander. These men, born in South Africa, or having 
 spent the best years of their lives there, feic extremely 
 bitter against the Boer Government, and were moved by 
 feelings which were not in any way connected with considera- 
 tions of material gain. With them were closely associated 
 men of all nationalities who had determined to make their 
 homes in the Transvaal, and these formed the class which has 
 been disparagingly referred to as ' the political element,' but 
 which the experience of every country shows to be the back- 
 bone of a nation. They were in fact the men who meant to 
 have a hand in the future of South Africa. After them came 
 the much larger class whose interest in the reforms was based 
 mainly upon the fact that they suffered from the abuses and 
 over-taxation of the Government. 
 
 For several years a very strong feeling against the capi- 
 talists had ruled in Johannesburg. Men who thoroughly 
 
 •• - 
 
 : ;i' ■. : \ 
 
 
 l4,l 
 
 i .:| 
 
 n 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 ■ 
 
 R 
 
S'SF^P 
 
 I 
 
 120 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 knew the Boer had prophesied and continued throughout to 
 prophesy that absolutely nothing would be done to improve 
 the conditions, and that the capitalists might as well throw in 
 their lot with the general public early in the day as be forced 
 to do so later, after spending their thousands in fruitless 
 efforts for reform, and after committing themselves to a 
 policy which would be regarded as selfish, pusillanimous, 
 and foolish. The moneyed men no doubt occupied a very 
 prominent and powerful position. They were constantly 
 besought by the Reform leaders to side with them ; they 
 were looked to by the Progressive Party in the Boer camp to 
 aid reform by peaceful measures only, to exercise all their 
 influence towards preventing rash or violent measures being 
 taken by the more excited party, and to trust to time and 
 patience to achieve those results which they were all honestly 
 desirous of bringing about; and they were approached, as has 
 been stated, by the President and his party when moments ot 
 danger arrived, and when it was felt that their influence could 
 be used towards the preservation of peace, — as witness the 
 Loch incident. 
 
 ' It is no crime to be a capitalist,* said one commentator 
 on the late events, and neither is it necessary to attribute to 
 this section of the community motives of patriotism to justify 
 their association with the Reform movement. It is not 
 intended to suggest that the men who did associate them- 
 selves eventually with it were not moved by any higher con- 
 sideration than that of protecting their interests — in many 
 cases a far larger view than this was taken ; but it may be 
 asked, — assuming that the capitalists were not moved by 
 higher considerations, — What is there in their position which 
 should debar them from endeavouring to introduce the 
 reforms which would benefit them only equally with every 
 other honest man in the community ? 
 
 Most of the wealthy houses in the Transvaal are either off- 
 shoots of or have supporting connections with firms in Eng- 
 land or on the Continent. Between them and their principals 
 much correspondence had taken place on the political situa- 
 tion. As far as these houses were concerned, it was impossible 
 for them to enter upon any movement without the consent of 
 their European associates. For this reason the Reform 
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 X2X 
 
 if 
 
 movement, as it eventually took place, has in some ways 
 the appearance of and has very frequently been stigmatized 
 as an organization planned and promoted outside the Tians- 
 vaai. The fact is that Mr. Alfred Beit, of the firm of 
 Wernher, Beit and Co., London, and Mr. Cecil Rhodes, 
 managing director of the Consolidated Goldfields, may be 
 regarded as the chiefs to whom the ultimate decision as to 
 whether it was necessary from the capitalistic point of view 
 to resort to extreme measures was necessarily left. Each of 
 these gentlemen controls in person and through his business 
 associates many millions of money invested in the Transvaal ; 
 each of them was, of course, a heavy sufferer under the exist- 
 ing conditions affecting the mining industry, and each, as a 
 business man, must have been desir ^us of reform in the 
 administration. Mr. Beit acted in concert with Mr. Lionel 
 Phillips, of H. Eckstein and Co., the Johannesburg represen- 
 tatives of Wernher, Beit and Co. Mr. Rhodes was represented 
 by his brother, Colonel Francis Rhodes, and Mr. J, H. Ham- 
 mond, of the Consolidated Goldfields Company in Johannes- 
 burg. Mr. George Farrar, another very large mine-owner, 
 who joined a little later than the others, with the gentlemen 
 above named, may be considered to have represented the 
 capitalist element in the earlier stages of the Reform move- 
 ment. The other elements were represented by Mr. Charles 
 Leonard, the chairman of the Nation? • Union, and one or two 
 other prominent members of th*'^ b iy. 
 
 It is impossible to say wit'' wii. 1:1 die idea of the move- 
 ment, including the arrangftr^^ri with Dr. Jameson, originated. 
 Perhaps it germinated whf n i^ ;. Jameson read the life of Clive ! 
 Probably it was the result cf discussion, and no one m''n'« 
 idea. At any rate arms and immunition were purchased, auva 
 arrangements were made by which they should be smuggled 
 into the country concealed in machinery or gold-mining 
 appliances. During the month of November Messrs. Leonard 
 and Phillips went to Capetown to see Mr. Rhodes, in order 
 to assure themselves f tially as to the course which was lO be 
 pursued. The position of Mr. Rhodes in tlit matf.i:' was 
 recognised by them to be a difficult o .0 V/Iiil=t as the 
 managing director of the Consolidated Gokd'i'.'.ds b ; had as 
 much right as any other man interested u the l ransvaai 
 
 \\ 
 
T^ 
 
 122 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 would have to concern himself in a movement of this nature, 
 his right to act in his capacity of managing director of the 
 Chartered Company would depend entirely on the nature of 
 the part which he professed to play; but his position as Prime 
 Minister of the Colony made the already difficult position 
 much more complicated. Realizing this, Messrs. Leonard 
 and Phillips acting on behalf of the others determined to 
 have a perfectly clear understanding and to ascertain from 
 Mr. Rhodes definitely what were his objects in associating 
 himself with the movement. The matter was discussed at 
 Mr. Rhodes' house, and the report given by the two deputies 
 to their colleagues on their return was that Mr. Rhodes 
 frankly admitted that he had two oDJects in view : one was 
 to obtain an amelioration of the conditions such as he was 
 entitled to claim as representing an enormous amount of 
 capital invested in the Transvaal ; the other object is best 
 described by Mr. Leonard. ' We read to him,' said that 
 gentleman when reporting to his comrades the result of his 
 visit, ' the draft of our declaration of rights. He was leaning 
 against the mantelpiece smoking a cigarette, and when it 
 came to that part of the document in which we refer to Free 
 Trade in South African products he turned round suddenly 
 and said : " That is what I want. That is all I ask of you. 
 The rest will come in time. We must have a beginning, and 
 that will be the beginning. If you people get your rights 
 the Customs Union, Railway Convention, and other things will 
 all come in time." He then added that we must take our own 
 time about this movement, and that he would keep Jameson 
 on the frontier as long as it was necessary as a moral support, 
 and also to come to our assistance should we get ourselves 
 into a tight place. We asked him how he hoped to recoup 
 himself for his share of the expense in keeping Jameson's 
 force on the border, which should be borne by us jointly. He 
 said that seeing the extent of his interests in the country, he 
 would be amply repaid by the improvement in the conditions 
 which it was intended to effect.' 
 
 It has since been suggested that the object of the movement 
 was to 'steal the country' and to annex it to Rhodesia, in 
 order to rehabilitate the Chartered Company. The suggestion 
 is too ludicrous for serious discussion. It must be obvious r 
 
 k 
 
A 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 123 
 
 anyone that the persons most concerned in the movement, 
 and whose interests lay in the Rand, would be the very last 
 to consent to any such scheme. There appears to be no con- 
 ceivable basis upon which such an arrangement could have 
 been entered into, and it is quite clear that no sensible busi- 
 ness man having interests in a rich country in a comparatively 
 advanced state of development would consent to share that 
 certainty with a new country such as Rhodesia, the value of 
 which, however promising, has still to be proved. Notwith- 
 standing the ludicrous nature of the charge, it is quite certain 
 that the Boers have a deep-rooted conviction of its truth. 
 
 The arrangements with Dr. Jameson were made with him in 
 person. During the month of September he visited Johan- 
 nesburg, and it was then agreed that he should maintain 
 a force of some 1,500 mounted men fully equipped, a number 
 of Maxims, and some field artillery ; that he was, in addition 
 to this, to have with him 1,500 spare rifles and a quantity 
 of spare ammunition ; and that about 5,000 rifles, three 
 Maxim guns, and 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition were to be 
 smuggled into Johannesburg. It was calculated that in the 
 town itself there would be, perhaps, 1,000 rifles privately 
 owned. Thus, in the event of a junction of forces being 
 effected, y'>bannesburg would be able to command about 
 9,000 e.ri:° i in, with a fair equipment of machine-guns 
 and car non. .^Zor was this all, for on the original plan it was 
 ini:e'-,iiea U' iize the fort and magazines at Pretoria. And 
 circumstai : favoured the plans of the Johannesburg men. 
 The -urrounrlip.g nail of the fort, a mere barrack, had been 
 removed en one side in order to effect some additions ; there 
 were only about 100 men stationed there, and all except 
 half a dozen could be counted on as being asleep after 9 p.m. 
 There never was a simpler sensational task in the world than 
 that of seizing the Pretoria fort — fifty men could have done 
 it. But there was more to be done than the mere taking. In 
 the fort Ihere were known to be some 10,000 rifles, ten or 
 twelve r.^M-pieces, and 12,000,000 rounrls of small-arm 
 ammunition ; and it was designed to seize the fort and the 
 railway on the night of the outbreak and, by means of one 
 or two trains, to carry off as much of the material as possible 
 and destroy the rest 
 
 \'W 
 
 1 ' ' 
 
 '1 
 
 f 
 
 
 t 
 
 i 
 
 ■ \ 
 li 
 i 
 
 M -; , 
 
 ■i'"' .: 
 
 I^h 
 
i24 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Association with Dr. Jameson as the leader of an invading 
 force is the one portion of their programme which the Reform 
 leaders find it extremely difficult to justify. As long as 
 the movement was confined to the Uitlanders resident in the 
 Transvaal the sympathy of South Africa and indeed of the 
 world was with them. It was the alliance with the foreign 
 invader which forfeited that sympathy. That the eventual 
 intention of the Reformers was only to call upon Dr. Jameson 
 in case they found themselves attacked by and unable to 
 cope with the Boert '? ^ fact, but it is only fair to Dr. 
 Jameson to note that , j a modification of the r riginal 
 
 arrangement by which boi . f' xes were to act simultaneously 
 and in concert, — when the signal should be given from 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 On the occasion of Dr. Jameson's second visit to Johannes- 
 burg, towards the end of November, <:he following letter of 
 invitation was written and handed to him : 
 
 To Dr. Jameson. 
 
 Johannesburg.' 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The position of matters in this State has become so critical that 
 we are assured that at no distant period there will be a conflict 
 between the Government and the Uitlander population. It is scarcely 
 necessary for us to recapitulate what is now matter of history ; suffice 
 it to say that the position of thousands of Englishmen and others is 
 rapidly becoming intolerable. Not satisfied with making the Uitlander 
 population pay virtually the whole of the revenue of the country while 
 denying them representation, the policy of the Government has been 
 steadily to encroach upon the liberty of the subject, and to undermine 
 th(; security for property to such an extent as to cause a very deep- 
 seated sense of discontent and danger. A foreign corporation of 
 Hollanders is to a considerable extent controlling our destinies, and 
 in conjunction with the Boer leaders endeavouring to cast them in a 
 mould which is wholly foreign to the genius of the people. Every 
 public act betrays the most positive hostility, not only to everything 
 English, but to the neighbouring States. 
 
 Well ill short the internal poUcy of the Government is such as to 
 have roused into antagonism to it, not only practically the whole body 
 of Uitlanders but a large number of the Boers ; while its external policy 
 has exasperated the neighbouring States, causing the possibility of great 
 danger to the peace and independence of this Republic. Public feeling 
 is iii a condition of smouldering discontent. All the petitions uf the 
 people have been refused with a greater or less degree of contempt ; 
 and in the debate on the Franchise petition, signed by nearly 40,000 
 
 » The date of 20th December, 1895, was filled in by Dr. Jameson 
 when he decided to start and to publish the letter. 
 
 m'h^v 
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 "5 
 
 people, one member challenged the Uitlanders to fight for the rights 
 they asked for, and not a single member spoke against him. Not to 
 go into details, we may say that the Government has called into existence 
 all the elements necessary for armed conflict. The one desire of the 
 people here is for fair play, the maintenance of their independence, and 
 the preservation of those public liberties without which life is not 
 worth living. The Government denies these things, and violates the 
 national sense of Englishmen at every turn. 
 
 What we have to consider is. What will be the condition of things 
 here in the event of a conflict ? Thousands of unarmed men, women 
 and children of our race will be at the mercy of well-armed Boers, 
 while property of enormous value will be in the greatest peril. We 
 cannot contemplate the future without the gravest apprehensions. All 
 feci that we are justified in taking any steps to prevent the shedding of 
 blood, and to insure the protection of our rights. 
 
 It is under these circumstances that we feel constrained to call upon 
 you to come to our aid,' should a disturbance arise here. The circum- 
 stances are so extreme that we cannot but believe that you and the men 
 under you will not fail to come to the rescue of people who will be so 
 situated. We guarantee any expense that may reasonably be incurred 
 by you in helping us, and ask you to believe that nothing but the 
 sternest necessity has prompted this appeal. 
 
 Charles Leonard. 
 
 Lionel Phillips. 
 
 Francis Rhodes. 
 
 John Hays Hammond. 
 
 George Farrar. 
 
 ^ 
 
 The letter was drafted by Mr. Charles Leonard, and 
 was signed then by four out of the five signatories, the 
 fifth signature being added some weeks later in Cape 
 Town. It was not dated, and was to be used only privately 
 and in case of necessity for the purpose of excusing Dr. 
 Jameson to the directors of the Chartered Company and the 
 Imperial authorities in the course which it was intended to 
 take. 
 
 Various plans were discussed, and even dates were pro- 
 visionally arranged. The first arrangement agreed to was 
 that Dr. Jameson should start two days before the intended 
 
 ' When this letter was published by Dr. Jameson and cabled to 
 the London Times the sense of it was very gravely — but doubtless 
 unintentionally— altered by terminating this sentence with the word 
 'aid ' and carrying the r jmaining words into the next sentence. 
 
 (July, 1899.) At tut Westminster inquiry it transpired that on 
 December 20 Mr. Rhodes instructed Dr. Flarris to wire for a copy 
 of the lette*- Dr. Jameson forwarded it after filling in that day's date. 
 On December 30, Dr. Harris, again acting on Mr. Rhodes' instructions, 
 telegraphed the letter to the Times, havinP altered the date to 28th, and 
 prefaced it with the statement that the letter had been 'sent on 
 Saturday (28) to Dr. Jameson, Mafeking.' 
 
 r 'i 
 
126 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 outbreak in Johannesburg. This was agreed to for the time 
 being, but subsequent discussion convinced the leaders that 
 there were the gravest objections to such a course, and it was 
 therefore decided that Dr. Jameson should be notified to 
 start from his camp on the same night as the outbreak in 
 Johannesburg, The dates of December 28 and January 4 
 were in turn provisionally decided upon, but the primary 
 condition of these arrangements was that under no circum- 
 stances should Dr. Jameson move without receiving the 
 word from the Johannesburg party. 
 
 With reference to the question of going out to meet Dr. 
 Jameson or giving hirn assistance, the only thing that was 
 discussed was that ;u.i officers' patrol should be sent out to 
 meet him, to escort him to his camp. There was no doubt 
 entertained as to t'" ^ abi^'!* of Dr. Jameson and the force 
 which it was believed he would command to come in 
 without assistance or the arrangement would never have been 
 made. The idea of the association with him was, of course, 
 that he should assist the Reformers — not they assist him ; and 
 the proposal regarding the officers' patrol was one to which he 
 only consented after scouting the notion of any co-operation. 
 
 During the weeks which followed the conclusion of the 
 arrangement considerable dissatisfaction was felt at the 
 very slow progress made in obtaining arms. The number 
 originally agreed to was deemed to be sufficient but no 
 more ; and when it was first found that it would not be 
 possible to obtain this number but that a few hundreds less 
 would have to be accepted, doubts were freely expressed as 
 to the wisdom of proceeding until a sufficient supply had 
 been obtained. When on two subsequent occasions it was 
 again notified that still a few hundred less would have to be 
 accepted, some members of the Reform Party v/ere very 
 emphatic in their objections to proceeding any further until 
 they should be satisfied that the undertakings upon the 
 strength of which they had entered upon the arrangement 
 would be faithfully adhered to. On the occasion of Dr. 
 Jameson's last visit it had been extracted from him that 
 instead of 1,500 men he would probably start with from 800 
 to TjOOO. These discrepancies and alterations caused the 
 liveliest dissatisfaction in the minds of those who realized 
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 127 
 
 that they were entering upon a very serious undertaking ; 
 but although the equipment seemed poor, reliance was always 
 placed on the taking of Pretoria Fort. That at any rate 
 was a certainty, and it would settle the whole thing with- 
 out a blow ; for Johannesburg would have everything, and 
 the Boers would have rifles, but neither ammunition nor field- 
 guns. Without doubt the Pretoria arsenal was the key ot 
 the position, and it is admitted by Boer and alien alike that 
 it lay there unguarded, ready to be picked up, and that 
 nothing in the world could have saved it — except what did ! 
 0.1 or about December 19, Messrs. Woolls-Sampson and 
 A. Bailey, two Johannesburg men concerned in the movement, 
 who had been in communication with Mr. Rhodes and others 
 in Cape Town, arrived in Johannesburg, and indicated clearly 
 that the question as to which flag was to be raised was either 
 deemed to be a relatively unimportant one or one concerning 
 which some of the parties had not clearly and honestly 
 expressed their intentions. In simple truth, it appeared to 
 be the case that Dr. Jameson either thought that the 
 Johannesburg reformers were quite indifferent on the subject 
 of the flag, or assumed that the provisions for the maintenance 
 of the Transvaal flag were merely talk, and that the Union 
 Jack would be hoisted at once. Nothing was further from 
 the truth. The Reform Party in Johannesburg included men 
 to whom the Union Jack is as dear as their own heart's blood, 
 but it also included many others to whom that flag does not 
 appeal — men of other nationalities and other associations 
 and other sympathies. It included — perhaps the strongest 
 element of all — those men whose sympathies were naturally 
 and most strongly all for British rule, which they believed to 
 be the best in the world, but whose judgment showed them 
 that to proclaim that rule would be to defeat the very 
 objects they honestly had in view, and who would have 
 regarded the change of flag at the last moment as an un- 
 principled deception of those comrades who had been induced 
 to co-operate for reform and not for annexation. It had been 
 repeatedly and emphatically stated that the object was not to 
 deprive the Boer of his independence or the State of its 
 autonomy, but to alter the system of government in such a 
 way as, first to obtain betterment of the economic conditions 
 
 ■i] I ■ 
 
 ^m^ 
 
^ 
 
 128 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 which affect everyone, and afterwards to induce a policy more 
 in accordance with the general South African sentiment — in 
 fact to get the Transvaal into line with the other South 
 African States, in the same way for instance as the Free 
 State had shown itself disposed to go. It is but poor work 
 explaining failure, yet it must surely be permissible that 
 something should be said for those who alone have had no 
 hearing yet. And it is in the minds of the Reformers that 
 the professions of their ' real intentions ' regarding the flag 
 made by Dr. Jameson and Mr. Rhodes might appropi 'atei/ 
 have been made before the raid, instead of afterwards when 
 all was over. The regard for definite pledges, which in the 
 Reformers was described as merely an excuse for backing 
 out, would, if it had been observed by all, have made a 
 sickening fiasco impossible. 
 
 No sooner had a doubt been raised on the subject of the 
 flag than a trusted emissary was despatched to inquire from 
 Mr. Rhodes the meaning of this tampering with one of the 
 fundamental conditions of the agreement. The messenger 
 returned on Christmas morning, and at a largely-attended 
 meeting of the ringleaders stated that he had seen Mr. 
 Rhodes, and had received from him the assurance that it was 
 all right about the flag : no question or doubt had been raised 
 on the subject. In returning to Capetown however in com- 
 pany with Dr. Rutherfoord Harris, he learned from that 
 gentleman that it was by no means all right, and gathered 
 that it was assumed that the provision about maintaining the 
 Transvaal flag was so much talk necessary to secure the 
 adhesion of some doubtful people. The announcement was 
 received with the gravest dissatisfaction. Several of the 
 leading men stated emphatically that nothing would induce 
 them to take part in the movement unless the original 
 arrangement was loyally adhered to. In consequence of 
 this it was resolved to despatch Messrs. Charles Leonard 
 and F. H. Hamilton to see Mr. Rhodes and to obtain from 
 him a definite guarantee that in the event of their availing 
 themselves of Dr. Jameson's help under any conditions the 
 latter would abide by the arrangements agreed upon. 
 
 It was then thought that a week would be sufficient time 
 in which to clear up the flag question and complete prepara- 
 
 
ll, 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 129 
 
 tions. It was decided to call a big public meeting for the 
 night of Monday, January 6, not with the intention of 
 holding the meeting, but as a blind to cover the simultaneous 
 rising in Johannesburg and seizing of the arsenal in Pretoria 
 on the night of Saturday, January 4. With this in mind it 
 was arranged to publish, in the form of a manifesto,' the 
 address which Mr. Charles Leonarc' had prepared for the 
 meeting. 
 
 Among the Reformers there had always been a considerable 
 section who regarded the alliance or arrangement with Dr 
 Jameson as a very doubtful advantage. It was this section 
 which strongly and successfully opposed the suggestion that 
 he should start before an actual outbreak. The difference of 
 opinion was not such as to cause division in the ranks, but 
 yet sufficient to keep alive discussion as to how the common 
 aim could be achieved without risk of the complications 
 which external aid in the initial stages would be sure to 
 cause. To this feeling of doubt was added a sense of dis- 
 trust when Dr. Jameson's importunity ajid impatience became 
 known ; and when the question of the flag was raised there 
 were few, if any, among those concerned in the movement 
 who did not feel that the tail was trying to wag the dog. 
 The feeling was so strong that many were prepared to 
 abandon the whole scheme and start de novo rather than 
 continue an undertaking in which it looked as though they 
 were being fooled. Hence the despatch of Messrs. Leonard 
 and Hamilton on Christmas Day. 
 
 Confidence in their power to control Dr. Jameson and 
 direct the movement, as they considered they had the right 
 and ability to do, had been so shaken in the reformers that 
 as soon as Messrs. Leonard and Hamilton had been sent 
 they began to discuss a complete change of plans, and 
 awaited only the reply f'om Capetown before taking ti - 
 first steps in the prosecution of the new programme. The 
 plan most favoured was that the importation and distribution 
 of arms should be continued as speedily and as secretly as 
 possible, that, instead of an invading force, as many armed 
 and trained men as could be obtained should be brought 
 in, nominally as mechanics or men seeking employment on 
 ' See Appendix I. for the full text of Manifesto. 
 
 \vm 
 
mm 
 
 130 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the mines, that the public meeting called for January 6 
 should be held and made as large and demonstrative as 
 possible, and a demand made to the Volksraad to grant the 
 redress of the grievances complained of, and, failing reason- 
 able concessions, that they should rise in arms and at the 
 same time appeal to England, as the paramount Power, or 
 to the other South African Governments, to mediate and 
 so avert civil war. It was believed, and with much reason, 
 that the Boers, knowing, as they then inevitably would, that 
 a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition had been 
 smuggled in, and knowing also that the sentiment of South 
 Africa, including the Free State, was all in favour of con- 
 siderable concessions to the Uitlanders, would have hesitated 
 to take the initiative against Johannesburg, and would either 
 have yielded to the pressure of the general South African 
 opinion and have accepted the mediation of the High 
 Commissioner, or would have offered considerable reforms. 
 The Kruger party, it was well known, would proceed to 
 any extreme rather than concede anything to the Uit- 
 landers ; but at that time the majority of the Boers were 
 opposed to the Kruger policy of favouring the Hollanders 
 and Germans to the exclusion of all other Uitlanders, and 
 this majority would not have consented to measures cal- 
 culated to embroil them with the people who had made 
 their country prosperous, and even to imperil the very 
 existence of the State, whilst an alternative course so easy as 
 the one presented lay open to them. 
 
 On the day following the despatch of Messrs. Leonard and 
 Hamilton to Capetown it was decided to send messengers to 
 Dr. Jameson to emphatically prohibit any movement on 
 his part, also to explain to him the position of affairs in 
 Johannesburg with reference to the flag, and above all to 
 impress upon him the condition of unpreparedness. Major 
 Heany was sent by train vi^ Kimberley, and in order to 
 facilitate his travelling a telegram was sent to Mr. Rhodes 
 in Capetown asking him to arrange for a special train, and 
 acquainting him with the purpose of the trip. Captain 
 Holden was sent on horseback across country to Pitsani. 
 Both gentlemen carried the most definite instructions to 
 Dr. Jameson on no account to move. Both gentlemen have 
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 131 
 
 since stated that they delivered the messages in word and 
 in spirit absolutely as they were given to them in Johannes- 
 burg, and that they carried no private messages whatever 
 from any individual member of the Committee in any way 
 conflicting with the purport of the official message with which 
 they were charged. 
 
 On the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday telegrams and 
 messages were received from Dr. Jameson, all revealing 
 impatience and a desire if not an intention to disregard the 
 wishes of the Johannesburg people. Replies were sent to 
 him and to the Capetown agents protesting against the tone 
 adopted, urging him to desist from the endeavour to rush the 
 Johannesburg people as they were pushing matters on to the 
 best of their ability and hoped for a successful issue without 
 recourse to violent measures, and stating emphatically that 
 the decision must be left entirely in the hands of Johannes- 
 burg as agreed, otherwise there would be certain disaster. 
 Besides what would be regarded as the official expressions 
 and messages of the Johannesburg people, several individual 
 members of the party telegraphed to Dr. Jameson informing 
 him of the position and adding their personal advice and 
 testimony. The probability of achieving success without 
 firing a shot was referred to in the sense of a most satisfactory 
 prospect. It did not occur to any one among the Johannes- 
 burg party that it was this prospect that moved Dr. Jameson 
 to start. That idea is 01 later birth. 
 
 On Sunday morning, at about ten o'clock, two telegrams 
 of importance were received. The first was from Messrs. 
 Hamilton and Leonard, to the following effect : * We have 
 received perfectly satisfactory assurance from Cecil Rhodes, 
 but a misunderstanding undoubtedly exists elsewhere. In 
 our opinion, continue preparations, but carefully, and without 
 any sort of hurry, as entirely fresh departure will be necessary. 
 In view of changed condition Jameson has been advised 
 accordingly.' Portions of this message were in code. It left 
 Capetown at 2.20 p.m. on Saturday, the 28th, and was 
 received on Sunday at about ten o'clock. The second 
 telegram was one from Dr. Jameson to his brother, Mr. S. W. 
 Jameson, and had been despatched at about the same time. It 
 was in the Bedford-McNeil Code, and was much mutilated — so 
 
 i- 
 
 \'\ 
 
J32 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 much so that it was thought to have been purposely done in 
 the teli.'graph office in order to obscure the meaning. Ono 
 expression was clear, however, and that was : ' I shall start 
 without fail to-morrow night.' It concluded with the words: 
 ' Inform Dr. Wolff distant cutting. He will understand.' 
 
 The words ' distant cutting ' did not occur in any code- 
 book. Dr. Jameson states that they were words privately 
 agreed upon between him and Dr. Wolff. The telegram was 
 shown to Dr. Wolff as soon as he could be found, but he 
 declared himself unable to throw any light whatever upon it. 
 It was however clear from the message that on Saturday 
 afternoon it had been Dr. Jameson's intention to disregard 
 the wishes of the Committee, and to start on Sunday night, 
 and the telegram impressed the recipients more than ever 
 with the wisdom of their action in sending the messengers 
 to Capetown and to Pitsani to insist upon no further steps 
 being taken. It is of little consequence what the words 
 ' distant cutting ' really meant, or whether they were, or 
 should have been, understood by any of the parties. Major 
 Meany and Captain Holden, it was known, could not have 
 reached Dr. Jameson at the time the message was despatched, 
 and therefore no more importance was attached to this than 
 to the other impatient telegrams. 
 
 It was assumed that, on receiving the emphatic messages 
 sent through Major Heany and Captain Holden, Dr. Jameson 
 would realize the seriousness of the position, and would, in 
 fact, abide by the arrangements made with him. Nor was 
 this all. It was also clear that the telegram of Mr. Rhodes 
 to which it was inferred reference was made m the concluding 
 words of Messrs. Hamilton's and Leonard's wire — 'Jameson 
 has been advised accordingly' — could not have reached Dr. 
 Jameson at the time his telegrar., to his brother was de- 
 spatched. It was part of the instructions to Messrs. Hamilton 
 and Leonard that any communications which they might 
 desire to make to Dr. Jameson should pass through Mr. Cecil 
 Rhodes in order to ensure due regard being paid to them. 
 There was therefore no doubt in the minds of the Johan- 
 nesburg men that during Saturday afternoon — that is to say, 
 more than twenty-four hours before he proposed moving — he 
 must have received a wire forbidding him to move. 
 
 m 
 
ijiii 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THK MOVEMENT 
 
 193 
 
 The facts here given were sufficient to warrant the beh'ef 
 that all that was necessary had been clone to prevent any 
 movement. Hut more reassurinf^ than all precautions was the 
 conviction that Dr. Jameson, no matter how much he ini-^ht 
 'bluff in order to force immediate action, would never be 
 guilty of so gross a breach of faith as to start in defiance 
 of the wishes of the Johannesburg people. Extreme dis- 
 satisfaction of course prevailed in the minds of a good many 
 when they learned of the efforts made by him to force their 
 hands, and this feeling was intensified by the report brought 
 in by Dr. Wolff, who had just returned from .seeing Dr. 
 Jameson at Pitsani. Dr. Wolff had arrived at Pitsani on the 
 previous Tuesday, and was then greeted by Dr. Jame.son with 
 the remark that he had ' as nearly as possible started for 
 Pretoria last night.' It was felt that this might ipear to 
 be a very fine and dashing thing for a party of men well 
 armed and trained and able to take care of themselves, but 
 that it betrayed great indifference to his pledges, as well as 
 to the fate of his associates, who as he knew perfectly well 
 had not even the arms to defend themselves from the con- 
 sequences of any precipitate action on his part, and who had 
 moreover the responsibility for the control and protection of 
 unarmed Johannesburg. 
 
 The feeling among the Reformers on Sunday, the 29th, was 
 one of considerable relief at having found out in time the 
 intention of their reckless colleague, and at having taken the 
 necessary steps to control him. Secure in the belief that the 
 messages from Capetown had duly reached Dr. Jameson, and 
 that either Major Heany or Captain Holden had by that time 
 also reached him, and that in the future the management of 
 their affairs would be left in their own hands, they continued 
 during Sunday and Monday, the 29th and 30th, to arrange 
 plans on the basis before indicated, awaiting in the meantime 
 further communications from Messrs. Hamilton and Leonard. 
 
 In the meanwhile it became generally known in Johan- 
 nesburg that some movement was afoot, and suppressed 
 excitement and expectancy became everywhere manifest. 
 On Saturday, December 28, the President returned from his 
 annual tour through certain of the outlying districts. On 
 his journey he was met by a number of burghers at Bronk- 
 
 ; I 
 
 .t> . : 
 
mm 
 
 '34 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 horst Spruit, the scene of the battle in the War of Indepen- 
 dence, about twenty miles from Pretoria. One of the 
 burghers, an old Boer named Hans Botha, who was the 
 opponent of Mr. Woolls-Sampson in the ' duel ' at the battle 
 of Zwartkoppies, in addressing the President, said that he had 
 heard that there was some talk of a rising in Johannesburg, 
 and added that although he had many bullets in him (it is 
 stated that he still has five!), he could find room for more 
 if it was a question of tackling the Britishers. The President 
 replied that he had heard of the threatened rising, and did not 
 believe it : he could not say what was likely to happen, but 
 they must remember this — if they wanted to kill a tortoise 
 they must wait until he put his head out of the shell. 
 
 In an interview with a representative of the press immedi- 
 ately after this the President said that the position was full 
 of gravity and might lead to disagreeable consequences, 
 especially to the mining industry and commercial enterprise 
 generally ; but he was still confident that common-sense would 
 prevail in Johannesburg, and expressed the conviction that 
 the law-abiding portion of the community, which included 
 the greater part of the English and other nationalities, would 
 support all measures for the preservation of law and order. 
 He said that his endeavours hitherto to secure concessions for 
 the Uitlander population had been frustrated by the public 
 utterances and actions of irresponsible and unscrupulous 
 agitators whose methods had often a detrimental effect on 
 the Volksraad and on the burghers throughout the Republic. 
 The first commotion created was by the flag incident some 
 years before (1890), which caused a great shock to confidence ; 
 another sinister incident was the refusal of a portion of the 
 British community to serve their adopted country in the 
 Malaboch War, when the union of Boer and Briton against 
 the common enemy was nearly brought about. ' If wiser 
 counsels unfortunately should not prevail,' the President 
 continued, ' then let the storm arise, and the wind thereof 
 will separate the chaff from the grain. The Government will 
 give every opp^rtunity for free speech and free ventilation 
 of grievances, but it is fully prepared to put a stop to any 
 movement made for the upsetting of law and order.' 
 
 On the same day the President was interviewed by a 
 
 |1 : 
 
 ■^■^ 
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT 
 
 135 
 
 deputation of Americans from Johannesburg. They were 
 men of the highest position and infi jnce in the community 
 and were earnestly desirous of securing reforms, but they 
 were impressed with the idea that peaceful means had not yet 
 been exhausted and that the President and his Executive 
 would listen to reason if they were convinced that serious 
 consequences would follow the neglect to reform. The 
 President received them civilly, as he often does when he 
 has a strong hand to play : it is generally when his cards are 
 poor that he gives way to the paroxysms of rage and indulges 
 in the personal abuse and violent behaviour which have earned 
 for him so unenviable a reputation. He listened to all that 
 had been advanced by the deputation, and then said that ' it 
 was no time to talk when danger was at hand. That was the 
 time for action.' The deputation represented to him that 
 there was no danger at hand unless the President by his own 
 act precipitated matters and caused the trouble himself, that 
 matters were completely in his hands, and that if he would 
 deal with the people in a liberal and statesmanlike way and 
 grant the reforms which were universally acknowledged to be 
 necessary there would not be anywhere in the world a more 
 law-abiding and loyal community than that of Johannesburg. 
 The President answered merely by the question : ' If a crisis 
 should occur, on which side shall I find the Americans?' 
 The answer was, ' On the side of liberty and good govern- 
 ment.' The President replied, ' You are all alike, tarred with 
 the same brush ; you are British in your hearts.' 
 
 In reply to another deputation, representing a section of 
 the community which was not by any means at one with the 
 reformers, but the leading members of which still urged the 
 necessity for reforms, the President said, ' Either you are with 
 me in the last extremity or you are with the enemy ; choose 
 which course you will adopt. Call a meeting to repudiate 
 the Manifesto in its entirety, or there is final rupture between 
 us.' The gentlemen addressed declared emphatically that 
 on the Manifesto there could be no retreat. On that 
 Johannesburg was absolutely at one. The President replied, 
 ' Then, I shall know how to deal with Johannesburg,' and left 
 the room. 
 
 The various business associations of Johannesburg and 
 
 
 i ii 
 
136 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 r.i ( 
 
 Pretoria approached the President at different hours in these 
 threatening times, and did all that was possible to induce him 
 to make reasonable concessions. Although numbers of his 
 followers and counsellors were strongly in favour of doing 
 something to avert the coming storm, the President himself 
 seemed inclined to fight until the last ditch was reached 
 rather than concede anything. In reply to the Mercantile 
 Association he said that he was quite willing to give tb*" 
 franchise, but that it would be to those who were really worthy 
 of it — those for instance who rallied round the Government 
 in this crisis and took no part in the mischievous agitation 
 and clamouring for so-called reforms : all malcontents should 
 be excluded. In fact he made it perfectly plain that the 
 franchise would be treated as a huge bribery fund ; and he 
 himself was introducing the thin end of the wedge in the 
 suggestion made to the Association with a view to splitting 
 up the Reform Party in Johannesburg. He however added 
 that the special duties on food-stuffs would be immediately 
 removed pending confirmation by the Volksraad, that equal 
 subsidies would be granted to Dutch and English schools 
 alike, and that the Netherlands Railway Company would be 
 approached with a view to having the tariffs reduced. The 
 effect of this was however slightly marred by the concluding 
 sentence in which he stated that ' as he had kept his former 
 promises, so he would do his best to keep this.' 
 
 In reply to a second deputation of Americans, the President 
 in a moment of irritation said that it was impossible to grant 
 the franchise to the Uitlander — American, British, or other ; 
 he would lose hie power if he did ; the Government would no 
 longer be his. A member of the deputation said, * Surely, if 
 we take the oath of allegiance, you will trust us ? ' The 
 President hesitated for a moment, and then said, ' This is no 
 time to talk about these things ; I can promise you nothiiig. 
 
 k 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE REFORM COMMITTEE. 
 
 On Monday morning Mr. S. VV. Jameson (a brother of Dr. 
 Jameson, who, although suffering acutely from rheumatic 
 fever, insisted on taking his share of the work and worry 
 during the days that followed) received a telegram addressed 
 to Dr. Wolff, in his care. The latter being away on Monday 
 Mr. Jameson translated the telegram and showed it at once 
 to as many of his comrades as he could find. It was from 
 Dr. Jameson, despatched from Pitsani at 9.5 a.m. on Sunday, 
 and ran as follows : ' Meet me as arranged before you left 
 on Tuesday night which will enable us to decide which is 
 best destination. Make Advocate Leonard speak — make 
 cutting to-night without fail.' 
 
 Every effort was made to find Dr. Wolff, but he — in com- 
 mon with others — believing that there would be no move for 
 a week, was away. This telegram was, to say the least of 
 it, disquieting. It showed, so it was thought, that as late 
 as Sunday morning Dr. Jameson could not have received 
 the countermands by Messrs. Heany and Holden, and it 
 indicated that it must have been a near thing stopping him 
 before he actually crossed the border. As a matter of fact 
 Major Heany reached Dr. Jameson at noon on Sunday ; but 
 Capt. Holden had arrived the night before. 
 
 Shortly after noon Mr. Abe Bailey received and showed to 
 others a telegram purporting to come from ' Godolphin,' Cape- 
 town, to the following effect : ' The veterinary surgeon says 
 the horses are now all right ; he started with them last night ; 
 will reach you on Wednesday ; he says he can back himself 
 for seven hundred.' By the light of subsequent events the 
 
 137 
 
 K 
 
138 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 telegram is easily interpreted, but as Mr. Bailey said he could 
 not even guess who ' Godolphin ' might be, the message 
 remained a puzzle. That it had some reference to Dr. 
 Jameson was at once guessed, indeed Mr. Bailey would not 
 have shown it to others concerned in the movement did he 
 not himself think so. The importance and significance of the 
 message entirely depended upon who ' Godolphin ' was, and 
 it afterwards transpired that the sender was Dr. Rutherfoord 
 Harris, who states that he took the first and safest means of 
 conveying the news that Dr. Jameson had actually started in 
 spite of all. Mysterious and unintelligible as it was the 
 telegram caused the greatest uneasiness among the few who 
 saw it, for it seemed to show that an unknown someone in 
 Capetown was under the impression that Dr. Jameson had 
 started. The Reformers however still rejected the idea that 
 he would do anything so mad and preposterous, and above 
 all they were convinced that had he started they would not 
 be left to gather the fact from the ambiguous phrases of an 
 unknown person. 
 
 All doubts however were set at rest when between four 
 and half-past four on Monday afternoon Mr. A. L. Lawley 
 came hurriedly into the room where several of the leaders 
 were met, saying, ' It is all up, boys. He has started in spite 
 of everything. Read this ! ' and at the same time throwing 
 on the table the following telegram from Mafeking : ' The 
 contractor has started on the earthworks with seven hundred 
 boys ; hopes to reach terminus on Wednesday.' 
 
 The Reformers realized perfectly well the full significance 
 of Dr. Jameson's action ; they realized that even if he suc- 
 ceeded in reaching Johannesburg, he, by taking the initiative, 
 seriously impaired the justice of the Uitlanders' cause — 
 indeed, put them hopelessly in the wrong. Apart from the 
 moral or political aspects of the question there was the fact 
 that, either through mistake or by fatuous impulse. Dr. 
 Jameson had plunged them into a crisis for which as he knew 
 they were insufficiently provided and prepared, and at the 
 same time destroyed the one chance — the one certainty — on 
 which they had always counted for arms and ammunition ; 
 by starting first he knocked out the foundation of the whole 
 scheme — he made the taking of the Pretoria arsenal impossible. 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 
THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 139 
 
 For a few minutes it was hoped that the chance of taking the 
 arsenal still remained ; but while discussion was still proceed- 
 ing and several of those present were protesting that the 
 news could not be true (among them Mr. S. W. Jameson, who 
 stoutly maintained that his brother would never start in 
 defiance of his pledges), authentic news of the invasion was 
 received from the Governmen'- 'offices ; and this was supple- 
 mented a few minutes later by the information that the 
 Government had known it at an early hour in the morning, 
 and that Pretoria was then full of armed burghers. The 
 position then appeared fairly desperate. 
 
 It is worth noting that even when Dr. Jameson decided to 
 start in opposition to the Committee's wishes it was not 
 deemed necessary to treat them with the candour which they 
 were entitled to expect from a comrade. It is well known 
 that Dr. Jameson never had 700 men, and that he started 
 with less than 500, and yet the Reformers were led to under- 
 stand from the telegrams above quoted that he was starting 
 with 700, and not 800 as last promised. They were at first 
 under the impression that the 700 men did not include the 
 Bechuanaland Border Police who were to join him after 
 starting, so that it was still thought that he had over 800 men. 
 
 Before five o'clock messengers had been sent out in all 
 directions to call together those who had interested them- 
 selves in the movement, or as many of them as possible, for 
 several prominent men knowing only of the steps taken to 
 prevent any movement on the part of Dr. Jameson, were not 
 at hand. As many as possible however gathered together, 
 and it was decided to take instant steps to put the town in a 
 state of defence. In order that the subsequent actions and 
 attitude of the Reform Committee may be properly under- 
 stood it is necessary to explain somewhat fully the position 
 of affairs on this Monday evening. 
 
 As soon as it was realized that the news was beyond all 
 doubt true the bitterest censure was expressed upon Dr. 
 Jameson's action, and it was at first stated by many that 
 either Dr. Jameson or Mr. Rhodes or both had deliberately 
 and for the furtherance of their personal aims disregarded in 
 treacherous and heartless fashion all their agreements. Soon 
 however a calmer view was taken, and a consideration of all 
 
 K 
 
m 
 
 140 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the circumstances induced the Reformers to believe that Dr. 
 Jameson had started in good faith, but under some misappre- 
 hension. They recalled the various reports that had been in 
 circulation in the press about conflicts between the Boers and 
 Uitlanders at the Simmer and Jack and Jumpers mines, the 
 reported arrest of Mr. Lionel Phillips and the demand of 
 /8o,ooo bail — rumours which had bec.j treated by those on 
 the spot as too ridiculous to gain credeiice anywhere, but 
 which they nevertheless thought might have reached Dr. 
 Jameson in such guise as to induce him to take the step 
 which he had taken. It was assumed that the telegrams 
 sent from Johannesburg and Capetown to stop him had not 
 reached him, and that Messrs. Heany and Holden had also 
 failed to catch him before he started. Opinions however 
 were still divided as to whether he had sim-jly lost patience 
 and come in regardless of all consequences, or had been really 
 misled and had dashed in to the assistai.ce of Johannesburg. 
 The position was at best one of horrible uncertainty, and 
 divided as the Committee were in the r opinions as to his 
 motive they could only give him the benefit of the doubt 
 and assume that there was behind his action no personal 
 aim and no deliberate disregard of his undertakings. In 
 order to realize the perplexity of the position it must be 
 understood that only the few who happened to meet on 
 Sunday and Monday morning knew of the telegrams which 
 had passed during the previous twenty-four hours, many did 
 not know of them until Pretoria prison gave them time to 
 compare notes ; to some they may be news even now. There 
 was no time to argue then ! 
 
 Knowing the poorness of the equipment of Johannesburg 
 and the unpreparedness of the place and its inhabitants the 
 more logical and cold-blooded course would have been to 
 repudiate Dr. Jameson instantly and to have left him to his 
 fate ; but against this was firstly, the fact publicly admitted 
 that he had remained on the border by arrangement with the 
 leaders in order to help them should the necessity arise ; next 
 that if he gave heed to the reports which were being cir- 
 culated he might have thought that the necessity had arisen ; 
 and finally, that the leaders had taken such steps in the 
 smuggling in of arms and the arming of men as would 
 
THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 141 
 
 warrant the Boers, and indeed anybody else, in associating 
 them with Dr. Jameson, so that they might confidently 
 expect to be attacked as accomplices before the true facts 
 could become knoivn. They realized quite well that they had 
 a big responsibility to the unarmed population of Johannes- 
 burg, and it was with the object of fulfilling that obligation 
 that they decided to arm as many men as possible and to 
 fortify and defend the place if attacked, but, in view of the 
 impossibility of aggressive measures being successful, to take 
 no initiative against the Boers. It would in any case have 
 been entirely useless to suggest the repudiation of Dr. 
 Jameson at that moment. The Johannesburg people would 
 never have listened to such a suggestion, nor could anyone 
 have been found to make it. 
 
 In view of the fact that the Reform Committee have been 
 charged with the crime of plunging the country into civil war 
 with a miserable equipment of less than 3,000 rifles, it is only 
 fair to give some heed to the conditions as they were at the 
 time and to consider whether any other course would have 
 been practicable, and if practicable, whether it would have 
 been in the interests of any considerable section of the com- 
 munity. To the Committee the course to be taken seemed 
 perfectly clear. They determined to defend and hold the 
 town. They threw off all disguise, got in all the arms they 
 possibly could, organized the various military corps, and made 
 arrangements for the maintenance of order in the town and 
 on the mines. Throughout Monday night all were engaged in 
 getting in arms and ammunition and doing all that could be 
 done to enable the town to hold its own against possible attack. 
 
 During Monday night the Reform Committee came into 
 existence. Those who had so far taken a prominent part 
 in the agitation had been for convenience utilizing Colonel 
 Rhodes' office in the Consolidated Goldfields Company's 
 building. Many prominent men came forward voluntarily to 
 associate themselves with the movement, and as the numbers 
 increased and work had to be apportioned it became evident 
 that some organization would be necessary. Those who 
 had already taken part in the movement formed themselves 
 intf a committee, and many other prominent men joined 
 immediately. The movement being an entirely public one 
 
 h 
 
PPW 
 
 142 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 it was open for anyone to join provided he could secure the 
 approval of the already elected members. The body so con- 
 stituted was then called the Reform Committee. 
 
 The following is the first notice of the Reform Committee 
 as published in the Johannesburg Star ; and it indicates the 
 position taken up : 
 
 Notice is hereby given that this Committee adheres to the National 
 Union manifesto, and reiterates its desire to maintain the independence 
 of the RepubHc. The fact that rumours are in course of circulation to 
 the effect that a force has crossed the Bechuanaland border renders it 
 necessary to take active steps for the defence of Johannesburg and the 
 preservation of order. The Committee earnestly desires that the 
 inhabitants should refrain from taking any action which can be 
 considered as an overt act of hostility against the Government. 
 
 Telegrams were sent to the High Commissioner and to the 
 Premier of Cape Colony informing them that owing to the 
 starting of Dr. Jameson with an armed force into the 
 Transvaal Johannesburg had been placed in a position of 
 extreme peril which they were utterly unprepared to guard 
 against, and urging the High Commissioner to proceed im- 
 mediately to Johannesburg in order to settle matters and 
 prevent a civil war. 
 
 Sub-committees were at once appointed, partly chosen 
 from members of the Reform Committee and partly from 
 otliers who had interested themselves in the movement and 
 had come forward to take part buL had not actually joined the 
 controlling body. The matters to be dealt with were : The 
 policing of the town ; the control of the natives thrown out 
 of employment by the closing of the mines ; the arrangements 
 for the defence of the town ; the commissariat for the men 
 bearing arms and for others who were flocking into the 
 town ; the providing for the women and children who had 
 been brought in from the mines and had neither food nor 
 shelter. These matters were taken in hand on Tuesday 
 morning, and before nightfall some 2,000 men had been 
 supplied with arms ; the Maxims had been brought in and 
 placed in position on the hills surrounding the town ; various 
 corps had been formed ; a commencement had been made in 
 the throwing-up of earthworks around the town ; and food- 
 supplies and such field equipment as could be got together 
 had been provided for the men. As regards the town, the 
 
 % 
 
;■- i! 
 
 THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 »43 
 
 Government police having disappeared, it was necessary to 
 take energetic steps to prevent actual chaos reigning. Ex- 
 Chief Detective Trimble was appointed to organize a police 
 force, and the work was admirably done. Before nightfall the 
 Reform Committee's police had taken entire charge of the 
 town, and from this time until the withdrawal of the Com- 
 mittee's police after the laying down of arms, perfect order 
 was maintained — indeed, the town has never before or since 
 been so efficiently controlled as during this period. 
 
 Numbers of the mines stopped work. In some cases the 
 miners remained to protect the companies' property ; in other 
 cases the men came in and volunteered to carry arms in 
 defence of the town. One of the most serious difficulties with 
 which the Committee had to deal was that of supplying arms. 
 There were under 3,000 rifles, and during the few days when 
 the excitement was at its highest no less than 20,000 men 
 came forward as volunteers and demanded to be armed. 
 Not unnaturally a great deal of feeling was roused among 
 these men against the Committee on account of their inability 
 to arm them. It was believed for a long time that the 
 Committee was wholly responsible for the incursion by Dr. 
 Jameson ; that they had precipitated matters without regard 
 to the safety of the unarmed population, and had actually 
 courted civil war with a paltry equipment of some 3,000 rifles. 
 For several days a huge crowd surrounded the Committee's 
 offices clamouring for guns. It is difficult to say what the 
 feeling would have been and what would have been done had 
 it been known then that there were less than 3,000 rifles. 
 Not more than a dozen men knew the actual number, and 
 they decided to take the responsibility of withholding this 
 information, for they realized that panic and riot might ensue 
 if it were known, whilst the only hope for a successful issue 
 now lay in Johannesburg presenting a bold, confident, and 
 united front. 
 
 All the well-known medical men in the town came forward 
 at once, and organized and equipped an ambulance corps 
 which within the day was in perfect working order. 
 
 Perhaps the most arduous task of all was that of the 
 Commissariat Department, who were called upon to supply at 
 a few hours' notice the men bearing arms in various positions 
 
 '(* : 
 
 fi 
 
r 
 
 144 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 outside the town and the various depdts within the town 
 which were organized for the reh'ef of those who had flocked 
 in unprovided for. It would have been impossible, except 
 in a community where the great majority of men had been 
 trained by the nature of their own business in the habit of 
 organization, to cope with the difficulties which here pre- 
 sented themselves, and it is impossible to pay too high 
 tribute to those who organized the relief of the women and 
 children from the surrounding districts. Not less than 2,000 
 women and children were housed and fed on Tuesday night ; 
 offices were taken possession of in different parts of the town 
 and converted into barracks, where sleeping accommodation 
 was provided under excellent sanitary conditions ; and 
 abundance of food, as good as could be expected at an 
 ordinary hotel, v/as supplied to these people who had come in 
 expecting to sleep in the streets. 
 
 In order to carry into effect the scheme of relief above 
 referred to it was found necessary to form what was called 
 the Relief Committee. A fund was opened to provide this 
 Committee with the necessary means, and members of the 
 Reform Committee subscribed upwards of ;^8o,000 within a 
 few minutes of the opening of the lists. 
 
 The native liquor question also called for prompt and 
 determined handling. A deputation from the Committee 
 called upon the Landdrost, the official head of the Licensing 
 Board, and requested the co-operation of the Government in 
 dealing with this matter, and an order was obtained from 
 him compulsorily closing the canteens until further notice. 
 Armed with this the officials appointed by the Committee 
 visited the various liquor-houses along the mines and gave 
 due notice, with the further warning that if any breach of 
 the new regulation took place it would be followed by 
 the confiscation of the entire stock of liquor. The measure 
 generally had a very salutary effect, but in the lowest quarters 
 it was not sufficient. The Committee had realized in the 
 very beginning that nothing but the removal of the liquor 
 would prevent the Kaffir canteen-keepers from supplying the 
 natives with drink, and patrols were accordingly sent out 
 to seize the entire stock in those drinking-hells, to pay 
 compensation at value agreed upon, and to destroy the 
 
 1 '. 1 
 
THE REFORM COMMITl'EP: 
 
 «45 
 
 liquor. The step was no doubt a hi^h-hHiided one, and 
 before it was taken notice was given to the Governmeni 
 officials of the intention. The Committee were warned that 
 this action could not be authorized by Government, as it was 
 both high-handed and illegal, but they decided to take the 
 responsibility upon themselves. It is not too much to say 
 that there were fewer cases of drunkenness or violence 
 reported during the period of trouble than during any other 
 fortnight in the history of the place. 
 
 The following proclamation had been issued by the 
 President at a very late hour on Monday night in Pretoria, 
 and was received in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning ; 
 
 tt 
 
 Proclamation by His Honour thk State President of the 
 South African Rkpublic. 
 
 Whereas it has appeared to the Government of the South African 
 Republic that there are rumours in circulation to the effect that earnest 
 endeavours are being made to endanger the public safety of Johannes- 
 burg, and whereas the Government is convinced that, in case such 
 rumours may contain any truth, such endeavours can only emanate from 
 a small portion of the innabitants, and that the greater portion of the 
 Johannesburg inhabitants are peaceful, and are prepared to support the 
 Government m its endeavours to maintain law and order, 
 
 Now, know you that I, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, State 
 President of the South African Republic, with the advice and consent 
 of the Executive Council, according to Article 913 of its minutes, dated 
 the 30th of December, 1895, do hereby warn those evil-intentioned 
 persons (as I do hereby urge all such persons to do) to remain within 
 the pale of the law, and all such persons not heeding this warning shall 
 do so on their own responsibility ; and I do further make known that 
 life and property shall be protected against which attempts may be 
 made, and that every peaceful inhabitant of Johannesburg, of whatsoever 
 nationality he may be, is called upon to support me herein, and to assist 
 the officials charged therewith ; and further be it made known that the 
 Government is still prepared to take into consideration all grievances 
 that may be laid before it in a proper manner, and to submit the 
 same to the people of the land without delay for treatment. 
 
 The Government in Pretoria were no doubt perfectly well 
 aware of all that was going on ; the Committee could not 
 possibly observe any secrecy, nor did it appear desirable, 
 since the position taken up and maintained by them to the 
 end was that they were not responsible for Dr. Jameson's 
 incursion and were simply prepared to defend the town 
 against attack. 
 
 During the four or five days preceding this the evidences 
 
 I: 
 
 m #'*Mf 
 
146 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 of excitement in Johannesburg had been unmistakable, and 
 on Saturday the 28th, the day before Dr. Jameson started, 
 several prominent officials and two or three members of the 
 Volksraad visited Johannesburg from Pretoria and openly 
 discussed the seriousness of the position. At that time they 
 were strongly of opinion that the Government had brought 
 the trouble on themselves by their wrong-headed and corrupt 
 action. The visitors were men who although officially 
 associated with the Government were not at all in sympathy 
 with the policy of the Krugerite party, and they were 
 sincerely anxious for a peaceful settlement and desirous of 
 liberal reforms, but their influence with the Government was 
 nil. Unfortunately it has always been the case that intelli- 
 gent and upright men associated with the Pretoria Govern- 
 ment (and there are some as bright examples as can be found 
 in any country) never have, and never will have, any weight 
 with the party now dominating the State. Their services are 
 not used as they might be, and their counsels are not 
 regarded as they should be in times when they would be of 
 value ; in fact, it would seem that they are only used when 
 it appears to Mr. Kruger and his party that they present 
 opportunities for playing upon the credulity of the Uit- 
 landers with whose progressive notions they are known to be 
 in sympathy. It is unnecessary to say that these gentlemen 
 do not consciously take part in the deception which is 
 practised, but it is nevertheless a fact that whenever the 
 Pretoria clique desire to trail the red herring they do it by 
 the employment in seeming good faith of one or other of 
 those gentlemen whose character and sympathies entitle them 
 to the respect and confidence of the Uitlander. 
 
 On Tuesday Mr. Eugene Marais, the editor of the lead 
 Dutch paper Land en Volk, a gentleman who has work 
 consistently and honourably both for his people, the Trans 
 vaal Dutch, and for the cause of pure and enlightened 
 government, visited Johannesburg, being convinced that 
 there was serious trouble in store for the country unless 
 prompt and decisive steps were taken to remedy the con- 
 ditions under which the Rand community were suffering. 
 No one in the country has fought harder against the abuses 
 which exist in Pretoria nor has anyone risked more, nor yet 
 
THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 m 
 
 is there a more loyal champion of the Boer ; and Mr. Marais, 
 having on his own initiative investi[^ated the condition of 
 affairs in Johannesburg and reported the result to some of 
 the leading members of the Government, telegraphed to a 
 member of the Committee on Tuesday morning beseeching 
 that body to make a strenuous effort to avert bloodshed, using 
 the words, ' For God's sake, let us meet and settle things like 
 men !' and further stating that he and Mr. Malan, son-in-law 
 of General Joubert, were bringing over a message from the 
 Government, and that he hoped the Committee would meet 
 them in a reasonable spirit. 
 
 A full meeting of the Committee was at once called to 
 receive the two delegates. The meeting took place at 9 p.m. 
 and lasted until 12 p.m. on Tuesday night. Mr. Marais's 
 evidence during the course of the trial detailed the events 
 which led up to this meeting. He stated that in consequence 
 of what he had observed in Johannesburg on Monday and 
 Tuesday he returned to Pretoria, convinced that unless some- 
 thing was done by Government to relieve the position there 
 would most inevitably be a civil war. He reported the con- 
 dition of things to General Joube*. t, who deemed it of sufficient 
 importance to have the matter brought before the Executive. 
 Messrs. Marais and Malan were thereupon received by the 
 Executive and authorized to meet the Reform Committee on 
 behalf of the Government. With reference to the now famous 
 ' olive branch ' phrase, Mr. Marais states that the expression 
 was first used by a member of the Committee in Johannes- 
 burg on Tuesday morning. The condition of things was 
 bei ig discussed and this member commented severely upon 
 the action of the Government. Mr. Marais urged that things 
 vere not so bad as to justify a determined attempt to provoke 
 civil war, and stated that he believed that the excitement 
 prevailing would convince the Government that they had now 
 yone too far and that when they realized tiie seriousness of 
 the posit? n they would be willing to make proper concessions, 
 and he said in conclusion that the people of Johannesburg, if 
 they were as good as their professions and desired reform and 
 not revolution, would even at the eleventh hour be willing to 
 meet th ■ Government. The member of the Reform Com- 
 mittee replied that this was undoubtedly the attitude of the 
 
Jf^ 
 
 148 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Johannesburg people, but that it was absolutely useless to 
 keep on patiently waiting for the fulfilment of promises which 
 were only rnade to be broken ; that if Johannesburg had any 
 evidence that the Government meant honestly by them they 
 would of course treat and endeavour to avert bloodshed ; that 
 the Uitlanders had so far always offered the olive branch and 
 sought to establish harmony. That however was all over, 
 and let the Government now take the first steps if they were 
 in earnest. 
 
 Mr. Marais reported the whole of this convcrsa<:ion to the 
 Executive Council and, upon his making use of the expression 
 ' olive branch,' the President exclaimed excitedly, ' What are 
 they talking about? What is an olive branch ?' When this 
 was explained to him he nodded and said, ' Yes, that is what 
 we will do,' and Mr. Wolmarans another member of the 
 Executive exclaimed, ' Go back to the Johannesburg people 
 and tell them that we have already offered the olive branch 
 by voluntarily withdrawing our police from the town in order 
 to avoid conflict, thus leaving them in entiie possession. It 
 is for them to say whether they will accept it.' 
 
 The meeting at which Messrs. Marais and Malan were 
 commissioned to negotiate with the Johannesburg people 
 was, with the exception of General Smit (then dying and 
 since dead), attended by every member of the Executive 
 Council, and there is no truth in the suggestion made on 
 behalf of the Government that it was an informal meeting of 
 a few men who were not acting on behalf of the State, nor 
 is there any justification for the statement made by Judge 
 Ameshof in the witness-box that Messrs. M?rais and Malan 
 were not officially authorized to negotiate with the Reform 
 Committee. 
 
 Messrs. Marais and Malan met the Reform Committee in 
 the general committee-room, and both gentlemen addressed 
 the meeting several times, going fully into the grievances 
 complained of by the Uitlanders and explaining very fully 
 the position of the Government and their attitude during the 
 meeting of the Executive Council which they had been called 
 upon to attend. They stated that they had been sent by a 
 full meeting of the Executive to ask the Reform Committee 
 to send a deputation to Pretoria in order to meet a Com- 
 
TW-.j: 
 
 THE REFORM COMMITTEE 
 
 149 
 
 1 , 
 
 mission to be appointed by Government with a view to effect- 
 ing a peaceful settlement and the redress of grievances ; that 
 the Commission would consist of Chief Justice Kotz6, Judge 
 Arneshof, and another, probably a member of the Executive 
 Council ; that the Government were willing to consider and 
 redress the grievances, and were, above all things, anxious to 
 avoid conflict with their own subjects. 
 
 Then came the much-quoted expression : ' We come in 
 fact to offer you the olive branch ; it is for you to say if you 
 will take it ; if you are sincere in your professions, you will,' 
 A great deal of discussion took place, many members of the 
 Committee maintaining that, although they placed full con- 
 fidence in the gentlemen who had been sent by Govern- 
 ment, they were nevertheless convinced that there was 
 treachery at the bottom of it, and they stated in plain lan- 
 guage what has become more or less an article of faith with 
 the Uitlander : ' Whenever the Government are earnestly 
 intent upon deceiving us they select emissaries in whose 
 character and good faith we have complete trust, and by 
 deceiving them ensure that we shall be misled.' Both gentle- 
 men repeatedly assured the meeting that the Government 
 were most anxious to remove the causes of discontent, and 
 stated moreover that Johannesburg would get practically all 
 that was asked for in the Manifesto. When asked what was 
 meant by ' practically all,' they explained that there would be 
 some minor points of course on which Johannesburg would 
 have to give way in order to meet the Government, as their 
 position was also a very difficult one, and there were in par- 
 ticular two matters on which there would be som.e difficulty, 
 but by no means insurmountable. When asked if the two 
 matters were the removal of religious disabilities and the 
 franchise, one of the two gentlemen replied that he had been 
 told that there would be some difficulty on these two points, 
 but that they were quite open to discussion as to the details 
 and he was convinced that there woulr' surely be a means of 
 coming to an understanding by compromise even on these 
 two. Messrs. Marais and Malan also informed the meeting 
 that the High Commissioner had issued a proclamation calling 
 upun Dr. Jameson to desist from the invasion and to return 
 to liritish territory at once ; that the proclamation had been 
 
"7^ 
 
 'SO 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 duly forwarded to him from several points ; and that there 
 was no doubt that he would turn back. Messrs. Marais and 
 Malan both stated that they were themselves proceeding with 
 the commando against Dr. Jameson should he fail to obey 
 the High Commissioner's mandate, and stated also that 
 although they were making every effort that was humanly 
 possible to avert conflict it must be clearly understood that 
 if from the unreasonable action of Johannesburg fighting took 
 place between the Government foicos and a revolutionary 
 force from Johannesburg, they as in duty bound would fight 
 for their Government, and that in the Government ranks 
 would be found those men who had been the most arduous 
 workers in the cause of reform. They were assured that 
 there was no such feeling as desire for revenge actuating the 
 people who had taken up arms, that it was simply a desire 
 for fair treatment and decent government, that the present 
 demand was what had been already detailed in the Manifesto, 
 and that the Committee stood by that document, but would 
 nevertheless accept as sufficient for the time being any 
 reasonable proportion of the redress demanded. 
 
 In spite of differences as to the motives of the Govern- 
 ment in holding out the olive branch it was decided unani- 
 mously that the request as conveyed by Messrs. Marais and 
 Malan should be complied with, and that a deputation should 
 be sent over early on the following morning to meet the 
 Government Commission. Under the circumstances it was 
 quite useless to discuss whether the Government designed 
 these negotiations merely as a ruse in order to gain time, 
 or whether they were actually dealing with the Committee 
 in good faith and intending to effect the redress promised. 
 At that time Johannesburg itself had not been protected by 
 earthworks, and the unpacking of the Maxims and rifles had 
 only just been completed. Throughout Tuesday night and 
 Wednesday earthworks were being thrown up, and every 
 effort was being directed towards placing the town in a state 
 of defence. 
 
CHAPTER- V. 
 
 THE COMMITTEES DILEMMA. 
 
 ii ! ' . » 
 
 With the best will in the world it would have been quite 
 impossible to render any assistance to Dr. Jameson's forces, 
 but apart from this there never was the slightest doubt of his 
 ability to get into Johannesburg without assistance should he 
 decide to attempt it. In conversation with the leaders of the 
 movement he had always scouted the idea of requiring assis- 
 tance from Johannesburg, nor would anyone have believed 
 that with a well-equipped and perfectly trained force of 800 
 men (as it was believed he had) it was possible for the Boers 
 to get together a force sufficiently strong to stop him in his 
 dash on Johannesburg. 
 
 In the absence of Mr. Charles Leonard, who had been 
 recognized as the leader of the movement, Mr. Lionel 
 Phillips was elected Chairman of the Reform Committee, and 
 he and Messrs. J. G. Auret, A. Bailey, and M. Langermann 
 were chosen as the Committee's deputation to proceed 
 to Pretoria and meet the Commission appointed by the 
 Government. They left at an early hour on Wednesday 
 morning, and were given practically a free hand to act 
 on behalf of the Reform Committee. The position having 
 been so thoroughly discussed there was no possibility of mis- 
 understanding ; there was no division in the Committee as to 
 the attitude to be taken up. The deputation were to nego- 
 tiate with the Government for a peaceful settlement on the 
 basis of the Manifesto, accepting what they might consider to 
 be a reasonable instalment of the reforms demanded. They 
 were to deal with the Government in a conciliatory spirit and 
 to avoid all provocation to civil strife, but at the same time to 
 
 151 
 
I, 
 
 152 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 insist upon the recorinition of rights and the redress of the 
 grievances, to avow the association with Dr. Jameson's forces 
 so far as it had existed, and to inckide him in any settlement 
 that might be made. It was impossible to lay down any 
 definite lines on which to negotiate on behalf of Dr. Jameson, 
 as the Reform Committee were still in complete ignorance of 
 his reasons for starting: but it was considered fairer and more 
 reasonable to assume that he had started in good faith and 
 that the two messengers wno nati been sent to stop him had 
 not reached him. and to act accordingly. However av/kward 
 a predicament he had placed the Johannesburg people in, 
 they accepted a certain moral responsibility for him and 
 his actions and decided to make his safety the first con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Late on Tuesday night the Collector of Customs at Johan- 
 nesburg informed members of the Reform Committee that he 
 had received a telegraphic despatch from the Pretoria head 
 ofifice notifying the suspension of all duties on various articles 
 of food. It will be remembered that this relief was prayed 
 for by the representative bodies of mining and commerce on 
 the Rand several weeks before the outbreak and that the 
 Government had replied that they were unable during the 
 recess to deal with the matter as the legislative power and 
 the power of levying and remitting duties had been taken 
 from the Executive by the Volksraad some time previously. 
 It will also be remembered that the Government acted on this 
 hint as to the necessities of the community in a wholly unex- 
 pected way by granting a monopoly for the free importation 
 of grain to a favoured individual of their party in Pretoria. 
 It is not wonderful therefore that the notification con- 
 veyed by the Collector of Customs was received with con- 
 siderable derision, and the opinion was expressed that it 
 would have redounded more to the credit of the Govern- 
 ment's honesty and intelligence had they remitted the duties 
 when first petitioned instead of doing so at the last moment 
 hastily and ungracefully — so to speak, at the point of the 
 bayonet. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, whilst the deputation were 
 engaged in negotiations with the Government Commission, 
 a telegram was received by the Reform Committee in 
 
 -\i\ 
 
 \\\ 
 
 \.\ >.: 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 IS3 
 
 Johannesburg from Sir Jacobus de Wet, the British agent, 
 conveying the following proclamation of the High Com- 
 missioner : 
 
 Whereas it has come to my knowledge that certain British subjects, 
 said to be under the leadership of Dr. Jameson, have violated the 
 territory of the South African Republic, and have cut telegraph-wires, 
 and doi^i various other illegal acts; and vvlicreas the South African 
 Republic is a friendly State, in amity with Her Majesty's Govern- 
 nrm; ; and whereas it is my desire to respect the independence of the 
 said State ; 
 
 Nov;, therefore, I hereby command the said Dr. Jameson and all 
 persons accompanying him to immediately retire from the territory of 
 the South African Republic on pain of the penalties attached to their 
 illegal proceedings ; and I do further hereby call upon all British 
 subjects in the South African Republic to abstain from giving the said 
 Dr. Jameson any countenance or assistance in his armed violation of 
 the territory of a friendly State. 
 
 A reply was immediately sent to the British Agent stating 
 that the Reform Committee were not aware of the reasons 
 which prompted Dr. Jameson to start, but that as he was 
 coming to their assistance, presumably in good faith, they 
 felt morally bound to provide for him, and they therefore 
 urged the British Agent most strongly to spare no effort 
 in forwarding the proclamation to Dr. Jameson so that he 
 might be aware of the action taken by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment and might turn back before any conflict should take 
 place between his and the Boer forces. The Committee 
 offered to forward the despatch themselves if facilities of 
 passport were given. 
 
 A full meeting of the Committee was immediately con- 
 vened in order to consider this new complication of the 
 case, and the following telegram was approved and sent at 
 IMS a.m., addressed to the Deputation of the Reform 
 Committee, care of Her Majesty's Agent, Pretoria: 
 
 Meeting has been held since you started to consider telegram from 
 British Agent, and it was unanimously resolved to authorize you to 
 make following offer to Government. E 'gins : ' In order to avert 
 bloodshed on grounds of Dr. Jameson's action, if Government will 
 allow Dr. Jameson to come in unmolested, the Committee will guarantee 
 with their persons if necessary that he shall leave again peacefully 
 within as little delay as possible.' ' 
 
 ' The telegram originally read ' within twenty-four hours,' but it was 
 considered impossible to guarantee the time exactly, and the alteration 
 as above given was made, the word ' within ' being inadvertently left 
 standing instead of ' with.' 
 
 *m 
 

 154 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 The Committee well realized the fatal results of Dr. 
 Jameson's invasion under the circumstances, and much as 
 their position had been injured and complicated by his action, 
 it was felt that it would still be better to get rid of the 
 foreign element which he represented and to fight the battle 
 out under such conditions as might arise without any assist- 
 ance than to let things go from bad to worse through further 
 action on Dr. Jameson's part. 
 
 No reply had been received from the High Commissioner 
 to the telegrams urging him to come up in person. Mr. 
 Cecil Rhodes had telegraphed that he was urgently pressing 
 the High Commissioner to come, but that he had received 
 no assurances as yet from him. During Wednesday Messrs. 
 Leonard and Hamilton telegraphed that the former had seen 
 the High Commissioner, who had declined to move unless 
 invited by the other side ; they were using every effort to 
 induce him to move but no reliance could be placed upon him. 
 They further advised that in their strong opinion a reasonable 
 compromise should be effected, and that it was most vital to 
 avoid offence. Mr. F. H. Hamilton, who was one of the 
 first associated with the movement, finding then that nothing 
 more could be done and feeling that his proper place was 
 with his comrades, refused to remain longer and returned 
 to Johannesburg, arriving there after Dr. Jame.'^on's sur- 
 render. 
 
 Two and a half days had now elapsed since Dr. Jameson 
 started, and the Committee were still without word or sign 
 from him as to his having started or the reason which 
 prompted him to do so. None knew better than Dr. 
 Jameson himself the difficulties and magnitude of the task 
 which he had set the Reform Committee when he struck 
 his camp at Pitsani and marched into the Transvaal. None 
 knew better than he that with the best luck and all the will 
 and energy in the world it would hardly be possible to do 
 as much as place the town in a position of defence. Every 
 hour some explanation or some message was expected from 
 him, something to throw a little light on his action ; but 
 nothing ever came, and the Committee were left to act in the 
 dark as their judgment or good fortune might lead them. 
 
 The deputation which had been sent to Pretoria met the 
 
 ik 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 «55 
 
 Government Commission at noon on Wednesday. The 
 Commission consisted of Chief Justice Kotz6 (Chairman), 
 Judge Ameshof, and Executive Member Kock. There was 
 a Government shorthand clerk present. Before the business 
 of the meeting was gone into, at the request of the Chief 
 Justice the deputation consented to minutes of the interview 
 being taken, remarking that as they were dealing with the 
 Government in good faith they had nothing to conceal. It 
 may be well to mention that at the meeting of Messrs, Malan 
 and Marais with the Reform Committee the question was 
 raised as to the attitude of the Government towards the 
 deputation which it was suggested should be sent to Pretoria, 
 Someone remarked that the Government were quite capable 
 of inducing the deputation to go to Pretoria, having them 
 arrested as soon as they got there, and holding them as 
 hostages. Messrs, Marais and Malan both scouted the idea 
 and stated positively that the Executive Council had formally 
 acknowledged to them that they were negotiating with the 
 Reform Committee in good faith, and that negotiations 
 would of course be carried on in a decent manner as 
 between two civilized parties in arms. These little incidents 
 have a peculiar interest now in view of the treachery prac- 
 tised by the Government by means of the negotiations with 
 the deputation. 
 
 Mr. Lionel Phillips as spokesman detailed at length the 
 position of affairs in Johannesburg, citing the grievances 
 and disabilities under which the Uitlander population existed. 
 He pointed out that year after year the Uitlanders had been 
 begging and petitioning for redress of these grievances, 
 for some amelioration of their condition, for fair and uniform 
 treatment of all the white subjects of the State, and for some 
 representation in the Legislature of the country, as they 
 were entitled by their numbers and their work and their 
 property to have ; yet not only had a deaf ear been turned 
 to all their petitions, but the conditions were actually aggra- 
 vated year by year and, instead of obtaining relief, there was 
 a marked increase in the burdens and disabilities imposed. 
 He informed the Commission that the Manifesto fairly re- 
 presented the views of the Reform Committee and the people 
 of Johannesburg ; that, whilst they were determined to have 
 
 H 
 
mm 
 
 1 56 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 their rights, they recognised that it might not be possible 
 to obtain complete redress at once, and they were prepared 
 to accept what they might consider a reasonable instalment 
 of redress. He stated that Dr. Jameson had remained on 
 the borders of the Transvaal with an armed force by a 
 written arrangement with certain of the leaders, and that 
 he was there to render active assistance should the com- 
 munity be driven to extremes and require his assistance; 
 but as to his present action the Committee could throw no 
 further light upon it, as they were in ignorance of his reason 
 for starting ; they could only assume that he had done so 
 in good faith, probably misled by rumours of trouble in 
 Johannesburg which he thought he had sufficient reason 
 to believe. He added that so far from being invited by 
 the Committee, messengers had actually been sent to pre- 
 vent him from moving, but that it was not known to the 
 Committee if these messengers had reached him or if the 
 telegrams which had been sent with a like purpose had ever 
 been delivered to him, and that consequently the Committee 
 preferred to believe that he had come in in good faith and 
 thinking the community to be in dire need, and for this 
 reason the people of Johannesburg were resolved to stand 
 by him. 
 
 In the course of the discussion, Executive Member Kock 
 remarked : ' If you have erected fortifications and have taken 
 up arms, you are nothing but rebels.' Mr. Phillips replied : 
 ' You can call us rebels if you like. All we want is justice, 
 decent treatment, and honest government ; that is what we 
 have come to ask of you.' Mr. Kock thereupon remarked that 
 the deputation spoke as though they represented Johatines- 
 burg, whereas for all the Government knew the Reform 
 Committee might be but a few individuals of no influence ; 
 and he asked if they could be informed as to who con- 
 stituted that body. The deputation gave certain names 
 from memory and offered to telegraph for a full list. 
 The reply came in time to be handed to the Government 
 and it constituted the sole piece of evidence ever obtained 
 as to who were members of the Reform Committee. After 
 hearing the statement of Mr. Phillips the Chief Justice 
 informed the deputation that the Commission were not 
 
'i\ 
 
 THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 15/ 
 
 empowered to arrange terms, but were merely authorized 
 to hear what the deputation had to say, to ascertain their 
 grievances and the proposed remedies, and to report this 
 discussion to the Government. Taking up certain points 
 referred to by Mr. Phillips, the Chief Justice asked whether 
 the Johannesburg people would consent to lay down their 
 arms if the Government granted practically all the reforms 
 that were asked. Mr. Phillips replied in the affirmative, 
 adding that after enfranchisement the community would 
 naturally be privileged to take up arms again as burghers 
 of the State. The Chief Justice asked on what lines it 
 was proposed that the franchise should be granted. The 
 deputation replied that the community would be quite 
 content if the Government would accept the principle, 
 leaving the settlement of details to a Commission of three 
 persons — one to be appointed by each party, and the third 
 to be mutually agreed upon. 
 
 The meeting was adjourned at noon until 5 p.m., and 
 in the meantime the deputation telegraphed to the Reform 
 Committee in Johannesburg the substance of what had taken 
 place, stating among other things that they had explained 
 the arrangements with Dr. Jameson. That such a message 
 should be sent through the Government telegraph-office at 
 a time when every telegram was read for the purpose of 
 obtaining information as to what was on foot is further proof 
 (if proof be needed) that the ' revelations ' as to the con- 
 nection between Dr. Jameson and the Reformers, which were 
 brought out with theatrical effect later on, were not by any 
 means a startling surprise to the Government, and were 
 in fact well known to them in all essential details before the 
 first encounter between the Boers and Dr. Jameson had 
 taken place. The significance of this fact in its bearing 
 upon Dr. Jameson's surrender and the after-treatment of the 
 Reform prisoners should not be lost sight oi. 
 
 The adjourned meeting between the Go/ernment Com- 
 mission and the Reform Committee deputaHon took place 
 at 5 p.m., when the Chief Justice intimated to the deputation 
 that they had reported to a full meeting of the Executive 
 Council all that had taken place at the morning meeting 
 and that the Executive had authorized them to hand to 
 
T^ 
 
 158 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the deputation in answer a resolution, the substance of 
 which is given hereunder : 
 
 The High Commissioner .las offered his services with a view to a 
 peaceful settlement. The Government of the South African Republic 
 have accepted his offer. I'ending his arrival, no hostile step will be 
 taken against Johannesburg provided Johannesburg takes no hostile 
 step against the Government. In terms of a certain proclamation 
 recently issued by the State President the grievances will be earnestly 
 considered. 
 
 It is impossible to give the exact wording of the minute 
 because the original document was inadvertently destroyed 
 and all applications to Government for a copy were met 
 at first by evasions and finally by point-blank refusal. The 
 document was required as evidence in the trial of the Reforn? 
 prisoners and every effort was made to secure an exact 
 copy. As a last resource the above version, as sworn to by 
 a number of men who had seen the original document, was 
 put in. The Government were informed that if a true copy 
 of the original resolution as recorded in the Minute Book 
 of the Executive Council were not supplied for the purposes 
 of evidence in the trial the prisoners would hand in the 
 version given above. No reply was received to this, and 
 the State Attorney acting on behalf of the Government 
 admitted the version here given in the statement put in by 
 the prisoners. It is clear therefore that if this version errs 
 in any respect it cannot at all events be to the disadvantage 
 of the Government or they would assuredly have objected 
 to it and have produced the resolution itself 
 
 On receipt of the above resolution the deputation inquired 
 whether this offer of the Government's was intended to 
 include Dr. Jameson. The Chief Justice replied that the 
 Government declined to treat about him as he was a foreign 
 invader and would have to be turned out of the country. 
 The deputation thereupon handed in the telegram from the 
 Reform Committee, already quoted, offering their persons 
 as security, and pointed out that this was the most earnest 
 and substantial guarantee that it was possible to offer that 
 the Committee had not invited Dr. Jameson and had no 
 desire to destroy the independence of the State. The Com- 
 mission in reply stated that the proclamation of the High 
 
THE COMMIITEES DILEMMA 
 
 159 
 
 Commissioner was being forwarded to Dr. Jameson froiti 
 various quarters, and that he would inevitably be stopped. In 
 reply to the statement by the deputation that they were not 
 empowered to accept terms which did not explicitly include 
 Dr. Jameson but would report to headquarters and reply later 
 on, the Chief Justice stated that the Government required 
 no answer to the resolution handed to them. This was in 
 fact their answer, and if the people of Johannesburg observed 
 the conditions mentioned therein there would be no further 
 trouble, but if they disregarded them they would be held 
 responsible for whatever followed. The deputation returned 
 to Johannesburg fully convinced that the grievances would 
 be redressed and a peaceful settlement arrived at through 
 the mediation of the High Commissioner, and that Dr. Jameson 
 would inevitably obey the latter's proclamation and leave 
 the country peacefully on ascertaining that there was no 
 necessity for his intervention on behalf of the Uitlanders. 
 
 Not only did the Government supply the deputation with 
 the minute in writing already quoted, but they also instructed 
 the local officers of Johannesburg to make public their 
 decision to avail themselves of Sir Hercules Robinson's 
 services. It will be observed that the notification published 
 in Johannesburg is not so full as the Executive minute 
 handed to the deputation in Pretoria, but the spirit in which 
 it was given and accepted is shown by the following notice 
 issued by the Reform Committee embodying tlie official 
 statement : 
 
 REFOKM COMMITTEE. 
 
 Notice. 
 
 The Government have handed us a written reply this afternoon 
 (January i), stating they have agreed to accept the offer of the High 
 Commissioner to go to Pretoria to assist the Government in preventing 
 bloodshed, and then the representations of the Committee will be 
 taken into serious consideration. The communication referred to is 
 as follows : 
 
 ' The Government of the South African Republic have accepted tin; 
 offer of the High Commissioner to come to Pretoria. 
 
 (Signed) T. L. van der Merwe, Mining Commissioner 
 J. F. DE Beer, judicial Commissioner. 
 Carl Jeppe, Member of the First Volksraad, 
 
 Johannesburg. 
 A. H. Bleckslev, Commandant Volunteers. 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 "' I 
 
I, 
 
 i6o 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FKOM WITHIN 
 
 Desirous as the Committee has always been to ohtain its objects 
 without the shcddin;, of blood and incurring the horrors of civil war, 
 the opiiortunity of achievinj^ its aims by peaceful means is welcome. 
 
 Tiie Reform Committee desires that the public will aid them with 
 the loyalty and enthusiasm which they have shdwn so far in the main- 
 tenance of its organization, and will stand firm in the cause of law 
 and order and the establishmept of their rights. 
 
 By order of the Committee. 
 
 This notice was published in the local press, and also 
 distributed as a leaflet in Johannesburg. 
 
 More than this ! At one o'clock on Wednesday President 
 Krugcr had sent for Sir Jacobus de Wet and requested him 
 to transmit to the Reform Committee the following message : 
 ' I desire again to invite your serious attention to the fact 
 that negotiations are going on between Mr. Chamberlain and 
 His Honour the President. I am convinced the Government 
 is prepared to meet any committee or deputation at any 
 time to discuss matters. In view of this and of negotiations 
 with Mr. Chamberlain I advise you to follow a constitutional 
 course.' That telc';;ram was framed at President Kruger's 
 request and approved by him before being transmitted. 
 
 A great deal has been : aid about the impolicy, and even 
 the bad faith, of the Johannesburg people in concluding 
 an armistice which did not Include Dr. Jameson. From 
 the above account it is clear in the first place that every 
 effort was made to provide for his safety, and in the next 
 place that no armistice was concluded. Certain terms were 
 offered by the Government which it was open to the Com- 
 mittee to either accept or reject or ignore, as they might 
 decide later on. In plain English, the Committee were as 
 free after the negotiations as they had been before. They 
 gave no undertaking to abstain from hostile action ; they 
 simply received the offer of the Government. Whether 
 they complied with those conditions as a matter of cold- 
 blooded selfish policy, whether they simply selected an easy 
 way out of a difficult position, or whether they complied 
 with the conditions solely because they were not in a position 
 to do anything else, it is open to every man to decide for 
 himself; but it does not seem fair, in face of the fact that 
 they were noi able to do anything else, to impute the worst 
 motives of all for the course which they eventually took. 
 
 h 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 i6i 
 
 On the return of the deputation to Johannesburg a report 
 of what had taken place was given to a full meeting of the 
 Reform Committee. Divers opinions were expressed as to 
 what was the right course to take, but eventually all were 
 agreed that, as the first duty of the Committee was un- 
 doubtedly to protect the town and the unarmed section of 
 the community, as they could not afford to send a single 
 man out of the place, as there was no reason to suppose 
 that Dr. Jameson required or would welcome any assistance, 
 and as it seemed certam that he would be stopped by the 
 High Commissioner's proclamation and turned back, it would 
 be nothing short of criminal madness to adopt any aggressive 
 measures at that stage. 
 
 It does not appear to have occurred to many of the hostile 
 critics of the Reform Committee to consider what might have 
 happened when they are judging what actually took place. 
 Dr. Jameson had invaded the country with less than 5CX3 men. 
 It must be clear from this that it was not his intention to 
 conquer the Transvaal. It must have been and indeed it 
 was his idea that it would be impossible for the Imperial 
 Government to stand passively by and witness the struggle 
 between its own subjects preferring legitimate and moderate 
 claims and a corrupt and incompetent Boer Government. 
 Intervention of one sort or another he certainly expected 
 — either material help in the shape of British troops, or the 
 intervention of the High Commissioner to effect a peaceful 
 settlement. By the false step which evoked the High Com- 
 missioner's proclamation he had forfeited all claim to the 
 support on which he reckoned. It was reasonable to suppose 
 therefore that, on the receipt of the proclamation ordering 
 him to return and calling on all British subjects to abstain 
 from assisting him, he would realize the consequences of his 
 mistake. He would also learn from the Reform Committee's 
 messengers (that is, assuming that he did not know it already) 
 that the Johannesburg people neither required nor wished 
 for his intervention, and he would elect to leave the country 
 in accordance with the High Commissioner's mandate rather 
 than continue a course which, with the opposition of the 
 British Government added to that of the Boer Government, 
 must inevitably end in disgrace and disaster. This was the 
 
 \: 
 
 » 
 
1 62 
 
 THE TRANciVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 conclusion arrived at in the Reform Committee room ; and 
 it was then considered what would be the position of the 
 Johannesburg people if, in defiance of the High Commis- 
 sioner's proclamation and in violation of the terms offered 
 by the Transvaal Government, they should adopt aggressive 
 and wholly futile measures in aid of Dr. Jameson, only to 
 find that he himself had obeyed the proclamation and had 
 turned back. 
 
 No man in his senses would have anticipated Dr. Jameson's 
 continuing his march after receipt ot the proclamation and 
 full information as to the wishes and position of the Johan- 
 nesburg people. But, apart from this, it was the opinion 
 of military men, such as Colonel Heyman, who had been 
 sent in by Dr. Jameson, and who were present at the 
 meetings of the Reform Committee, that it would not be 
 possible for the Boers to stop him, and that it would require 
 a very large force indeed to cope v/ith a body of men so 
 well trained, well equipped, and well led as his were thought 
 to be. It would moreover need extraordinary luck and 
 management on the Boers' side to get together any con- 
 siderable force in time to intercept him before he should 
 reach Johannesburg. It may be added that the opinion 
 expressed by these gentlemen is still adhered to. They say 
 that, properly led, Jameson's force should have got in without 
 firing a shot, and that, properly handled, they should not 
 have been stopped by a much greater number of Boers. 
 However this is as it may be. 
 
 It has been stated, and the statement has gained con- 
 siderable credence, that the very train which brought the 
 deputation back to Johannesburg after their negotiations 
 with the Government also brought a detachment of the 
 State artillery with field-pieces and a plentiful supply of 
 ammunition to reinforce the Boers, who were then in position 
 to interce''. t Dr. Jameson, and it has further been suggested 
 that the obvious course for the Reform Committee to have 
 taken was to break up the line and to stop trains passing 
 out towards Krugersdorp, also to seize the telegraph and 
 railway offices. Such action would have been perfectly 
 futile. As a matter of fact the artillery and ammunition 
 were sent direct from Pretoria by waggon, and not through 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 i6^ 
 
 Johannesburg at all.» Any such action as the seizing of the 
 telegraph and railway offices would have been useless in 
 itself, if intended to aid Jameson's force, and would of 
 course have been a declaration of war on the part of the 
 Committee against the Transvaal Government, a declaration 
 which they were not able to back up by any effective 
 measures. A partially successful attempt was made to blow 
 up the line between Johannesburg and Kru; > rsdorp by in- 
 dividuals who thought that they would be ren'^v^ring a service 
 to the cause, and who did not stop to calculate the full effects 
 of their action. 
 
 During the afternoon ot Wednesday, while the deputation 
 were still engaged in negotiation with the Government Com- 
 mission, the messenger despatched by Sir Jacobus de Wet, 
 British Agent in Pretoria, to deliver the High Commissioner's 
 proclamation to Dr. Jameson, arrived in Johannesburg, and 
 applied at the Reform Committee rooms for an escort through 
 the lines of defence, showing at the same time the passport 
 given him by the Commandant-General to pass him through 
 the Boer lines. It was immediately decided to take ad- 
 vantage of the opportunity in order to bring further pressure 
 to bear upon Dr. Jameson to induce him to leave the country 
 peacefully, and to make finally and absolutely sure that he 
 should realize the true position of affairs. Mr. J. J, Lace, a 
 member of the Reform Com nittee, volunteered to accompany 
 the messenger to explain to Dr. Jameson the state of affairs 
 in Johannesburg ai. d tc induce him to return while there 
 was yet a chance of retrieving the position. On the return 
 of the deputation this action of the rest of the Committee 
 
 s cordially approved and was found to be in entire accord 
 with the attitude taken up by them in their dealings with 
 the Government. 
 
 If any evidence were needed as to the sincerity and single- 
 ness of purpose of the Committee, the action taken by the 
 deputation in Pretoria and the rest of the Committee in 
 
 ' Captain Ferrcira, at one time in coniiiiand of the guard over the 
 Reformers, informed the writer that he had formed one cf the cavalry 
 escort. ' It is a good story,' he said, ' but what fools we would have 
 been to send our guns shut up in trucks through a hostile camp of 20,000 
 armed men — as we thouglu — i ound two sides of a triangle instead of 
 going by the shorter and safe road.' 
 
'^Fmm 
 
 164 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Johannesburg, whilst acting independently of each other and 
 without any opportunity of discussing matters and deciding 
 upon a common line, should be sufficient. If the Committee 
 as a whole had not been following an honest and clearly- 
 defined policy they would have inevitably come to grief 
 under such trying circumstances As a matter of fact, the 
 steps taken during Wednesday by the two sections acting 
 independently were wholly in accord. 
 
 In the course of the day it became known that Dr. Jameson 
 had caused to be published the letter of invitation quoted 
 in another chapter, and from this it was clear to those who 
 knew the circumstances under which the letter was given 
 that he had deliberately started in violation of the agreement 
 entered into, that he had thrown discretion to the winds, and 
 decided to force the hands of the Johannesburg people. The 
 result of this was that among the leaders it was realized that 
 Dr. Jameson was playing his own hand with complete 
 indifference to the consequences for others ; but the vast 
 majority of the Rand community could not possibly realize this, 
 and were firmly convinced that the invading force had come in 
 in good faith, believing the community to be in extreme peril. 
 
 In sensational matters of this kind it is very often the 
 case that a single phrase will illustrate the position more 
 aptly than chapters of description. It is unfortunately also 
 the case that phrases are used and catch the ear and survive 
 the circumstances of the time, carrying with them meanings 
 which they were never intended to convey. In the course of 
 the fevents which took place in the early part of the year 
 many such expressions were seized on and continually 
 quoted. Among them, and belonging to the second descrip- 
 tion above referred to, is the phrase ' Stand by Jameson.' 
 It was never used in the sense of sending out an armed force to 
 the assistance of Dr. Jameson, because it was recognized from 
 the beginning that such a course was not within the range 
 of possibility. The phrase was first used in the Executive 
 Council Chamber when the deputation from the Reform 
 Committee met the Government Commission and Mr. 
 Lionel Phillips explained the nature of the connection between 
 the Johannesburg people and the invading force. After 
 showing that the Rand community were not responsible for 
 
 vfin 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 165 
 
 his immediate action, and aftttrr acknowledging that he was 
 on the border with the intention of rendering assistance if it 
 should be necessary, he said that the Uitlanders nevertheless 
 believed that, owing to circumstances of which they were 
 ignorant, Dr. Jameson had started in absolute good faith to 
 come to their assistance, and for that reason they were 
 determined tc stand by him. For that reason they offered 
 their persons as security for his peaceful evacuation of the 
 country — a course which was then, and is still, deemed to be 
 ' standing by him ' in as effective and practical a manner as it 
 was possible for men in their position to do. 
 
 The reproach levelled at the Reform Commit. 'je by 
 members of the Transvaal Government ever since the sur- 
 render of Dr. Jameson is that, whilst professing not to support 
 hostile action against the State, and whilst avowing loyalty 
 to the Republic, the people of Johannesburg did not give the 
 iogicai and practical proof of such loyalty that the Government 
 were entitled to expect ; that is, they did not take up arms 
 to fight against the invaders. It is scarcely necessary to say 
 that such a preposterous idea never entered the minds of any 
 of the Uitlanders. When all is said and done, blood is 
 thicker than water, alike with the Uitlanders as with the 
 Boers. The Boers have shown on many occasions that they 
 elect to side with their kin on the promptings of their heart 
 rather than support those whom their judgment shows them 
 to be worthy of their assistance. Had the Uitlanders been 
 sufficiently armed there can be no question that rightly or 
 wrongly they would have sided with Jameson, and would 
 have given him effective support had they known that he 
 needed it. Had he ever reached Johannesburg the enthusiasm 
 would have be:en wild and unbounded, and, however much 
 the cooler heads among the community might realize that 
 such a partial success might have proved a more serious 
 misfortune than the total failure has been, no such con- 
 siderations would have weighed with the community in 
 general ; and the men who were aiming at practical and 
 lasting good results, rather than cultivating popular enthusiasm, 
 would have been swept aside, and others, more in accord with 
 the humour of the moment, would have taken their places. 
 It is useless to speculate as to what would have happened 
 
i.(;6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 had Dr. Jameson reached Joliannesburg. The prestige of 
 success might have enabled him, as it has enabled many 
 others, to achieve the apparently impossible and compel the 
 acceptance of terms which would have insured a lasting 
 peace ; but as Johannesburg had neither arms nor ammu- 
 nition, especially the latter, commensurate with the require- 
 ments of anything like severe fighting, even for a single day, 
 and as the invading force had not more than enough for 
 its own requirements, it is difficult to conceive that anything 
 but disaster could have followed. 
 
 Throughout the troubles which followed the invasion if 
 was not the personal suffering or loss which fell to the lot o' 
 the Johannesburg people that touched them so nearly as the 
 taunts which were unjustly levelled at them for not rendering 
 assistance to Dr. Jameson. The terms, ' cowards,' ' poltroons, 
 and 'traitors,' and the name of 'Judasburg,' absolutely 
 undeserved as they were known to be, rankled in the heart, 
 of all, and it was only by the exercise of much seh'denia. 
 and restraint that it was possible for men to remain silen* 
 during the period preceding Dr. Jameson's trial. Extr^^melv 
 bitter feeling was roused by the tacit approval given to these 
 censures by the officers of the invading force, for their 
 continued silence was naturally construed to be tacit 
 -pproval. ' Not once,' said one of the Reformers, ' has a 
 single member of Dr. Jameson's party come forward and 
 stated that the imputations on the Reformers were undeserved ; 
 yet we gave them the benefit of every doubt, and tried 
 throughout to screen them, whilst all the time the Doctor and 
 at least three of his companions knew that they had started 
 to " make their own flotation." That is not cricket.' 
 
 It has been urged on behalf of Dr. Jameson that he could 
 not have been asked to state prior to his trial that he never 
 expected or arranged for help from Johannesburg — that his 
 case was already a sufficiently difficult one without embar- 
 rassing it with other people's affairs. Yet it was noted in 
 Johannesburg that, when a report was circulatrd to the effect 
 that he had started the invasion oa the instructions of Mr. 
 Cecil Rhodes, he and another oficer of his force wrote jointly 
 to the English papers to say that there was no truth whatever 
 in the statement. The consequences of taking upon himself 
 
 ■% 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 167 
 
 the responsibility for initiative in this way, while he had yet 
 to undergo his trial, were far more serious than would have 
 followed a simple statement to the e'^'^ct that injustice was 
 being done to the Ran-i community in the charges of 
 cowardice laid against it. It was felt then, and the feeling 
 has not in any way abated, that Dr. Jameson regarded the 
 fate and interests of the people of Johannesburg with indiffer- 
 ence, looking upon them merely as pawns in a game that he 
 was playing. It was only Mr. Rhodes who took an oppor- 
 tunity to say that ' the Johannesburg people are not cowards : 
 they were rushed.' 
 
 The general public did not know the circumstances undet 
 which Dr. Jameson had agreed to remain on the frontier. 
 They did not know that telegrams and messengers had been 
 despatched to stop him, nor was it felt advisable to inform 
 them of these steps at a time when matters had seemingly 
 gone too far to be stopped. It was considered that any 
 statement of that kind put forth at that particular juncture 
 would simply tend to create a panic from which no good 
 results could accrue, and that, as Dr Jameson had cast the 
 die and crossed his Rubicon, as little as possible should be 
 done needlessly to embarrass him. Suggestions were con- 
 tinually being made, and have been and are still being 
 frequently quoted, to the effect that a force should be sent 
 out to create a diversion among the Boer commandoes in 
 Jameson's favour. Suggestions were made by men who had 
 not the remotest idea of the resources at the command of the 
 Committee, or who did not stop to think of what might have 
 happened had Johannesburg been depleted of its armed 
 force, and so left at the mercy of a few hundred Boers. 
 There were always, as there will always be, men prepared for 
 any reckless gamble, but this course was most earnestly 
 considered tine after time by the Committee when sv->me 
 fresh suggestion or development seemed to warrant a 
 reconsideration of the decision already arrived at not to 
 attempt any aggressive measures. Finally the matter was 
 by common consent left in the hands >{ Colonel Heyman, 
 an officer who has rendered distinguished service in South 
 Africa, and whose reputation and judgment were acknowledged 
 by all. This course was the more readily agreed to since 
 
VP 
 
 i68 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Colonel Heyman was by none more highly thought of than 
 by Dr. Jameson himself. The decision given by him was 
 that the invading force, properly led, drilled and equipped 
 as it was, was a far stronger body than the entire force 
 enrolled under the Reform Committee, and that it would 
 require a very large force indeed of burghers to stop it. 
 If Dr. Jameson had thought that he would need help there 
 had been ample time for him to send a fast mounted 
 messenger to Johannesburg. He had not done so ; and it 
 was therefore to be presumed that as he had taken upon 
 himself the responsibility of invasion he was prepared for all 
 contingencies ; but, apart from this, the force available in 
 Johannesburg, which would be in a few days a very good one 
 behind earthworks, was at that moment utterly unfit to 
 march ou. in the open. It would in its then condition, and 
 with no equipment of field-pieces, be liable to be annihilated 
 by a relatively small number of Boers before it should reach 
 Dr. Jameson. It was decided, however, that, should fighting 
 take place within such distance from the town that men 
 could be taken from the defences without endangering the 
 safety of the town, a force should be taken out at once. 
 
 Fault has repeatedly been found with the military organi- 
 zation in Johannesburg for not having been well served by 
 an Intelligence Department, and for not knowing from day 
 to day what the whereabouts and position of Dr. Jameson's 
 forces were. 
 
 The reply to this is that the Johannesburg people had 
 only two days in which to look after themselves and protect 
 themselves in the crisis in which Dr. Jameson's action had 
 plunged them ; that as a matter of fact strenuous efforts 
 were made to establish communication with the invading 
 force ; that the Intelligence Department — which, considering 
 how short a time was available for its organization, was by 
 no means unsatisfactory — was employed in many directions 
 besides that in which Dr. Jameson was moving ; that some 
 success was achieved in communicating with him, but that 
 the risks to be taken, owing to the imperative necessity of 
 saving time at almost an) cost, were greater than usual and 
 resulted in the capture of eight or ten of the men employed 
 in the endeavour to communicate with Dr. Jameson alone ; 
 
THE COMMITTEE'S DILEMMA 
 
 169 
 
 and finally, that since he had seen fit to violate all the 
 arrangements entered into and dash into the country in 
 defiance of the expressed wishes of the people, whom he was 
 bent on rescuing whether they wished to be rescued or not, 
 the least that could be expected of him and of his force was 
 that they should acquaint themselves with the road which 
 they proposed to travel and take the necessary steps to 
 keep the Johannesburg people posted as to their move- 
 ments. 
 
 It has been urged by a prominent member of the invading 
 force — not Dr. Jameson — that since the force had been kept 
 on the border for some weeks with the sole object of assisting 
 Johannesburg people when they should require assistance, 
 the very least that they were entitled to expect was that 
 someone should be sent out to show them the road and not 
 leave them to go astray for want of a guide. To this it was 
 replied that a force which had been, as they stated, on the 
 border for several weeks with the sole object of invading the 
 country by a certain road, had ample time, and might certainly 
 have been expected to know the road ; and as for relieving 
 Johannesburg in its necessity, the argument might have 
 applied had this ' necessity ' ever arisen ; but since the idea 
 was to force the hands of the Reformers, the latter might 
 fairly regard themselves as absolved from every undertaking, 
 specific or implied, which might ever have been made in con- 
 nection with the business. But at that time the excuse had 
 not been devised that there had ever been an undertaking to 
 assist Jameson, on the contrary it was readily admitted that 
 such an idea was never entertained for a moment ; nor can 
 one understand how anyone cognizant of the telegram from 
 Dr. Jameson to Dr. Rutherfoord Harris — ' We will make our 
 own flotation by the aid of the letter which I shall publish ' — 
 can set up any defence at the expense of others. 
 
 By Wednesday night it was known that Major Heany had 
 passed through Mafeking in time to join Dr. Jameson's force, 
 and that, bar some extraordinary accident, Captain Holden 
 must have met Dr. Jameson on his way, since he had been 
 despatched along the road which Dr. Jameson would take in 
 marching on Johannesburg ; and if all other reasons did not 
 suflfice to assure the Committee that Dr. Jameson would not 
 
\i 
 
 170 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 be relying on any assistance from Johannesburg the presence 
 of one or other of the two officers above mentioned would 
 enable him to know that he should not count upon Johannes- 
 burg to give him active support. Both were thoroughly well 
 acquainted with the position and were able to inform him, and 
 have since admitted that they did inform him, that he should 
 not count upon a single man going out to meet him. Captain 
 Holden — who prior to the trial of Dr. Jameson and his com- 
 rades, prompted by loyalty to his chief, abstained from making 
 any statement which could possibly embarrass him — immedi- 
 ately after the trial expressed his regret at the unjust censure 
 upon the Johannesburg people and the charges of cowardice 
 and bad faith which had been levelled against them, and 
 stated that he reached Pitsani the night before Dr. Jameson 
 started, and that he faithfully and fully delivered the messages 
 which he was charged to deliver and earnestly impressed 
 upon Dr. Jameson the position in which the Johannesburg 
 people were placed, and their desire that he should not em- 
 barrass them by any precipitate action. 
 
 Before daybreak on Thursday, January 2, Bugler Vall6, of 
 Dr. Jameson's force, arrived in the Reform Committee room 
 and reported himself as having been sent by the Doctor at 
 about midnight after the battle at Krugersdorp on Wednes- 
 day. He stated that the Doctor had supplied him with the 
 best horse in the troop and sent him on to inform Colonel 
 Rhodi^s where he was. He described the battle at the 
 Queen's Mine, Krugersdorp, and stated that the force had 
 been obliged to retreat from the position in which they had 
 fought in order to take up a better one on higher ground, but 
 that the position in which they had camped for the night was 
 not a very good one. When questioned as to the exact 
 message that he had been told to deliver he replied, ' The 
 Doctor says, " Tell them that I am getting along all right, 
 but they must send out to meet me." ' He was asked what 
 was meant by * sending out to meet him.' Did it mean to 
 send a force out ? Did he want help? His reply was, ' No ; 
 the Doctor says he is getting along all right, but you must 
 send out to meet him.' The messenger was keenly questioned 
 upon this point, but adhered to the statement that the force 
 was getting along all right and would be in early in the 
 
1)11 
 
 THE COMMITTEES DILEMMA 
 
 171 
 
 morning. Colonel Rhodes, who was the first to see the 
 messenger, was however dissatisfied with the grudging ad- 
 missions and the ambiguous message, and expressed the 
 belief that 'the D( ctor wants help, but is ashamed to say 
 so.' Acting oromptly on this conviction, he despatched all 
 the mounted men available (about lOO) under command of 
 Colonel Bettington, with instructions to ascertain the where- 
 abouts of Dr. Jameson's force, and if possible to join them. 
 
 This was done without the authority of the Committee and 
 in direct opposition to the line already decided upon. It was 
 moreover considered to be taking a wholly unnecessary 
 risk, in view of the fact that an attack upon the town was 
 threatened by burgher forces on the north-west side, and it 
 was immediately decided by a number of members who heard 
 of Colonel Rhodes' action to despatch a messenger ordering 
 the troop not to proceed more than ten miles from the town, 
 but to reconnoitre and ascertain what Dr. Jameson's position 
 was, with the reservation that, should it be found that he 
 actually needed help, such assistance as was possible should 
 of course be given him. As a matter of hard fact it would 
 not have been possible for the troop to reach Dr. Jameson 
 before his surrender, so that the action taken upon the only 
 message received from the invading force had no practical 
 bearing upon the results. 
 
 At daybreak on Thursday morning Mr. Lace and the 
 despatch rider sent by the British Agent to deliver the High 
 Commissioner's proclamation and the covering despatch were 
 passed through the Dutch lines under the authority of the 
 Commandant-General, and they delivered the documents to 
 Dr. Jameson in person. In reply to Sir Jacobus de Wet's 
 appeal Dr. Jameson said, ' Tell Sir Jacobus de Wet that I 
 have received his despatch ; and that I shall see him in 
 Pretoria to-morrow.' Mr. Lace briefly informed him of the 
 position, as he had undertaken to do. The presence of a Boer 
 escort and the shortness of the time allowed for the delivery 
 of the messages prevented any lengthy conversation. Dr. 
 Jameson made no comment further than to say, ' It is too late 
 now,' and then asked the question, ' Where are the troops ? ' 
 to which Mr. Lace replied, ' What troops do you mean ? We 
 know nothing about troops,' It did not occur to Mr. Lace 
 
172 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 or to anyone else that he could have meant ' troops from 
 Johannesburg. With the receipt of Dr. Jameson's verbal 
 reply to the British Agent's despatch-carrier the business 
 was concluded, and the escort from the Boer lines insisted 
 on leaving, taking with them Mr. Lace and the despatch- 
 rider. He offered no further remark. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE INVASION. 
 
 From the evidence on the trial at bar of Dr. Jameson and 
 his comrades, it appears that about 20th October, 1895, 
 orders were given to the Matabeleland Border Police to 
 move southward. After this, further mobilization of other 
 bodies took place and during the first weok in December 
 there collected at Pitsani Potlogo the body of men from 
 whom Dr. Jameson's invading column was afterwards selected. 
 For three weeks the men were continuously drilled and 
 practised in all warlike exercises and thoroughly prepared 
 for the enterprise which their leaders had in view. On 
 Sunday, December 29, at about three in the afternoon, the 
 little force was paraded and Dr. Jameson read to them the 
 letter of invitation quoted in a previous chapter. He is 
 alleged by certain witnesses to have said that he had just 
 received this and that they could not refuse to go to the 
 assistance of their countrymen in distress, and he confidently 
 appealed to the men to support him. He said that he did 
 not anticipate any bloodshed at all. They would proceed by 
 forced marching straight through to Johannesburg, and would 
 reach that town before the Boers were aware of his move- 
 ments, and certainly before they could concentrate to stop 
 him. It has been alleged by some witnesses that the men 
 of the Bechuanaland Border Police who advanced from 
 Mafeking under the command of Colonel Grey and Major 
 Coventry were not so fully informed as to their destination 
 and the reasons for the movement until they were actually in 
 marching order to start. It would appear however from the 
 general summary of the evidence and from the reports of 
 
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 174 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 rhe men who took part in the expedition, that they were 
 informed that the destination of the force was Johannesburg, 
 that the object was to render assistance to their countrymen 
 in that town who were being grossly misruled by the Trans- 
 vaal Government and were at that time in grievous straits 
 and peril through having endeavoured to assert their rights 
 and obtain the reforms for which they had so long been 
 agitating, and that the immediate reason for marching was 
 the receipt of an urgent appeal from Johannesburg citizens, 
 which appeal (the letter of invitation) was duly read to them. 
 In reply to questions as to whether they were fighting under 
 the Queen's orders, they were informed that they were going 
 to fight for the supremacy of the British flag in South Africa. 
 A considerable proportion of the men declined to take part 
 in the enterprise, and it is probably largely due to defections 
 at the last mom.cint that the statement was made that 700 
 men had started with Dr. Jameson, whereas it appears that 
 only 480 ever left the Protectorate. 
 
 The following is a portion of the Majority Report of the 
 Select Committee on the Jameson Raid appointed by the 
 Cape House of Assembly : 
 
 On the 26th December there was a sudden check. On the afternoon 
 of that day Colonel Rhodes telegraphs to Charter, Capetown, ' It is 
 absolutely necessary to postpone flotation. Charles Leonard left last 
 night for Caivctown.' Messages to the same effect were sent from 
 Mr. S. W. Jameson to his brother, and from Dr. Harris for the Chartered 
 Company to Dr. Jameson, the latter concluding : ' So you must not 
 move till you hear from us again. Too awful. Very sorry.' 
 
 As to the nature of the hitch that occurred, there is some light thrown 
 on it by the statement from Mr. S. W. Jameson to his brother that any 
 movement must be postponed ' until we have C. J. Rhodes' absolute 
 pledge tiiat authority of Imperial Government will not be insisted on, 
 a pomt that is further alluded to in Telegram No. 6,537 of Appendix 
 QQ of the 28th December 
 
 Whatever the exact nature of the obstacle was, there can be no 
 doubt that some at least of the Johannesburg confederates were mucii 
 alarmed and took all possible steps to stay proceedings. 
 
 In addition to urgent telegrams special messengers were sent to 
 impress on Dr. Jameson the necessity for delay. One of these, Captain 
 Holden, made his way across country. 
 
 According to Mr. Hammond's evidence Holden arrived at Mafeking 
 on the 28th December, and went in with the column. 
 
 The other messenger was Captain Maurice Heany, who left Johannes- 
 burg on the 26th December, and on the 27th telegraphed from Bloem- 
 fontein to Charter, Capetown, informing them that 'Zcbrawood' 
 (Colonel Rhodes) had asked him to 'stop "Zahlbar" (Dr. Jameson) 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 175 
 
 till Heany sees him,' and asking that a special train might be arranged 
 for him. Dr. Harris replied to Kimberley on the 28th informing him 
 that a special train was arranged, and added. ' lose no time or you will 
 he late.' 
 
 It is in evidence that this special train was provided by the Chartered 
 Company, that Heany left by it, caught up the ordinary train at 
 Vryburg, and that he reached Mafeking at 4.30 a.m. on Sunday, 
 the 29th. 
 
 The evidence is that he was coming with an urgent message to stop 
 Dr. Jameson ; that on his arrival at Mafeking he waked up Mr. Isaacs, 
 a local storekeeper, and purchased a pair of field boots and a kit-bag, 
 and proceeded by special cart to Pitsani ; and that he subsequently on 
 the same evening accompanied Dr. Jameson on his inroad and was 
 captured at Doornkop.' 
 
 On the 27th, after receiving the discouraging telegrams mentioned 
 above from Johannesburg, Dr. Jameson telegraphed to Harris, Charter, 
 Capetown, ' I am afraid of Bechuanaland Police for cutting wire. 
 Tiiey have now all gone forward, but will endeavour to put a stop to it. 
 Therefore expect to receive telegram from you nine to-morrow morning 
 authorizing movements. Surely Col. F. W. Rhodes advisable to come 
 to terms at once. Give guarantee, or you can telegraph before Charles 
 Leonard arrived.' This doubtless alludes to the necessity for guarantee 
 mentioned in the message from S. W. Jameson, and the alternative 
 suggestion was that authority to proceed should be given before the 
 arrival of the Johannesburg delegate at Capetown, 
 
 Two hours later on the same day he sends another message of 
 the utmost importance. He informs Harris, Charter, Capetown, as 
 follows : ' If I cannot, us I expect, communicate with Bechuanaland 
 Border Police cutting, then we must carry into effect original plans. 
 They have then two days for flotation. If they do not, we will make 
 our own flotation with help of letter, which I will publish.' 
 
 On the same day Dr. Jameson telegraplied to his brother in 
 ohannesburg as follows : ' Guarantee already given, therefore let 
 . H. Hammond telegraph instantly all right.' 
 
 To this Mr. Hammond sent a most positive reply absolutely con- 
 demning his proposed action. 
 
 As bearing upon the attitude of the force at Pitsani, it may be noted 
 that on the same day that the foregoing correspondence was taking 
 place, Mr. A. Bates was despatched from Mafeking into the Transvaal 
 with instructions from Major Kaleigh Grey to collect information and 
 meet Dr. Jameson en route. He was supplied with a horse and money, 
 and seems to have done his best to carry out instructions. 
 
 Early the next day Dr. Jameson telegraplied to Harris, Charter, Cape- 
 town : 'There will be no flotatio't if left to themselves ; first delay was 
 
 • In the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons 
 the following questions and answers occur, Mr. Blake questioning and 
 Major Heany replying : 
 
 ' Having got the message you went o£F with it and you got in, as we 
 see by the evidence, as quickly as yon could, and you just gave the 
 message as accurately as you could to Dr. Jameson ? — I read the 
 mcssjige from my note-book absolutely accurately to Dr. Jameson. 
 
 ' And he did not lose much time in making up his mind ? — No ; he 
 went outside his tent. He was in a bell-tent when I arrived and he 
 went outside and walked up and down for about twenty minutes, and 
 then he came in and announced his determination.' 
 
r 
 
 176 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 races, which did not exist ; second policies, aheady arranged. All 
 mean fear.' You had better go as quickly as possible and report fully, 
 or tell Hon. C. J. Rhodes to allow me.' 
 
 The reply to this was : ' It is all right if you will '.)niy wait. Captain 
 Maurice Heany comes to you from Col. F. W. Rhodes by special train 
 to-day.' And, again, two hours later, Dr. Harris for the Chartered 
 Company telegraphs : ' Goold Adams arrives Mafeking Monday, and 
 Heany, I think, arrives to-night ; after seeing him, you and we must 
 judge regarding flotation, but all our foreign friends are now dead 
 against it and say public will not subscribe one penny towards even 
 with you as a director — Ichabod.' 
 
 Still on the same day two further telegrams to Dr. Jameson were 
 sent from Capetown, almost together, of a strongly discouraging 
 tenour. One of them concludes by saying 'we cannot have fiasco, 
 and the other informs Dr. Jameson that Lionel Phillips anticipates 
 complete failure of any premature action. 
 
 On the same day Dr. Harris informs Colonel Rhodes at Johannesburg 
 that, ' Have arranged for Captain Maurice Heany ; Dr. Jameson 
 awaiting Capt. Maurice Hean/s arrival. Keep market firm.' 
 
 And later : 
 
 ' Charles Leonard says flotation not popular, and England's bunting 
 will be resisted by public. Is it true ? Consult all our friends and let 
 me know, as Dr. Jameson is quite ready to move resolution and is only 
 waiting for Captain Heany's arrival.' 
 
 A few hours later Dr. Jameson telegraphs to Harris, Charter, Cape- 
 town : ' Received your telegram Ichabod re Capt. Maurice Heany. 
 Have no further news. I require to know. Unless I hear definitely to 
 the contrary, shall leave to-morrow evening and carry into effect my 
 second telegram (Appendix QQ, No. 06365) of yesterday to you, and it 
 will be all right.' 
 
 On the next morning, Sunday the 29th, Heany arrived at Mafeking, 
 and after making the purchases detailed above, left by special cart for 
 the camp at Pitsani, where he probably arrived about eight o'clock a.m. 
 At five minutes past nine Dr. Jameson telegraphed to Harris, Charter, 
 Capetown : ' Shall leave to-night for the Transvaal, My reason is the 
 final arrangement with writers of letter was that, without further 
 reference to them, in case I should hear at some future time that 
 suspicions have been aroused as to their intention among the 
 Transvaal authorities, I was to start immediately to prevent loss of 
 lives, as letter states. Reuter only just received. Even without my 
 own information of meeting in the Transvaal, compel immediate move 
 
 • In the course of the Inquiry at Westminster, Dr. Jameson himself 
 took occasion to explain this reference, when answering a question put 
 by Mr. Sidney Fiiixton, 
 
 Knowing what you do now of the position at Johannesburg, do you 
 think it was within their power to send out 300 mounted men ? — I 
 cannot give an opinion upon th.it ; I think all their actions were 
 perfectly bond fide. There is one telegram here which has been 
 brought up against me very unpleasantly, which I wish I had never 
 sent, where 'fear' is imputed in the telegram as it stands here. My 
 explanation is that I was irritated at the time at the trouble going on, 
 and that I used it inadvertently, or possibly there is a mistake in 
 deciphering the code word ; as to that I cannot tell, but I am sorry 
 that it should appear so in the telegram, because I never imputed fear 
 or cowardice to anyone in connection with anything. 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 177 
 
 to fulfil promise made. We are simply going to protect evervbody 
 while they change the present disliouest Goveriiiueiit and take vote 
 from the whole country as to form of Government required by the 
 
 whole.' 
 
 The force took with them provisions for one day only, 
 relying on the commissariat arrangements made on their 
 behalf by Dr. Wolff <-« route. They were well mounted and 
 armed with Lee-Metford carbines, and took with them eight 
 Maxims, two seven-pounders and one twelve-pounder. In 
 order to facilitate quick movement no heavy equipment was 
 taken, and but little spar" ammunition. The vehicles 
 attending the column were six Scotch carts and one Cape 
 cart. The total distance to be covered was about 170 miles 
 to Johannesburg, or 150 miles to Krugersdorp. The start 
 was made from Pitsani shortly after 5 p.m., and marching 
 was continued throughout the night. The force consisted of 
 about 350 of the Charte'-ed forces under Colonel Sir John 
 VVilloughby, Major in the Royal Horse Guards ; the Hon. \\. 
 F. White, Major 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards ; Hon. R. 
 White, Captain Royal Welsh Fusiliers ; Major j. B. 'i'racey, 
 2nd Battalion Scots Guards ; Captain C. H. Villicrs, Royal 
 Morse Guards; and 120 of the I^echuanaland Border Police 
 under Major Raleigh Grey, Captain 6th Inniskillen Dragoons, 
 and the Hon. C. J. Coventry, Captain 3rd Militia Battalion 
 Worcester Regiment. The two contingents met at Malniani 
 at about sunrise on Monday morning, December 30. They 
 marched throughout that day and night and the following 
 day, Tuesday. There were half-hour rests about every 
 twenty miles for rationing the men and feeding and watering 
 the horses, the fodder being ready for the horses at various 
 stores. Provisions for the men consisted of tinned meats and 
 biscuits. There was no lack of provisions at all ; but the 
 men complained afterwards that they were so overcome with 
 fatigue from continuous marching that when they reached 
 the resting-places they generally lay down where they dis- 
 mounted, and slept, instead of taking the food which was 
 ready for them. A serious fault in the conduct of the 
 expedition appears to have been the lack of opportunity 
 for rest and food afforded the men. It was contended that 
 the same or a higher average of speed might have been 
 
f 
 
 178 
 
 THh TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 attained by pressing on faster for spells of a few hours and 
 allowing reasonable intervals for rest and refreshment. Only 
 about 1 30 miles had been covered by the column during the 
 seventy hours that they were on the march before they were 
 first checked by any serious opposition from the Boers. 
 
 On Monday, December jo, at about i p.m., Mr. F. J. 
 Newton, Resident Commissioner at Mafeking, received the 
 following telegram from the High Commissioner, Capetown, 
 dated the same day : 
 
 It is rumoured here tliat Dr. Jameson has entered the Transvaal with 
 an armed force. Is this so ? If so, send special messenger on fast 
 horse directing him to return immediately. A copy of this telegram 
 should be sent to the ofl'icers witn him, and they should be told tliat 
 this violation of the territory of a friendly State is repud.ated by Her 
 Majesty's Government, and that they are rendering themselves liable to 
 severe penalties. 
 
 Mr. Newton at once addressed to Dr. Jameson and each of 
 the chief officers with him the following letter: 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose copy of a telegram which I have 
 received from His Excellency the High Commissioner, and I have 
 accordingly to request that you will immediately comply with His 
 Excellency's instructions. 
 
 Trooper J. T. White was despatched as soon as possible 
 with the five letters, enclosed in waterproof, with instructions 
 to ride until he caught up to Dr. Jameson and delivered the 
 letters. He was stopped by a party of armed Boers and 
 taken before Landdrost Marais at Malmani, where the 
 despatches were opened and read. He was delayed fur 
 four hours, and then allowed to proceed with an escort. 
 On Tuesday morning he crossed the Elands River and caught 
 up the column at about 11 a.m. He had ridden all night, 
 covering about eighty miles. He alleges that at first the 
 officers would not take the letters, but eventually Sir John 
 Willoughby accepted and read his and the others followed 
 suit. He stated that he had been instructed to deliver the 
 letters personally, and to get a reply. Sir John Willoughby 
 sent a message by him stating that the despatches would be 
 attended to. Shortly after this Dr. Jameson also received a 
 protest from the Commandant of the Marico district against 
 
 \k 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 »7y 
 
 his invasion of the State, to which he sent the following 
 reply : 
 
 Sir, 
 
 December ^o, iSg^. 
 
 I am in receipt of your protest of the above date, and have to 
 inform you that I intend proceeding with my oti^nal plans, which 
 have no hostile intention against the people of the Transvaal ; but we 
 are here in reply to an invitation from the principal residents of the 
 Rand to assist them in their demand for justice and the ordinary rights 
 of every citizen of a civilized State. 
 
 Yours faithfully 
 
 L. S. Jameson. 
 
 
 White states that this was about noon, and ' then the bugle 
 sounded and the column moved off.' The force continued 
 advancing in much the same way throughout Tuesday, and 
 at 6 p.m. a skirmisher of the advanced guard met Lieutenant 
 Eloff of the Krugersdorp District Police, who had been 
 instructed by his Government to ride to Mafeking, presum- 
 ably for the purpose of getting information. He had come 
 with a guard of nine men, whom he had left some distance 
 off; advancing alone Lo meet the column. He states that 
 when released after two hours' delay he left the forces, and 
 passing along the Rustenburg road met a commando of some 
 300 Boers with whom he made a circuit to avoid the column, 
 and reached Krugersdorp before it did. From this it is clear 
 that the Boers were collecting in considerable numbers to 
 meet the invading force, and were moving with much greater 
 rapidity than their enemies. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, at about 5.30, Messrs. Theron and 
 
 Bouwer (despatch riders), who had been sent by Sir Jacobus 
 
 de Wet, British Agent at Pretoria, at 1.30 p.m. on the 
 
 previous day with a despatch for Dr. Jameson, reached the 
 
 column and delivered their letters, and stated that they had 
 
 been instructed to take back a reply as soon as possible. 
 
 Dr. Jameson said, ' All right ; Pll give you a reply,' and 
 
 within a few minutes he handed to them the following 
 
 letter : 
 
 January i. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I am in receipt of the message you sent from His Excellency the 
 High Commissioner, and beg to reply, for His Excellency's information, 
 that I should, of course, desire tc obey his instructions, but, as I have a 
 very large force of both men and horses to feed, and having finished all 
 
 .; \ 
 
i8o 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 my supplies in the rear, must perforce procercl to Kru;.;orsdorp or 
 Johanucsbur^ this inoniiiiji; for this purpose. At the sami' time I must 
 ackiiowiccij',c I am anxiDUs to fuhil iiiv promise on the petition of the 
 principal n. ^ideuls of the Hand, to come to the aid of my fcllow-mcn 
 in their extremity. I iiave molested no one, and have explained to all 
 Dutchmen met that tiie aliove is my sole object, and that I shall desire 
 to return at once to the Frotectorate. I am, etc., 
 
 (Signed) L. S. Ja.^eson. 
 
 At about 10.30 a.m. on the same day (January i) two 
 cycli.sts, Messrs. Celliers and Jiowland, carrying despatches 
 from members of the Reform Committee, met the column. 
 The letters were received by Dr. Jameson, and taken with 
 him as far a.i Doornkop, where, upon surrender of the force, 
 they appear to have been torn up. With that good fortune 
 which sccins to have followed the Boers throughout this 
 business, these torn fragments were picked up on the battle- 
 field by a Hoer official four months later, haying remained 
 undisturbed during the severe rain and wind storms of the 
 wet season. Some portions were missing, but the others 
 vere pieced together and produced in evidence against the 
 Reform prisoners. The letters are printed hereunder 
 as they were written, as testified by the writers, and, in the 
 case of the first one, by others who read it before it was 
 despatched. The italics represent the fragments of the 
 letters which were never found : ^ 
 
 Deah Dr. 
 
 The rumour of massacre in Johannesburg that started yoM to our 
 relief was not true. We are all right, feeling intense. We have 
 armed a lot of men. Shall be very glad to see you. We are not 
 in possess/oH of the town. / shall send out some men to 
 You are a fine fellow. Yours ever 
 
 F. R.' 
 We will all drink a glass along you. 
 
 L. P.3 
 
 31st, 11.30. Kruger has asked for 'iome of us to go over and treat: 
 armi>ticf (or 24 hour>< aqrccd to. :.!v view is that they are in a funk at 
 Pretoria, .ind they were wrong to agree from here. 
 
 F. R.* 
 
 Dr. Jamkson. 
 
 It may be noted that the tone of this correspondence does 
 not appear to be in accord with the attitude taken up by the 
 
 • July i8i». The originals have since been -'hotographed and are 
 here reproduced. 
 
 Colonel 1' rancis Rhodes. » Lionel riiillipji. 
 
 
THK INVASION 
 
 181 
 
 Reform Committee. The letters however were written on 
 Tuesday the 31st, when there was a general belief that Dr. 
 Jameson had started in good faith, misled by some false 
 reports. In the second letter Colonel Rhodes ex[ircsses the 
 opinion that it was wrong to agree to send in a deputation to 
 meet the Government. This was written before the deputa- 
 tion had gone to Pretoria, and clearly implies that the moral 
 effect of treating would be bad. The phrasing also shows 
 that the so-called armistice was for the purpose of treating, 
 and not the treating for the purpose of securin^^ an armistice : 
 in other words, that the armistice would expire, and not 
 commence, with the treating. 
 
 From the evidence given by the cyclist Rowland, it appears 
 that he stated to Dr. Jameson that he could get 2,000' armed 
 m,jn to go out to his assistance ; and Rowland in evidence 
 alleged further that there was some offer of assistance in one 
 of the despatches, and that Dr. Jameson, in re[)ly, said he did 
 not need any assistance, but that if 2,000 men should come 
 out probably the Boers would draw off. This witness in his 
 evidence at Bow Street also alleged that one of the despatches 
 expressed surprise at Dr. Jameson's movement. There is 
 now a complete record of these despatches. They make no 
 aliusions to giving assistance, and the Johannesburg leaders 
 are very clear on :r.r point that no promise or offer of assis- 
 tance was ever made. The reply which Dr. Jameson caused 
 to be sent was concealed in one of the bicycles, which were 
 seized by the Boer authorities on the return ricle of the 
 despatch-carriers, and was not brought to light until the 
 following March, when a mechanic who was repairing the 
 broken bicycle discovered it. 
 
 The much-debated question of whether assistance was ever 
 promised or expected should be finally disposetl of by the 
 publication of two documents which have not heretofore 
 appeared in print. They are (a) the reply of Dr. Jameson to 
 Colonel Rhodes* letters, and (d) the report o^ Mr. Celliers, the 
 cyclist despatch-rider who took the letter and received the 
 reply, which report was taken down in shorthand by the 
 
 ' (July, 1899.) Is it not probable that the deleted figures '2,000' in 
 Colonel Rhodes' letter (see photograph) may account for some of the 
 talk about 2,000 armed men i 
 
l83 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FKUM WITHIN 
 
 clerks in the Reform Committee room as it was made verbally 
 by him immediately on his return. Both these records dis- 
 pose of Mr. Rowland's statement about 2,000 men ; and apart 
 from this it should be observed that Mr. Celliers was the 
 messenger sent by Colonel Rhodes and not Mr. Rowland ; the 
 latter having been later on picivcd up ' for company,' was 
 presumably less qualified to speak about the mstructions and 
 messages than Celliers, from whou; indeed he learned all 
 that he knew. 
 
 The letter was written by Col. H. F. White in the presence 
 of the cyclists, and partly at the dictation of Dr. Jameson. 
 It was in the form of a memorandum from Col. H. F. White 
 to Col. Frank Rhodes, and bore no signature ; but the last 
 line was in Dr. Jameson's handwriting, and was initialed by 
 him. It ran as follows : 
 
 As you may imagine, we are all well pleased by your letter. We 
 have had some fighting, and hope to reach Johannesburg to-niijht, but 
 of course it will depend on the amount of fighting we have. Of course 
 we shall be pleased to have 200 men meet us at Krugersdorp, as it will 
 greatly encourage the men, who are in great heart although a bit tired. 
 
 Love to Sam, Phillips, and rest, 
 
 L. S. J. 
 
 Mr. Clliers' report — after detailing the incidents of the 
 ride out — runs : 
 
 ... I reached the column between 9 and 10 o'clock. I saw Dr. 
 Jameson personally. He received us very well, and was very glad with 
 the news I brought him. He lead the despatch, and asked me for full 
 details. I told him the strength of the Boers and the dangers he was 
 in. 1 told him that they had no guns, and all that I saw and heard that 
 thev had during my travels. I explained to him everything in detail. 
 The Doctor seemed to be very brave. Me told me that he had two 
 scrimmages, and that no damage had been done. I said to him whether 
 it would not be well for him to halt until we got througli and sent him 
 some help. The Doctor said he did not think there was anything to 
 fear, and at the same time he did not want to go to Johannesburg as a 
 pirate, and it would be well for them to send some men to meet him. 
 I also made inquiries as to whether I could return by any other road, 
 but found it was impossible, and that we had to come back the same 
 way. I got his despatch, shook hands with him, wished us well, and 
 set on our journey back. 
 
 The report, which is given above literally as transcribed 
 from the shorthand notes, concludes with an account of the 
 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 «83 
 
 return journey. Mr. Celliers in a subsequent statement con- 
 firmed the above, and added : 
 
 The impression which the Doctor gave me most certainly was thai 
 he had never expected help and did tu-.t want it.' 
 
 The march continued on towards Krugersdorp. At one or 
 two places a few shots were fired by Boer pickets, and on one 
 occasion the Maxims of the invading force were turned on a 
 party of some fifty Boers ensconced in a good position. No 
 casualties however occurred until Krugersdorp was reached 
 at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. A message was sent by Sir John 
 Vv'illoughby to the authorities at Krugersdorp that if he 
 encountered any opposition he would shell the town, and he 
 warned them to have their women and children removed. 
 
 Shortly after mid-day positions were taken up on the hills 
 near Krugersdorp, and at three o'clock severe fighting took 
 place which lasted well on into the night. An ambush at 
 the crushing mill and works of the Queen's Mine was shelled 
 and an attempt was made to storm it by a small party of the 
 invaders. It was unsuccessful however, and after nightfall 
 Dr. Jameson's force was obliged to retreat from its position 
 and seek a more advantageous one on higher ground. 
 
 They had suffered a reverse at the hands of a somewhat 
 larger force of Boers who had selected a very strong position. 
 Firing did not cease until ii p.m. Here it is alleged the 
 fatal military mistake of the expedition was committed. No 
 precautions had been taken to ascertain the road. Instead of 
 being well acquainted with the direction to be taken the force 
 was dependent upon a guide picked up on the spot, a man 
 who was never seen after the events of the following day and 
 is freely alleged to have been a Boer agent. It is stated by 
 competent judges that, had Dr. Jameson's force pushed on 
 during the night on the main road to Johannesburg, they 
 
 ' After the arrival in England of the officers of Dr. Jameson's force, 
 a report dealing with the military aspect of the expedition was sent by 
 Sir John Willoughby to the War Office. It has been printed and — to a 
 certain extent — circulated, and cannot therefore be regarded as private. 
 But apart from this it is a document so peculiar — so marked by mis- 
 handling of notorious facts— that it deserves no consideration other 
 than it may earn on merits. It is printed in extenso with notes by a 
 member of the Reform Committee. See Appendix H. 
 
 
 . . .At 
 
 ,k 
 
 i 
 
m 
 V 
 
 184 
 
 THK Ti<A\SVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 would have succeeded in re.ichin^ that town witliout difficulty. 
 As it was however they camped for the night in the direc- 
 tion of Randfontein and in the early morin'nj; struck away 
 south, attempting a big dtjtour to avoid the road which they 
 had tried to force the previous riijjht. There is but little 
 doubt that they were shepherded into the position in which 
 thty were called upon to fight at Doornkop. The following 
 dcscri[)t:ion of the Doornkop fight was written by Captain 
 Frank Vfniii^^husband. the correspondent of the London 
 Times, who was an eye-witness : 
 
 Cialioping over the rolling open grassy downs in search of Dr. Jame- 
 son's force which was expected to arrive at Joiiaiincsl7urg at anv 
 moment, my companion H'>y;;atc and myself s;iw between us two 
 forces, both stationary. Then one began to move away and from the 
 regularity of its movement we recognized that this must be Dr. Jame- 
 son's tiving to round the opposing Boer forces. We found a Boer 
 guard holfling the only ford across the stream ; so going up to tlie 
 Commander we asked for news. He, ;iftcr questioning us, told us all 
 that had occurred. 
 
 He was a ficld-cornet from rotchefstroom, and leader of one division 
 of the Boers. He said that yesterday, January i, Dr. Jameson had 
 attacked the r?oer force at the George and May Mine, two miles north- 
 west of Krugersdorp, a small mining township twenty-one nnlcs west 
 of Joii.mnesburg. lighting took place from three in the afternoon to 
 eleven at night, Dr. Jameson making three principal attacks, and doing 
 great damage with his artillery, which the Boers, having then no guns, 
 were unable to reply to. 
 
 My informant, th^ Boer leader, said that both then and to-day Dr. 
 Jameson's men behaved with great gallantry, and he also said that 
 admirable arrangements iiad been made at Krugersdorp for nursing tlie 
 wounded on both sides. 
 
 This morning the Boers took up a position at Vlakfontein, eight 
 miles on the Johatmesburg side of Krugersdorp, on a circuitous road to 
 the south by which Dr. Jameson was marching. The Boers in the 
 night had been reinforced by men and with artillery and Maxims. 
 Tlicir position was an exceedingly strong one on an open slope, but 
 along a ridge of rocks cropping out of it. It was a right-angled posi- 
 tion and Dr. Jameson attacked them in the re-entering angle, thus 
 having lire on his front and flank. 
 
 To attack this position his men had to advance over a perfectly open 
 gently-sloping grassy down, while the Boers lay hid beliind rocks and 
 fired with rilies, Maxims, and artillery upon their assailants. The Boers 
 numbered from 1,200 to 1,500, Dr. Jameson's force about 500, and the 
 posilion was practically unassailable. 
 
 Dr. Jameson, after making a desperate effort to get through, surren- 
 dered, and as we stood we saw his brave little band riding dejectedly 
 back again to Krugersdorp without their arms and surrounded by a 
 Boer escort. 
 
 We were allowed to ride close up, but were refused permission to see 
 Dr. Jameson. It is therefore impossible to state his full reasons, but it 
 is known that he was made aware that it was impossible to send assis- 
 
 i 
 
THK INVASION 
 
 lis 
 
 tance from here, and this m.iy liavc iiifUienccd him in f^ivinj^ up the 
 contest wlu'u he fi)iind tlic enemy's position so strong' that in any case 
 it would liave been no dis;^race to have hccn biMtcii ly superior 
 nunilHTS of such a brave foe as that Hncr force wliich I saw in the very 
 position they liad fouj^ht in. It was eviilc .t that prol),ihly no one had 
 ever startccl on a more dopciatc venture than had this dariii^^ litti'.' 
 force, and they jijaiiied by their >»allaiitrv the adoration, not only of the 
 lioer hur^^hcrs wiio spoke to me, but of the wliole town of Jolianncs- 
 bur>». 
 
 These Boers— rouizh, simple men, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, 
 with merely a rille slung over the shoulder to show they were soldiers 
 — spoke in fcelinfi terms of the splendid bravery shown by their 
 assailants. They were perfectly calm and spoke wiliiout any t)oastful- 
 ness in a self-reliant way. They said, pointin;^ to the i;roiiiKl, that tlie 
 tliiiij^ was impossible, and hence the present result. 
 
 Tlie total loss of Dr. Jameson's force is about twenty. Major Grc^ 
 WIS, they said, tlio principal military officer, and they Ihouj^ht th.it 
 officer was killed, and that (! •; report that Sir John W'lllo ii^hb, had 
 hccn killed was unfoundcu. lie and Dr. Jameson have been taken to 
 TretoMa. 
 
 At 9. 1 5 o'clock the white flag was put up. Sir J. Willoughby, 
 the officer in coinmand of the force, then sent the following 
 note addressed to the Commandant of the Transvaal Forces : 
 
 We surrender, provided that yo- ;:;uarantee us safe conduct out of the 
 country for every member of the force. 
 
 John C. VVii.LoUGHi.y. 
 
 A reply was sent within fifteen minutes, of which the 
 f jliowing is a literal translation : 
 
 Officer, — Please take note that I shall immediately assemble our 
 oflicers to decide upon your communication. 
 
 Commandant. 
 
 Twenty or thirty minutes later a second note was received 
 by the surrendering force, addressed ' John C. Willoughby ' : 
 
 I acknowledge your letter. The answer is that, if you will undertake 
 to pay the expense which you have caused the South African Kcpublic, 
 and if you will surrender with your arms, then 1 shall spare the lives of 
 you and yours. Please send me a reply to this witiiin thirty minutes. 
 
 P. A. Ckonje. 
 Co'-' '••anilant, Patch e/stroom. 
 
 Within fifteen minutes of the receipt of this letter, Sir J. 
 Willoughby replied, accepti'^g the conditions in the following 
 term«i 
 
i86 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 I accept the terms on the guarantee that the lives of all will be spared 
 I now await your instructions as to how and where we are to lay down 
 our arms. At the same time I would ask you to remember that my men 
 have been without food for the last twenty-four hours. 
 
 ' The flag sent with the first message (to quote the statement 
 made on behalf of Sir J. Willoughby by his solicitor, Mr. R. 
 V. Hawksley) was sent perhaps a little earlier than 9.15. Dr. 
 Jameson's force ceased firing as soon as the flag was hoisted, 
 except on the extreme right. Messengers were sent to stop 
 that firing, and all firing ceased within five minutes. The 
 Boers continued to fire for some ten minutes, and for some 
 time after Jameson's force had ceased. After Sir J. Willoughby 
 had received the first answer the State Artillery opened fire 
 and continued firing for at least fifteen minutes. Sir J. 
 Willoughby sent Colonel the Hon. H. White and Captain 
 Grenfcll to the Commandant with a note requesting to know 
 the reason for firing on a flag of truce, and requesting that it 
 might cease. Sir J. Willoughby has no copy of the letter he 
 wrote accepting the conditions offered by Cronj^, but it was 
 to the effect above given. 'Besides Cronjd, Commandant 
 Malan was acquainted with the terms of surrender, for a/ter 
 /ameson's force had given up their arms Commandant Malan 
 came up and repudiated part of the terms, saying he would 
 not guarantee the lives of Jameson and the leaders, and 
 that they would be handed over to General Joubert, who 
 would decide their fate.' 
 
 The decision having been announced to the forces, and 
 many of the men having stacked their arms and dropped off 
 to sleep where they lay in the veld, several other commandants 
 joined Cronj6, and an altercation took place in the presence of 
 the surrendered officers. Commandant Malan of Rustenburg 
 violently proclaiming that Cronje had no right to spare the 
 lives of the force, and that it lay with the Commandant- 
 General and Krijgsraad (or War Council) to decide what 
 should be done with the prisoners. Commandant Cronje 
 replied that they had surrendered to him upon certain con- 
 ditions, and those conditions had been accepted by him. In 
 the course of the discussion, in which several other prominent 
 Boers joined, disapproval was generally expressed of Cronj6's 
 acceptance of the terms and threats were used to Dr. Jameson 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 187 
 
 in person. Eye-witnesses on the Boer side state that Dr. 
 Jameson declined to discuss the matter further ; he merely 
 bowed and walked away. It may be remarked that it is not 
 by any means unusual tor the Roers to seek to stretch to their 
 advantage terms which they have previously agreed upon. 
 There can :kow be no question as to the conditions of the sur- 
 render. The officer in command on the field agreed to spare 
 the lives of the entire force, and it was not competent for 
 anyone to reverse that decision or to reopen the question. 
 The incident is instructive, and also important since the 
 lives of Dr. Jameson and his men were made to play a con- 
 siderable part in President Kruger's game of magnanimity 
 later on. * 
 
 ' See Appendix G. It will be noted that in his declarations Com- 
 mandant Cronje modifies his terms very considerably. It was im- 
 possible for any reasonable person to accept the explanation preferred 
 by him, that the promise to spare the lives of the surrendered force 
 was only to hold good until they could be handed over to the Com- 
 mandant-General. In fact, it is well known that Commandant Cronje 
 only took up this attitude after an extremely acrimonious discussion 
 had taken place between him and Commandant Malan — a quarrel 
 in which they went the length of making charges against each other in 
 the public press of treachery and neglect of duty whilst in the field. 
 The Commandant Cronje referred to here is the same gentleman who 
 commanded the Boer forces at Potchefstroom in the War of Inde- 
 pendence, and his record is an extremely unpleasant one, his conduct 
 of operations having earned for the Potchefstroom commando the 
 worst reputation of any. Apart from the execution of several British 
 subjects who were suspected and, on wholly insufficient grounds, 
 summarily shot as spies, there are the unpleasant facts that he caused 
 prisoners of war to be placed in the forefront of the besieging opera- 
 tions and compelled them to work in the trenches in exposed positions 
 so that they should be — and actually were — shot by their own comrades. 
 There was also the incident in which he refused to allow one or two of 
 the ladies who were among the beleaguered garrison, and who were 
 ihen in extremely bad health, to leave the fort to obtain such food and 
 medical attendance as would enable them to live. One of the ladies 
 died in consequence. But the incident which has more bearing on 
 Jameson's surrender than any other is that connected with the armi:5tice, 
 when Commandant Cronje, in defiance of treaty obligations, witlihcid 
 from Colonel Winslow and the besieged garrison the news that an 
 armistice had been arranged between the Boer and British forces, and 
 continued the siege until the garrison, in order to save the lives of the 
 wounded and the women and children refugees, were obliged to sur- 
 render. It will be remembered that this incident was too much even 
 for Mr. Gladstone, and that on its becoming known after the terms of peace 
 had been settled, the Transvaal Government were required by Sir Evelyn 
 Wood to allow a British force to march up from Natal and re-occupy 
 Potchefstroom as a formal acknowledgment of Cronje' s treachery. 
 Mr. Kruger and his party, who were in the greatest fear that the settle- 
 
mm 
 
 I 
 
 i88 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 The Johannesburg S/ar correspondent, describing the 
 surrender, says : 
 
 There were upwards of 400 aIto':fethcr, and the poor fellows made a 
 sorry sight — tired froiTi their long march, their privations, and the 
 tremendous strain of continuous engagements for nearly twenty-four 
 hours. Some almost skpt in their saddles as they were being escorted ; 
 and when they arrived on Krugersderp Market Square the scene will 
 not soon be forgotten. 
 
 The Boers freely mixed with them and talked with them. Provisions 
 were brought, and devoured with ravenous hunger. In many cases tlic 
 Boers gave from their own scant stock of provisions to the starving 
 men, for whom they expressed the utmost admiration for their plucki- 
 ness and determination. 
 
 Dr. Jameson and his principal officers, including Sir John Willoughby, 
 were brought in separately from the main body of the captured troop's. 
 Although tlie Boers treated most of the prisoners w'th consideration, 
 they jeered somewhat when Dr. Jameson was brought forward ; but 
 this was promptly suppressed by the Commandants. Dr. Jameson and 
 the officers were temporarily housed in the Court-house, together nith 
 the other officers captured previously. 
 
 A mule-waggon was brought up, fitted with mattresses. The chief 
 oflicers were despatched to Pretoria under a strong escort of Boers. 
 About half an hour later the rest of the prisoners were also escorted out 
 of the town to Pretoria, most of them on their own horses. Both men 
 and horses were extremely emaciated. 
 
 Tl.e burgher losses were reported to have been 4 kilLd and 
 5 wounded. The losses of Dr. Jameson's force were 18 killed 
 and about 40 wounded. 
 
 There were also taken : 400 magazine and Lee-Metford 
 rifles, 8 Maxims (one spiked, or with the breach-piece gone), 
 4 field-pieces, 33,000 rifle cartridges, 10 cases of Maxim cart- 
 ridges, ID cases of projectiles, 2 sacks of projectiles, 300 
 cartridge-belts, 13 revolvers, 4 mule- waggons, 5 Scotch carts, 
 742 horses (in which were included the 250 horses which were 
 captured in charge of two troopers near Blaaubank), a full- 
 blooded stallion (the property of Dr. Jameson), 400 saddles, 
 bridles etc., 38 mules with harness, i telegrapn instrument 
 (probably to tap wires with), harness and other accoutrements 
 and instruments of war. 
 
 The prisoners were treated with every consideration by 
 their captors, with tlie exception perliaps of Dr. Jameson 
 himself, who was threatened by some of the unruly ones and 
 
 mcnt would not be effected, and that Sir Evelyn Wood's action might 
 provoke a renewal ol hostilities, agreed to the terms, but with grave 
 apprehensions as to the results. However, no contretemps occurred. 
 
 IS 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 189 
 
 i 
 
 i i 
 
 freely hissed and hooted, but was protectt <! by the officers in 
 charge. It must be said of the lioers that they acted with 
 admirable self-restraint and dignity in a position such as very 
 few are called upon to face. However politic their actions 
 may have been in their fear of provoking conflict with Johan- 
 nesburg and the Imperial Government, however the juggling 
 with Dr, Jameson's life afterwards and the spurious mag- 
 nanimity so freely advertized, may detract from what they 
 did and may tend to bring ridicule and suspicion upon them, 
 one cannot review the broad facts of the Jameson invasion, 
 and realize a position which, if only for the moment, gave the 
 aggrieved party unlimited scope for revenge upon an aggressor 
 who had not the semblance of personal wrong or interest nor 
 the pretext of duty to justify his action, without allowing 
 to the Boers that they behaved in such a manner as, for 
 a time, to silence even that criticism winch is logically 
 justifiable and ultimately imperative. In so far as the 
 invading force are concerned, the words of Mr, A. J. Balfour 
 aptly sum up the position : ' President Kruger has shown 
 himself to possess a generosity which is not the less to be 
 admired because it is coincident with the highest political 
 wisdom.' 
 
 With reference to the surrender of the force, it is reasonable 
 to believe that the Transvaal Government, knowing how serious 
 the complications would be if civil war actually took place, 
 and believing as they undoubtedly did that Johannesburg 
 contained upwards of 20,000 armed men, were quite willing — 
 indeed anxious — to secure the surrender of Dr. Jameson's force 
 on any terms, and that the conditions made by Cronje were 
 quite in accordance with what the highest Boer authorities 
 would hav^ accepted. It seems to be beyond question also 
 that the conditions of surrender were purposely suppressed in 
 order to enable the President to bargain with Johannesburg ; 
 and, as has already been stated, such action materially de- 
 tracted from the credit due to the Transvaal Government. 
 This is their characteristic diplomacy — the fruit of generations 
 of sharpening wits against savages ; and the same is called 
 Kaffir cunning, and is not understood at first by European 
 people. But when all such considerations are weighed, there 
 is still a large balance of credit due to the Boers for the 
 
190 
 
 THK TKANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 manner in which they treated Dr. Jameson and his invading 
 force. It is difficult to conceive of any people behaving better 
 to a foe vanquished under such conditions ; indeed, it would 
 be quite impossible. 
 
 The Boers when under control of their leaders have gene- 
 rally behaved in an admirable manner. It is only when the 
 individuals, unrestrained by those in authority, are left to 
 exercise their power at the dictates of their own uncurbed 
 passions, that the horrible scenes have occurred which have 
 undoubtedly blemished their reputation. 
 
 In connection with the Jameson raid there was one such 
 incident — the shooting of Trooper Black. The unfortunate 
 man fell into the hands of the Boers while out scouting and 
 was taken as a prisoner to a farmhouse near Blaaubank. 
 There he was tied up and beaten, and it is stated by a woman 
 who gave him water when he was half mad with thirst, that 
 his face had been smashed by a blow from a rifle butt. When 
 unable to bear the treatment any longer Black stood up and, 
 tearing his shirt open, cried out, * Don't shoot me in the back ! 
 Shoot here ! My heart's in the right place.' He was then 
 untied and (as alleged by Dutch witnesses) given an oppor- 
 tunity to escape. He mounted his horse, but before he had 
 gone far was shot dead. On the appeal of Sir Jacobus de 
 Wet the Government consented to investigate the matter ; 
 but the Commandant in charge, Piet Grobler, when questioned 
 on the subject, merely replied, ' Oh, he [Black] was a very 
 insolent fellow. We could do nothing with him.' The man 
 who fired the shot despatching Black, a half-caste Boer 
 named Graham, stated on his return from Pretoria that he 
 was asked no questions at the so-called inquiry. 
 
 A somewhat similar incident took place, but fortunately 
 with less serious results, on the way from the battle of 
 Krugersdorp. A well-known resident of Johannesburg had 
 ridden out to ascertain news of Dr. Jameson, and, arriving as 
 the surrender took place, thrust his way among the Boers 
 until he reached the Doctor, where he was arrested by the 
 Boer authorities as a spy. Being a burgher of the State who 
 had been resident in the Transvaal for some sixteen or seven- 
 teen years, he was recognized and rather harshly treated. 
 He was attached by a leather thong to the saddle of one of 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 191 
 
 the Boer Commandants and made to run, keeping pace with 
 the horse. After a spell of this treatment he was released, 
 and the Commandant in question offered to make a bet with 
 him that he would not be able to race him on horseback to 
 the ambulance waggons a few hundred yards off, the prisoner 
 to take a short cut across a swamp and the Commandant to 
 ride round by the road. The prisoner thereupon replied, ' No, 
 thank you, Commandant. I was in the Boer War myself and 
 saw several men shot by that dodge, on the pretence that 
 they were escaping.' The worthy Commandant thereupon 
 drew his stirrup from the saddle, and thrashed his prisoner 
 with the stirrup end. After some ten days' imprisonment 
 under exceptionally hard conditions the gentleman in ques- 
 tion was released without trial. 
 
 The complete success of the Boer forces against Dr. Jame- 
 son's band has been accounted for in many ways, but un- 
 doubtedly the one reason, if one can be selected, which 
 enabled them to deal with the invaders, was their ability to 
 mobilize at short notice. And in this connection arises the 
 question : Did the Boers know beforehand of the intended 
 invasion, and were they waiting until Dr. Jameson should 
 walk into the trap ? On behalf of the Boers it is strenuously 
 maintained that they had not the remotest notion of what 
 was brewing, and that had such an idea occurred to them 
 they would of course have reported matters to the High 
 Commissioner. The President's unyielding mood before he 
 heard of Dr. Jameson's start, and his change afterwards, the 
 state of demoralization in Pretoria, the unpreparedness of the 
 State Artillery, and the vacillation of General Joubert, the 
 condition of alarm in which the President was during that 
 night of suspense before the surrender, when Chief Justice 
 Kotze sat with him to aid and cheer, and when the old white 
 horse stood saddled in the stable in case Johannesburg should 
 attack Pretoria ; all point to the conclusion that it was not 
 all cut and dried. With a singular unanimity, the Boers and 
 their friends and the majority of the Uitlanders in the Trans- 
 vaal support this view ; but there are on record certain facts 
 which are not to be ignored. Apart altogether from the 
 hearsay evidence of telegraphists and Boer officials in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, who state that they were under 
 
li)2 
 
 THE TRANSVAAi, FKOM WITHIN 
 
 orders from Government to remain at their posts day and 
 night tliat is to say to sleep in their offices — a fortnight 
 before the Jameson raid took place, a significant piece of 
 evidence is that supplied by the Transvaal Consul in London, 
 Mr. Montagu White, who in a letter to the London Press 
 stated that on December i6 he received information as to the 
 plot against the independence of the Republic, and that he 
 on that date cabled fully to President Kruger warning him 
 of what was in contemplation, and that the President took 
 the necessary precautions. Now, on December 14 it was 
 announced in Pretoria that the President, being greatly in 
 need of a rest and change, was about to undertake a tour 
 through the country to visit his faithful burghers. Perusal 
 of the newspapers of the time shows that among the 
 Uitlanders no significance was attaclied to this visit. Indeed, 
 the Uitlander press agreed that it had become painfully 
 evident that His Honour required a change in order to 
 restore his nervous system. As nothir.f^ can better repre- 
 sent the opinions of the time than the current comments of 
 the Press, the following extracts from the Johannesburg Siar 
 are given : 
 
 In short, His Honour is developing an ungovernable irritability and 
 a tendency to choleric obsessions, when the word ' Uitlander' is barely 
 mentioned in his presence, that are causing the greatest concern to 
 those around him. Only on some such grounds are explicable the 
 raging exclamations he is reported to have permitted himself to lately 
 use towards Johannesburg and the cause of reform upon which it is so 
 earnestly engaged. That His Honour should have been generally 
 credited with indulging in unconventional vernacular terms concerning 
 the pronouncedly loyal and hearty reception accorded to him on liis 
 visit to the Rand Agricultural Show, seems to argue a lapse into the 
 habits of his youngest days, which lias a direct significance in the case 
 of ordii'.ary individuals, and is known by a very familiar name. Tiiat 
 he should tragically declare that only across his bleeding corpse will 
 the Uitlander ever come into his own, is merely the extravagant and 
 regrettable melodrama of an overheated mind. The general desire is 
 quite averse to encountering any stepping-stones of that kind, and 
 most of all averse to Mr. Kniger's taking any such place. Our quarrel 
 is with principles and systems, and never yet has a note of persotial 
 vengeance been sounded vviiilst we liave endeavoured to compass their 
 destruction. It is quite obvious that a little relaxation from the cares of 
 State, or reversion to more primitive conditions, a freer communion 
 with Nature — viewed from an ox-waggon — are eminently desirable to 
 restore His Honour's shattered nerves. — December 14, 1895. 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 »93 
 
 AT HIS POST. 
 His Honour ihe President has returned to the seat of Government, 
 nie itinerary appears to have been somewhat prematurely cut short ; 
 but no one is likely to so ridiculously undcr-cstimute the sterling 
 qualities of His Honour as to conceive the possibility of his absence 
 when difficulty and danger imperatively command his presence at the 
 head of public affairs. The conclusions which Mr. Kruger has derived 
 from converse with his faithful burghers are likely to remain buried in 
 liis own breast. The outward and ostensible object of his recent tour 
 has been fulfilled in much the accustomed manner ; that is to say, 
 he has discussed with apparent interest the necessity for a pont here or 
 a bridge there ; the desirability of Government aid for tree-planting, 
 the trouble which the farmers experience in getting native labour, and 
 so forth, and so on ; but we nmst not derive from all this peripatetic 
 fustian the erroneous impression that His Honour has been vacuously 
 fidcUing on the eve of a conflagration. The real business whicli took 
 him to Lydenburg and Middelburg has no doubt been satisfactorily 
 accomplished. Boer sentiment has been tested in secret, and the 
 usual professions of fervid patriotism and of readiness for target 
 practice with the Uitlander as the mark have been profusely evoked. 
 This sub-official aspect of the itinerary has been discreetly veiled in all 
 tlie reports which have been permitted to transpire, and the censorship 
 thereof has been more than normally exacting and severe ; but we are 
 from private sources left in no manner of doubt that Mr. Kruger has 
 been canvassing and stimulating the Boers to be ready for any 
 emergency, and has been metaphorically planting a war-beacon on 
 every hill. All scrutiny and inquiry fail to discover that he has uttered 
 one single word which can be described as an emollient to the present 
 critical situation. He has pandered rather to the worst racial passions 
 of the Boer, instead of using the enormous responsibility resting upon 
 him in the direction of mediation. Old patriarchs — whom we cannot 
 but respect and admire whilst we deplore their immitigable and hope- 
 less rancour against the cause of the newcomer — have been permitted, 
 apparently without rebuke, to show their wounds to the younger and 
 more malleable generation in His Honour's presence, and to boast 
 of their readiness to receive as much more lead as they can con- 
 veniently find room for. The tour, indeed, has been a wapenschouuiug, 
 with oratory of the most dangerous and pernicious type for its 
 accompaniment. His Honour's contribution to this interesting display 
 of martial ardour has been couclied, as usual, in the enigmatic form. 
 He has spoken another parable. A mind so fertile in image and in 
 simile cannot have lost much of its wonted vigour. The one he has 
 chosen to employ on this occasion is full of instruction, and is derived, 
 as Mr. Kruger's images frequently are, from the arena of n.i'ural 
 history. When you want to kill your tortoise, he must be artfully 
 induced to imprudently protrude his head beyond his thick and im- 
 pregnable shell, and then the task becomes a very easy one. This 
 liftlc parable was considered good for use on more than one occasion, 
 varied by the addition that, if tlie tortoise be up to the trick, it is 
 necessary to sit down and wait until he does make the fatal mistake. 
 The only drawback to our profound intellectual delight in the parable 
 is the question, ' Who will be the tortoise ?' — December 27, 1895. 
 
 A perusal of the German White Book shows that 
 
 On December 24 the German Consul in Pretoria telegraphed to the 
 
 o 
 
 i , 
 
WP*" 
 
 194 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Foreign Office that ' news from Joliannesbuij^ points to the preparation 
 of cHsturbances l)y the English party there, and the Government is 
 taking precautionary m'.-asures,' Baron von Marschall communicated 
 tliis to Sir Frank Lascelles, and, after pointing out the possible 
 consequence of bloodshed, emphasized once again the necessity for 
 maintaining the status quo. In rejily to the German Consul in Pretoria, 
 the Secretary of State telegraphed a similar statement, adding : 
 ' Impress energelically uDon the Transvaal Government that it niu^l 
 most scrupulously avoid any provocation if it wishes to retain German 
 sympathy.' 
 
 Another little light on the inside history is that afforded 
 by Mr. J. C. Bodenstein, Field-cornet of the Krugersdorp 
 district, who in the course of an interview accorded to the 
 Standard and Diggers' News, the Johannesburg Government 
 organ, stated how he came to know of Jameson's intended 
 invasion. He heard that a certain young lady who resided 
 at Luipaardsvlei, near Krugersdorp, whose fianc^ occupied 
 a good position in the Bechuanaland Border Police, had 
 received a letter fron^ him at Mafeking to the effect that 
 he intended paying her a visit about the New Year, and 
 that he would not be alone, as the whole force was coming 
 to Johannesburg. The lady proved no exception to the 
 alleged rule concerning secrets, and Field-cornet Bodenstein 
 personally assured himself of the authenticity of the report 
 he had heard. 
 
 On Friday, December 27, a German gentleman from the 
 Free State also informed the Field-cornet that Dr. Jameson 
 and his troopers might be expected at any time. ' On hearing 
 this confirmation of the letter,' said Mr. Bodenstein, ' 1 went 
 at once to Pretoria. I arrived there at eleven o'clock at 
 night, and early the next morning I saw the President and 
 informed him about the letter and what I had been told. 
 He remarked quietly : " Yes, I have heard all about it." 
 The General (Joubert) then said : " All right ; I will send you 
 ne ammunition you require." ' 
 
 In the report of the Select Committee of the Cape House 
 of Assembly (Blue Book A 6 of 1896, page 76) there is the 
 evidence of the Hon. J. A. Faure, M.L.C., which shows that 
 he and Sir Thomas Upington, the Attorney-General of 
 Cape Colony, were on a visit to Johannesburg on December 
 27, and heard it publicly stated that Dr. Jameson with 
 800 men was on the border for the purpose of invading 
 
BWp 
 
 THE INVASION 
 
 «95 
 
 the Transvaal. Mr. Faure testifies that he learned this from 
 a very prominent Free State Dutchman. Among others, one 
 would suppose that the Transvaal Government must also 
 have heard something of it. 
 
 Dr. Veale, a well-known Pretoria doctor, states that at 
 daybreak on Thursday, January 2, Commandant Hendrik 
 Schoeman called on him to secure his professional attend- 
 ance for a member of his family who was very ill. The 
 Commandant said that he had been sent out on Monday 
 to watch the invading force and to ascertain their numbers, 
 and also stated that he had been following the troop with 
 others for a considerable time and that he was sure 
 Jameson had not 800 but between 450 and 500, as he 
 had repeatedly counted them ; that the force was being 
 delayed by small parties drawing it into useless fighting 
 and so losing time ; that he himself had been obliged to 
 come on ahead, having been recalled on account of his 
 wife's serious illness, but that it made little difference as 
 there were others to take his place, and they had arranged 
 not to tackle Jameson until they had drawn him among the 
 kopjes at Doornkop, where it would be quite impossible for 
 him ever to get through. This statement it should be noted 
 was made in Pretoria some hours before the Jameson force 
 surrendered at Doornkop. 
 
 So certain do the Boers appear to have been, and so 
 confident of their ability to carry out their plans, that they 
 stated to a reporter of the Government newspaper that they 
 intended to stop Jameson at Rietspruit (Doornkop), and this 
 statement was published in a Johannesburg paper on the 
 morning of January !, but was of course regarded as mere 
 gossip of a piece with that which flooded the newspapers at 
 the time. It is only right to add that there were numbers 
 of other announcements at the same time which by no 
 means agreed with this one, and it is stated that the editor 
 was as much surprised as the public to find that he had been 
 right. 
 
 In reviewing the whole of the circumstances 01 the raid, 
 not the most biased and most interested of persons can 
 withhold a tribute of admiration to the President's presence 
 of mind, skill, and courage in dealing with circumstances 
 
 
 uk 
 
 
^^*p 
 
 'il 
 
 196 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 wholly without precedent ; and in quiet moments, when 
 recalling all that has happened, if human at all, his Honour 
 must induljje in a chuckle now and then to think how 
 completely he jockeyed everybody.' Not the least amusiivjj 
 recollection must be that of the 'great trek' (Banjailand 
 Trek), which his bur^^hcrs threatened to make into Mashona- 
 land via Rhodes' Drift when Sir John Willoughby gained his 
 first experience of Oom Paul. The military commander of 
 Dr. Jameson's force had called on the President to add weight 
 to the remonstrances which were being made against the action 
 of the burghers in invading the Chartered territory, and the 
 President, playing his cards for a favourable settlement of 
 Swaziland, had replied that he had done all that he could, 
 and events must take their course. ' Tell him,' said Sir 
 John to Dr. Leyds who was interpreting, 'that if the trek 
 is not stopped of course the result will be war !' ' If it must 
 be, let it be,' the old gentleman answered quietly. ' Then 
 tell him,' Sir John replied, 'that in that case he will have 
 to reckon with the British Army.' * And tell himl said 
 the President, pointing placidly at his interviewer with his 
 big pipe, ' that I have reckoned with the British Army 
 once before.' If the recollection occurred to both men on 
 January 2, it must have been with different emotions. 
 
 In dealing with President Kruger's personal attitude it 
 is not perhaps pertinent but, it is interesting, to recall an 
 incident of his earlier career — a parallel between the prisoner 
 and the President. Oddly enough President Kruger was a 
 rebel and a filibuster himself in the days of his hot youth, 
 and one of his earliest diplomatic successes was in securing 
 
 » Once when out hunting on foot — a young man then — Mr. Krugci , 
 aftci cHmhing to the top ot a kopje, found that he had been seen by a 
 number of hostile natives wlio were then running towards him, some to 
 dimb the hill, others branching out to surround it. He knew that those 
 on the Hat could cut him off before he could descend and that his only 
 chance lay in ' bluff.' Stepping on tc the outermost ledge in full view 
 of the enemy he calmly laid down his rifle, drew off first one and tlicn 
 the other of his velschoens (home-made hide shoes, in those poorer days 
 worn without socks) and after quietly knocking the sand out of them 
 drew them on again. By this time the natives had stopped to oliserve 
 him. He then picked up his riHe again, and turning to an imaginary 
 force behind -the kopje waved to the right and then to the left, as 
 though directing them to charge round each end of the hill. The next 
 instant the Kaflirs were in full retreat. 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 197 
 
 the release and pardon of men who, in 1857, stood in exactly 
 the same position as the Uitlanders whom he imprisoned. 
 
 The story of the Potchcfstroom revolt is little known in 
 England, but it is ti)ld in Theal's ' Standard History of South 
 Africa,' and very instructive reading it is. Dr. Hillicr, of 
 Johannesburg, one of the Reformers, called attention just 
 before the outbreak to the extraordinary parallel between 
 the revolt of Potchcfstroom in 1857 against the dominance 
 of Lydenburg and the condition of Johannesburg in 1895 
 under the despotism of Pretoria. Dr. Hillier in his pamphlet 
 said : 
 
 I* 
 
 In 1857 the Republic north of the Vaal attained its twentieth ye.ir. 
 It had increased in population, and had taken on, to some extent, the 
 habits and mode of life of a settled community. Mr. Pretorius and 
 his followers began to feel that in tlie altered circumstances of the 
 State the time had arrived for a remodelling of the Constitution. 
 Among these followers of Pretorius, these advocates of reform, it is 
 interesting to find was Mr. Stephanas Johannes Paulus Kruger. 
 
 Mr. Theal says : 
 
 ' During the months of September and October, 1856, Commandant- 
 General M. W. Pretorius made a tour through the districts of Kutsen- 
 burg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom, and called public meetings at all 
 the centres of population. At these meetings there was an expression 
 by a large majority in favour of immediate adoption of a Coiisiitution 
 which should provide for an efficient Government and an independent 
 Cluirch.' 
 
 And again, later on, we have in the words of South Africa's historian 
 the gist of the complaint against the then existing state of things : 
 
 'The community of Lydenburg was accused of attempting to 
 domineer over the whole country, without any other right to pre- 
 eminence than that of being composed of the earliest inhabitants, 
 a right which it had forfeited by its opposition to the general weal.' 
 
 Such was the shocking state of things in this country in 1856. It 
 was a great deal too bad for such champion reformers as Mr. Pretorius 
 and his lieutenant, Mr. S. J. P. Kruger, as we shall see later. Shortly 
 after these meetings were held, a Representative Assembly, consisting 
 of twenty-four members, one for each field-cornetcy, was elected for 
 the special purpose of framing a Constitution and installing the officials 
 whom it should decide to appoint. 
 
 On January 5, 1857, the Representative Assembly appointed Mr. 
 Martinus Wessels Pretorius President, and also appointed members 
 of an Executive Council. The oaths of office were then taken, the 
 Preside t and Executive installed, and the flag hoisted. When in- 
 telligence of these proceedings reached Zoutpansberg and Lydenburg, 
 there was a violent outburst of indignation. At a public meeting at 
 Zoutpansberg the acts and resolutions of the Representative Assembly 
 at Potchefstroom were almost unanimously repudiated, and a manifesto 
 disowning the new Constitution and everything connected with it 
 was drawn up. Mr. Pretorius then issued a proclamation, deposing 
 Commandant-General Schoeman from all authority, declaring Zoutpans- 
 
»98 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 berg in a state of blockade, and prohibiting traders from supplying 
 ' the rebels ' with aintnunition or anything else. This conduct on the 
 part of till" new (lovcrnmunt uncfer Mr. Prctorius appears to me 
 distinctly adroit. Having taken upon themselves to remodel the entire 
 Constitution of the country, they turn round on the adherents of the 
 older (iovernment, whom, by-tlie-by, they had not thouj»ht it worth 
 while to consult, and promptly call them ' rebels.' And so you have 
 this striking political phenomenon of a revolutionary par^y turning 
 on the adherents of the Government of the State, and denouncing tliem, 
 forsooth, as ' rebels.' 
 
 The 'Republic of Lydci'.burg' then declared itself into a sovereign 
 and independent State. And thus two Republics, two Volksraads, two 
 Governments, were formed and existed simultaneously ui the Transvaal. 
 And all this without a shot being fired, each party finding sufficient 
 relief to its feelings by calling the other party 'rebels.' In order to 
 strengthen its position, the party of Pretorius now determined on a 
 bold stroke. They sent emissaries to endeavour to arrange for union 
 with the Free State. The Free State Government rejected their ovc- 
 tures, but Pretorius was led to believe that so many of the Free State 
 burghers were anxious for this union that all that was necessary lor 
 him to do, in order to effect it, was to march in with an armed force. 
 He therefore placed himself at the head of a commando, and crossed 
 the Vaal, where he was joined by a certain number of Free State 
 burghers. 
 
 But Pretorius, with whom was Paul Kruger, found, like Dr. Jameson, 
 that he had reckoned without his host. When intelligence of this 
 invasion reached Bloemfontcin, President Boshotf issued a proclamation 
 declaring martial law in force throughout the Free State, and callii.g 
 out burghers for the defence of the country. It soon appeared that 
 the majority of the people were ready to support the President, and 
 from all quarters men repaired to Kroonstad. At this stage the Free 
 State President received an offer of assistance from General Schoeman, 
 of Zoutpansberg, against Pretorius, in which object he believed Lyden- 
 burg would also join. 
 
 On May 25 the two commandoes were drawn up facing eacli other 
 on opposite banks of the Rhenoster River, and remained in that 
 position for three hours. Threatened from the north as well as tlie 
 south Pretorius felt his chance of success was small, and he therefore 
 sent out Commandant Paul Kruger with a flag of truce to propose that 
 a pacific settlement should be made. 
 
 Here indeed is a very close parallel, but the climax is still to come. 
 The treitty arrived at was practically an apology on the part of the 
 South African Republic. Many citizens of the Free State who had 
 joined the northern forces moved over the Vaal after this event. 
 Those who remained and those who had been previously arrested 
 were brought to trial for high treason. One man was sentenced to 
 death, but the sentence was mitigated subsequently to a fine ; others 
 were fined. These fines were again still further mitigated at the 
 solicitation of Messrs. Paul Kruger and Steyn, until it came to little 
 more than a ten-pound note apiece. 
 
 There we have the story of President Kruger and his 
 friend.s playing exactly the part Dr. Jameson and the 
 Johannesburg Reformers tried to do. As Potchefstroom 
 rose under Mr. Kruger against the oligarchical rule of 
 
 h: 
 
THE INVASION 
 
 «99 
 
 Lydenburg, so Johannesburg was to rise aj^ainst Pretrtria. 
 The Potchefstroom Republic under Pretf)rius and Krii^rcr 
 made a raid d la Jameson into the Orange Free State for 
 political purposes, to encourage those who were believed to 
 be anxious to effect a union. And just as Jameson failcnl 
 against the Government of Pretoria, so Pretorius failed 
 against the Government of the Orange Free State. In 
 1857 it was Paul Kruger not Dr. Jamison who hoisted the 
 white flag. The Free Staters who had tried to help Kruger's 
 raid were arrested just as the Johannesburgers were ; but 
 although one of them ' . ^ condemned to death all of them 
 were released, by the intervention of Mr. Kru;.;cr himself, on 
 paying a slight fine. 
 
 History has repeated itself indeed ; but the offence of Dr. 
 Jameson is surely less than that of Mr. Kruger, if we are 
 to pay heed to the records of the Free State Volksraad, 
 wherein it is written that on a certain day the President 
 stated in open Raad that proof had been obtained of a 
 proposed combined attack on the F"ree State by the 
 Transvaal Boers, led by Pretorius and Kruger on the one 
 side, and the Basutos under Moshesh on the other — a 
 horrible and unnatural alliance which was not effected 
 only because Moshesh could not trust his professed allies. 
 The Raad thereupon publicly gave thanks to the Almighty, 
 Who had revealed and frustrated this ' hideous complot' 
 
 1 
 
 
 • 
 
m^ 
 
 CHAPTER Vil. 
 
 AFTER DOORNKOP. 
 
 The news of Dr. Jameson's surrender was received in 
 Joiiannesburg towards mid-day, at first with derision, but as 
 report after report came in, each confirming and supple- 
 menting the other, no room for doubt was left and a scene 
 of the wildest excitement ensued. It is not too much to say 
 that not one person in a hundred, no matter what his 
 political leanings were, had doubted for a moment Dr. Jame- 
 son's ability to force his way into Johannesburg. There is 
 not the slightest indication in the newspapers of the time, 
 which without doubt reflected every varying mood and 
 repeated every rumour which it was possible to catch from 
 an excited people, that there was in any man's mind a 
 suspicion that the Boers would be able to stop the invader. 
 In the first place no one believed that they could mobilize 
 sufficiently quickly to oppose him, and in the second place, he 
 was understood to have a force of 800 men so admirably 
 equipped and trained that it would not be possible for 5,000 
 Boers hurriedly called together to intercept him. All this, 
 however, was forgotten when it came to accounting for the 
 disaster ; or rather, the previous convictions only added 
 strength to the rage of disappointment. The public by that 
 time knew of the letter of invitation ; it had been taken on 
 the battle-field and news of it was telegraphed in, and apart 
 from this the writers had made no secret of it. But what 
 the public did not know, and what, if they had known it, 
 would not have appealed with 'imilar force, was the efforts 
 made to stop Jameson and the practical withdrawal of the 
 
 200 
 
 I 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 201 
 
 letter before he had started. It was sufficient for them 
 during the few remaining hours of that day to recall that 
 Jameson had come in, that he had fought against great odds, 
 and that when almost reaching his goal he had been taken 
 prisoner for want of assistance. It is perfectly true that in their 
 rage of grief and disappointment men were willing to march 
 out with pick-handles to rescue him, if theiC were not rifles 
 enough to arm them. While the excitement lasted this was 
 the mood, and the Reform Committee were the scapegoats. 
 The attitude of the crowd was due to ignorance of the cir- 
 cumstances and natural emotion which could not be other- 
 wise vented. The excitement had greatly abated by the 
 following morning, and it was realized then that the position 
 was practically but little worse than that which the Reform 
 Committee had offered to take up when they tendered their 
 persons as security for the evacuation of the country by the 
 invading force, and had proposed to continue the struggle 
 without their aid. 
 
 The reports received by the Johannesburg people were to 
 the effect that the surrender had been conditional upon the 
 sparing of the lives of the force. Indeed the first reports 
 agreed that Jameson upon receipt of the High Commis- 
 sioner's proclamation, had laid down his arms ; but upon the 
 return of Mr. Lace (whose mission has been explained) it was 
 realized that this was not the case. A later account showed 
 that Jameson had sunendered to Commandant Cronj6 on 
 the condition that the hves of all should be spared, and this 
 version of the surrender was published in the Johannesburg 
 newspapers. When further accounts were received from 
 Pretoria and Krugen dorp, stating that the surrender had 
 been unconditional and that there was grave doubt as to 
 what would be done with Dr. Jameson, it was surmised as an 
 explanation that he had declined to bargain for his own life 
 and had merely stipulated that those of his followers should 
 be spared. 
 
 On Friday the news that it was contemplated to shoot 
 Dr. Jameson caused a frenzy of horror and excitement in the 
 town. Every effort was made by the Reform Committee 
 and its supporters to maintain strictly the position which the 
 Government had suggested through their Cwuimission on 
 
202 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 i 
 
 ' »i 
 
 Wednesday, lest some untoward incident should turn tne 
 trembling balance against Dr. Jameson and his men ; 
 nc!. were the Committee alone in the desire to maintain 
 that position. On Friday and on Saturday communications 
 were received from the local Government officials, and from 
 Commandant-General Joubert through the British Agent, 
 drawing the attention of the Committee to alleged breaches 
 of the arrangement The allegations were satisfactorily dis- 
 proved ; but the communications clearly indicated that the 
 Government were most desirous of maintaining the position 
 in relation to Johannesburg which they had laid down before 
 the first battle with Dr. Jameson's forces. 
 
 Information was received on Thursday that the High 
 Commissioner would leave Capetown for Pretoria at 9 p.m. 
 that night. It had been a matter of surprise that, the 
 arrangement having been entered into with him early on 
 Wednesday, he had not found it convenient to start for some 
 thirty-six hours. Considering how seriously he had inter- 
 fered with the movement — first by his proclamation, and 
 next by concerted action with the Government for a peace- 
 ful settlement — it had been naturally assumed that he would 
 not lose a moment in leaving Capetown for the scene of 
 trouble. Such however was not the case. 
 
 It has been alleged that the arrangement made between 
 the Transvaal Government and the High Commissioner with 
 a view to a peaceful settlement bore only upon Dr. Jame- 
 son's action, and that it was not contemplated that there 
 should be any interference between the Government and its 
 own subjects in Johannesburg. In answer to this it may be 
 noted that the High Commissioner had in the first place 
 offered his services, and that those services had been declined 
 by the Transvaal Government ; but that the latter, on realizing 
 the seriousness of the position which they were called upon 
 to face, and acting, it is stated, upon the advice of Mr. J. H. 
 Hofmeyr, the recognized leader of the Dutch Africanders in 
 the Cape Colony, reconsidered this refusal and urgently 
 besought the High Commissioner to go up to Pretoria and 
 use his influence to effect a peaceful setiJement. This 
 arrangement, together with the promise of the redress of 
 grievances, had been made known to the deputation of the 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 201, 
 
 Reform Committee by the Government Commission in 
 Pretoria, as has already been stated — the Government well 
 knowing that Johannesburg was in arms and a party to the 
 arrangement with Dr. Jameson. 
 
 Dr. Jameson surrendered at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday. The 
 High Commissioner did not leave Capetown until 9 p.m. the 
 same day. There had therefore been ample time for the 
 Government to intimate to him their opinion that matters 
 had been satisfactorily settled and that they did not need 
 his services any longer, had they held such an opinion. As 
 a matter of fact, that was by no means their opinion. They 
 considered that they had yet to deal with 20,000 armed men 
 in Johannesburg, and that they had to do that, if possible, 
 without provoking a civil war, which would inevitably result 
 in the long-run to their disadvantage, however great their 
 success might be over the Johannesburg people in the mean- 
 time. They not only allowed the High Commissioner to 
 proceed to Pretoria on the understanding originally effected, 
 but they took steps to remind the Reform Committee on 
 several occasions that they were expected to adhere to the 
 arrangement entered into. And such was the position when 
 the High Commissioner arrived on the night of Saturday, 
 the 4th. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson proceeded direct to Pretoria, but 
 did not transact any business until Monday, abstaining, in 
 deference to the feelings of the Boers, from any discussion of 
 business matters on the Sabbath. On Sunday, however, he 
 received information from the Reform Committee as to the 
 arrangements entered into with the Government. He was 
 also informed that threats had been made by persons who 
 without doubt were speaking the mind of the Government, 
 that if any trouble should take place with Johannesburg Dr. 
 Jameson and probably many of his comrades would be shot. 
 It was not stated that the Transvaal Government or autlio- 
 rities would officially countenance any such act or would 
 authorize it even as the result of a trial ; but the statement 
 which was made by everyone from the President downward 
 was that, in the event of an^ fighting in Johannesburg, 
 the burghers would be so much enraged and so beyond 
 control that the prisoners who had caused all the trouble 
 
 M 
 
204 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 would inevitably be shot. It is a part of Boer diplomacy to 
 make as much use as possible of every weapon that comes to 
 hand without too great a regard for the decencies of govern- 
 ment as they occur to the minds of every civilized people, 
 and it is not at all unusual to find the President proclaiming; at 
 one moment that some course must be taken to prevent disaster, 
 for the reason that he cannot be answerable for his burghers 
 in their excited state, and at another moment indignantly 
 repudiating the suggestion that they would be guilty of any 
 step that could be considered unworthy of the most civilized 
 of peoples. In fact such exhibitions were repeatedly given by 
 him at a later stage when dealing with the Reform prisoners. 
 
 Before any communication was received from the Hiii^h 
 Commissioner on Monday messages had been received by 
 the members of the Reform Committee to the effect that the 
 laying down of arms would be absolutely necessary to ensure 
 the safety of Jameson and his men. The Reform Committee 
 had then learnt that the two messengers sent to stop Dr. 
 Jameson — Major Heany and Captain Holden — had reached 
 him, and had come in with him, and were at that moment 
 prisoners with him in Pretoria. They had also heard of the 
 reception accorded to Sir Jacobus de Wet's despatch and the 
 High Commissioner's proclamation, so that it was abundantly 
 clear that the incursion had been made in defiance of the 
 wishes of the leaders, whatever other reasons there might 
 have been to prompt it. But the public who constituted the 
 movement were still under the impression that Dr. Jameson 
 was a very fine fellow who had come in in a chivalrous 
 manner to help those whom he had lielieved to be in distress. 
 There was however no division of opinion as to what should 
 be done ; even those who felt most sore about the position 
 in which they had been placed did not hesitate for a moment 
 The first and for the time being the only consideration was 
 the safety of Dr. Jameson and his comrades. 
 
 The events and negotiations of the days preceding the 
 arrest of the Reformers have been the subject of so much 
 discussion and so much misunderstanding that it will be 
 better as far as possible to compile the history from original 
 documents or the published and properly authenticated 
 copies. In Blue Book [C. 7,933] the following is published : 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 305 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson {Pretoria) to Mr. Chamukrlain. 
 (Telegraphic. Received 1.8 a.m., 6th January, i8q6.) 
 
 5//; January. No. 3. — Anivcd here last nij:;ht. Position of affair> 
 very critical. On side of Government of South African Republi'.- an.i 
 of Oranf^c Free State there is a desire to show moderation, but Boer> 
 show tendency to get out of hand and to dtmand execution of Jameson. 
 I am told that Government of South African Renubiic will demand 
 disarmament of Johannesburg as a condition precedent to neLjoti.itions. 
 Tlieir military prr :tions are now practically complete, and Johannes- 
 burg, if besie.j^ed, c. .Id not hold out, as they are short of water and 
 coal. On side of Johannesburg leaders desire to be moderate, but men 
 make safety of Jameson and concession of items in manifesto issued 
 conditions precedent to disarmament. If these are refused, they assert 
 they will elect their own leaders and fight it out in their own way. As 
 tiie matter now stands, I see great difiiculty in avoiding civil war ; but I 
 will do my best, and telegraph result of my official interview to-morrow. 
 It is said that President of South African Republic intends to ni.iia- 
 some demands with respect to Article No. 4 of the London Convention 
 of 1884. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain to Sir Hekculks Robinson. 
 {Telegraphic. January 6, 1896.) 
 
 6th January. No. 3. — It is reported in the press telegrams the 
 President of the South African Republic on December 30 held out 
 definite hopes that concessions would be proposed in regard to 
 education and the franchise. No overt act of hostility appears to have 
 been committed by the Johannesburg people since the overthrov; of 
 Jameson. The statement that arms and ammunition are stored in that 
 town in large quantities may be only one of many boasts without 
 foundation. Under these circumstances, active measures ag.iinst the 
 town do not seem to be urgently required at the present moment, ind 
 I hope no step will be taken by the President of the South African 
 Republic liable to cause more bloodshed and excite civil war in the 
 Republic. 
 
 These are followed in the same volume by No. 89: 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson {Pretoria) to Mr. Chambkklain. 
 {Telegraphic. Received 7th January, 1896.) 
 
 6th January. No. 2. — Met President South African Republic and 
 Kxecutive Council to-day. Before opening proceedings, I expressed 
 on behalf of Her Majesty's Government my sincere regret at the un- 
 warrantable raid made by Jameson ; also thanked Government of 
 South African Republic for tlie moderation shown under trying circum- 
 stances. With regard to Johanncbburg, President of South African 
 Republic announced decisioi of Government to be that Johannesburg 
 must lay down its arms unconditionally as a precedent to any discussion 
 and consideration of grievances. I endeavoured to obtain some 
 indication of the steps that would be taken in the event of disarmament, 
 but without success, it hc'ng intimated that Government of South 
 African Republic had nothing more to say on this subject than had 
 been already embodied in proclamation of President of South African 
 Republic. I inquired as to whether any decision had been come to as 
 regards disposal of prisoners, and received a reply in the negative. 
 
:d6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 President of South African Republic said that, as his burgheni, to 
 number of 8,(X)o, had been collected, and could not be asked to remain 
 indefinitely, he must request a reply, 'Yes' or ' No,' to this ultimatum 
 within twenty-four hours. I have communicated decision of Soutii 
 African Republic to Reform Committee at Johannesburg through 
 Britisli Agent in South African Republic. 
 
 The burgher levies are m such an excited state over the invasion of 
 their country tluit I believe President of South African Republic could 
 not control them except in the ev.nt of unconditional surrender. I 
 have privately recommended "..em to accept ultimatum. Proclamation 
 of President of South African Republic refers to promise to consider 
 all grievances wiiich are properly submitted, and to lay the same before 
 tlie Legislature without delay. 
 
 On January 7 Mr. Chamberlain replied : 
 
 No. I. — I approve of your advice to Johannesburg. Kruger will 
 be wise not to proceed to extremities at Johannesburg or elsewhere ; 
 otherwise the evil animosities already aroused may be dangerously 
 excited. 
 
 And on the same day Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphed : 
 
 No. I. — Your telegram of January 6, No. 2. It would be most 
 inexpedient to send troops to Mafeking at this moment, and there 
 is not the slightest necessity for such a step, as there is no danger 
 from Kimberley volunteer corps or from Mafeking. I have sent De 
 Wet with ultimatum this morning to Johannesburg, and believe arms 
 will be laid down unconditionally. I understand in such case Jameson 
 and all prisoners will be handed over to me. Prospect now very hope- 
 ful if no injudicious steps are taken. Please leave matter in my hands. 
 
 On Monday Sir Jacobus de Wet, acting under the instruc- 
 tions of the High Commissioner, telegraphed from Pretoria 
 to the Reform Committee, Johannesburg, informing them 
 that the High Commissioner had seen the President and 
 Executive that morning, that he had been informed that as 
 a condition precedent to the discussion and consideration of 
 grievances the Government required that the Johannesburg 
 "ople should lay down their arms ; and that the Government 
 :..'° them twenty-four hours — from 4 p.m. that day — in 
 hi'jh to accept or reject that ultimatum. The Committee 
 .-epiicd t'lat it would receive their earnest consideration. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that such a condition had been 
 anticipated the ultimatum was very unfavourably received, 
 a large number of those present protesting that the Uitlanders 
 were being led little by little into a trap, that the Boers as 
 was their wont would never keep faith with them, that in the 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 207 
 
 end they would find themselves betrayed, and that it would be 
 better at no matter what cost to make a fight for it and attempt 
 to rescue Dr. Jameson and his party. The last suggestion 
 was a mad one, and after some consideration, and hearing the 
 representations of Sir Sidney Shippard and Mr. Seymour 
 Fort, who had been in communication with the High Com- 
 missioner on the previous day in Pretoria and were used by 
 him as unofficial agents, the matter was more calmly considered 
 by the Committee. It was very well realized that a struggle 
 between Johannesburg and the Boer forces would have been 
 an absolutely hopeless one for those who took part in it, but 
 there was a determination to secure the objects for the 
 attainment of which the agitation had been started, and it 
 was believed that if a firm stand were taken, such was the 
 justice of the cause of the Uitlanders that the Government 
 would not be able to refuse definite terms as to what reforms 
 they would introduce, besides assuring the safety of Dr. 
 Jameson. 
 
 While the discussion was proceeding another telegram was 
 received from the British Agent saying that, under instruc- 
 tions from the High Commissioner, he was proceeding in 
 person to Johannesburg to meet the Reform Committee and 
 explain matters to them. The meeting took place on the 
 morning of Tuesday, and Sir Jacobus de Wet pointed out to 
 the Committee the perilous position in which Dr. Jameson 
 and his comrades were placed, owing to the liesitation of the 
 Uitlanders to accept the ultimatum of the Government. He 
 read again and again the following telegram from the High 
 Commissioner, which had been despatched from Pretoria 
 early that morning and received by the British Agent in 
 Johannesburg when on his way to meet the Reform Com- 
 mittee : 
 
 Urgent — You should inform the Johannesburg people that I consider 
 that if they lay down their arms they will be actin<? loyally and 
 huiiourably, and that if they do not comply with my request they forfeit 
 all claim to sympathy from Her Majesty's Government and from 
 British subjects throughout the world, as the lives of Jameson and fhe 
 prisoners are now practically in their bands. 
 
 In reply to remarks about grievances, Sir Jacobus de Wet 
 stated that the Uitlanders could not expect under tlie cir- 
 
 1 i 
 
mmm 
 
 i 
 
 2U8 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 cumstances anything more favourable than the discussion 
 and consideration of the grievances with the High Commis- 
 sioner, as had been promised, and added that, if there were 
 any spirit of reason in the community at all, they would be 
 content to leave their case in the hands of so experienced a 
 statesman as Sir Hercules Robinson, a man whose instinct 
 and training were towards fair and decent government. 
 
 In the course of a very long discussion, Sir Jacobus de 
 Wet was asked if he did not consider the Boer Government 
 capable of an act of treachery such as disarming the com- 
 munity and then proceeding to wreak their vengeance upon 
 those whom they might consider responsible for the agitation. 
 According to the evidence of a number of those who were 
 present, his reply was that ' not a hair of the head of any 
 man in Johannesburg would be touched.' The discussion 
 was resumed at various times and in various forms, when 
 different groups of men had opportunities of questioning the 
 British Agent themselves. When questioned again more 
 definitely as to whether this immunity would be extended to 
 the leaders — those who had signed the letter — Sir Jacobus de 
 Wet replied again in the affirmative. To another member, 
 who had asked the same question in another form, he said 
 ' Not one among you will lose his personal liberty for a 
 single hour. John Bull would never allow it.' In reply to 
 the remark, ' John Bull has had to put up with a good deal 
 in this country. What do you mean by " John Bull " ?' he 
 answered, ' I mean the British Government could not possibly 
 allow such a thing.' 
 
 It would have been an easy and no doubt a proper and 
 reasonable precaution had the Reformers insisted upon a 
 statement in writing of the terms upon which they laid down 
 their arms. There were however two considerations which 
 weighed against any bargain of this sort. The first was the 
 overwhelming and paramount consideration of insuring Dr. 
 Jameson's safety ; and the other was the belief (not seriously 
 shaken by suggestions to the contrary) that the Govern- 
 ment would be obliged to abide by the spirit of the terms 
 arranged on January i, because the High Commissioner 
 would insist upon it as the vital condition under which 
 he was endeavouring to effect the disarmament of Johannes- 
 
AFTER DOOKNKOP 
 
 209 
 
 burg. That Sir Hercules Robinson well realized his respon- 
 sibility to the Uitlander, but found it inconvenient or 
 impossible to accept it at a later stage, is shown by his own 
 reports. On January 7 he telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain 
 as follows : 
 
 Your ielciiram No. 3 of January 6. I need now only sa\ that I have 
 just received a message from Reform Committee resolving to comply with 
 demand of South African Republic to lay down their aims; the people 
 placing themselves {? and) their interests unreservedly in my hands in the 
 fullest confidence that I ivill see justice done to them. I have received also 
 the following from British agent, dated yth January : 
 
 Begins : I have sent the following telegram to His Honour the Presi- 
 dent : 
 
 I have met the Reform Committee. Am gratified with the spirit 
 shown in the discussion of the all-important present position. The 
 Committee handed me the following resolution — Bf^ms .• The Reform 
 Committee in Johannesburg, having seriously considered the ultimatum 
 of the Government of the South African Republic communicated to 
 them through Her Majesty's Agent at Pretoria, in a telegram dated 6th 
 instant, to the effect that Johannesburg must lay down its ams as a 
 condition precedent to a discussion and consideration of grievances, 
 have unanimously decided to comply with this demand, and have given 
 instructions to the citizens employed by this Committee for maintaining 
 good order to lay down their arms. In coming to this determination, 
 the Committee rely upon the Government that it will maintain law and 
 order, and protect life and property in this town at this critical juncture. 
 The Committee have been actuated by a paramount desire to do every- 
 thing possible to ensure the safety of Dr. Jameson and his men, to 
 advance the amicable discussion of terms of settlement with the Govern- 
 ment, and to support the High Commissioner in his efforts in this respect. 
 The Committee would draw the attention of the Government of the 
 Republic to the presence of armed burgher forces in the immediate 
 vicinity of this town, and would earnestly desire that these forces be 
 removed in order to avoid all risk of any disturbance of the public 
 peace. Resolution ends. I wish to add to my above remarks that I feel 
 convinced there will be no further difficulty in connection with the 
 laying down of their arms. I would suggest that the Government co- 
 operate with the Reform Committee for a day or two for the purpose 
 of restoring the town to its normal state. This will only take a day or 
 two, and those who are excited among the people will by that time 
 have calmed down, and the police can resume their ordinary duties. 
 Tlie Committee will co-operate in this matter. This course will very 
 much facilitate the task of your Government if it meets with your 
 approval. Ends. 
 
 The High Commissioner concluded the above telegram 
 with the following significant sentence : 
 
 / hope now to be able to confer with President of the South African 
 Republic and ExecutiveCounc I as to prisoners and the redress of Johannes- 
 burg grievances. 
 
 i^ 
 
'If ' n 
 
 210 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 On the 8th he again telegraphed : 
 
 Referring to your telegram of the 7th inst., No. i, I consider that so 
 far throughout this matter Kriiger has behaved very well. He suspended 
 hostilities pending my arrival, when Johannesburg was at his nui cv ; 
 and in opposition to a very general feeling of the Executive Council and 
 of the burghers who have been clamouring for Jameson's life, he has 
 now determined to hand over Jameson and the other prisoners. If 
 
 tameson had been tried here there can be no doubt that he would have 
 een shot, and perhaps some of his colleagues also. The excitement of 
 the public is now calmed down. 
 
 I shall try to-day to make arrangements with Kruger as to taking 
 over the prisoners, and / will confer with him as to redressing the ghn>- 
 ances of the residents of Johannesburg on the basis of your telcgnin, of the 
 .\th inst. I have given Kruger a copy of that telegram.' 
 
 And later on the same day : 
 
 Since my telegram No. i of this morning, matters have not been 
 going so smoothly. When the Executive Council met, I received a 
 message that only 1,814 rifles and three Maxim guns had been sur- 
 rendered, which the Government of the South African Republic did not 
 consider a fulfilment of the ultimatum, and orders would be imme- 
 diately issued to a commando to attack Johannesburg. I at once replied 
 that tiie ultimatum required the surrender of guns and ammunition for 
 which no permit of importation had been obtained, and that onus rested 
 with Transvaal Government to show that guns and ammunition were 
 concealed for which no permit had been issued. If before this was 
 done any hostile step were taken against Johannesburg, I should consider 
 it to be a violation of the undertaking for which I had made myself per- 
 sonally responsible to the people of Johannesburg, and I should leave 
 the issue in hands of Her Majesty's Government. This had a sobering 
 effect, and the order for the attack on Johannesburg was countermanded, 
 and it was arranged that the Transvaal officials should accompany Her 
 Majesty's Agent to Johannesburg and point out to him if they could 
 where arms were concealed. Her Majesty's Agent left at i p.m. to-day 
 for Johannesburg for this purpose. 
 
 ' The explanation of the change, I take it, is that Kruger has great 
 difficulties to contend with among his own people. The apparent 
 object is to prove that people of Johannesburg have not fulfilled the 
 conditions which were to precede tfie handing over of the prisoners and 
 consideration of grievances. I should not be surprised if, before releas- 
 ing the prisoners or redressing grievances, an attempt were now made 
 to extort an alteration of the London Convention of 1884, and the abro- 
 gation of Article No. 4 of that instrument. / intend, if I find that the 
 Johannesburg people have substantially complied with the ultimatum, to 
 insist on the Jul fitment of pro>nises as regards prisoners and consideration 
 of grievances, and will not allow at this stage the introduction of any 
 fresh conditions as regards the London Convention of 1884. Do you 
 approve ? 
 
 The Reform Committee published the following official 
 notice on Tuesday afternoon : 
 
 i- «■ 
 
^«l 
 
 AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 211 
 
 The Reform Committee notify hereby that all rifles issued for the 
 defence of life and property in town and the mines are to be returned 
 at once to the Central Office in order to enable the Conunittee to carry 
 out the agreement with the Government, upon the faithtul observance 
 of wliich so much is dependent. 
 
 The Committee desire to make it known that late last night they 
 received an intimation from Her Majesty's Agent in Pretoria to the 
 effect that the decision of the Government was thc^t Johannesburg must 
 lay down its arms as a condition precedent to the discussion and con- 
 sideration of grievances. 
 
 The Committee met this morning to consider the position, and it 
 was unanimously resolved to accept the ultimatum of the Government 
 for reasons which the following commimications sufficiently e.\plain : 
 
 Here followed the High Commissioner's telegram to Sir 
 Jacobus de Wet, urging disarmament, already given, and the 
 following memorandum : 
 
 Sir Jacobus de Wet, Her Majesty's Agent at Pretoria, has notified to 
 the ''yommittee that he has been oflicially informed by the Government 
 in Pretoria that upon Johannesburg laying down its arms Dr. Jameson 
 will be handed over to Her Majesty's High Commissioner. 
 
 By Order, 
 Johannesburg, ^th January. 
 The above is correct. 
 J. A. DE Wet, 
 
 H.B.M. Agent. 
 
 The Committee can add nothing to the above, and feel that there 
 will not be one man among the thousands who have joined the Reform 
 movement who will not find it consistent with honour and humanity to 
 co-operate loyally in the carrying out of the Committee's decision. 
 
 By order of the Committee. 
 
 On Wednesday the investigations effected by the Govern- 
 ment, with the aid of the Reform Committee, established the 
 fact that the ultimatum had been complied with ; but the 
 juggling with Dr. Jameson's life continued for some days. On 
 Thursday the 9th the High Commissioner received a com- 
 munication from the President in which occurred the following 
 sentence: 'As I had already caused your Excellency to be 
 informed, it is really my intention to act in this sense {i.e., 
 hand over Dr. Jameson and men), so that Dr. Jameson and 
 the British subjects who were under his command may then 
 be punished by her Majesty's Government, and I will make 
 known to your Excellency the final decision in this matter 
 as soon as Johannesburg' shall have reverted to a condition of 
 quietness and order' 
 
212 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 In the face of this and n?4any other significant messages anrl 
 expressiDiis which reached Sir Hercules Robinson, it is not to 
 be wondered at that he considered Dr. Jameson's life to be in 
 peril, and that he regarded, as he distinctly said he did, dis- 
 armament by Johannesburg as the only means of saving him ; 
 but what is less pardonable is, that he did not pin President 
 Kruger to tliis, and demand an explanation when it became 
 known that Jameson and his men were secured by the condi- 
 tions of the surrender. The truth is that the wily old Boer 
 President, by a species of diplomacy which does not now 
 commend itself to civilized people, managed to jockey every- 
 body with whom he had any dealings. He is much in the 
 position of a certain financier who, after a vain effort to justify 
 his proceedings, turned at last in desperation upon his critics 
 and said : ' Well, I don't care what view you hold of it You 
 can have the morality, but I've got the cash.' 
 
 Late in the evening of the 9th the following proclamation 
 was published : 
 
 Wliereas by resolution of the Government of the South African 
 Republic, dated Monday, the 6th of January, 1896, whereby to all persons 
 at Johannesburg and suburbs twenty-four hours were granted to hand 
 over and to lay down to the Government unconditionally all arms and 
 ammunition for which no permit could be shown, and 
 
 Whereas the said period of twenty-four hours has already expired on 
 Tuesday, the 7th of January, i8y6, and whereas the so-called Reform 
 Committee and other British subjects have consented and decided to 
 comply unconditionally with the resolution of the GoV'-riiment, and 
 
 Whereas sundry persons already have laid down tm.r arms and 
 ammunition, and have handed them over to the Govenini'jnt, and 
 
 Whereas the laying down and giving over of LIk said arms and 
 ammunition is still proceeding, and 
 
 Whereas it is desirable and proper that this be done as soon as pos- 
 sible, and in a proper way, and that a term be fixed thereto, 
 
 Now I, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, State President of tlie 
 South African Republic, with the advice and consent of the Executive 
 Council, by virtue of Article 5 of their minutes, dated 9th January, 1896, 
 proclaim that further time will be given for that purpose until Friday, 
 the loth January, 1896, at 6 p.m. 
 
 All persons or corporations with whom, after the expiration of that 
 period, arms or amnmnition will be found, for which no permit granted 
 by Government can be shown, will be dealt with according to law ; and 
 
 Wiiereas the laying down and handing over of the said arms and 
 ammunition should have been effected unconditionally, 
 
 Now I further proclaim that all persons who have already laid down 
 and given over the said arms and ammunition, or who shall have done 
 so before Friday, the loth January, 1896, at 6 p.m., shall be exempted 
 from all prosecution, and will be forgiven for the misdeeds that have 
 taken place at Johannesburg and suburbs, except all persons and corpora- 
 
AFTKR DOORNKOP 
 
 a»J 
 
 /;.);/s xvho will appear to he the cliicf offender; rttmlcadtrs, leaders, iii'stigU' 
 lots, and those who have caused the rctnlliov at 'Johannf<hi(if^ aiul suburlis. 
 Such persons and corporations shall h.ive to answer for their deeds 
 before the lej^iU and competent courts of lliis Reinililic. 
 
 I fiirtlier proclaim that I will addres-, tlie inhabitants of Johanne>bur}» 
 to-morrow by a sepaiale proclamation. 
 
 God save Laud and People. 
 Given under my hand at tlie (lovernmcnt Office at Pn iiuj.i 
 on this Ninth Day of January, in the Year One Thousand 
 
 Eight Hundred and Ninety-six. 
 
 S. 
 
 J. P. Krughr, 
 
 State President. 
 Van Boksciiotkv, 
 
 Actin^:^ State Secretary. 
 
 The grim, cautious method of the President was never 
 better illustrated than by these proclamations and the con- 
 current actions. In no part of his diplomatic career has he 
 better stage-managed the business than he did here. To the 
 world at large these addresses commend themselves no doubt 
 as reasonable and moderate, and they establish a record which 
 will always speak for him when the chronology of events is 
 lost; but the true worth of it all is only appreciated when one 
 realizes that the first proclamation extending the time for dis- 
 armament, and promising amnesty to all except the leaders, 
 was not issued until two days after the Government had satis- 
 fied themselves that the disarmament had been completed, 
 and that it was deliberately held back until the police and 
 burghers were in the outskirts of the town ready to pounce 
 upon the men with whom they had been treating. It is an 
 absolute fact that the Reform Committt.e-men, who had 
 ofTered to effect the peaceful settlement seemingly desired 
 by all parties, who had used every means in their power to 
 convince the Government that disarming was being effected 
 in a bond fide and complete manner, and who had themselves 
 supplied the Government in good faith with any documents 
 they had showing the number of guns and the amount of 
 ammunition which had been at the disposal of the Reform 
 Committee, had not the remotest suspicion that an act of 
 treachery was in contemplation, nor any hint that the Govern- 
 ment did not regard them as amnestied by virtue of the 
 negotiations ; and it is a fact that when the proclamation of 
 the 9th was issued the detectives were waiting at the clubs, 
 hotels and houses to arrest the members of the Reform Com- 
 
UPPi 
 
 214 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 mittee, and that the Reformers did not know of the proclama- 
 tion exempting them from the ' Forgive and Forget ' until 
 after they had been seized. 
 
 On the loth the address promised to the inhabitants of 
 Johannesburg duly appeared. 
 
 After reviewing recent events, it concluded with this 
 appeal : 
 
 Now I address you with full confidence ! Strengthen the hands of 
 the Government, and work together with tliem to make this Republic a 
 country where all inhabitants, so to say, live traternally together. For 
 months and months I have thought which alterations and emendations 
 would be desirable in the Government of this State, but the unwarrant- 
 able instigations, especially of the Press, have kept me back. The same 
 men who now appear in public as the leaders have demanded amend- 
 ments from me in a time and manner which they should not have dared 
 to use in their own country out of fear of the penal law. Through this 
 it was made impossible for me and my burghers, the founders of this 
 Republic, to take your proposals into consideration. It is my intention 
 to submit a draft law at the first ordinary session of the Volksraad, 
 whereby a municipality with a Mayor at its head will be appointed for 
 Johannesburg, to whom the whole municipal government of this town 
 will be entrusted. According to all constitutional principles, such a 
 municipal council should be appointed by the election of the inhabitants. 
 I ask you earnestly, with your hand upon your heart, to answer me this 
 question ; Dare I, and should I, after all that has happened, propose 
 such to the Volksraad ? What I myself answer to this question is, I 
 know that there are thousands in Johannesburg to whom I can with 
 confidence entrust this right to vote in municipal matters. Inhabitants 
 of Johannesburg, make it possible for the Government to appear before 
 the Volksraad with the motto, ' Forge*; and Forgive.' 
 
 (Signed) S. J. P. Kruger, 
 
 Slate President. 
 
 One would think that anyone gifted with even a moderate 
 sense of humour would have been restrained by it from 
 issuing a second proclamation on top of the elaborate fooling 
 of the first Is it possible to imagine any other community 
 or any other Government in the world in which the ruler 
 could seriously set to work to promulgate two such proclama- 
 tions, sandwiching as they did those acts which may be 
 regarded as the practical expression — diametrically opposed 
 to the published expressioii — of his intentions? 
 
 In the meantime the negotiations concerning Dr. Jameson 
 were dragging on. After securing the disarmament of Johan- 
 nesburg and getting rid of the troublesome question of the 
 disposal of Jameson, and after refusing for several days (to 
 quote the gist of the High Commissioner's telegram, Blue 
 
 % 
 
 ' 'I 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 215 
 
 Book No. 325 [C-7933]) to allow the necessary arrangements 
 for the deportation of the men to be made, Mr, Kruger 
 suddenly called upon the High Commissioner to have them 
 removed at once, intimating at the same time that it was the 
 decision of the Executive that all the prisoners, except the 
 Transvaal and Free State subjects, whom he would retain, 
 should be sent to England to be tried according to English 
 law. It was pointed out that it was only contemplated to 
 send the officers for trial. To this Mr. Kruger replied : ' In 
 such case the whole question must be reconsidered.' The 
 High Commissioner at once telegraphed for the decision of 
 Her Majesty's Government, stating that it was the opinion of 
 Sir Jacobus de Wet and Sir Graham Bower, w ho had repre- 
 sented him at the interview with the Transvaal Governmf^nt, 
 that, if the whole lot were not sent home to be dealt with 
 according to English law, they would be tried in Pretoria, 
 with a result which he feared would be deplorable. To this 
 Mr. Chamberlain replied : 
 
 Astonished that Council should hesitate to fulfil the engagement 
 which we understood was made by President with you, and coniirnied 
 by the Queen, on the faith of whi::h you secured disarmament of Johan- 
 nesburg. Any delay will produce worst impression here, and may lead 
 to serious consequences. I have already promised that all the leaders 
 shall be brought to trial immediately ; but it would be absurd to try the 
 rank and file, who only obeyed orders which V'-=-y could not refuse. If 
 desired we may however engage to l 'nr .> hrigland all who are not 
 domiciled in South Africa; but we ct-iuc' j. dr^take to bring all the 
 rank and file to trial, for that would mak^ a faroe of the whole pro- 
 ceedings, and is contrary to the p- "-'sa of all civilized Governments. 
 As regards a pledge that they sh lii »• :■ nunished, the President will see 
 on consideration that although s- Go \ errnnent can order a prosecution, 
 it cannot in any free country compi l a conviction. Yoii may remir.J 
 him that the murderers of Major EL' ott, who were tried in the Trans- 
 vaal in 1881, were acquitted by ?. jiry of burghers. Compare also the 
 treatment by us of Stellaland and other freebooters. 
 
 The result of this communication was that the Prc^idenc 
 drew in his horns and agreed that if the prisoners were de- 
 ported to England he would be satisfievi to let the Bri'tsh 
 Government decide which of them should be piotecuted. 
 
 The success of his diplomatic methods a^i wAcifid his 
 appetite, it would appear. He was nov coTr.nt v/'.h the 
 conditional surrender of Dr. Jameson, nor — h^vi 4^ .» 'ppressed 
 the fact *:hat it was conditional — with having aseil hi.Ti lor the 
 
-^16 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 
 purpose of disarming Johannesburg ; but, having achieved 
 both purposes, Mr. Kruger was still desirous of keeping him 
 in hand. This however was a length to which the British 
 Government did not see fit to go ; but there is no evidence in 
 the correspondence which has passed tending to show that 
 even then Sir Hercules Robinson perceived how he was being 
 made use of and played with by the President. 
 
 On the night of the 9th and the morning of the loth, the 
 members of the Reform Committee to the number of about 
 sixty were arrested and lodged in gaol ; and from this 
 moment the High Commissioner appears to have erased 
 them from the tablets of his memory. On January 14 
 he telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain as follows : 
 
 I have received a letter from Government of South African Republic, 
 statinq that, in their opinion, every reason exists for assuming that the 
 complications at Johannesburg are approaching to an end, and that 
 there need be no longer any fear of further bloodshed. The President 
 of the South African Republic and Executive Council tender to me the 
 warmest thanks of the Government of the South African Republic for 
 the assistance I have been able to render in preventing further blood- 
 shed, and their congratulations on the manner in which my object in 
 coming has been fulfilled. They tender also their cordial acknowledg- 
 ment of the services rendered by the British Agent at Pretoria, which 
 I think is fully deserved. The Volksraad met yesterday, and adjourned 
 until May, the only business transacted being a vote of thanks to the 
 Orange Free State and the High Commissioner for their efforts in pro- 
 moting a peaceful settlement, which was carried by acclamation. I 
 now only await settlement of prisoners' difficulty to leave for Capetown, 
 where my presence is urgently needed in consequence of change of 
 Ministers. Governor of Natal and General Cox are here, to whom I 
 will give instructions as to reception and disposal of prisoners as soon 
 as I hear from you. 
 
 To this Mr. Chamberlain telegraphed a most important 
 reply on January 15 : 
 
 I am left in great perplexity by your telegram No. 3, of the 14th inst., 
 and fear that some previous telegrams must have miscarried. (Here 
 follow directions to refer to a number of telegrams in which Mr. 
 Chamberlain had indicated the settlement which he anticipated, the 
 nature of the reforms which Sir Hercules Robinson was to secure, and 
 many inquiries as to the reason for the arrests of the reformers as 
 reported in the English papers.) I have received no reply to any of 
 these telegrams, but have assumed that negotiations were in progress 
 between the President and yourself. 
 
 There can be no settlement until the questions raised by these tele- 
 grams are disposed of. The people of Johannesburg laid down their 
 arms in the belief that reasonable concessions would be arranged by 
 
 h' 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 217 
 
 your intervention ; and until these are granted, or are definitely pro- 
 mised to you by the President, the root-causes of the recent troubles 
 will remain. 
 
 The President has again and again promised reform, and especially 
 on the 30th December last, when he promised reforms in education and 
 f-anchise ; and grave dissatisfaction would be excited if you left 
 Pretoria without a clear understanding on these points. Her Majesty's 
 Government invite President Kruger, in the interests of the South 
 African Republic and of pe-^ce, to make a full declaration on these 
 matters. I am also awaiting a reply respecting the alleged wholesale 
 arrests of English, Americans and other nationalities, made after the 
 surrender of Johannesburg. 
 
 It will be your duty to use firm language, and to tell the President 
 that neglect to meet the admitted grievances of the Uitlanders by 
 giving a definite promise to propose reasonable concessions would 
 ';ave a disastrous effect upon the prospects of a lasting and satisfactory 
 ;^ 'Itlen.ent. 
 
 Send me a full report of the steps that you have already taken with 
 , c^ard to this matter, and of the further action that you propose. 
 
 In the meantime Sir Hercules Robinson left Pretoria, satis- 
 fied that he had done all that was necessary, and telegraphed 
 to Mr. Chamberlain as follows : 
 
 From the High Commissioner en route to Capetown. 
 
 15/// January, 1896. No. i. — Your telegram 13 January, No. i, only 
 reached me last night, after I had left Pretoria, I could if you con- 
 sider it desirable, communicate purport to President of South African 
 Republic Dy .' ;*"'■ but I myself think such action would be inopportune 
 at this mon'e"/' , .' '■ly all leading Johannesburg men are now in gaol, 
 charged wiih Lrcas' 1 against the State, and it is rumoured that Govern- 
 ment has '• ' tteii c«jaence of a long-standing and widespread conspiracy 
 to seize r^ A\ii 'ir.cit of country on the pica of denial of political privi- 
 leges, anv!. tO 1; : ^ oorate the country with that of British South Africa 
 Company. The ♦ruth "f these reports will be tested in the trials to take 
 place sh "tly in the High Court, and meanwhile to urge claim for ex- 
 tended political privileges for the very men so charged would be 
 ineffectual and impolitic. President of South African Republic has 
 already promised municipal government to Johannesburg, and has 
 stated in a proclamation that all grievances advanced in a constitutional 
 manner will be carefully considered and brought before the Volksraad 
 wilhout loss of time ; but until result of trials is known nothing of 
 course will now be done. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain replied to the above : 
 
 15//1 yaruaty. No. 5. — Referring to your telegram. No. i, of the 15th 
 January, see my telegram No. i of to-day, which was sent before receipt 
 of yours. I recognize that the actual moment is not opportune for a 
 scttleiiiciii of the Uitlanders' grievances, and that the position of the 
 President of the South African Republic may be an embarrassing one, 
 but I do not consider that the arrest of a few score individuals out 
 of a population of 70,000 or more, or the supposed existence M a plot 
 
2l8 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 ! I 
 
 amongst that small minority, is a reason for denying to the over- 
 whelming majority of innocent persons reforms which are just in 
 themselves and expedient in the interests of the Republic. Whatever 
 may be said about the conduct of a few individuals, nothing can be 
 plainer than that the sober and industrious majority refused to counte- 
 nance any resort to violence, and proved their readiness to obey the law 
 and your authority. I hope, therefore, to hear at an early date that you 
 propose to resume discussion with President of South African Republic 
 on lines laid down in my previous telegrams. I do not see that the 
 matter need wait until the conclusion of the trial of the supposed 
 plotters. I am an.xious to receive the information asked for in my 
 telegram No. i of the 14th Jap'niry. Please communicate at once with 
 the President on this matter. 
 
 The following is the telc^r; 
 above : 
 
 to which allusion is made 
 
 14/A January. No. i. — Press tele.crams state numerous arrests of 
 le.iding residents on the Rand, including many Americans, Germans, 
 and other nationalities. Fear that number of these arrests of active 
 managers, representatives, may disorganize industry on the Rand. 
 Wish to know of wiiat accused, when brought to trial, whether bail 
 allowed, and what penalities prescribed by law. Shall be glad to learn 
 from President of South African Republic what his intentions are in 
 this mutter, which affects the subjects of so many States. Propose to 
 communicate President's reply to American and Belgian Governments, 
 which have already asked us to take charge of interests of their respec- 
 tive citizens. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson, replied: 
 
 15/A 'January. No. 2. — Your telegram of 14th January, No. i. 
 The accused are between fifty and sixty in number, and are 
 mostly members of the Reform Committee. They have been 
 arrested on charge of treason, and of seeking to subvert the State by 
 inviting the co-operation and entrance into it of an armed force. 
 The proceedings are based, I understand, on sworn information, and 
 the trials will take place before High Court. The accused are being 
 well treated, and are represented by able counsel. It is alleged that 
 Government has documentary evidence of a widespread conspiracy to 
 seize upon Government, and make use of the wealth of the country to 
 rehabilitate finances of British South Africa Company. On taking leave 
 of President of South African Republic, I urged on him moderation as 
 regards the accused, so as not to alienate the sympathy he now enjoys 
 of all right-minded persons. Bail is a matter entirely in the hands of 
 Attorney-General. The Government seem acting within their legal 
 rights, and 1 do not see how I can interfeie. Mines are at work, and 
 industry does not seem to be disorganzied. 
 
 While still on his way to Capetown, the High Commis- 
 sioner telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain again in a manner 
 indicating his complete abandonment of the position taken 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 219 
 
 'i ', 
 
 up by him in relation to Johannesburg — in fact, his repudia- 
 tion of what his own words have recorded against him : 
 
 i6th January. No. i. — ^Your telegram of 15th January, No. 1, 
 received. I cannot at this moment follow the complications arising 
 from supposed missing and crossing telegrams, but can only say that 
 no telegram which has reached me from you has remained unanswered. 
 
 No promise was made to Johannesburg by me as an inducement to 
 disarm, except that the promises made in the President's previous 
 proclamation would be adhered to, and that Jameson and the other 
 prisoners would not be transferred until Johannesburg had uncondi- 
 tionally laid down its arms and surrenderedf. I sent your long telegram 
 of 4th January to President ; but the question of concessions to Uitlanders 
 has never been discussed between us. Pending result of coming trials, 
 and the extent to which Johannesburg is implicated in the alleged con- 
 spiracy to subvert the State is made clear, the question of political privi- 
 leges would not be entertained by Government of the South African 
 Republic. 
 
 He j'ustified the change of policy in another communication 
 addressed to Mr. Chamberlain before he reached Capetown : 
 
 16/A January. No. 3. — Your telegram of the 15th January, No. 5. 
 If you will leave the matter in my hands, I will resume advocacy of 
 Uitlanders' claims at the first moment I think it can be done with 
 advantage ; the present moment is most inopportune, as the strongest 
 feeling of irritation and indignation against the Uitlanders exists both 
 amongst the Burghers and Members of Volksraad of both Republics. 
 Any attempt to dictate in regard to the internal affairs of South African 
 RepubUc at this moment would be resisted by all parties in South Africa, 
 and would do great harm. 
 
 I have already replied in my telegram of 15th January, No. 2, in 
 answer to your telegram of 14th January, No. i, and I do not think it 
 possible to obtain further information at this stage, the matter being sub 
 judice. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson left Pretoria on the 14th, having 
 resided within a few hundred yards of Dr. Jameson and his 
 comrades for a week, and of the Reform prisoners for four 
 days, without making any attempt whatever to ascertain their 
 circumstances or story. During that time his military secre- 
 tary called upon Dr. Jameson for the purpose of finding out 
 details of the prisoners and wounded of the force, but made 
 no further inquiries. Dr. Jameson's solicitor wrote to the 
 Colonial Office on March $ : 
 
 My dear Fairfield, 
 
 You have probably seen the cable that has come to the Diggers' 
 News, giving the lie direct to Sir John Willoughby's statement respecting 
 terms of surrender. 
 
220 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 \. .. i 
 
 I have seen Sir John attain, and am authorized by him to state, with 
 regard to the criticism that it is incredible that nothing should have 
 been said by the officers when in prison at Pretoria to anybody about 
 the terms of surrender, that it must be remembered that from the time 
 of the surrender until they left Africa none of them were allowed to 
 make any communication. While in gaol they were not allowed to see 
 newspajiers or to receive any news of wliat was going on in Pretoria or 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Sir ]. Willougliby made a statement to the head gaoler and other 
 officials at the time of his arrival at the gaol when he was searched and 
 all his papers taken from him. He requested to be allowed to keep the 
 document signed by Cronje, as it contained the terms of the surrender, 
 but received as answer that all papers must be taken and that they 
 would be returned afterwards. They were in fact taken and only 
 returned when the officers were removed from the gaol to go to 
 Durban. 
 
 My clients did try to get ^ te through to Johannesburg concealed 
 in -a, matchbox. They paid twenty-five pounds to get it through, and 
 sent it within thirty-six hours of their arrival in gaol, but they have 
 never been able to ascertain "'hether * -cached its destination. 
 
 The gist of it was that they \ ..re aa right. It never occurred to the 
 prisoners that neither the British Resident nor the High Commissioner 
 would be informed of the terms of the surrender, or that they would 
 not satisfy themselves on this point. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson might urge, in so far as Dr. Jameson's 
 affair is concerned, that he could not be expected to suspect 
 a deception such as was practised upon him ; yet it does 
 seem extraordinary that, being in Pretoria for the purpose of 
 negotiating for the disposal of Dr. Jameson and his comrades, 
 he should not have taken steps to ascertain what there was to 
 be said on their behalf, especially as on his own showing it was 
 for the greater part of the time a question of life and death 
 for the leaders of the force. It is even more difficult to 
 understand why no effort should have been made to 
 communicate with the Reformers. The High Commissioner 
 was thoroughly well aware of the negotiations between them 
 and the Government on January i. He had received com- 
 munications by telegraph from the Reformers before he left 
 Capetown ; he came up avowedly to settle their business ; 
 he negotiated on their behalf and induced them to disarm ; 
 he witnessed their arrest and confinement in gaol ; yet not 
 only did he not visit them himself, nor send an accredited 
 member of his staff to inquire into their case and conditions, 
 but Sir Jacobus de Wet alleges that he actually, in deference 
 to the wish of the President, desired the British Agent 
 not to hold any communication whatever with the prisoners 
 
AFTER DOORNKOP 
 
 321 
 
 during his (Sir Hercules Robinson's) stay in Pretoria. Truly 
 we have had many examples of President Kruger's audacity, 
 and of the success of it ; but nothing to equal this. That he 
 demanded from Sir Hercules Robinson information as to 
 the objects of the Flying Squadron and the movements of 
 British troops in British territory, and succeeded in getting 
 it, was a triumph ; but surely not on a par with that of 
 desiring the High Commissioner not to hold communication 
 with the British subjects whom he, as the official repre- 
 sentative of their sovereign, had travelled a thousand miles 
 to disarm, and on whose behalf — ostensibly — he was there to 
 negotiate. 
 
mm 
 
 CHAPTER VIIl. 
 
 ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS. 
 
 About half of the members of the Reform Committee were 
 arrested and taken through to Pretoria on the night of the 
 9th. Others were arrested at various times during the 
 evening and night, were detainc 1 in the lock-up at Johan- 
 nesburg as ordinary felons, and escorted to the Pretoria gaol 
 on the following morning. The scene on their arrival at 
 Pretoria railway staton and during their march to the gaol 
 was not creditable to the Boers. A howling mob surrounded 
 the prisoners, hustling them, striking them, and hurling abuse 
 at them incessantly. The mounted burghers acting as an 
 escort forced their horses at the unfortunate men on foot, 
 jostling them and threatening to ride them down. One of 
 the prisoners, a man close on sixty years of age, was thrown 
 by an excited patriot and kicked and trampled on before he 
 was rescued by some of his comrades. 
 
 Once within the gaol, the men were searched and locked 
 up in the cells, and treated exactly as black or white felons of 
 the lowest description. In many cases four or five men were 
 incarcerated in single cells 9 feet long by 5 feet 6 inches wide, 
 with one small grating for ventilation. At night they were 
 obliged to lie on the mud floor, or in some cases on filthy 
 straw mattresses left in the cells by former occupants. No 
 provision was made by which they could obtain blankets or 
 other covering — indeed at first it was not necessary, ?s the 
 overcrowding and lack of ventilation very nearly resulted in 
 asphyxiation. With an inhumanity almost incredible, in one 
 instance one of the prisoners, suffering from fever and 
 dysentery, was locked up for twelve hours with four others in 
 
 222 
 
 h 
 
 t\ 
 
ARKEST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 223 
 
 such a cell without any sanitary provisions whatever. 
 Friends in Pretoria induced the authorities, by means not 
 unpopular in that place, to admit a better class of food than 
 that allowed to the ordinary prisoners ; and it is stated that 
 the first meal enjoyed by the Reformers cost close upon 
 ;^iOO for introduction. Day by day fresh concessions were 
 obtained in a similar manner, with the result that before long 
 the prisoners were allowed to have their own clothing and 
 beds and such food as they chose to order. Nothing 
 however could alter the indescribable sanitary conditions, 
 nor compensate for the fact that the cells occupied by these 
 men were in many cases swarming with vermin. 
 
 The climate in Pretoria in January is almost tropical, and 
 the sufferings of many of the older and less robust men under 
 such circumstances were very considerable. On the eleventh 
 day of incarceration the majority of the prisoners were let out 
 on bail of ;^2,ooo each ; in the cases of two or three bail of 
 ;^4,C)00 each was required ; but bail was refused to Colonel 
 Rhodes, Messrs. Phillips, Farrar, Hammond (the signatories 
 to the letter), and J. P. FitzPatrick, the secretary of the 
 Reform Committee. These five continued to occupy the 
 undesirable premises for four weeks more, at the end of 
 which time, owing to the serious effect upon their health 
 which imprisonment under these conditions had produced, 
 and owing to the repeated representations within the Trans- 
 vaal and from the British Government as well, an alteration 
 was made under somewhat novel conditions. 
 
 It was notified to the public that the Government had 
 graciously consented to admit the prisoners to bail. The 
 terms, however, were not at the time publicly announced. 
 First and foremost it was required of them that they should 
 deposit ^10,000 in sovereigns each as security that they 
 would not break the conditions of their altered imprisonment. 
 They were to reside in a cottage in Pretoria under strong 
 guard, and they were to pay the whole of the costs of their 
 detention, including the salary and living expenses of the 
 officer and guard placed over them. The cost, including 
 interest upon the money deposited, was upwards of £1,000 
 a month. 
 
 The preliminary examination into the charges against the 
 
224 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Reformers began on February 3, and lasted about a month. 
 It resulted in the committal for trial, on the charge of high 
 treason, of all those arrested. The Imperial Government 
 having decided to send a representative to watch the trial on 
 behalf of the British, American and Belgian subjects, Mr. J. 
 Rose Innes, Q.C., the leader of the Bar in Cape Colony, 
 attended on their behalf. It was intimated to the Transvaal 
 Government that Mr. Innes would represent the Imperial 
 Government ; but objection was made to this on the grounds 
 that he had been admitted to the Pretoria Bar during the 
 British administration, and had failed to comply with a 
 subsequent rule of Court which required some sort of regis- 
 tration ; and permission was refused to him to address the 
 Court. The objection was maintained, and Mr. Innes was 
 obliged to limit his participation in the affair to sitting at the 
 counsels' table and consulting and advising with the Pretoria 
 barristers employed to defend the prisoners. 
 
 The examination was, as Dr. Coster the State Attorney 
 announced, of the nature of a fishing examination, and he 
 claimed to be permitted to conduct it in a manner which, 
 he alleged, is popular in Holland, but which is entirely 
 unknown in the Transvaal, and certainly does not obtain in 
 any British possession. The chief feature of this system 
 appears to be a total disregard of the rules applying to 
 evidence. A few instances will suffice. One of the first 
 witnesses called was Judge Ameshof, who with Chief-Justice 
 Kotz6 and Mr, Kock formed the Government Commission 
 appointed to meet the deputation from the Reform Committee 
 on January i. Judge Ameshof was duly sworn, and was asked 
 to identify a list of the members of the Reform Committee. 
 He did so. He stated that it was the list supplied to the 
 Government Commission at the meeting of January i by the 
 deputation of the Reform Committee, and he regarded it 
 therefore as authentic. The deputation had stated to the 
 Commission that it was so. 
 
 This was the first revelation of the tactics about to be 
 pursued by the Government, in using information which had 
 been given under privilege and in good faith by the prisoners 
 themselves, when negotiating with the Government prior to 
 any question of arrest being raised. Mr. Wessels, counsel for 
 
 tl'i 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 225 
 
 the accused, rose to obtain from Judge Ameshof the oflficial 
 account of the meeting, desiring to prove this very important 
 negotiation by means of witnesses on the Government side. 
 He got no further however than saying to the witness, 
 •You said you were a member of the Government Com- 
 mission ?' when Judge Ameshof replied, ' Yes, but if you are 
 going to ask me about anything that took place at that 
 meeting, I cannot answer, because the meeting was a 
 privileged one.' Mr. Wessels did not lose his opportunity, 
 •You have stated,' he said, 'that you are a Judge of the 
 High Court ?' The witness signified assent • And you 
 mean to tell me,' Mr. Wessels continued, 'that you feel 
 yourself free to divulge so much as it suits the Government 
 to reveal, but that as soon as I wish to prove something to 
 my clients' advantage the interview becomes privileged?' 
 The witness did not answer, and Mr. Wessels appealed to the 
 Court. Judicial Commissioner Zeiler, however, upheld the 
 witness's contention. Mr. Wessels urged in reply that if it was 
 a privileged interview he objected to any evidence whatever 
 being given in connection with it, and protested vehemently 
 against the admission of the list of members just sworn to. 
 The objection was overruled, and it was thus laid down that 
 the interview was privileged as far as the Government was 
 concerned, but not in so far as it could benefit the Reformers. 
 Another case was that of Mr. Schumacher, a witness who 
 testified, inter alia, that he did not know what the objects of a 
 certain Development Syndicate were. His evidence showed 
 that he had not been informed upon this point. He was 
 very hard pressed by the State Attorney, but he adhered to 
 his first answer. Dr. Coster then altered his tactics and 
 asked, ' Had you no opinions on the subject ? Did you not 
 guess at all ?' The witness replied that he might have 
 thought and conjectured at various times, but that he had 
 nothing in the nature of information or knowledge on the 
 point. This did not satisfy Dr. Coster, who then pressed the 
 question, 'Well, what did you think? What were your 
 thoughts ?' The witness objected to state what his thoughts 
 were, as they could have no bearing on the fact, and might 
 be absolutely wide of the mark. He could only repeat 
 that he had no knowledge. The witness appealed to th^ 
 
336 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 licnch for protection. Mr. Wessels urged that it was aa 
 unheard-of proceeding to compel a witness to state what he 
 thought and to use it as evidence. The objections were 
 again overruled, and the witness was ordered by the Court to 
 answer. His reply afforded no satisfaction to the Govern- 
 ment, being to the effect that he could not then remember 
 what his thoughts were at various times. On the application 
 of the State Attorney the Judicial Commissioner sent him to 
 gaol for twelve hours for contempt of court. 
 
 Mr. Wessels strenuously objected to the decision and 
 applied to the Court to stay imprisonment to enable him to 
 appeal to a judge in chambers, but even this was refused. 
 Mr. Wessels in the course of his address received a reprimand 
 from the licnch for stating that he now recoj^nized the force 
 of the State Attorney's contention that the law of 'jvidence 
 as obtaining in South Africa was not sufficiently wide ; for, 
 he added, he thought it would suit the purpose of the Govern- 
 ment better if they reverted to an older system under which 
 racks and thumbscrews were popular. 
 
 The witness was sent to gaol. Some hours later an appeal 
 was heard by Judge de Kortd in chambers, and the decision 
 of the Judicial Commissioner was reversed, but the prisoner 
 had already completed seven hours' imprisonment in a dirty 
 cell. Judge de Korte stated that he had reversed the decision 
 after consultation with Chief Justice Kotz6, and it was felt 
 that something at least had been achieved by Mr. Schu- 
 macher, and the rights of a witness would be recognized. 
 But the end is not always in sight in dealing with the Trans- 
 vaal Government. The State Attorney in turn appealed 
 from the single judge's decision to the full Bench. Judge 
 Morice, a Scotchman, many years a judge of the High Court, 
 supported the decision of Judge de Kortd The Chief Justice, 
 who had advised Judge de Kort6 in his decision however in 
 a most extraordinary judgment now reversed it, and in this 
 view he was supported by Judge Ameshof — himself a witness 
 in the case against the Reformers. 
 
 Thus the majority judgment of the High Court against the 
 Reformers on tiiis principle of evidence happened to be for- 
 mulated by the two judges who had been appointed to 
 negotiate with the Reformers' deputation on behalf of the 
 Government 
 
 t ^4 
 
ARUEST AND TRIAL OK THE REFORMERS 
 
 225 
 
 vl; 
 
 The impossibility of obtaintnjj justice in the Courts of the 
 Trrinsvaal under the then conditions was thus brought home 
 
 the prisoners. An appeal from the decision of the Lower 
 Ci)urt on Judge Aineshofs interpretation of privilc;,'e, which 
 had been seriously discussed, was then abandoned as being 
 worse than useless, and calculated only to provoke more 
 extreme measures against the prisoners by placing the Bench 
 in a ridiculous position. It could not be e-xpected that the 
 Chief Justice, who was himself a member of the Government 
 Commission which Judge Ameshof had claimed to be 
 privileged, would take any other view than that favouring the 
 policy and convenience of the Government which he showed 
 himself so ready to befriend. 
 
 In the Schumacher appeal case before the full Court Dr. 
 
 Coster had made no secret that he intended to disregard the 
 
 tiles and precedents governing the treatment of witnesses, 
 
 id even claimed that he should receive no opposition from 
 Liie prisoners' counsel, since he was only ^fishing' for evidence 
 and not actually accumulating it against the prisoners, and 
 had no intention of using the evidence given at this exami- 
 nation. Mr. Wessels asked him whether he would pledge 
 himself to this effect, and what, for instance, would be done 
 in case a witness who had been heard at the preliminary 
 examination should die before the main trial came off. The 
 reply was, that in such a case of course the Government 
 would be bound to use some of the evidence, but would use it 
 with aiscretion and not unfairly. This undertaking provoked 
 smiles even in court. The wisdom and fairness of Mr. 
 Wessels' contention were fully justified when the trial actually 
 did take place, for the whole of the evidence of the pre- 
 liminary examination was handed in for the guidance of the 
 judge in determining his sentences against the accused. It 
 may be added that each witness was called upon to sign the 
 notes of his evidence as taken down in Dutch. When 
 required, t^«e official reporter read a free translation of the 
 notes to the witness before they were signed. 
 
 At the conclusion of the examination all the prisoners were 
 committed on the same charge — that of high treason — no 
 distinction whatever being made in the references to them 
 from the ^ ;nch. By this time Mr. Hammond, who had 
 
 kMMi 
 
 'i 
 
!28 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 been ill, was released on bail of ;^20,ooo in order to go to the 
 seaside. 
 
 Application was made on behalf of Colonel Rhodes, Messrs. 
 Phillips, Farrar, and FitzPatrick for release on bail, upon the 
 grounds that no distinction whatever had been made between 
 them and the other prisoners who had already been released, 
 but this was refused after the point had been reserved for 
 consideration by the State Attorney in consultation with the 
 Chief Justice, and the four men returned to their former con- 
 ditions of imprisonment. Mr, Chamberlain continued to 
 make representations on behalf of these men, and at one time 
 it appeared as though the restrictions would be removed. Dr. 
 Coster having pledged himself to accept bail, and having 
 actually drawn out the bail-bonds and submitted them to the 
 solicitors of the accused for approval, and every arrangement 
 having been completed — even to the finding of the additional 
 security. They were however at the last moment curtl) 
 informed that bail would not be allowed. On this being 
 reported to Mr. Chamberlain, he at once replied to the effect 
 that he could not believe that a Government would revoke a 
 promise made on their behalf by the State Attorney. Dr. 
 Leyds, on behalf of his Government, stated that the matter 
 was in the hands of the State Attorney alone and did not 
 concern the Executive, and that on inquiry he found that no 
 such promise had been made and no undertaking given. The 
 incident is more or less trivial, but again shows the readi- 
 ness with which the Boer Government repudiate a promise 
 when it is to their convenience to do so. Dr. Coster on his side 
 admitted with expressions of regret that there had been a 
 breach of undertaking, and stated that it had been done by 
 order of the Executive Council. 
 
 Communications between Mr. Chamberlain and the Pretoria 
 Government were of great frequency during this period. The 
 phantom of Mr. Kruger's visit to England was chased with 
 great assiduity. The wily old President seized on Mr. 
 Chamberlain's suggestions as an excellent pretext for delay 
 to enable him to spread his nets, and he used the time to great 
 advantage. But this was not the worst ! Mr. Chamberlain's 
 new diplomacy and his stupid or treacherous advisers led him 
 into blunders ; as when, for instance, he tried to bounce with- 
 
 k 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 229 
 
 out the intention of making good ^!s implied threats ; and 
 when he sent his 4th of February despatch (publishing it in 
 London before it reached Pretoria), strongly and ably review- 
 ing the position, but spoiling all by a proposal which, whilst 
 it had not been suggested to or discussed by the Rand people, 
 and would not have been acceptable to them in lieu of what 
 they had demanded, was also an interference in the internal 
 affairs of the Transvaal. It gave the Pretoria Government an 
 opportunity, which they did not miss, of severely snubbing 
 Mr, Chamberlain. When the latter in cum peremptorily re- 
 fused their demands, he was informed that the cancellation of 
 the London Convention would not be pressed ' at present,' 
 but might remain in abeyance. 
 
 Throughout the period prior to the main trial, President 
 Kruger continued to use with great effect ' the wishes and 
 intentions of his burghers.' When bail was first refused to 
 the leaders this course was justified on the grounds that the 
 burghers were strongly against it, and that the President could 
 not act against their wishes. When at a later stage a petition 
 was presented hy a number of burghers more or less in touch 
 with the Uitlander community, who felt that the treatment of 
 the leaders was having a bad effect, counter petitions came in 
 within a day or two urging the Government on no account to 
 extend the privilege of bail to these men. Oddly enough, 
 these petitions were got up and signed by relatives and near 
 connexions of the President himself. 
 
 During this period another petition was presented which is 
 surely without parallel in a civilized state ; but it illustrates 
 admirably the Boer idea of right and liberty. Fifty burghers 
 in the district of Standerton addresssed the Government, 
 pointing out the undesirability of allowing a 'certain Advocate 
 Wessels to defend the Jameson rebels,' and praying that the 
 Government would put him over the border, ' which is the 
 slightest punishment that can be inflicted upon him.' The 
 receipt of this petition was announced in the Government 
 organ, the Press ^ on March 25. 
 
 At about this time another incident occurred which excited 
 considerable feeling. Commandant Henning Pretorius, one 
 of the most prominent Boer officials, having paid a visit to 
 his native district in the Cape Colony shortly after the Jame- 
 
2.^0 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 son raid, purchased from the owner of a farm at Cookhouse 
 Drift the beam from which the five Boers had been hanged 
 at Slagter's Nek for rebellion in the year 1816. Reference 
 has already been made in the first chapter to this deplorable 
 affair. The beam (which had been built into the house) was 
 brought up by the purchaser to Pretoria. He states, and no 
 doubt truly, that he obtained the historical relic for the pur- 
 pose of adding it to the National Museum ; but it must be 
 added that the time was not well chosen unless the intention 
 was to rouse feeling. The Volkssiem, the Hollander-Boer 
 organ, in an extremely violent article, described in detail the 
 Slagter's Nek executions, and called upon the burghers to 
 avenge on the persons of the Reformers their murdered 
 countrymen ; and it is a fact vouched for by persons by no 
 means friendly to the Uitlander that certain Boers approached 
 President Kruger, intimating to him that the beam had 
 arrived, that it would not be necessary to bother about a trial, 
 but that the four men should be hanged out of hand from the 
 same scaffold which had served for their compatriots. It is 
 but right to say that President Kruger*s reply was a severe 
 reprimand, and a reminder that they were not a barbarous 
 people, but should comply with the law. The matter having 
 been brought to the notice of Mr. Chamberlain, strong repre- 
 sentations were made upon the subject, to which the Trans- 
 vaal Government replied (forgetful apparently of the fact that 
 the President had frequently urged his inability to control his 
 burghers) that the Transvaal was a civilized State, that the 
 burghers were law-abiding and peaceful people, and that their 
 Government was at all times able to control them. It was 
 interesting to see the argument of the burghers getting out of 
 hand, which was used with such effect in the case of Dr. 
 Jameson and quoted by Sir Hercules Robinson, recoil upon 
 the head of its originator. 
 
 A final effort was made by the people of Johannesburg to 
 obtain the release on bail of the four prisoners. A petition 
 bearing the signatures of 20,000 persons was presented ; the 
 gentlemen bearing the petition were informed that it could 
 not be received ; that they must call again. Having called 
 again and again, the petition was at last accepted and placed 
 before the Government ; but no reply was ever vouchsafed. 
 
 t '. 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFOrvMERS 
 
 231 
 
 The treatment of this memorial is in sharp contrast with that 
 accorded to the one presented by a score or so of the IVcsi- 
 dent's relatives and supporters — objecting to the release. 
 
 From the time of the arrests until just before the trial 
 speculation was rife as to which judge would preside. The 
 Chief Justice and Judge Ameshcf could hardly sit (even 
 allowing for the precedents already established by them), 
 since they had both acted on the Government Commission in 
 negotiating with the prisoners, and one of them had already 
 given evidence against the accused. There remained Justices 
 Jorisser, De Korte and Morice. Air. De Korte was then 
 threatened with suspension owing to pecuniary embarrass- 
 ments, and would evidently not be allowed to preside. The 
 fifth judge, Mr. Jorissen, had expressed himself so violently 
 against the Reformers that he had himself recognized the im- 
 possibility of attaming an impartial attitude, and had refused 
 to sit. The only judge available was therefore Mr. Justice 
 Morice, against whom there was no valid objection whatever. 
 Moreover, in the ordinary routine it so happened that it was 
 his turn to preside at the forthcoming trial ; but he was known 
 to hold Liberal views and to be strongly in sympathy with 
 internal reform. 
 
 At this time Chief-Justice Kotz6 undertook several journeys 
 to the Free State and Cape Colony, ostensibly to rid himself 
 of insomnia, but in reality, as results proved, in order to 
 employ a judge for this trial. His choice eventually fell upon 
 ?.Ir. Gregorowski, formerly a judge in the Free State, and at 
 that time State-Attorney to that country. 
 
 Mr. Gregorowski was noted on the Bench for the peculiar 
 severity of his sentences on all except Boers. He had 
 moreover expressed openly in Bloemfontein his wish that 
 he might have the trying of ' those Reformers ; he would 
 give them what for.' These things were not known at the 
 time of the trial ; nor had the fact yet come out that before 
 taking the oath of ofiice he had endeavoured to borrow from 
 at least one of his colleagues a black cap for the forthcoming 
 trial. His attitude at the time is sufficiently indicated by 
 what he wrote shortly after the trial, in defence of his action, 
 ' / came up to put down rebellion. I have done so with a 
 strong hand, and I believe that my judgment will bear good 
 
 Ih!- 
 
 I ( 
 
232 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 fruit in the future.' The prisoners could not but contrast the 
 action of the Government in employing and appointing, on 
 approval, a judge who had no status whatever in the country, 
 with their action in declining to allow Mr. Rose Innes to 
 appear at the Bar on the pretext of his previous qualification 
 i ot being in order ; and it was felt to be ominous that an 
 independent and upright judge, against whom there could be 
 no objection, should be passed over, and another specially 
 imported for the occasion. 
 
 The trial was at last fixed to take place on April 27, and 
 the indictments were served upon the accused six days 
 before that date. The following is the list of those who 
 were committed for trial : 
 
 Lionel F^hillips 
 
 Colonel F. W. Rhodes 
 
 George Farrar 
 
 J. H. Hammond 
 
 J. P. FitzPatrick 
 
 S. W. Jameson 
 
 G. Richards 
 
 J. L. Willinms 
 
 G. Sandilands 
 
 F. Spencer 
 
 R. A. Bettington 
 
 J. G. Auret 
 
 E. P. Solomon 
 
 J. VV. Leonard 
 
 W. H. S. Bell 
 
 W. E. Hudson 
 
 D. F. Giltillan 
 C. H. Mullins 
 
 E. O. Hutchinson 
 VV. van Hulstcj'n 
 A. Woo' i -"Sampson 
 H. C. Hull 
 
 Alf Brown 
 
 C. L. Andersson 
 
 M. Lai 1 nermann 
 
 W. Hosken 
 
 W. St. John Carr 
 
 H. F. Strange 
 
 C. Garland ' 
 
 Fred Gray ' 
 
 A. Mackie Xiven 
 
 Dr. ^V. T. F. Davics 
 
 Dr. R. P. Mitchell 
 
 Dr. H;ins Sauer 
 
 Dr. A. P. Hillier 
 
 Dr. D. P. Duirs 
 
 Dr. W. Brodic 
 
 H. J. King 
 
 A. Bailey 
 
 Sir Drummond Duntiar 
 
 H. E. Becher 
 
 F. Mosenliial 
 
 H. A. Rogers 
 
 C. Butters 
 
 Walter D. Da/ic! 
 
 H. Bettelheim 
 
 F. R. Lingliam 
 
 A. L. Lawley 
 
 W. B. Head 
 
 V. M. Clement 
 
 W. Goddard 
 
 J. J. Lace 
 
 C. A. Tremeer 
 
 R. G. Fricker 
 
 M. Buckland 
 
 Donaldson 
 
 H. Hamilton 
 ^ du I3ois 
 H. B. Marshall 
 S. B. Joel 
 A. R. Goldring 
 J. A. Roger 
 Thomas Mein 
 J.S.Curtis' 
 
 ' Died in prison, 
 
 * Unable, owing to illness, to stand trial with the others. On re- 
 covery, Mr, Curtis returned to tiie Transvaal, and decided to plead 
 'not guilty,' whereupon proceedings were dropped. 
 
 h' 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 The indictment served on all alike was as follows : 
 
 233 
 
 H. J. Coster, State Attorney of the South African Republic, who, on 
 bciialf of the State, prosecutes, brings to the notice of the Court : 
 
 That they (cilintj the accusod), all and each or one or more of them, 
 arc guilty of the crime of High Treason : 
 
 Firstly : In that in or about the months of November and December 
 in the year of our Lord one thousand ciglit hundred and ninety-five, 
 the exact dates being unknown to l . State Attorney, they, tlie said 
 accused, at jolianncsburg, Witwatcrsrand Goldfields, Sontli African 
 iltpublic, being citizens of, or residing in, this Republic, all and each 
 or one or more of them wrongfully, unlawfully, and with a hostile 
 intention to disturb, injure, or bring inti.) danger the independence or 
 safety of this Republic, treated, conspired, agreed witii and urged 
 Leander Starr Jameson, an alien, residing witliout the boundaries of 
 this Republic, to come into the territory of this Republic at the head of 
 and with an armed and hostile troop, and to make a hostile invasion 
 and to march through to Johannesburg aforesaid. 
 
 Secondly : In that they (the said accused), being citizens of, or 
 residing in, this Repubhc, all and each or one or more of them, there 
 and then in conjunction with Charles Leonard and Dr. H. Wolff, now 
 fugitives, and other persons unknown to the State Attorney, appearing 
 and acting as a committee, by them named the ' Reform Committee,' 
 after the above-mentioned Leander Starr Jameson, on or about 
 December 29, in the year aforesaid, had come from without the 
 Republic, at the head of and with an armed and hostile troop, in the 
 neighbourhood of Ottoshoop, district Marico, into the territory of this 
 Republic, and had made a hostile invasion, and had violently attempted 
 to penetrate through to Johannesburg aforesaid, wrongfully, unlawfully, 
 and with a hostile intention to disturb, injure, or bring into danger the 
 independence or safety of this Republic, gave, or attempted to give, the 
 aforementioned Leander Starr Jameson during his hostile invasion 
 aforesaid information about the state of the defences at Johannesburg, 
 and had armed troops ready to assist, and sent assistance to him, and 
 subsequently by seditious speeches made, or caused to be made, in 
 pubUc, with the object to persuade and induce the people tiiere to 
 stand by the aforementioned Jameson in his hostile invasion, and 
 further liave assisted him, the aforementioned Jameson, during his 
 hostile invasion above mentioned, by providing him with provisions, 
 forage, and horses. 
 
 Tiiirdly : That in or about the month of December, in the year 
 aforesaid, and in the month of January in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and ninety-six, exact dates not known to the State Attorney, at 
 Johaimesburg aforesaid, they (the said accused), being inhabitants of, 
 and residing in, tiiis Republic, all and each or one or more of them, 
 th'jn and there, in conjunction with Charles Leonard and Dr. H. Wolff, 
 nov fugitives, and other persons unknown to the State Attorney, 
 appearing and acting as a committee named by them the 'Reform 
 Committee,' wrongfully and unlawfully, and with a hostile intention to 
 disturb, injure, or bring into danger the independence or safety of this 
 Republic, have distributed, or caused to be distributed, amongst the 
 populatioti there, and in the neighbourhood thereof, Maxim guns, other 
 weapons, arms, and ammunition ; further, have enrolled men, or have 
 caused them to be enrolled, and have formed them, or have caused 
 them to be formed, into military corps ; have erected there, or caused 
 to be erected, earthworks and other fortifications. 
 
234 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Fourthly : In that in or about the month of December and the month 
 of January, the exact dates being unknown to the State Attorney, and 
 at Johannesburg aforesaid they (the said accused), being citizens of, 
 and residing in, this Republic, all and each or one or more of them, 
 then and there, in conjunction with Charles Leonard and Dr. H. 
 Wolff, now fugitives, and other persons unknown to the State Attorney, 
 appeaiinf, and acting as a committee called by them the ' Reform 
 Committee,' wrongfully and unlawfully, with hostile intention to 
 disturb, injure, or bring into danger the independence or safety of tliis 
 Republic, have arrogated to themselves, and have exercised and caused 
 to be exercised, the functions, and powers belonging to the authorities 
 of this Republic ; by violence, or by threats of violence, have com- 
 pelled, or caused to be compelled, the police of this Republic stationed 
 at Johannesburg aforesaid to leave the public squares and streets ; 
 have formed, or caused to be formed, their own police corps, and have 
 provided that corps, or caused it to be provided, with guns and other 
 arms ; and further have appointed, or caused to be appointed, as head 
 of that corps, Andrew Trimble, and have entrusted him with jurisdiction 
 in police cases, in virtue whereof the aforementioned Andrew Trimble 
 has passed sentence and caused it to be carried out. 
 
 In consequence of all which acts abovementioned the independence 
 of this country was brought into danger, and its safety disturbed and 
 impaired. 
 
 Wherefore the State Attorney, after due proof anCi conviction thereof, 
 requests the judgment of this Court against said accused, according 
 to law. 
 
 The general opinion based upon the character of the 
 evidence adduced at the preliminary examination was that 
 it would be impossible to sustain the charge of high treason ; 
 but the disclosure of the documents in the possession of the 
 State Attorney put a different complexion upon the case. 
 Then for the first time the members of the Reform Committee 
 became aware of that factor in their case which has since 
 become famous as * de trommel van Bobby White ' — Major 
 Robert White's despatch-box — a veritable conjurer's hat, 
 from which Mr. Kruger produced to an admiring and 
 astonished world the political equivalents of eggs and gold- 
 fish, pigeons and white mice. In this box (which was taken 
 with the invading force at Doornkop) it appears Major 
 White had brought as much of his previous correspondence 
 as he could conveniently carry, together with diaries, note- 
 books, code-books, cipher- keys, etc. Nor was this all. He 
 had brought a copy of the letter of invitation, certified by 
 himself as magistrate in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. 
 Revelations at and subsequent to the trial show that the 
 State Attorney, on discovering this copy and finding that 
 as a copy it would not be admitted and that he might 
 
 • '1 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 235 
 
 experience some difficulty in proving it, prevailed upon 
 Major White while in the Pretoria gaol to confirm his 
 previous certificate, and to make an affidavit to the effect 
 that he had compared the letter with the original, that it was 
 a true copy, and that he had examined the signatures, and 
 believed them to be the signatures of the persons indicated. 
 The State Attorney alleges that he bargained with Major 
 While for this affidavit, and in return surrendered to him 
 certain private documents which had also been taken in the 
 despatch-box. Major White on the other hand stated to the 
 writer and to another member of the Reform Committee — 
 Mr. H. C. Hull — that there is no truth in the allegation that 
 he received a quid pro quo ; but has no excuse to offer for 
 making the affidavit, except that he — ^ does not remember 
 having done it! 
 
 The Reform prisoners, who, animated by a desire not to 
 give any of their comrades away, had for a period of close 
 upon four months borne all the abuse which could be heaped 
 upon them, and had abstained from making any defence in 
 public, or any of those revelations such as have since been 
 made through the exertion of the Transvaal authorities, the 
 Select Committee of the Cape House of Assembly, and the 
 Bow Street officers, found to their inexpressible disgust that 
 the efforts which they had made were rendered futile by the 
 capture of these documents ; and they were highly incensed 
 at the action of one of the very men whose lives they believed 
 they had saved by surrendering on January 7. The affidavit 
 was looked upon as unpardonable, and the unnecessary state- 
 ment regarding the genuineness of the signatures was inter- 
 preted in a very unpleasant sense. 
 
 Consultations now took place between Mr. Advocate 
 Wessels and Mr. Richard Solomon, Q.C, of Kimberley, who 
 had also been retained on behalf of the accused ; and en- 
 deavours were made to obtain from the State Attorney 
 details of the evidence which it was proposed to bring, but 
 with only partial success. From the facts already known to 
 them it was clear that the Government were determined 
 to sti ch every point in law to their own advantage and 
 to indulge in few scruples as to the means to be employed 
 to secure a conviction. The Judge, it was known, had been 
 
wm 
 
 236 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 specially imported for this trial, and piovisionally appointed 
 to a seat on the I5ench. As the confirmation of his appoint- 
 ment was to take place when the Volksraad should meet, or 
 at any rate at some period subsequent to the trial, it was 
 not unnatural to regard his as a case in which a judge was 
 appointed on approval, the appohitment to be either con- 
 firmed or cancelled according to the satisfaction which he 
 should give. 
 
 Appeal to the full bench of the High Court had already 
 been proved to be entirely useless ; since the only judges to 
 whom appeal could be made were those who had in the 
 earlier stages associated themselves with the Government 
 against the Reform Committee, and later on in their judicial 
 capacities confirmed the attitude taken up by them as 
 patriots. 
 
 The options before the prisoners were therefore three in 
 number. One course would be to enter upon a protracted 
 trial before a Boer jury and a specially-appointed judge, with 
 the certainty for the majority of an adverse verdict in any 
 case. In such a trial numberless occasions would arise for 
 the exercise of discretion in the admission or rejection of 
 evidence, and any defence of the prisoners must necessarily 
 partake of the character of an indictment against the 
 Government and the faction which both judge and jury 
 avowedly represented, and tend only to aggravate the 
 penalty. They would moreover have to face that trial as 
 a body of over sixty men, many of whom could have 
 reasonably set up special defences, many of whom were 
 not even mentionc:' in any evidence which the Government 
 had yet secured (with the exception of course of Judge 
 Amcshofs privileged list), and could therefore reasonably 
 expect to be discharged on making individual defences. The 
 second alternative was to decline to plead at all, on the 
 ground that they had negotiated with the Government in 
 good faith, and that a treaclierous arrest and breach of 
 understandings arrived at would not be recognised in any 
 way by them — in fact, to refuse to condone treachery or 
 take a hand in a farce. The third course was to plead 
 guilty, and take a short cut on the best terms possible to 
 what was realized to be a pre-arranged conclusion. 
 
 Hi 
 
ARKEST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 237 
 
 The second alternative was rejected, because it was found 
 to be impossible to secure unanimity of action. In the 
 course of the discussions upon the other alternatives, certain 
 negotiations took place between the State Attorney Dr. 
 Coster and Mr. Wessels, the result of which was that Dr. 
 Coster made the following offer : If the leaders (the 
 signatories to the letter of invitation) would consent to 
 plead guilty to count i of the indictment, he would agree 
 to withdraw as against them counts 2, 3, and 4 ; and in such 
 case he would agree that the rank and file should plead 
 guilty to counts 3 and 4 only, he withdrawing as against 
 them counts i and 2. The matter was discussed by the 
 prisoners, and objection was taken to that part of the indict- 
 ment in which it was stated that the Reform Committee had 
 acted ' with a hostile intention to disturb, injure or bring into 
 danger the independence or safety of this Republic' 
 
 Another meeting took place between the State Attorney 
 and Mr. Wessels, at which Dr. Coster agreed to eliminate 
 from the indictment against the rank and file the words 
 objected to, provided that the leaders would plead guilty 
 to count I. Having arrived at this — to him — satisfactory 
 conclusion, Dr. Coster remarked that they (i.e., all except the 
 four) were now charged with a merely nominal offence. Mr. 
 Wessels endeavoured to obtain the same alteration in the 
 indictment of the leaders, but this was refused on the ground 
 that it would make the indictment ridiculous ; and, apropos of 
 the concession to the rank and file. Dr. Coster even expressed 
 doubts as to whether, if the hostile intention were eliminated, 
 any crime could be said to remain under the indictment. He 
 however agreed to allow the four leaders to qualify their plea 
 by a statement in writing which they were to put in at the 
 same time. He stated that he would have pro forma to put 
 in some evidence of the offence, but undertook not to press 
 for exemplary punishment, and moreover promised that he 
 would not dispute or question the statement to be put in, 
 provided that it contained no material error in fact. 
 
 A discussion then followed as to the law under which the 
 trial would take place. Mr. Wessels urged that, as there was 
 specific provision in the statute law for cases of this nature, 
 the statute law would of course apply in preference to 
 
23« 
 
 THK TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 \::\ 
 
 Roman-Dutch law. Dr. Coster said he presumed that this 
 would be the case, but that he was not quite sure whether 
 Rornan-Dutch law would not apply. He added however 
 that anything he could say would not be binding upon 
 the judge, who could alone decide as to the question of 
 law. 
 
 Mr. Wessels's report to his clients induced the rank and 
 file to agree under the altered circumstances to the third 
 alternative, namely, pleading guilty, and they agreed to this 
 under the impression, which without doubt had been suggested 
 and deliberately fostered by the Government, that they were 
 pleading guilty to a nominal offence, and would incur a 
 monetary penalty in proportion. 
 
 In consultation with the leaders, Mr. Wessels reported the 
 discussions with Dr. Coster as above given. Both he and 
 Mr. Solomon represented to them the gravity of the plea, 
 and said that there was the possibility that the judge 
 would invoke Roman-Dutch law and ignore the laws of the 
 country, in which case it would be in his power to pass 
 sentence of death. In their opinion, they added, and in the 
 opinion of Mr. Rose Innes and others, this would be a 
 monstrous straining of the law, yet they felt bound to 
 indicate the possibility. 
 
 The course before the prisoners was not indeed an attrac- 
 tive one, but it was not without its recommendations. It 
 would have been infinitely preferable to fight it out had there 
 been a chance of a good fight, if even a losing one ; but, 
 apart from a verdict of guilty being an absolute certainty, 
 the circumstances were against any possibility of effecting 
 anything like a strong impeachment of the Government. 
 Moreover, the course now proposed would prevent any 
 ' giving away ' of Dr. Jameson, who had yet to be tried, 
 and of others ; and it also removed the necessity for 
 individual defences by those among the prisoners who 
 had been involved in a less degree than others. The 
 matter at that time appeared in one way to concern the 
 leaders only. If they were willing to take upon themselves 
 the burden of the charge and secure the acquittal of others 
 by accepting the full responsibility, it could only be regarded 
 as a chivalrous act. But there were some among the other 
 
 t'l ; 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 239 
 
 the prisoners — ' Irreconcilables,' as they were called — who 
 considered themselves equally responsible with the leaders, 
 who strongly objected to shifting any portion of their respon- 
 sibility upon others, and who desired to stand with those who 
 were prepared to bc.ir the brunt of the charge. To them the 
 suggestion to plead guilty was as gall and wormwood, and 
 was regarded as another humiliation which they were required 
 to endure, another climbing-down similar to the disarmament, 
 and attended, like it, with exasperating and baffling complica- 
 tions and involvements that made refusal an impossibility. 
 The one call to which these men would respond was the call 
 to stand together and have no divisions — a cause for which 
 they were still to make many sacrifices. The irony of it was 
 that in order to 'stand together' they had to agree to segre- 
 gation. 
 
 Dr. Coster would accept no further modification or variation 
 of his terms — there was no option to individuals to plead not 
 guilty and fight it out, except at the cost of involving all the 
 others, nor was there any option to them to plead with the 
 leaders. One other factor in the determination of this policy 
 remains to be noted. The communications already recorded 
 as having passed between some of the members of the Reform 
 Committee and Dr. Jameson, after the latter had actually 
 invaded the country, and some evidence as to the arrange- 
 ments made for the reception and camping of his force, were 
 in the hands of the Government, and these were sufficient to 
 convict every member of the Reform Committee under count 
 2 of the indictment in a trial before a Boer jury and by a 
 special judge. Conviction under count i was assured by the 
 letter of invitation and the admissions in the ' privileged ' 
 meeting with the Government Commission. Conviction under 
 count 2 would be a distinct aggravation of the position of the 
 four — or so it seemed then — whilst it would be a most serious 
 thing for the rank and file ; and it was finally decided to plead 
 in accordance with the suggestion of the State Attorney. 
 The decision was conveyed to this gentleman and by him to 
 the President, who expressed his ' satisfaction ' at a course 
 which would enable him to ' deal magnanimously with the 
 prisoners,' no doubt in pursuance of the policy of ' Forget and 
 Forgive.' When, as a convincing proof of the wisdom of the 
 
240 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 decision to plead guilty, the 'satisfaction' of the President wa« 
 nuuie known to the Irreconcilables, they remarked that this 
 was the worst sign that they had yet detected, but others 
 were more hopeful. 
 
 As to the soundness of the advice on which the prisoners 
 pleaded, it may be observed that Messrs. Gregorowjiki and 
 Coster have both since then expressed the opinion that there 
 was suflficient evidence to convict one and all of high treason, 
 and they should know what would have been considered 
 'suflficient.' The latter added that the prime movers were of 
 course guilty ; but they at any rate had tried to stop 
 Jameson, whilst those who joined the Reform Committee 
 in the later stages were morally worse, since they had only 
 joined when and because they knew that he had invaded the 
 country. Mr. Gregorowski, at a later stage, defended his 
 sentence on the leaders, but feared he had been 'far too 
 lenient with the others.' It would be unfair therefore to 
 suggest that the advice on which the prisoners had decided 
 to act was other than sound wise and proper in the 
 circumstances. That it should afterwards appear that the 
 other parties to the arrangement had acted with deliberate 
 duplicity and bad faith cannot be laid as a charge against 
 the gentlemen who gave this advice, and whose only fault, 
 if fault it be, was that their instincts, their principles, and 
 their training precluded the suspicion of treachery. 
 
 The trial commenced on April 24, when the prisoners were 
 arraigned, after which an adjournment was made until the 
 27th, in order to allow three of the prisoners who were then 
 travelling up to take their trial to arrive. On the latter date, 
 all being present, and pleas of guilty having been recorded, 
 the State Attorney put in the cipher telegrams, the minutes 
 of the ' privileged ' meeting between the Government Com- 
 mission and the deputation of the Reform Committee, none 
 of which had been produced in evidence, and the record of 
 evidence taken at the preliminary examination. Mr. Wesseis 
 then read and put in the following statement of the four 
 leaders : 
 
 For a number of years endeavours have been made to obtam by con- 
 stitutional means the redress of the grievances under which the Uitlander 
 population labours. T1>a new-comer asked for no more than is conceded 
 
 ^n 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE KKKORMKRS 
 
 ^41 
 
 to emigrants by all the other Govcrtitnents in South Africii, uiulcr \vlii(.:li 
 every man may, on reasonable conditions, become a citizen ol the Stale ; 
 whilst lierc alone a nolicy is pursued by which the first settlers retain 
 the exclusive rij^ht of j^ovcrnmcnt. 
 
 Petitions supported by the sii;iiatures of some 40,000 men were 
 ijiiiorcd; and when it was found th.it we could not ijc't a fair and reason- 
 able hcariiif^, that provisicms aire uly deemed obiuixions and unfair were 
 biin,n made lutMc striuf^cnt, and that we were bcinj^ deb.irred for ever 
 from obtaining the rights which in otla-r countries arc freely granted, it 
 was realized tliat we would nover get redress until we should make a 
 (lemoiistration of force to support our claims. 
 
 Certain provision was made rcgarduig arms and ammunition, and a 
 letter was written to Dr. Jameson, in which he was asked to come to 
 our aid under certain circumstancfs. 
 
 On December 2f) the IJitlanders' Manifest(j was published, and it was 
 tlien our intention to make a Imal appeal for redress at the public meet- 
 ing which was to have been held on January 6. In cousetpience of 
 matters th.it came to our kiiowledi'e we sent on December 26 Majoi 
 lleany (by train via Kimberleyj, and Capt.iin Holden across country, te 
 forbid any movement on Dr. Jameson's part. 
 
 On the afternoon of Monday, Decenibcr 30, we learnt from Govern- 
 ment sources that Dr. Jameson had crossed the frontier. We assumed 
 that lie had come in good laitli to help us, probably milled by some of 
 the cx.'iggeratcd rumours which were then in circulation. We were 
 convinced, however, that tlie Government and the burghers would not 
 in the excitement of the moment believe that we had not invited Dr. 
 Jameson in, and there was no course open to us but to prepare to defend 
 ourselves if we were att.icked, and at the same time to spare no effort in 
 effect a peaceful settlement. 
 
 It became necessary to form some organization for the {)rotection ot 
 the town and the maintenance of order ; since, in the excitement caused 
 by the news of Dr. Jameson's coming, serious disturbances would be 
 likely to occur, and it was evident that the Government organization 
 could not deal with the people without serious risks of conflict. 
 
 The Reform Committee wasfonned on Monday night, December 30, 
 and it was intended to include such men of iniluence as cared to asso- 
 ciate themselves with the movement. The object with which it was 
 formed is best shown by its tirst notice, viz. : 
 
 .s tice is hereby given that this Committee adheres to the National 
 Unioii Manifesto, and reiterates its desire to maintain the independence 
 of tl- Republic. The fact that rumours are in course of circulation to 
 the '^ct that a force has crossed the Bcclinanaland border renders it 
 ncccs.sary to take active steps for the defence of Johannesburg and 
 preservation of order. The Committee earnestly desirj that the in- 
 habitants should refrain from taking any action which can be construed 
 as an overt act of hostility against the Government. Hy order of the 
 Committee, 'J. Percy FitzFatnick, 
 
 ' Stcrtfary.' 
 
 The evidence taken at the preliminary examination will show that 
 order was maintained by this Committee during a time of intense 
 exeitement, an^ through the action of the Committee no ag^cssive 
 steps whatever ere taken against the Government, but on the contrarj', 
 the property of the Government was protected, and its officials wen 
 not interfered with. 
 
242 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 1 1 IS our firm belief that had no such Committee been formed, the 
 intense excitement caused by Dr. Jameson's entry would have brou;^ht 
 about utter cliaos in Johannesburg. 
 
 It has been alleged that we armed natives. This is absolutelj' untrue, 
 ard is disposed of by the fact that during the crisis upwards of 20,000 
 wliite men applied to us for arms and were unable to get them. 
 
 On Tuesday morning, December 3r, we hoisted the flag of the Z.A.R., 
 and every man bound himself to maintain the independence of Ihe 
 Republic. On the same day the Government withdrew its police 
 voluntarily from the town and we preserved perfect order. 
 
 During the evening of that day, Messrs. Marais and Malan present -d 
 themselves as delegates from the Executive Council. They canu; 1 to 
 use their own words) to 'offer us the olive branch,' and they luld us 
 that if we would send a deputation to Pretoria to meet a Commission 
 appointed by the Government, we should probably obtain ' practically 
 all that we asked for in the Manifesto.' 
 
 Our deputation met the Government Commission, consisting of Chief 
 Justice Kotze, Judge Ameshof, and Mr. Kock, member of the Executive. 
 
 On our behalf our deputation frankly avowed knowledge of Jameson's 
 [)resence on the border, and of his intention, by written arrangement 
 with us, to assist us in case of extremity. 
 
 With the full knowledge of tliis arrangement, with the knowledge 
 that we were in arms and agitating for our riglits, the Government 
 Commis>ion handed to us a resoluaon by the Executive Council, of 
 which the following is the purport ; 
 
 'The High CommisMoner has offered his services with a view to a 
 peaceful settlement. The Government of the South African Republic 
 has accepted his offer. Pending his arrival, no hostile step will he 
 taken against Johannesburg, provided Johannesburg takes no hostile 
 action against the Government. In terms of a certain proclamation 
 recently issued by the President, the grievances will be earnestly con- 
 sidered.' 
 
 We acted in perfect good faith with the Government, believing it to 
 be their desire, as it was ours, to avert bloodshed, and believing it to be 
 their intention to give us the redress which was implied in the ' earnest 
 consideration of grievances.' 
 
 There can be no better evidence of our earnest endeavour to repair 
 what we regarded as a mistake on the part of Dr. Jameson than the 
 following oiier which our deputation, authorized by resolution of tlie 
 Committee, laid before the Government Commission ; 
 
 ' If the Government will permit Dr. Jameson to come into Johannes- 
 burg unmolested, the Committee will guarantee, with their persons if 
 necessar\', that he will leave again peacelully as soon as possible.' 
 
 We faithfully carried out the agreement that we should commit no 
 act of hostility against the Government ; we ceased all active operations 
 for the defence of the town against any attack, and we did everything 
 in our power to prevent any collision with the burgliers — an attempt in 
 which our efforts were hap]5ily successful. 
 
 On the telegraphic advice of the result of the interview of the deputa- 
 tion with the Government Commission, we despatched Mr. Lace, a 
 member of our Committee, as an escort to the courier carrying the 
 Higii Commissioner's despatch to Dr. Jameson, in order to r isure our- 
 selves that the despatch would reach its destination. 
 
 On the following Saturday, January 4, the High Commissioner arrived 
 in Pretoria. On Monday, the sixth, the following telegram was sent tc 
 us : 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 243 
 
 ' Pretoria, January 6, 1896. 
 
 'From H.M.'s Agent to Reform Committee, Johannesburg. 
 
 'January 6. — I am directed to inform you that the Vi.\^h Com- 
 missioner met the President, the Executive, and the Judges to-day. 
 The President announced the decision of the Government to be that 
 lohanne^burg must lay down its arms unconditionally as a [condition] 
 precedent to a discussion and consideration of grievances. The High 
 Commissioner endeavoured to obtain some indication of the steps 
 which would be taken in the event of disarmament, but without success, 
 it being intimated that the Government had nothing more to say on 
 this subject than had already been embodied in tlie President's pro- 
 clamation. The High Commissioner inquired whether any decision 
 liad been come to as regards the disposal of the prisoners, and received 
 a reply in the negative. The President said that as his burgiiers, to the 
 number of 8,000, had been collected and could not be asked to remain 
 indfhnitely, he must request a reply "Yes" or " No" to this ultimatum 
 within twenty-four hours.' 
 
 On the follovvmg day Sir Jacobus de Wet, H.M.'s Agent, met us in 
 committee, and handed to us the following wire from his Excellency 
 the High Commissior "jr : 
 
 :puta- 
 ;ice, a 
 the 
 cur- 
 rived 
 mt tc 
 
 'High Commissioner, Pretoria, to Sir J. de Wet, Johannesburg. 
 
 'Received Johannesburg 7.36 a.m., January 7, 1896. 
 
 ' Urgent — You shouki inform the Johannesburg people that I consider 
 tl:at if tliey lay down their arms they will be acting loyally and honour- 
 ably, and that it they do not comply with my request they forfeit all 
 claim to sympathy from Her Majesty's Government, and from British 
 suijjects throughout the world, as the lives of Jameson and prisoners 
 are practically in their hands.' 
 
 On this, and the assurance given in the Executive Council resolution, 
 we laid down our arms on Jaimary 6, 7, and 8 ; on the 9tli we were 
 arrested, and have since been under arrest at Pretoria, a period of three 
 and a half months. 
 
 We admit responsibility for the action taken by us. We frankly 
 avowed it at the liaie of tlie negotiations with the Government, when we 
 were informed that the services of the High Commissioner had been 
 accepted with a view to a peaceful settlement. 
 
 We submit that we kept faith in every detail in the arrangement with 
 the Government ; that we did all that was humanly possible to piotect 
 both the State and Dr. Jameson from the consequence of his action ; 
 that we have committed no breach of the law wliich was not known 
 to the Government at the time that the earnest consideration of our 
 grievances was promised. 
 
 We can only now lay the bare facts before f \e Court, and submit to 
 the judgment that may be passed upon us. 
 
 (Signed) Lionel Phillips. 
 Fkancis Rhodes. 
 
 Pretoria, April 24, 1896. George Farrar. 
 
 I entirely concur with the above statement. 
 
 (Signed) John Hays Hammond 
 Pretoria, April 27, i8q6. 
 
2-14 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 1': 
 
 An incident which occurred during the reading of this 
 statement enabled the prisoners to realize how poor would 
 have been their chance of a fair trial before a Boer jury. On 
 the r'niht hand of the judge seats had been reserved for higher 
 officials. Several members ot the Executive were present in 
 this quarter, and amongst them in a very prominent position 
 and facing the quarter reserved for the burghers sat Mr. 
 VVolmarans, a member of the Executive Council. When Mr. 
 Wessels came to that portion of the statement referrinc^ to 
 the negotiations with the Executive Council, Mr. Wolmarans 
 at first smiled superciliously, then turned and addressed a 
 remark to one of his colleagues, shrugging his shoulder at the 
 same time, and at the conclusion of the reference looked 
 across the room to where the jurymen sat, still smiling and 
 shaking his head slowly and continuously for half a minute. 
 To men accustomed to the decencies of British Courts of 
 Justice this incident was rather revolting. When it is remem- 
 bered that the Government refused to produce the minute 
 referred to, and that through their representatives they 
 claimed ' privilege ' for the interview at which it was given, 
 in order to absolve themselves from appearing in Court, 
 and that Mr. Wolmarans himself sent the message to the 
 Rand that the Government by the withdrawal of its police 
 gave practical evidence of holding out the olive-branch, his 
 conduct appears the more unprincipled. 
 
 The State Attorney in a purely formal address, in con- 
 sonance with his promise to Mr. Wessels not to seek 
 exemplary punishment, asked for punishment according to 
 law. Mr. Wessels in reply made an eloquent appeal on 
 behalf of the accused and recited the circumstances which led 
 to their seeking redress in the manner in which they did. 
 He referred to the negotiations with the Government, to 
 the i)art played by the Reform Committee in the maintenance 
 of order, to the fidelity with which they had fulfilled their 
 undertakings with the Government, and to their attitude 
 towards Dr. Jameson. His references to the Government 
 and to the existing abuses were made as judiciously as 
 possible. He referred candidly to the relationship with Dr. 
 Jameson, es[)ecially alluding to the efforts made to protect 
 him from the results of his own action and to stand by him 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 245 
 
 even at the cost of personal sacrifice, and claimed that such 
 action towards their former colleague within the limits set by 
 them did not necessarily imply treason against the indepen- 
 dence of the State, but should fairly entitle the prisoners to 
 sympathy for their efforts to save a quondam colleague, how- 
 ever wrong he might have been. On the point of law, Mr. 
 VVessels claimed that the Thirty-three Articles formed the basis 
 of the State's law, that there was specific provision for such 
 cases as this in those Articles, and that the punishment to be 
 meted out to the prisoners should be in accordance with these 
 statutes, modified as the Court in its judgment might deem fit. 
 No sooner had Mr. Wessels resumed his seat than Dr. 
 Coster, as was then thought, repenting the fulfilment of his 
 promise and casting off all disguise, or, as is more probable, 
 carried away by an over-mastering excitement and strong 
 personal and racial feeling and stimulated by ccHicentration 
 upon one aspect only of the case, claimed the right to address 
 the Court again after the advocate for the defence had 
 spoken. Dr. Coster has the reputation among those who 
 know him of being a thoroughly honourable and straight- 
 forward gentleman. As a Hollander no doubt he felt 
 deeply in a matter in which Hollanderism was the casus 
 belli; as public prosecutor it was his duty to prosecute, not to 
 judge ; and one prefers to think that in peculiar and trying 
 circumstances he forgot the pledge he had given and re- 
 membered only the cause of his party. In a short but very 
 violent speech he depicted in the blackest terms the actions ot 
 the men against whom he had agreed not to seek exemplary 
 punishment, and pointing out the provisions of the Roman- 
 Dutch law, claimed that the Court should apply it in this case 
 in preference to the statutes of the country, and demanded 
 from the Court the severest possible penalty which could be 
 imposed under that law and under the Thirty-three Articles 
 and the Gold Law as well. With reference to the last-named, 
 Dr. Coster having mentioned the provision regarding the 
 confiscation of property, said that upon this point he w uld 
 not speak but would leave the matter to the judgment of the 
 Court. The Court was then adjourned until the morning or 
 the 28th, ostensibly in order to enable the judge to con.sidt- 1 
 the evidence and make up his mind. 
 
mm^ 
 
 246 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 The majority of the prisoners, utterly unsuspicious of what 
 lay before them, made all necessary arrangements to return 
 to their homes and avocations upon the conclusion of the 
 trial, believing that a nominal fine would be the penalty 
 imposed. Many of them had taken return tickets from 
 Johannesburg available for two days. The public throughout 
 the Transvaal and South Africa anticipated nothing more 
 than a nominal punishment upon the majority and a fine of a 
 tew thousand pounds upon the signatories to the letter of 
 invitation. 
 
 Some of the prisoners however were better informed. 
 News had been obtained some days before the trial com- 
 menced that extra accommodation was being prepared in the 
 gaol, avowedly to provide for the Reformers. Two of the 
 accused visited the gaol and verified this. Others of the 
 accused, few in number, were informed by personal friends 
 who had special means of getung information in Pretoria that 
 imprisonment would be the lot of all and that the punishment 
 on the leaders would be extremely severe ; and they provided 
 for this contingency accordingly. The manager of the 
 Government newspaper in Pretoria informed two or three of 
 those interested that the sentence of death would be passed 
 upon the four leaders, as this had been arranged ; and men 
 closely associated with the leaders themselves had been con- 
 fidentially informed beforehand that it was the intention of 
 the Government to pass sentence of death, and that the 
 matter was a cut-and-dried one. The information was given 
 with a view to preparing the prisoners for what awaited 
 them. 
 
 On approaching the temporary Court-house (the Pretoria 
 Market Buildings having been altered for this purpose) on the 
 morning of the sentence, it was perfectly evident that some 
 serious development was afoot. The town was thronged with 
 mounted burghers. State artillery, and mounted and foot 
 police. Every approach to the Court was guarded and the 
 streets were patrolled. Most of the population of Pretoria 
 were gathered in the Market Square, endeavouring to gain 
 admittance to the Court. The prisoners were arranged in 
 their former places in a special quarter of the building railed 
 off for the purpose, with the exception of Messrs. Phillips, 
 
 H"^ 
 
ARHEST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERS 
 
 247 
 
 Farrar, Rhodes and Hammond, who were separated from the 
 rest and placed in a special movable dock, which had been 
 carried in over the heads of the people after the hour appointed 
 for the sitting of the Court. The appearance of this dock 
 was recognized by all to be ominous, but some relief from the 
 feeling of foreboding was experienced when Juc!;_;e Gregor- 
 owski after taking his seat was observed to smile several 
 times and to make some jocular remark to one of the officials 
 of the Court. The faces of the officials however damped 
 any hopes that were built upon the judge's ;T<;nial appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Many of these gentlemen were personal and intimate friends 
 of the prisoners: some were connected by closer ties; and one 
 of the most trying experiences for the prisoners was to witness 
 the complete breakdown of the minor officials employed in 
 the carrying out of this tragic farce. The judge's first order 
 was for the removal of all ladies. The wives and relatives of 
 many of the prisoners had been warned by them beforehand 
 of what was likely to happen and had accordingly absented 
 themselves, but there were nevertheless a good number of 
 ladies present. Judge Gregorowski then took the case in 
 hand, passed in review the circumstances, and dealt with 
 much of the evidence, including that taken at the preliminary 
 examination and the documents put in by Government which 
 had not yet been seen by the prisoners' advisers. He made no 
 reference to the statement of the principal accused, subject to 
 which their plea of guilty had been made and accepted. He 
 reviewed the law, and by a method of reasoning which has 
 not commended itself to others he justified himself for setting 
 aside special statutes and applying the Roman-Dutch law 
 instead. In conclusion, he stated that he held the signatories 
 of the letter to be directly responsible for the shedding of the 
 burghers' blood at Doornkop, that he would therefore pass 
 upon them the only punishment possible under Roman-Dutch 
 law — namely death, and that whatever hope there might be 
 in the merciful hearts of the Executive Council and in the 
 President's great magnanimity, they should remember that in 
 no other country would they have the slightest grounds for 
 hope. The usual question as to whether there were any reasons 
 why sentence of death should not be passed upon them having 
 
pp 
 
 248 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 been put and the usual reply in the negative having been 
 received, in the midst of silence that was only disturbed by the 
 breaking down of persons in various parts of the hall — officials, 
 burghers, and in the general public — sentence of death was 
 passed, first on Mr. Lionel Phillips, next on Colonel Rhodes, 
 then on Mr. George Farrar, and lastly on Mr. Hammond. 
 The bearing of the four men won for them universal sympathy 
 and approval, especially under the conditions immediately 
 following the death sentence, when a most painful scene took 
 place in Court. Evidences of feeling came from all parts of 
 the room and from all classes of people: from those who con- 
 ducted the defence and from the Boers who were to have 
 constituted the jury. The interpreter translating the sentence 
 broke down. Many of the minor officials lost control of them- 
 selves, and feelings v.ere further strained by the incident of 
 one man falling insensible. 
 
 Sentence was next passed upon the other prisoners. They 
 were condemned to suffer two years' imprisonment, to pay a 
 fine of ^2,ocx) each, or as an alternative suffer another year's 
 imprisonment, and thereafter to be banished from the State 
 for a period of three years. It was added that the question of 
 confiscation of their property would be one for the Executive 
 to deal with. 
 
 The action of Mr. Gregorowski has been variously de- 
 scribed, but at no time more graphically than at the time of 
 the sentence, when a sergeant of police who was guarding the 
 prisoners exclaimed in the peculiar Dutch id;om : ' My God ! 
 he is like a dog : he has bitten and chewed and guzzled !' 
 
 After passing the minor sentences the judge gave a short 
 address to the burghers, in which he thanked them for their 
 attendance and made allusion with evident signs of satisfac- 
 tion to the manner in which the trial had been brought to a 
 conclusion. A long delay followed during which the judge 
 proceeded to note his judgments. Once his attention was 
 drawn by a remark of an official to which he replied promptly, 
 at the same time breaking into a broad smile, but suddenly 
 recollecting the circumstances and the presence of the men 
 sentenced to death, placed his hand over his mouth and wiped 
 the smile away. The incident was of course noticed by many 
 people in Court and helped to strengthen the impression 
 
 .. t << 
 
ARREST AND TRIAL OF THE REFORMERii 
 
 249 
 
 which a limited but sufficient experience of Mr. Gregorowski 
 had already created. 
 
 If the belief which now obtains, that the Reformers were 
 enticed to plead guilty and misled as to the probable conse- 
 quences of that plea, should outlive personal feelings and 
 leave a permanent mark in South African history, it will be 
 because it survives a searching test. In South Africa— as in 
 many other countries — it is the invariable practice of the 
 Courts to decline to accept the plea of guilty to a capital 
 charge. The prisoner is informed that as the plea involves 
 capital punishment it will not be accepted; and a formal trial 
 and sufficient evidence of the crime are required by the Court. 
 That is done even in cases where the prisoner knows what 
 the punishment will be ! In the ca.se of the Reformers the 
 State Attorney had, it is true, informed Mr. Wessels that he 
 would be obliged pro /orma to put in certain evidence, but the 
 reason was not given, and Mr. Wessels regarded it merely as 
 the quid pro quo for accepting unquestioned the written state- 
 ment of the four accused ! Mr. Gregorowski in defending his 
 sentence has stated that under Roman-Dutch law he had no 
 option but to pass sentence of death. Yet contrary to the 
 custom with which seventeen years' practice had made him 
 familiar he accepted the plea of guilty — and accepted it with- 
 out a word of explanation or of warning ! Is it surprising 
 that people should want to know why ? 
 
 The men were removed from Court under very heavy escort, 
 the condemned men being conveyed in a closed carriage and 
 the rest of the prisoners being marched through the streets to 
 the gaol, the whole party moving at a foot pace. A little 
 incident at the start did not fail to attract attention. The 
 officer commanding a section of the guard having issued his 
 orders in Dutch and some confusion having ensued, the orders 
 were repeated in German^ with a satisfactory result. 
 
 One more incident — trifling perhaps in itself but leaving an 
 incFaceable impression — occurred during the march t' the 
 gaol. As the prisoners slowly approached the Government 
 buidings, Dr. Leyds accompanied by one friend walked out 
 until within a few yards of the procession of sentenced men (a 
 great proportion of whom were personally well known to him) 
 and stood tliere with his hands in his pockets smiling at them 
 
m 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 1 I I 
 I 
 ■ t 
 
 as tliey went past. The action was so remarl<.ible, the 
 expression on the State Secretary's face so unmistakable, 
 that the Dutch guards accompanying the prisoners expressed 
 their disgust. His triumph no doubt was considerable ; but 
 the enjoyment must have been short-lived if the accounts 
 given by other members of the Executive of his behaviour a 
 month later are to be credited. The man who stood in safety 
 and smiled in the faces of his victims was the same Dr. Leyds 
 who within a month became seriously ill because some fiery 
 and impetuous friend of the prisoners sent him an anonymous 
 letter with a death's head and cross-bones; who as a .esult 
 obtained from Government a guard over his private house ; 
 and who thereafter proceeded about his duties in Pretoria 
 under armed escort. 
 
 It is stated that the death sentence was commuted the 
 same afternoon, but no intimation of this was given to the 
 prisoners and no public announcement was made until twenty- 
 four hours later. In spite of the vindictive urgings of the 
 Hollander newspaper, the Volkssteni, few could believe that 
 the death sentence would be carried out and most people 
 recoc^nized that the ebullitions of that organ expressed the 
 feelings of only a few rabid and witless individual.-; among 
 the Hollanders themselves and were viewed with disgust by 
 the great majority of them. At the same time the scene in 
 court had been such as to show that the Government party — 
 the officials and Boers then present — had not regarded the 
 death sentence as a mere formality, but had, on the contrary, 
 viewed it as a deliberate and final judgment. In such circum- 
 stances therefore it can be believed that the prisoners them- 
 selves were not without misgivinsrs. 
 
 «, i, 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LIFE IN GAOL. 
 
 In the Transvaal no distinction is made between ordinary 
 criminals and those who in other countries are recognized as 
 first-class misdemeanants. Consequently the Reformers, 
 without regard to the nature of their offence, their habits, 
 health, age, or condition, were handed over to the gaoler, Du 
 Plessis, a relative of President Kruger, to be dealt with at his 
 kind discretion. For two days the prisoners existed on the 
 ordinary prison fare. The majority being men in the early 
 prime of life and in excellent health, suffered no ill effects, 
 preferring to do with little or no food rather than touch that 
 which was doled out to them ; but to the others it was a rather 
 serious thing. There were several men between fifty and 
 sixty years of age whose lives had been spent under favourable 
 conditions. There were some suffering from consumption, one 
 from diabetes, one from fever, one from dysentery, and several 
 others from less dangerous but sufficiently serious complaints. 
 All alike were compelled to sleep upon the floor, with two 
 thin blankets for protection. They were locked in at 6 p.m., 
 and allowed out at 6 a.m. Sanitary accomn. )dation was 
 represented by the presence of a couple of buckets in the 
 sleeping room. The air-space per man worked out at 145 
 cubic feet as against 900 feet prescribed by English prison 
 reijulations. Ventilation was afforded on the one side by 
 square holes cut in the corrugated iron walls of the shed.' 
 and on the other (the buildings being lean-to's against the 
 
 ' This was done on the second day — after a night without anv 
 ventilation at all. 
 
 251 
 
^5' 
 
 THE TRANSVAi\L FROM WITHIN 
 
 perm.ment prison buildings) by grated windows opening into 
 the native cells. Needless to say, these grated windows were 
 originally intended to afford ventilation to the native cells, 
 but the buildings to accomnr.odate the Reformers had been 
 erected against the .side-walls of the Kaffir quarters. The 
 stench was indescribable. At 6 a.m. the prisoners were 
 allowed out into the yard, where tliey had the option of 
 exercising throughout the day. Tlie lavatories and bathini;; 
 arrangements consisted of a tap in the yard and an open 
 furrow through which the town water ran, the lower end of 
 which was used as a wash-place by prisoners, white aid black 
 alike. Within a foot or two of the furrow where alone wash- 
 ing of the person or of clothing was allowed stood the gaol 
 urinals. There was neither adequate provision in this dejjart- 
 ment nor any attempt at proper supervision, the result being 
 that through irregularities, neglect, and defective arrangement 
 the ground on both sides of the water-furrow for six or eight 
 yards was horribly stained and saturated by leakage. Many 
 of the prisoners could not approach this quarter without being 
 physically ill. Without further detail it may be stated that 
 there were at that time over 250 prisoners, about 100 of 
 whom were white. There were three closets and six buckets 
 for the accommodation of all, and removals took place 
 sometimes once a day, sometimes once in every four days. 
 Nothing but the horror of such conditions, and the fact 
 that they prevail still in Pretoria Gaol, and presumably in 
 other gaols more removed from critical supervision, could 
 warrant allusions to such a disgusting state of affairs. 
 
 At 6.15 breakfast was served. A number of tin dishes, 
 containing one pound of mealie-meal porridge (ground maize) 
 each were placed in a row on the ground in the yard in the 
 same manner as a dog's food might be set out. A bucket 
 near by contained some coarse salt in the condition in which 
 it was collected m the natural salt pans, the cubes varying 
 from the size of peas to the size of acorns. No sugar, milk, 
 tea, or coffee, was allowed. In order to utilize the salt the 
 prisoners were obliged to crush it with rough stones on the 
 cement steps. Needless to say, but few partook of this food. 
 To those who had not tasted it before in the course of pro- 
 specting or up-country travelling where conditions are some- 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 253 
 
 times very hard, it was no more possible to swallow it than tn 
 eat sawdust. 
 
 Dinner was at twelve o'clock, and it consisted of coarse 
 meat boiled to that degree which was calculated to qualify 
 the water in which it was boiled to be called soup, without 
 depriving the meat of all title to be considered a separate 
 dish. With this meal was also served half a pound of bre.iH. 
 Supper, which was provided at five o'clock, was exactly the 
 same as breakfast. 
 
 Two days of this fare told very severelj- upon those whose 
 physical condition was not of the best. By the third day 
 several of the older men and those in ill-healt!i had broken 
 down and were placed on ho.;pital fare. Matters were 
 sufficiently serious to induce the authorities to allow gradual 
 amelioration of the conditions, and by degrees food of a 
 better class was introduced. Mattresses and other articles of 
 bedding were allowed, but stretchers although provided for in 
 the prison regulations were denied to the men until a few 
 hours before their release a month later, when the prisoners 
 were permitted by the gaoler to purchase them, no doubt with 
 an eye to reversion to him in the course of a few hours. From 
 time to time the regulations as to food were varied at the 
 whim of the gaoler. On one day only cooked food would be 
 allowed in ; on another only raw food ; on a third nothing 
 but tinned stuff; on a fourth all was turned back at the gates 
 with the exception of that obtained by a few individuals at a 
 heavy premium. 
 
 A day or two after the passing of sentence representa- 
 tions were made to the prisoners, excluding the four death- 
 sentence men, that it would be advisable to appeal to the 
 clemency of the Government for some mitigation. In that 
 case, it was stated, there was every reason to believe that 
 the sentence of imprisonment would be entirely remitted and 
 that the sentence of banishment would also be commuted. 
 The individuals from whom this suggestion first came were 
 of the class which habitually trades between the Government 
 and the public — the gentlemen of the backstairs. For this 
 reason some of the prisoners gave considerable credence to 
 the reports, whilst others for the very same reason would have 
 nothing whatever to do with them. Hence arose a condition 
 
ipp 
 
 -«'>4 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 of things very like a deadlock among the prisoners them- 
 selves. It was represented by those agents that it would 
 be worse than useless for some of the prisoners to petition 
 if many others refused to do so and stood out. Some of the 
 prisoners did actually p'-tition — a course of action which was 
 strongl)' condemned b)- others ; but it should be borne in 
 mind that there were among the prisoners many men who 
 were in bad health and poor circumstances, who had heavj' 
 responsibilities in private life, and who were not only unable 
 to pay their fines, but even unable to make any provision for 
 their families during incarc>iation. Such conditions would 
 tend to shake the nerve of most men. 
 
 With this nucleus to work upon the Government through 
 their agents began a system of terrorism by which they 
 hoped to establish conditions under which their ' magna- 
 nimity by inches ' would appear in the most favourable 
 possible light. The first petition presented for the signature 
 of the prisoners was one in which they were asked to admit 
 tl:° justice of their sentences, to ex[)ress regret for what 
 they had done and to promise to behave themselves in 
 the future. The document clo:ed with an obsequious and 
 humiliating appeal to the ' proved magnanimity of the 
 Government' The reception accorded to this was distinctly 
 unfavourable, copies of the petitions being in some instances 
 torn up and flung in the faces of those who presented them, 
 The great majority of the prisoners refused to have any- 
 thing to do with them, and on representing the view that any 
 appeal so couched was not consistent with their self-respect, 
 they were informed that the petition had already been 
 shown to the President and members of the Executive 
 Council and had been approved by them and that it would 
 not look well to alter it now. . 
 
 Every effort was made for some days to induce the 
 prisoners to sign this document, but they refused. A certain 
 number of the men were opposed to signing anything what- 
 ever, even the most formal appeal to the Executive Council 
 for a revision of sentence. They based their refusal upon 
 two reasons : 1st, that they had been arrested by an act of 
 treachery and tried by a packed Court, and if the Executive 
 recognized the injustice of the sentence they might act 
 
 *'<i, 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 *S5 
 
 spontaneously without petition from the prisoners ; 2ncl, that 
 they bcheved that any document however mo krate whici) 
 thoy might sign vvcnild only be tlie thin end of tiie wedge by 
 wliich the Government hi)(jed to introduce the principle of 
 individual statements and pleas — that is to say each one to 
 excuse himself at the expense of his neighbf)ur, and thus 
 enable the authorities to establish by the prisoners' own 
 confessions the extent of the guilt and complicity which they 
 had been unable to prove. 
 
 Under such conditions an appeal was made to Messrs. 
 Rose Innes, Q.C., and Solomon, Q.C. These gentlemen had 
 remained in I'retoria and demoted their time and energies U> 
 obtaining some amelioration of the conditions of imprison- 
 ment and some mitigation of the sentences imposed upon 
 the Reformers. The petition as presented by the Govern 
 ment was shown to Mr. Innes, who indignantly rejected the- 
 suggestion of signing any such document. As the strongest 
 reason adduced in favour of signing petitions was the state- 
 ment that according to law and custom it was impossible for 
 the Government to take cognizance of the prisoners' case 
 even with every desire to mitigate the punishment unless it 
 was brought before them by direct appeal, Mr. Innes under- 
 took to see the President and Chief-Justice Kotz6 on the 
 subject. By this time further suggestions had been made on 
 the subject of petitions, and the prisoners were being urged 
 among other things to name in plain terms the extent and 
 manner in wh h they would like their sentences com muted. 
 This proposal was regarded as a preposterous and ridiculous 
 one ; but nothing is too ridiculous for Pretoria and it was 
 necessary to deal seriously with it. 
 
 In these circumstances, Mr. Rose Innes interviewed the 
 Chief Justice, in order to get the highest authority in the 
 country as a guide. Mr. Kotze would not at first express 
 an opinion as to whether petitions should be sent in, but he 
 was evidently inclined to recommend them as politic, ' But,' 
 said Mr. Innes, ' it is not a question of policy ; it is a matter 
 of law. Is there anything in the law which renders it 
 necessary for a prisoner to petition before his sentence may 
 be revised by the Executive — anything which debars 
 the Executive from dealing with his case if he does not 
 
250 
 
 TKK TRANSVAAL FROM WITFHN 
 
 petition ?' Mr. Kotz^'s answer was clear : ' No, certainly 
 not — nothing whatever !' 
 
 In the interview with the President which took place 
 immediately after this Mr. Innes was brusquely informed 
 that petitions from the prisoners were of no value, and would 
 receive no consideration ; that the President did not want 
 any of their petitions ; and that he was guided solely by his 
 burghers, who had already petitioned in the matter. ' I 
 would pay more heed,' said Mr. Kruger, 'to a petition from 
 nft)' of my burghers than to one from the whole of Johan- 
 nesburg.' At the conclusion of an unpleasant interview, 
 which called for all the tact and good temper at the com- 
 mand of the gentleman who was interesting himself on 
 behalf of the pnsoners, the President added in an offhand 
 manner, 'The petitions can do no harm and might strengthen 
 my hands in dealing with the rest of the Executive ; so they 
 can send them in if they like.' 
 
 With this answer Messrs. Innes and Solomon returned to 
 the gaol, and after informing the prisoners of what had 
 taken place advised them, under the circum iinces, to make 
 a formal but respectful appeal for a revision of the sentences. 
 It was their opinion, based upon the information which they 
 had at great pains gathered, and it was also the opinion of 
 t\"2 Chief Justice, that no petition was necessary, and that 
 the sentences would be brought under the consideration of 
 the Executive by the memorials of the burghers ; but they 
 considered that as interested persons or indiscreet friends 
 had already suggested the idea of petitions, and as a refusal 
 now to sign anything might have a very unfavourable effect 
 upon persons with the disposition and character of those 
 with whom they had to deal, it would be advisable to make 
 an appeal so worded as to formally comply with the require- 
 ments of the extreme party in the Executive ; one which 
 would satisfy those of the prisoners who were in favour ot 
 appealing, and would not be offensive to those whj wer: 
 against petitions at any cost. 
 
 The strongest reason for urging this was to preserve 
 unanimity of action among the prisoners. The course was 
 in fact a compromise designed to satisfy those who con- 
 sidered a petition of some sort to be necessary, and those 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 257 
 
 who would not as they expressed it ' sacrifice their self- 
 respect' by asking for anything from the people who had 
 treated them in what they deemed to be a dishonest and 
 treacherous manner. 
 
 All the prisoners except Messrs. A. Woolls-Sampson and 
 W. D. (Karri) Davies agreed to this : many did so much 
 against their own wishes because of the appeal to stand 
 together, and because it was strongly urged di.t their ob- 
 stinacy would affect not only themselves but would prevent 
 the liberation of others whose circumstances were almost 
 desperate. They yielded — it is true — but remained uncon- 
 vinced. To Messrs. Sampson and Davies the answers of the 
 Chief Justice and the President are now of considerable 
 importance, since the reason given for their detention in- 
 volves the repudiation of the assurances given by the 
 President and Chief Justice. 
 
 Those who had not signed any other form of appeal now 
 made a formal application to have their sentences brought 
 into review by the Executive Council. They stated then 
 their belief that it was only the beginning of the petition 
 business that it would be wholly ineffective and that it was 
 to be understood that they would sign no more under any 
 circumstances. This application was deemed by the emis- 
 saries of the Government to L^ sufficient to comply with the 
 requirements, and promises "vere conveyed to the prisoners 
 that the sentences w: il ' be at once taken into consider- 
 ation and commutations announced. In the course of a 
 day or two however further demands were made, and the 
 prisoners were informed that they would be dressed in prison 
 garb under severer regulations specially passed for them 
 unless they at once petitioned against this course. 
 
 Again Mr. Jnnes represented their case to the Government 
 at the dictate of his own feelings of humanity, and not 
 prompted thereto by the prisoners themselves, most of 
 whom would have been glad to see the Government v/reak 
 their vengeance in petty and vindictive provisions. The 
 proposed alterations were however abandoned without 
 protest from the prisoners after the supply of convict garb 
 had been sent up to the gaol. So matters went on day by 
 day, each day bringing its fresh instalment of threats 
 
 lIP- 
 
2S8 
 
 THE 'I'K/vNSVAAL v'ROM WITHIN 
 
 promises and cajoleric;-, each morning its batch of disap- 
 pointments. It was at first difficult to say what object the 
 Government had in view in endeavouring to compel the 
 Reformers to sign petitions, unless it were the unworthy one 
 of desiring to humiliate men who were already down, or 
 the perhaps more contemptible one of forcing them to turn 
 informers by a process of self-excusing and thus enable them 
 to differentiate in the commutations. The fact remained that 
 repeated efforts were made and pressure brought to bear upon 
 the men to induce them to sign. One pretext after another 
 was used. Finally the naked truth came out : the Govern- 
 ment required each man to state in an individual declaration 
 the extent of his guilt the extenuating facts and the circum- 
 stances under which he became associated with the Reform 
 movement. This was exactly what had been foretold by 
 men who understood Boer methods. 
 
 The means resorted to by the gaol officials to enforce this 
 petition- signing were characteristic. The gaoler (Du Plessis) 
 is one of the most unfavourable specimens of his race. Un- 
 scrupulous and brutal in his methods, untrustworthy as to his 
 undertakings, and violent and uncertain in his temper, he 
 singled out those among the prisoners whom he con- 
 sidered to be the leaders of the * stiff-necked ' party as he 
 termed it, and treated them with as much severity as he 
 could. These men found themselves unable to obtain 
 those facilities which were regarded as the right of ail the 
 prisoners. Upon occasion their food was stopped at the 
 gates, and visitors — their wives and families — were refused 
 admission, although provided with permits from the proper 
 authorities and complying with the gaol regulations ; and on 
 more than one occasion he informcid individual members of 
 this party that the ' petitions would have to be signed,' that 
 they would have to ' go down on their knees to the Govern- 
 ment,' otherwise they would ' rot in gaol." All this undis- 
 guised eagerness to obtain the signatures naturally only 
 strengthened the resolution of the men who stood out. 
 They had already against their wishes and judgment sij^ned 
 one application, and more than that they refused to do. 
 When it was found to be impossible to induce the men to 
 inform against each other, some modification was made m the 
 
 A 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 aS9 
 
 demands of the petition-hunters and some prisoners were 
 asked and induced to make statements concern in^f their own 
 part in the late movement, making no allusion to the part 
 played by otliers, and, for reasons which it is impossible to 
 divine unless it was designed to lead to something more, this 
 was regarded by the Government as a desirable step. 
 
 The suspense and disappointment added to the original 
 sentence upon a man who was never even mentioned in 
 evidence and who took no part in the Reform movement, 
 beyond associating himself with the organizations for the 
 protection of property in Johannesburg, told so sevc (jly 
 upon one of the prisoners that his mind became unhinged 
 and in the course of the following period he developed 
 marked signs of homicidal and suicidal mania. His con- 
 di'.'jii was so serious that strong representations were made 
 to .:" the officials connected with the gaol — the gaoler 
 himself, the district surgeon, the commissioner of police, 
 and the landdrost of Pretoria. The prisoners themselves 
 organized a system of guards or watches over their comrade, 
 pending the result of their representations to the officials. 
 On the fourth day however the unfortunate man, driven 
 oat of his mind by the constant and cruel disappointment 
 of purposely raised hopes, eluding the watchfulness of his 
 friends took his own life. 
 
 The news of this event was received with horror throughout 
 South Africa, the more so as for some days previously the 
 newspapers had hinted at some such impending catastrophe 
 In the course of the inquiry which was held evidence was given 
 showing that the gaol surgeon had reported the state of affairs 
 to the proper authorities some days before, but in a formal and 
 half-hearted way. Evidence however was forthcoming that 
 four of the prisoners (themselves medical men) had forcibly 
 represented the extreme seriousness of the case to the gaoler, 
 the gaol surgeon and the landdrost of Pretoria, and had 
 induced the assistrint-gaoler and warders to support their 
 representations, but all without avail. The result of the 
 inquiry was to lay partial blame upon the doctor and to 
 acquit everybody else — a result wiiich the public have been 
 used to expect in the Transvaal. It is somewhat difficult to 
 see how the decision was arrived at, seeing that in the offices 
 
26o 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM V/ITHIN 
 
 there was the record of a special pass granted to the un- 
 fortunate man's wife to visit him and remain with him for a 
 considerable period on the previous day in order to cheer 
 him up and avert serious consequences. The incident told 
 severely upon the nerves of those who were not them- 
 selves in the best of health, and it was found necessary 
 immediately to release or remove others among the prisoners 
 for fear of similar results. 
 
 The Government seemed to realize that it was incumbent 
 upon them to do something in cder to allay the feeling ol 
 indignation which was being roused throughout South Africa 
 at their manner of treating the prisoners, so a further instal- 
 ment of magnanimity was decided upon. On the day of the 
 unfortunate affair the manager of the Government newspaper, 
 The Press, was authorized by President Kruger and other 
 members of the Executive to inform the prisoners that they 
 would have to make modified personal statements of the 
 nature previously indicated, and if these petitions were pre- 
 sented to the Executive Council by 8 a.m. on the following 
 Monday (the prisoners would then have been three weeks in 
 gaol) orders for their release would be issued by Monday 
 night. In order to secure a favourable reception of this 
 suggestion it was arranged that the clergyman who was 
 to conduct Divine service on Sunday in the gaol would 
 deliver this message from the President to the prisoners at 
 the conclusion of the service, and urge the men for their 
 own sakes and for the sake of their families and of their 
 friends to abandon the position which they had taken up 
 and to sign declarations of the nature required, and so secure 
 their release. Nor was this all. Outside the gaol the wives 
 of those men who stood out against the petition movement 
 were informed by Government officials that unless the 
 demands of the Government were complied with by their 
 husbands they would serve the full period of their sentence. 
 Pressure was brought to bear upon these ladies and special 
 facilities were given them to visit the gaol, avov/edly in order 
 to bring about the desired end. 
 
 Eleven of the prisoners — apart from tlie four whose punish- 
 ment in substitution for death had not been decided upon, and 
 who were therefore not concerned in the petitions — declined to 
 
 a -i 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 261 
 
 reconsider their decision, and elected rather to serve their term 
 of two years ; ai d they expressed the conviction at the same 
 time that the?a promises of the President would not be kept 
 any more than others had been. The result justified their 
 judgment. After a postponement of two days on some flimsy 
 pretext the official intimation of the commutations was given 
 to the prisoners on Wednesday, May 20. Instead of the 
 release positively and definitely promised the term of im- 
 prisonment was reduced in the following degree : Ten men 
 were released, twenty-four men were condemned to three 
 months', eighteen to five months', and four to one year's im- 
 prisonment ; and the clemency of the Government towards 
 the four leaders was indicated by a sentence of fifteen years 
 each. 
 
 Even a short period of imprisonment under the existing 
 conditions meant certain death to a proportion of the men 
 sentenced, and it is not to be wondered at that the ' mag- 
 nanimity ' displayed by the Government after the disappoint- 
 ments and delays seriously affected the health of a number of 
 the men, following as it did closely upon the tragic affair 
 already alluded to. 
 
 With regard to Messrs. Sampson and Davies no decision 
 was announced, it being intimated by Dr. Leyds that, as 
 they had made no petition, their case had not been brought 
 before the Government, and the Executive had therefore no 
 official knowledge of their existence. But the extent of the 
 Government's magnanimity was even then not fully known. 
 On the following day it was announced to the prisoners that 
 they had been misinformed with regard to the five and twelve 
 months' commutations — -that the intention and resolution of 
 the Executive was merely to grant these men permission to 
 appeal at the end of the periods named to the aforesaid 
 magnanimity. 
 
 Some prominence has been given to the cases of those 
 prisoners who were unable for physical or other special 
 reasons to withstand the strain ; and it should therefore be 
 made equally clear that in many cases the men regarded 
 with contemptuous amusement tlitc cat and mouse policy and 
 the stage-managed magnanimity displayed towards them. 
 They were perfectly well able and willing to endure the 
 
262 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 sentence passed upon them, and they were not misled by 
 Boer promises in which they had never had any faith at 
 all. There are good reasons to be assiL,nied for the willinc^- 
 ness of many of the men to make appeals to the Government : 
 sheer hard necessity and the sufferings of those dependent 
 upon them were among these reasons ; and it is unfair to 
 consider these appeals to have been due to loss of nerve. 
 
 There were among the prisoners twenty-three Englishmen, 
 sixteen South Africans, nine Scotchmen, six Americans, two 
 Welshmen, one Irishman, one Australian, one Hollander, one 
 Bavarian, one German, one Canadian, one Swiss, and one 
 Turk. This variety of nationalities should receive due con- 
 sideration when questions such as for instance that of the 
 flag are considered. In this matter of petitions it was not 
 to be expected that men whose associations with the country 
 had been limited to a few years should experience the same 
 depth of feeling and bitterness of resentment as the South 
 Africans born who look upon the country as their native land 
 and who view with keen resentment the attitude of the Boers 
 towards them in the Transvaal, so much at variance with 
 their attitude towards the Boers in the neighbouring colonies. 
 Nothing could illustrate this difference in feeling better than 
 the fact that of the eleven men who throughout declined to 
 sign petitions eight were South African born, one Australian, 
 one English, and one Scotch. There is nothing discreditable 
 to others in these figures ; they simply indicate the difference 
 of feeling which did and indeed naturally must exist. The 
 South African born men consider themselves to have been 
 robbed of a portion of their birthright ; the others have not 
 the same reason for thinking this. 
 
 With men of so many nationalities the position of the 
 British Resident would in any case have been one of difficulty, 
 especially after the part played by the High Commissioner. 
 In the case of Sir Jacobus de Wet very little satisfaction 
 was given. What caused the most comment and annoyance 
 among the prisoners was that official representatives of other 
 countries appeared to have unusual facilities offered them to 
 visit the subjects of their G wernment — at least, they could 
 command the ordinary courtesies — whereas in the case of the 
 British /wgent nothing of this sort existed. Frequently he 
 
LIFP: IN GAOL 
 
 261 
 
 was observed standing outside the gaol in the worst of 
 weather without shelter, patiently waiting until the gaoler 
 would deem fit to see him. In the meantime that official 
 would stroll through the yard, making remarks to his sub- 
 ordinates indicative of the satisfaction he experienced in 
 keeping the representative of Her Majesty outside in the 
 rain and mud. Upon occasions when he was afforded ad- 
 mission he was hustled through the yard by a warder and 
 not allowed to hold private conversation with any of the 
 prisoners. On several occasions he complained that he was 
 refused admission by order of the gaoler, and the spectacle 
 of England's representative being turned away by an ignorant 
 and ill-conditioned oPicial like Du Plessis was not an edify- 
 ing one. It is only necessary to say that upon an occasion 
 when Du Plessis adopted the same tactics towards the 
 Portuguese Consul that gentleman proceeded at once to the 
 Presidency and demanded as his right free admission to the 
 gaol whenever he chose to go, and the right was promptl}' 
 recognized although there was no subject of his Government 
 at the time within the precincts. Indeed the Portuguese 
 Consul stated openly that he called for the purpose of visiting 
 as a friend one of the Reform prisoners, giving the name of 
 one of the recalcitrants most objectionable to the Government. 
 The American Consul too carried matters with a high hand 
 on the occasion of his visit to Pretoria, and it seemed as 
 though the Paramount Power was the only one which the 
 Transvaal Government could afford or cared to treat with 
 contempt. 
 
 The period of gaol life afforded the Reformers some 
 opportunity of studying a department of the Transvaal 
 Administration which they had not before realized to be so 
 badly in need of reform. The system — if system it can be 
 called — upon which the gaol was conducted may be gathered 
 from the gaoler's own words. When one of the prisoners had 
 inquired of him whether a certain treatment to which a 
 white convict had been subjected was in accordance with 
 the rules of the gaol and had received an answer in the 
 affirmative, he remarked that he did not think many of the 
 Reformers could exist under such conditions. Du I'lessis 
 replied : ' Oh no ! Not one of you would be alive a month 
 
264 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 if the rules were enforced. No white man could stand them. 
 Indeed,' he added, ' if the rules were properly enforced, not 
 even a nigger could stand them!' 
 
 Some subsequent experience of gaol-life induced the Re- 
 formers to accept this view as tolerably correct. It is known 
 for instance that after the Malaboch war sixty-four of the 
 tribe were incarcerated in Pretoria Gaol. Some twenty were 
 subsequently released, but of the remainder twenty-six died 
 within the year. Bad food vile sanitary arrangements and 
 want of clothing and shelter contributed to this end. Mala- 
 boch was a petty chief against whom an expedition was 
 organized, ostensibly because he had refused to pay his taxes. 
 The expedition is chiefly notorious on account of the com- 
 mandeering of British subjects which led to the visit of Sir 
 Henry Loch already described. It resulted — as these ex- 
 peditions inevitably do — in the worsting of the natives, the 
 capture of the chief and his headmen, and the parcelling out 
 of his tribe as indentured servants among the Boers. 
 
 Considerable sympathy was felt with Malaboch among 
 the Uitlanders, not because of his refusal to pay taxes 
 but because the opinion prevailed that this refusal was due 
 only to the tyrannical and improper conduct of the Boer 
 native commissioners ; and a number of Johannesburg men 
 resolved in the interests of the native and also of the native 
 labour supply on the Rand to have the matter cleared up 
 at the forthcoming trial of the chief. Funds were provided 
 and coun.^el employed, nominally to defend Malaboch, but 
 really to impeach the native commissioners, who in many 
 cases were and continue to be a perfect curse to the country. 
 No sooner had this intended course of action become known 
 than the Government decided to treat their prisoners under 
 the provisions of martial law — to treat them, in fact, as 
 prisoners of war, who were liable to be indefinitely detained 
 without further trial. Under the.se conditions they were 
 placed in the Pretoria Gaol, and with the exception of a 
 few subordinates there they have lived — or died — since. The 
 offences of these natives, for all anyone knows, may have been 
 similar to thoi.e of Langalibalele, Dinizulu, Secocoeni, Cete- 
 wayo, and other native chiefs whom the British Government 
 have also disposed of without trial. But it is urged that these 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 20S 
 
 men are entitled to a trial, because it is well known that the 
 provocation under wlu'ch they committed their offences against 
 the law — if indeed any were committed — was such as, in the 
 minds of most people, vvould justify their action.' 
 
 The position of a native in the Pretoria Gaol is indeed an 
 unhappy one. Sleeping accommodat'on— thrt is to say, 
 shed accommodation — is provided for about one-quarter of 
 the number confined there. During fine weather it is no 
 hardship upon the natives to sleep in the open yard provided 
 that they have some covering. The blankets doled out to 
 them are however in many cases such as one would not 
 allow to remain in one's kennels ; and in wet or cold weather 
 (and the fact is that during at least one quarter of the year 
 the nights are cold, whilst during the five months' wet season 
 rain may fall at any time) the sufferings of these unfortunates 
 many of whom have no blankets at all are very severe. Of 
 course the stronger fight their way into the shed, and even 
 fill the little covered passage-way ; the others crouch or lie 
 about in the open yard like wild beasts without a vestige of 
 shelter. 
 
 On behalf of the native political prisoners representations 
 were made by the gaol doctor that they were dying in 
 numbers from scurvy and fever, for want of vegetable food. 
 A special effort on his part secured for a few days some 
 allowance of this nature, but the matter having been brought 
 to the notice of General Joubert, the Superintendent-General 
 of natives, peremptory orders were issued to discontinue this; 
 and this although the wretched creatures might have been 
 sufficiently supplied from the gardens attached to the gaol 
 which are cultivated by the prisoners, and the product of 
 which was used by the gaoler to feed his pigs. For a little 
 while longer the doctor continued the vegetable diet at his 
 own expense, but being unable to afford this it was dis- 
 continued and the former death-rate was resumed. 
 
 Floggings are quite common. In many instances white 
 men have been flogged there. It is not intended to 
 suggest that this should not have been done, but cases 
 occurred in the Pretoria Gaol which are surely difficult to 
 justify. Du Plessis stated to the Reform prisoners that he 
 
 ' See Appendix E. 
 
 i'' 
 
a66 
 
 THK TRANSVAAL FIx'OM WITHIN 
 
 had with the sanction of the Landclrost inflicted upon one 
 prisoner named Thompson, who was undoubtedly refractory 
 and disobedient, upivards of eighty lashes untliin three weeks. 
 He added that this was as good as a death-sentence, because 
 neither white nor black could stand two inflictions of twenty- 
 five lashes, as they were «,nven in Pretoria Gaol, without 
 permanent injury to the constitution. The effect, he observed, 
 of this severe punishment upon the back was to cause the 
 blood to rush and settle on the lungs, and in every case it 
 resulted in fatal lung mischief. 
 
 During the period of imprisonment the Reformers witnessed 
 a considerable number of floggings. These when indicted 
 by the assistant-gaoler or warders were usually marked by 
 some kind of moderation and consideration for the prisoner's 
 physical condition, and some regard for olYicial decencies. 
 The same cannot be said of those in which Du Plessis 
 himself took a prominent part. Upon one occasion when 
 a native had been released from the triangle, after twenty 
 strokes from the cat had been borne without a murmur, 
 Du Plessis suddenly became infuriated at the stoicism of his 
 victim, and stepping towards him knocked the released man 
 down with his fist and spurned him with his foot. Upon 
 another occasion a boy of ten or twelve years of age (under 
 what circumstances is not known) was taken by Du Plessis 
 into the open yard, stretched in mid air by two warders 
 gripping his wrists and ankles, and flogged with a cane by 
 Du Plessis himself. The screams of the child were heart- 
 rending and the sight caused one lady who happened to be 
 visiting in the gaol to faint. When the wretched urchin was 
 rele.scd by the two warders and stood cowering before Du 
 Plessis the latter repeated his former performance of knocking 
 his victim down 'vith his closed fist. 
 
 Mr. Du Plessis it should be remembered is a sample of a 
 certain class only of the Boers — not by any means of all. 
 He is a man with a treacherous and vindictive temper, 
 distinctly unpleasant in appearance, being coarsely and 
 powerfully built, and enjoying an expression of countenance 
 which varies between cunning and insincerity on one hand 
 and undisguised malevolence on the other. Some idea of the 
 general kindliness of his disposition may be gathered from 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 267 
 
 his actions. On one occasion, when special relaxation of 
 the rules was authorized by the Landdrost of I'rctoria in 
 order to enable a number of the Johannesburg friends of the 
 prisoners to see them, and when about one hundred permits 
 had been issued by that official to men travelling over from 
 Johannesburg specially for the pur[)ose, Du Plessis devised 
 means to defeat this act of consideration, and issued orders 
 to his guards to admit only three visitors at a time to the 
 gaol. As a consequence, more than half failed to gain 
 admittance. Nor was he satisfied with this ; he informed the 
 prisoners themselves that he wished the Landdrost had 
 issued two hundred passes instead of one hundred, so that 
 he might let those Johannesburg people know who was 
 ' baas ' there. Possibly the fact that on the previous day he 
 had been severely rebuffed in his petition campaign may 
 have provoked this act of retaliation. 
 
 Another instance of Mr. Du Plessis' system was afforded 
 by the case of an old schoolmaster, an Englishman named 
 Grant. He had been a teacher upon the farm of a Hoer 
 near Pretoria. Through some difference with his employer 
 he was dismissed ; and his own version of the affair indicates 
 that he suffered considerable injustice. From the evidence 
 given in the case in which he subsequently figured it appeared 
 that in order to urge his grievance he returned to the Boer's 
 farm and even re-entered the house which he had formerly 
 occupied. He was arrested and charged with trespass, or 
 threatening to molest his late employer and members of his 
 family, and was bound over to keep the peace for six 
 months and to find ;^50 surety for the same, failing which 
 he should go to gaol for that period. This seemed to be rather 
 a harsh sentence to pass upon a man who was over fifty years 
 of age, entirely destitute of means, of very inferior physique, 
 and who had been charged at the instance of an individual 
 who could certainly have protected himself against five such 
 men as Grant. No doubt the accused was an eccentric 
 man, and probably a nuisance, and it is even possible tliat 
 his conduct left the magistrate no alternative but to pass the 
 sentence which he did : it is not intended to question the 
 justice of this part of the affair. Having been sent to gaol, 
 however, because he could not deposit ;^50, Grant was 
 
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 268 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 treated as the commonest malefactor in all respects but one — 
 he was allowed to retain his own clothing. The unfortunate 
 old man made a pathetic picture with his seedy clothes, 
 tail coat, tall white hat, and worn gloves, which he punctili- 
 ously wore whenever called upon to face the authorities — 
 and it happened rather frequently. He objected to being 
 classed and herded with the thieves and murderers and others 
 wl ose crimes were even more repulsive. He protested against 
 the class of food that was served to him. For these remon- 
 strances he at first received solitary confinement and even 
 poorer diet ; and later with a brutality which one can surely 
 ciiy find in a Du Plessis the unfortunate old man was placed 
 in the Kaffir stocks, thrown out in the middle of the yard 
 that he might be humiliated in the sit^ht of all, and l<e[)t 
 th«re in the fierce heat of a tropical sun for half a day. The 
 sole excuse for this was that he had been unruly in protesting 
 against the treatment which he was receiving. The specticle 
 excited the pity of the Reform prisoners to such an extent 
 that even with the certainty of an insulting rebuff from the 
 gaoler they endeavoured to represent the man's case so as to 
 have him released, but without success. It need only be 
 added that the unfortunate man did not serve his entire term, 
 the first act of the first released Reformers being to pay up 
 the surety required and provide him with funds to leave the 
 country. Grant may have been as guilty and offensive as 
 eccentricity can make a man, but nothing can justify the 
 manner in which he was treated. 
 
 The stoclvs in the hands of Du Plessis were not the mild 
 corrective instrument which they are sometimes considered 
 to be. According to this authority the stocks can be made 
 to inflict various degrees of punishment. Du Plessis states 
 that when he took over the gaol he found that the cus- 
 tom was to place men in the stocks within a cell and to 
 trust to the irksomeness of the position and the solitary 
 confinement to bring about a better frame of mind ; but he 
 soon found that this system was capable of improvement. 
 His first act was to place the prisoners white or black in the 
 stocks in the middle of the yard, so that they should be ex- 
 posed to the observation and remarks of all the officials and 
 visitors and their fellow-prisoners. In explaining the reasons 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 2^9 
 
 for this change, he said that he found that in a cool cell a 
 man could be tolerably comfortable and that even the most 
 hardened of them preferred not to be seen in the stocks by 
 others ; whereas in the )-ard they were obli£;ed to sit on the 
 uneven gravel and to endure the heat of the sun as well as 
 being 'the cynosure of every eye.' But this d'd not satisfv 
 the ingenious Du Plessis. The yard of the Pretoria gaol 
 inclines from south to north about one foot in four, and 
 Du Plessis' observant eye detected that the prisoners invari- 
 ably sat facing down the slope — for of course they were not 
 allowed to lie down while in the stocks, this being too 
 comfortable a position. Upon studying the question he 
 found that in this way much more ease was experienced 
 owing to the more obtuse angle thus formed by the body 
 and the legs. This did not suit him and he issued further 
 orders that in future all prisoners in the stocks should be 
 obliged to sit facing uphill, and that they should not be 
 allowed to hold on to the stocks in order to maintain thein- 
 selves in this position but should have to preserve the upright 
 posture of the body by means of the exertion of the muscles 
 of the back alone. Needless to say the maintenance of such 
 a position for hours at a time caused an agony of aches 
 which many prisoners were quite unable to endure, and 
 frequently the men were seen to throw themselves back and 
 lie down at the risk of being kicked up by the vigilant 
 Du Plessis and confined in the stocks for a longer period 
 than was originally intended. Nor did this complete the list 
 of Mr. Du Plessis' ingenuities. The stocks had been built to 
 accommodate several persons at the same time, and he found 
 that by inserting the legs in the alternate holes, instead of in 
 the pair as designed by the architect of the stocks, the 
 increased spread of the legs caused still greater strain upon 
 his victim. This was reserved for special cases — say one in 
 every four or five. 
 
 The incidents here given illustrating the methods of this 
 delectable individual were all witnessed by the Reformers. 
 The account of Du Plessis may serve the purpose of showing 
 the methods practised under a Government whose officials are 
 appointed whenever possible from the family circle and not 
 because of fitness. It is more especially designed to show 
 
^ 
 
 \ 
 
 270 
 
 THE TRA.XNSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the character of the man in whose hands the prisoners 
 were placed with almost absolute discretion ; the man who 
 enjoys the privilege of discussing with his relative Presi- 
 dent Kruger, at any hour at which he may choose to 
 visit the Presidency, the treatment to be accorded to his 
 victims ; the man who is retained in his position in spite 
 of repeated exposures by his superiors, and who is credited 
 with exercising very considerable influence with Mr. Kru;;er ; 
 but, above all, the man in whose charge remain up to 
 the present time * the two Reformers, Messrs. Sampson 
 and Davies, who declined to sign any petition, and con- 
 cerning whom Du Plessis stated openly ; ' Wait until the 
 others have gone, and if the Government leave them in my 
 hands, I'll make them ready to sign anything.' Sufficient 
 has been said concerning this individual to warrant the 
 description publicly given of him by Colonel Rhodes » — 
 ' A brutal and inhuman wretch !' Like most bullies the man 
 is also a coward. When he witnessed the outburst of feeling 
 among the prisoners in consequence of the death of their 
 comrade, he would not venture into the precincts of the gaol 
 for two days, until assured that the men had again become 
 capable of self-control. 
 
 So much for the details of gaol life. 
 
 In the meantime sympathy with the prisoners began to 
 take practical form, and the unanimity of feeling on their 
 belialf throughout South Africa, which was quite unex- 
 
 ' (July, 1899.) They were released in June, 1897. 
 
 ' Du Plessis' threats regarding Messrs. Sampson and Davies were 
 made so openly and vengefully that Colonel F. W. Rhodes deemed 
 it to be his duty as soon as he was released to report the matter 
 to the High Commissioner, with a view to ensuring some measure of 
 protection for the two gentlemen above referred to. After the release 
 of the other prisoners, Du I-'lossis was for a time suspended, owing to 
 charges laid against him by the Inspector of Prisons. No investigation 
 appears however to have been made, and the man was reinstated. 
 During tiie month of September, after Messrs. Sampson and Davies had 
 already done five months of their sentence in Pretoria Gaol, this man 
 linding himself unable to break their spirit by other means, made a 
 proposal to the t'lovernment to separate the two and to place them in 
 two small country gaols at wide distances apart and far removed from 
 the friendly ofhces and watchful eyes of their friends, and thus deprive 
 them of such benefit as they may be able in the future to get from 
 proximity to the official representative of England. In the past they 
 have certainly derived none. 
 
 t '■ 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 271 
 
 hey 
 
 pficted and which greatly embarrassed the Boer Govenmient, 
 tended to bring matters to a head. Mr. Rose Inncs, who 
 had so generously and constantly exerted himself in Pretoria 
 in order to obtain some amelioration of the condition of tlie 
 prisoners, and who iiad in his official capacity as watchinij 
 the case for the Imperial Government made a very stroii^^ 
 rc[)ort to the Colonial Office, did not content himself with 
 these exertions. Upon his return to Capetown he suggested 
 and organized the getting up of a monster petition to the 
 President and Executive, urging upon them in the interests 
 of the peace of South Africa to release the imprisoned men. 
 The petitions were to represent the views of every town and 
 village in South Africa, and were to be presented by the 
 mayors or municipal heads of the communities. In this 
 movement Mr. Rose Innes was most ably seconded by Mr. 
 Edmund Garrett, the editor of the Cape Times, and other 
 prominent men. A movem-'jnt of this nature naturally ex- 
 cited considerable attention in Pretoria ; but the success 
 of it was wholly unexpected. The President and his party 
 had played to the South African gallery, and they had not 
 yet realized that they had in a;iy way overdone the theatrical 
 part. They had no suspicion of the real feeling with which 
 the sentences were regarded, nor of the extent to which they 
 had alienated sympathy by that and the subsequent ' mag- 
 nanimous' action. 'Magnanimity by inches' had been 
 placarded throughout South Africa, and the whole game was 
 characterized as one of cat and mouse, in which the Presi- 
 dent was playing with his victims with indifference to the 
 demands of justice and humanity, partly with a view to 
 wringing concessions from the British Government, and 
 partly from a mistaken idea that by such a course he 
 wduld obtain credit at each step afresh for dealing generously 
 with those who were at his mercy. 
 
 The movement had been well organized. The reso- 
 lution had been passed in every town in South Africa, 
 even including the towns of the Free State. The mayors 
 (over 200 in number) were on their way to Pretoria, when 
 the President, with his back against the wall, realized for the 
 first time that he had overshot the mark and that unless he 
 released the men before the arrival of the deputies he would 
 
m 
 
 272 
 
 THE TKANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 tither have to do so apparently at their instance, or refuse 
 to do so and risk rousing a dangerous feeling. He chose 
 the former course ; he released all the imprisoned m.en with 
 the exception of the finir who had been sentenced to death 
 and the two who had refused to appeal. Pretoria and 
 Johannesburg were already full of deputies and visitors from 
 Cape C'ojony, Natal, and the Free State, all bound on the 
 same errand of mercy. The feelings of these men, brought 
 many hundreds of miles from their homes, sacrificing their 
 own business and personal convenience in order to approach 
 the President and to support a measure which they felt to be 
 imperativ(,'ly necessary to the allaying of feeling in South 
 Africa may be imagined, but were not cxjiressed, when they 
 heard tha: they had been allowed to uiidertake this journey 
 as part of the President's game, only to receive a slap 
 in the face from His Honour by the carrying out of the 
 measure before they were permitted to interview him. This 
 at least was what was felt to be the case upon the release of 
 the majority. Absolute proof of it was forthcoming within 
 the week, when the President refused to receive the deputa- 
 tions and kept them waiting in Pretoria until he had releaseil 
 the four leaders as well, without allowing the delegates the 
 satisfaction of a courteous recognition of their mission. He 
 admitted them it is true to an informal interview, in the 
 course of which he managed to insult and outrage the feel- 
 ings of a good many by lecturing them and giving vent 
 to very candid opiniejns as to their personal action and 
 duties ; but he would not receive their representatives 
 officially. 
 
 On May 30 the prisoners with the exception of the six 
 already referred to were released, the terms being that their 
 fines should be paid at once, and the unexpired term of 
 imprisonment remitted. Each one as released was required 
 to bind himself for the term of three years, reckoned from 
 the 30th day of May, 1S96, neither directly nor indirectly to 
 meddle in the internal or external jjolitics of the South 
 African Republic, and to conduct himself as a law-abiding 
 citi/en of the State. 
 
 In some cases the provision was added that if in the 
 opinion of the Executive Council the terms of this under- 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 273 
 
 taking should be broken, the sentence of banishment which 
 was held in suspense would come into force, and the men 
 were required to sign this addendum to the above under- 
 taking. The resolution of the Executive Council, which 
 deals with the mitigation of the sentences, states that the 
 imprisonment portions of the sentences are remitted ; that 
 the fines (^,"2,000 in all cases) must be paid at once ; and that 
 the banishment shall remain in abeyance subject to the 
 faithful observance of the above undertaking ; but that should 
 any action be taken by any of the prisoners constituting in 
 the opinion of the Executive Council a breach of the above 
 undertaking, the sentence of banishment shall come into 
 force. 
 
 There is no definition of the phrase ' meddie in politics,' 
 nor is there any indication of what in the opinion of the 
 Executive Council constitutes politics. There is of course 
 on record the President's own statement in public that he 
 would not permit any discussion on the dynamite and railway 
 questions because they are matters of ' high politics ' ; and if 
 haply the Executive should also hold this view, it is difficult to 
 see how .\ny of the prisoners will be able to follow their ordi- 
 nary business and attend to those commercial affairs in which 
 they are concerned without comm'tting some breach of this 
 ridiculous provision. 
 
 No answer was received to the many representations made 
 on behalf of the four leaders, except that the Government were 
 busy with the matter. Upon the release of the other prisoners 
 it was suggested to them by friends outside that it would be a 
 proper and politic course to proceed in a body to the Presi- 
 dency and thank the President for the action he had taken 
 in their respect, and at the same time to beg of him to 
 extend a similar clemency to the four leaders who were still 
 left in gaol. Most of the men were dead against taking any 
 such action. They held very strongly to the opinion that 
 they had been arrested by treachery, condemned by arrange- 
 ment, and played with as counters in an unscrupulous 
 manner. They recognized no obligation towards the Presi- 
 dent They could see no magnanimity in a policy which 
 had secured their arrest under the circumstances described, 
 which inveigled them into pleading guilty to a nominal 
 
274 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 ofTence, and which imposed upon them a sentence such as 
 that passed. They considered the enormous fine wliich 
 they were then called upon to pay to say nothing of the 
 imprisonment which they had already suffered wholly dis- 
 proportionate to the offence, and their natural impulse was to 
 avoid the man who was directly responsible for it all, or at 
 least not to meet him under circumstances so unequal, when 
 they would be sure to be insulted, and would be obliged to 
 suffer the insult in silence. 
 
 Some of them however yielded to the representations of 
 their friends, who considered that it should be done for the 
 sake of the men who were not yet released ; whilst there were 
 others who expressed the view that they would rather go back 
 and do their imprisonment than suffer the humiliation which 
 it was proposed to inilict; that they would not do it for 
 themsi '\es, and they could not brinj:; themselves to do it for 
 anybody else. A considerable number of the prisoners called 
 upon His Honour ; and this was the ' dog ' interview. After 
 hearing the address of the men the President proceeded to 
 pat himself and his people on the back, saying that he knew 
 he had behaved with great magnanimity and moderation, and 
 that he hoped that such generosity would not be entirel) 
 thrown away. 
 
 ' You must know,' he said, ' that I sometimes have to 
 punish my dogs ; and I find that there are dogs of two kinds. 
 Some of them who are good come back and lick my boots. 
 Others get away at a distance and snarl at me. I .see that 
 some are still snarling. I am glad that you are not like 
 them.' 
 
 Those among his hearers who could understand His 
 Honour's remarks, although they had been prepared for 
 much, were certainly not prepared for this. The interpreter 
 stood for a moment without rendering into English the meta- 
 phor chosen by the worthy President, and even His Honour 
 — slow to perceive where he has transgressed the limits of 
 etiquette and good breeding — gathered from the expressions 
 upon the faces that something was wrong, and turning to the 
 interpreter, said : 
 
 'Oh, that's only my joke! Don't interpret that to 
 them.' 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 *75 
 
 But those who witnessed it say that there was no joke in 
 his voice or his eye as he said it. Proceeding then witii 
 more circumspection he walked out his do^ in another form, 
 and said that it was very well to punish the little dogs as he- 
 had punished them, but somebody should also punish the bi<^^ 
 dog — evidently referring to Mr. Rhodes — and in the course of 
 a homily he again mixed his parable, sticking all the time- 
 to his dog however, remarking in conclusion that it was 
 very well to punish the dogs, but what was to happen to the 
 owner of the dogs, who stood by urging tiicm on and crying 
 'Tsaai'? 
 
 Throughout the week His Honour continued to make the 
 homely dog work to good purpose, but the interview with 
 the released Reformers was, it is believed, the first occasion 
 upon which he made use of it. Certainly on no other occa- 
 sion did the President do such ample justice to his reputation 
 as a finished diplomat. 
 
 In the mean time negotiations had been proceeding for 
 obtaining the release of the leaders. The friends and repre- 
 sentatives of the four prisoners had become subject to all 
 manner of attentions from numbers of people in Pretoria ; 
 near relations of the President himself, high-placed Govern- 
 ment officials, their relatives, hangers-on, prominent Boers, and 
 persons of all sorts and descriptions, all offered their services 
 and indicated means by which the thing could be arranged. 
 All wanted money — personal bribes. The prisoners them- 
 selves were similarly approached, and they who a month 
 previously had been condemned to death witnessed with 
 disgust a keen competition among their enemies for the 
 privilege of effecting — at a price — their release. Day after 
 day they were subjected to the disgusting importunities of 
 these men — men who a little while before had been vaunting 
 their patriotism and loudly expressing a desire to prove it by 
 hanging these same Reformers. 
 
 The gaoler Du Plessis, representing himself as having been 
 sent by the Ficsident, suggested to the four men that they 
 should ' make a petition.' They declined to do so. Du 
 Plessis was then reinforced by the Chief Commissioner of 
 Police, and the two officials again urged this course but stated 
 that they did not wish it to be known that they had been sent 
 
w^ 
 
 276 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 by the Executive and therefore could not consent to their 
 names bein^j used. Upon these terms the prisoners again 
 declined. They said that if they were to hold any communi- 
 cation with the Government they reciin'red to have it on record 
 that they did so at the sug^^estion of the two responsible gaol 
 officials who represented themselves as expressing the wish of 
 the Executive Council. After further delay and consulta- 
 tions with the President and others the two officials above 
 nameu consented to allow their names to be used in the 
 manner indicated. Not content with this the prisoners 
 demanded that they should be allowed to send an indept-n- 
 dcnt messenger to the President to ascertain whether he really 
 required a written appeal for revision of sentence. Havin^; 
 received confirmation in this manner the four men addressed 
 a letter to the Executive Council. In this letter they stated 
 that they had been sentenced to death ; that the death- 
 sentence had been commuted ; and that they understood — but 
 had received no authoritative information on the subject — that 
 they were to suffer instead a term of fifteen years' imprison- 
 ment. They suggested the imposition of a monetary 
 penalty in place of the imprisonment ; they stated that they 
 held and represented important interests in the State and 
 that they believed their release would tend to the restoration 
 of confidence and favourable conditions in the business com- 
 munity of the Rand ; and they concluded by saying that, if 
 the Executive saw fit to adopt this suggestion, they the 
 prisoners would return to their business in good faith. 
 
 It had frequently been intimated to these men that it would 
 be impossible for the Government to impose a fine in place of 
 the death-sentence because money so obtained would be 
 blood-money. Reference had been made in the Executive 
 Council to Biblical precedents, notably the case of Judas, and 
 the opinion was held that if blood-money were taken the Lord 
 would visit His wrath upon the people. 
 
 The Boers are in their way a very religious people. But 
 they are also essentially practical ; and it is difficult to find an 
 instance in which the religious principle has operated to their 
 commercial disadvantage. This at any rate was not one. 
 The train of reasoning which led them to justify the imposition 
 of a fine was somewhat in this wise ; To impose a fine would be 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 877 
 
 to take blood-money, and would be immoral and iniquitous : 
 to iicccpt the offer of a present on condition that the sentence 
 should be entirely remitted however would be quite another 
 thing. 
 
 So negotiations were set on foot to induce the prisoners to 
 make the necessary offer ; and the prisoners, as has been 
 shown, did so. This satisfied the religious scruple of the 
 Boer, but the terms of the offer were not satisfactory to his 
 commercial requirements. It became necessary to make a 
 definite offer. Further negotiations followed, and the 
 prisoners gathered that an offer of ^^ 10,000 apiece would 
 be viewed with favour by the President and his advisers ; and 
 it was stated by members of the Volksraad and prominent 
 ofTicials who were in the confidence of and in communication 
 with the Government that, in the event of such a contingency 
 arising as the prisoners making an offer of cash, the Executive 
 would not take the money for the benefit of the State but 
 would accept it for charitable purposes — an educational 
 institute or a hospital or some such object. 
 
 This was communicated to the prisoners by the personages 
 referred to, and an offer was accordingly made of ;C 10,000 
 apiece. The matter was discussed in the Executive Council, 
 and the Boer, true to his instinct and record, perceived an 
 opportunity to improve his position. The religious gentlemen 
 who would not take blood-money now objected that the 
 amount proposed was altogether too small, and the President 
 with that readiness so characteristic of him observed that he 
 thought the prisoners must have made a mistake, and meant 
 ;^40,ooo apiece instead of ;^40,ooo for the lot. 
 
 Another delay ensued, and in the m&^nwhile more and 
 more deputies flocked to Pretoria, and stronger grew the 
 feeling, and more angry, disappointed, and disgusted grew 
 the communities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The Presi- 
 dent, however, played his game unmoved by any such 
 considerations. 
 
 The next announcement from the Executive was a wholly 
 unexpected one. It was that they felt it necessary to consult 
 Judge Gregorowski as to the amount of money which ought 
 to be taken as a donation to charities. The matter of assessing 
 the value of a death-sentence in cash might perhaps be deemed 
 
•Tt 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 a perplexing and a difficult one from lack of precedent, yet 
 nobody supposed the Executive Council to be unequal to the 
 task. It mif^ht also seem unfair to impose this further burden 
 of responsibility upon a juili^c; but Mr. Gregorowski had 
 proved himself superior to precedent and untrammelled by 
 custom ; and there was much to be said in favour of con- 
 tinuing an association which had worked very satisfactorily 
 so far. 
 
 When however the President, with that resolute deter- 
 min.ition to be generous which was so well advertised, at last 
 overcame all obstacles and succeeded in holding a meeting of 
 his advisers to receive Mr. Gregorowski's report, and when it 
 was found that that gentleman assessed capital punishment at 
 /^25,ocx) per head, the Executive Council with one accord 
 avowed themselves to be so utterly taken by surprise by the 
 announcement that they required time to think the matter 
 over and decide upon a course of action. 
 
 No doubt this opinion of Mr. Gregorowski's took them 
 quite as much by surprise as did his original sentences. 
 However in the course of a day or two they had recovered 
 sufficiently to intimate to the prisoners that, if they would 
 amend their first offer of ;C40,ooo for the four and make it one 
 of i^40,ooo apiece, the Executive would decline to accept so 
 large a sum, as being greater than they considered equitable 
 and would reply that in the opinion of the Government 
 ;^25,ooo apiece would be sufficient. It was quite plainly 
 intimated that this procedure presented certain attractions to 
 the President, who desired for political purposes to exhibit 
 further magnanimity. The prisoners who by this time had 
 gained some insight into Mr. Kruger's methods, who knew 
 from past experience the value of his promises, and who 
 could find no record in history to encourage them in partici- 
 pating to this extent in the confidence trick, point-blank 
 refused to have anything to do with it. 
 
 They agreed to make a formal offer of a * reasonable ' fine, 
 leaving the interpretation of this to the Government, but only 
 on the distinct understanding that the amount should not 
 exceed ;^25,<xx) each. They had learned that Mr. Gre- 
 gorowski had fixed this amount and that the Executive had 
 agreed to accept it, and they would not offer a penny more 
 
 feHi 
 
LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 a7Q 
 
 for magnanimity or anything; else. They stated in plain 
 terms that they looked upon this matter simply as a bart,'ain ; 
 that if they should get out they were paying their way out, 
 and that in so far as their release from the position was con- 
 cerned the transaction was closed upon business terms and 
 there should be no question afterwards as to gratitude or 
 magnanimity. The fines were paid,* and on June ii the 
 leaders were released. 
 
 Messrs. Phillips, Farrar, and Hammond, who were com- 
 pelled through their business ties continue their association 
 with the Transvaal, signed the sanie undertaking concerning 
 politics as that given by the i it of the pri .iiers — with the 
 difference that in their case i,. operates f )i a period of fifteen 
 years. Colonel Rhodes however dc. incd to give the required 
 undi rtaking and elected to take hi.'i sentence of fifteen years' 
 banishment. On the night of June ii therefore he was 
 sent across the border under escort, and passing through the 
 Free Staje proceeded at once to Matabelclaiid to icuderwhat 
 assistance he could to his brother in the suppression of the 
 rebellion. As though the excitement of the past few months 
 had not been sufficient, it may be added thit in the first engage- 
 ment in which he took part on his arrival at Huluwayo his 
 horse was shot, and he narrowly escaped the same fate 
 himself. 
 
 From time to time adverse comment has been made on the 
 subject of this undertaking of the Reformers to abstain from 
 further participation in politics. The position of the Reformers 
 was this : They had entered upon the movement to obtain the 
 redress of certain matters closely affecting their feelings as men 
 and their interests and business as settlers in the country. They 
 were disarmed and placed at the mercy of the Boer Govern- 
 ment by the action of England's Representative. To decline 
 to give the pledge required would entail banishment, which 
 would in many cases mean ruin to them and in all cases 
 would remove them from the sphere in which they might yet 
 contribute to the attainment of the ends they had in view. 
 The only compensating consideration possible in such a 
 course would be that the redress desired would be effected 
 
 ' It seems like reflecting on the reader's intelligence to add that 
 nothing more has been heard of the 'charities.' 
 
ii 
 
 280 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 through the influence of tlie Imperial Government ; but since 
 the Imperial Government had shown that under the circum- 
 stances they were neither willing nor able to maintain to a 
 logical conclusion the position which they took up when they 
 secured disarmament, the Reformers concluded that their 
 obvious course was to give the required undertaking. It 
 is true that several among them did decline to give this 
 undertaking, saying that they would prefer to serve their 
 terms of imprisonment ; but they received the answer that 
 after the term of two years' imprisonment the Government 
 would still require the undertaking or enforce the banishment 
 clause, so that it appeared to them there was no way out of 
 it but to sign what was required and wait patiently. 
 
 It is perfectly obvious that one of two alternatives will 
 present itself. Either the Government will come to regard 
 this provision as a dead letter, and wholly ignore it ; or some 
 of the men, in the course of their business and in dealing with 
 economic questions such as they are morally entitled to 
 discuss will fall foul of tb« 'opinion of the Executive.' The 
 issue will then be a very clear one, and many of those who 
 were strongly opposed to the Reformers on the premisses on 
 which they started will find themselves in cordial agreement 
 with them in later developments.^ 
 
 The Reform movement closed for the time being with the 
 release of the leaders. Sixty-four men had been committed 
 for trial. From four of them the Government had received 
 ;^ 1 00,000, and from fifty-six others i^i 12,000. One was dead ; 
 one had fallen so seriously ill before the trial that he was 
 unable to present himself with the rest, but on recovering 
 and announcing his intention to plead ' Not guilty ' and 
 fight it out, the case against him was withdrawn. 
 
 ' (July, 1899.) A clear indication of the Government's disposition 
 towards the Reformers was given by the treatment accorded to 
 Mr Lionel Phillips. In consequence of a publication by Sir John 
 Willoughby of an article on the subject of the Raid, which failed to 
 accurately represent the facts as they were present to the minds of 
 the Reformers, Mr. Phillips wrote an article in the Nineteenth Century 
 magazine, which was purely historical, moderate in tone, and obviously 
 designed only as an answer to the allegations which had been made. 
 The Executive Council arrived at the conclusion that it was a breach 
 of his undertaking to abstain from interference in politics, and they 
 issued a decree of banishment against him. As Mr. Phillips had taken 
 up his residence permanently in Europe, and as it was well known that 
 
 h' 
 
■■ 
 
 LIFE IN GAOL 
 
 281 
 
 There remained two men, Messrs. Sampson and Davies, 
 whose case the Government had refused to consider because 
 they declined to appeal. They had been sentenced on April 
 28 to two years' imprisonment and £2,000 fine, or failing pa)-- 
 ment to another year's imprisonment, and to three years' 
 banishment ; and under that sentence do they lie at the 
 present moment in the Pretoria gaol, at the mercy of the 
 Boer Government and its very competent representative Mr. 
 Du Plessis.' 
 
 Much kudos has accrued to Mr. Kruger for his magnanlmit}- 
 and much profit for his astuteness ! Great credit is also given 
 to Mr. Chamberlain for his prompt impartiality. And surely 
 some day a tribute of sympathy and admiration will go out 
 from a people who like pluck and who love fair play to two 
 Englishmen who hold that a solemn pledge is something 
 which even a Boer should 1-. Id to, whilst self-respect is more 
 than liberty and beyond all price. 
 
 it would be extremely inconvenient for him to return to South Africa in 
 order to dispute this action it was generally considered that the object 
 of the move was to establish a precedent, so to say, on the cheap, and 
 in the same spirit to intimidate others among the Reformers who were 
 believed not to have lost their interest in the cause of reform nor 
 to have abandoned their intention to begin again as soon as they 
 were free to do so. It is no exaggeration to say that scarcely a 
 week could have passed during the last two and a half years in 
 which some or all oi the half dozen Uitlanders most prominent in 
 the cause of reform have not been in receipt of a warrring of one 
 kind or another, ranging from apparently friendly advice not to take 
 too keen an interest in certain matters, up to the giddy eminence of 
 being black listed in the Dutch paper ^ as one of those to be dragged 
 out and shot without trial as a traitor and a rebel. Such are the 
 conditions under which the unarmed Uitlanders labour for reform. 
 
 ' (July, 1899.) Du Plessis was promoted to be Chief Inspector of 
 Prisons shortly after the release of Messrs. Sampson and Davies, and 
 still holds that post ! 
 
 ' v 
 
T 
 
 ^^ 
 
PART II 
 
 A POSTSCRIPT. 
 
"1^ 
 
— w 
 
 mmm 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THREE YEARS GRACE. 
 
 Very seldom has any community been in a position so un- 
 satisfactory as that in which the people of Johannesburg found 
 themselves in the year 1896. Judgments passed in the heat 
 of the moment upon matters which had not been properly 
 explained, and which in many cases were completely 
 obscured by deliberate misrepresentation, had incurred for 
 the community dislike contempt and mistrust which were 
 wholly undeserved. Those who knew the facts and who were 
 able and willing to speak, the Reformers themselves, were 
 bonded to abstain from politics for three years under penalty 
 of banishment. Betrayed, deserted, muzzled, helpless, hope- 
 less, and divided, no community could have been in a more 
 unsatisfactory condition. It was abundantly clear that the 
 time had been allowed to pass when the Imperial Govern- 
 ment might have insisted upon reforms and the fulfilment ot 
 the President's promises — not in the spirit in which they 
 had been made, but in the spirit in which the President 
 himself had intended the world to construe them. The 
 impact of the revelations was too great to permit of public 
 judgment quickly recovering its balance. It was realized that 
 Mr. Kruger's effects had been admirably stage-managed and 
 that for the time being, and possibly for a very considerable 
 time, the Uitlanders were completely out of court. There 
 were a few — but how few! — whose faith was great and whose 
 conviction that the truth must prevail was abiding, who 
 realized that there was nothing for it but to begin all over 
 again — to begin and to persevere upon sound lines ; and they 
 took heart of such signs as there were and started afresh. 
 
 It has been an article of faith with them that Mr. Kruger 
 
 285 
 
386 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 missed his supreme chance at the time of the trial of the 
 Reformers, and that from the date of the death-sentence his 
 judgment and his luck have failed him. He abused his good 
 fortune and the luck turned, so they say ; and the events 
 of the last three years go to sujjijort that impression. To 
 his most faithful ally ainon;^st the Uitlanders the President, 
 in the latter days of 1896, commented adversely upon the 
 ingratitude of those Reformers who had not called to thank 
 liim for his magnanimity; and this man replied: 'You 
 must stop talking about that. President, because people are 
 laughing at you. You made a bargain with them and they 
 paid the price you asked, so now they owe you nothing.' 
 But his Honour angrily repudiated that construction : nothing 
 will convert him. to that view. 
 
 It has beeti said that Dr. Jameson is the best friend Paul 
 Kruger ever had, and with equal truth it may be said that, in 
 1896, President Kruger proved himself to be the best friend 
 of the Reformers. Not even the most sanguine of his enemies 
 could have expected to witness the impolitic and unjust acts 
 b)- which the President revealed himself, vindicated the 
 Reformers, and undermined a position of unparalleled strength 
 in an incredibly short time. The bargaining and the bad 
 grace which marked the release of the Reformers had prepared 
 the world to view Mr. Kruger's action and attitude a little 
 more critically than it had hitherto been disposed to do. 
 The real conditions of Dr. Jameson's surrender had also 
 become known, and although the action of the Boer leaders 
 was regarded as far too trifling a matter to be seriously con- 
 sidered as against the Raid itself, nevertheless a residuum of 
 impression was left which helped to form opinion at a later 
 stage. There followed, too, an irritating correspondence 
 between the Transvaal and Imperial Governments, in the 
 course of which Dr. Leyds successfully established his skill 
 as a smart letter writer and his limitations as a statesman. 
 The Municipal Law, the first product of the 'forget and 
 forgive' proclamation — which proclamation, by-the-bye, had 
 already begun to prove itself an awkward weapon placed in 
 the hands of his enemies by President Kruger himself — had 
 been exposed and denounced as farcical, and it now required 
 but little to convince the once admiring world of the Pre- 
 
WKmm^^ 
 
 THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 287 
 
 sident's real character and intentions. That little was forth- 
 coming in a touch of ridicule more potent than all arguments. 
 
 The Transvaal Government formulated their demand for 
 damages for the Raid in a form which made everyone smile 
 — £677,93^ 3s. 3d. for actual outlay, and ;^ 1,000,000 for 
 ' Moral and Intellectual Damages.' What with the fines of 
 the Reformers, and the seizure of the provisions of all sorts 
 acquired by them for the purposes of the Reform movement, 
 which latter must have exceeded ;{^50,ooo in value, the Boer 
 Government had already received upwards of a quarter of a 
 million, and had, in fact, made a profit on the Raid ; so that 
 this demand came as a surprise even to the Uitlanders, as 
 much perhaps due to the extraordinary phrasing of the 
 demand as to the amount claimed. 
 
 It may be wondered why, under provocation so great as 
 that of complete abandonment by the country whose repre- 
 sentative had placed them in their then hopeless position, 
 no distinct movement took place — no tendency even developed 
 itself — among the Uitlanders generally to unite with the 
 Boers in favour of a Republican movement throughout 
 South Africa, to the exclusion of the Imperial power. In 
 answer to this it must be said that such an idea undoubtedly 
 did take strong hold of the non-British portion of the 
 Uitlander population, as witness the manner in which the 
 Cape Colony Dutchmen, Hollanders, Germans, and individuals 
 of other European nationalities associated themselves with the 
 Boer party, almost invariably by open declaration, and in 
 many cases even by naturalization, thus forfeiting their own 
 national rights and obtaining nothing but vague promises 
 and the liability to military service in return. But the 
 Republican movement made no further headway than this 
 because British subjects formed the large majority of the 
 Uitlanders. They had, it is true, a great grievance against 
 the Imperial Government; but against the Transvaal Govern- 
 ment they had one greater still ; and it would take a great 
 deal to kill the passionate loyalty of the British South 
 African. It would be idle to discuss what might have 
 happened had Mr. Kruger seized his opportunity and let in 
 a considerable section of the then unenfranchised to strengthen 
 the ranks of the Republican party ; that can only be a matter 
 
T 
 
 388 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 of individual conjecture. What is certain, however, is that 
 he did not do so and never intended to do so ; wherein his 
 lack of statesmanship is again made manifest. 
 
 Mr. Kruger has carried out in its fullest (its best or its 
 worst) the characteristic principle of his people already 
 referred to, that of giving too little and asking too much. It 
 is doing only bare justice to the determination with which he 
 adheres to the policy of his life to say that he gives nothing 
 to anybody. From the most distant to the nearest he deals 
 alike with all. With the people of Europe, he has taxed their 
 investments, disregarded t^>e'r interests, and flouted their 
 advice ; but nevertheless he has for years commanded their 
 moral support. In his dealings with the British Government, 
 pushed as they have been some half a dozen times to the 
 very verge of war, he has invariably come off with something 
 for nothing. In his dealings with the Uitlanders he has 
 bartered promises and in return — circuvispice ! In the matter 
 of the events of 1895-6 he came out with a quarter of a million 
 in cash, a claim for i!"i, 677,938 3s. 3d. (including Moral and 
 Intellectual Damages), and a balance of injured innocence 
 which may not be expressed in figures. In his dealings with 
 Cape Colony he has taxed the products of their land and 
 industry, he went to the verge of war to destroy their trade in 
 the case of the closing of the Vaal River drifts, he has per- 
 mitted the Netherlands Railway to so arrange its tariffs as to 
 divert traffic from them to other parts, he has refused to their 
 people (his own flesh and blood, among whom he was born) 
 the most elementary rights when they settle in his country ! 
 And yet in his need he calls upon them, and they come ! 
 His treatment of the Orange Free State has been exactly the 
 same. Their grievance against him is incomparably worse, 
 because of their liability to become involved in the conse- 
 quences of a policy which they are not allowed to influence. 
 But President Kruger is, above all things, practical. Every- 
 thing is gauged by the measure of the advantage which it can 
 bring to him ; and his treatment of the Free State is deter- 
 mined by their utility to him and his power over them, and is 
 not influenced by their moral claims upon his good will. 
 Natal and Portugal have their experience of broken agree- 
 ments and strained interpretations, of intrigues with native 
 
 ni .' 
 
QMHTi^ 
 
 THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 289 
 
 subjects and neighbours for the extension of rights or 
 boundaries, all designed to benefit the Transvaal and to under- 
 mine them. All, all with the same result I Something for 
 nothing I Within the bn-ders of the Transvaal the policy is 
 the same. Moral rights and the claims of justice are un- 
 recognized. For services rendered there may be some 
 return ; a privilege, a contract, an ajipointment. But this 
 cannot be properly regarded as a neglect of principle upon 
 Mr. Kruger's part, for after all the reward is at the expense 
 of the Uitlanders. It is usually the least price at which the 
 service could be secured ; and it is generally in such form as to 
 give the recipient a profit in which the members of the Govern- 
 ment party largely share, but it never :onfers a power to which 
 the President himself is not superior ; indeed, it is almost 
 invariably hedged about by such conditions as to make its 
 continuance dependent upon the President's good will. If 
 any one should think this de.scription of conditions in the 
 Transvaal and of the President's policy to be unduly harsh, 
 let him satisfy himself by an investigation of those matters 
 which appear on merely superficial examination to support 
 opinions contrary to those expressed by the writer. Let him 
 examine the terms of the closer union with the Free State, 
 the circumstances leading to the closing of the Vaal River 
 drifts, the condition of the Dutch subjects of Cape Colony 
 and of the Orange Free State in the Transvaal, the Nether- 
 lands Railway tariffs as they operate against Cape Colony 
 and the Free State, the Railway Agreement with Natal, the 
 disputes with Portugal, the attempts to acquire native 
 territory on the East Coast, the terms of the Netherlands 
 Railway Concession, Selati Railway Concession, Dynamite 
 Concession — in fact, all other conces.sions, monopolies, 
 contracts, privileges, appointments, and rights, made, granted, 
 or entered into by President Kruger to or with his 
 friends. Let him recall the treatment and the fate of 
 some of those to whom ampler reference will be made later 
 on ; for instance, Chief Justice Kotz6 and Judge Ameshof, 
 who in the dealings with the Reformers rendered valuable — 
 but perhaps injudicious and unjudicial — service, as already 
 sufficiently described ; the treatme.it of Dr. Coster, the State 
 Attorney, who also deserved better of the President ; the public 
 
 u 
 
r 
 
 390 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 repudiation of Mr. J. B. Robinson, whose friendship for 
 President Krui^er had been frequently and amply evidenced 
 to tin; ^rave dissatisfaction of the U it lander population ; the 
 public and insultinjj; repudiation of Sir Meni)' dc Villiers, the 
 Chief Justice of Cape Colony, after he had served his pur- 
 pose! The result of any such inquiry must confirm the 
 conclusion that 'something for nothing' is the President's 
 policy and achievement. 
 
 A policy or a movement which is to involve the co- 
 operation of thousands of intelligent men cannot be 
 carried out upon such terms, and this may be regarded 
 as the main reason why the spirit of Republicanism did not 
 generally develop itself under circumstances apparently so 
 favourable to it. The President's policy may be considered 
 astute or unwise according to the point of view from which it 
 is regarded. Viewed from the standpoint of the State itself, 
 undoubtedly it fails lamentably in statesmanship. In the 
 interests of the Boer party, however, or of the man Paul 
 Kruger, it may well be doubted whether the policy may not 
 be a to!<.-ii of remarkable sagacity. He knows his own 
 limitations and the limitations of his people He knows 
 that to freely admit to a share in the Government a number 
 of intelligent people, would make a continuance of himself or 
 his party in absolute power for any length of time a matter 
 of utter impossibility. In these circumstances the problem 
 which President Kruger had set himself was a remarkably 
 difficult one. To republicanize South Africa, to secure the 
 support of the majority of the white inhabitants, and yet to 
 yield no whit of power to those by whose aid he would 
 achieve his object, would indeed be carrying to sublime 
 heights the policy of ' something for nothing.' 
 
 Many years before the Raid Mr. Kruger had a well-defined 
 policy to republicanize South Africa, and the Uitlanders of the 
 Transvaal were quite alive to it, as may be gathered by refe- 
 rence to their newspapers. But the voice was as a voice crying 
 in the wilderness in those days, and, as has been said, it required 
 the Jameson Raid to advertize the conditions in the Transvaal 
 and to direct attention to what had been proclaimed unheeded 
 for many years. Immediately prior to the Raid Mr. Kruger was 
 floundering in a inorass of difficulties. The policy of ' some- 
 
THRKK YKARS' GRACE 
 
 291 
 
 thin^ for nothing' had been exposed, and it was seen through 
 by all the Dutchmen in South Africa and was resented by 
 all save his own little [)arty in the Transvaal ; but the Jameson 
 Raid gave the President a jumping-off place on solid ground, 
 and he was not slow to take advantage of it. 
 
 It is not too much to say that the vast majority of people in 
 Europe and America are indebted to Dr. Jameson for any 
 knowledge which they may have acquired of the Transvaal 
 and its Uitlander problem. Theirs is a disordered knowledge, 
 and perhaps it is not unnatural that they should in a manner 
 share the illusion of the worthy sailor who, after attending 
 divine service, assaulted the first Israelite he met because 
 he had only just heard of the Crucifixion. A number of 
 worthy people are still disposed to excuse many things in 
 the Transvaal because of the extreme provocation given by 
 the Jameson Raid. The restrictions upon English education 
 are considered to be' not unnatuial when one remembers the 
 violent attempt to swamp the Dutch.' The excessive arma- 
 ments are held to dc ' entirely justifiable considering what has 
 happened.' The building of forts is 'an ordinary precaution.' 
 The prohibiting of public meetings is 'quite wrong, of course, 
 but can you wonder at it ?' Many of these worthy people will, 
 no doubt, learn with pained surprise that all these things were 
 among the causes which led to the Reform movement of 1 895-6, 
 and are not the consequences of that movement as they 
 erroneously suppose. The Press Law and Public Meetings 
 Act had been passed ; arms had been imported and ordered in 
 tens of thousands ; machine guns and quantities of ammunition 
 also ; forts were being built ; ' the suppression of all private 
 schools had been advocated by Dr. Mansvelt — all long, long 
 
 ' That President Kruger always contemplated controlling the Uit- 
 lander population by arbitrary methods was proved by the choice of the 
 site for the Johannesburg fort. This site, on a hill commanding the 
 town, had been reserved by Government from the commencement, and 
 when the accommodation in the old gaol proved insufficient and a new 
 gaol was required it was located on this spot, then a favourite residential 
 qu.irter of the town. A deputation of officials waited upon the President 
 to urge the placing of the new gaol in a more convenient locality else- 
 where. His Honour replied, 'tiiat he did not care about the convenience. 
 He was going to build the gaol there, because some day the town would 
 be troublesome and he would want to convert the gaol into a fort and 
 put guns there before that time came.' That was at least four years 
 before the Raid. 
 
39« 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 before the Jameson Raid. So also had the repubh'can propa- 
 ^'aiula been at work, but it had not caii{,dit on outside the two 
 Republics. 
 
 DifiTuuIt as his task mi^ht a{)pcar, Mr. Krupfer had now 
 command of the two j^reat persuasive forces — money and 
 sentiment. With the money he pushed on the forts, and im- 
 ported immense quantities of big guns, small arms, and anmiu- 
 nition — far in excess of what could possibly be used by the 
 whole of the lioer population of the Transvaal after makin<; 
 every allowance for spare arms in reserve ; and such an extraor- 
 dinary supfjly was not unnaturally believed to be designed for 
 the use of others outside the Transvaal. More than this, an 
 army of emissaries, agents, and spies in the pay of the Trans- 
 vaal Government were spread about the Free State, Cape 
 Colony, and Natal. Newspapers were supported in different 
 parts of South Africa and a considerable amount of money 
 was spent upon the Press in France and Germany, 
 
 It would be absurd to suggest and it would be unjust to let it 
 be inferred that all those who were drawn mto sympathy with 
 the Boers supported or were even cognizant of President 
 Kruger's ultimate aim. It is an everyday experience that 
 the scope of work and ambition expands as one progresses. 
 Whether the strong man really sees his ultimate goal and 
 tackles with magnificent courage the innumerable and seem- 
 ingly insurmountable obstacles which lie between him and it, 
 or whether in the wisdom and mercy of Providence there is 
 such an adjustment of courage and foresight as prevents him 
 from seeing more than he is able to face, who can sav? But 
 what is beyond all doubt is that, given the one strong man who 
 does know his mind, he will lead as the Pied Piper led, and there 
 is no thought in his following to ask the whither and the why. 
 
 Given the sympathy and the means, the difficulty of Presi- 
 dent Kruger's self-imposed task was not so great as at first 
 appeared. To some it was advisable to do no more than point 
 to the Jameson Raid and say : ' We only wish to live in peace 
 and to be left alone ' To some again that act is construed as 
 a sign that the British people wish to upset the two Republics, 
 therefore they must strengthen and be prepared. To others the 
 appeal is made : ' We Dutch are the settlers and owners of 
 the country, we wi^h for prace, of course, but we must dominate 
 
 "ill 
 
THUKK YKARS' GRACE 
 
 293 
 
 — you under your form of government, we under ours.' To 
 others a^am it is further advanced : ' Let us nej^'otiate the eh'mi- 
 nation of the Imperial power ; we do not suggest fiijht, but if we 
 present a united front they must retire peacefully and concede 
 our demands.* And lastly comes the appeal to those who are 
 in sympathy with the advanced republicans : ' Arm and pre- 
 pare. Some ihiy we shall find England in a difficulty, divided 
 by party or hampered by external coniplic.itions ; it has often 
 happened before and we have always profited. That will be 
 our time to drive them out.* 
 
 It would be very unjust to some of the most prominent 
 men on the Dutch side in Cape Colony to leave the slenderest 
 grounds for the inference that they are to be associated 
 with the extreme and actively disloyal aim. All that it 
 is intended to do is to indicate the fine gradations in 
 arguments by which a number are drawn together — under a 
 leadership which they do not realize, and going they know not 
 where! The strongest of these arguments and appeals are 
 particularly popular with the younger generation of Dutch 
 South Africans who entertain a visionary scheme of inde- 
 pendence suggested by the history of the United States. But 
 there is something more serious in it than this, as may be 
 deduced from the fact that in December, 1896, the writer was 
 approached by Mr. D. P. Graaff, forme ly a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Cape Legislative Council and now as alwa^'s a 
 prominent Afrikander Bondsman, with the suggestion that all 
 the South African born should combine in the effort to create 
 the United States of South Africa, ' upon friendly termj with 
 England, but confining the direct Imperial right in South 
 Africa to a naval base at Simonstown and possibly a position 
 in Natal.' This concession — from South Africa to England 
 — would not, it was argued, involve disadvantage to the former, 
 because for a considerable time it would be necessary to 
 preserve friendly relations with England and to have the 
 protection of her fleet for the coast. 
 
 It is of course quite easy to attach too much importance to 
 the opinions of individual politicians of this class, who are as 
 a rule merely -houters with the biggest crowd ; but the pro- 
 minent association of such an apostle of republicanism with 
 the Bond, and the fact that he should have gone so far with a 
 
294 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Reformer of known strong British sympathies seem to warrant 
 the attaching of some importance to the suggestion.^ A similar 
 suggestion was made to several of the Reformers at the time 
 of the judicial crisis by one of the judges of the Transvaal 
 High Court, when it was hoped to enlist the sympathies of the 
 Uitlanders with a movement to curtail President Kruger's 
 power and to establish republicanism on a firmer basis in 
 South Africa, In order to forestall an obvious comment, it 
 may be said that discussion was in both cases declined on the 
 groun'l that it would be participating in politics in the sense 
 forbidden by President Kruger's three years' ban. 
 
 The year 1896 was a very bad one for the whole of South 
 Africa. Besides the Raid and the suspense and disorganiza- 
 tion entailed by the prolonged trial, the terrible dynamite 
 explosion in Johannesburg,^ the still more terrible rebellion 
 and massacre in Rhodesia, and the crushing visitation of the 
 great cattle scourge, the Rinderpest, helped to produce a 
 deplorable state of affairs in the Transvaal. 
 
 Then there was another thing which rankled badly : Messrs- 
 Sampson and Davies were still in gaol.3 The feeling through- 
 
 ' The writer has since learned from Mr. Alfred Beit that the same 
 proposal was made to him by Mr. Graaff in January, 1896, immcdiatclv 
 after the Raid, and that it was baited with the promise that if he and Mr. 
 Rhodes would agree to support it the threatened ' consequences' of their 
 association with the Raid would be averted. But they preferred the 
 'consequences.' 
 
 ' About the middle of TS95 ^ bad explosion of dynamite occurred in 
 Germany under circumstances very similar to those of the Johannesburg 
 accident. An inquiry held by the German authorities resulted in the 
 finding that tiie explosion must have been due to some fault in the 
 dynamite, ;ind an order was issued to destroy the remainder. The 
 officials cliarged with this duty found, however, that the owners, antici- 
 pating some such result, had removed it. It was eventually traced as 
 having been shipped from Antwerp to Port Elizabeth and thence con- 
 signed to the Transvaal in November, 1895. The Johannesburg explosion 
 occurred in February, 1896. No competent or independent inquiry was 
 held, although about 100 people were killed and many more injured. 
 
 3 The gaoler — Du Plessis — in the fulhlment of his promise lost no 
 opportunity to harass them into submission, by depriving them of one 
 thing after another, knowing that they would ask for nothing except as a 
 light. As an instance, the spirit-lamp with which they made their tea 
 was taken from them on the pretext that no combustibles were allowed 
 under the prison regulations, and upon a remonstrance being made by 
 Mr. Co'iyngham Greene to Dr. Leyds the latter replied that it was neces- 
 sary on account of the risk of lire. For about eiglit months, therefore, 
 water was to be — and of course was — their only drink. Only once during 
 the thirteen months did Du Plessis appear t(j ' get home,' It was when 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 out South Africa was reflected in the mor>otonous announce- 
 ment which appeared in the Cape Times week by week for 
 thirteen months : — * To-day Messrs. Sampson and Davies 
 complete the — week of their imprisonment in Pretoria 
 gaol for the crime of not signing a petition.' It seemed 
 scarcely credible that the President should still harbour any 
 illusions about his magnanimity ; nevertheless, for some 
 weeks before the celebration of the Queen's Record reign it 
 was rumoured that the two prisoners were to be released upon 
 that occasion as a mark of his Honour's sympathy. Opinion 
 had not been unanimous upon the attitude of either the Presi- 
 dent or the prisoners ; but an ugly incident silenced most of 
 the President's apologists. Gold stealing and the purchase of 
 stolen gold were being carried on on such a scale and with 
 such impunity that at last, in desperation, the directors and 
 officials of one of the big mining companies (the City and 
 Suburban G.M. Co.), at the risk of being shot by desperadoes, 
 took upon themselves the functions of the detectives and 
 police. They caught ' red-handed ' two notorious characters 
 and delivered them over, with the gold in their possession, to 
 the authorities. The thieves actually boasted then that 
 nothing would happen to them as they had 'made it all 
 ri'^ht ; ' and a few days later one of them was allowed to escape 
 out of the Court-house buildings which stand in the middle 
 of a large square. The other was convicted and sentenced to 
 six months' imprisonment He vvas a criminal of a bad and 
 dangerous type, the head of a gang known to be concerned 
 in gold stealing and burglary as a profession. The penalty 
 was regarded by all parties as most inadequate and the 
 judge himself commented adversely upon the drafting of the 
 law which tended to screen the prisoner. Not one mitigating 
 circumstance was forthcoming ! And yet, whilst ignoring a 
 fresh outburst of protest against the detention of Messrs. 
 Sampson and Davies, and whilst the Industrial Commission 
 wa? exposing the gold thefts and denouncing the complicity 
 of the police, Mr. Kruger decided to remit three-fourths of the 
 
 he proposed that the two should be separated and sent to out-of-the-way 
 gads, widely apart and distant from all friends. Without doubt the 
 conditions told seriously upon their health, but as both men were 
 endowed with exceptional physique and any amount of grit they were 
 still able to take it smuini;. 
 
296 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 sentence and to discharge the thief unconditionally. Is it to 
 be wondered that such ill-advised action called to mind the 
 prisoners' boast, and that it was contrasted prominently 
 with the treatment of the two Reformers ? 
 
 Three events of importance marked the year 1897 in 
 the history of the Transvaal. The first was the High Court 
 crisis in February ; Lhe second, the appointment of the 
 Industrial Commission of Inquiry ; the third, the Queen's 
 Record Reign celebration. 
 
 The High Court crisis arose out of the case of Brown v. 
 The State, already referred to.^ Brown had acted within his 
 legal rights according to the terms of a proclamation. That 
 proclamation had been illegally withdrawn, and the Govern- 
 ment realizing that they would have to stand the conse- 
 quences of their action in the courts of the country, introduced 
 a law which was immediately passed by the Volksraad, 
 absolving them from all liability, and practically non-suiting 
 all claimants. Mr. Kotz6 in his judgment declared this 
 law to be improper and in conflict with the Constitution, 
 and gave judgment in favour of Brown, but left the 
 amount of damages to be determined later after hearing 
 further evidence.^ 
 
 The first Volksraad was then in special session, and the 
 President promptly introduced a law known as Law i of 
 1897, which empowered him to exact assurances from the 
 judges that they would respect all resolutions of the 
 Volksraad as having the force of law and declare them- 
 selves not entitled to test the validity of a law by its 
 agreement or conflict with the Constitution ; and it further 
 empowered the President in the event of his not being 
 satisfied with the character of the replies to summarily 
 dismiss the judges. The judges protested in a body that 
 they would not submit to such treatment. The High Court 
 was adjourned and all legal business was stopped. Particu- 
 
 ' It is described as the Witfontein case. See page 100. 
 
 * When the case came up again in due course a decision was given 
 by Mr. Gregorowski, the new Chief Justice, which was regarded by the 
 plaintiff's advisers as a reversal of the first judgment, and the practical 
 effect of which was to bring the case under the operations of Law i of 
 1897 — that is to say, to put the plaintiff ' out of court' Mr. Brown has 
 appealed to the United States Government for redress. 
 
WPW 
 
 * 1 
 
 THREE YEARS' GIUCE 
 
 297 
 
 larly emphatic was Mr, Justice Gregorowski. He stated that 
 no honourable rnan could possibly sit upon the Transvaal 
 Bench as lon^ as Law i of 1897 remained upon the Statute 
 Book, At this juncture Sir Henry de Villiers, Chief Justice 
 of Cape Colony, came to Pretoria for the purpose of effecting 
 a compromise and averting a crisis. The compromise was 
 practically an armistice. The judges promised not to 
 exercise the testing right pending the speedy introduction 
 of a measure safeguarding the independence of the courts. 
 Mr. Krugeron his side promised to refrain from enforcing the 
 provisions of Law i of 1897, and undertook to introduce as 
 speedily as possible the required new law. 
 
 The position in which the President found himself was 
 undoubtedly one of some difficulty, but he chose a very 
 bad way out of it. High-handed arbitrary methods can- 
 not effect a permanent and satisfactory solution of a 
 question of that character, but Mr. Kruger was unwilling 
 to go to the root of the evil and to admit what Mr. 
 Kotz6's judgment had brought home with perhaps too 
 sudden force, namely, that the laws and system of Govern- 
 ment were in a condition of com.plete chaos. The sequel 
 can be told in a few words. In February, 1898, Mr. Kotz6 
 considered that ample tims had been allowed by him for 
 the fulfilment of President Kruger's promise. Sir Henry de 
 Villiers thought it proper to allow more time. The point 
 of difference bet»/een Mr. Kotz6 and Sir Henry de Villiers 
 was the interpretation to be placed upon the expression 
 ' this session,' which had been used in the previous February 
 when the President had said that if he did not introduce the 
 proposed measures this session, the judges might consider 
 that he had failed to keep his promise. Mr, Kotze contended 
 that as the Raad was then in session it meant that session, and 
 that in any case that session and another had passed, and a third 
 was in progress and there was still no sign of the promised 
 measures. Sir Henry de Villiers stated that in his opinion the 
 reasonable construction would be that Mr, Kruger meant the 
 following ordinary session, and that only ordinary sessions 
 could be considered (for in each year there are one special 
 and one ordinary session), so that the President might be 
 entitled to claim the whole of the year 1898 within which to 
 
 < k 
 
298 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FKOM WITHIN 
 
 fulfil his promise, but that this would be the extreme limit of 
 forbearance, after which failure could only be regarded as a 
 breach of faith. Sir Henry de Villicrs in fact defended Mr. 
 Kruger. Mr. Kotze, however, held to his opinion ; he wrote 
 to the President reminding him of the undertaking, charged 
 him with failure to keep his promise and withdrew the 
 pledge which he had given. The President promptly 
 exercised his right under Law i of 1897, and dismissed Mr. 
 Kotze, who had served the country as judge and chief justice 
 for over twenty year.s. Whatever the merits of the particular 
 case may be it appeared to be a shocking exhibition of 
 arbitrary power to dismiss without compensation, pension, or 
 provision of any sort, a man no longer young, whose services 
 had been given for nearly a quarter of a century who in the 
 extreme dilemma of the Raid had stood by th- ■ President, 
 and who, from some points of view, must be admitted to have 
 served him ' not wisely but too well.' 
 
 Mr. Kotze was not at that time popular among the 
 Uitlanders on account of his action in the matter of the 
 Reformers, and especially because he had acted on behalf of 
 the Government in securing the services of Mr. Gregorowski 
 for the Reform trial ; bul the circumstances of his dismissal 
 and the fact that he was known to be dependent upon his 
 salary as judge, taken in conjunction with the courageous 
 stand which he had made against the President's arbitrary 
 will, enlisted public sympathy on his behalf, and a purse 
 amounting in all to about i!^6,C)00 was presented to him as a 
 mark of appreciation for his past services. But then followed 
 the ' most unkindest cut of all.' Mr. Gregorowski, who had 
 resigned a judgeship in order to fill the post of State 
 Attorney when Dr. Coster, in consequence of an insulting 
 reference of the President's to his countrymen, relinquished 
 it, — Mr. Gregorowski, who had been foremost to declare that 
 no honourable man could possibly accept the position of 
 judge while Law i of 1897 stood on the Statute Book, 
 became Chief Justice vice Mr. Kotz6 dismissed. And by 
 way of fini.lly disposing of the subject, the President when 
 questioned in the Raad as to the explanation of his apologist, 
 denied that he had ever made any promise of any sort or 
 description to Sir Henry de Villiers or anybody else ! 
 
 )i 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 2f;9 
 
 Mr. Justice Ameshof, who with Mr. Kotze had made a 
 stand against the President in thi.= matter, was also obliged to 
 relinquish his judgeship. Thus it will be seen that at one 
 swoop Mr. Kruger disposed of three reputable intermediaries 
 whom he had used to great advantage at one time or another. 
 ' Something for nothing,' for Mr. Kruger ! Whether Mr. 
 Kotz<5 acted in haste or whether Sir Ilenry de Villiers' plea 
 for more time was justified are questions which it is no 
 longer necessary to discuss, not alone because Mr. Kruger 
 denied ever having made the promise out of which the 
 disagreement arose, but because even up to the present 
 time no measure safeguarding the High Court has been 
 introduced or foreshadowed in the legislature. And Law i 
 of 1897, which according to Mr. Gregorovvski made it impos- 
 sible for any honourable man to sit upon the Bench, is still 
 upon the Statute Book and Mr, Gregorowski sits as Chief 
 Justice subject to its provisions. 
 
 No one disputes that the position of the High Court as 
 determined by Law i of 1897 is a very unsatisfactory one, 
 but the apologists for President Kruger frequently say that 
 there has been no actual case of hardship, and that the Uit- 
 landers are crying out before they are hurt. They maintain 
 that it was a measure passed under great provocation for a 
 particular purpose, and that the power granted under it, 
 although very undesirable in principle, has never been used. 
 This is incorrect ; the power has been used, and injustice lias 
 been suffered. Two cases of actual hardship are those of 
 Brown v. Government, the case out of which the whole matter 
 arose, and the case of the Pretoria Waterworks Company. 
 But there are other cases too which have never been brought 
 into court having been either compromised or abandoned 
 because of the hopelessness of the position, for it is obvious 
 that there would be great reluctance on the part of business 
 men to make a fight merely for the purpose of showing 
 that they suffered under a disability when the result of 
 such a fight would inevitably be to antagonize the only 
 tribunal to which they could appeal. 
 
 The case of the Pretoria Waterworks Company is rather a 
 bad one. The Government in 1889 gave a contract for the 
 water supply of Pretoria. It was a permission, but not an 
 
 ' fV 
 
* < II '1^" 
 
 300 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM V/ITHIN 
 
 exclusive right, to supply the town from springs on Govern- 
 ment ground. The President, finding that the contractor was 
 not in a position to undertake the work, requested certain 
 business houses to form a company to acquire this right and 
 to supply the town with water. After inquiry into the local 
 conditions and the probable costs, these peo^^le represented 
 that unless they received the exclusive right they would be 
 unable to undertake the work, as the cost of importing pipes 
 and machinery transported from Natal by bullock waggon 
 and the then expensive conditions of working would make 
 the work so costl} that at a later period, after the introduc- 
 tion of railways, it A^ould be possible for competitors, such for 
 instance as the projected Municipality of Pretoria, to estab- 
 lish a system of water supply at probably half the cost of 
 the first one and thus compete to their disadvantage. For 
 these reasons the contractor and his friends declined to 
 proceed with the formation of the com{)any. The Presi- 
 dent, however, was very desirous of having a good water 
 supply, and after some months of negotiations the original 
 contract was supplemented by a grant from the Executive 
 Council, who then held plenary powers from the Volksraad, 
 giving the proposed company the exclusive right. Imme- 
 diately after the receipt of this grant the company was 
 formed, the capital subscribed and the machinery and other 
 material purchased. In 1898, after nine years of work, 
 during which shareholders had received dividends averaging 
 2§ per cent, per annum, some differences occurred between 
 the Company and the consumers, and the latter com- 
 bined and subscribed the necessary funds to take action 
 in the High Court, the object being to challenge the 
 exclusive right and to enable the town through its Muni- 
 cipality to provide its own supply. At the same time 
 the Government at the instance of the townspeople opened 
 negotiations with the Company with a view to expro- 
 priation in accordance with the terms stipulated in the 
 original contract. While matters were in this position, 
 however, certain members of the Volksraad prominently 
 concerned in the action against the Company, introduced a 
 measure in the Volksraad cancelling the second or exclusive 
 grant made by the Government nine years before and 
 
 • 1 
 
wBS, 
 
 THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 301 
 
 recommending that the Government should either buy out 
 the Waterworks Company upon suitable terms or should give 
 the necessary facilities to the Town Council to introduce 
 another system of supply. The application of the Company 
 to be allowed to state its case was ignored, and after a short 
 discussion the resolution was passed and the measure became 
 law. By the action of the Volksraad the Company was 
 deprived of that principal asset upon the security of which 
 the capital had been subscribed, and the Government were 
 rescued from an awkward position. The Government took 
 no steps to defend their action in granting the right or to 
 protest against the action of the Volksraad, and became, 
 therefore, parties to an act of piracy. The Company were 
 thus placed entirely at the mercy of the Government, for 
 under the provisions of Law i of 1897, the Volksraad resolu- 
 tion put them out of court both as to upholding their title and 
 claiming damages. All doubts as to the Government's com- 
 plicity in this action were removed when upon negotiations 
 being opened for the expropriation of the Company the 
 Government refused to follow the procedure prescribed in 
 the contract on the ground that as the Company had now 
 lost the exclusive right they must accept a less sum in 
 compensation, otherwise the Government would authorise 
 the rival Municipal scheme. Under these circumstances 
 the shareholders having no other power to appeal to adopted 
 the common-sense course of taking what they could get. 
 The result can only be expressed in figures. The shares, 
 which had been purchased at over 40s. at the time of the 
 Volksraad's action were worth less than 28s. in liquidation. 
 The inquiry into the Raid by the Select Committee of the 
 House of Commons, early in 1897, was productive of a result 
 which is not always traced to its real cause. The greatest dis- 
 satisfaction was expressed in the Transvaal and among all 
 the Boers in South Africa with one feature of the Westminster 
 inquiry, viz., the investigation of the causes which made the 
 Raid possible. Mr. Kruger and his friends had enjoyed such 
 a run of luck and so much indulgence, and had been so 
 successful in presenting their side of the case only, that it 
 seemed to them improper that anyone should wish to inquire 
 into all the circumstances. It would even appear from what 
 
;02 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 followed that the President had convinced himself that there 
 were no grievances, that he was an entirely innocent party 
 ileeply injured by the Reformers and the British Govern- 
 ment, and that the Westminster inquiry had been authorized 
 and conducted for the sole purpose of exposing him and 
 justifying the Reform movement. 
 
 As the months dragged on and no improvement in the 
 conditions of the Uitlanders took place, as indeed the com- 
 plaints grew louder and the state of affairs grew worse, the 
 President again began to hear the voices calling for reform. 
 Timid whispers they were, perhaps, and far between, for tlic 
 <freat bulk of the Uitlanders were in a morose and sullen 
 mood. Having tried and failed on stronger lines they were 
 incapable as yet of returning with any heart to the old fruit- 
 less and already rejected constitutional methods. The sug- 
 gestions for reform, consequently, came principally from those 
 who were on friendly terms with the Boer party and believed 
 themselves to carry some weight. They have by this Lime 
 learned that nobody carries weight with President Kruger 
 unless he has power to back his suggestions. Many years 
 before, the late Mr. W. Y. Campbell as spokesman of a 
 deputation from Johannesburg, addressing President Kruger, 
 stated in the course of his remarks that the people of 
 Johannesburg 'protested' against a certain measure. The 
 President jumped up in one of his characteristic moods 
 and said : ' Protest ! Protest ! ! what is the good of protesting ? 
 You have not got the guns ! I have.' And Mr. Campbell, 
 in reporting this in Johannesburg, remarked : ' That man is 
 sensible ; he knows the position. I claim to be sensible also, 
 and I know he is right : you can take my name off any other 
 deputations, for we'll get nothiig by asking.' 
 
 It is stated, and the statement comes from one who claims to 
 have been the father of the suggestion, that the President was 
 induced to appoint a commission of inquiry by the argument 
 that if, as he believed, the wretched state of affairs in Johannes- 
 burg was due not to the action of the Government but to the 
 greed, machinations, and mismanagement of the capitalists, 
 nothing could suit the latter worse than to be taken at their 
 word and to have a commission appointed to take evidence 
 on oath and to publicly inquire into the state of affairs ; in fact 
 
 H 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 303 
 
 to copy the Westminster inquiry. It is conceivable that the 
 resolute refusal to investigate matters or to listen to com- 
 plaints or explanations which the President had thnnit^hout 
 maintained may have been the means of preserviuj^ a blissful 
 fjiith in the strength of his own case and the rottenness of the 
 Uitlanders' ; at any rate, it seems to be an undoubted fact that 
 the Industrial Commission of Inquiry, which was appointed 
 by the Executive at the request of the President, was 
 appointed in the confident belief that it would shift the 
 burden of responsibility from his shoulders to those of the 
 capitalists. This construction of his motives may appear to 
 be severe and perhaps even unfair, but it is entirely borne 
 out by the manner in which he dealt with the report of 
 the Industrial Commission, fighting against its acceptance, 
 ignoring the recommendations of relief, and even im[j()sing 
 fresh burdens. There is, nevertheless, one thing to be deduced 
 which is in a manner to Mr. Kruger's credit, and that is that 
 he really must have believed that the case would — from his 
 point of view — bear inquir'ng into. 
 
 The members of the Commission with oower to vote were 
 Messrs. Schalk W. Burger, Member of the Executive Council 
 (Chairman) ; J. S. Smit, Government Railway Commissioner ; 
 Christiaan Joubert, Minister of Mines ; Schmitz-Dumont, 
 Acting State Mining Engineer ; and J. F. de Beer, first 
 special Judicial Commissioner, Johannesburg. Mr. Thos. 
 Hugo, the General Manager of the National Bank, was 
 appointed financial adviser, and certain advisory members 
 were arbilrarily selected by the G(jvernment. The com- 
 plete exclusion of all those who had had any tlirect or 
 indirect association with the late Reform movement or with 
 those in any way connected with it strengLhenod the con- 
 viction that the Government designed the Commission to be a 
 whitewashing one ; but whatever the design may have been it 
 would be doing an injustice both to the Government officials 
 and to the advisory members to have it supposed that they 
 were parties to such an idea. They were not ; they did tlieir 
 work admirably, and no inquiry could have been conducted 
 in a better spirit. This, however, was not foreseen, and it 
 was with the greatest difficulty that the Uitlanders were 
 induced to view the thing seriously and to realize that, no 
 
3"4 
 
 TI!E TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 matter how it had occurred, this was a supreme opportunity 
 for proving to the world the soundness of their case. The 
 report and proceedings are published by the Witwatersrand 
 Chamber of Mines in a volume containing over 700 pages 
 of printed matter and a number of diagrams. The whole 
 constitutes a damning indictment of the Government, as 
 the following extracts from the report of the Commission 
 testify : — 
 
 Ycnir Commission are pleased to state that at present there exist all 
 the indications of an honest administration, and the State, as well as the 
 Mining Industry, must he cont^ratulated upon the fact that most of Ihc 
 mines are controlled and directed by fmancial and practical men who 
 devote their time, enerj^y, and knowledge to the mining industry, and 
 who have not only introduced the most up-to-date machinery and 
 mining appliances, but also the greatest perfection of method and 
 process known to science, liut for these a good many of the mines 
 now producing gold would not have reached that stage. . . . 
 
 To avoid such a calamity (viz., the closing down of the mines) your 
 Commission are of opinion that it is the duty of the Government to 
 co-operate with the mining industry, and to devise means in order to 
 make it possible for lower-grade mines to work at a profit, and generally 
 to lighten the burdens of the mining industry. This and the develop- 
 ment and etiuipment of the new mines are a few examples among 
 others where it is desirable that the Government shall take an active 
 part, especially when the fact is taken into consideration that up till 
 now the mining industry must be held as the financial basis, support, 
 and mainstay of the State. 
 
 The question, tiierelcjre, becomes one of national economy, and it is 
 incumbent upon the Government, considering the rapid growth and 
 progress of the country, to so alter its iiscal laws and systems of 
 administration as to meet the requirements of its principal industry. . . . 
 
 Your Commission entirely disapprove of concessions, through which 
 tlie industrial pro;-iperity of the country is hampered. Such might have 
 been expedient in the past, but the country has now arrived at a state 
 of development that will only admit of free competition according to 
 republic;ui principles. This applies more especially to the gold industry, 
 which has to face its own economical problems without being further 
 burdened with concessions that are irksome and injurious to the industry 
 and will always remain a source of irritation and dissatisfaction. 
 
 As to white labour : — 
 
 Your Cominission are of opinion that wages are not excessive, regard 
 being had to the high cost of living at the mines. In fact, they are 
 only sufficient to satisfy daily wants, and, consequently, it cannot be 
 expected that white labourers will establish their permanent abode in 
 this Republic unless conditions are made by whicii their position will 
 be ameliorated. . . . 
 
 Your Commission are of opinion that as long as the cost of living 
 cannot be considerably reduced it will be almost impossible to reduce 
 
 •ll; 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 305 
 
 the wages of white labourers, and they would stronj^ly recommend 
 that, as far as possible, necessaries of hfe should be imported free of 
 duty and conveyed to the mines as cheaply as possible. 
 
 As to the sale of liquor : — 
 
 It has been proved to your Commission that the Liquor Law is not 
 carried out properly, and that the mining industry has real grievances 
 in connection therewith, owing to the illicit sale of strong drink to the 
 natives at the mines, and they wish especially and strongly to insist 
 that the stipulations of article 16 of the law shall be strictly enforced. 
 The evidence given on this point proves that a miserable state of affairs 
 exists, and a much stronger application of the law is required. 
 
 and 
 
 Following this there is 
 dations in detail. 
 
 As to import duties : — 
 
 long criticism 
 
 with 
 
 recommen- 
 
 With reference to this matter, your Commission can only recommend 
 that, if possible, foodstuffs ought to be entirely free from ta.xation, as at 
 the present moment it is impossible to supply the population of the 
 Repubhc from the products of local agiiculture and consequently 
 importation is absolutely necessary. 
 
 As to explosives : — 
 
 Before entering on this subject, we wish to put on record our dis- 
 appointment with the evidence tendered on behalf of the South African 
 Explosives Company, Ltd. We expected, and we think not unreason- 
 ably, that they would be able to give reliable information for our 
 guidance respecting the cost of importation, as well as of local manu- 
 facture, of the principal explosives used for mining purposes ; but, 
 though persistently questioned on these points, few facts were elicited 
 and we regret to say that they entirely failed to satisfy us in this im- 
 portant respect. . . . 
 
 That the principal explosives used here can be purchased in Europe, 
 and delivered here at a price far below the present cost to the mines, 
 has been proved to us by the evidence of manv witnesses competent to 
 speak on the subject, and when we bear in mind that the excess charge 
 of 40s. to 45s. per case does not beneiit the State, but serves to enricli 
 individuals for the most part resident in Europe, the injustice of such 
 a tax on the staple industry becomes more apparent and demands 
 immediate removal. 
 
 
 living 
 reduce 
 
 After showing that the dynamite monopolists make a profit 
 of 47s. 6d. per case on No. i dynamite, and 55s. on blastinj,' 
 gelatine, over and above the price at which the mines could 
 buy explosives if there were no monopoly or protection, th-' 
 
 report goes on : — 
 
3o6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 The Mininji Industry has thus to bear a burden which docs nor 
 enrich tlic State or briiiR any bL'iiefit in return, and this fact must 
 always prove a source of irritation and annoyance to tliosc who, while 
 willinR to contribute to just taxation for the general good, cannot 
 acquiesce in an impost of the nature complained of. . . . 
 
 Your Commission inspected the factory at Modderfontein, and it 
 must be admitted that the construction of the wortcs and peticr.il 
 equipment arc in many respects admirable, and it appears to us greatly 
 to be rcfjretted that so much money should have been invested in an 
 undertakin;^ for the manufacture of any article whereof the inj^redicnts 
 have to be imported at a great cost, four tons of raw material bcin}» 
 required to produce one ton of the manufactured article. 
 
 it has been proved to our satisfaction that none of the raw material 
 used is found in this country, or only in siicii small quantities as to 
 make it practically valueless for the purpose required. . . . All these 
 drawbacks, which make it almost impossible to establish a bona-fide 
 industry, fall on the mines and render their task, especially that of the 
 low-gracle mines, extremely difficult and discouraging. Another point 
 that has been brought to the notice of your Commission is the prejudicial 
 effect exercised by this monopoly in practically excluding from the 
 country all new inventions in connection with explosives, and, in vitw 
 of the numerous dynamite accidents that have taken place from time 
 to time, it is to be regretted that it is not possible to make satisfactory 
 trials of other and less dangerous explosives for the working of tlu' 
 mines. These questions have received the careful consideration of 
 your Commission, who are forced to the conclusion that the factory has 
 not attained the object for whicli it was established, and that there is 
 no reasonable prospect of it doing so. Further, that there are good 
 grounds for believing that the contractors have failed to comply with 
 the conditions of tiieir contract. 
 
 For the aforesaid reasons, and in view of the opinion expressed by 
 the Volksraad Dynamite Commission, that the legal position of tlu' 
 Government against the contractors is undoubtedly strong, your Com- 
 mission desire to recommend tliat the case be placed in the iiands of 
 the legal advisers of the Slate, with a view to ascertaining wluther the 
 contract cannot be cancelled. 
 
 Meanwhile yoiw Commission recommend that the Government 
 avail itself forthwith cl its right under Article 15 of the Regulations, to 
 take away the ageucv of trading in gunpowder, dynamite, cartridges, 
 and other explosr.r.s from the above-mentioned persons and at once 
 take into its ov,".i hands the importation of dynamite and oilier 
 explosives for the benefit of the mining industry, subject to a duty of 
 not more than 20s. per case or such other less sum as may be deter- 
 mined from time to time. 
 
 This protective duty, while considerably increasing the revenue of 
 the State, will at the same time offer ample protection to any industry 
 of this description in the Republic. In the event of cancellation being 
 advised to be possible, free trade in explo.sives to be at once estab- 
 lished, subject to a duty of 20s. per case or such other less duty as may 
 be determined upon from time to time, and manufacturing of other 
 explosives in the Republic to be allowed, and also to be protected by 
 the same import duty. . . . 
 
 Your Commission desire further to observe that it is not clear to them, 
 judging from the published accounts of the South African Explosives 
 Company for 1895 and 1896, that the Government receives the pro- 
 portion of surplus profit secured to it under the contract, viz., 20 per 
 
THKKE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 3^^7 
 
 cent., and would stron^^ly recommend, in acconlancc with Article 6 of 
 the contrnct, an imincdiutc invcsti^^ation of the Comp;iiiy's accounts by 
 quahiicd acconntants, in cunjiuiction willi the iiiiaiicial adviser of the 
 CommisMon, in order to lind out wiiat amount is still due to the (iovern- 
 mcnt under this head. 
 
 As to railways : — 
 
 Your Commission have followed with ;^reat attention and interest 
 the evidence and 'MM- tics snbmittjd on this point. I'Yoni those it 
 appears tliat not only are the tariffs cliarijed by the Netherlands Rail- 
 way Company sucii that by tlie reduction of the same the industry 
 would be considerably benetited, but that such a reduction would 
 necessitate that the nei^hbourint; Slates and Colonies would also have 
 to reduce their tarit'fs consider.dily. 
 
 Your Conmiission have come to the conclusion that, taking into con- 
 sideration the evidence submitted to them, anil (akinij the gross revenue 
 of trafiic of snoods at about /,"2,ooo,oc>o (as in iHi/)) it would be desirable 
 to recommend so to regulate the tariff that the gi uss revenue for 1896 
 would have been reduced by _£5oo,ooo, equivalent to an average reduc- 
 tion of 25 per cent. Further, your Commission deem it desirable that 
 the Government shall make such arrangement as will secure to them 
 in the future a voice in the ii.xing of the tariffs of tiie N.Z.A.S.M., and 
 express their confidence that as soon as prosperous times will warrant 
 such a course a further reduction in tariffs will be effected. Your 
 Commission wish to recommend that the reduction will be chiefly 
 applied to trafhc of coal, timber, mining machinery, and foodstuffs, 
 according to a scale to be agreed upon between the Government and 
 the N.Z.A.S.M. Your Commission are of opinion that in this manner 
 the industry will be met in a very fair way. Your Commission wish to 
 express the opinion that it is absolutely necessary that the reduction 
 in all local tariffs will be brought about as speedily as possible, while 
 they express the hope that where the co-operation of the neighbouring 
 States and Colonies is required, negotiations will be initiated and 
 carried out so speedily that the reductions to be so initiated will come 
 into force not later than ist January next. Several witnesses and some 
 of the Commission have urged the expropriation of the N.Z.A.S.M. by 
 the Government. Your Conunission, however, for several reasons 
 known to them, and after same have been communicated to those 
 members of the Commission who wished to urge the expropriation of 
 the N.Z.A.S.M., do not at the present moment desire to urge expro- 
 priation provided by the other means terms can be secured from th e 
 Company so as to obtain the reduction at present urgently required 
 on the basis as above set forth. Your Commission have been informed 
 that the Company have proposed to adopt the dividends of the three 
 years 1895, 1896, and 1897 as a basis for the expropriation price, and 
 your Commission can agree to such proposal. The expropriation 
 price being thus lixed, the Company will have all the more reason to 
 co-operate towards the lowering of the tariffs. Further, it appears 
 from the evidence of the managing director of the N.Z.A.S.M., that in 
 consideration of the reduction of tariffs, he wished to have secured to 
 the Company a certain period of exisJence. Your Commission cannot 
 recommend this course, because they do not deem the same to be 
 in the interests of the State, and it would be contrary to the wishes 
 of the public. 
 
 'rH 1 
 
 t! : :,i 
 
m 
 
 308 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 As to gold thefts : — 
 
 According to the evidence submitted to your Commission, gold thefts 
 are on the increase, and although the Volksraad has given tlie matter 
 their favourable consideration, and have, at the instance of the Mining 
 Industry, so amended the Gold Law as t( provide for the punishment 
 of the sale and being in possession of raw gold, still it has been stated 
 to your Commission in evidence, that the gold thefts amount to about 
 10 per cent, of the output, equivalent to an amount of ;£75o,oco per 
 annum. It follows that the administration of the law must be faulty, 
 because there are only very few instances where the crime has been 
 detected and punished. If those figures are not exaggerated, and your 
 Commission have no reason to suppose so, then this matter deserves 
 the serious consideration of the Government. The suppression of this 
 crime can be considered as a real saving to the industry, and this 
 amount of three-quarters of a million would, especially in times of 
 depression, exercise a large influence on the yield and financial position 
 of the mines. The industry ask that the penal clauses regarding this 
 matter shall be eliminated from the Gold Law, and that a separate law 
 be passed, more or less on the basis of the I.D.B. Law of Kimberley, 
 Cape Colony, and that measures shall be taken by which the injured 
 parties shall be enabled to exercise control, and have supervision over 
 any department to be established for the detection and suppression of 
 thefts of new gold. Your Commission are of opinion that the Govern- 
 ment could grant this request without injuring their dignity, on the 
 basis hereinafter mentioned. On the contrary, it would remove the 
 blame from the present administration, viz., that these thefts can be 
 practically carried on with impunity. 
 
 As to the Local Board : — 
 
 The evidence which has been laid before your Commission has 
 contained suggestions to establish a Board on which Government 
 nominees and representatives of the mining industry and of the 
 commercial community of the Witwatcrsrand should sit, so that the 
 Government representatives should have the benefit of the experience 
 of men whose daily occupation it is to look closely into all the affairs 
 appertaining to the mines, &c. Your Commission is of opinion that it 
 is advisable that these suggestions should be acted upon. The scope of 
 this Board should consist of the supervision of the administration of tlie 
 following laws, viz. : — 
 
 The Liquor Law as far as it concerns the proclaimed goldfields, the 
 F^ass Law, and the Law relating to Gold Thefts ; and the Board will 
 further have an advisory voice in the supply of natives to the mines, 
 which your Commission has recommended yo'T Government to take into 
 its own hands. The area under the surveillance of the Board should 
 include the Heidelberg, Witwatcrsrand, and Klerksdorp districts, and 
 other goldfields as may be found desirable hereafter. Your Com- 
 mission suggests that the Board consists of the following : Five 
 members to be appointed by the Government, and fo^ir deleg.ites 
 to be appointed by the following bodies, with the consent of the 
 Government, viz., one delegate of the Chamber of Mines, one of the 
 Association of Mines (or in case of an amalgamation, two repre- 
 sentatives of the new Chamber), a nominee of the Mine Managers' 
 Association, and a nominee of the commercial community of Johannes- 
 
 Ui 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 309 
 
 burg. Your Commission would advise that a separate detective force 
 be placed under the department, whos- duty it should be to detect any 
 infringements of the above-mentioned laws, and to bring the offenders 
 to justice in the ordinary course of law. It should also be in the sphere 
 of the Board's work to report to the proper authorities any laxity on 
 the part of the officials who have to administer the above-ment'oned 
 laws. The Board is to report to the Executive Council upon the 
 working of the laws referred to, and to suggest alterations. It must 
 be well understood that the power of this Board must in no way clash 
 with the sphere of the Minister of the Mines department and the 
 Licensing Board, but co-operate with the same. We should adduce 
 as a reason the more for the creation of such a Board that Government 
 could depute to them the right to receive deputations, hear their 
 arguments, and report to the Government on the subject, whereby a 
 great saving of time would be the result. We would recommend 
 that the Commission be appointed at once, and that they shall frame 
 their proposals for regulations and submit them at once to the 
 Government. 
 
 The establishment of a local mining board has been strongly urged 
 by witnesses. From an industrial and financial point of view this 
 country must be considered as still in its infancy, and, without loss of 
 dignity or prestige, the Government may accede to the above request. 
 Experience in these matters can only be attained after the lapse of 
 long years, and by coming in contact with experts from other countries 
 the State will reap the benefit of the knowledge obtained in their 
 country, where these problems have for decades exercised the minds of 
 their leading citizens. 
 
 In conclusion, your Commission fervently hope that they have truly 
 and faithfully interpreted the object of the inquiry, and that their 
 suggestions and recommendations, if acted upon, will confer a lasting 
 benefit on the country and people. 
 
 The evidence, 3 has been stated, was all given on oath, 
 and some : r\ rfteresting details came out. In one case Dr. 
 Leyds's .-.yste'/i of misrepresentation was exposed. Whilst 
 the C"^^" Mtjsion was actually taking evidence the then State 
 Secrt.taiy m an interview with the Paris Temps strongly 
 supporte i th? dynamite monopoly, an ' ted that the price 
 charged, namely, 90s. per case, was the sam.e at which the 
 Chamber of Mines had offered to enti^r into a sixteen years' 
 contract with Nobel's factory. A witness questioned on this 
 point explained that this was quite true as regards price, but 
 that Dr. Leyds had suppressed the essential fact that whereas 
 out of the 90s. pair! to the mjr.opoasts the Government only 
 receive 55. by way of f'i..ty, chey would out of the 90s. which 
 it was proposed to pay for ^'\obe'.'s dynamite receive no less 
 than 38s. per case as au*^v, ?\nd .hat if the contract proposed 
 by the Chamber had br.e' i .nv.Je the Government would have 
 profited during the pvevic's four years to the extent of 
 
T 
 
 310 
 
 THE TRANSV.\AL FROM WITIliX 
 
 ;^i, 200,000 instead of ;^i 50,000. Upon another occasion light 
 was thrown on dark [)laces in a rather disconcerting fashion. 
 Mr. Christiaan Joubert, Minister of Mines, took one of the 
 witnesses in hand with the object of showing that the people 
 c^ Johannesburg had only themselves to thank for t'»e loss 
 of coiifulence in this business. The following questions and 
 answers are from the official report : — 
 
 Should not the Chamber of Mines co-operate with the Department of 
 i\Iines to get a law protecting European shareholders from being 
 defrauded by swindlers ? — I don't know ii such a law could be framed 
 without interfering with what, in other countries, is considered to he 
 personal liberty. You have to come to the point whethe the man 
 intended to swindle, and that can only be settled by , ^uart, as a 
 matter of personal judgment. If a good law could be c !.iscd u would 
 be beneficial. 
 
 Is there no possibility for the Chamber of Mines to work with the 
 Department for the passing of such a law ? — 1 don't know if laws e.Ki>i 
 in France, Germany, England, or America, to that specific effect ; but 
 if so, I would be guided by the wisdom and immense experience of llie 
 law makers of those countries, otherwise we might be rushing in where 
 angels fear to tread. 
 
 Is it then possible ? Are you willing to discuss the matter with ds ? — 
 Oh, yes ; but I do not think that that is e.xactiy what is wanted in order 
 to restore conluience. Lots of things combine to shake the confidence 
 of investors. I'^or instance, to deal with some small and homely matters, 
 I v.-as told by a member of the Sanitary fBoard yesterday that ai, 
 application for the underground rights of the ^^arket Square, liaii been 
 made by Mr. Jan Meyer, a leading member jf the Volksraad. That 
 does noi, help to restore confidence. The Sanitary Board applied for a 
 portion of the Telephone Tower Park in ord .t to erect a Town Hall, 
 'i'hey were refused. Now, some one has made a;: application for tlie 
 right to erect swimming baths. That does not restore conlidenee. 1 
 hope the mere publication of these things will prevent tin m frou. 
 succeeding. The Sanitary Board applied for the Union Ground, also 
 for public purposes, but it was granted to private applicants on the 
 quiet. They hav.^ hawked it about and borrowed money on it. It 
 was offered to many of the big cai3italists here, but they would not 
 touch it. The Sanitary Board are tolil that a building is to be put ii)' 
 in which fifty rooms will be set aside for them, but they arc nut 
 satisfied that the authorities should do good by ste.alth and blush to 
 lind it fame. 
 
 I cannot understand how mere applicitions can shake confidence ?— 
 Well, they do because they are only made when there is a chance oJ 
 tlieir being granted. But, if you want facts, I will tell you what shook 
 the investor's conlidence as much as anything that has happened fir 
 years — that was the Ferreira claim-jumping raid, which it was sworu 
 to in Court had been suggested by you yourself, Mr. Jji^bert. 
 
 Not ' suggested ' by me 
 
 The Chairman said the witness was strayirg away from th? original 
 question. 
 
 Witness said that the Minister of Min s hjit? wanted examples of 
 whit sliook confidence, so he was obliged 10 g re. them. 
 
THREE YEARS' GKACE 
 
 3" 
 
 J-iV 
 
 The report of the Commission created a very favourable 
 impression. The majority of people believed that although 
 it might not be entirely acted upon, yet it would be quite 
 impossible for the President and the Volksraad to disregard 
 suggestions made by so influential a group of officials as 
 those forming the Commission, and that at any rate most of 
 the recommendations would be accepted. The unbelieving 
 few who knew their President Kruger, however, waited for 
 something to be c/one. Presently ominous rumours went 
 round about differences in the Executive, Then came the 
 scenes in the Volksraad, when the President revealed him 
 self and charged Mr. Schalk Burger with being a traitor to 
 his country for having signed such a report, followed by the 
 usual fight and the usual victory for the President, and the 
 usual Committee constituted mainly of extreme Conserva- 
 tives appointed to report upon the other Commission's 
 report ; and then the usual result : Something for nothing. 
 The Netherlands Railway made an inconsiderable reduc- 
 tion in rates, which it appears Avas designed to buy off, 
 and did succeed in buying off, further scrutiny of its affairs. 
 With regard to the two big monopolies, Dynamite and 
 Railway, it appears that the Volksraad Commission accepted 
 the private assurances of the monopolists as sufficient 
 warrant for reversing the conclusions of the Industrial 
 Commission. The proposed Local Board for the goldfields 
 was promptly ruled out as an unthinkable proposition, 
 a government within a government, and was so denounced 
 by the President himself. But the report of the Volks- 
 raad Committee contained one supreme stroke of humour. 
 It adopted the recommendations of the Industrial Commis- 
 sion to remit the duties upon certain articles of consumption 
 so as to make living cheaper, but as a condition it stipu- 
 lated that in order that the State revenue should not suffer, 
 the duty upon other articles of consumption should be 
 increased so as to rather more tlvm counterbalance the loss. 
 That was one result which the Uitlan lers had in the begin- 
 ning confidently expected : Something for nothing. But the 
 other result upon which they had also calculated was a 
 valuable one. They had put their case on record and for the 
 future the task of justifying the Uitlanders' cause was to be 
 
aemaswmmtm 
 
 312 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 reduced to the formality of pointing to the Industrial 
 Commission's report. 
 
 The third event of importance, and an event of much 
 greater importance than has generally been recognised, was 
 the Queen's Record Reign celebration in Johannesburg. 
 ' Britons, hold up your heads ! ' was the watchword with 
 which the late Mr. W. Y. Campbell started to organize 
 what he eventually carried out as the biggest and most 
 t thusiastic demonstration ever made in the country. No 
 ir. 'selfish and loyal subject of her Majesty ever set 
 
 foot South Africa than Mr. Campbell, whose organization 
 and example to ' Rand Britons,' as he called them, did 
 more to hearten up British subjects in the Transvaal than 
 has ever been fully realized or properly acknowledged. The 
 celebration was an immense success in itself, and besides 
 restoring the hopes and spirits of British subjects it promoted 
 generally a better feeling and a disposition to forget past 
 differences. 
 
 One of the consequences of the Raid and Reform had 
 been a split in the Chamber of Mines caused by the seces- 
 sion of a minority who held views strongly opposed to 
 those of the Reform party. It has always been the policy 
 of the Government to endeavour to divide the Rand 
 community. This is no vague general charge : many 
 instances can be given extending over a number of years. 
 The accidental revelations in a police court showed that in 
 1 89 1 the Government were supporting from the Secret 
 Service Funds certain individuals with the object of arranging 
 labour unions to coerce employers upon various points. The 
 movement was a hopeless failure because the working men 
 declined to have anything to do with the so-called leaders. 
 When the split took place in the Chamber of Mines, it 
 became the business of Dr. Leyds and the President to 
 keep the rift open. This was done persistently and in a 
 very open manner — the seceders being informed upon several 
 occasions that a fusion of the two Chambers would not be 
 welcome to the Government. Both before and since that time 
 the rame policy has foimd expression in the misleading state- 
 ment made on behalf of the Government upon the compound 
 question (namely, that the companies were aiming at com- 
 
 •il, 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 3^3 
 
 pounding all the natives and monopolizing all the trade of the 
 Rand), a statement made to divide the mercantile from the 
 mining community. The fostering of the liquor industry with 
 its thousands of disreputable hangers-on is another example ; 
 the anti-capitalist campaign carried on by the Government 
 press another. And the most flagrant of all of course is the 
 incitement to race hatred. Divide et ivipera, is a principle 
 which they apply with unfailing regularity whether in their 
 relations with other countries, in the government of their own 
 State, or in their dealings with private individuals. Happily 
 for the Rand community the effort to settle their internal 
 differences was successful ; towards the end of 1897 the 
 fusion of the two mining chambers took place, and the 
 unanimity thus restored has not since been disturbed. 
 
 By this time even the most enthusiastic and sanguine friends 
 of the Government had to some extent realized the meaning of 
 the ' something for nothing ' policy. They began to take count 
 of all that they had done to please Mr. Kruger, and were 
 endeavouring to find out what they had got in return. The 
 result, as they were disposed to admit, was that for all the 
 good it had done them they might as well have had the 
 satisfaction of speaking their minds frankly as the others had 
 done. The Raad's treatment of the Industrial Commission 
 report had estranged all those who had taken part in the 
 deliberations of the Commission, and as Mr. Kruger had been 
 careful to select only those whom he believed to be friendly 
 to him he suffered more in the recoil than he would other- 
 wise have done. He fell into the pit which he had himself 
 dug. 
 
 Mr. Kruger was fast losing his friends, and another affair 
 which occurred about this time helped to open the eyes of 
 those who still wished to view him in a favourable light. 
 Mr. Chamberlain in the course of some remarks had stated 
 that the President had failed to fulfil the promises which he 
 had made a>. the time of the Raid. His Honour took an 
 early opportunity to denounce Mr. Chamberlain '.j Mr. J. 
 B. Robinson and the manager of the then Government 
 newspaper in Pretoria. ' I would like Mr. Chamberlain 
 to quote,' he said, ' any instances of my failure to keep my 
 promises, and I will know how to answer him.' The chal- 
 
 ^■:A 
 
 ■ I 
 
314 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 lenge was published and Mr. Chamberlain promptly cabled 
 instructions to the British Agent to ask President Kruger 
 whether he had said this and if so whether he really did 
 desire a statement by Mr. Chamberlain of the character 
 indicated. Mr. Kruger took his own peculiar way out of the 
 dilemma ; he repudiated the intermediaries, denounced the 
 statement as untrue, and said that he was not in the habit of 
 conveying his requests through irresponsible nobodies. The 
 result was the immediate resignation of the newspaper man 
 and final rupture between the President and Mr. Robinson. 
 Thus were two more thick-and-thin supporters cast off at 
 - mvenience and without an instant's hesitation, and thus 
 were provided two more witnesses to the 'something for 
 nothi"r;' policy. This incident was the immediate cause of 
 Me iiision of the Chambers. 
 
 It had all along been realized that while Lord Rosmead 
 continued to act as High Commissioner in South Africa there 
 would be no possibility of the Uitlanders' grievimces being 
 again taken up by her Majesty's Government. The High 
 Commissioner had committed himself to the opinion that it 
 would be unsuitable and indeed improper to make any repre- 
 sentations on the subject for a considerable time. jMoreover, 
 his age and ill-health rendered him unfit for so arduous a 
 task. Many hard things have been said and v.'rilLon about 
 the late High Commissioner, but it must be admitted that 
 with age and infirmity weighing him down he was confronted 
 by one of the most desperate emergencies which have ever 
 arisen to try the nerve of a proconsul, n is true that the 
 responsibilities of Government are not to be met by excuses : 
 the supi^orts of the Empire must stand the strain or be con- 
 demned. But it is also true that those who regard themselves 
 as victims may not lightly assume the functions of indepen- 
 dent judges : and thus it was that in a mood of sympathy and 
 regret, with perhaps some tinge of remorse, the news of Lord 
 Rosmead's death was accepted as evidence unanswerable of 
 the burden which in the autumn of his days he was called 
 upon to bear. 
 
 When the name of Sir Alfred Milner was mentioned as the 
 coming High Commissioner all South Africa stood to atten- 
 tion. Seldom surely has a representative of the Queen been 
 
 '» i; 
 
THKEE YEAKS' GRACE 
 
 315 
 
 put through such an ordeal of examination and inquiry as 
 that to which Sir Alfred Milncr's record was subjected by the 
 people of South Africa, Not one man in a thousand had 
 heard his name before ; it was as some one coming out of the 
 great unknown. The first feeling was that another experi- 
 ment was being made at the expense of South Africa ; but 
 almost before the thought had formed itself came the testi- 
 mony of one and another and another, representing all parties 
 and all opinions in England ; and the Uitlanders in the 
 Transvaal began to hope and finally to believe that at last 
 they were to have a man to deal with who would exhibit 
 those qualities of intelligence, fairness, and firmness, which 
 they regarded as the essentials. Every word tliat was said 
 or written about the new High Commissioner was read and 
 studied in South Africa. Every reference made to him by 
 the representatives of the various political parties was weighed 
 and scrutinized, and the verdict was that it was good ! Fair 
 firm and able. There had not been a discordant note nor a 
 voice lacking in the chorus which greeted the appointment ; 
 and the judgment was, ' They have given one of England's 
 very best' 
 
 The impression had somehow gained ground in South 
 Africa that the first act of Sir Alfred Milner would be to 
 visit the Transvaal and endeavour to arrange matters. The 
 hearts of the Uitlanders sank at the thought of even the 
 ablest and best-intentioned of men tackling so complicated 
 a problem without any opportunity of studying the local 
 conditions and the details. It was therefore with undis- 
 guised satisfaction that they received the new High Com- 
 missioner's assurance that as the representative of her 
 Majesty he had plenty of work before him in visiting and 
 making himself acquainted with the conditions and require- 
 ments of her Majesty's dominions in South Africa, the 
 people of which had the first call upon his services. The 
 statement cleared the political atmosphere and had a dis- 
 tinctly cooling effect upon the overheated brain of the Boer 
 party, who had by this time convinced themselves that 
 Pretoria was firmly established as the hub of the universe 
 and that an expectant world was waiting breathlessly to 
 know what President Kruger would do next. 
 
3r6 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Mr. Conyngham Greene, an experienced member of the 
 Diplomatic Corps, who had been appointed towards the end 
 of 1896 to succeed Sir Jacobus de Wet as British Agent in 
 Pretoria, had by this time gained some exf)crience of the 
 ways of Pretoria. Probably few servants of the Crown have 
 been called upon to perform a service more exacting or less 
 grateful than that which fell to the British Agent during the 
 period in which Mr. Conyngham Greene has held the post. 
 Conscious that his Government wa.s prevented by the acts of 
 others from vindicating its own position, hampered by the 
 knowledge of immense superiority of strength, dealing with 
 people who advanced at every turn and under every circum- 
 stance their one grievance as a justification for all the acts 
 of hostility which had preceded that grievance or had been 
 deliberately perpetrated since, he was compelled to suffer 
 snubs :ind annoyances on behalf of his Government, with no 
 relief but such as he could find in the office of recording 
 them. A good deal Ir.d been done by Mr. Conyngham 
 Greene to establish visible and tangible evidence of the desire 
 of her Majesty's Government to interest themselves in the 
 condition of British subjects and — as far as the exigencies of 
 a very peculiar case would for the time permit — to protect 
 them from at least the more outrageous acts of injustice ; but 
 the strength of the chain is the strength of the weakest link, 
 and it was always felt that until the link in Cape Town was 
 strengthened there was not much reliance to be placed upon 
 the chain. 
 
 Very frequently surprise has been expressed that, after the 
 fortunate escape from a very bad position which the Jameson 
 Raid afforded to President Kruger's party, the Boers should 
 not have learned wisdom and have voluntarily undertaken 
 the task of putting their house in order. But having in mind 
 the Boer character is it not more natural to suppose that, 
 inflated and misled by a misconceived sense of success and 
 strength, they should rather persist in and exaggerate the 
 ways which they had formerly affected? So at least the 
 Uitlanders thought and predicted, and their apprehensions 
 were amply justified. In each successive year the Raad has 
 been relied upon to better its previous best, to produce some- 
 thing more glaring and sensational in the way of improper 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 317 
 
 laws and scandalous measures or revelations than anything 
 which it had before done. One would imagine that it would 
 pass the wit of man to devise a means of exploiting the 
 Uitlanders which had not already been tried, but it would 
 truly appear that the First Volksraad may be confidently 
 relied upon to do it. 
 
 In the year 1897 some things were exposed which 
 appeared, even to the Uitlanders, absolutely incredible. 
 What is now known as the ' donkeys and mealies scandal ' 
 was one of them. For the ostensible purpose of help- 
 ing burghers who had been ruined by the rinderpest the 
 President arranged for the purchase of large numbers of 
 donkeys to be used instead of oxen for draught purposes, 
 and he also arranged for the importation of quantities of 
 mealies to be distributed among those who were supposed 
 to be starving. Inquiries instituted by order of the Volks- 
 raad revealed the fact that Volksraad members and Govern- 
 ment officials wore interested in these contracts. The notorious 
 Mr. Barend Vorster, who had bribed Volksraad members 
 with gold watches, money, and spiders, in order to secure the 
 Selati Railway Concession, and who although denounced as 
 a thief in the Volksraad itself declined to take action to 
 clear himself and was defended by the President, again 
 played a prominent part. This gentleman and his partners 
 contracted with the Government to supply donkeys at a certain 
 figure apiece, the Government taking all risk of loss from the 
 date of purchase. The donkeys were purchased in Ireland and 
 in South America at one-sixth of the contract price. The 
 contractors alleged that they had not sufficient means of their 
 own and received an advance equal to three-quarters of the 
 total amount payable to them ; that is to say for every ;^ioo 
 which they had to expend they rece. d ;^450 as an unsecured 
 advance against their profits. It is believed that not 10 per 
 cent, of the animals were ever delivered to the farmers for 
 whom they were ostensibly bought. An attempt was made 
 in the Volksraad to have the matter thoroughly investigated 
 and to have action taken against the contractors, but the affair 
 was hushed up and, as far as it is possible to ascertain, every 
 penny payable under the contract has been paid and lost. 
 
 in the matter of the mealies (maize, the ordinary native 
 
3i8 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 food), large quantities were bought in South America. It 
 was alleged in the Volksraacl tha*- the amount was far more 
 than was necessary and that the quality was inferior, the result 
 being that the Government were swindled and that the State, 
 being obliged to sell what it did not require, was entering 
 unfairly into competition with the merchants and producers 
 in the country. But the leal character of this mealie swindle 
 can only be appreciated when it is known how the contract 
 originated. The contractors having bargained to deliver 
 donkeys, approached the President with the explanation 
 that donkeys being live-stock, would have to be accommo- 
 dated upon an upper deck where there was ample ventila- 
 tion ; the result of which, they said, would be that the ship 
 would be top-heavy and would be obliged to take in ballast. 
 Surely, it was argued, it would be folly to carry worthless 
 ballast when good mealies, which were in any case badly 
 needed in the country, would serve the purpose of ballasting 
 equally well and would, of course, show a very large profit. 
 A contract for mealies was therefore entered into. When 
 the inquiry was instituted in the Volksraad certain awkward 
 facts came to light, and it devolved upon Mr. Barend Vorster 
 to explain how it happened that the mealie ' ballast ' arrived 
 and was paid for before the donkeys were shipped. That 
 worthy gentleman may still be thinking out the explanation, 
 but as the money has been paid it cannot be a cause of 
 great anxiety. 
 
 In order to preserve a true perspective the reader should 
 realize that the President defended both these affairs and 
 that the exposures took place while the recommendations 
 of the Industrial Commission were being discussed in the 
 Raad and fiercely combated by the President himself 
 
 The matter of the Selati Railway was again brought into 
 prominence in 1897. It is quite impossible as yet to get 
 at all the facts, but it is very generally believed that a 
 swindle of unusual dimensions and audacity remains to be 
 exposed, and that a real exposure would unpleasantly involve 
 some very prominent people. At any rate the facts which 
 became public in 1898 would warrant that suspicion. The 
 Selati Railway Company alleged that they had been unjustly 
 deprived of their rights, and the Government admitting repu- 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 THREK YEARS' GRACE 
 
 .MV 
 
 diation of contract took refuge in the ()lc'a that in making 
 the contract they had acted ultra vires. It was, in fact, an 
 exemplary case of thieves falling out ' and when the case got 
 into the law courts a point of real interest to the public came 
 out ; for the Compiny's lawyers filed their pleadings ! The 
 following account of the case is taken from the newspapers of 
 the time. The plea of the Sclati Railway Company states 
 that— 
 
 the Govcrninciit, w.u very desirous that the railways s'ldtild be biiih. 
 and that for the purjiose the business should be taken in hand by 
 influential capitalists, and that, havinj* full knowledfje of the sums 
 asked for by the orifjinal concessionaires they insisted upon the said 
 capitalists coming to an aijreement with the concessionaires and paying 
 them the amounts asked ; that it was thus understood between the said 
 capitalists and the Government of the South African Republic that the 
 sum named in the concession as the price to be paid to the concession- 
 aires for the formation of the Company was wholly in'^iifiicient under 
 the altered conditions, and that further sums had to be expended to 
 cover not only the increased amount demanded by the original con- 
 cessionaires, but also other sums of money which ivcre asked by and faid 
 to different members of the Executive Council and Volksnuid of the South 
 African Republic and their relatives and friends as the f^rice for grantihg 
 the concession. 
 
 The matter came before the High Court, and several of the 
 exceptions put forward on behalf of the Government were sus- 
 tained. Regarding the accusation mentioned, Mr. Advocate ICsseleti, 
 who was counsel for the State, excepted that names and particulars 
 should be inserted, and also that the State was not bound by the action 
 of the Government or Exeeutive. He quoted the Volksraad resolution 
 or besluit upon which the concession w.is (granted, showing that ;4'io,ooo 
 was mentioned as the sum to be recoivc.l by the concessionaires, and 
 then proceeded : — 
 
 ' Now, I say that the Government could not contract with the Com- 
 pany at a higher figure than is above set forth. The measure of authority 
 granted to the Government is set forth in the Vo" --aad besluit which 1 
 have read, and the Government could not exccf : authority. Second, 
 the defendant Company makes allegations whicli arc tantamount to 
 fraudulent dealing on the part of the agents of the State. But it will 
 be said that it is the State which sues, and that it cannot be heard to 
 avail itself of the wrongful acts of its agents. In this matter, however, 
 it is the State Secretary who sues on behalf of the State. The State is 
 not bound in any event by the acts of individual members of the 
 Government. It was the Government which was entrusted with a 
 power of attorney on bclialf of the State.' 
 
 This doctrine, so fatal to concessionaires and their methods, led to 
 the following interesting colloquy : — 
 
 Mr. Justice Jorissen : Do you persist in this exception, Mr. Esselen ? 
 
 Mr. EssELEN : Certainly I do. 
 
 Mr. Justice Jorissen ; You have been very fortunate in succeeding 
 
 ;i 4 
 
330 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 on two exceptions. Without pressing you in the least, I am inclined to 
 sn^^cst that you withdraw tliis exception. 
 
 Mr. EssKi.EN : I cannot possibly withdraw it, but I am willing to 
 allow it to stand as a special plea and to ar^ue it at a b °^a^c. 
 
 Mr. Justice Jokissen ; As I said, I don't wish to j yv>u, but it 
 
 seems to me that this is a very danj^erous quesfion. 
 
 Mr. KssKLEN : It is a very miportaiit ipicstion. 
 
 Mr. Justice JOKissK.N : It is not only an important but a perilous 
 question. 
 
 In an umetided pica hied by the Selati Railway Company they jjive 
 the names of persons to whom tlic Company had to pay certain sums 
 of money or ^ive presents — in other words, bribes — in order to obtain 
 the Selati contract. The followinG are the names filed by Baron 
 Eugene Oppenheim : — To W. E. Bolt, then member and minute keeper 
 of the Executive Council, on August 12, 1890, in cash ^50 ; the late 
 N. J. Smit, sen., then Vice-I'resident of the South African Republic, 
 and member of the FIxecutive Council, on August 12, 1890, in cash, 
 ;£5oo ; K. C. Eloff, son in-law of the President and then Private Secretary 
 to his Honour, on August 12, ;^5o in cash. By De Jongh and Stegmann, 
 on behalf of Baron Oppenheim, to C. van Boeschoten, then Secretary 
 of the Volksraad, on October 6, 1893, in cash, ;^ioo. B" B. J. Vorster, 
 jun., one of the concessionaires, on behalf of Eugene lenheim, on 
 or about August, 1890, tiie following : To Jan du I de Beer, 
 
 member of the Volksraad for Waterberg, £100 ; Sc... ,/. Burger, 
 member of the Volksraad for Lydenburg, now member of the F^xecu- 
 tive Council, ;£ioo ; P. L. Bezuidenhout, member of the Volksraad for 
 Potchefstroom, ;£ioo ; J. Van der Merwe, member of the Volksraad for 
 Lydenburg, ;£ioo ; A. A. Stoop, member of the Volksraad for Wakker- 
 stroom, ;^5o ; F". G. H. Wolmarans, member of the Volksraad for 
 Rustenburg, ;^5o ; J. M. Malan, member of the Volksraad for Rusten- 
 burg. Chairman of the first Volksraad, £s^ > N. M. S. Prinsloo, member 
 of the Volksraad for F^otchefstroom, /50 ; J. J. Spies, member of the 
 Volksraad for Utrecht, i^7o ; B. H. Klopper, Chairman of the Volks- 
 raad, £12^, ; C. van Boeschoten, Secretary ot the Volksraad, ;^i8o. By 
 J. N. de Jongh, on behalf of Baron Eugene Oppenheim, about the end 
 of 1892 or the beginning of 1893, to the late N. J. Smit, sen., then Vice- 
 President of the South African Republic, and member of the Executive 
 Council, shares in the defendant Company to the value of ;^Ji,ooo; F". 
 C. Eloff, son-in-law of ?-.d then Private Secretary to the State President, 
 shares in the defendant Company to the value of ;^2,ooo ; P. G. Marc, 
 then member of the Volksraad for Utrecht, now Landdrost of Boks- 
 burg, shares in the defendant Company to the value of ^^500. By B. J. 
 Vorster, jun., on behalf of Baron F2ugene Oppenheim, about July or 
 August, 1890, to C. C. van Heerden, member of the Volksraad for 
 Wakkcrstroom, one spider ; A. A. Stoop, member of the Volksraad for 
 Wakkerstroom, one spider ; F. G. H. Wolmarans, member of the 
 Volksraad for Rustenburg, one spider ; B. W. J. Steenkamp, member 
 of the Volksraad for Piet Retief, one spider ; J. P. L. Lombard, member 
 of the Volksraad for Standerton, one spider ; H. F. Grobler, member 
 of the Volksraad for Middelburg, one spider ; VV. L. de la Rey, member 
 of the Volksraad for Bloemhof, one spider ; D. W. Taljaard, member of 
 the Volksraad for Standerton, one spider ; J. C. van Zyl, member 
 of the Volksraad for Heidelburg, one spider ; J. P. Botha, member o; 
 the Volksraad for Pretoria, one spider ; H. P. Beukes, member of thi 
 Volksraad for Marico, one spider ; J. F. van Staden, member of lb 
 
 '-i I 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 121 
 
 Volksraad for Vryhcid, one spider ; J. M. M.il.ii., member of tl»c VolUs- 
 raad for Rustcnbur/4, one spider ; N. M. S, Fnnsiuc, rr.''iiil)cT oi the 
 Volksr.-iad for Potchefstrooin, one cirt ; T. C. Grcylinj^, i;\cniber of 
 the Volksraad for Heidelberg, one cart. Total value, i,i,44u. 
 
 Twenty-one members of the First Volksraad out of twenty- 
 five ! The Vice-President ! The son-in-law and Private 
 Secretary of the President ! The Secretary of the Volks- 
 raad and the Minute Keeper of the Executive ! 
 
 The Volksraad, one would think, would be bound to talc 
 cognizance of such a statement and to cause an investigation 
 to be held. They did take cognizance of it after the manner 
 peculiar to them. But the last thing in the world to be 
 expected from them was an impartial investigation : nothing 
 so foolish was ever contemplated. There were too many in it, 
 and an investigation into tiie conduct of officials and Raad 
 members would be establishing a most inconvenient prece- 
 dent. Some members contented themselves with a simple 
 denial, others scorned to take notice of such charges, and 
 others tried to explain them away. No opinion need be 
 expressed upon the methods of the concessionaires ; aor does 
 it matter whether the company, by its neglect or default, had 
 justified the act of the Government. The point which is 
 offered for consideration is that the mdisputable fact of bribes 
 having been taken wholesale was ignored, whilst the disputed 
 question of liability to cancellation was arbitrarily settled by 
 the Government in its own favour. 
 
 The crop of scandals in 1897 was as the rolling snowball. 
 It is unnecessary to refer to them all in detail. The Union 
 Ground, one of the public squares of Johannesburg, was 
 granted to a syndicate of private individuals upon such 
 terms that they were enabled to sell the right, or pcjrtion 
 of it, at once for ^25,000 in cash. The Minister of Mines, 
 in his official capacity, strongly recommended the transaction, 
 and was afterwards obliged to admit that he himself had an 
 interest in it. The Volksraad however refused to confirm 
 it, and the purchaser of the concession fell back upon the 
 President for protection. The latter advised him to remain 
 quiet until the presidential election, which was about to take 
 place, should be over, and gave the assurance that then he 
 would see that the grant was confirmed by the Raad. In 
 
 Y 
 
r^t 
 
 ;22 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the session of 1898 his Honour strongly supported the pro- 
 posal and it was duly carried. 
 
 The Eloff location scandal was another which greatly 
 disturbed even the Volksraad. Mr. Frickie Eloff is President 
 Kruger's son-in-law and enjoj^'s the unsavoury reputation of 
 being interested in every swindle which is worth being in in 
 the Transvaal. A piece of ground lying to the north-west 
 of Johannesburg close up to the town had originally been 
 proclaimed as a goldfield, but no reefs having been found 
 there and the ground not having been pegged, it was after- 
 wards withdrawn from proclamation. The Mining Com- 
 missioner of Johannesburg in the course of his duties 
 discovered some flaw in the second or withdrawing procla- 
 mation. He advised the head office in Pretoria of this 
 discovery and stated that it might be contended that the 
 de-proclamation was invalid, and that great loss and incon- 
 venience would follow if the ground were pegged and the title 
 upheld. Within twenty-four hours the ground was pegged by 
 Mr. Eloff, but it is not known whence he derived the inspiration. 
 His claim was strongly opposed by the local officials. They 
 reported that the ground was known to be of no value, and 
 advised that as the cost of licenses would be very consider- 
 able the obvious policy of the Government would be — if the 
 title could not be upset — to wait until Mr. Eloff should tire of 
 paying licenses on valueless ground. The Government, how- 
 ever, decided otherwise: they converted Mr. Eloff's claims into 
 residential stands ; that is to say, they made him a present 
 of an immensely valuable piece of property and gave him 
 title under which he could cut it up into small plots and 
 readily sell it. This action of the Government, however, 
 required confirmation by the Raad. The /natter came before 
 the Volksraad in due course and that body deliberately 
 revoked the decision of the Govern "r.ent and refused Mr. 
 Eloff any title except what he conld claim according to law. 
 But Mr. Kruger is not so easily beaten. He soon discovered 
 that the piece of ground acquired by Mr. Eloff was exactly 
 the piece which it was necessary for the Government to have 
 for a coolie location, and without more ado the Government 
 bought it from Mr. Eloff for ;{^2 5,000. 
 
 The ingenuity of the Boer mind in getting the last possible 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 3*3 
 
 isible 
 
 fraction of ,alue out of any transaction, is well exemplified 
 in this matter. One would naturally conclude that a deal so 
 profitable would satisfy anybody. But not so ! The piece 
 of ground commands the approach to many valuable private 
 plots and residences, and it was soon found thai a[jarr from 
 intrinsic worth it m-'ght have a blackmailing value ; thus 
 towards the end of 1898, after the deal had been completed, 
 the owners of these residences and estates were privately 
 approached with the information that the coolie location, 
 consisting of shelters built of scraps of iron, paraffin tins, 
 and old pieces of wood, was to be removed to this site 
 (probably to facilitate the transference of the present loca- 
 tion site, which is also very valuable, to some other favourite), 
 but that if sufficient inducement w^re offered by landowners 
 in the neighbourhood, the decision would be reconsidered ! 
 
 The grant of a Municipality to Johannesburg has often been 
 quoted as an example of something done by Mr. Kruger in 
 the interests of the Uitlanders, The principal conditions of 
 that grant are that all burghers of the State, whether they 
 have property or not, shall be entitled to vote for the election 
 of councillors ; that each ward shall be represented by two 
 councillors, one of whom must be a burgher ; and that the 
 chairman, or burgomaster, shall be appointed by Government 
 and shall have the right of veto. The elections in at least 
 two of the wards are completely at the mercy of the police 
 and of the poor Boers who have no interest whatever in 
 the town. The burghers in Johannesburg — police, Boers, and 
 officials — who may number a couple of thousand, including 
 the naturalized lot, have therefore a permanent and consider- 
 able majority over the Uitlanders, who probably number over 
 40,000 adult white males. 
 
 The scope and value of this grant were made manifest 
 when the now notorious sewerage concession came under 
 discussion. The Municipality had upon se\eral occasions 
 endeavoured to get the right to introduce a scheme for the 
 disposal of the sewage of the town, and had applied for 
 authority to raise the necessary funds, but had been refused 
 Suddenly a concession was granted by the Government — they 
 called it a contract — to Mr. Emmanuel Mendelssohn, the pro- 
 prietor of the Standard and Diggers News, the Government 
 
 X ■ 
 I I 
 
 ' n\ 
 
FFW 
 
 324 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 organ in Johannesburg. He said that he got it for nothing — 
 possibly a reward for loyal services ; but he also stated that 
 he was not the sole owner. The value of the grant was 
 estimated by the concessionaire himself to be about ;^i, 000,000 
 sterling, and in the lately published proposals which he made 
 to one of the big firms interested in the Transvaal he indicated 
 how a profit of ;^ioo,ooo a year could be made out of it. The 
 Town Council unanimously and vigf isly protested ; but 
 the Government took no notice of thei. protest. They then 
 decided to apply to the Court for an order restraining the 
 Government from making this grant, on the ground that they 
 had no power to alienate a right which belonged to the town 
 itself In order to make the application to Court it was neces- 
 sary, in terms of the constitution of the municipality, to obtain 
 the signature of the Burgomaster. That official as repre- 
 senting the Government refused point blank to authorize the 
 council to dispute the Government's action in a Court of Law, 
 and the council were obliged to apply for an Order of Court 
 compelling the Burgomaster to sign the documents necessary 
 to enable them to contest in the Courts of the country the 
 validity of an act of the Government which was deemed to be 
 infringement upon the rights of the town. In the face of this 
 the President capitulated for the time being ; but neither he 
 nor the concessionaire makes any secret of the determination 
 to find a quid pro quo. 
 
 The year 1898 brought in its turn its full share of fresh 
 encroachments and exactions. The bare enumeration of the 
 concessions, privileges, and contracts, proposed or agreed to, is 
 sufficient to indicate what must be the condition of mind of one 
 whose interests are at stake under such a regime. Not all ' con- 
 cessions,' 'contracts,' and 'protected factories' confer exclusive 
 rights, but many might easily in effect do so and all are in- 
 fringements upon the rights of the public. Here are some from 
 the official list of 1899; — Dynamite, Railways, Spirits, Iron, 
 Sugar, Wool, Bricks, Earthenware, Paper, Candles, Soap, Cal- 
 cium Carbide, Oil, Matches, Cocoa, Bottles, Jam, &c. 
 
 A large loan had been constantly talked of throughout the 
 year, but no one knew for what purpose it could be required. 
 The Government vouchsafed no information at all but nego- 
 tiations were carried on both in Pretoria and in Europe, 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 325 
 
 Month after month went by, but the millions were not forth- 
 coming, and the Government believed or affected to believe 
 that their failure was due to a conspiracy among the capitalists, 
 and in retaliation they directed and subsidised a fierce anti- 
 capitalist campaign in their press. The explanation of 
 failure, which did not occur to them, may have *been that 
 investors believed that the course pursued by the Transvaal 
 Government must inevitably lead to conflict with the para- 
 mount pov^'er, and thej'^ had no faith and no assurance that in 
 the event of such a conflict taking place the British Govern- 
 ment would take over loans which must have been contracted 
 only for the purposes of war against England. 
 
 The juggling with the dynamite question continued 
 throughout the year. The President had successfully defeated 
 the aim of the Volksraad, and the investigation and reports 
 •■'hich had been ordered by that botly in 1897 to be made by 
 lawyers and auditors, although duly handed in to the Govern- 
 ment, were suppressed by the President and not permitted to 
 be shown to the Raad. On the contrary, the astounding pro- 
 position v/as made that in return for a very inconsiderable 
 reduction in the cost of dynamite (half of which was to be 
 made up by the Government sacrificing its share of profits) and 
 a possible further reduction of 5s. per case under certain condi- 
 tions, the monopoly should be renewed for a period of fifteen 
 years, all breaches in the past to be condoned, and cancellation 
 on the ground of breach of contract in the future to be impos- 
 sible. This proposal, it was publicly notified, would be laid 
 before the Raad during the first session of 1899. The exis- 
 tence of the dynamite monopoly was at this time costing the 
 industry ^600,000 a year, and on every possible occasion it 
 was represented to the Government that, if they really did 
 need further revenue, in no way could it be more easily 
 or more properly raised than by exercising their undoubted 
 right to cancel the monopoly and by imposing a duty of such 
 amount as might be deemed necessary upon imported dyna- 
 mite. It was also pointed out that the proposed reduction in the 
 cost of dynamite would offer no relief whatever since it was 
 far more than counterbalanced by the taxes upon mynpachts 
 and profits which were then being imposed. 
 
 During this year the Volksraad instructed the Government 
 
 r' . ':A 
 
•^ 
 
 326 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 to enforce their right to collect 2§ per cent, of the gross pro- 
 duction from mynpachts (mining leases). All mynpachts 
 cities granted by the Government contained a clause giving 
 the Government this power, so that they were acting strictly 
 within their legal rights ; but the right had never before 
 been exercised. For twelve years investors had been allowed 
 to frame their estimates of profit upon a certain basis, and 
 suddenly without a day's warning this tax was sprung 
 upon them. It was indisputably the right of the Govern- 
 ment, but equally indisputably was it most unwise ; both 
 because of the manner in which it was done and because 
 there was no necessity whatever for the doing of it, as the 
 revenue of the country was already greatly in excess of the 
 legitimate requirements. Immediately following this came a 
 resolution to impose a tax of 5 per cent, upon the profits of 
 all companies working mining ground other than that covered 
 by mynpacht. The same objections applied to this tax with 
 the additional one, that no clause existed in the titles indi- 
 cating that it could be done and no warning had ever been 
 given that it would be done. The proposal was introduced 
 one morning and adopted at once ; the first notice to investors 
 was the accomplished fact. These measures were particu- 
 larly keenly resented in France and Germany. 
 
 The grievance of hasty legislation was in these cases 
 aggravated by the evidence that the taxes were quite un- 
 necessary. President Kruger still fought against cancellation 
 of the Dynamite Monopoly, by which the State revenue 
 would have benefited to the extent of ;i^6oo,ooo a year, if 
 he had accepted the proposal of the Uitlanders, to allow 
 importation of dynamite subject to a duy of £2 per case — 
 a tax which represented the monopolists' profit, and would 
 not therefore have increased the cost of the article to the 
 mines. He still persisted in squandering and misapplying the 
 public funds. He still openly followed the policy of satis- 
 fying his burghers at the Uitlanders' expense ; but the 
 burghers have a growing appetite, and nothing shows the 
 headlong policy of ' squaring ' — nothing better illustrates the 
 Uitlanders* grievance of reckless extravagance in adminis- 
 tration — than the list of fixed salaries as it has grown year 
 by year since the goldfields became a factor. 
 
 "n. 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 3»7 
 
 TRANSVAAL FIXED SALARIED 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 1886 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 51.831 3 7 
 
 1887 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 (^9,083 12 8 
 
 1888 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 164,466 4 10 
 
 1889 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 24(^,641 10 10 
 
 1890 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 324,wo 8 lo 
 
 I89I 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 332,888 13 9 
 
 1892 
 
 • • > 
 
 
 
 
 323,608 
 
 1893 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 361,275 6 II 
 
 1894 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 419.775 13 10 
 
 '^'^l 
 
 • •« 
 
 
 
 
 570,047 12 7 
 
 1896 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 813,029 7 5 
 
 1897 
 
 • •• 
 
 
 
 
 996,959 19 II 
 
 1898 
 
 ..« 
 
 
 
 
 1,080,382 3 
 
 1899 (Budget) 
 
 
 
 
 1,216,394 '5 
 
 That is to say, the Salary List is now twenty-four times 
 a? great as it was when the Uitlanders began to come in in 
 numbers. It amounts to nearly five times as much as the 
 total revenue amounted to then. It is now sufficient if 
 equally distributed to pay £/!^o per head per annum to the 
 total male Boer population. 
 
 The liquor curse has grown to such dimensions and the illicit 
 liquor organization has secured such a firm hold that even the 
 stoutest champions of law and order doubt at times whether 
 it will ever be possible to combat the evil. The facts of 
 the case reflect more unfavourably upon the President than 
 perhaps any other single thing. These are the facts : The 
 law prohibits the sale of liquor to natives ; yet from a fifth 
 to a third of the natives on the Rand are habitually drunk. 
 The fault rests with a corrupt and incompetent administra- 
 tion. That administration is in the hands of the President's 
 relations and personal following. The remedy urged by the 
 State Secretary, State Attorney, some members of the 
 Executive, the general public, and the united petition of 
 all the ministers of religion in the country, is to entrust the 
 administration to the State Attorney's department and to 
 maintain the existing law. In the face of this President 
 Kruger has fought hard to have the total prohibition law 
 abolished and has successfully maintained his nepotism — to 
 apply no worse construction ! In replying to a deputation 
 of liquor dealers he denounced the existing law as an 
 ' immoral ' one, because by restricting the sale of liquor it 
 
 ." *( '- 
 
 ' fM 
 
328 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 deprived a number of honest people of their livelihood — 
 and President Kruger is a total abstainer! 
 
 The effect of this liquor trade is indescribable ; the loss 
 in money although enormous is a minor consideration com- 
 pared with the crimes committed and the accidents in the 
 mines traceable ro '\t ; and the effect upon the native character 
 is simply appalling. 
 
 Much could be said about this native question apart from 
 the subject of drink, for it is one which is very difficult of 
 just appreciation by any but those who have had considerable 
 experience of and personal contact with the natives. It is 
 one upon which there is a great divergence of views between 
 the people of Europe and the people of South Africa. South 
 Africans believe that they view it from the rational standpoint, 
 they believe also that Europeans as a rule view it more from 
 the sentimental. The people who form their opinions from 
 the writings and i eports of missionaries only, or who have in 
 their mind's eye the picturesque savage in his war apparel as 
 seen at Earl's Court, or the idealized native of the novelist, 
 cannot possibly understand the real native. The writer holds 
 South African views upon the native question, that is to say 
 that the natives are to all intents and purposes a race of 
 children, and should be treated as such, with strict justice 
 and absolute fidelity to promise, whether it be of punishment 
 or reward : a simple consistent policy which the native mind 
 can grasp and will consequently respect. 
 
 With this in mind it will, perhaps, be believed that the 
 recital of certain instances of injustice is not made with the 
 object of appealing to sentimentalism, or of obliquely in- 
 fluencing opinions which might otherwise be unfavourable 
 or indifferent. The cases quoted in this volume are those 
 which have been decided by the courts, or the evidence 
 in support of them is given, and they are presented because 
 they are typical cases, and not, except in the matter of 
 public exposure, isolated ones. The report of the case 
 of Toeremetsjani, the native chieftainess,^ is taken verbatim 
 from one of the newspapers of the time. The woman is 
 the head of the Secocoeni tribe, whose successful resistance 
 to the Transvaal Government was one of the alleged causes 
 
 ' See Appendix. K. 
 
 fe'-ill 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 329 
 
 of the annexation. A good deal could be said about the 
 ways of Native Commissioners in such matters. Much also 
 could be said about the case of the British Indians and the 
 effect upon the population of India which is produced by 
 the coming and going of thousands of these annually 
 between India and the Transvaal, and their recital of the 
 treatment to which they are subjected, their tales of appeals 
 to the great British Government, and their account of the 
 latter's inability to protect them. Much also could be said 
 of the Cape Boy question, but sufficient prominence has 
 been given to these matters by the publication of the official 
 documents and the report of the inquiry into Field-Cornet 
 Lombaard's conduct, which was held at the instance of the 
 British Government. 
 
 It is not suggested that if the Government in the Transvaal 
 were influenced by the vote of the white British subjects, or if 
 it were entirely dominated by such vote, any encouragement 
 would be given to the Indian hawkers and traders, or that 
 there would be any disposition whatever to give voting rights 
 to coloured people of any kind, but it is suggested that a more 
 enlightened and a more just system of treatment would be 
 adopted ; and in any case it is to be presumed that there 
 would be no appeals to the British Government, involving 
 exhibitions of impotency on the part of the Empire to protect 
 its subjects, followed by the deliberate repetition of treat- 
 ment which might become the subject of remonstrance. The 
 untutored mind is not given to subtleties and sophistries ; 
 direct cause and effect are as much as it can grasp. These it 
 does grasp and firmly hold, and the simple inferences 
 are not to be removed by any amount of argument or expla- 
 nation, however plausible. There is scarcely an Uitlander in 
 the Transvaal who would not view with dismay the raising of 
 the big question upon such grounds as the treatment of the 
 natives, the Cape boys, or the Indians ; and the fact that the 
 Transvaal Government know this may account for much 
 of the provocation on these questions. It is nevertheless 
 undeniable that white British subjects in the Transvaal do 
 suffer fresh humiliation and are substantially lowered in the 
 eyes of the coloured races, because appeals are made on their 
 behalf to the British Government, and those appeals are 
 
 i. ■] 
 
 |:| P 
 
r 
 
 330 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 useless. The condition of affairs should be that such appeals 
 would be unnecessary, and would therefore become — in 
 piactice — impossible. Such a condition of affairs would 
 obtain under a friendly and more enlightened government, 
 and the only security for the voluntary continuance of such 
 conditions is the enfranchisement of the Uitlander population. 
 
 In the midst of all that was gloomy unfavourable anu 
 unpromising there came to the Uitlanders one bright ray of 
 sunshine. Dr. Leyds who had been re-elected State Secretary 
 on the understanding that he would resign immediately in 
 order to take up the post of plenipotentiary in Europe, and 
 whom the Boers with a growing anti- Hollander and pro- 
 Afrikander feeling would no longer tolerate, relinquished his 
 office. In his stead was appointed Mr, F. VV. Reitz formerly 
 President of the Free State, a kindly, honourable, and cultured 
 gentleman, whose individual sympathies were naturally and 
 strongly progressive but who, unfortunately, has not proved 
 himself to be sufficiently strong to cope with President 
 Kruger or to rise above division upon race lines in critical 
 times. Shortly afterwards Mr. Christiaan Joubert, the 
 Minister of Mines, a man totally unfit from any point of view 
 to hold any office of responsibility or dignity, was compelled 
 by resolution of the Second Volksraad to hand in his resigna- 
 tion. His place was filled by a Hollander official in the 
 Mining Department who commanded and still commands 
 the confidence and respect of all parties. The elevation of 
 the Acting State Attorney to the Bench left yet another 
 highly responsible post open and the Government choice fell 
 upon Mr. J. C. Smuts, an able and conscientious young 
 barrister, and an earnest worker for reform. An Afrikander 
 by birth and educated in the Cape Colony, he had taken his 
 higher degrees with great distinction at Cambridge and had 
 been called to the English Bar. 
 
 But there came at the same time another appointment 
 which was not so favourably viewed. There was still 
 another vacancy on the Bench, and it became known that, 
 in accordance with the recommendation expressed by the 
 Raad that all appointments should whenever possible be 
 iirst offered to sons of the soil, i.e., born Transvaalers, it was 
 intended to appoint to this judgeship a young man of twenty- 
 
 :U.\i 
 
THREE YEARS' GRACE 
 
 four years of age lately called to the bar, the son of the 
 Executive Member Kock already referred to in this volume. 
 The strongest objection was made to this proposal by all 
 parties, including the friends of the Government ; the most 
 prominent of all objectors were some of the leading members 
 of the bar who, it was believed, carried influence and were in 
 sympathy with the Government. A delay took place and it 
 was at one time believed that President Krugcr had aban- 
 doned his intention, but it is understood that pressure was 
 brought to bear upon the President by a con-- -Her able party 
 of his followers, and in the course of a few days the appoint- 
 ment was duly gazetted. 
 
 The selection of educated and intelligent Afrikanders, 
 sincerely desirous of purifying the administration, for such 
 responsible offices as those of State Secretary and State 
 Attorney, was gratefully welcomed by tne Uitlander com- 
 munity, who believed that only through the influence of such 
 men consistently and determinedly exerted could a peaceful 
 solution of many difficult questions be found. It is but bare 
 justice to these gentlemen to state that never were they 
 found wanting in good intention or honest endeavour, ready 
 at all times to inquire into subjects of complaint, anxious at 
 all times to redress any legitimate grievances. To them and 
 to many other less prominent but no less worthy officials of 
 the Transvaal Civil Service, whom it is impossible t.> name 
 and to whom it might prove to be no good turn if they were 
 named, is due an expression of regret that they may perhaps 
 suffer by references which are not directed against them but 
 which are justified by a rotten system and are called for by 
 the action of others over whom these men have no control. 
 Nobody but one intimately concerned in Transvaal affairs 
 can appreciate the unpleasant and undeserved lot of the 
 honest official who necessarily, but most unjustly, suffers by 
 association with those who deserve all that can be said 
 against them. 
 
 It is very well known that the gentlemen above referred 
 to would, if it were in their power, readily accord the 
 terms asked for in the franchise memorandum recently sub- 
 mitted by the Uitlanders, but they are unfortunately entirely 
 without influence over the President and his party. It is 
 
 tr*i 
 
r 
 
 332 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 true that — although British subjects by birth — they have 
 chosen to associate themselves with the Transvaal Govern- 
 ment and are now uncompromising republicans ; but there is 
 no fault to be found with that. It may be true also that they 
 aspire to republicanize the whole of South Africa, and free it 
 of the Imperial influence ; that would be a cause of enmity as 
 between them and those who desire to preserve the Imperial 
 connection, but it is no ground for reproach. There is one 
 point, however, upon which they in common with nearly all 
 the enlightened Afrikanders throughout South Africa may 
 be adjudged to have fallen short in their duty ; it is this, that 
 whilst nine times out of ten they divide upon sound principles 
 they will not follow that policy to a conclusion ; for upon 
 the tenth occasion they will subordinate principle and, at 
 the call of one who may use it unscrupulously, will rally 
 upon race lines alone. It is only too true of only too many 
 that they cannot be got to see that if they would really 
 divide upon principles all danger of conflict would disappear 
 and the solution would be both speedy and peaceful ; for it 
 is the division upon race lines that alone raises the distracting 
 prospect of war. 
 
 For those who are in this position in the Transvaal it may 
 be allowed that their difficulties are great. They cannot, 
 it is true, complain of lack of warning. They did not, it is 
 also true, after trying their influence and finding it of no avail, 
 cut adrift when they might have done so, and by their 
 example have so stripped the reactionaries of all support 
 that there could now be no question of their standing out ; 
 but they may have honestly believed that they would in time 
 succeed, whilst the Uitlanders, judging from a long and bitter 
 experience, felt that they would not and could not They 
 may say that this is no time to part from those with whom 
 they associated themselves in times of peace. Such reason- 
 ing may provide an excuse in the Transvaal, but no such plea 
 will avail for those without the Transvaal who have let the 
 day of opportunity go past, and who cry out their frightened 
 protest now that the night of disaster is upon us. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 So the year dragged on with its one little glimmer of light 
 and its big black clouds of disappointment, and it was 
 Christmas-time when the spark came to the waiting tinder. 
 What a bloody bill could the holidays and holy days of 
 the world tot up ! On the Sunday night before Christ- 
 mas a British subject named Tom Jackson Edgar was shf)t 
 dead in his own house by a Boer policeman. Edgar, who 
 was a man of singularly fine physique and both able and 
 accustomed to take care of himself, was returning home 
 at about midnight when one of three men standing by, 
 who as it afterwards transpired was both ill and intoxi- 
 cated, made an offensive remark. Edgar resented it with 
 a blow which dropped the other insensible to the ground. 
 The man's friends called for the police and Edgar, mean- 
 while, entered his own house a few yards off There was no 
 attempt at concealment or escape ; Edgar was an old resi- 
 dent and perfectly well known. Four policemen came, who 
 in any circumstances were surely sufficient to capture him. 
 Moreover, if that had been considered difficult, other assistance 
 could have been obtained and the house from which there 
 could have been no escape might have been watched. In any 
 case Edgar was admitted by the police to have sat on the bed 
 talking to his wife, and to have been thus watched by them 
 through the window. It is not stated that they called upon 
 him to come out or surrender himself, but they proceeded 
 
 333 
 
334 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITH IN 
 
 immediately to burst in his door. Hearin;; the noise he 
 crinH.' out into the |)as;;age. lie mayor may not have known 
 that they were: police: he may or may not have believed 
 them to be the three men by one of whom he had been 
 insn!:cu. A Boer policeman named Jones (there are scores 
 of Boers unable to speak a word of English, who nevertheless 
 own very characteristic F.iif^lish, Scotch, and Irish names — 
 many of them bein;;^ children of deserters from the British 
 army !) revolver in hand burst the door open. It is alle;,'ed 
 by the prisoner and one of the police that as the door was 
 burst open, Ed^ar from the passage struck the constable on 
 the head twice with an iron-shod stick which was afterwards 
 produced in Court. On the other hand, Mrs. Edgar and 
 other independent witnesses — spectators — testified that 
 Edgar did not strike a blow at all, and could not piossibly 
 have done so in the time. The fact, however, upon which 
 all witnesses agree is that as the police burst open the door 
 Constable Jones fired at Edgar and dropped him dead in 
 the arms of his wife, who was standing in the passage a 
 foot or so behind him. On the following morning, the 
 policeman was formally arrested on the charge of man- 
 slaughter and immediately released upon his comrades' 
 sureties of ;;^200. 
 
 As gunpowder answers to the spark so the indignation of 
 the Uitlander community broke out. The State Attorney to 
 whom the facts were represented by the British Agent in 
 Pretoria immediately ordered the re-arrest of the policeman 
 on the charge of murder. The feeling of '■ ' '^'••m was 
 such among British subjects generally bu' more especially 
 among Edgar's fellow-work-men, t' was deci^'ed to 
 
 liresent a petition to her Majesty >ing for pi cction. 
 British subjects were invited to gathc. the \Iarket Square 
 in order to proceed in a body to the offic of the British 
 Vice-Consul and there present the petition, but in order to 
 avoid any breach of the Public Meetings Act they were 
 requested to avoid speech making and to refrain in every 
 way from any provocation to disorder. Some four or tive 
 thousand persons gathered together. They listened to the 
 reading of the petition and marched in an orderly manner 
 
THK BKGINNING OF THE END 
 
 3JS 
 
 the 
 
 to the oflfice of the British Vicc-Consiil whore the petit i('ii 
 was read and accepted. 
 
 This was the first direct appeal to her Majesty made by 
 British subjects since the protests ap^ainst tlie retrocession 
 eij^hteen years bef(3re. Not very many reah'/ed at the time 
 the importance of the change in procedure. There could be 
 no " As you were " after the direct appeal : either it would he 
 accepted, in whicli event the ca.se of the Uitlandcrs would be 
 in the hands of an advocate more powerfu' than they had 
 ever proved themselves to be, or it would be declined, a 
 course which would have been regarded as sounding the 
 death-knell of the Empire in South Africa. The time was 
 one of the most intense anxiety ; for the future of the 
 Uitlandcrs hung upon the turn of the scale. 
 
 It was late one night when those who had been called to 
 Pretoria to receive the reply of her Majesty's Government 
 returned to the Rand. The real reply then was known only 
 to three men ; it was simply, point blank refusal to accept 
 the petition. There were no reasons and no explanations. 
 It was done on the authority of Sir William Butler, the 
 ("ommander - in - Chief in South Africa and acting IIii;h 
 Commissioner ; for Sir Alfred Milner was at that time in 
 ICngland, as also was Mr. Conyngham Greene. But the faith 
 was in these men that it could not be true, that it could 
 not have happened had Sir Alfred Milner not been absent, 
 and th.us came the suggestion to 'explain it away.' On the 
 following day British subjects on the Rand learned that a 
 breach of diplomatic etiquette had been committed, that the 
 petition should never have been published before being 
 formally presente^l to her Majesty, and that thus it would 
 be necessary to prepare and present another in proper form. 
 Ihe petition was redrawn and in the course of the following 
 weeks upwards ot 21,000 signatures were obtained by that 
 l-)yal and enthusiastic little band of British subjects who form 
 the Johannesburg branch of the South African League. 
 
 In the meantime other things had been happening. 
 Messrs. Thomas R. Dodd and Clement Davies Webb had 
 been arrested under the Public Meetings Act for having 
 organized an illegal meeting in the Market Square, Johannes- 
 burg, for the purpose of presenting the petition to the British 
 
336 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 Vice-Consul. They were released upon bail of ;^i,000 each. 
 Whether this was a fair example of the judicial perspective 
 in the Transvaal, or whether it was a concession to the 
 feelings of the Boers it is impossible to say, nor does 
 it much matter. The fact is that for the crime of killing 
 a British subject the bail was ;^2C)0 ; and for the crime 
 of objecting to it the bail was ;i{^i,ooo. This action only 
 added fuel to the fire and a public meeting was imme- 
 diately convened to be held in a circus building known as 
 the Amphitheatre. Meetings are permitted under the Act 
 provided they are held in an enclosed building. The object 
 of the meeting was to record a protest against the arrest of 
 Messrs. Dodd and Webb. A great many of the more ardent 
 among the British subjects were of opinion that the time for 
 protests and petitions was past, and they would not attend 
 the meeting. A great many others feeling that it was more 
 or less a formality leading to nothing else, did not trouble to 
 attend. Not one of those who did attend had the least 
 suspicion of any organized opposition. The following dis- 
 patch from the High Commissioner to the Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies sufficiently describes the sequel : — 
 
 Government House, Cape Town, 
 
 April 5, 1899. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to forward herewith the certified and attested 
 copies of affidavits which form an enclosure to ^tr. Wyberg's letter, 
 transmitted to you in my dispatch of the 28th Ma/ch, but which did 
 not reach me in time to catch the last mail steamer. 
 
 From these affidavits, the number of which and the manner in which 
 tiiey confirm one another seem to me to leave no doubt of their general 
 trustworthiness, it appears : 
 
 1. That early on the morning of Saturday, the 14th January, the fore- 
 men in charge of the various camps along the Main Reef Road were 
 instructed to tell a certain number of their workmen to be at the 
 Amphitheatre in Johannesburg at 2 p.m., where they would be addressed 
 by an official of the Public Works Department, Mr. P. J. Malan (Hoofd 
 van Afdecling Wcgen). 
 
 2. That the affair had been planned beforehand, and that Acting Road 
 Inspector Papenfus and others systematically visited the various camps 
 on that morning in order to beat up recruits, and that inquiry was made 
 in some cases to ensure that the persons sent should be 'trcu,' i.e., Boer 
 or Afrikander workmen who i^iight be expected to take tlie side of the 
 Government. The Russian workmen were not asked to go. 
 
 3. That the men were paid two hours earlier than usual, and that 
 those men who were ordered to go were told, if they could not get 
 Government carts, they should hire and recover afterwards. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 337 
 
 4. That in some cases, as that of the Boksburg section, the men were 
 conveyed the greater part of the way by Government carts. 
 
 5. That when the men arrived at the Amphitheatre, about 2 p.m., a 
 man who was either Mr. Bosman, Second Landdrost's Clerk, or Mr. 
 Pioshof, Registrar of the Second Criminal Court, and perhaps both of 
 them, told them to go to the Police Station. 
 
 6. That on arriving at the Police Station, they were addressed by Mr. 
 Broeksma, Third Public Prosecutor, and told they were there to break 
 up the meeting when he gave them certain signals. 
 
 7. That they then went into the Amphitheatre, and that there were 
 present, besides Mr. Broeksma, Mr. Papenfus, Mr. Jacobs, Special Road 
 Inspector, Mr. de Villiers, Second Public Prosecutor, and Mr. Burgers, 
 also an official, as well as several prominent members of the Town and 
 Special Police in plain clothes. 
 
 8. That the different sections of the Road party men were placed in 
 various parts of the building, under their respective foremen, and that 
 several Government officials assisted in locating them. 
 
 9. That a number of the men did not understand what they were 
 there for. 
 
 10. That the proceedings on the part of the promoters of the meeting, 
 which, as you are aware, had been sanctioned by the Government, were 
 perfectly regular. 
 
 11. That on the first appearance of the promoters of the meeting 
 there was a concerted disturbance, which rendered it totally impossible 
 to go on with the proceedings. 
 
 12. That in the riot which followed several people were seriously 
 injured, the sufferers in every case being bond fide sympathizers with 
 ihe object of the meeting, and the aggressors being persons who had 
 come there with the object of breaking it up. 
 
 13. That the Police did not make the smallest effort to check the 
 disturbances though it would have been easy to do so, and that, when 
 appealed to, they maintained an attitude of indifference. 
 
 14. That Broeskma, Third Public Prosecutor, and Lieutenant Murphy, 
 of the Morality Police, actually assisted in breaking chairs, and en- 
 couraged the rioters. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 A. MiLNER, 
 
 Governor and High Commissioner, 
 
 With affa'rs of this kind stirring up race hatred and feeling 
 among the class from whom the juries have to be selected, 
 what chance was there of securing an impartial trial of the 
 policeman charged with the murder of E- 'gar ? The Acting 
 British Agent Mr. Edmund Eraser in his dispatch of Decem- 
 ber 23 tells what he thought of the prospect before these 
 affairs took place. ' As to the ultimate charge to be brought 
 against the policeman, the State Attorney was doubtful 
 whether the charge had not better be one of culpable homi- 
 cide, for the reason that in the presence of a Boer jury his 
 counsel would have a much easier task in getting him off 
 under a charge of murder than for culpable homicide, But 
 
rr" 
 
 338 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the chances of a Boer jury convicting him at all are so small 
 that I said I should not assent to either charge until I had 
 seen what rebutting evidence the Public Prosecutor brought.' 
 But this was not all. Immediately after the murder of 
 Edgar, Mr. J. S. Dunn the editor of the Critic newspaper, 
 recited the facts of the case as they were known to him and 
 passed some severe strictures upon Dr. Krause, the First 
 Public Prosecutor, who was responsible for determining the 
 charge against policeman Jones and fixing his bail in the first 
 instance. The steps now taken by Dr. Krause no doubt were 
 within his legal rights, but they do not appear to a layman 
 calculated to ensure justice being done. Before proceeding 
 with the murder trial Dr. Krause took criminal action against 
 Mr. Dunn for libel, and in order to prove the libel he, whose 
 duty it was to prosecute Jones for murder, entered the 
 witness-box and swore that under the circumstances as 
 known to him he did not consider that Jones had been 
 guilty of murder, and had therefore faithfully performed his 
 duty in charging him with the minor offence and releasing 
 him on bail. Further, he called upon the Second Public 
 Prosecutor to testify in a similar strain ; and finally he 
 directly and deliberately associated with himself as witness 
 on his side the man Jones himself who was charged with 
 the murder. All this ostensibly to prove a p iltry libel 
 which could have been dealt with quite as effectively and 
 infinitely more properly after the trial for murder had 
 taken place ; indeed it is incontestable that the verdict in 
 the murder trial should properly have been relied upon to a 
 large extent to determine the gravity of Mr. Dunn's offence. 
 It had appeared to the British population that the chance of 
 an impartial trial, with the jury drawn exclusively from the 
 burgher class, was sufficiently remote without any proceed- 
 ings so ill considered as these. The result fulfilled antici- 
 pations. In due course the constable Jones was indicted for 
 culpable homicide and acquitted ; and the presiding judge 
 (Mr. Kock,who as already described had claimed 2 judge.ship 
 as a ' son of the soil ') when discharging the prisoner said, 
 ' With that verdict I concur and I hope that the police under 
 difficult circumstances will always know how to do their 
 duty.* 
 
 ...li 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 339 
 
 After the preliminary examination of Jones the Acting 
 British Agent had v/ritten to the Acting High Commissioner 
 (December 30, 1898): 'I will only remark that the enclosed 
 report . . . seems to show that the Public Prosecutor (Krause), 
 who has been deeply offended by the slur cast upon his 
 judgment through the orders from Pretoria to keep the 
 accused in prison instead of out on bail, was more inclined 
 to defend than to prosecute and showed an extraordinary 
 desire to incriminate either the British Vice-Consul or the 
 South African League for what he termed contempt of court 
 in connection with the publication of certain affidavits in the 
 Star: 
 
 That was indeed the position. In this as in the Cape Boys 
 case (the Lombaard inquiry) the aim of the prosecution 
 appeared to be to prove that the British Vice-Consul had 
 investigated and reported cases of injustice suffered by British 
 subjects ; and the establishment of such proof seemed to be 
 considered a sufficient and triumphant answer to the original 
 complaint. Such action drew the following spirited protest 
 from Mr. Emrys Evans to the British Agent : * He (Krause) 
 seems generally to suppose thac I have no right to do any- 
 thing in the way of assisting British subjects, and that my 
 action as Vice-Consul is nothing more nor less than officious 
 meddling.' That well describes the position of Great Britain's 
 representative in the Transvaal, and it has been the same for 
 so many years that among the Uitlanders it creates no feeling 
 of surprise ; but imagine the representative of — let us say — 
 the United States being so treated ! 
 
 While these matters were proceeding an opportunity 
 occurred to raise fresh funds for the Uitlander Education 
 Council. The scheme had been perilously near collapse on 
 several occasions, but by a little generous and timely help 
 actual abandonment had been averted. The possibility of a 
 return of better times had been foreseen by some of those 
 interested in education, and the appeals which were made in 
 the months of February and March resulted in raising a fund 
 of over /^ioo,ooo. The companies were also applied to for 
 assistance in the form of annual grants for maintenance ; and 
 guarantees were given amounting in all to about ;^i 6,000 a 
 .\ear. A final effort was made by the Government party and 
 
 1 
 
rp 
 
 340 
 
 THE T^^ANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 the allies of Dr. Mansvelt, the Superintendent of Education, 
 to show that the Government had made ample provision for 
 the education of English-speaking children, and that the 
 Uitlanders' scheme was unnecessary. Even Mr. Reitz, the 
 State Secretary, it is to be regretted, undertook a public 
 defence of the system which he has frequently expressed his 
 disapproval of ; but the more favourable construction which 
 he endeavoured to place upon the law was immediately 
 removed by a plain statement from the President to the 
 exact contra y effect 
 
 The Uitlanders consider that, if the intentions of the 
 Government were as good as they desire them to be thought, 
 firstly, they should not object to have the conditions per- 
 manently established and not leave them liable to alteration 
 at the sweet will of the Superintendent, as they are to-day ; 
 and secondly, as there has been nothing to hinder the 
 carrying out of benevolent intentions — had they existed — 
 there is no reason why there should be five or six thousand 
 Uitlander children without any facilities for education in 
 their own language except such as are provided by private 
 enterprise or charity. And this is so ; notwithstanding the 
 expenditure by the State of nearly a quarter of a million per 
 annum, ostensibly upon education, nine-tenths of which sum 
 is contributed by the Uitlander population. 
 
 The spirit in which the State aid is given and the aim 
 which the Government have in view are entirely revealed in 
 the conditions, a brief reference to which will be sufficient. 
 
 The Government capitation grant of £4 per annum may 
 be earned on the conditions : — 
 
 (a) That the child be over six years of age. 
 
 (b) That it shall have a sufficient knowledge of the Dutch language 
 and South African history. 
 
 (c) That it be not the child of Dutch or Hollander parents. 
 
 (d) That a quaUfied Dutch teacher must be retained by the school. 
 
 The first condition excludes all the children of the kinder- 
 garten schools, and also a class who form a considerable 
 percentage in the eiementary schools. The third condition 
 excludes all those who have in early years any chance of satis- 
 fying the inspectors under the second condition. Obviously 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 341 
 
 the amount earned by the few who would satisfy all the 
 conditions could not possibly pay for the salary of a Dutch 
 teacher. It was an actual experience in several schools that 
 the acceptance of State aid involved a direct loss ; a good 
 example of the ' something for nothing ' policy, 
 
 English is permitted to be the medium of instruction in 
 Government schools on the conditions, among others — 
 
 That Dutch be taught for one hour a day during the first year, two 
 hours a day during the second year, three hours a day during the third 
 year ; and that in the fourth year Dutch shall become the sole medium 
 of instruction. 
 
 The characteristic trickery and cunning which mark so 
 many of the Boer-ITolIander enactments are again apparent 
 here. The proposal is made to appear reasonable, but it is 
 clearly impossible for a child to attain within the time named 
 such proficiency in a foreign language as to be able to 
 receive all instruction in it. The effect and the design are 
 to place English-speaking children at a grave disadvantage 
 compared with Dutch-speaking children ; either they would 
 have to devote a great deal more time to the study of Dutch 
 in the first three years so as to be able to receive all instruc- 
 tion in that tongue, or they would suffer in the higher 
 standards through their imperfect knowledge of the medium 
 of instruction. It was not to be supposed that the Uit- 
 landers, after an experience extending over a decade and 
 a half of all sorts of promises, not one of which had been 
 kept in the spirit in which it was intended to be construed, 
 would consent to abandon their scheme at the behest of 
 Dr. Mansvelt and the misguided few who judged his 
 proposals by appearances. President Kruger speaking at 
 Rustenburg as lately as March last laid particular emphasis 
 upon the stipulation in the Law that in the fourth year Dutch 
 should be the sole medium of instruction, and explained that 
 his determination was to make Dutch the dominant language. 
 
 In the month of February the Transvaal Government 
 received a dispatch from her Majesty's Government with 
 reference to the dynamite concession. It referred to the 
 announcement already recorded, that in the course of the 
 coming session of the Raad a proposal would be submitted 
 
rr»" 
 
 'i.Xi 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 for the extension of the monopoly for fifteen years. Mr. 
 Chamberlain pointed out that her Majesty's Government 
 were advised that the dynamite monopoly in its present form 
 constitutes a breach of the Convention ; he expressed the 
 hope that the Transvaal Government might see its way 
 voluntarily either to cancel the monopoly or to so amend 
 it as to make it in the true sense a State monopoly 
 operating for the benefit of the State ; and he suggested 
 that in any case no attempt should be made to extend the 
 present concession, as such a proposal would compel her 
 Majesty's Government to take steps which they had hitherto 
 abstained from taking in the hope and belief that the Trans- 
 vaal Governir.ent would itself deal satisfactorily with the 
 matter. It was with this despatch, so to say in his pocket, 
 that the President introduced and endeavoured to force 
 through the Raad the proposal to grant a fifteen years' 
 extension of the monopoly. 
 
 That representations had been made by the British Govern- 
 ment on the subject of the dynamite monopoly, had been 
 known for some time before the Peace Negotiations (as they 
 have been called) between the Government and the Capita- 
 lists were proposed. On February 27 ' Mr. Edouard 
 
 ' It is stated that President Kruger, ever since the signing of the 
 London Convention on Majuba Day — February 27 — 1884, has bc'hcvcd 
 in certain lucky days, and has a kind of superstitious regard for 
 anniversaries. If that be so, the incidence of events has given him 
 something to ponder over during the last three years. Three notable 
 schemes conceived by himself and carefully designed to strengthen his 
 position, have by a curious coincidence matured upon dates of certain 
 interest in Transvaal history. All three have failed disastrously. Tlie 
 first anniversary of the Reformers' sentence day was the occasion of 
 the Reformers giving evidence before the Industrial Commission, 
 which so strongly justilied their case. The Peace Negotiations witli 
 the Capitalists were opened by Mr. Lippert upon the anniversary 
 of Majuba. The Bloemfontein Conference was opened upon the 
 Reformers' emancipation day, the expiry of the three years' silence. 
 That his Honour really attaches importance to these things was shown 
 wlien over two hundred ministers representing the Dutch Reformed 
 Church in the Transvaal met in Pretoria to urge upon him the sup- 
 pression of the Illicit Liquor trade. In all innocenoe they had chosen 
 May 24 on whicii to present their address. Their astonishment was 
 great when Mr. Kruger, passing lightly by the liquor question, gave the 
 assembled pastors a thorough wigging for finding fault with his ad- 
 mniistration at all, but chiefly for their unpatriotic conduct in selecting 
 the Queen's birthday of all days on which to expose internal differences 
 in their country. 
 
 •HP 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 343 
 
 Lippert, the original dynamite concessionaire, who it was 
 known would receive the further sum of ;{J"i 50,000 if the 
 monopoly remained uncancelled for five years, opened nego- 
 tiations on behalf of the Government with certain representa- 
 tives of the capitalist groups on the Rand ; and it was 
 immediately seen that the main — one might almost say sole 
 — object of the negotiations was to safeguard the dynamite 
 monopoly. The Government had, in fact, been placed in a 
 very awkward position. One of the excuses for not expro- 
 priating the monopoly had been that the State had not been 
 successful in raising a loan. In order to deal with this objec- 
 tion the Chamber of Mines had, in the month of February, 
 1899, made an offer, guaranteed by all the principal firms on 
 the Rand, to provide the sum of ;i^6oo,ooo to compensate 
 the monopolists for their actual expenditure up to date upon 
 buildings, plant, machinery, &c., so that there should be no 
 semblance of injustice in the treatment meted out to them. 
 The conditions of the offer were that the dynamite monopoly 
 should be cancelled and importation of explosives permitted 
 under an import duty which would give the State a very 
 large revenue at once and which in the course of a few years 
 would provide a sinking fund sufficient to extinguish the 
 loan of ;^6oo,ooo. The offer was so favourable to the State 
 that it placed the Government in a quandary.' The attitude 
 of the Volksraad, too, was distinctly hostile to the dynamite 
 monopoly ; and on top of all came the representations of the 
 Imperial Government upon the subject. It became necessary 
 to do something to save the threatened ' cornerstone ' ; hence 
 the Peace negotiations between the Government and the 
 capitalists. 
 
 This was another and one of the clearest examples of the 
 ' something for nothing ' policy, for it will be observed that of 
 all the things mentioned dynamite alone was the matter to 
 be definitely settled — and that to the satisfaction of Mr. 
 
 ' In addressing a meeting of burghers in Heidelburg three months 
 later the President showed to what lengths he was prepared to go in 
 defending the monopoly when in reply to a question he denied that 
 anv such offer had been received ' by the Executive.' The explanation, 
 which he did not give, is that the Government, i.e., the President 
 and State Secretary, liad received it — and withheld it from the 
 r-lxcjcilive ! 
 
344 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FKOM WITHIN 
 
 Kruger. Long years of experience had taught the Uitlanders 
 to examine any proposals coming from the Government with 
 the utmost care ; and the representatives of the mining 
 industry were soon of one mind in regarding these negotia- 
 tions as nothing but a trap. 
 
 Of the five men who represented the Government, viz., the 
 President, the State Secretary (Mr. Reitz), the State Attorney 
 ^Mr. Smuts), the Foreign Plenipotentiary (Dr. Leyds), and 
 the 'disinterested intermediary,' Mr. Lippert, it was easy 
 enough to account for three. The President had frequently 
 pledged himself to maintaia the monopoly, and always 
 referred to it as the corner-stone of the independence. Dr. 
 Leyds had chosen to associate himself with the defence 
 of the concessionaires upon all occasions, and had even 
 gone so far, as evidence given at the Industrial Commis- 
 sion showed, as to misrepresent the facts in their defence. 
 The difficulty was how to explain the association of the State 
 Attorney and State Secretary, in whose good intentions and 
 integrity there was a general belief The solution was to be 
 found in the illusory promises of reform under the heading of 
 franchise and reorganization of the finances and other matters. 
 These proposals, it was believed by Mr. Kruger and his party, 
 would secure the support of the two above-named officials, as 
 well as entice the capitalists into the trap set for them. But 
 there were other points of advantage for Mr. Kruger. The 
 whole scheme was in accordance with the divide et impera 
 policy. The first impression, if the scheme were accepted, 
 would be that the capitalists had secured something for them- 
 selves by bartering away the rights of the public ; so there 
 would have been a division in Johannesburg. Another effect 
 to be brought about by the proposed action regarding the 
 Indians would have been to divide the Uitlanders from the 
 Imperial Government, and the net result of it all would have 
 been that neither the public nor the capitalists would have 
 got anything but illusory promises and Mr. Kruger would 
 have secured his dynamite ; for had he been able to extract 
 from the Industry an expression of approval or acquiescence, 
 it would have given him his majority in the Volksraad in 
 favour of the monopoly. 
 
 The following is the correspondence which passed : — 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 34S 
 
 To the Honourable the State Secretary, 
 Pretoria, 
 
 JOHANNKSBUKG, S.A.R., 
 
 27//1 March, 1899. 
 
 HONOUKABLE SiR, 
 
 Hcfore communicating to you and the representatives of the 
 Government whom we met the expression of our opinion and that of 
 our London friends on the proposals submitted to us by Mr. Lippcrt on 
 behalf of the Government of the S.A.R., we deem it advisable to recite 
 shortly how we have arrived at the present position. 
 
 On the 27th of February Mr. E. Lippert called together Messrs. A. 
 Brakhan, E. Birkcnruth, and G. Rouliot, to whom he submitted a certain 
 programme concerning the settlement of some pending questions 
 forming the subject of grave differences between the Government of 
 the S.A.R,, on the one part, and the whole Uitlander population and the 
 mining industry on the other part, with a view to ascertain whether 
 these gentlemen were willing to open negotiations on the basis suggested, 
 in order to try to come to a settlement. Upon the affirmative answer 
 of these gentlemen, Mr. Lippert obtained an equal expression of 
 approval from Dr. Leyds, the Slate Secretary, the State Attorney, and 
 also of President Kruger. The preliminary programme at Mr. Lippert's 
 request was then communicated by cable to our London friends. Upon 
 receipt of a reply to the effect that our London friends were in favour 
 of any arrangement which would produce harmony and secure admini- 
 strative and financial reform, which was communicated to Mr. E. 
 Lippert, a meeting was arranged with Dr. Leyds, Messrs. Reitz, Smuts, 
 and Lippert, as representing the Government, on the 9th of March ; but 
 as Messrs. Brakhan, Birkenruth, and Rouliot had repeatedly mentioned 
 that they did not consider themselves qualified to discuss matters on 
 behalf of the general body of Uitlanders, and seeing that the programme 
 submitted was to be considered as a whole, and either adopted or 
 rejected as such, therefore it would be necessary to obtain the views, on 
 the francliise question, of prominent citizens more able to express the 
 wishes of Uitlanders on this subject ; Mr. Lippert, on behalf of the 
 Government, invited in addition Messrs. Pierce and Pistorious to be 
 present at the meeting. 
 
 At this meeting several points were discussed, but as no definite 
 proposal regarding franchise could be submitted, uo decision was 
 arrived at, it being made clear, however, that this was only a preliminary 
 conversation with the object of exchanging views, and that in any case 
 the opinion of the Uitlander population, and also that of our friends in 
 Europe, would have to be fully ascertained. 
 
 On the 1 2th instant, at le request of Mr. Lippert, Messrs. Brakhan, 
 Birkenruth, Rouhot, Pierce, Pistorious and Fitzpatrick met, and Mr. 
 Lippert communicated to us the definite proposals of the S.A.R. Govern- 
 ment, which were duly cabled the same day to our friends, requesting 
 a reply before the end of the week, as the Government would Ikivc to 
 submit the whole matter to the Raad, and we were requested to sign an 
 agreement with the Government, and a declaration binding on ourselves 
 and our London friends. 
 
 Their answer, suggesting a further conference with Dr. Leyds in 
 London, was duly communicated to his Honour the State President. 
 His Honour's reply, stating that the exchange of views had better take 
 place here, was communicated to our European friends. 
 
 Now they have cabled us a full pricis of the proceedings and resolu- 
 
34^' 
 
 THE IKANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 lions passed at the meeting held in London on the i6th instant, and the 
 following is therefore the expression of our opinion as well as that of 
 our European friends, upon the subjects which have already been dis- 
 cussed between the representatives of the S.A.R. Government, and 
 ou jcives. 
 
 It having been stipulated by the Government that the various matters 
 herein dealt with shall be taken as parts of one whole plan, we have 
 bowed to that decision, and we beg now to reply under the various 
 iieads on the understanding that no one portion may be judged as apart 
 from the whole. 
 
 BEWAARPLAATSEN. 
 
 In f urtlierance of the general settlement, those of us directly concerned 
 in the mining industry would be prepared to recommend a modification 
 of the claims of the surface holder and a final settlement of the(juestion 
 311 the lines suggested as preferable to the continued uncertainty, on 
 the understanding that the basis for valuation siiould be arrived at by 
 li xing, after consultation, a maximum price upon the best situated 
 bewaarplaatscn or water-right, and that the price of all other mining 
 r'ghts under bewaarpl.iatsen, machine standi' or water-rigiUs be valued 
 !)y competent engineers on the basis and in relation to the above 
 aiaxinmm value, taking into consideration the comparative value of the 
 outcrop claims and the diminishing value in depth ; the surface holder 
 having the preferent right to acquire the undermining rights at the 
 orice thus arrived at. 
 
 FINANCIER AND AUDITOR. 
 
 The appointment of a suitable man with efficient control and assured 
 ,ta tus would undoubtedly meet one of the most serious of the grievances, 
 uid would be universally accepted as satisfactory. The financier, in 
 31 cler to enjoy the confidence of all concerned, and with a view to avoid 
 isfnr as possible ulterior discussion of his recommendations, should be 
 ippioved of by some person belonging to a firm of well-known inde- 
 iicndent standing, sucli as Lord Rothschild, for instance. The financier 
 vO be a member of the Executive Council, and to formulate and approve 
 every scheme of taxation should further or other taxation become 
 necessary. 
 
 LOAN. 
 
 Any loan offered at reasonable rates and approved by the Finance 
 
 Ministef for the common good would undoubtedly receive our support; 
 
 A'e understanding, on the other hand, that no new taxation will be 
 
 mnosed on the general population or the mining industry pending tiie 
 
 tppointnient of the financier. 
 
 PRKSS AGITATION. 
 
 There having been, as far as we know, no organized press agitation, 
 it is impossible for us to deal with this matter, but it is clear that the 
 rriticism which has been provoked by a certain condition of affairs here 
 would necessarily cease upon the causes of complaint being removed, 
 ind we would be prepared, in case of our coming to a settlement with 
 the Government, to declare that the solution of the questions arrived at 
 tneets with our approval as a whole, so as to discourage further agitation 
 '.n newspapers on these subjects. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 347 
 
 POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS. 
 
 We shall at all times be willing* to publicly discourage and repudiate 
 any political organization having for its object the stirring up of strife 
 or promoting dissension between the (iiff>.rent nation;ilities inhabiting 
 this State, and we would and will in any case do this freely and ujion 
 principle, and entirely apart from other considerations connected with 
 this Conference, but it should be clearly understood that this dcL-lara- 
 tion must not be construed as repudiating or deprecating any legitimate 
 representations which the community or any section of them may see 
 fit to make in matters which concern them as inhabitants of this Slate. 
 
 COOLIE QUKSTION. 
 
 We well appreciate the dangers of uncontrolled, indiscrinuuaie im- 
 migration of the lower class Indians, Chinese, and other coloured races, 
 and the necessity for jirovision for sanitary control, and shall be most 
 willing to aid the Govi ! innent in the above objects ; but we consider it 
 impii^^ilile lor us to iiuervene in this matter, which is governed Ijy the 
 London Convention with the British Government. We suggest that for 
 the purpose of guarding against the dangers above referred to, this 
 matter be explained to the imperial Govermuent as part of the whole 
 scheme for the settlement of differences, and claim therefore an e.->pecia!ly 
 favourable consideration, for, in the success of this scheme, all who desire 
 peace and prosperity in this country must be deeply concerned and willing 
 to co-operate on generous lines. We suggest tiiat this representation be 
 made in such manner as may be deemed less calculated to provoke un- 
 favourable comment, or offend susceptibilities in any quarter, and that 
 the suggestion be viewed by all parties in its true proportions as one 
 part of the whole scheme of settlement. Unless so viewed we should 
 be unable to put ourselves forward in a matter at issue between the two 
 Governments, nor of course could the proposals of the Government be 
 taken to suggest this, 
 
 DYNAMITE. 
 
 With the principle of granting a monopoly to individuals, .agencies, 
 or corponilions it is impossible for us to agree, and whatever arrange- 
 ment be effected, we should have to make it clear that in this instance 
 we are viewing the question solely as a burden — a tax which the mines 
 arc asked to definitely accept in order that an anielior.ition of the 
 general conditions affecting the whole Uitlander population may be 
 secured. 
 
 The difference between the cost at which dynamite could be im- 
 ported (exclusive of Transvaal duty) and the price we are now compelled 
 to pay amounts to over ^"600,000 per annum on the present rate of 
 consumption, a sum which will increase steadily and largely in the 
 immediate future. 
 
 Whether the mining industry should voluntarily accept such an 
 mimense burden as a set-off against terms which, whilst they would 
 doubtless eventually favourably affect the industry, are in their imme- 
 diate effects designed to satisfy the Uitlander population in their 
 personal rights as distinct from the mining industry as a business, is a 
 matter which would in the first place have to be submitted to the 
 recognized elected representatives of the mining industry, and would 
 in the second place depend upon whether the people in whose interest 
 such sacrifice is required would accept the terms which the Government 
 would be willing to concede as satisfying their reasonable aspirations. 
 
34* 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 It is also a matter of grave and /ijciicral con •ern that a sum so 
 enormous, when compared with the revenue requirements of the State, 
 should be taken aimually from the mmcs with hlii>-, if any, benefit lo 
 the country, when it mi 'lu be utih/,ed in part or entirely in supplemeut- 
 inj^ the State revenue, and thus afford relief in other directions to every 
 taxpayer in the country. 
 
 Notwithstandiiij^ the above considerations, however, we feel that a 
 j^reat monetary sacrifice mi^lit be made to secure a peaceful and 
 permanent sc'lution of vexed questions, and that the subject of 
 flynamitc should be submitted to the Chamber ot Mines and discussed 
 in that spirit. 
 
 Whilst we are willing, in order to bring about a general settlement of 
 all pending questions, to recommend such a heavy sacrifice to be made, 
 and adopt the proposal made by the (iovernmcnt, it would he acnnthtion 
 th.it there siiall not be any extension of the concession, and th;it the Icinis 
 .)f the contract shall be rigidly enforced ; that tlie Dynamite Companv 
 shall reduce the price of dynamite to 70s. per case, giving to the Govern- 
 ment the 5s. per case and the share of the profits to which it is entitled ; 
 and that at the end of the present agency the factory shall be taken over 
 at a valuation which shall not include compensation for goodwill or for 
 loss of future business. 
 
 FRANCHISE. 
 
 This is the vital point upon which a permanent and peaceful settle- 
 '.nent must hinge, and if a satisfactory solution can be arrived at on this 
 point, as well as on the others raised, we shall be prepared to recom- 
 mend to the Industry to make the sacrifices involved in accepting the 
 Government proposals. 
 
 We note that — 
 
 (a) the proposals do not include a substantial recognition of past 
 
 residence ; 
 
 (b) that the period is seven years ; 
 
 (c) that it is proposed that those who acquire citizenship under the 
 
 law, if changed as proposed, shall not have the vote for the 
 office of President, and that the oath of allegiance would be 
 required seven years before the acquisition of limited burgher 
 rights ; 
 
 (d) that the proposed new law would have to be pulilished for a year 
 
 and receive the assentof two-tliirdsof the enfranchised burghers 
 of the Republic. 
 
 Whilst declaring ourselves willing to accept and recommend the 
 acceptance of any fair scheme on constitutional reforms, we consider 
 that such a scheme must first be laid before, and approved by, the 
 unenfranchised community, as the rights, liberties, and privileges of the 
 community would depend absolutely on the nature of^the reform. 
 
 We have repeated on many occasions tliat business houses are not 
 qualified to discuss this question on behalf of the general body of 
 Uitlanders, and that we would not presume that we were appointed by 
 the whole community to discuss it on their behalf. It will therefore 
 be necessary to find means to bring the whole question before those 
 directly affected, who are the only ones entitled to finally dispose of the 
 matter, their acquiescence to the scheme having to be first obtained 
 before we recommend the sacrifices which we contemplate in order to 
 ensure a general permanent and peaceful settlement. 
 
 For your guidance we enclose an expression of opinion which has 
 been furnished to us by some of the most prominent Uitlanders, and 
 
THE bp:ginni\g of the end 
 
 349 
 
 the 
 
 the 
 
 be 
 
 gher 
 
 the 
 
 sider 
 
 the 
 
 the 
 
 not 
 
 ly of 
 
 by 
 
 fore 
 
 lose 
 f the 
 ,ined 
 er to 
 
 has 
 and 
 
 places before you the views of a very large and influential section of the 
 community. 
 
 The above subjects arc only those which have been discussed 
 between tlie (loverniniMit repre->ent;itives and ourselves, but, in orrler 
 to arrive at a liual pL'ini.uK'nl settlement, we think that we nu^lit to 
 endeavour to remove all othc causes of disaj^recment, and treat as well 
 several other important quL'Stions left untouched ; and we would beg 
 that the Government will take the necessary steps, as far as lies in 
 their power, to assist the industry by bringing native labdiuers to tlie 
 goldiields, and to this end will be willing to confer uiih the Chanili. r of 
 Mines as to the best means to be adopted ; that the law relating to the 
 sale of intoxicating liquor at present in force shall be maintained anil 
 strictly enforced. We may fui Iher state that we have every confidence 
 in the probity and honour of the Judges of the S.A.R., and wish to place 
 on record our desire that the independence of the Bench should be 
 assured and maintained inviolate in the higiiest interests of all thi- 
 inhabitants of the Republic. 
 
 Wc enclose copy of the cable which we sent, embotlying ttie proposals 
 of the Government of the S.A.R. as communicated to us by Mr. Lippert, 
 and copy of the prkis and resolution passed at the meeting held in 
 London, when the above cable was considered. 
 
 This letter conveys to you our opinion as well as that of our friends 
 in Europe, and we should be most happy to arrange a meeting with you 
 and any other representatives of the Government to consider and discuss 
 the points contained therein. 
 
 Wc beg to assure you once more that we, as well as our European 
 friends, are most sincerely desirous to arrive at a satisfactory settlement, 
 securing a peaceful future and promoting the welfare of the country ancl 
 the people, and trust that you will regard the expression of our opinion 
 in that light. 
 
 We remain, honourable Sir, 
 
 Yours obediently, 
 
 G. ROULIOT. 
 
 H. F. E. PisTOKius. 
 
 E. BiKKKNRUTH. 
 
 John" M. Pikuce. 
 a. buakhan. 
 
 The foregoing embodies our views as well as that of our Loidon 
 houses. (Signed) J. G. HANfiLTO.v. 
 
 W. Dalrymi'le. 
 
 The following memorandum — the one referred to in the 
 above letter — was prepared by well-known Uitlandcrs whom 
 the Government, owing to the refusal of the capitalists to deal 
 with the franchise, had been obliged to select in orfler to get 
 some pronouncement upon that question. The little ironies 
 of life have two properties : the humour for the winner, and 
 the hurt for the worsted. The Uitlanders had for three yoars 
 enjoyed a singularly monotonous experience in ironies, but 
 a turning came in the long lane when it became necessary 
 for the President ^o suspend the operation of his three years' 
 
 i« 
 
 I f 
 
3SO 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 ban on two of the Reformers in order to get their advice 
 
 upon the franchise question. 
 
 Johannesburg, SA.R., 
 Gentlemen, 24/A March, i^(y.). 
 
 In response to the invitation from the Governmf nt of the South 
 African RepubHc conveyed to us by Mr. E. Lippert, wi beg to submit 
 the enclosed memorandum upon the franchise questiori. 
 
 Yours faithfu'ly, 
 
 J. Perjy FitzPatrick 
 H. C. Hull. 
 W. Dalrymple. 
 W. A. Martin. 
 Thos. Mackenzie. 
 R. Store. 
 J. G. Hamilton. 
 To Messrs. G. Rouliol, T. J. Britten. 
 
 E. Birkcniuth, H. R. Skinner. 
 
 A. Brakhan, 
 J. M. Pierce, 
 H. F. E. Pistoriw., 
 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 MEMORANDUM RE FRANCHISE. 
 
 i\fter such investigation as the restrictions imposed have permitted, 
 we are of opinion that it would be quite useless to approach the Uitlander 
 population with the Government proposal in its present form, chiefly for 
 the following reasons : — 
 
 1. No consideration is given to the term of residence already com- 
 
 pleted. 
 
 2. The alteration of the franchise law according to lately prescribed 
 
 procedure, whereby two-thirds of the burghers must signify 
 approval, is a practical impossibilitj^ — witness the fact that at 
 the last Presidential election, surpassing in excitement and 
 interest all other occasions of general voting, with the three 
 recognized leaders in the field, and every agency at work to 
 stimulate activity, less than two-thirds of the burghers on the 
 register recorded their votes. 
 
 3. The present form of oath would be regarded as humniating and 
 
 unnecessary, in support of which view we instance that quite 
 recently the Volksraad of the Orange Free State rejected upon 
 the same grounds the proposed introduction of the same oatli of 
 allegiance. 
 
 4. The period of disqualification, during which the Uitlander would 
 
 have given up his own citizenship by naturalizing and have 
 acquired nothing in return, would be found most objectionahle 
 — especially with the experience that rights have in the past been 
 legislated away as they were on the point of maturing. 
 
 5. In view of the unique conditions of this country, extension of the 
 
 franciiise without some approach to equitable redistribution of 
 representatives would be regarded as no solution of the question 
 and might even provoke doubts as to the hcna fides of the 
 proposal, which would be a deplorable beginning, yet one easily 
 to be avoided. 
 Regard being had to the points raised in paragraphs i, 2, 3, and 4, we 
 consider that as restricliv franchise legislation, apparently desii^ned to 
 
^^....^ 
 
 luive 
 
 )!i,inle 
 
 been 
 
 )f the 
 on of 
 estion 
 f the 
 easilv 
 
 4, we 
 icd to 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 35' 
 
 exclude for ever the great bulk of the Uitl.vnder population, dates its 
 beginning from the Session of 1890, and as the various enactments 
 bearing upon this question have been passed by successive Volksraads 
 exercising their power to alter, add to, or revoke, previous enactments, 
 and as the same powers are to the full enjoyed by the present Volksraad, 
 it would be both possible and proper for the present Volksraad to annul 
 all the legislation upon this subject from that date, and to restore and 
 confirm the status prior to 1890, and thus satisfy the indisputaiile claims 
 of those who settled in this country under certain conditions from the 
 benefits of which they cov '-l not properly be excluded. 
 
 With regard to paragrapi: 5, a moderate proposal designed to give a 
 more equitable distribution of representatives in the Volksraad would 
 be necessary. 
 
 The above suggestions are not put forward as the irreducible 
 minimum, nor are they designed for public use, nor intended as :•> 
 proposal acceptable to the eye but impossible in fact, and thus sure 
 of rejection. They are put forward in good faith as indicating in our 
 opinion the hues upon which it would be possible to work towards a 
 settlement with a reasonable prospect of success. 
 
 If the difficulties appear great the more reason there is not to put 
 forward an unalterable proposal foredoomed to failure, but rather to try 
 and find points of agreement which, however few and small to begin 
 with, would surely make for eventual and complete settlement. In 
 any case it is ciear tliat the mere fact of a proposal to extend the fran- 
 chise having been made by the Government, thus frankly recognizing 
 the need to deal with the subject, will be hailed as a good omen and a 
 good beginning by all fair-minded men. 
 
 The determination of the negotiators to have the position 
 clearly .stated in writing, and their fear that the use of inter- 
 mediaries would end in the usual unhappy and unpleasant 
 ,pcij;«- — namely, repudiation of the intermediary in part or 
 ent.'rely — were not long wanting justification. The following 
 s a translation of Mr. F. W. Reitz's reply : — 
 
 Pretoria, 8th April, iHgi). 
 
 Messrs. G. Rouliot, H. F. E. Pistorius, A. Braklian, E. Birkenruth, ani 
 John M, Pierce, Johannesburg. 
 
 Dear Sirs, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 
 27th March last, referring to certain proposals to the Government from 
 representatives of the mining industry. 
 
 In order to understand the natural position it is necessary to state 
 the facts more extensively than given in your letter. 
 
 It is wrong to say, as you do in the first paragraph of your com- 
 munication, that Mr. Lippert came to you with certain proposals from 
 the Government. 
 
 It appears also from the second paragraph of the same that Mr. 
 Lippert came to you suo motu with the object, us he informed me 
 afterwards, to see 'if it was not possible to obt'iin a better under- 
 standing between the Government on the one side and the mining 
 industry on the other.' He acted in no wise as the agent of tlie 
 Government, or in the name of the Government, to make any proposals 
 to you, but only as a friendly mediator to see how far unnecessary 
 differences and misunderstandings could be removed. 
 
 1^ ' 
 
352 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 When Mr. Lippert came to Dr. Leyds and myself, and informed us 
 that you and other gentlemen were agreeable to his mediation, we at 
 once agreed with his plan, being aware that there was a warm desire 
 and continued struggle on the part of this Government to remove f>ut 
 of the way all friction and trouble, and that in this case especially it 
 was our object to leave no stone unturned to get all differences settled. 
 We were the more anxious to meet you, because his Honour the 
 State President had decided to lay before the Volksraad certain 
 proposals of law, which are of great importance not only for the people 
 of the Republic, but especially for the mining population and industry. 
 We gave Mr. Lippert to understand that should the leaders of tlie 
 mining industry nave no objection to his mediation, we would not be 
 unwilling to mal \ use of his good services in this matter. 
 
 Mr. Lippert then went to Johannesburg, and returned to us with the 
 assurance that there was no objection to his acting as mediator, and 
 gave us some of the subjects on which it appeared to him that it was 
 possible to arrive at a friendly understanding. 
 
 In consequence of this, and acting on o^.." "^wn initiative, and not as 
 representatives of the Government, Dr. Le5'ds, Mr. Smuts, and myself, 
 met some of your leading men, as set forth in your lettei. 
 
 At this meeting we informed you of the intention of the Presi'.c.;! to 
 alter certain laws for the general good. Only with reference 'o tliu 
 franchise we gave you no definite proposal, the matter being theii jLiil 
 under consideration. From your side we requested only a more 
 friendly attitude from the Press, as we were convinced that the 
 excessive Press campaign carried on by the newspapers, wliich are 
 generally considered to be owned by you, or influenced by you, however 
 much they may forward certain interests, still, in the end, did infinite 
 harm to the existing interests of all sections of the population. 
 Through the continual and incessant agitation and creation of suspicion 
 on the part of the papers, the public mind was constantly in a state ot 
 insecurity, and the fanning of the race hatred made it impossible for 
 the Government as well as the legislature to improve the relations 
 between the so-called Uitlanders and the old population. 
 
 We requested your friendly assistance also in the settlement of the 
 coolie question, not because we wanted to cause friction between you 
 and other foreign governments, but only because the policy which 
 refers to the native and coloured questions is of the utmost importance 
 to South Africa. 
 
 Mr. Lippert had in his programme the granting of a promise on 
 your side that you would support the Government in t!ie obtaining of a 
 loan which the Government may deem necessary, and that you should 
 bind yourselves in writing to abstain from all political organizations 
 inimical to the Government. 
 
 These matters we did not discuss, as we considered them unnecessary 
 and inadvisable. From your side you deemed it necessary, before 
 answering us, iirst to receive the instructions of your foreign principals. 
 Before you could give us the result the President explained his inten- 
 tions at Heidelberg, and afterwards at Rustenburg and Johannesburg. 
 
 Your letter, now under consideration, contains practically a definite 
 answer to our communication to you. I shall now consider the points 
 of your answer separately. 
 
 BEWAARPLAATSEN. 
 
 vVitb reference to this matter, we think that the undermining rights 
 under bewaarplaatcsn, machine stands, and water-rights should be 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 353 
 
 valued on a reasonable basis, indcpcMidontly by the Government, and 
 by the Ovvner of the surface ris^lits (.iliould there be a difference whicli 
 cannot be settler! aTiicably, then the value can be fixed by arbitration), 
 and that the surface owner shall have the preferent ri^fjit to purchase 
 the affected under-mining rii^ht at such a valuation. From your com- 
 municadon I understand tnat you sui;^est a special method of valuation. 
 That is a detail which can be settled when the valuation is actu:.IIy 
 commenced, and which expeits are better able to judge over tlian 
 I am. Therefore I shall say no more on this subject. 
 
 FINANCIER AND AUDITOR. 
 
 On this subject our opiviion was that the auditor should be inde- 
 pendent of the Governmenr, r.nd alone responsible to the Volksr;iaii to 
 appoi.it as linancier a man of standing, with a seat in the Executive 
 Council, to advise on all matters af, :ting finances. 
 
 I am glad to see that you are with us, and that it gives you great 
 satisfaction. I must express my surprise, however, over your propcoal 
 that previous to the appointment this Government must lirst get the 
 approval of Lord Rothschild or any other capitalist. I can only answer 
 that it is in no wise the ir>tenti&n of the Government to frame the 
 future financial policy of this State on a capitalistic basis, and thus 
 your request cannot be agreed to. It is quite possible to make such an 
 appointment v;hich will carry general approval without being subjected 
 to such a mutual condition. 
 
 iiT 
 
 the 
 
 ■ights 
 
 Id be 
 
 LOAN, PRESS AGITA/ION, POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 With reference to the.se matters, I have already made it plain to you 
 that in following the proposals of Mr. Lippert by cabling to your 
 principals, you acted uudc.^ a misunderstanding. We requested no 
 binding declaration fiom you, only a moral understanding, which 
 would be easy for you to maintain, if it was in the interests of the 
 I'itlanders as well a:: the burghers of the Republic. I regret that the 
 mistalvc has arisen, otherwise I cannot see that any objection can come 
 from your side to approve of the plans of the President. 
 
 DYNAMITE. 
 
 On this qu(;stion there is a small difference between the proposed 
 policy of the F resident and vour answer. 
 
 I only wish to add that his Honoir goes further than you do, as he 
 has declared his readiness to expropriate the Dynamite Company, under 
 agreement with its representatives, as soon as possible. If the expro- 
 priation takes place after the expiration of the present concession then 
 it will naturally not be on the basis of a going concern. 
 
 FRANCHISE. 
 
 On this subject I can well underst.uui that you do not wish to take 
 upon your shoulders the respoiiMliility of speaking and acting for the 
 whole of the new population. It was more your personal opinions as 
 men of position thai we wished to know. Then again, according to 
 your assurance :i': the aforementioned meeting, you do not take any 
 personal interest in the franchise t^ue.tion, and that you would ratiier 
 leave the question i.o the pubhc ; your answer is therefore perfectly 
 fair. His Honour has therefore already acted in accordance with your 
 idea, for he has biought th') question of the franchise very prominently 
 before the public, not only at Heidelberg and Rustenburg, but also at 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 AA 
 
354 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to refer to one matter wliich has caused me 
 much pain. It was clearly a;id distinctly agreed and understood by 
 you all as well as by us that both sides would treat this matter as 
 confidential and secret, as discussions of such important matters cannot 
 be carried on with any results on the tops of houses. What has 
 happened ? On the 2(Sth of March I received your letter, and on the 
 3rd of April, whilst I was yet t,i*'ing it earnest consideration and had 
 taken all the measures to keep it secret, the contents of the same 
 appeared in the London Times, while some days later your answer 
 appeared in full in the Cape Times, the Diamond Fields Advertizer, 
 and other papers under the influence of the capitalists. The manner 
 in which these papers favourable to you, or controlled by you, have 
 dealt with me in this matter has caused me (I admit it with regret) lo 
 doubt for one moment your good faith. Thinking, however, of the 
 great interest as it were m the balance, and believing, moreover, that 
 you never for private or party purposes intended to play with the true 
 and lasting interests of all sections of the community, I cannot help 
 thinking that the reply has been published through one of your 
 subordinates, and regret that the publication has not been immediately 
 repudiated by you publiciy as a grave breach of faith. I would regret 
 it, while there exists so few points of difference between us, that these 
 things should bar the way through careless and wrong tactics to a 
 permanent understanding, and trust that the hand extended to the 
 Industry in absolute good faith will not be slighted purposely and 
 wilfully. Owing to the publication of your reply, there exists no further 
 reason for secrecy, and I shall hand my reply to the press. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 F. W. Reitz, 
 
 State Secretary. 
 
 The repudiation of Mr, Lippert's "official" chaiacter; the 
 contention that the State Secreta»-y, State Attorney, and Dr. 
 Leyds could divest themselve.s of alj responsibility in negotia- 
 tions such as these, and claim to have been acting in their 
 private capacity only ; and the extraordinary anxiety to keep 
 secret matte* which deeply affected the public, and to the 
 settlement of which the Government designed that the public 
 should be committed, compelled the negotiators to produce 
 evidence that the statements and con'^lusions of the Govern- 
 ment were not warranted by the facts. The following letter, 
 which was formally acknowledged but nevt r answered, prac- 
 tically concluded the negotiations : — 
 
 JoHANNESBUHG, S.A.R., April 14, 1899. 
 To the Honourable the State Secretary, Pretoria. 
 
 HONOURABLK Sn<, — 
 
 We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your com- 
 municatioL of the 8th A^jril, 1899. 
 
 Certain of our statements being doubted and described .s erroneous 
 Ml your letter, we deem it advisable to go more fully into the facts 
 which have preceded and led to this correspondence. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 355 
 
 lom- 
 
 fOUS 
 
 icts 
 
 It may be that communications exchanged through an intermediary 
 have been transmitted in a manner liable to convey a different impres- 
 sion from what was actually meant, and in order to clear any possible 
 misunderstanding, we beg to enclose copies of all documents supplied 
 to us by Mr. Lippert, whom we, at all times, considered as your 
 authorized agent. 
 
 From these it will be ap;>arent that during the negotiations we acicfl 
 in perfect good faith, communicating and discussing what we justly 
 considered were the wishes and proposals of the Government, and it 
 will also be clear to you that every one of our statements is based on 
 documents which we had every reason to believe were approved of by 
 the Government. 
 
 On February 27th Mr. Lippert called together Messrs. E. Birkenruth, 
 A. Brakhan, and G. Kouliot, to wliom he stated that a settlement of 
 certain pending questions could probably be arrived at. He said that 
 he had ascertained the views of Dr. Leyds, Messrs. Reitz and Smuts, 
 who had agreed to a certain programme, and he wanted to know 
 whether we would be willing to open negotiations on that basis, in 
 which case the three officials mentioned would see the State President 
 and ascertain whether he would be prepared to adopt their views. 
 
 If the State President's approval could be obtained, Mr. Lippert 
 suggested that a conference siiould be held to discuss the subjects 
 mentioned in his memorandum. 
 
 This memorandum (Annexure 'A'), as explained to us by Mr. Lippert, 
 enumerates under Clauses i to 5 inclusive the points which the 
 Government expected us to concede, and the other clauses are what 
 the Government proposed doing in return. 
 
 We were then informed that the programme must be considered as a 
 whole, and either adopted or rejected as such, no question being con- 
 sidered separately, and that the matter must be kept absolutely secret. 
 
 Upon our statement that we personally would be willing to open 
 negotiations on the basis suggested, Mr. Lippert went to Pretoria and 
 informed the high officials above-named. 
 
 On March ist Mr. Lippert informed us that the State President was 
 viewing the matter favourably, and requested us to acquaint our friends 
 by cable. 
 
 Our replies having beer, communicated to Mr. Lippert, a meeting 
 was arranged on March 9th, as recited in our previous letter, at which 
 Mr. Lippert informed us, no new subject outside of those mentioned in 
 his memorandum could he discussed. 
 
 Messrs. Pistorius and Pierce, being invited by Mr. Lippert to attend 
 the meeting, were each supplied by him with a list of the questions 10 
 he discussed, forming part of the proposed settlement (Annexuve ' B '). 
 
 On March 12th Mr. Lippert communicated to us what he termed the 
 definite proposals of the Government of the S.A.R., which were duly 
 cabled to our friends in Europe (a copy of this cable has already been 
 sent to you). 
 
 He also read to us the declaration, which he suggested we shoulo 
 sign on behalf of ourselves and our European friends (Annexure ' C '). 
 
 A speedy reply to our cable was asked for, as Mr. Lipperc had 
 infoiiiied us that, if any settlement could be arrived at, the agreement 
 had to be submitted to the Honourable the First Volksraad before the 
 closing of the extraordinary session which was drawing near. 
 
 We beg t point out to you that by cabling these proposals to Europe, 
 we could not possibly conceive that we were acting under a miscon- 
 ce prion, a , the day on which they were made to us, the 12th of March, 
 
 
rf 
 
 ^56 
 
 THE tra\sva.\:. 
 
 /vJM WITHIN 
 
 l)ci:iji a Siuulay, tlic TL'k'.t;r:ip!i Office \v:i.-, -pccKiliy kept open for the 
 purpose of dispatcliini; tiie cal^Ies, wliicli were duly received and for- 
 warded upon production of an order from Mr. Lippert. 
 
 In our letter of March 17th to his Honour the State Presjdcn;, con- 
 veyin<; the nature of on.- friends' reply, we mentioned the fact tliat the 
 connnunication made to us by Mr. Lippert en bclialf of the (Govern- 
 ment had been fully cabled ; we stated that our friends no doubt based 
 their suj^yestion to further discuss the v;holc of tlie proposals with Dr. 
 Leyds upon the fact that the Govcrnrnent had stipulated that they 
 should become parties to the proposed scttlcinent. 
 
 In your reply of March i8th, no exception is taken to tliese state- 
 ments ; you tell us, on behalf of his Honour the State President, ' that 
 the exchange of views can best take place direct with the Government, 
 and here, within the Republic,' pointing out the fact 'that the session 
 of the Volksraad was close at liand, and that therefore further delay is 
 undesirable.' 
 
 You will thus see that we were perfectly justified in thinking that 
 the communications made to our European friends, embodied the 
 proposals of the Government of the South African Republic, were 
 cabled with the knowledge and approval of the Government, and that 
 we were requested to sign a declaration on beiialf of ourselves and our 
 friends, which declaration had to be made public. 
 
 Our letter of the 27th March conveyed to you our opinion and that of 
 our friends, upon the subjects comprised in the programme which was 
 submitted to us, and it is unnecessaiy to go over them in detail again. 
 We beg only to offer a few remarks upon certain points raised in your 
 letter of 8lh April : — Bewaarplaatsen : VVc suggest a basis for the 
 valuation of bewaarplaatsen, machine stands, and \v'ater-rights, which 
 in our opinion ought to be adopted, in ord>;r to have a uniform and 
 easy method of valuing these places. 
 
 Financier : Being fully aware of the complexity of financial problems 
 and questions of taxation in this State, we are anxious that the financier 
 appointed should be of such a standing as to command the confidence 
 of all, so that his recommendations cannot raise any ulterior discussion. 
 For that reason we expressed the opinion that, before making the 
 appointment, the Government should be guided in its choice by some- 
 one belonging to a firm of well-known independent standing. Wc 
 have no desire to sec this Government base its future financial policy 
 on any particular line, in the interest of, or directed agr.inst, any special 
 section of the people. We only wish to see the financial policy estab- 
 lished on sound recognized economic principles, with fair and equit- 
 able taxation calculated according to the proper requirements of tlie Statf». 
 
 Press Agitation — Political Organizations : We have already informed 
 you, that so far as we know, there has been no organized pros agita- 
 tion, and that we should be willing at all times to deprecate the 
 stirring up of strife between nationalities caused by any agency what- 
 soever. We consider it desirable to see tnat feeling more general, as 
 we are convinced that exaggerated press campaigus conducted by 
 newspapers generally reported to be influ.Miced by tb-.' Government, 
 and tending to create dissension amongst the various classes of the 
 community, are calculated to cause an infinite amount of harm to the 
 vested interests of all sections of the population. 
 
 Dynain.te : In your letter of the 8th Apr' I, you appear <o have lost 
 sight of the fact that tlie proposed settleni-.'ut was submitted to us as a 
 whole. Mr. Lippert made it clear that, in consideration of the Govern- 
 ment granting the measures enumerated in his minora dum, it was 
 
THK BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 357 
 
 B^-V 
 
 expected that \vc should ah;iiuloii our present contentions, and declare 
 ourselves satisfied with tiie settlement proposed by the Government. 
 Under ordinary circumstances this would be far from meeting our 
 desires, but we inf-inatcd to you that we should be willing to rcconi- 
 meiK'i to the mining industry the adoption of the proposals made to u^ 
 on this subject, if by so doing we could promote a permanent salisiac- 
 tory solution of all pending questions. 
 
 In conclusion, we beg to refer to the publication of our previous 
 letter to you. It took place here on the 6th inst., in the afternoon ; we 
 i.iunediately instituted an inquiry, and on the 8th inst., in the morning, 
 we wrote that we were in a position to assure you that we could in m> 
 way be held responsible for the publication. We never for a moment 
 doubted your good faith, nor that of the other gentlemen for whom the 
 letter was meant, but thought that possibly the communication could 
 have been made through one of your subordmates. However, not 
 beuig certain of the fact, we merely repudiated any responsibihty on 
 our part, and regret that you should have publicly laid the blame on 
 our side, without having communicated with us, asking for an explana- 
 tion, if you had any suspicion. 
 
 We beg to assure you that we are as willing as ever to co-operate 
 with you in arriving at a settlement of all pending differences in order 
 to secure peace and prosperity in this country, and we shall be ready at 
 all tmies to meet and discuss with you, or any other delegates of the 
 Government, any matter likely to bring about a speedy and permanent 
 solution of all questions, still bearing in mind what we mentioned in 
 our previous corre::pondence, that we are not qualified to speak on 
 behalf of the whole community. 
 
 As you have informed us that you have no objection to it, we shall 
 give a copy of this letter to the press. 
 
 VVe have the honour to be, honourable Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servants. 
 
 G. KouLior, 
 
 JOHX M. PlKKCE, 
 
 A. Hhakh.w, 
 
 E. BlKKIC.VKl'TH. 
 
 (Mr. Pistorius, being absent from town, could not sign this letter.) 
 
 ' •!■ 
 
 annp:xure 'A.' 
 
 MR. E. LIPPERTS MEMORANDUM. 
 
 1. Cessation of press agitation here and in Europe, 
 
 2. Support on the coolie question. 
 
 3. Settlement of the dynamite question. 
 
 4. Loan (if required). 
 
 5. Severance from the S. A. League. 
 
 6. Appointment of State Financier and State Auditor, of European 
 reputation, with a seat and vote on the Executive in all questions of 
 finance. 
 
 7. No new taxation of mines until submitted by Minister of Finance. 
 
 8. Moderate valuation of bewaarplaatseu. 
 
 9. Burgher rights — five years — property test. 
 
 ANNEXURE ' B.' 
 
 Cessation of press agitation here and in Europe. 
 
 Support to tlie Government in its treatment of the coolie question. 
 
 Settlement of the dynamite question. 
 
358 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WHIIIN 
 
 Deprecate the objects o.^ the S. A. League. 
 
 Siipport the placing of a loan if Government wishes it. 
 
 Appointment of a financial adviser to the Government, of I^'uropcan 
 reputation, and of an Auditor, both with scats and votes in the P^xecu- 
 tive Council on all financial matters. (This has been amended by the 
 Government, so far as the, Auditor is concerned, to retain the present 
 Auditor, and to give him, re dismissal, the same status as a Judge, and 
 to make liim directly responsible to the Volksraad.) 
 
 No fresh taxation to be levied on the mines until the Financial Adviser 
 has laid his proposals before the Government. 
 
 Sale of tlie undermining rights to the holders ot surface rights 
 (bewaarplaatsen, ike), at a moderate valuation. 
 
 Extension of tiie franchise by granting burgher rights after . . . 
 3'cars of registration, coupled with a property test. 
 
 ANXEXURK 'C: 
 
 DRAFT OF DECLARATION TO FOLLOW PROTOCOL KMIiODYING THE 
 RKSOLUTIONS AGREED UPON'. 
 
 . . Thereupon the subscribed parties from Johannesburg, for t'.iein- 
 selves, and for the parties they represent liere antl in Europe, de- 
 clared : — 
 
 ' Tiie passing by the Volksraad of the laws to ha submitted by the 
 Government during this session, — 
 
 'For the appointment during the present year of a Financial 
 Adviser to the Government, of European reputation, who shall iiave 
 a seat and a vote in the Executive Council on ail iinancial matters. 
 
 ' For placing tiie Auditor-General on the same status re dismissal 
 as tlie Judges, and for making him responsible directly to the 
 Volksraad, it being agreed that until such Financial Adviser has 
 laid his budget proposals before the Government, no fresh taxation 
 shall be laid upon the mining industry, nor any otlier direct taxation. 
 
 'For granting the undermining rights under bewaarplaatsen, 
 machine stands, and water-rights, to the present holders of the 
 licences, covering such reserved areas at a moderate valuation ; 
 such valuation to be arrived at in the following manner : The 
 Government to appoint a valuator, with instructions to value these 
 rights at a fair and moderate valuation, the holder of the surface 
 licence to appoint a valuator ; if they agree, then the surface licence 
 holder shall have the first right to the undermining rights at such 
 valuation ; if the two valuators cannot agree about a valuation, they 
 shall appoint together an umpire ; if they cannot agree about an 
 umpire, the Chief Justice of the High Court shall be asked to 
 appoint an umpire ; the decision of such umpire shall be final as to 
 the value of the area under arbitration. If the holder of the surface 
 licence refuses to purchase at the said valuation, the Government 
 shall be at Uberty to dispose of it elsewhere. 
 
 ' For a permanent settlement of the dynamite question on one or 
 the other bases following, namely, that the status quo remain in 
 force till the end of the contract period, the Government making 
 use of its right to revise the prices under the terms of the agree- 
 ment or that the Dynamite Company reduce the price by 5s. to 70s. 
 for No. I and to 90s. for blasting gelatine, the Government nncier- 
 taking to take over the works of the Dynamite Company at tlie 
 end of the agreement at a valuation as provided by the offer now 
 before the Volksraad. 
 
 'I hi 
 
THK BEGINNING OF THK FND 
 
 359 
 
 ' For an extension of the franclii^e to all white aliens in this 
 State, in the following manner : That natuiahzation he {^ranted 
 to all seeking it, who have resided in the State for two years and 
 who are of j»ood behaviour and who iiave not sulYered any dis- 
 honourable sentence by any Court, upon takinf* tiie oath of aile,t«i- 
 ance as prescribed by liie existing law ; upon sucii naturalization 
 he shall be entitled to elect a member to the Second V'olksraad, and 
 two years after shall be entitled to be elected as a member of the 
 Second Volksr.iad. A piiriod of seven years havinj» elapsed after 
 naturalization, he shall tiy virtue of that lapse of time and without 
 further hindrance obtain full burf^her ri^^hts, tiie Government, how- 
 ever, reserve to themselves the ri^ht (in order to secure tlie passinj^ 
 of such law through the Volksraad of this and that of the session of 
 iQoo) to extend the period of naturalization for the riiiht of voting 
 for the election of a President. Children of naturalized aliens, who 
 attain their majority wlien their father has obtained full burgher 
 rights, have 77>so facto the same rights as the father. Tiie (iovern- 
 ment shall also have the right to attach a moderate property 
 qualification to the obtaining of these extenrled francliise rights. 
 It is understood that bv tlie laws of the State, this extended 
 franchise can only finally be granted by the Volksraad in session 
 1900, after tlie law has been submitted to the people for twelve 
 months, but that the period of 9 resp. 7 years shall date from the 
 passing of the resolution to be passed by the Volksraad now in 
 session. 
 
 Ik 
 
 ■J 
 
 I I. 
 
 will be hailed by us with great satisfaction as removing all obstacles 
 to a friendly and peaceful development of mutual tmderstauding and 
 co-operation ; it is our wish, and in the interest of those we repre'^ent, 
 that the public in Europe and in South Africa be made fully aware 
 hereof by means of the press, and that hostile agitation by means of 
 the press here and elsewhere shall be avoided in future. 
 
 ' We deprecate all attempts that may be made by political agencies 
 to stir up strife between the different nationalities inhabiting this State, 
 and shall not be parties to any such organizations. 
 
 ' Seeing tlie many evils springing from indiscriminate immigration of 
 coloured races, and having been assured that the Government will do 
 all in its power to facilitate in otiier ways the supply of labour, we 
 support the Government in its contention tliat the regulations concern- 
 ing the treatment of " coolies and other coloured races " had best Vjo 
 left to them as a matter of internal concern. 
 
 ' We will support the placing of a State loan recomm'^-ided by the 
 Financier in the European markets at reasonable rates, if the Govern- 
 ment should desire us to do so in the common interest. 
 
 ' Seeing the great value the Government evidently sets upon a friendly 
 and permanent settlement of the dynamite question, which has contri- 
 buted so much to disturbing the good relations, we declare ourselves 
 satisfied with the final settlement arrived at. 
 
 ' And should, after the passing of the above proposals of law as a 
 whole by the Volksraad, the Government desire us to give publicity to 
 this our declaration for the promotion of peace and goodwill, ^ucli 
 publicity as the Government may desire shall be given thereto.' 
 
 While the negotiations were actually in progress, and while 
 the Imperial Government were awaiting a reply to their 
 
 
 I f'tit 
 
 h 
 
36o 
 
 TliK Tl^WSVAAl. 1<K()M WITHIN 
 
 dispatch, Iht; President in.Kle two (leterminecl attempts to 
 rush the confu-ination of the dynamite m(jnopoly throu[:jh 
 the Kaad. The first proposal was for the fifteen years' 
 extensi(jn, and the second provided for condf)nation of all 
 breaches of the concession in the past and for compensation 
 upon the expiry of the concession. 
 
 The Uit landers liad not failed to perceive that the pit du(T 
 for them might conceivably serve another purpose. They 
 ifjnored these two breaches of faith on the part of the 
 I'resident, and pursued the net^otiations ; and Mr. Kriij^er 
 overreached himself Having failed with Johannesburg, and 
 having failed in the Raad, he appealed to his burghers with 
 the scheme of mock reform. His hope was to get such 
 suppf)rt in the country that the Volksraad in its May session 
 would have to spare the monopoly. He did not realize that 
 he would have to make good the things which he had offered 
 as shams. His greed had given the opening: his hand had 
 provided the weapon. It is not good to be too clever ; and 
 the luck had turned. 
 
 The publication of the correspondence between the 
 Government and the ca[)iialists created a profound im{)res- 
 sion. The series of speeches delivered by the President in 
 support of his sham reforms only deepened that impression 
 by providing more and more convincing evidence as to who 
 the real intriguers and mischief-makers were. To the Uit- 
 lander public one thing became quite clear, and that was that 
 it was the Government who wished to barter their rights 
 away and the capitalists — the abused capitalists — who refused 
 to do so. An attempt was immediately made to hold a large 
 public meeting for the purpose of endorsing the attitude 
 taken by the negotiators, but the Government refused per- 
 mission to hold an open-air meeting. In their attempt to 
 hold a meeting indoors, the Uitlanders were defeated by the 
 building being condemned as unsafe. The Government 
 yielded, however, before the storm of disapproval which 
 followed their prohibition, and the State Secretary, Mr. 
 Reitz, suggested that the Uitlanders should hold a series of 
 small indoor meetings in different localities. The meetings 
 were accordingly held, and they provided unmistakable 
 evidence of the gravity of the position. By their numbers, 
 
 I 
 
 "I'J 
 i1 
 
THE HKGINNING OF THK EN'D 
 
 '^'^i 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 le 
 
 their unanimity, their enthusiasm, and their moderation, the 
 Uitlanders carried conviction to some and roused the grave 
 apprehension of others. Amonfj the latter, it is fair to infer, 
 were President Kru^^er and his sympathizers in the Free State 
 and Cape Colony. 
 
 There is one disability the existence of which the advocates 
 of the Uitlander cause are always ()ainfully conscious of. 
 They know as well as any of their critics that it is no picture 
 which is all black — that you get no perspective, no effects, 
 without contrasts! Yet it has not been believed that they 
 were willing to acknowledge the good that there was, anfl 
 that a politic instinct no less than a sense of justice prom[)ted 
 a diligent effort to discover and make much of the genuinely 
 hopeful signs. The monotony was none of their making ; it 
 was in the nature of the facts, and not of the recital ; but 
 monotony the/c was, and it was productive of one very bad 
 result. The conditions, admittedly bad, came to be regarded 
 by a good many as being only as bad as they had for a long 
 time been known to be, leaving little hope except through 
 the long slow influence of time, but causing no immediate 
 anxiety or alarm. Someday a grubbing historian may 
 read the back files of South African newspapers and 
 marvel that such warnings should have passed unheeded, 
 but the fact is that the Transvaal Government and its sym- 
 pathizers had become indifferent to warnings followed by 
 no results and accustomed to prophecies unfulfilled. To say 
 that they were ' fiddling while Rome burned ' is to a great 
 extent true of those of the South African Dutch who were 
 sincerely desirous that the Transvaal Government should 
 reform its ways and who were not consciously aiding in the 
 republicanizing movement ; but even of them it is not an 
 adequate description, — as the answers given to two ques- 
 tioi •. by the most prominent and one of the most prominent 
 ,^. iiJsmen indicate, lioth of them had in private conversa- 
 tion on different occasions acknowledged the soundness of tlie 
 Uitlander cause. To the suggestion, ' Then why not say so 
 publicly?' the less important of the two replied, ' I'eople 
 would only say that I am climbing down and ratting on my 
 party.' And the more important of the two, answering a similar 
 question, said, ' Yes, the Rev. S. J. Du Toit did that. He 
 
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 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 was the founder of the Bond ; and to-day he is — nothing ! I f 
 I did it, I should fall as he did.' ' Then,' said his British 
 friend, ' what is influence worth if it cannot be used for good ? 
 Can there be said to be influence when it cannot be used at 
 all ? ' ' No,' was the reply, ' I have no influence as against 
 the cry of race : blood is thicker than water ; and I have no 
 influence at all with Krugcr.' The answer to this contained 
 the crux of the question. ' Indeed you have ; but you have 
 not the courage to exercise it. The influence of advice has 
 failed, dare you try the influence of repudiation ?' The 
 answer was a shake of the head and ' Blood is thicker than 
 water.* That is it ! The IMper pipes and the children follow. 
 
 It is too much to believe that the conference between the 
 High Commissioner and President Kruger was a suggestion 
 to which the latter had to be won over either by Presitlent 
 Steyn or Mr. Hofmeyr. It is, indeed, well-known that the 
 idea of a meeting for the purpose of discussing matters at 
 issue between the two Governments had been considered in 
 Pretoria for some months before it actually took place.' 
 
 The news li.at, upon the invitation of President Steyn, the 
 High Commissioner and President Kruger had agreed to meet 
 at Bloemfontein, was received by the Uitlanders with relief; 
 not hope, because it was believed that the President's object 
 was to get something, not to give something ; but sheer relief, 
 becau' j, come what might, the position could never again be 
 the same as it was before the conference. Something must 
 change ; someone must yield ; the unbearable strain must 
 cease. Sir Alfred Milncr — wise and just and strong — com- 
 manded the entire confidence of the Uitlanders. It was not 
 hoped that he would succeed in effecting a settlement at 
 such a meeting, because in the circumstances such an achieve- 
 ment was believed not to be humanly possible ; but it was 
 !iot feared that he would fail in his duty to his country and 
 to his trust. 
 
 It is no part of the object of this volume to deal with the 
 
 " In March the writer made the sujjgestion to a representative of the 
 Pretoria Government in the hope of getting rid by a 'square talk' of 
 the many and ever-increasing differences, and was informed that the 
 idea had often been discussed and as often abandoned, because it con- 
 tained the objectionable feature of establishing a precedent for England's 
 interference in internal affairs. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
 
 363 
 
 negotiations which took place at Bloemfontein or with the 
 terms of settlement at the present moment under discus- 
 sion ; the object is to recite the circumstances and conditions 
 which made these negotiations necessary, and which, if they 
 fail, must lead to bloodshed. 
 
 With a barrier of insurmountable race feeling before them, 
 the Uitlanders are hopeless of effecting a peaceful redress of 
 their grievances except by the aid of the Suzerain po.ver. 
 The President and his party will not yield one iota except 
 upon the advice of those who have the will and the power to 
 see that that advice is followed. Such power rests in two 
 quarters. It rests with the progressive Dutch of South 
 Africa. They have the power, but unfortunately they have 
 not as yet the will or they have not the courage to use it. 
 Time after time have they been stultified by rallying to the 
 cry of race and defending Mr. Kruger's attitude on certain 
 points, only to find the President abandoning as untenable 
 the position which they have proclaimed to be proper. To 
 them have been addressed most earnest and most solemn 
 appeals to be up and doing whilst there was yet time. From 
 them have been extracted — in times of peace — the amplest 
 admissions of the justice of the Uitlander case. But there is 
 a point beyond which they will not go. They will not say to 
 the President and his party : ' We cannot extol in you what we 
 would condemn in ourselves. The claim of kindred cannot 
 for ever be the stalking-horse for injustice.' That they cannot 
 do ; and thus are they bonded to the one who will raise 
 the race cry without scruple. There is no more hopeless 
 feature for the peaceful settlement of the Transvaal question 
 from within than the unanimity which marks the public 
 utterances of those who are claimed as representing 
 Afrikander sentim nt in the present crisis. Those ex- 
 pressions, ranging from the most violent denunciations by 
 politicians and ministers of the gospel down to the most 
 illogical and hysterical appeals of public writers, all, all are 
 directed against the injured. Not a warning, not a hint — not 
 a prayer even — addressed t» the offender. They have not 
 the sense of justice to see or they have not the courage to 
 denounce the perpetrators of evil but direct all their efforts 
 to hushing the complaints of the victims Truly it would 
 
 11 
 
364 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 almost appear that there is some guiding principle runiiin;^ 
 throui,fh it all ; something which recognizes the real sinner 
 in the victim who complains and not in the villain who 
 perpetrates ; the something which found a concrete expres- 
 sion when bail was fixed at ;^200 for the murder of a British 
 subject and at ;^i,ooo for the crime of objecting to it. 
 
 No civilized body of men ever had more just cause for 
 complaint than the Uitlanders of the Transvaal have, but 
 they carry on their reform movement under very difficult and 
 discouraging conditions. Those who have petitioned their 
 Sovereign to secure for them some amelioration of their lot 
 are branded by the head of the State as rebels for so doing, 
 and his example is followed by all his jiarty. Those men 
 who organized or addressed the public meetings which were 
 suggested by Mr. Reitz, the State Secretary, and held for 
 the purpose of discussing a proposal publicly marlc by the 
 Government, are the men whom Messrs. Dieperink and 
 Viljoen, the members representing Johannesburg in the 
 First and Second Volksraads, denounced as traitors who 
 should be summarily dealt with by the Government. British 
 subjects associated with the Uitlander cause who venture to 
 call upon the British Agent in Pretoria or the High Com- 
 missioner in Ca])e Town arc ivgarded as conspirators and 
 are watched by spies and all their movements are reported to 
 the Transvaal Government.' The recognized leaders among 
 the Uitlanders are black-listed in the Dutch press, their 
 names, addresses, and occupations given so that they may 
 be identified, — marked down in the newspapers supported 
 by the Government — as men to be dragged out and shot 
 without trial. Uitlander newspapers have been suppressed 
 for mere political reasons, without even the allegation that 
 there was incitement to violence or disorder, and it is there- 
 
 • Wlien on a vi-it to Cape Town in April, the writer called several 
 limes upon the Hii^li Commissioner, and learning by private advice that 
 his movements were being reported in detail through the Secret Service 
 Department, he informed Sir Alfred Milner of the fact. Sir Alfred 
 .admitted that the idea of secret agents in British territory and spies 
 round or in Government House was not pleasant, but expressed the 
 hope that such things should not deter those who wished to call on 
 him, as he was theie as the representative of her Majesty for the 
 benefit of British subjects and very desirous of ascertaining for him- 
 self tlic f.acts of the case. 
 
THE iip:ginning of the end 
 
 365 
 
 fore not unreasonable that the impunity with which the 
 Dutch newspa[jcr.s continue this campaign month after 
 month should be taken as the measure of the Government's 
 complicity. 
 
 It is in these circumstances that appeal has been made to 
 England, the only other quarter in which there rests the 
 power to see that justice shall be done. It is an appeal 
 which might well be based upon the broad and acknow- 
 ledged right of a subject to claim in case of injustice the 
 good offices of his own Government. But here it is based 
 upon a special right. It is the spirit^ of the Pretoria Con- 
 vention which the Uitlander has invoked for many years, 
 only to be told that the spirit is as it may be interpreted 
 from the letter. But it is not so ! Will it be suggested 
 that the British Government contemplated such license when 
 they granted the charter of self-government to the Transvaal 
 
 ' Since this was written, Mr. Chamberlain, speaking in the House of 
 Commons on July 28, 1899, has thus disposed of the question : — 
 
 ' It has been broken in the spirit more than it has been broken in the 
 letter. The whole spirit of the convention is the preservation of equality 
 as between all the white inhabitants of the Transvaal, and the wiiole 
 policy of the Transvaal has been to promote a position of inferiority on 
 the part of certain classes. There is something even more striking than 
 that. The conventions were, of course, the result of a previous con- 
 ference. At that conference delinite promises were made which made 
 it impossible to doubt with what object the convention was sij^ned. 
 On May 10, 1881, at a conference between representatives of her 
 Majesty and representatives of the Transvaal the President, Sir 
 Hercules Robinson, asked this question : — 
 
 '"Before annexation had British subjects complete freedom of trade 
 throughout the Transvaal ? Were they on the same footing as citizens 
 of the Transvaal ? 
 
 ' " Mr. Kruger replied : They were on the same footing as the burghers. 
 There was not the slightest difference in accordance with the Sand 
 River Convention. 
 
 '"Sir Hercules Robinson: I presume you will not object to that 
 continuing ? 
 
 ' " Mr. Kruger ; No. There will be equal protection for everybody. 
 
 ' " Sir Evelyn Wood : And equal privileges. 
 
 ' " Mr. Kruger : We make no difference so far as burgher rights are 
 concerned. There may, perhaps, be some slight difference in the case 
 of a young person who lias just come into the country." 
 (Cheers.) ' Now, there is a distinct promise given by the man who is 
 now President of the Transvaal State that, so far as burglier rights were 
 concerned, they made and would make no difference whatever between 
 burghers and those who came in. The root of the difficulty which I 
 have been describing lies in the fact that this promise has not been 
 kept; 
 
366 
 
 THE TRANSVAAL FROM WITHIN 
 
 or that they would have granted it had they foreseen the 
 interpretation ? Can it be said that Mr. Kruger and his 
 colleagues contemplated it or would have dared to avow 
 the intention if it were ever entertained ? No I And he 
 will be a bolder man than Mr. Kruger who will dispute that 
 answer ; for the President's own defence is, not that he had 
 the intention or has the right to diflferentiate between races 
 and between classes ; but — that he does not differentiate. 
 So iViat the issue is narrowed to this, that it is merely a 
 question of fact ! 
 
 But the appeal of British subjects in the Transvaal will 
 claim a hearing for other reasons too ! Only the blindest 
 can fail to realize how much is at stake, materially and 
 morally, or can fail to see what is the real issue, and how the 
 Mother Country stands on trial before all her children, who 
 are the Empire. Only those who do not count will refuse to 
 face the responsibility in all seriousness, or will fail to receive 
 in the best spirit the timely reminder of past neglect. If the 
 reproaching truth be a hard thing to hear, it is, for thosa 
 whose every impulse jumps towards championing the great 
 Home Land, a far, far harder thing to say. Unpleasant it 
 may be, but not without good, that England's record in South 
 Africa — of subjects abandoned and of rights ignored, of duty 
 neglected and of pledge unkept, of lost prestige and slipping 
 Empire — should speak to quicken a memory and rouse the 
 native sense of right, so that a nation's conscience will say 
 ' Be just before you are generous I Be just to all — even to 
 your own 1 
 
mmmmii 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 u 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 PKKTOKIA CONVK.NTION. 
 
 CONVENTION KOR THK SETTLKMKNT OF THE TKANSV.VAL TEKUITOUY. 
 
 PREAMnr.E. 
 
 August, mHi. 
 
 Her Majesty's Commissioners for tiic Settlement of the Trausvaai 
 territory, duly appointed as such by a Coniii\i>sion p.issed under tiic 
 Royal Sign Manual and Signet, bearing date the 5th of April, 1881, du 
 hereby undertake and guarantee on behalf of Her Majesty that, from 
 and after the 8th day of August, 1881, complete self-governmen'., 
 subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, will 
 be accorded to the inhabitants of the Transvaal territory, upon the 
 following terms and conditions, and subject to the following reser- 
 vations and limitations : — 
 
 Article I. 
 
 The said territory, to be hereinafter called the Transvaal State, will 
 embrace the land lying between the following boundaries, to wit : 
 [here follow three pages in print detining boundaries.] 
 
 Article II. 
 
 Her Majesty reserves to herself, her heirs and successors, (a) the 
 right from time to time to appoint a British Resident in and for the 
 said State, with such duties and functions as are hereinafter delined ; 
 (6) the right to move troops through the said State in time of war, or in 
 case of the apprehension of immediate war between the Suzerain 
 Power and any Foreign State or Native tribe in South Africa ; and (c) 
 the control of the external relations of the said State, including the 
 conclusion of treaties and the conduct of diplomatic intercourse with 
 Foreign Powers, such intercourse to be carried on through Her 
 Majesty's diplomatic and consular officers abroad. 
 
 Article III. 
 
 Until altered by the Volksraad, or other competent autliority, all 
 laws, whether passed before or after the annexation of the Transvaal 
 territory to Her Majesty's dominions, shall, except in so far as they are 
 inconsistent with or repugnant to the provisions of this Convention, be 
 and remain in force in the said State in so far as they shall be applicablr 
 
 369 BB 
 
37© 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 thereto, provided that no future enactment especially affecting the 
 interest of natives shall have any force or effect in the said State, 
 without the consent of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, first liad 
 and obtained and sijjnificd to tho Government of the said State through 
 the British Hesidcnt, provided further that in no case will the repeal or 
 amendment of any laws enacted since the annexation have a retro- 
 spective effect, so as to invalidate any acts done or habilities incurred 
 by virtue of such laws. 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 On the 8th day of Aiij^ust, 1881, the Government of the said State, 
 tvif^etlier with all riglits and oI)li>»ations thereto appertaining, and all 
 Slate property taken over at the ti;. " of annexation, save and except 
 munitions of war, will be handed over to Messrs. Stephanus Joliar.ies 
 I'aulus Kruf»er, ^lartinus Wessel Fretorius, and Petrus Jacobus Joubert, 
 or the survivor or survivors of them, who will forthwith cause a 
 V'olksraad to be elected and convened, and the Volksraad, thus elected 
 and convened, will decide as to the further administration of the 
 Government of the said State. 
 
 Article V. 
 
 All sentences passed upon persons wlio may be convicted of offences 
 contrary to the rules of civilized warfare committed during the recent 
 hostilities will be duly carried out, and no alteration or mitigation of 
 such sentences will be made or allowed by the Government of the 
 Transvaal State without Her Majesty's consent conveyed through the 
 British Resident. In case there shall be any prisoners in any of the 
 gaols of the Transvaal State whose respective sentences of imprison- 
 ment have been remitted ir, part by Her Majesty's Administrator or 
 oilier officer admini5t;:ring the Government, such remission will be 
 recognized and acted upon by the future Government of the said State. 
 
 Article VI. 
 
 Her Majesty's Government will make due compensation for all losses 
 or damage sustained by reason of such acts as are in the 8th Article 
 hereinafter specified, which may have been committed by Her 
 Majesty's forces during the recent hostilities, except for such losses 
 or damage as may already have been compensated for, and the 
 Government of the Transvaal State will make due compensation for all 
 losses or damage sustained by reason of such acts as are in the 8th 
 Article hereinafter specified which may have been committed by the 
 
 Eeople who were in arms against Her Majesty during the recent 
 ostilitics, except for such losses or damages as may already have been 
 compensated for. 
 
 Article VII. 
 
 The decision of all claims for compensation, as in the last preceding 
 Article mentioned, will be referred to a Sub-Commission, consisting of 
 the Honourable George Hudson, the Honourable Jacobus Petrus de 
 Wet, and the Honourable John Gilbert Kotze. In case one or more of 
 such Sub-Commissioners shall be unable or unwilling to act, the re- 
 maining Sub-Commissioner or Sub-Commissioners will, after consultation 
 with the Government of the Transvaal State, submit for the approval of 
 Her Majesty's High Commissioners the names of one or more persons 
 to be appointed by them to fill the place or places thus vacated. The 
 decision of the said Sub-Commissioners, or of a m.ajority of them, will 
 
 k 
 
AIM'KNDIX A 
 
 37« 
 
 be final. Tlic suid Siib-Commissioiicrs will enter upon and perform 
 their duties with :ill convenient speed. Tliev will, before takint; 
 evidence or orderiiij^ evidence to be taken in respect of any ci.iiiu, 
 decide whether such claim can be entertained at all under the rules 
 laid down in the next succeeding* Article. In regard to claims which 
 can 1)0 so entiMtaitied, the Sub-Commissioners will in the iirst instance 
 afford every facility for an amicable arrangement as to the amount 
 payable in respect of anv clann, and only in cases in which there is no 
 reasonable ground tor believing that an immediate amicable arrange- 
 ment can be arrived at will they take evidence or order evidence to be 
 taken. For the purpose of taking evidence and reporting tliereon, the 
 Sub-Commissioners may appoint Deputies, who will, without dtl.iy, 
 submit records of the evidence anil tiieir reports to the Sub-Com- 
 missioners. The Sub-Cummissioners will arrange their sittings and 
 the sittings of their Deputies in such a maimer as to atl'ord the earliest 
 convenience to the parties concerned and tiieir witnesses. It> no case 
 will costs be allowed to either side other than the actual and re.iMjnable 
 expcases of witnesses whose evidence is certified by the Sub Com- 
 missioners to have been necessary. Interest will not run on the 
 amount of any claim, except as is hereinafter provided for. Tlie 
 said Sub-Commissioners will forthwith, after deciding upon any claim, 
 announce their deci.iion to the Government against which the award is 
 made and to the claimant. The amount of remuneration payable to 
 the Sub-Commissioners and their Deputies will be determined by the 
 High Commissioners. After all the claims liave been decided upon, 
 the British Government and the Government of the Transvaal State 
 will pay proportif)nate shares of the said remuneration and of the 
 expenses of the Sub-Commissioners and their Deputies, according to 
 the amount awarded against them respectively. 
 
 Article VIII. 
 
 For the purpose of distinguishing claims to be accepted from those 
 to be rejected, the Sub-Commissioners will be guided by the following 
 rules, viz. : — Compensation will be allowed for losses or damage sus- 
 tained by reason of the following acts committed during the recent 
 hostilities, viz.: (a) commandeering, seizure, confiscation, or destruction 
 of property, or dam.'.ge done to property ; (6) violence done or threats 
 used by persons in arms. In regard to acts under (a), compensation 
 will be allowed for direct losses only. In regard to acts falling under 
 (6), compensation will be allowed for actual losses of property, or actual 
 injury to the same proved to have been caused by its enforced 
 abandonment. No claims for indirect losses, except such as arc in this 
 Article especially provided for, will be entertained. No claims which 
 have been handed in to the Secretary of the Koyal Commission after the 
 1st day of July, i88i, will be entertained, unless the Sub-Commissioners 
 shall be satisfied that the delay was reasonable. When claims for loss 
 oi property are considered, the Sub-Commissioners will require distinct 
 proof of the existence of tlic property, and that it neither has reverted 
 nor will revert to the claimant. 
 
 Article IX. 
 
 The Government of the Transvaal State will pay and satisfy the 
 amount of every claim awarded against it within one month after the 
 Sub-Commissioners shall have notified their decision to the said 
 Government, and in default of such payment the said Government will 
 
r 
 
 37a 
 
 APPENDICKS 
 
 pay Interest al the rate of sii per cent, per aiiiuiiii from the tl;iic ol >.uch 
 <lel.iiilt ; bill lltr Majesty's (lovenimeiit in.iy at any time helcjre such 
 payment pay the anioiiiit, with intnest, it any, to the claimaiil m 
 .satisfaction of liis claim, and may .uiU the sum thus paid tu any dcht 
 whicli maybe due by tlie I'Liiisvaal State to lier Majesty's Govein- 
 meiit, as licremafter provided for 
 
 Akticik X. 
 
 The Transvaal Stale will be liable for the b.ilince of the debts for 
 whicli the South Afri'an K'epiiblic was liable at tiie date ot annex. itic^ii, 
 to wit, the sum of /.pS.iKX) in respect ot the Cape Commercial iJ.irik 
 Loan, and £^^,i>(>7 in respect of the K.iilu.iy Loan, lof^etiier with the 
 amount lUie on iSth August, 1S81, on account of the Orpiian Ch.imber 
 l)i bt, which now stands at £22, 2KKt, which debts will be a lirst ciiar^e 
 upon the revenues of the Slate. The Transv.ial State will, moreover, 
 be liable for the lawful expeiuliture lawfully incurred for the necessary 
 expenses of tlie I'rovince since the aniuxalion, to wit, the sum of 
 ^.'j()5,iKXJ, which deiit, loj^etiier with such debts as may be incurred by 
 virtue of the 9th Article, will be a secuml charge upon the revenues of 
 the State. 
 
 Akticlk XL 
 
 The debts due as aforesaid by the Transvaal State to Her Majesty's 
 (iovermnent will bear interest at the rate of three and a half per cent., 
 and any portion of such debt which may remain unpaid at the expiration 
 ot twelve months from the 8tli August, 1881, shall be repayable by a 
 payment for interes> and sinking fund of six pounds and niiiepence per 
 cent, per annum, which will extinguish the debt in twenty-five years. 
 The said payment of six pounds and ninepence per ^100 shall be 
 p.iyable half yearly in British currency on the 8th February and Sth 
 August in each year. Provided always that the Transvaal State shall 
 pay in reduction of the said debt the sum of ^'ioo,(xxj within twelve 
 months of the 8tii August, 1881, and shall be at liberty at the close of 
 anv half-year to pay off the wliolc or any portion of the outstanding 
 deKt. 
 
 Article XIL 
 
 All persons holding property in the said State on the 8lh day of 
 Au;.;ust, 1881, will continue after the said date to enjoy the rights of 
 property which they have enjoyed since the annexation. No person 
 who has remained loyal to ller Majesty during the recent hostilities 
 shall suffer any molostation by reason of his loyalty, or be liable to any 
 criminal prosecution or civil action for any part taken in connection 
 with such hostilities, and all such persons will have full liberty to 
 reside in the country, with enjoyment of all civil rights, and protecion 
 for their persons and property. 
 
 Article XIIL 
 
 Natives will be allowed to acquire land, but the grant or transfer of 
 such land will, in every case, be made to and registered in the name of 
 the Native Location Commission, hereinafter mentioned, in trust for 
 such natives. 
 
 Article XIV. 
 
 Natives will be allowed to move as freely within the country as may 
 be consistent with the requirements of public order, and to leave it for 
 the purpose of seeking employment elsewhere or for other lawful 
 
 iUl 
 
AIM'KNDIX A 
 
 373 
 
 ll 
 
 purposes, subjrcl always to the pass laws of the said Stale, as aim-nilctl 
 by tl»L' Li'j^isl:itiire of tlic I'lnviticc, or .>s in.iy lierciftcr be cn.tctcd 
 uiuler tlie rrovJMoiis of tlie Tliird Arlicl" of this Convt'ntion. 
 
 Aktici.i- XV. 
 
 Tlierc will continue to be coinplole frcrdom of religion and proti-i tion 
 from molestation for all (lenoinin.itioiis, provided the same be not 
 itKonsi^tcMit will) morality and )»ood order, and no disability sliail 
 aiiach to any person in n-^aid to ri^'hts of properly by reason ol tiie 
 rel.^iuus opinions which be holds. 
 
 Artici.k XVI. 
 
 The provisions of the Fourth Article of tlie Sand River Coii lion 
 are herrby re.iffirmed, and no slavery or appreiilicesliip p.irt.nk.iiiJ of 
 sl.ivcry will be tolerated by the Government of the said Staff;. 
 
 Akticle XVII. 
 
 The British 1:^ dent will receive from the (iovurnmenf o*^ tlie 
 'li:insva:d State such assistanic and support as can by law lu ^i en to 
 hull fo! i." due dischar/^c of his functions ; he will also receive every 
 .isMstancc for the proper care and preservation of the ><raves of sUv.!/ of 
 Her Majesty's forces as have died in the Transvaal, and if need he for 
 the expropriation of land for the purpose. 
 
 Article XVIII. 
 
 The following will be the duties and functions of the British 
 Resident : 
 
 Sub-section i — He will perform duties and functions analogous to 
 those discharged by a Charge d'Attaires and Consul-(ieneral. 
 
 Sub-section 2. — In regard to natives within the Transv.ial State, he 
 will (fl) report to the High Commissioner, as representative of tlie 
 Suzerain, as to the working and observance of the provisions of this 
 Convention ; (b) report to tiie Transvaal authorilijs any cases of ill- 
 treatment of natives or attempts to incite natives to rcbtllion that may 
 come to his knowledge ; (f) use his influence with the natives in favour 
 of law and order ; ;ind (d) generally perform such other duties as are 
 by this Convention entrusted to him, and take such steps for the 
 protection of the person and property of natives as are consistent with 
 the laws of the land. 
 
 Suh-scclion 3. — In regard to natives nut lesiding in the Trutisv-ial, (it) 
 he will report to the High Commissioner and the Transvaal (lovernment 
 any encroachments reported to him as h.iving been maile by Transvaal 
 residents upcm the land of such natives, and in case of disagreement 
 between the Transvaal Government and the British Resident as to 
 whether an encroachment had lieen made, the d'. ision of the Suzerain 
 will be final ; (6) the British Resident will be the medium of com- 
 munication with native chiefs outside the Transva;il, and, subject to the 
 approval of the High Commissioner, as representing the Suzerain, he 
 will control the conclusion of a cities with them ; and (1 ) he will 
 arbitrate upon every dispute between Tr..nsva.-d residents and natives 
 outside the Transvaal (as to acts committed beyond the boundaries 
 of the Transvaal) whi';h may be referred to him by the parties 
 interested. 
 
 
374 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Sub-seclion 4. — In ret»ard to communications with foreign Powers, the 
 Transvaal Government will correspond with Her Majesty's Government 
 through the F^ritish Hesuient and the Hij^h Comniis>ioner. 
 
 Article XIX. 
 
 The Government of the Transvaal State will strictly adhere to the 
 boundaries defined in the First Article of this Convention, and will rjo 
 its utmost to prevent any of its inhabitants from making any encro.icli- 
 menl uimn lands beyond the said State. The Royal Commission will 
 forthwith appoint a person who will beacon off the boundary line 
 between Ram.itlabama and the point where such line first touches 
 Griqualand West boundary, midway between the Vaal and Hart rivtis ; 
 the person so appointed will be instructed to make an arrangement 
 between the owners of the farms Grootfontein and Valleifontein on the 
 one hand, and the Barolong authorities on the other, by which a fair 
 share of the water supply of the said farms shall be allowed to flow 
 undisturbed to the said liarolongs. 
 
 Article XX. 
 
 All gr.ints or titles issued at any time by the Transvaal Government 
 in respect of land outside the boundary of Transvaal State, as defined, 
 Article I., sliall be considered invalid and of no effect, except in so far 
 as any such grant or title relates to land that falls within the boundary 
 of the Transvaal State, and all persons holding any such grant so 
 considered invalid and of no effect will receive from the Government 
 of the Transvaal Slate such compensation either in land or in money as 
 the Volksraad shall determine. In all cases in which any native chiefs 
 or other authorities outside the said boundaries have received any 
 adequate consideration from the Ciovernment of the former South 
 African Republic for land excluded from the Transvaal by the First 
 Article of this Convention, or where permanent improvements have 
 been made on the laud, the British Resident will, subject to the 
 approval of the High Commissioner, use his influence to recover from 
 the native authorities fair compensation for the loss of the land thus 
 excluded, and of the pernL^nent improvement thereon. 
 
 J 
 
 Article XXI. 
 
 Forthwith, after the taking effect of this Convention, a Native 
 Location Commission will be constituted, consisting of the President, 
 or in his absence the Vice-President of the State, or some one deputed 
 by him, the Resident, or some one deputed by him, and a third person 
 to be agreed upon by the President or the V'ice-President, as the case 
 may be, and the Resident, and such Commission will be a standing 
 body for the performance of the duties hereinafter mentioned. 
 
 Article XXH. 
 
 The Native Location Commission will reserve to the native tribes of 
 the Slate such locations as they may be fairly and cciuilably entitled to, 
 due regard being had to the actual occupation of such tribes. The 
 Native Location Commission will clearly define the boundaries of such 
 locations, and for that purpose will, in every instance, first of all 
 ascertain the wishes of the parties interested in such land. In case 
 land already granted in individual titles shall be required for the 
 purpose of any location, the owners will receive such compensation 
 
mm 
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 375 
 
 cither in other land or in money as the Volksraad sliull determine. 
 After the bouiKiaries of any location have been fixed, no fresh grant of 
 land witliin such location will be made, nor will the boundiries be 
 p'tered without the consent of the Location Commission. No fresh 
 grants of land will be made in the districts of Waterberg, Zoutpans- 
 berg, and Lydcnburg until the locations in tho said districts respectively 
 shall have been defined by the said Commission. 
 
 Article XXIII. 
 
 If not released before the taking uffcct of this Convention, Sikukuni, 
 and those of his followers who have bjc-n imprisoned with him, will be 
 forthwith released, and the boundaries of his location will be defined 
 by the Native Location Commission in the manner indicatcfl in the last 
 preceding Article. 
 
 Article XXIV. 
 
 The independence of the Swazies within the boundary line of Swazi- 
 land, as indicated in the First Article of this Convention, will be fullv 
 recognized. 
 
 Article XXV. 
 
 No other or higher duties will be imposed on the importation into 
 the Transvaal State of any article the produce or manufacture of the 
 dominions and possessions of Her Majesty, from whatever place 
 arriving, than are or may be payable on the like article the produce or 
 manufacture of any other country, nor will any prohibition be main- 
 tained or imposed on the importation of any article the produce or 
 manufacture of the dominions and possessions of Her Majesty, which 
 shall not equally extend to the importation of the like articles being the 
 produce or manufacture of any other country. 
 
 Article XXVI. 
 
 All persons other than natives conforming themselves to the laws of 
 the Transvaal Stale (a) will have full liberty witli their families to 
 enter, travel, or reside in any part of the Transvaal State ; (b) they will 
 be entitled to hire or possess houses, manuf.ictures, warehouses, shops, 
 and premises ; (c) they may carry on their commerce either in person 
 or by any agents whom they may think to employ ; (d) they will not be 
 subject in respect of their persons or property, or in respect of their 
 commerce or mdui try to any ta.ves, whether general or local, other than 
 those which are or may be imposed upon Transvaal citizens. 
 
 Article XXVII. 
 
 All inhabitants of the Transvaal shall have free access to the Courts 
 of Justice for the protection and defence of their rights. 
 
 Article XXVIII. 
 
 AH persona other than natives who establislied their domicile in the 
 Transvaal between the 12th day of April, 1877, and the date when this 
 Convention comes into effect, and who shall within twelve months 
 after sucl' last-incntiuned date have their names registered by the 
 British Resident, shall be exempt from all compulsory military service 
 whatever. The Resident shall notify such registration to the Govern- 
 ment of the Transvaal State. 
 
376 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Article XXIX. 
 
 Provision shall hereafter be made by a separate instrument for the 
 imitual oxtraflition of criminals, and also for the surrender of deserters 
 from Her Majesty's forces. 
 
 Article XXX. 
 
 All debts contracted since the annexation will be payable in the 
 same currency in which they may have been contracted ; all uncancelled 
 posta^^v.- and other revenue stamps issued by the Government since the 
 annexation will remain valid, and will be accepted at their present 
 value by the future Government of the Stat j ; all licenses duly issued 
 >.ince the annexation will remain in force during the period for which 
 they may have been issued. 
 
 Article XXXI. 
 
 No fjrants of land which may have been made, and no transfer of 
 mort^aj^e which may have been passed since the annexation, will be 
 invalidated by reason merely of their having been made or passed since 
 that date. All transfers to the British Secretary for Native Affairs in 
 trust for natives will remain in force, the Native Location Commission 
 taking the pl.ice of such Secretary for Native Affairs. 
 
 Article XXXII. 
 
 This Convention will be ratified by a newly-elected Volksraad within 
 the period of tliree months after its execution, and in default of such 
 ratification this Convention shall be null and void. 
 
 Article XXXIII. 
 
 Forthvvitli, after the ratification of this Convention, as in the last 
 preceding Article mentioned, all British troops in Transvaal territory will 
 leave the same, and the mutual delivery of munitions of war will be 
 carried out. Articles end. Here will follow signatures of Koyal 
 Commissioners, then the following to precede signatures of triumvirate. 
 
 We, the undersigned, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, Martinus 
 Wessel Pretorius, and Petrus Jacobus Joubert, as representatives of the 
 Transvaal Hur^jhers, do hereby agree to all the above conditions, 
 reservations, and limitations under which self-government has been 
 restored to the inhabitants of the Transvaal territory, subject to the 
 suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, and we agree to 
 accept the Government of the said territory, with all rights and obliga- 
 tions thereto appertaining, on the 8th day of August ; and we promise 
 and undertake that this Convention shall be ratified by a newly-elected 
 Vnlk'^raad of the Transvaal State within three months from this date. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 LONDON CONVENTION. 
 
 A Convention betwken her Majesty the Queen of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the South 
 African RErui'.uc. 
 
 February, 1884. 
 Whereas the Government of the Transvaal State, through its Dele- 
 gates, consisting of Stephanus ]■ .innes I'aulus Krugcr, President of the 
 said State, Stephanus Jacobus Du Tnit, Superintendent of h^ducation, 
 and Nicholas Jacobus Sniit, a member of tlie Volksraad, have repre- 
 sented that the Convention signed at Pretoria on the 3rd day of August, 
 1881, and ratified by the Volksraad of the said State on the 25th 
 October, 1881, contains certain provisions which are inconvenient, and 
 imposes burdens and obligations from which the said State is desirous 
 to be relieved, and that the south-western boundaries fixed by the said 
 Convention should be amended, with a view to promote the peace and 
 good order of the said State, and of the countries adjacent thereto ; 
 and whereas Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, has been pleased to take the said representations 
 into consideration : Now, therefore, Her Majesty has been pleased to 
 direct, and it is hereby declared, that the following articles of a new 
 Convention, signed on behalf of Her Majesty by Her Majesty's High 
 Commissioner in South Africa, the Right Honourable Sir Hercules 
 George Robert Robinson, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distin- 
 guished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Governor of the Colony 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, and on behalf of the Transvaal State (which 
 shall hereinafter be called the South Afiican Republic) by the above- 
 named Delegates, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Krugor, Stephanus 
 jacobus Du Toit, and Nicholas Jacobus Smit, shall, when ratiiied by 
 the Volksraad of the South African Republic, be substituted for the 
 articles embodied in the Convention of 3rd August, ilS8r ; which latter, 
 pending such ratification, shall continue in full force and effect. 
 
 ARTICLES. 
 
 Article I. 
 
 The Territory of the South African Republic will embrace the land 
 lying between the following boundaries, to wit : 
 
 Beginning from the point whore the north-eastern boundary line of 
 Griqualand West meets the Vaal River, up the course of the Vaal River 
 
 377 
 
378 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 to the point of junction with it of the Khp Kiver ; thence up the course 
 of the Klip Kiver to the point of junction with it of the stream called 
 (iiinsvlci ; thence up the (Jansvici stream to its source in the Drakcus- 
 berg ; tlicnce to a beacon in the boundary of Natal, situated imme- 
 diately opposite and close to the source of the Gansvlei stream ; thence 
 in a north-easterly direction along the ridge of the Drakensherg, 
 dividing the waters flowing into the Gansvlei stream from the waters 
 flowing into the sources of the Buffalo, to a beacon on a point where 
 tliis mountain ceases to be a continuous chain ; thence to a beacon on 
 a plain to the north-cast of the last described beacon ; thence to the 
 nearest source of a small stream called ' Division Stream ' ; tiience 
 down this division stream, which forms the southern boundary of the 
 farm Sandfontein, the property of Messrs. Meek, to its junction with 
 the Coldstream ; thence down the Coldstream to its junction with the 
 Buffalo or Umzinyati River ; thence down the course of the liutialo 
 Kiver to the junction with it of the Blood River ; thence up the course 
 of the Blood River to the junction with it of Lyn Spruit or Dudusi ; 
 thence up the Dudusi to its source ; thence 80 j'ards to Bea, I., situated 
 on a spur of tlie N'Qaba-Ka-hawana Mountains ; thence 80 yards to the 
 N'Sonto River ; thence down the N'Sonto River to its junction with the 
 White Umvulozi River ; thence up the White Umvulozi River to a 
 white rock where it rises ; thence 800 yards to Kambula Hill (Bea. II.); 
 thence to the source of the Pemvana River, where the road from 
 Kambula Camp to Burgers' Lager crosses ; thence down the Pemvana 
 River to its junction with the Bivana River ; thence down the Bivana 
 River to its junction with the Pongolo River ; thence down the Pongolo 
 River to where it passes through the Libombo Range ; thence along 
 the summits of the Libombo Range to the northern point uf the 
 N'Yawos Hill in that range (Bea. XVI) ; thence to the northern peak 
 of the Inkwakweni Hills (Bea. XV.) ; thence to Scfunda, a rocky knoll 
 detached from and to the north-cast end of the White Koppies, and to 
 the south of tlie Musana River (Bea. XIX.) ; thence to a point on the 
 slope near the crest of Matanjeni, which is the name given to the south- 
 eastern portion of the Mahamba Hills (Bea. XIII.); thence to the 
 N'gvvangwana, a double-pointed hill (one point is bare, the other 
 wooded, the beacon being on the former) on the left bank of the 
 Assegai River and upstream of the Dadusa Spruit (15ea. XII.) ; thence 
 to the southern point of Bendita, a rocky knoll in a plain between the 
 Little Hlozane and Assegai Rivers (Bea. XI.) ; thence to the higliesl 
 point of Suluka Hill, round the eastern slopes of which flows the Little 
 Hlozane, also called Ludaka or Mudspruit (Bea. X.) ; thence to the 
 beacon known as ' Viljoen's,' or N'Duko Hill ; thence to a point north- 
 cast of Derby House, known at; Magwazidili's Beacon ; tlience to the 
 Igaba, a small knoll on the Ungwempisi River, also called ' Joubert's 
 Beacon,' and known to the natives as ' Piet's Beacon ' (Bea. IX.) ; 
 thence to the highest point of the N'Dhlovudwalili or Houtbosch, a hill 
 on the northern bank of the Umqwempisi River (Bea. VIII.) ; thence 
 to a beacon on the only flat-topped rock, about 10 feet high and about 
 30 yards in circumference at its base, situated on the south sitle of tiie 
 Lamsamane range of hills, and overlooking the valley of the great 
 Usuto River ; this rock being 45 yards north of the road from Camden 
 and Lake Banagher to the forests on the Usuto River (sometimes called 
 Sandhlanas Beacon) (Bea. VII.) ; thence to the Gulungwana or Ibubu- 
 lundi, four smooth bare hills, the higliest in that neighbourhood, situated 
 to the south of the Umtuli River (Bea. VI.), thence to a flat-topped rock. 
 8 feet high, on the crest of the Busuku, a low rocky range south-west 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 379 
 
 of the Impulazi River (Bca. V.) ; thence to a low bare hill on the north- 
 east of, and overlookinj^ the Impulazi River, to the south of it being a 
 tributary of the Impulazi, witii a considerable waterfall, and the road 
 from the river passing 200 yards to the north-west of the beacon (Bea. 
 IV.); tlicnce to the highest point of the Mapunnila range, the water- 
 shed of the Little Usuto River on the north, and the Umpulazi River 
 on the south, the hill, the top of which is a bare rock, falling abruptly 
 towards the Little Usuto (15ea. III.) ; thence to the western point of a 
 double-pointed rocky hill, precipitous on all sides, called Makwana, its 
 top being a bare rock (Bea. II.) ; thence to the top of a rugt;ecl hill of 
 considerable height falling abruptly to the Komati River, tliis hill being 
 the northern extremity of the Isilotwani range, and separ.ited from the 
 highest peak of the range Inkomokazi (a sharp cone) by a deep neck 
 (Bea. I,). (On a ridge m the straight line between Beacons I. and II. 
 is an intermediate beacon.) From Beacon I. the boundary runs to a 
 hill across the Komati River, and thence along the crest of the range of 
 hills known as the Makongwa, which runs north-east and south-west, to 
 Kamhlubana Peak ; thence in a straight line to Mananga, a point in the 
 Libombo range, and thence to the nearest point in ti.c Portuguese 
 frontier on the Libombo range ; thence along the summits of the Libombo 
 range to the middle of the poort where the Komati River passes through 
 it, called the lowest Komati Poort ; thence in a north by easterly 
 direction to Pokioens Kop, situated on the north side of the Olifiut's 
 River, where it passes through the ridges ; thence about north-north- 
 west to the nearest point of Serra di Chicundo ; and thence to the 
 junction of the Pafori River with tl:e Limpopo or Crocodile River ; 
 thence up the course of the Limpopo River to the point where the 
 Marique River falls into it. Thence up the course of the Marique 
 River to ' Derde Poort,' where it passes through a luw range of hills, 
 called Sikwane, a beacon (No. 10) being erected on the spur of said 
 range near to, and westward of, the banks of the river ; thence, in a 
 straight line, through this beacon to a beacon (No. q), erected on the 
 top of the same range, about 1,700 yards distant from beacon No. 10 ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 8) erected on the higliest 
 point of an isolated hill, called Dikgagong, or ' Wildebeest Kop,' 
 situated south-eastward of, and about 3^ miles distant from a iiigh hill, 
 called Moripe ; thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 7) erected on 
 the summit of an isolated hill or ' koppie' forming the eastern extremity 
 of the range of hills called Mo^hweu, situated to tlie northward of, and 
 about two miles distant from, a large isolated hill called Chukudu- 
 Chochwa ; thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 6) erected on 
 the summit of a hill forming part of the same range, Mosluveu ; thence, 
 in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 5) erected on the summit of a pointed 
 hill in the same range ; thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (Xu. 4) 
 erected on the summit of the western extremity of the same range ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to a beacon (No. 3) erected on the summit of 
 the northern extremity of a low, bushy hill, or ' koppie,' near to and 
 eastward of the Not wane River ; thence, in a straight line, to the 
 junction of the stream called Metsi-Mashware with the Notwane River 
 (No. 2) ; thence up the course of the Notwane River to Sengoma, being 
 the poort where the river passes througli the Dwarsberg range ; thence, 
 as described in the Award given by Lieutenant-Governor Keate, dated 
 October 17, 1871, by Pitlanganyane (narrow place), Deboaganka or 
 Schaapkuil, Sibatoul (bare place), and ^Laclase, to Ramatlabama, a pool 
 on a spruit north of the Molopo River. From Ramatlabama the 
 boundary shall run to the summit of an isolated bill called Leganka ; 
 
 t^ 
 
 
3So 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 tliuiice, in a straitjlit line, passing nortli-cast of a Native Station, near 
 ' Buurnian's Drift,' on the Molopo River, to that point on tlie road from 
 Mosicga to the old drift, where a road turns out through the Native 
 Station to the new drift below ; thence to ' Ijuurnian's Old Drift ' ; 
 thence, in a straight line, to a marked and isolated clump of trees near 
 to and north-west of the dwelling-house of C. Auscin, a tenant on the 
 farm ' Vlcifontein," No. 117; thence, in a straight line, to the nortli- 
 western corner lieacon of the farm ' Mooimeisjesfontein,' No 30 ; thence, 
 along the western line of the said farm ' Mooimeisjesfontein,' and in 
 prolongation thereof, as far as the road leading from ' Ludik's Drift,' on 
 the Molopo River, past the homestead of ' Mooimeisjesfontein,' towards 
 the Salt Pans near Harts River ; thence, along the said road, crossing 
 the direct road from I'olfontein to Sehuha, and until the direct road 
 from Polfontein to Lotlakane or Pietfontein is reached ; thence, al mg 
 the southern edge of the last-named road towards Lotlakane, until the 
 first garden ground of that station is reached ; thence, in a south- 
 westerly direction, skirting Lotlakane, so as to leave it and all its garden 
 ground in native territory, until the road trom Lotlakane to Kunana is 
 reached ; thence along the east side, and clear of tiiat road towards 
 Kunana, until the garden grounds of that station are reached ; thence, 
 skirting Kunana, so as to include it and all its garden ground, but no 
 more, in the Transvaal, until the road fro'.u Kunana to Mamusa is 
 readied ; thence, along the eastern side and clear of the road towards 
 Mamusa, until a road turns out towards Taungs; thence, along tlie 
 eastern side and clear of the road towards Taungs, till the line of the 
 district known as ' Stellaland' is reached, about 11 miles from Taungs ; 
 thence, along the line of the district Stellaland, to the Harts River, 
 about 24 miles below Mamusa ; thence, across Harts River, to the 
 junction of the roads from Monthc and Phokwane ; thence, along the 
 western side and clear of the nearest road towards ' Koppie Enkel,' an 
 isolated hill about 36 miles from Mamusa, and about 18 miles north of 
 Christiana, and to the summit of the said hill ; thence, in a straight 
 line, to that point on the north-east boundary of Griqualand West as 
 beaconed by Mr. Surveyor Ford, where two farms, registered as Nos. 
 72 and 75, do meet, about midway between the Vaal and Harts Rivers, 
 measured along the said boundary of Griqualand West ; thence to the 
 first point where the north-east boundary of Griqualand West meets the 
 Vaal River. 
 
 Article IL 
 
 The Government of the South African Republic will strictly adhere 
 to the boundaries defined in the first Article of this Convention, and 
 will do its utmost to prevent any of its inhabitants from making any 
 encroachments upon lands beyond the said boundaries. The Govern- 
 ment of the South African RepubUc will appoint Commissioners upon 
 the eastern and western borders, whose duty it will be strictly to guard 
 against irregularities and all trespassing over the boundaries. Her 
 Majesty's Government will if necessary appoint Commissioners in the 
 native territories outside the eastern and western borders of the South 
 African Republic to maintain order and prevent encroachments. 
 
 Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the South African 
 Republic will each appoint a person to proceed together to beacon off 
 the amended south-west boundary as described in Article i of this 
 Convention ; and the President of the Orange Free State shall be 
 reque-^^ed to appoint a referee to whom the said persons shall refer any 
 que.siions on which they may disagree respecting the interpretation of 
 
■P 
 
 APPENDIX IJ 
 
 3«' 
 
 the said Article, and the decision of such referee tiieicon shall he filial. 
 The arrangement already made, under the terms of Article K) of the 
 Convention of Pretoria, of the 3rd August, iHiSi, between the owners of 
 tlie farms Grootfontein and Valleifontein on the one hand, .nid tlic 
 H.irolonji authorities on the otlicr, hv which a fair share of the wafer 
 supplv of the said farms shall be allowed to flow undisturbed to tiie 
 said Barolongs, shall continue in force. 
 
 Article III. 
 
 If a British officer is appointed to reside at Pretoria or elsewhere 
 witiiin the South African Republic to discharge functions analogous 
 to those of a Consular oflicer, he will receive the protection and assist- 
 ance of the Republic. 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 The South African Republic will conclude no treaty or engagement 
 with any State or nation other than the Orange Free State, nor with any 
 native tribe to the eastward or westward of the I^epublic, until the same 
 has been approved by Her Majesty the Queen. 
 
 Such approval shall be considered to have been granted if Her 
 Majesty's Government s'sall not, within six months after receiving 
 a copy of such treaty (which shall be delivered to them immediately 
 upon its completion), have notihcd that the conclusion of such treaty 
 is in conflict with the interests of Great Britain or of any of Her 
 Majesty's possessions in South Africa. 
 
 Akticle V. 
 
 The South African Republic will be liable for any balance which 
 may still remain due of the debts for which it was liable at the date of 
 Annexation — to wit, the Cape Commercial Bank Loan, the Railway 
 Loan, and the Orphan Chamber Debt — which debts will be a first 
 charge upon the revenues of the Republic. The South African 
 Republic will moreover be liable to her Majesty's Government for 
 ;^250,ooo, which will be a second charge upon the revenues of the 
 Republic. 
 
 Article VL 
 
 The debt due as aforesaid by the South African Republic to Her 
 Majesty's Government will bear interest at the rate of three and a half 
 per cent, from the date of the ratification of this Convention, and shall 
 be repayable by a payment for interest and Sinking Fund of six pounds 
 and ninepence per i,'ioo per annum, wliich will extinguish the debt in 
 twenty-five years. The said payment of six pounds and ninepence per 
 ^100 shall be payable half-yearly in British currency at the close of 
 each half-year from the date of such ratification : Provided always that 
 the South African Republic shall be at liberty at the close of any half- 
 year tc pay off the whole or any portion of the outstanding debt. 
 
 Interest at the rate of three and a half per cent, on the debt as 
 standing under the Convention of Pretoria shall as heretofore be paid 
 to the date of the ratification of this Convention. 
 
 Article VII, 
 
 All persons who held property in the Transvaal on the 8th day of 
 August 1881 and still hold the same, will continue to enjoy the rights 
 of property which they have enjoyed since the 12th April, 1877. No 
 
38-« 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 person who has remained loval to Her Majesty during tiic late hostiliticj 
 shall siiffiT any molestation by reason of his loyalty ; or be lialMe to an) 
 criminal prosecution or civil action for any part taken in coniiectior 
 with such hostilities ; and all such persons will have full liberty tc 
 reside in the country, with enjoyment of all civil rij^hts, and protcetior. 
 for their persons and property. 
 
 AfrncLE VIII. 
 
 The South African Republic renews the declaration made in the 
 Sand Kivcr Convention, and in tlie Oinvention of Pretoria, that no 
 slavery or apprenticeship partaking of slavery will be tolerated liy the 
 Government of tlie said Republic. 
 
 Article IX. 
 
 There will continue to be complete freedom of religion and protectiun 
 from molestation for all denominations, provided the same be not 
 inconsistent with morality and good order ; and no disability shall 
 attach to any person in regard to rights of property by reason of the 
 religious opinions which he holds. 
 
 Article X. 
 
 The British Officer appointed to reside in the South African Rcpul)lic 
 will receive every ass- tance from the Government of the said Rcpuhhc 
 in making due provision for the proper care and preservation of the 
 graves of such of Her Majesty's Forces as have died in the Transvaal ; 
 and, if need be, for the appropriation of land for the purpose. 
 
 Article XI. 
 
 All grants or titles issued at any time by the Transvaal Government 
 in respect of land outside the boundary of the South African Republic, 
 as dchned in Article i, shall be considered invalid and of no effect, 
 except in so far as any such grant or title relates to land that falls 
 within the boundarj' of the South African Republic ; and all persons 
 holding any such grant so considered invalid and of no effect will 
 receive from the Government of the South African Republic such 
 compensation, either in land or in money, as the Volksraad shall 
 determine. In all cases in which any Native Chiefs or other authorities 
 outside the said boundaries have received any adequate consideiation 
 from the Government of the South African Republic for land excluded 
 from the Transvaal by the first Article of this Convention, or where 
 permanent improvements have been made on the land, the High 
 Commissioner will recover from the native authorities fair compensation 
 for the loss of the land thus excluded, or of the permanent improve- 
 ments thereon. 
 
 Article XII. 
 
 The independence of the Swazis, within the boundary hue of 
 Swaziland, as indicated in the first Article of this Convention will be 
 fully recognized. 
 
 Article XIII. 
 
 Except in pursuance of any treaty or engagement made as provided 
 in Article 4 of this Convention, no other or higher duties shall be 
 imposed on the importation into the South African Republic of any 
 
■i 
 
 AFPENlJlX B 
 
 383 
 
 
 article cominj» from any part of Her Majesty's dominions than are oi 
 may be imposed on the Hke article coming from any other place ot 
 country ; nor will any prohibition be maintained or imposed on the 
 importation into the South African RepubUc of any article comir.j^ from 
 any part of Her Majesty's dominions which shall not equally extend to 
 the like article coming from any other place or country. And in like 
 manner the same treatment shall be given to any article coming tu 
 Great Britain from the South African Republic as to the like article 
 coming from any other place or country. 
 
 These provisions do not preclude the consideration of special 
 arrangements as to import duties and commercial relations between 
 the South African Republic and any of Her Majesty's colonies 01 
 possessions. 
 
 Article XIV. 
 
 All persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the law.s 
 of the South African Republic (a) will have full liberty, with thcii 
 families, to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the South African 
 Republic ; (6) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses, manu- 
 factories, warehouses, shops, and premises ; (c) they may carry on their 
 commerce either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit 
 to employ ; (d) they will not be subject, in respect of their persons or 
 property, or in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, 
 whether general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed 
 upon citizens of the said Republic. 
 
 Article XV. 
 
 All persons, other than natives, who established their domicile in the 
 Transvaal between the 12th day of April, 1877, and the 8th August, 
 i88r, and who within twelve months after such last-mentioned date 
 have had their names registered by the British Resident, shall be 
 exempt from all compulsory military service whatever. 
 
 Article XVI. 
 
 Provision shall hereafter be made by a separate instrument for the 
 mutual extradition of criminals, and also for the surrender of deserters 
 from Her Majesty's Forces. 
 
 Article XVII. 
 
 All debts contracted between the 12th April, 1877, and the 8th 
 August, 1881, will be payable in the same currency in which they may 
 have been contracted. 
 
 Article XVIII. 
 
 No grants of land which may have been made, and no transfer;, o: 
 mortgages which may have been passed between the 12th April, 1877, 
 and the 8th August, 1881, will be invalidated by reason merely of their 
 having been made or passed between such dates. 
 
 All transfers to the British Secretary for Native Affairs in trust foi 
 natives will remain in force, an officer of the South African Republic 
 taking the place of such Secretary for Native Affairs. 
 
 Article XIX. 
 
 The Government of the South African Republic will engage faith- 
 fully to fulfil the assurances given, in accordance with the laws of the 
 
384 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 S.'uth African Kcpublic, to the iiiitivcs at the Pretoria Pitso by the 
 Koyal Cuinini^^iiiuii in the presence ot the Triumvirate and with their 
 entire absent, (i) as to the freedom of the natives to buy or otiierwise 
 acquire land under certain conchtions, (2) as to tiie appointment of a 
 commission to mark out native locations, (3) as to the access of tlu; 
 natives to the courts of law, and (4) as to tiieir beinj^ allowed to move 
 freely within the country, or to leave it for any le^al purpose, under 
 a pass syst(;m. 
 
 Article XX. 
 
 This Convention will be ratified by a \'olksraad of the South African 
 K'epublic within tiie period of six months after its execution, and iu 
 default of such ratification this Convention shall be null and void. 
 
 Sij«ned in duplicate in London this 27th day of February, 1884. 
 
 HKi^CULES I^OBINSON. 
 S. J. P. KRUGEK. 
 S. J. DU TOIT. 
 N. J. SMIT. 
 
APPE:iDIX C. 
 
 PRESIDENT KKUGEKS AFFAIRS IN THE RAADa 
 
 1889. 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 yuly. — His Honour accepts a loan of ;£7,ooo from the State funds at 
 2\ per cent, interest (current rate being about 6 per cent.). 
 
 1890. 
 
 July 4. — The President said : Mr. Taljaard yesterday threw in my 
 teeth that I took advantage of my position to benefit my own relations. 
 I assure you that I have not done anything of the kind. Unfortunately, 
 one of my relatives who is a speculator nas got a concession, which 
 I am in duty bound to carry out. But I am deeply grieved that Mr. 
 Taljaard said what he did say. In future, I can assure you not a 
 single member of my family shall receive a single office. I will not 
 even make ont; of them a constable. I have children myself, but I 
 have left them on the farm rather than put them in office to draw 
 money from the State. 
 
 1891. 
 
 May. — In answer to a request that President Kruger would allow his 
 name to be used as patron of a ball in honour of Her Majesty's 
 birthday : 
 
 SiK. 
 
 In reply to your favour of the 12th instant, requesting me to 
 ask His Honour the State President to consent to his name being 
 used as a patron of a ball to be given at Johannesburg on the 26th 
 inst., I have been instructed to inform you that His Honour considers 
 H ball as Baal's service, for which reason the Lord ordered Moses to 
 kill all offenders ; and as it is therefore contrary to His Honour's 
 principles, His Honour cannot consent to the misuse of his name in 
 auch connection. I have, etc., 
 
 F. Eloff, 
 
 Pr. Secretary. 
 1892. 
 
 FIRST i^AAD, 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 May 24. — It was resolved that a dam be constructed on the President's 
 ♦arm 'Geduld' at a cost of ;^4,5oo, at the expense of the Treasury. 
 
 38s cc 
 
.!»*'' 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 SKCOND RAAD. 
 
 The Public Works Department report that the road across the 
 President's farm '(I'-duld,' estiinatod to cost £1,500, had actually cost 
 ;t*5,ooo. Mr. Mkyku slated that this road was of absolutely no use to 
 anyone but the owner of the farm ! 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 fune 15. — Letter from Mr. Mare, Deacon, on behalf of the United 
 Church, Pretoria, coniplairiitig that of the twelve erven j^iven by 
 CjDvennnent to the Church, they had been deprived of four, which 
 had been handed over to the President's Churcli, the Gerevoorinecie 
 or Dopper, and two of these had again been transferred to the 
 President iiimself. 
 
 yune 16. — After a lengthy discussion it was resolved that tiie President 
 is entirely exonerated. The Raad further expressed its disapproval 
 of this conduct of a Christian Church, whose duty it should be to 
 foster Christian love, and set an example to the burghers. 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 August 2. 
 
 A memorial was read from Lichtenburg, praying for a 
 stringent investigation into the Report of the Kstimates Committee 
 of 1890, in which it was stated that of ;^i40,ooo spent on the Pretoria 
 streets, vouchers for ;£22,ooo were missing, ''"he Raad decided on 
 the President's stating that nothing was wrong with the accounts to 
 send the memorialists a copy of the resolution of laft year. 
 
 1893. 
 
 yuly 17. — The PKESiDiiNT said it was simply murdering the erection of 
 factories to say there should be no concessions. He denied tliat 
 factories could be erected without concessions. If the Raad wished 
 to throw out all concessions, well and good. That simply meant the 
 fostering of industries in other countries. 
 
 STANDS SCANDAL." 
 
 August 3. — The President said that speculation, when fairly conducted, 
 was justifiable, and the Government had acted according "li the 
 circumstances, and in the interests of the State. The Government 
 had no private interests in view, but thought the sale was quite 
 justifiable. 
 
 The Minister of Mines was then attacked for granting stands to 
 Raad officials when higher offers had been made. 
 
 ' By this name is known the series of transactions in which Govern- 
 ment land in Johannesburg was sold out of hand to certain private 
 individuals at a nominal figure, many thousands of pounds below the 
 then market value. 
 
 iv,:, 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 ^^OLKSRAAD DE HATES. 
 Extrach Jrom the Published Reports. 
 
 1889. 
 
 May 8.— On the application of the Sheba G. M. Co. for permission to 
 erect an aerial tram from the mine to the mill, 
 
 Mr. Gkoulaar asked whether an aerial tram was a balloon or 
 whether it could fly throu^^h the air. 
 
 The only objection that the Chairman had to urge against granting 
 the tram was that the Company had an English name, and that with 
 so many Dutch ones available. 
 
 Mr. Tauaaku objected to the word ' participeeren ' (participate) 
 as not being Dutch, and to him unintelligible : ' I can't believe the 
 word is Dutch ; why have I never come across it in the Bible if 
 it is?" 
 June 18. — On the application for a concession to treat tailings, 
 
 Mr. Taljaakd wished to know if the words ' pyrites' and ' concen- 
 trate;. ' could not be translated into the Dutch language. He could 
 not understand what it meant. He had gone to niglit-jchool as long 
 as he had been in Pretoria, and even now he could not explain every- 
 thing to his burghers. He thought it a shame that big hilb should 
 be made on ground under which there might be rich reefs, and which 
 in future might be required for a market or outspan. He would 
 support the recommendation on condition that the name of the 
 quartz should be translated into Dutch, as there miglit be more in 
 this than some of them imagined. 
 
 REDUCTION OF IMPORT DUTIES ON EATABLES. 
 
 June 20. — Mr. Wolmarans said the diggers simply did not want to buy 
 from the Boers ; there was plenty of meat and bread ir the land, and 
 the Boers could not get good prices for their cattle. 
 
 Mr. Van Heerden could not see how the inhabitants of the State 
 would benefit in the least by lowering the tariff. 
 
 Messrs. Lombaard and Wolmarans both declared that when 
 duties were at their highest groceries etc. were at their cheapest. 
 
 Mr. Taljaard thought that members who were in favour of lovvi-' 
 ing the tariff did not act for the benefit of the country. 
 
 387 
 
3«8 
 
 APPENDICLSj 
 
 1890. 
 
 May 29. — A discussion of considerable length took place on a petition 
 from burj^liers of Gatsrand, Potchefstroom district, praying that at 
 least two-thirds of the Governme.it money now lying idle in the 
 banks should be given out to agriculturists as loans, and the remainder 
 for other purposes. 
 
 July 2. — His Honour was asked why he did not suppress all sweepstakes 
 and races. 
 
 The Prksident said gambling and lotteries were in conflict with 
 the Word of God, but it was also the duty of man to have exercise 
 and to exercise his horses. For that reason an exception had been 
 made in the Bill as to horse-races, etc. 
 
 INCREASE OF OFFICIALS SALARIES. 
 
 July 7. — The President supported the increase. He promised the Raad 
 — and he had done this before — that whenever there was a falling off 
 in the revenue, he would at once reduce the salaries. He had said 
 this before, and if members did not beheve him let them call him a 
 liar at once. 
 
 1891. 
 SECOND RAAD. 
 
 June 5. — Mr. Esselen objected to minutes not being full enough. 
 
 Mr. Taljaard accused Mr. Esselen of insulting the Raad. 
 
 A discussion ensued on minutes, in which certain proposals which 
 had been rejected had not been incorporated. Several members 
 said that the incorporation of proposals that had been rejected would 
 entail some members being held up to the scorn of the public. 
 
 estimates. 
 
 June 24. — Two hundred vouchers were found to be missing from the 
 yearly accounts, and no explanation could be given. Also ;^i3,ooo 
 iiad been given on loan to the Boeren Winkcl CBoer General Store — 
 a private mercantile venture). 
 
 July 27. — Mr. Mare maintained that the Public Works were badly 
 administered. 
 
 The President dashed down the papers in front of him and 
 stalked out of the Raad. after emphatically denying that money had 
 been wasted. 
 
 July 27. — At the debate on the question of appointing a State financier, 
 who could among other things be held responsible for the disappear- 
 ance of vouchers, the Auditor-General said that he did not want an 
 official of that nature, who would be always snivelling about his books. 
 
 CLAUSE twenty-three OF THE GOLD LAW. 
 
 August 5. — The President said that owners of properties had quite 
 sufficient privileges already, and he did not want to give them more. 
 Mr. LoMiiAARD said the Gold F"ields wanted too much. The revenue 
 from the Gold Fields was already less than the expenditure. He was 
 of opinion that the best course would be to let the Gold Fields go to 
 the devil and look after themselves. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 389 
 
 189 1!. 
 
 SECOND RAAD. 
 
 May 6. — Protracted discussion arose on the Postal Report, the Conser- 
 vatives being opposed to erecting pillar-boxes in Pretoria on the 
 ground that they were extravagant and effeminate. 
 
 OOM Dyle (Mr. Tauaard) said that he could not see why people 
 wanted to be always writing letters. He wrote none himself. In the 
 days of his youth he had written a letter, and had not been afraid 
 to travel fifty miles and more on horseback and by wagon to post it ; 
 and now people complained if they had to go one mile. 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 May 21. — On the question of abolishing the post of Minute-Keeper to 
 tiie Executive the President fell into a passion with Mr. Loveday 
 who thought a Minute-Keeper unnecessary, and left the Raad in a 
 temper, 
 
 ^une 13. — The President said the reason why he did not subsidize 
 some papers by giving them advertisements was that they did not 
 defend the Government. It was the rule everywhere to give adver- 
 tisements to papers which supported the Government. 
 
 i', 
 
 PRESIDIiNT AND GENERAL. 
 
 fuly 21. — Gtueral Joubert tenders his resignation as Chairman of 
 the Chicago Exhibition Committee. He had written again and again 
 to the President and State Secretary for an intimation of the Govern- 
 ment's intention with regard to the amount on the Estimates, but his 
 conununications were treated with silent contempt. 
 
 The President made a long speech, in which he said he felt great 
 grief at being .hus falsely charged by the General, who was also a 
 member of the Executive. Still he would only bless those who 
 spitefully used him and would not blacken the General. 
 
 SECOND RAAD. 
 
 ^uly 21. — After the /esolution hid been taken on Mr. Van Niekerk's 
 proposition regi.rding con\pen;;ation for claims not yet worked out 
 (Clause 60 of Gold Law), the President was still speaking, and 
 objecting to the recording of Van Niekerk's objection to the passing 
 of the Gold Law Clause Amendment, when Mr. Esselen called 
 'Order, Order !' several times. 
 
 The President said he was insulted by Mr. Esselen and would 
 withdraw unless he apologized. 
 
 The Raad adjourned, as Mr. Esselen refused. 
 
 :| 
 
 
 ■ J 
 i 
 
 .■■J 
 
 ■-■■ t 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 LOCUST EXTERMINATION. 
 
 July 21. — Mr. Roos said locusts were a plague, as in the days of King 
 Pharaoh, sent by God, and the country would assuredly be loaded 
 with shame and obloquy ».' it tried to raise its hand against the mighty 
 hand of the Almighty. 
 
 Messrs, Declerq and SteenkampspoU'^ in the bame strain, quoting 
 largely from the Scriptures. 
 
I 
 
 390 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 The Chairman related a true story of a man whose farm was 
 always spared by the locusts, until one day he caused some to be 
 killed. His farm was then devastated. 
 
 Mr. Stoop conjured the members not to constitute themselves 
 terrestrial gods and oppose the Almighty. 
 
 Mr. Lucas Meyer raised a storm by ridiculing the arguments of 
 the former speakers, and comparing the locusts to beasts of prey 
 which they destroyed. 
 
 Mr. Labuschagne was violent. He said ihe locusts were quite 
 different from beasts of prey. They were a special plague sent by 
 God for their sinfulness. 
 July 26. — Mr. De Beer attacking the railways said they were already 
 beginning to eat the bitter fruits of them. He was thinking of trek- 
 king to Damaraland, and his children would trek still further into the 
 wilderness out of the reach of the iron horse. 
 August 16. — Mr. De Beer said he saw where all the opposition to 
 duties came frcm. It was English blood boiling to protect English 
 manufacture. 
 
 1893. 
 
 fune 21. — A memorial was read from certain burghers of Waterberg 
 about children beating their parents, and praying that such children 
 should not be allowed to become officials of the State or sit in 
 Voiksraad ! 
 
 Mr. De Beer — the Member for Waterberg — who in the days of his 
 hot youth is said to have given his father a sound thrashing, and is 
 the one aimed at by the memorialists, denied all knowledge of the 
 memorial. 
 
 charlestown extension. 
 
 August 24. — Mr. WoLMARANS opposed the line, as it would compete 
 with the Delagoa Bay Railway, fur which the State was responsible. 
 
 Mr. Le Clekq maintained that the Cape Free State Une was against 
 the interests of the burghers, as a tremendous number of cattle were 
 brought into the State from outside countries. 
 
 Mr. Malan said he would never vote for this line. 
 
 Mr. Roos referred to the sacred voice of the people, which he said 
 was against railways. 
 
 The extension was eventually approved of, 
 
 1894. 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 May 14. — A debate took place upon the clause that members should 
 appear in the House clad in broadcloth and having white neckties. 
 
 Mr. Jam de Beer complained of the lack of uniformity in neckties. 
 Some wore a Tom Thumb variety, and others wore scarves. This 
 was a state of things to be deplored, and he considered that the Raad 
 should put its foot down and define the siz^? and shape of neckties. 
 
 JAM CONCESSION. 
 
 August 20. — The President said he was against concessions generally 
 speaking, but there wers oases where exceptions should be mafic. 
 There was for instance the Jam Concession. The manufacture ot 
 jam ought to be protected. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 391 
 
 REDUCTION OF POSTAGE FROM TWOPENCE TO ONE PENNY 
 THROUGHOUT THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 August 22. — Mr. WoLMARANs opposed the reduction, saying the Postal 
 Department would probably show a deficit at the end of the year 
 And besides who would benefit ? Certainly not the farmers. 
 
 Mr. LoMBAiXRO also was against the reduction. 
 
 Mr. De la Rey said speculators could afford to pay the present 
 rates of postage, and as the reduction would only benefit the town^;- 
 people, let matters remain unaltered. If he resided in a town and 
 speculated he would be able to pay twopence. 
 
 Mr. ScHU'iTK said the Postal Department was run at a loss at 
 present, and if they further reduced the tariff things would go very 
 badly with them. 
 
 Reduction rejected, 13 to 9. 
 
 INCREASE OF REPRESENTATION. 
 
 September 6. — The President throughout the debate maintained that 
 there was no advantage to be gained by increased representation, 
 and that business could be more quickly transacted with a small 
 number of members. He disagreed with those members who 
 wished to give big towns representatives as the Raad would be 
 swamped with town members. 
 
 After the rejection of various proposals the President rose ;ind 
 pointed out it would mean ruination to the country if the Raad 
 resolved ito increase the number of the members, and amidst some 
 confusion he left, dechning to occupy the Presidential chair, 
 muttering that the Raad was large enough already and if it were 
 increased it would be a shame. 
 
 EDUCATION QUESTION. 
 
 September 7. — The Committee reported that a number of memorials had 
 been received, praying that more hours weekly should be devoted 
 to the English language. Counter memorials had also been received. 
 The Committee advised the Raad not 1 > grant the request of more 
 hours for English. 
 
 Mr. Lombaard thought the Raad was bound to refuse the request, 
 and it would be useless to discuss the matter. 
 
 Mr. De Beer could see no harm in granting the request, in fact it 
 was their duty to do so. 
 
 Mr. Spies considered there was no necessity to teach English in 
 the State. Trade did not require it, and they could get on very well 
 without English. Let the English remain in their own country. 
 
 The President was opposed to extending the hours. He did not 
 object to English being taught, but then it must not interfere with 
 the language of the country to the prejudice of the latter language. 
 He had schools upon his farm, and parents objected to their ciiildrcn 
 being taught English in those schools. After a very little while they 
 could write English as well as or better than their own language, and 
 neglected Dutch for English. The Dutch language could not be 
 maintained against English in competition. 
 
 Mr. Wolmarans also spoke against the English language saymg 
 that if they went through the list of those who had signed the 
 memorial for the annexation of the Transvaal by the EngHsh, they 
 would find without exception that thosr wno sigiied were Enghsh- 
 
 ' a 
 
392 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 speaking. He was against children being taught English so early, as 
 when they were taught young their minds became poisoned witii 
 English views. 
 
 Mr. Otto agreed with tlie spirit of the Committee's report. This 
 was a Dutch country, with Dutch laws, and why should they be 
 asked to exchange the Dutch language for the English ? What had 
 the English done for the country that this should be asked ? 
 
 The Chah^man thought many members made too much of the 
 English language already. One language was sufHcient, and if a 
 man was properly educated in his own tongue that should suffice. 
 
 Mr. Le Clerq and Mr. Prinsloo both cautioned the Raad against 
 foreign languages in their schools. 
 
 Mr. LovEDAY pointed out the absurdity of saying that the 
 National Independence depended upon one language only being 
 used, and pointed to the American and Swiss Republics as examples. 
 
 Mr. LoMBAARD m the course of a violent speech said those 
 people who wanted English taught in the State-aided schools were 
 aiming ♦^ the independence of the State. They wanted to bring 
 dissension in the midst of the burghers by teaching new and wrong 
 ideaii, and they became indignant because the burghers would not 
 allow it. He was ashamed that members should argue in favour of 
 injuring their independence : English should not be taught in the 
 State-aided schools. 
 
 Tiie law remained unaltered by 12 to lO. 
 
 1895. 
 
 ■fuly 26. — The matter of purchasing diamond drills cropping up, the 
 Prfisidknt said it was true thai the two industries mining and 
 agriculture went hand in hand, but it must be remembered that 
 every fresh goldlield opened meant a fresh stream of people and 
 extra expenses. He hoped the Raad would excuse him referring to 
 it, but the Raad took away the revenue and still asked for money. 
 There was the reduction of postage ; now it was asked to spend 
 money on boring machines, when each new field meant so much 
 extra expense. Machines for water boring were cheap and not fitted 
 with diamonds like those for mining, which required to be handled 
 by experts. It must be remembered that money voted for agri- 
 cultural purposes was spent here, while for the gold industry it was 
 sent away. The Raad must be careful how the money was voted. 
 
 FIRST RAAD. 
 
 FIRING AT THE CLOUDS TO BRING DOWN RAIN CONSIDRRED IMPIOUS. 
 
 Augusi 5. — A memorial was read from Krugersdorp praying that the 
 Kaad would pass a law to prohibit the sending up of bombs into the 
 clouds to bring down rain, as it was a defiance of God and would 
 most likely bring down a visitation from the Almighty. 
 
 The Memorial Committee reported that thev disapproved of such 
 a thing, but at the same time they did not consider they could make 
 a law on the subject. 
 
 Mr. A. D. WoLMARANs said he was astonished at this advice, and 
 he expected better from the Commission. If one of their children 
 fired towards the clouds with a revolver they would thrash him. 
 Why should they permit people to mock at the Almighty in this 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 393 
 
 manner ? It was terrible to contemplate. He hoped that the Raad 
 would take steps to prevent such thing's happening. 
 
 The Chairman (who is also a member of the Memorial 'Jomniis- 
 sion) said the Commission thought that such things were only done 
 for a wager. 
 
 Mr. Erasmus said they were not done for a wager but in real 
 earnest. People at Johannesburg actually thought that they 
 could bring down the rain from the clouds by firing cannons at 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Meyer said such things were actually done in Johannes- 
 
 '^urg. ^ast year during the drought men were engaged to send 
 charges of dynamite mto the clouds. They fired from the Wanderers' 
 Ground and from elsewhere, but without result. Then some one 
 went to Getmiston and fired at a passing cloud ; but there was no 
 rain. The cloud sailed away, and the heavens became clear and 
 beautifully blue. He had reported the matter to the Government. 
 
 Mr. Du ToiT (Carolina) said he had heard that there were com- 
 panies in Europe which employed numbers of men to do nothing but 
 jhoot at the clouds simply to bring down rain. It was wonderful 
 that men could think of doing such things ; they ought to be pro- 
 hibited here. He did not consider that the Raad would be justified 
 in passing a law on the subject, however ; but he thought all the 
 same that they should express their strongest disapproval of such 
 practices. 
 
 Mr. BiRKENSTOCK ridiculed tlie idea of people forcing rain from 
 the clouds. In some of the Kaffir countries they had witch-doctors 
 who tried to bring down rain ; whether they succeeded or not was a 
 different matter. Still, if people were foolish enough to try and force 
 the clouds to discharge rain, the Legislature ought not to interfere to 
 prevent them. He did not agree with the idea of firing at the clouds, 
 but did not ,onsider that an Act should be passed to prevent it. 
 
 The Chairman' said if such things were actually done — and he 
 was unaware of it — those who did it ought to be prevented from 
 repeating it. 
 
 After a further discussion, Mr. A. D. Wolmaiuns moved : ' That 
 this Raad, considering the meir.orial now on the Order, resolves to 
 agree with the same, and instructs the Government to take the neces- 
 sary steps to prevent a repetition of the occurrences referred to.' 
 
 SECOND RAAD. 
 
 barmaids. 
 
 The article for the abolition of barmaids was dealt with. 
 
 Mr. Watkins declared himself strongly against such an article. 
 He could not see why females should be prevented from dispensing 
 liquor. Such a clause would prevent many respectable young women 
 from making a living. 
 
 Mr. Pretorius said there were many memorials on this subject, 
 and in compliance with the wish expressed therein the article was 
 inserted in the Liquor Law. Of course, it was for the Rand lo decide. 
 
 Mr. Ren'SBURG spoke strongly against the clause. According to it 
 the proprietor's wife would be prevented from going behind the 
 counter. He would not deny that there were some barmaids w.ho 
 were not strictly virtuous bur to accuse them as a class of being 
 
394 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 dangerous was going too far. Many of the memorials were signed by 
 women. These memorials were drawn by men whom he considered 
 were hypocrites, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves for 
 their narrow-mindedness. 
 
 Mr. Van Staden said he did not like to take the bread out of the 
 mouths of a great many women. 
 
 Mr. KoENiG suggested that they could become chambermaids. 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 MALABOCH. 
 
 : i( 
 
 Septemhei 4. — An Executive resolution was read, stating that the 
 Executive had decided to deprive Malaboch of his rights of chief- 
 tainship, and keep him in the custody of the Government, and that 
 his tribe be broken up and apprenticed out to burghers, each 
 burgher applying to have one or two families upon payment of £^ 
 per family per annum. The Executive wished the Raad to approve 
 of this ; the Government had the right to do this according to law. 
 This was without prejudice to the trial before the High Court. 
 Perhaps when the Krijgsraad assembled it would be decided to try 
 him before the High Court on charges of murder and rebellion. 
 
 Mr. Jeppe thought this was a matter for the High Court, and 
 counselled the Raad to adopt that course, giving the chief a public 
 trial. 
 
 The President said the Executive acted strictly in accordance with 
 the law ; it was not necessary for the Government to send the case 
 to the High Court, as it had the power to decide native cases. For 
 instance, m the case of Lo Bengula and his headmen, they were not 
 tried by any High Court. 
 
 Mr. Meyer thought they should give Malaboch a fair trial. 
 
 Finally Mr. Meyer moved, a id Mr. Jeppe seconded, that 
 Executive resolution be accepted for notice. 
 
 
 J«« 
 
APPENDIX F. 
 
 THE GREAT FRANCHISE DEBATE. 
 
 The following extract is made from the Report of the great Franchise 
 Debate, published in the Johannesburg Star, August 17, 1895 : 
 
 EXTENSION OF THE FRANCHISE. — MONSTER UITLANDER 
 WHAT THE BURGHERS WISH. 
 
 PETITIONS. — 
 
 Petitions were read praying for the extension of the franchise. The 
 ptiitioncrs pointed out that they were all residents in the Republic, 
 that the increase of the wealth of the country and the status of the 
 country were due to their energy and wealth, tliat the number of the 
 non-enfranchised far exceeded the number of the burghers, that 
 taxaiioii wa.-, so arranged that the non-enfranchi.sed bore four-fifths of 
 the taxes. The memorialists pointed out that one of the Republican 
 principles was equality, but that notwithsianding the numerously signed 
 memorials the fiaad decided last year to make the Franchise Law so 
 stringent that a new-comer could never obtain the francliise, and his 
 children could only obtam it under severe conditions. They pointed 
 out the danger of this, and prayed for admission under reasonable 
 conditions. 
 
 The petitions came from every part of the country, including all the 
 Boer strongholds, and some were signed by influential officials. One 
 petition from Johannesburg was signed by 32,479 persons, and the total 
 signatures amounted to 35,483. 
 
 Memorials to the same effect were read from a large number of 
 farming districts, signed oy 993 full burghers, who were anxious that 
 the franchise should be extended to law-abiding citizens. These 
 memorials contained the names of prominent farmers. There were 
 nineteen of these last-named memorials, four of which came from 
 different parts of the Pretoria district and three from Potchefstroom. 
 
 A memorial was read from Lydenburg, suggesting that ten years' 
 residence in the country and obedience to the law be the qualihcation. 
 This was signed by about a hundred burghers. 
 
 A number of memorials were read from Rustenberg, Waterberg, Piet 
 Retief, Utrecht, Middelberg, Zoutpansberg, and Krugersdorp, signed 
 by about 500 burgliers, stating that v.'hile they valued the friendship 
 of the peace-abiding Uitlanders they petitioned the Raad not to extend 
 the tra'iclnse ur alter last year's law. 
 
 A nuMnonal from Krugersdorp was to the effect that the franchise 
 ■•houid not W .'yK.iicL'd until absolutely necessary, and then only in 
 
 \'i ■ 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 397 
 
 terms of Art. 4 of the Franchise Law of 1894. This was signed 
 by thirteen persons. 
 
 One was read from the Apies River and Standerton, pra\'ing that the 
 children of LJitianders born here should not be j^rantcd tlie franchise. 
 
 Memorials from other places, with 523 signatures, prayed that the 
 existing Franchise Law should be strictly enforced. 
 
 Several petitions against the prohibition of the Election Committee 
 were read. 
 
 A further memorial from the Rand was read, containing 5,152 signa- 
 tures, pointing out that they objected to the memorial issued by tlie 
 National Union, and they wanted the system of one-man-one-vote and 
 the ballot system adopted before they asked for the franchise. 
 
 t. ' ■ 
 
 '. "t ; 
 
 THE committee's RECOMMENDATION'S. 
 
 The Memorial Committee recommended that the law remain un- 
 altered, because the memorials signed by full burghers recjuested no 
 extension to take place. 
 
 Mr. Lucas Meykk, who was chairman of the Memorial Commission, 
 submitted a report, stating that he was in the minoril^;? and differed 
 from his fellow-committeemen. There was not a single member of the 
 Raad who would use his powers more towards maintaining the inde- 
 pendence of the country than himself, but he was fully convinced that 
 the Raad had as bounden duty to propose an alteration to last year's 
 law. Proposals to do so had to emanate from the Raad. A Large 
 majority of memorialists who prayed for the extension were not 
 burghers, but even those burghers who petitioned the Raad against 
 the extension asked the Raad not to do so at present. That showed 
 that they were convinced that sooner or later the extension would have 
 to take place — cautiously perhaps, but the extension would come. 
 Even the committee, the majority of whom were against him, recog- 
 nised this. He repeated that it was his opinion that the time would 
 come. Let the Raad then submit the proposal to the country, and if 
 the majority of the burghers were against it, the Raad would have 
 to stand or fall with the burghers ; but at any rate they would be acting 
 according to the will of the country, and could not be blamed for pos- 
 sible consequences. Recently the President said something had to be 
 done to admit a portion of the people who were behind the dam, before 
 the stream became so strong that the walls would be washed away and 
 the country immersed in water. He hoped the Raad would favourably 
 consider his proposal. 
 
 Mr. TosEN said that when the proposals came to extend the franchise, 
 such proposals had to come from old burghers, and so far the old 
 burghers had not signified their willingness that this should he done. 
 On t'.ie contrary, a ),irge number of tiicm were against it. They did 
 not wish to exclude '.he new-comers for all eternity, but just now they 
 should make no cjncession. It stood to reason that the new-comers 
 could not have so much interest in the country as the old inhabitants. 
 He cautioned the Raad against accepting the recommendations of Mr. 
 Meyer. // would be contrary to Republican principles. Yes, he repeated 
 it would be contrary to the principles of Republicanism, and were new- 
 comers admitted to the franchise the old burghers would be deprived 
 of ail their rights. They would not dare to vote or exercise any of 
 their privileges. Those persons who signed the petition for the franchise 
 said they were peaceful and law-abiding citizens, but they gave a sign 
 that they were not law-abiding, because they were against the law. Tht 
 Election Law was there, and they should abide by it. 
 
 '■ . \ 
 
 
 ' >t 
 
i9^ 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 The Chairman called the speaker to order and advised him to keep 
 ti) the point, whether it was desirable to extend the franchise or not. 
 
 Mr. TosEN said he was cut short, but in a few words he would sav 
 resist to the bitter end any attempt to alter the law as 
 stood. He spoke on behalf of his constituents and 
 
 that he would 
 it at present 
 himself. 
 Mr. Jkppe 
 
 in the course of his speech, said : Who are the people 
 •vho now demand from us a reasonable extension of the franchise ? 
 There are to begin with almost a thousand old burghers who consent 
 to such exiension. There are in addition 890 petitioners, also old 
 burghers, who complain that the franchise has been narrowed by 
 recent legislation. There are 5,100, chiefly from the Kand, who ask for 
 extension subject to the ballot, the principle of which has already been 
 adopted by you, and there is lastly a monster petition, bearing 35,700 
 names, chiefly from the Rand goldfields: and in passing I :nay mention 
 that I have convinced myself that the signatures to it, with very few 
 exceptions perhaps are undoubtedly genuine. Well, this petition has 
 been practically signed by the entire population of the Rand. There 
 are not three hundred people of any standing whose names do not 
 appear there. It contains the name of the millionaire capitalist on the 
 same page as that of the carrier or miner, that of the owner of half a 
 district next to that of a clerk, and the signature of the merchant who 
 possesses stores in more than one town of this Republic next to that of 
 the official. It embraces also all nationalities : the German merchant, 
 the doctor from Capetown, the English director, the teacher from the 
 Paarl — they all have signed it. So have — and that is significant — old 
 burghers from the Free State, whose fathers with yours reclaimed this 
 country ; and it bears too the signatures of some who have been born 
 in this country, who know no otiier fatherland than this Republic, but 
 whom the law regards as strangers. Then too there are the new- 
 comers. They have settled for good : they have built Johannesburg, 
 one of the wonders of the age, now valued at many millions sterling, 
 and which, in a few short years, will contain from a hundred to a 
 hundred and fifty thousand souls ; they own half the soil, they pay at 
 least three-quarters of the taxes. Nor are they persons who belong 
 to a subservient race. They come from countries where they freely 
 exercised political rights which can never be long denied to free-born 
 men. They are, in short, men who in capital, energy and education 
 are at least our equals. All these persons are gathered together, thanks 
 to our law, into one camp. Through our own act this multitude, 
 wliich contains elements which even the most suspicious amongst us 
 would not hesitate to trust, is compelled to stand together, and so to 
 stand in this most fatal of all questions in antagonism to us. Is that 
 fact alone not sufficient to warn us and to prove how unstatesmanlike 
 our policy is ? What will we do with them now ? Shall we convert 
 them into friends or shall we send them away empty, dissatisfied, 
 embittered ? What will our answer be ? Dare we refer them to the 
 present law, which first expects them to wait for fourteen years and 
 even then pledges itself to nothing, but leaves everything to a Volksraad 
 which cannot decide until 1905 ? It is a law which denies all political 
 rights even to their children born in this country. Can they gather 
 any hope from that ? Is not the fate of the petition of Mr. Justice 
 Morice, whose request, however reasonable, could not be granted 
 except by the alteration of the law published for twelve months and 
 consented to by two-thirds of the entire burgher population, a con- 
 vincing proof how untenable is the position which we have assumed ? 
 
APPENDIX P 
 
 399 
 
 Well, should we resolve now to refuse this request, what will we do 
 when as we well know must happen it is repeated by two hundred 
 thousand one day. You will all admit the doors must be opened. 
 What will become of us or our children on tliat day. when we shall 
 find ourselves in a minority of perhaps one in twenty, without a sinj^le 
 friend amongst the otlier nineteen, amongst those who will then tell us 
 they wished to be brothers, but that we by our own act made them 
 strangers to the Republic ? Old as the world is, has an attempt like 
 ours ever succeedv-d for long ? Shall we say as a French king did 
 that things will last our time, and after that we reck not the deluge ? 
 Again I ask what account is to be given to our descendants and what 
 can be our hope in the future ? 
 
 Mr. DE Clercq opposed the extension. 
 
 Mr. Jan de Bkek said he could not agree to the prayer for extension. 
 The burghers would decide time enough when the dam was too full, or 
 when fresh water was wanted. He had gone through the memorials, 
 and some that wished an extension were unknown to him, even those 
 who signed from his district. Very few persons were in favour of the 
 extension, If the burghers wished it he would give it, he would agree 
 to it. The people coolly asked the Raad to extend, the franchise to 
 8o,o(x) persons, men who were not naturalized and had nothing to lose. 
 He did not mind extending the franchise to a few. When it was a 
 small case he did not object, but wlien it came to giving away their 
 birthright wholesale he kicked. He did not object to give the burgher 
 right to persons who shot Kaffirs, or he had better say, persons who went 
 into the native wars on behalf of the Transvaal, because they shed tlieir 
 blood for the country ; but people who came here only to make money 
 and that only did not deserve the franchise. Let them look at that 
 book of signatures on the table with the 70,000 names. Who were 
 they? (Laughter, and cries of 'Too much.') Well, 38,(xx) then. He 
 had ' too much.' They were the persons, the millionaires side by side 
 with mining workers whom Mr. Jeppe spoke of, but where did they find 
 these people side by side ? Nowhere I No, he would not grant an 
 extension of the franchise. 
 
 The President said he wished to say a few words on the subject, 
 and the first thing he had to say was that those persons who signed 
 the monster petition were unfaithful and not law-abiding. 
 
 Mr. Jeppe : I deny that. 
 
 The President : Yes — I repeat unfaithful. 
 
 Mr. Jeppe (excitedly) : I say they are not I 
 
 The Chairman : Order, order ! 
 
 The President then endeavoured to qualify his remarks by re- 
 asserting that these people were disrespectful and disobedient to the 
 law, because they were not naturalized. ' Now,' asked His Honour 
 triumphantly, ' can you contradict that ? No, you cannot. No one 
 can. The law says that they must be naturalized, and they are not.' 
 Speeches had been made that afternoon. His Honour proceeded, urging 
 that the rich should be made burghers and not the poor. Why not the 
 poor as well as the rich, if that were the case ? But he was against 
 
 f ranting any extension, saving in cases like that he mentioned tlie other 
 ay. Those who went on commando were entitled to it, but no others. 
 Those persons who showed they loved the country by making such 
 sacrifices were entitled to the franchise, and they should get it. These 
 memorials were being sent in year by year, and yearly threats were 
 made to them if they did not open the flood-gates. If the dam was full 
 before the walls were washed over, a certain portion of the water had 
 
 >.H 
 
 'I 
 
400 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 to be drnined off. Well, this had been done in the cnse of commando 
 men. They were the clean water which was drained off and taken 
 into thi' inner dam which consisted of clean water, hut he did not wish 
 to take in the dirty water also. No, it had to remain in the outer dam 
 Until it was cleaned and purified. The Kaad mij^ht just as well j»ive 
 away the independence of the country as j^ivc all tiiese new-comers, 
 tliese disobedient persons, the franciuse. Tliese persons knew there 
 was a law, but. they wished to evade it ; they wished to climb the wall 
 instead of poing along the road quietly, and these persons should be 
 kept back. He earnestly cautioned the Raad against adopting Mr. L. 
 Meyer's propo.sal. 
 
 Mr. D. JouBERT said excitement would not avail them. They h.id 
 to be calm and deliberate. Now, what struck him was hrst who 
 would give them the assurance, were they to admit the 35,000 persons 
 who petitioned them for the franchise, that they would maintain the 
 independence of the country inviolate and as a sacred heritage ? They 
 had no guarantee. He could not agree with the request of the petition 
 (here the speaker became excited, and gesticulating violently, con- 
 tinued), and he would never grant the request if the decision was in 
 his hands. 
 
 Mr. A. J. WoLMAR\Nssaid that his position on this question was that 
 he would not budge an inch. 
 
 Mr. Jan Meykr impugned the genuineness of the petition, and said 
 he hacf represented Johannesburg in the Raad for some time, and could 
 tell them how those things were worked. They were nearly all 
 forgeries. He stated that as there were only 40,000 people in Johannes- 
 burg it was impossible that 38,000 of them signed. Therefore they 
 were forgeries. The speaker concluded by saying that as long as he 
 lived he would never risk the independence of the country by granting 
 the franchise, except in accordance with the laxv. It was unreasonable 
 to ask him to give up his precious birthright in this thoughtless manner. 
 He could not do it — he would not do it ! 
 
 Mr. Prinsloo said that he had gone through the petitions from 
 Potchefstroom, and certainly he had to admit that many of the signa- 
 tures were not genuine, for he found on these petitions the names of 
 his next-door neighbours, who had never to!0 him a word about their 
 signing such petitions. 
 
 Mr. Otto again addressed the Raad, endeavouring to prove that 
 memorials from Ottos Hoop contained many frrgeries. He said that 
 he did not consider the Joliannesburg pcoi le who signed in that 
 wonderful and fat book on the table to be law-abiding, and he would 
 have none of them. The Raad had 
 franchise were not extended there would 
 these constant threats. He would say, 
 on !' (Cries of ' Order !') 
 
 Mr. Otto (proceeding) : I say, 'Come on and have it out ; and the 
 sooner the better.' I cannot help it, Mr, Chairman, I must speak out. 
 I say I am prepared to fight them, and I think e ery burgher of the 
 South African Republic is with me. 
 
 The Chairman (rapping violently) : Order, order 1 
 
 Mr. Otto : Yes, this poor South African Republic, which they say 
 they own three-fourths of. They took it from us, and we fought for it 
 and got it back. 
 
 'J'he Chairman : Order I 
 
 Mr. Otto : They called us rebels then. I say they are rebels. 
 
 Loud cries of ' Order ! ' 
 
 frequently lieard that if the 
 be trouble. He was tired of 
 ' Come on and light 1 Come 
 
 !|| 
 
AFFKNUIX K 
 
 401 
 
 Mr. Otto : I will say to-dny, those persons who sij^ned the memorials 
 in that book are rebels. 
 
 The Chairman: Will you ktp order? You have no rij«ht to s.iy 
 such things. We are not considering the question of powers, but the 
 peaceful (juestion of the extension of the franchise to-day ; and keep to 
 the point. 
 
 Mr. Otto : Very well I will ; but I call the whole country to witness 
 that you silenced me, and would not allow me to speak out my mind. 
 
 The Pkksidknt said they had to distinguish between trustworthy 
 persons and untrustworthy, and one proof was their Roing on com- 
 mando, and the other was their becoming naturalized People who 
 were naturalized were more or less worthy, and if they sep.irated 
 themselves from, the others who would not get naturalized, and peti- 
 tioned the Raad themselves, the Raad would give ear to their petition. 
 He strongly disapproved of the Ra.ad being deceived in the manner it 
 had been by the forged signatures. 
 
 Mr. R. K. LovEDAY, in the course of an address dealing exhaustively 
 with the subject, said : The President uses the argument that they 
 should naturalize, and thus give evidence of their desire to become 
 citizens. I have used the same argument, but what becomes of such 
 arguments when met with the objections that the law requires such 
 persons to undergo a probationary period extending from fourteen to 
 twenty-four years before they are admitted to full rights of citizensliip, 
 and even after one has undergone that probationary period, he can 
 only be admitted to full rights by resolution of the First Raad ? Law 4 
 of 1890, being the Act of the two Volksraads, lays down clearly and 
 distinctly that those who have been eligible for ten years for the Second 
 Raad can be admitted to full citizenship. So that, in any case, the 
 naturalized citizen cannot obtain full rights until he reaches the agn of 
 forty years, he not being eligible for the Second Raad until he is thirty 
 years. The child born of non-naturalized parents must therefore wait 
 until he is forty years of age, although at the age of sixteen he may be 
 called upon to do military service, and may fall in the defence of the 
 land of his birth. When such arguments are hurled at me by our own 
 flesh and blood — our kinsmen from all parts of South Africa — I must 
 confess that I am not surprised that these persons indignantly refuse 
 to accept citizenship upon such unreasonable terms. The element I 
 have just referred to — namely, the Africander element — is very con- 
 siderable, and numbers thousands hundreds of whom at the time this 
 country was struggling for its independence, accorded it moral and 
 financial support, and yet these very persons are subjected to a term of 
 probation extending from fourteen to twenty-four years. It is useless 
 for me to ask you whether such a policy is just and reasonable or 
 Republican, for there can be but one answer, and that is ' No !' Is 
 there one man in this Raad who would accept the franchise on the 
 same terms? Let me impress upon you the grave nature of this 
 question, and the absolute necessity of going to the burghers without a 
 moment's delay, and consulting and advising them. Let us keep 
 nothing from them regarding the true position, and I am sure we shall 
 have their hearty co-operation in any reasonable scheme we may 
 suggest. This is a duty we owe them, for we must not leave them 
 under the impression that the Uitlanders are satisfied to remain aliens, 
 as stated by some of the journals. I move amongst these people, and 
 learn to know their true feelings, and when public journals tell you 
 that these people are satisfied with their lot, they tell you that which 
 they know to be false. Such journals are amongst the greatest sources 
 
 OD 
 
 1: f. 
 
 1 #' 
 
 if 
 
 ^ m 
 
 M 
 
^CJ 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 of danger that the country has. We are informed by certain members 
 that a proposition for the extension of the franchise must come from 
 the burghers, but according to the Franchise Law the proposition 
 must come from the Raad, and the public must consent. The member 
 for Rustenberg says that there are 9,338 burghers who have declared 
 that they are opposed to the extension of the franchise. Upon refer- 
 ence to the Report, he will find that there are only 1,564 opposed to 
 the extension. Members appear afraid to touch upon the real question 
 at issue, but try to discredit the memorials by vague statements that 
 some of the signatures are not genuine, and the former member for 
 Johannesburg, Mr. J. Meyer, seems just as anxious to discredit the 
 people of Johannesburg as formerly he was to defend them. 
 
 The Chairman advanced many arguments in favour of granting the 
 franchise to the Uitlander, but nevertheless concluded by stating that 
 as the Raad with few exceptions were against the extension, he would 
 go with the majority. He was not, he said, averse to the publication 
 of Mr. Meyer's proposition, because the country would have to decide 
 upon it ; still he could not favour the extension of the franchise in the 
 face of what had been said during the debate. Let the Raad endeavour 
 to lighten the burden of the alien in other respects. Let tlie alien come 
 to the Raad with his grievances, and let the Raad give a patient ear 
 unto him, but he really was not entitled to the franchise. 
 
 The Pkksident again counselled the Raad not to consent to the 
 publication of Mr. Meyer's proposal. He did not want it put to the 
 country. This business had been repeated from year to year until he 
 was tired of it. And why should they worry and weary the burghers 
 once more by asking them to decide upon Mr. Meyer's motion ? There 
 was no need for it. There was no uncertainty about it. The burghers 
 knew their minds, and their will, which was supreme, was known. 
 The way was open for aliens to become burghers ; let them follow that 
 road and not try to jump over the wall. They had the privilege of 
 voting for the Second Raad if they became naturalized, and could vote 
 for olticials, and that was more than they could do in the Cape Colony. 
 In the Colony they could not vote for a President or any official. 
 They were all appointed. They could only vote for Raad members 
 there. And why should they want more power here all at once ? 
 What was the cause of all this commotion ? What were they clamour- 
 ing for ? He knew. They wanted to get leave to vote for members of 
 the First Raad, which had the independence of the country under its 
 control. He had been told by these people that ' if you take us on the 
 same van with you, we cannot overturn the van without hurting our- 
 selves as well as you.' '^fl,' that was true, ' maar,' the President 
 continued, they could pull away the reins and drive the van along a 
 different route. 
 
 Mr. Jeppe, again speaking, said there was one matter he must refer 
 to. That was his Honour's remarks about the petitioners, calhng them 
 disobedient and unfaithful. The law compels no one to naturalize 
 himself. How then could these petitioners have disobeyed it ? Of 
 course we should prefer them to naturalize. But can we be surprised 
 if they hesitate to do so ? Mr. Loveday has told you what naturaliza- 
 tion means to them. 
 
 The President agreed that these people were not obliged by law to 
 naturalize, but if they wanted burgher rights they should do so, when 
 they would get the franchise for the Second Raad ; and upon their 
 being naturalized let them come nicely to the Raad and the Raad 
 would have something to go to the country with, and they would 
 
APPENDIX P 
 
 403 
 
 , r 
 1*^ 
 
 receivs fair treatment ; but, if they refused naturalization and rejected 
 the Transvaal laws, could they expect the franchise ? No. Let Mr. 
 Jeppe go back and give his people good advice, and if they were 
 obedient co the law and became naturalized they would not regret it ; 
 but he could not expect his people to be made full burghers if they 
 were disobedient and refused naturalization. Let them do as he 
 advised, and he ^the President) would stand by them and support them. 
 
 Mr. Jeppe said : His Honour has again asked me to advise the 
 people of Johannesburg what to do regarding the extension of the 
 franchise. He says they must first naturalize and then come again. 
 Then he holds out hopes that their wishes will be met. Why then 
 does he not support Mr. Meyer's proposal, which affects naturalized 
 people only ? What is it I am to advise the people of Johannesburg ? 
 I have had many suggestions from different members. You, Mr. 
 Chairman, seem to support the hundred men from Lydenburg who 
 suggest ten years' residence as a qualification. Mr. Jan Meyer suggests 
 that those who came early to the goldfields should memorialize 
 separately, and he would support them. Others say that only those 
 who are naturalized should petition, and that if a few hundreds peti- 
 tioned instead of 35,000, their reception would be different. Well, we 
 have had one petition here wherein all these conditions were complied 
 with. It was not signed by anyone who had not been here ten years, 
 or who is not naturalized, or who could at all be suspected of being 
 unfaithf'.i, nor could any exception be taken to it on the ground ot 
 numbers, since it was signed by one man only, Mr. Justice Morice, 
 and yet it was rejected. Gentlemen, I am anxiously groping for the 
 light ; but what, in the face of this, am I to advise my people ? 
 
 Mr. Jan de Beer endeavoured to refute Messrs. Jeppe's and Love- 
 day's statements, when they said a man could not become a full inember 
 until he was forty. They were out of their reckoning, because a man 
 did not live until he was sixteen. He was out of the country. In the 
 eyes of the law he was a foreigner until he was sixteen. (Laughter.) 
 The member adduced other similar argu-:i?nts to refute those of Messrs. 
 Jeppe and Loveday, causing much )au;,^ lei. 
 
 Mr. LovEDAY replied to the 'iesi':nt. .^specially referring to his 
 Honour's statement that he fIvL , Lo^ediy) was wrong when he said 
 that a person would have to v/^if until he was forty before he could 
 obtain the full rights. He ' "v . iAweday) repeated and emphasized bi.; 
 statements of yesterday. 
 
 The Chairman said there wa." no doubt about it. What Mr. Lc ••"!>/ 
 said regarding the quaUficatior. ; and how long a man would have 10 
 wait until he was qualified to become a full hurghcr was absolutely 
 correct. It could not be contraaicted. The law was clear on that point. 
 There was no doubt about it. 
 
 Mr. Jan ds Beer : Yes ; I see now Mr. Loveday is right, and I am 
 wrong. The law does say what Mr. Loveday said. It r/iust he allercd. 
 
 The debate was closed on the third day, and Mr. Otto's nioviDn to 
 accept the report of the inajority of the Committee, to refuse t'.c re |uest 
 of the memoralists, and to refer them to tbt- existing l?,Wi'<, w?s carried 
 by sixteen votes to eight. 
 
 ''i I 
 
 M' 
 
 \ hi 
 
 
 if 
 
 1 : I i 
 
 'liiili 
 
APPENDIX G. 
 
 TERMS OF DR. JAMESON'S SURRENDER. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson to Mr, Chamberlain. 
 
 Received April 6, 1896. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Government House, Capetown, 
 
 March 16, 1896. 
 
 I have the honour to transmit for your information a copy of 
 a despatch from Her Majesty's Acting Agent at Pretoria, enclosmg 
 a communication from the Government of the South African RepubUc, 
 accompanied by sworn declarations, respecting the terms of the sur- 
 render of Dr. Jameson's force, a summary of which documents I tele- 
 graphed to you on the 12th instant. 
 
 At my request, Lieutenant-General Goodenough has perused these 
 sworn declarations, and informs me 'that,' in his opinion, 'Jameson's 
 surrender was unconditional, except that his and his people's lives were 
 to be safe so far as their immediate captors were concerned.' 
 
 I have, etc., 
 
 Hercules Robinson, 
 
 Enclosed in above letter. 
 
 Governor and High Commissioner. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 From H. Cloete, Pretoria, to the High Commissioner, 
 Capetown. 
 
 Pretoria, March nth, 1896. 
 
 I have the honour to enclose for the information of your E.vcel- 
 lency a letter this day received from the Government, z. summary of 
 which I have ilready sent your Excellency by telcf^raph. 
 
 I have, etc., 
 
 H. Cloete. 
 
 Department of Foreign Affairs, 
 
 Government Office, I'retoria, 
 Division A., R.A., 10^6/1896, March 10, 1896. 
 
 B., 395/90- 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 I am instructed to acknowledge the receipt of the telegram Iv ra 
 his Excellency the High Commissioner to you, dated 6th instant, ... 
 
 404 
 
 ii 
 
■ :if 
 
 APPENDIX G 
 
 405 
 
 warded on by you to his Honour the State President, and I am now 
 instructed to complete with further data my letter to you of 4th instant, 
 B.B., 257/96, which I herewith confirm, containing the information 
 which the Government then had before it respecting the surrender, 
 and which was furnished in view of your urgent request for an imme- 
 diate reply. 
 
 In order to leave no room for the slightest misunderstanding, and ta 
 put an end to all false representations, the Government has summoned 
 not only Commandant Cronje, but also Commandant Potgieter, Com< 
 mandant Malan, Field-Cornet Maartens, Assistant Field-Cornet Van 
 Vuuren, and others, whose evidence appears to be of the great'^st 
 importance, and places the matter in a clear and plain light 
 
 The information which the Government has found published io the 
 papers is of the following purport : 
 
 (■ 
 
 Vt' 
 
 
 <'r. 
 
 
 ' The Doornkop Surrender : Alleged Corrbspondencb. 
 
 'London, Monday, 11.15 <*•*"• 
 • Mr. Hawksley, the Chartered solicitor, who is defending Dr. Jameson, 
 published the following letter to-day, which passed between Sir John 
 Willoughby and Mr. Cronje, the Dutch Commandant at the time of the 
 Krugersdorp surrender : 
 
 'From Willoughby to Commandant. 
 
 ' '• We surrender, providing you guarantee a safe conduct out of the 
 country for every member of the force." 
 
 'From Cronji to Willoughby. 
 
 "'l''° ifti ...ke notice, I shall immediately let our officers come to- 
 get> :,r to d •-ide upon your communication." 
 
 
 'From Cronji to Willoughby, 
 
 ' " I ac knowkdge your letter. The answer is, If you will undertake 
 to pay f.hi; expenses you have caused to the Transvaal, and will lay 
 down your arms, then I will spare the lives of you and yours. Please 
 send me reply to this within thirty minutes." ' 
 
 1 have now the honour to enclose for the information of His Kxcel- 
 lency the High Commissioner and the British Government sworn 
 declarations of: 
 
 1. Commandant Cronje, substantiated by Field-Cornet Maartens and 
 Assistant Field-Cornet Van Vuuren. 
 
 2. Commandant Potgieter. 
 
 3. Crimmandant Malan. 
 
 y J S; Celliers, substantiated by B. J. Viljoen, and the interpreter, 
 K J. ii-dendorff. 
 
 i hese sworn declarations given before the State Attorney agree in all 
 the orincipal points, and give a clear summary of all the incidents of 
 the surrender, and from the main points thereof it appears, inter aha : 
 
 That the second letter, as published above, and which is alleged to be 
 from Cronje to Willoughby, was not issued from Cronje, but from 
 Commandant Potgieter, who has undoubtedly taker up the proper 
 standpoint, and has followed the general rule in mi'ers of iirj;ency, 
 
 '■ i 
 
 m 
 
 '!• 
 
406 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 such as the one in L^tnU, and where the Commandant-General was not 
 present in person on the field of battle, first and before treating wish- 
 ing to consult with his co-commandants in as far as was possible. 
 
 That a note such as appears in his declaration was sent by Com- 
 mandant Cronje. 
 
 That neither Commandant Malan nor Commandant Potgieter were 
 present at the despatch of it. 
 
 That the reply thereoa from Willoughby was received by Com- 
 mandant Cronje, as appears in that declaration. 
 
 That Commandant Cronje then, in compliance with the note sent by 
 Commandant Potgieter "■« well as the other commandants and officers 
 mentioned in the declare . ■>n of Crcnje, rode up. 
 
 That Commandant Crcvi" ' ' e^ explained his own note. 
 
 That thereupon also Cou.!!*. '1 nt Malan joined his co-commandants 
 and officers, and at this time c . • andants Malan, Cronje, and Potgieter 
 were present. 
 
 That after consultation, and with the approval of Commandants 
 Cronje and Potgieter, Commandant Malan, by means of the interpreter 
 Adendorff had the following said to Dr. Jameson : 
 
 ' This is Commandant Malan. He wishes you distinctly to under- 
 stand that no terms can be made here. We have no right to make 
 terms here. Terms will be made by the Government of the South 
 African Republic. He can only secure your lives to Pretoria, until you 
 are handed over to Commandant-General at Pretoria.' 
 
 That Dr. Jameson agreed to these terms and accepted them. 
 
 That thereupon by order of Dr. Jameson the arms were then also 
 laid down. 
 
 That Commandant Trichardt then appeared with the orders of the 
 Commandant-General to himself. 
 
 It now appears that these orders are those which were contained in 
 the telet^ram of which I already sent you a copy by my above-quoted 
 letter of the 4th March, 1896, and which, after the final regulation of 
 matters such as had then taken place, was not further acted upon 
 because as regards the surrender negotiations were in fact carried 
 on in accordance with the orders of the Commandant-General. 
 
 While putting aside the question of the surrender there is little to be 
 said about the other points contained in the telegram under reply, there 
 is one which is considered of sufficient importance by this Government 
 to even still draw the attention of His Excellency the High Commis- 
 sioner thereto. His Excellency says : ' I may therefore explain that an 
 armistice had been agreed to pending my arrival.' 
 
 The Government here can only think of one other misunderstandkig, 
 they having at the time of the disturbances at Johannesburg never 
 recognized any acting party, for which reason therefore the concluding 
 of an armistice was an impossibility. 
 
 In conclusion, I have to tender thanks both to His Honour the Secre- 
 tary of State and Kis Excellency the High Commissioner for the 
 unprejudiced manner in which they, as against insinuations of a low 
 character, have made known their feelings with respect to the good 
 faith shown by His Honour the State President in his negotiations in 
 cotmection with the question of the surrender of Dr. Jameson's force, 
 
 I have, etc., 
 
 C VAN BOESCHOTEN, 
 
 Acting Slate Secretary. 
 His Honour H. Cloete, 
 
 Acting British Agent, Pntotia. 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 407 
 
 secre- 
 
 the 
 
 low 
 
 good 
 
 iry. 
 
 Appeared before me, Hermanus Jacob Coster, State Attorney and ex- 
 officio ^,P. of the South African Republic, Pieter Arnoldus Cronie, 
 Commandant of the Potchcfstroom District, who makes oath and states : 
 
 I was, together with H. P. Malan (Commandant of the Rustenhurg 
 District), and F. J. Potgieter (Commandant of the Krugersdorp District), 
 one of the commanding officers of the burgher forces in the iights 
 against Jameson. When I noticed the white flag, I instantly ordered 
 De la Rey to approach the enemy. Instead of De la Rey, Hans Klopper, 
 one of the men of Commandant Potgieter, went. He brought back 
 a note from Willoughby to me. The contents of the note were that 
 if we left them to themselves he promised to withdraw over the 
 boundary. In reply I sent him per Hans Klopper the following note : 
 
 'John Willoughby, — I acknowledge your note, and this serves as 
 reply, that if you guarantee the payment of the expenses which you 
 have occasioned the South African Republic and surrender your flag 
 together with your weapons I will spare the life of you and yours. 
 Please send reply within thirty minutes.' 
 
 When this reply was written by me neither Malan nor Potgieter 
 were present. Thereupon he answered that he accepted the terms, 
 and surrendered himself fully with all his arms into my hands. After 
 receiving Willoughby's answer, I rode to Jameson's troops in order to 
 meet the other commandants, in accordance with a note sent by Com- 
 mandant Potgieter to the enemy. I went with Field-Cornets Maartens 
 and Van Vuuren to Jameson's troops, and met Jameson. When I met 
 him I gave him to clearly understand our agreement namely that he 
 must plainly understand that the last clause was that I guaranteed his 
 life and that of his men until I had handed him over to General Joubert. 
 Thereupon I asked him if he was wiUing to lay down his flag and his 
 arms, to which he replied, ' I have no flag ; I am willing to lay down 
 my arms.' Thereupon I asked him if he could declare upon oath that 
 he had no flag, whereupon he declared under oath that he had no flag. 
 Then Commandant Malan arrived, and then the three commanding 
 officers, Malan, Potgieter and I, were present on the spot. 
 
 Before I began speaking to Malan, Jameson called Willoughby to be 
 present. Thereupon Malan and I spoke together about the surrender 
 of Jameson. Whereupon Malan said, ' We can't decide anything here. 
 Jameson must surrender unconditionally, and he must be plainly given 
 to understand that we cannot guarantee his life any longer than till we 
 have handed him over to General Joubert.' I fully agreed with Malan, 
 and the interpreter Adendorff was tlien instructed by the three com- 
 mandants jointly |to convey plainly in English to Jameson what the 
 three commandants had agreed upon. After this had been done, 
 Jameson bowed, took his hat off, and said in English that he agreed to 
 the terms. Thereupon he issued orders to Willoughby to command 
 tiie subordinate officers to lay down their arms. Then the arms were 
 laid down. Later on, after the arms had been laid down, Commandant 
 Trichardt arrived with orders from the Commandant-Goneral, and his 
 terms were the same as those we had already laid down. 
 
 P. A. Ckonje. 
 
 Sworn before me on this 7th day of March, 1896. 
 
 H. J.' Coster, 
 
 State Attorney and Ex-officio J. P. 
 
 ■^\ 
 
 ? • 
 
 ji"f 
 
 We, the undersigned, Jan. Thos. Maartens, Field-Cornet of the Ward 
 Gatsrand, District Potchcfstroom, and Daniel Johannes Janscn van 
 
4o8 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Vuuren, Assistant Field-Cornet of the Ward Bovenschoonspruit, declare 
 under oath that we were present at everything stated in the foregoing 
 sworn declaration of Commandant P. A. Cronje, and that that declara- 
 tion is correct and in accordance with the truth. 
 
 {AN. Maartens, 
 ). J. J. Van Vuuren. 
 Sworn before me on this the 7th day of March, 1896. 
 
 H. J. Coster, 
 
 State-Attorney and ex-officio J. P. 
 
 Appeared before me, Hermanus Jacob Coster, State Attorney and cx- 
 officio J.P. of the South African Republic, Frederick Jacobus Pot- 
 GiETER, Commandant of the Krugersdorp District, who makes oath and 
 states : 
 
 On the morning of ,' lary 2, I received a written report from tht 
 enemy in which was stated that he would surrender, but that he must 
 be allowed to go back over the line. I answered thereon in writing 
 that I would call the officer" ngether and would then immediately 
 notify him. The report .eceived by me I immediately transmitted to 
 Commandant Cronje. A short time after I saw Commandant Cronje 
 with the burghers going towards the enemy. I thereupon also went 
 towards the enemy and met Commandant Cronje there. I then 
 attended the discussion as set forth in the declaration 
 Celliers, dated March 6, 1896, and confirmed by Messrs. 
 Adendorff and Benjamin Johannes Vilgoen. 
 
 The purport of that discussion is correctly rendered. 
 
 F. J. POTGIETER, 
 
 Commandant, Krugersdorp. 
 This sworn before me on this the 6th day of March, 1896. 
 
 H. J. Coster, 
 
 State Attorney and ex-officio J.P. 
 
 given by J. T. 
 Michiel Joseph 
 
 Appeared before me, Hermanus Jacob Coster, State Attorney and ex- 
 officio J.P. of the South African Republic, Hercules Philippus 
 Malan, who makes oath and states : 
 
 I was together with P. A. Cronje, Commandant of the Krugersdorp 
 District, one of the commanding forces in the fights against Jameson. 
 On the morning of January 2, a despatch rider from Commandant 
 Potgieter came up and informed me that Jameson had hoisted the 
 white flag, and that I must quickly attend a meeting with the other 
 commandants. When I came up to Jameson I found Cronje and 
 Potgieter there ; and, as I saw that Cronje had been speaking to Jame- 
 son, I asked Cronje 'What is the subject you have been speaking 
 about ? I also wish to know it.' Cronje told me that he had agreed 
 with Jameson that Jameson would pay the expenses incurred by the 
 State, and that he (Cronje) would spare the lives of Jameson and his 
 people till Pretoria was reached. 
 
 Thereupon I answered, ' We cannot make any terms here. We have 
 not the power to do so. Jameson must surrender unconditionally, and 
 we can only guarantee his life until he is delivered over by us into the 
 hands of the Commandant-General. Then he will have to submit to the 
 decision of the Commandant-General and the Government.' When I 
 had said this. Commandant Potgieter answered, ' I agree with that.' And 
 Commandant Cronje said, ' So be it, brothers.' Thereupon the inter- 
 
 ki',S 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 409 
 
 i ii:; 
 
 Ereter (AdendorfiF) was instructed to translate to Jameson what had 
 een spoken. He did so. lameson thereupon took off his hat, bowed, 
 and replied in English that he agreed thereto. Jameson then ordered 
 Willoughby, who was present from the moment that I arrived, to com- 
 mand the subordinate officers to disarm the men, and thereupon the 
 arms were given up. 
 
 H. P. Malan, 
 
 Commandant. 
 Sworn before me on this the 9th day of March, 1896. 
 
 H. J. COSTZR, 
 
 State Attorney and ex-officio J, P. 
 
 Appeared before me, Hermanus Jacob Coster, State Attorney and ex- 
 officio J.P. of the South African Republic, Jan Stephanus Celliers, 
 of Pretoria, who makes oath and states : 
 
 I came up to Jameson and his troops on the second of January (after 
 Jameson had hoisted the white flag), together with B. G. Viljoen, 
 Krugersdorp, and another Viljoen, whose place of residence is un- 
 known to me. I asked one of Jameson's troopers where he was. He 
 showed me the direction and the place where Jameson was. Jameson 
 thereupon approached me, and I greeted him. While this took place 
 Commandant Cronje, the interpreter (Adendorff), and another man 
 whose name is unknown to me, came. Cronje was thereupon intro- 
 duced by Adendorff, who spoke English, to Jameson. Thereupon 
 Cronje said to Jameson, ' I understand that you and your men will sur- 
 render yourselves with your flag and everything you possess ?* Jame- 
 son said thereupon, ' I fight under no flag.' 
 
 Cronje then replied, 'Then I must beheve you upon your word that 
 you have no flag ?' Jameson then said, ' I declare under oath that I 
 possess no flag.' This convei sation was interpreted word for word by 
 Adendorff. Shortly afterwards Commandant Malan also arrived there 
 I'e asked, ' What is up here ? Tell me the news also.' Then Cronje 
 told Malan that Jameson would surrender conditionally, whereupon 
 Malan said in effect, ' There can be no question of a conditional sur- 
 render here, because we have no right to make terms. The surrender 
 must take place unconditionally. If terms must be made, it must take 
 place at Pretoria. We can only guar^intee his life and that of his men 
 as long as they are under us, and until the moment when they are 
 handed over to the Commandant.' 
 
 General Cronje answered thereupon, 'So be it, brother.' Then 
 Adendorff asked if he had to interpret this to Jameson, whereupon 
 Malan said, ' Yes,' and thereupon said in English to Jameson, ' This is 
 Commandant Malan. He wishes you to distinctly understand that no 
 terms can be made here. We have no right to make terms here. 
 Terms will be made by the Government of the South African Republic. 
 He can only secure your lives to Pretoria, until you are handed over to 
 the Commandant-General at Pretoria.' 
 
 In reply, Jameson took off his hat, bowed, stepped backwards and 
 said, ' I accept your terms.' Thereupon Jameson ordered Willoughby 
 to command the subordinate officers that the troopers should lay down 
 their arms. The arms were then laid down. 
 
 J. S. Celliers. 
 
 Sworn before me on the 6th March, 1896. 
 
 H. J. Coster, 
 State- Attorney and ex-officio J.P, 
 
 ; 1; 
 
 ','j 
 
 ' It* 
 
 }^^ 
 
■•n 
 
 410 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 We, the undersigned, Benjamin Johannes Viljoen and Michiel Joseph 
 Adendorff, the persons mentioned in the preceding declaration, declare 
 under oath that the facts stated therein, which we witnessed, a.s stated 
 above, are true and correct. B. J. Viljoen. 
 
 M. J. Adendorff. 
 Sworn before me on the 6th March, 1896. 
 
 H. J. Coster, 
 State-Attorney and ex-officto J. P. 
 
 Colonial Office to War Office. 
 Sir, Downing Street, April 2j, 1896. 
 
 I am directed by Mr. Secretarj' Chamberlain to request that you 
 will lay before the Marquis of Lansdowne the undermentioned paper- 
 on the subject of the surrender of Dr. Jameson's force to the Boers. 
 
 1. A despatch from Sir Hercules Robinson, enclosing sworn declara- 
 tions taken by the Government of the South African Republic. A tele- 
 graphic summary of these declarations was laid before Dr. Jameson, 
 whose observations are contained in — 
 
 2. A letter from the solicitor for Dr. Jameson and his fellow defen- 
 dants. 
 
 3. A despatch from Sir Hercules Robinson, enclosing a sworn state- 
 ment. 
 
 Lord Lansdowne will observe t.om Sir H. Robinson's despatch of the 
 i6th March that the declarations taken by the Government of the South 
 African Republic were submitted to the General Officer commanding at 
 the Cape, who gave his opinion that the surrender was unconditional. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain would be obliged if Lord Lansdowne would submit 
 these papers to his military advisers, and obtain from them their opinion 
 as to the terms of the surrender, which Mr. Chamberlain thinks was 
 completed on Sir John Willoughby's acceptance of Commandant 
 Cronje's terms, and was therefore subject to these terms and con- 
 ditions. I am, etc., 
 
 R. H. Meade. 
 War Office to Colonial Office. 
 
 Received April 28, i80. 
 
 War Office, London, S.W., 
 
 Sir, April 27, 1896. 
 
 I am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acknowledge 
 receipt of your letter of the 21st inst., on the subject of the surrender 
 of Dr. Jameson's force to the Boers. 
 
 In reply, the Marquis of Lansdowne, having consulted with his 
 military adviser, desires me to observe that, whatever position Mr. 
 Cronje may hold in the Transvaal army, he decidedly on the occasion 
 in question acted as an officer in authority, and guaranteed the lives of 
 Dr. Jameson and all his men if they at once laid down their arms. 
 
 The terms prescribed were accepted by Dr. Jameson's force, and 
 they surrendered and laid down their arms, and no subsequent discus- 
 sion amongst the Transvaal officers could retract the terms of this 
 surrender. 
 
 I am therefore to acquaint you, for the information of the Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies, that the Secretary of State for War concurs 
 with Mr. Chamberlain in considering that the surrender was completed 
 on Sir John Willoughby's acceptance of Commandant Cronje's terms, 
 and was subject to these terms and conditions. 
 
 I am, etc, 
 
 Arthur L. Haliburton. 
 
 M'J 
 
 .1 ' 
 
^\p 
 
 ''*- v-i 
 
 11 
 
 jfB 
 
 APPENDIX H. 
 
 SIR JOHN WILLOUGHBY'S REPORT TO THE WAR OFFICE, 
 
 The subjoined document is printed in the form in which it was supolied 
 to the author by a journalist, to whom it had been given as a fair state- 
 ment of the case. The marginal remarks are the notes made by a 
 member of the Reform Committee to whom it was shown. 
 
 OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE EXPEDITION THAT LFFT 
 THE PROTECTORATE AT THE URGENT REQUEST OF 
 THE LEADING CITIZENS OF After th I. ^T./.u 
 
 LmE?T "^of'^^standTSp ^'11 ^;i^^'^^^^'<!^r:'is, 
 
 Ut5Jh.Cl OF STANDING BY (December 27) :' VVe will make our 
 THEM AND MAINTAINING own flotation by the aid of the letter 
 LAW AND ORDER WHILST which I shall publish.' 
 THEY WERE DEMANDING JUSTICE FROM THF TRAM<1. 
 VAAL AUTHORITIES. By S^R JOHN C wIlloJghSy 
 Bart., Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Dr. Jameson's Forces. 
 
 On Saturday, December 28. 1895, Dr. Jameson received a Reuter's 
 telegram showmg that the situation at k. „„ ,. u * '^*="'"* 
 
 lh°e same m"^ ^ad become acute. At ,r2l tZ ioTan^M^^^d i.t 
 the same time reliable information was sages by Heany and Holden on no 
 received that the Boer* in the Zeerust account to move. 
 and Lichtenburg districts were assembling, and had been summoned to 
 march on Johannesburg. 
 
 Preparations were at once made to act on the terms of the letter dated 
 December 20, and already published, and also in accordance wiUi verbal 
 arrangements with the signatories of 
 
 that letter — viz., that should Dr. Jame- Twaddle — in the face of Ham- 
 son hear that the Boers were collecting '"?"«^'8' Phillips's, and Sam Jameson's 
 and that the intentions of the Johan- "*"■" "'" '° '"°^'*- 
 nesburg people had become generally known, he was at once to come 
 to the aid of the latter with whatever force he had available, and without 
 further reference to them, the object being that such force should reach 
 Tohannesburg without any conflict. 
 
 411 
 
 i r ■ a 
 
 ". 1 
 
4" 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 SUrt from 
 Pitaani. 
 
 Junction 
 ejected at 
 Malman! 
 with 
 B.B.P. 
 
 Detile at 
 
 lead-mines 
 
 passed. 
 
 Letter 
 
 trotn Coni- 
 
 aukiidant- 
 
 General. 
 
 Lettei 
 from High 
 Commis- 
 
 siouur. 
 
 Reasons 
 for not 
 retreating. 
 
 At 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, December 29, everything was in 
 readiness at Pitsani Camp. 
 
 The troops were paraded, and Dr. Jameson read the letter of invitation 
 from Johannesburg. 
 
 He then explained to the force (a) that no hostilities were intended ; 
 (6) that we should only fight if foi ced to do so in self-defence ; (c) that 
 neither the persons nor property of inhabitants of the Transvaal were 
 to be molested ; (d) that our sole object was to help our fellow-men 
 in their extremity, and to ensure their obtaining attention to their just 
 demands. 
 
 Dr. Jameson's speech was received with the greatest enthusiasm by 
 ine men, who cheered most heartily. 
 
 The above programme was strictly adhered to until the column was 
 fired upon on the night of the 31st. 
 
 Many Boers, singly and in small parties, were encountered on the line 
 of march ; to one and all of these the pacific nature of the expedition 
 was carefully explained. 
 
 The force left Pitsani Camp at 6.30 p.m., December 29, and marched 
 through the night. 
 
 At 5.15 a.m. on the morning of the 30th the column reached the 
 village of Malmani (39 miles distant from Pitsani). 
 
 Precisely at the same moment the advanced guard of the Mafeking 
 Column (under Colonel Grey) reached the village, and the junction was 
 effected between the two bodies. 
 
 For details of the composition of the combined force, as also for 
 general particulars of the march to Krugersdorp, see sketch of the route 
 and schedule attached (marked A. and B. respectively). 
 
 From Malmani I pushed on as rapidly as possible in order to cross in 
 daylight the very dangerous defile at Lead Mines. This place, distant 
 71 miles from Pitsani, was passed at 5.30 p.m., December 30. 
 
 I was subsequently informed that a force of several hundred Boers, 
 sent from Lichtenburg to intercept the force at this point, missed doing 
 so by three hours only. 
 
 At our next ' off-saddle ' Dr. Jameson received a letter from the 
 Commandant-General of the Transvaal demanding to know the reason 
 o( our advance, and ordering us to return immediately. A reply was 
 sent to this, explaining Dr. Jameson's reasons in the same terms as those 
 uC'ed to the force at Pitsani 
 
 At Doornport (91 miles from Pitsani), during an ' ofif-saddle ' early on 
 Tuesday morning, December 31, a mounted messenger overtook us, 
 and presented a Tetter from the High Commissioner, which contained 
 an order to Dr. Jameson and myself to return at once to Mafeking and 
 Pitsani. 
 
 A retreat by now was out of the question, and to comply with these 
 instructions an impossibility. In the first place, there was absolutely no 
 food for men or horses along the road which we had recently followed ; 
 secondly, three days at least would be necessary for our horses, jaded 
 with forced marching, to return ; on the road ihead we were sure of 
 finding, at all events, some food for man and beast. Furthermore, we 
 had by now traversed almost two-thirds of the total distance ; a large 
 force of Boers was known to be intercepting our retreat, and we were 
 convinced that any retrograde movement would bring on an attack of 
 Boers from all sides. 
 
 It was felt, therefore, that to ensure the safety of our little force, no 
 alternative remained but to push on to Krugersdorp to our friends, who 
 we were confident would be awaiting our arrival there. 
 
7 
 
 APPENDIX H 
 
 4»3 
 
 Apart from the above considera- 
 tions, even had it been possible to 
 effect a retreat from Doornport, we 
 knew that Joliaiinesburg had risen, and 
 felt that by turning back we should 
 be shamefully deserting those coming 
 to meet us. 
 
 They could not possibly know it, 
 because tiie risinj; — i.e., the pulilic 
 arming and moving of men — duly 
 began at the very hour they claim to 
 have known it, and because the first 
 news from Johannesburg only reached 
 them 34 hours later by the two cy- 
 clists. ' Oh what a tangled web we 
 weave, when ' 
 
 Boi-r 
 scouts. 
 
 First 
 
 skirrriish 
 New 
 Year's 
 Eve. 
 
 Finally, it appeared to us impossible to turn back, in view of the fact 
 that we had been urgently called in to 
 
 avert a massacre, which we had been , *'"' '^« telegrams and messages to 
 , ij L. • • L ■ A.I. Stop I How noble I 
 
 assured would be imminent in the *^ 
 event of a crisis such as had now occurred. 
 
 Near Boon's store, on the evening of the 31st, an advanced patrol fell 
 in with Lieutenant Eloff, of the Krugersdorp Volunteers. This officer, 
 in charge of a party of 15 scouts, had come out to gain intelligence of 
 our movements. I^e was detained whilst our intentions were fully 
 explained to him, and then released at Dr. Jameson's request. 
 
 At midnight (New Year's Eve), while the advanced scouts were 
 crossing a rocky wooded ridge at right angles to and barring the line of 
 advance, they were fired on by a party of t^o Boers, who had posted 
 themselves in this position. The scouts, reinforced by the advanced 
 guard, under Inspector Straker, drove off their assailants after a short 
 skirmish, during which one trooper of the M.M.P. was wounded. 
 
 At Van Oudtshoorn's, early on the following morning (January i), 
 Dr. Jameson received a second letter from the High Commissioner, to 
 which he replied in writing. 
 
 At 9.30 a.m. the march was resumed in the usual day formation. 
 After marching two miles, the column got clear of the hills and emerged 
 into open country. 
 
 About this time Inspector Drury, in command of the rearguard, sent 10.15 ^f*^ 
 word that a force of about 100 Boers was following him about one mile 
 in rear. I thereupon reinforced the rearguard, hitherto consisting of a 
 troop and one Maxim, by an additional half-troop and another Maxim. 
 
 About 5 miles beyond Van Oudtshoorn's store the column was met 11 am 
 by two cyclists bearing letters from several leaders of the Johannesburg; 
 Reform Committee. These letters expressed the liveliest approval and 
 delight at our speedy approach, and finally contained a renewal of tneir 
 promise to meet the column with a force at Krugersdorp.' The mes- 
 sengers also reported that only 300 armed Boers were in the town. 
 
 This news was communicated to the troops, who received it with 
 loud cheers. 
 
 When within two miles of Hind's store, the column was delayed by 
 extensive wire-fencing, which ran for one and a lialf miles on either 
 side of the road, and practically constituted a defile. 
 
 While the column was halted and the wire being cut, the country for 
 some distance on both sides was carefully scouted. 
 
 By this means it was ascertained that there was a considerable force 
 of Boers (i) on the left front, (2) in the immediate front (retreating 
 hastily on Krugersdorp), (3) a tnird party on the right flank. 
 
 The force which had been following the column from Van Oudt- 
 shoorn's continued to hover in the rear. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel White, in command of the advanced guard, sent 
 back a request for guns to be pushed forward as a precaution in case of 
 
 ' The letters are published in their proper place, and readers can satisfy themselves 
 AX to whether they justify the above inference. 
 
4t4 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 I 30 p.m. 
 
 jp.m, 
 
 430pm 
 
 an attack from the Hoers in front. By the time these guns reached the 
 advanced fiuard, the Boers were still retreating some two miles off. A 
 few rounds were then fired in their direction. Had Colonel White, in 
 the first instance, opened fire with his Maxims on the Boers, whom he 
 surprised watering their horses close to Mind's store, considerable loss 
 would have been inflicted ; but this was not our object, for with the 
 exception of the small skirrr*'"'i on the previous night, the Boers had 
 not as yet molested the column, whose sole aim was to reach Johannes- 
 burg if possible without fighting. 
 
 At this hour Hind's store was reached. 
 
 Here the troops rested for one and a half hours. 
 
 Unfortunately, hardly any provisions for men and horses were 
 available. 
 
 An officers' patrol, consisting of Major Villiers (Royal Horse Guards) 
 and Lieutenant Grenfell (ist Life Guards) and six men, moved off for 
 the purpose of reconnoitring the left flank of the Boer position, while 
 Captain Lindsell, with his permanent force of advanced scouts, pushed 
 on as usual to reconnoitre the approach by the main road. At the 
 same time I forwarded a note to the Commandant of the forces in 
 Krugersdorp to the effect that, in the event of m/ friendly v ■ ai 1 
 force meeting with opposition on its approach, I should be "end'y 
 forced to shell the town, and that therefore I gave him this warning 
 in order that the women and children might be moved out ol 
 danger. 
 
 To this note, which was despatched by a Boer who had been detained 
 at Van Oudtshoorn, I received no reply. 
 
 At Hind's store we were informed tliat the force in our front had 
 increased during the forenoon to about 800 men, of whom a large 
 number were entrenched on the hillside. 
 
 Four miles beyond Hind's store, the column following the scouts, 
 which met with no opposition, ascended a steep rise of some 400 feet, 
 and came full in view of the Boer position on the opposite side of a 
 deep valley, traversed by a broad "sluit" or muddy water course. 
 
 Standing on the plateau or spur, on which our force was forming up 
 for action, the view to our front was as follows : 
 
 Passing through our position to the west ran the Hind's store — 
 Krugersdorp Road traversing the valley and the Boer position almost at 
 right angles to both lines. 
 
 Immediately to the north of this road, at the point where it dis- 
 appeared over the sky-line on the opposite slope, lay the Queen's 
 Battery House and earthworks, completely coniman iing the valley on 
 all sides and distant 1,900 yards from our standpoint. 
 
 Some 1,000 yards down the valley to the north stood a farmhouse, 
 surrounded by a dense plantation, which flanked the valley. 
 
 Half-way up the opposite slope, and adjacent to the road, stood an 
 iron house which commanded the drift where the road crossed the 
 above-mentioned watercourse. 
 
 On the south side of the road, and immediately opposite the last- 
 named iron house, an extensive rectangular stone wall enclosure with 
 high trees formed an excellent advanced central defensive position. 
 Further up the slope, some 500 yards to the south of this enclosure, 
 stretched a line of rifle-pits, whicn were again flanked to the south by 
 'prospecting' ^^renches. On the sky-line numbers of Boers were 
 apparent to our tiont and right front. 
 
 Before reaching the plateau we had observed small parties of Boers 
 hurrying towards Krugersdorp, and immediately on reaching the high 
 
 ii',i 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 4IS 
 
 up 
 
 f;round the rearguard was attacked by the Boer force which had 
 ol lowed the column during the whole morning. 
 
 I therefore had no further hesitation in opening fire on the Krugers- 
 dorp position. 
 
 The two sevcn-poundcrs and the a must have been here that th« 4 30 p.m. 
 i^i pounder opened on the Boer line, wannnn-loads of de.id Boeri weren't 
 making good practice under Captain fouml 
 Kincaid-Smith and Captain Gosling at 1,90(1 yards. 
 
 This fire was kept up until 5 p.m. The Boers made practically no 5 P-nt 
 reply, but lay quiet in the trenches and battery. 
 
 Scouts having reported that most of the trenches were evacnatvd, 
 the first line consisting of the advanced ^uard (a troop of 100 men), 
 under Colonel White atlvanced. Two Maxuns accompanied this force ; 
 a strong troop with a Maxim formed the right and left supports on 
 either flank. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Grey, with one troop B.B.P. and one Maxim, 
 had been previously detailed to move round and attack the Boers' 
 left. 
 
 The remaining two troops, with three Maxims, formed the reserve 
 and rearguard. 
 
 The first line advance continued unopposed to within -ix) yards of 
 the watercourse, when it was checked by an exceedingl) heavy cross- 
 fire from all points of the defence. 
 
 Colonel White then pushed his skirmishers forward into and beyond 
 the watercourse. 
 
 The left support under Inspector Dykes then advanced to prolong 
 the first line to the left, but, diverging too much to his left this officer 
 experienced a very hot iianking fire from the farmhouse and plantation, 
 and was driven back with some loss. 
 
 Colonel Grey meanwhile had pushed round on the extreme right 
 and come into action. 
 
 About this time Major Villiers' patrol returned and reported that the 5.30 p m. 
 country to our right was open, and that we could easily move round in 
 that direction. 
 
 It was now evident that the Boers were in great force, and intended 
 holding their position. 
 
 Without the arrival of the Johan- 
 nesburg force in rear of the Boers — 
 an event which I had been moment- 
 arily expecting — I did not feel justified 
 in pushing a general attack, which would have certainly entailed 
 heavy losses on my small force. 
 
 I accordingly left Inspector Drury with one troop and one Maxim to 6 15 p.in 
 keep in check the Boers who were now lining the edge of the plateau 
 to our left, and placed Colonel Grey with two troops B.B.P., one 12J 
 pounder, and one Maxim to cover our left flank and continue firing on 
 the battery and trenches south of the road. 
 
 I then made a general flank movement to the right with the remaining 
 troops. 
 
 Color.el Grey succeeded in shelling the Boers out of their advanced 
 position during the next half-hour, and blew up the battery house. 
 
 Under this cover the column moved off as far as the first houses of 
 the Randfontein group of mines, the Boers making no attempt to 
 intercept the movement. 
 
 Night was now fast approaching, and still there were no signs of the 
 pron;ised help from Johannesburg. I determined, therefore, to oush 
 
 When Celliers and Rowlands left 
 them at 11 a.m. they had not expected 
 anyone. Vide Cellier's repoit and 
 Colonel H. F. White's letter. 
 
 Flank 
 move- 
 ment 
 
4i6 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 s 
 
 Bivouac, 
 (anuary i . 
 
 on with all speed in the direction of that town, trusting in the darkness 
 to slip through any intervening opposition. 
 
 Two guides were obtained, tiie column formed in the prescribed 
 night order of march, and we started off along a road leading direct to 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 At this moment heavy rifle and Maxim fire was suddenly heard from 
 the direction of Krugersdorp, which lay i^ miles to the left rear. 
 
 We at once concluded that this could only be the arrival of the long- 
 awaited reinforcements, for we knew , ^ . Jl ,,7U *!.• 
 that Johannesburg had Maxims, and e iZI TJ^lie ^^S^t^^^r' '''''' 
 that the Staats -Artillene were not ex- 
 pected to arrive until the following morning. To leave our supposed 
 friends in the lurch was out of the question. I determined at once tc 
 move to their support. 
 
 Leaving the carts escorted by one troop on the road T advanced 
 rapidly across the plateau towards Krugersdorp in the direction of the 
 firing, in the formation shown in the accompanying sketch. 
 
 After advancing thus for nearly a mile the firing ceased, and we 
 perceived the Boers moving in great force to meet the column. The 
 flankers on the right reported another force threatening that flank. 
 
 Fearing that an attempt would be made to cut us off from th^ 
 ammunition carts, I ordered a retreat on them. 
 
 It was now clear that the firing, whatever might have been the cause 
 thereof, was not occasioned by the arrival of any force from Johannes- 
 burg. 
 
 Precious mo'nents had been lost in the attempt to stand by our 
 
 friends at all costs, under the mistaken supposition that they could not 
 
 fail to carry out their repeated pro- ™.. . „ c ^, 
 
 , -^ J i u I fi. I i 1 This IS really magnificent 
 
 mi ses,' renewed to us by letter so lately •' * 
 
 as n a.m. this same day. It was now very nearly dark. In the dusk 
 
 the Boers could be seen closing in on three sides — viz., north, east, and 
 
 south. The road to Johannesburg appeared completely barred, and 
 
 the last opportunity of slipping through, which had presented itself 
 
 an hour ago when the renewed firing was heard, was gone not to 
 
 return. 
 
 Nothing remained but to bivouac in the best position available. 
 
 But for the unfortunate circumstance of the firing, which we after- 
 wards heard was due to the exultation of the Boers at the arrival of 
 large reinforcements from Potchefstroom, the column would have been 
 by this time (7 p.m.) at least four or five miles further on the road to 
 Johannesburg, with an excellent chance of reaching that town without 
 further opposition. 
 
 I moved the column to the edge of a wide vley to the right of the 
 road, and formed the horses in quarter-column under cover of the 
 slope. The carts were formed up in rear and on both flanks, and five 
 Maxims were placed along rhe front so as to sweep the plateau. 
 
 The other three Maxims and the heavy guns were posted on the rear 
 and flank faces. 
 
 Tlie men were then directed to lie down between the guns and oa 
 the side ; sentries a.id cossack posts were posted on each face. 
 
 « Note, July, i8gq. In the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Com- 
 mons (No. 311 of 1897), p.ij^e 298, are the followin,ii : — 
 
 Sir Henry Campbell Banuerman : " Did you understand that you were to meet a 
 considerable force at Krugersdorp coming from Johannesburg ? 
 
 Sir John Willoughby ; Nci wlien we started from Pitsani, but cerUinJy after the 
 letters received from the cyclists 
 
 
 a ' 
 
rrp 
 
 APPENDIX H 
 
 417 
 
 Meantime the Boers had occupied the numerous prospecting trenches 
 and cuttings on the plateau at distanc. from 400 to 800 yards. 
 
 At 9 p.m. a heavy fire was opened on the bivouac, and a btorm of 9 p m. 
 bullets swept over and around us, apparently directed from all sides 
 except the south-west. 
 
 The troops were protected by their position on the slope below the 
 level of the plateau, so that the total loss from this fire, which lasted 
 about twenty minutes, was very inconsiderable. 
 
 The men behaved with admirable coolness, and were as cheery as 
 possible, although very tired and hungry and without water. ' 
 
 We were then left unmolested for two or three hours. 
 
 About midnight another shower of bullets was poured into the camp, Midnight 
 but the firing was not kept up for long. 
 
 Somewhat later a Maxim gun opened on the bivouac, but failed to 
 get our range. 
 
 At 3.30 a.m. patrols were pushed out on all sides, while the force as Thursday, 
 silently and rapidly as possible was got ready to move olf. January*. 
 
 At 4 a.m. a heavy fire was opened by the Boers on the column, and 
 the patrols driven in from the north and east sides. 
 
 Under the direction of Major R. White (assisted by Lieul;,nant 
 Jesser-Coope) the column was formed under cover of the slope. 
 
 Soon after this the patrols which had been sent out to the south 
 returned, and reported that the ground was clear of the Boers in tliat 
 direction. 
 
 The growing light enabled us to ascertain that the Boers in force 
 were occupying pits to our left and lining the railway embankment for 
 a distance of one and a half miles right across the direct road to 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 I covered the movements of the main body with the B.B.P. and two 
 Maxims under Colonel Grey along the original left front of the bivouac, 
 and two troops M.M.P., under Major R. White on the right front. 
 
 During all this time the firing was excessively heavy ; however the 
 main body was partially sheltered by the slope. 
 
 Colonel White then led the advance for a mile across the vley witliout 
 casualty, but on reaching the opposite rise near the Oceanic Mine, w.is 
 subjected to a very heavy long-range fire. Colonel White hereupon 
 very judiciously threw out one troop to the left to cover the further 
 advance of the main body. 
 
 This was somewliat delayed, after crossing the rise, by the dis- 
 appearance of our volunteer guide of the previous night. 
 
 Some Httle time elapsed before another guide could be obtained. 
 
 In the meantime, Lieutenant-Colonel Grey withdiew his force and 
 the covering Maxims out of action under the proleclioa of the M.M.P. 
 covering troops, and rejoined the main bcdy. 
 
 At this juncture Colonel Grey was shot in the foot, but most gallantly 
 insisted on carrying on his duties until the close of the action. 
 
 Sub-Inspector Cazalet was also wounded here, but continued in action 
 until he was shot again in the chest at Doornkop. 
 
 While crossing the ridge the column was subjected to a very heavy 
 fire, and several men and horses were lost here. 
 
 I detailed a rearguard of one troop and two Maxims, under Major 
 R. White, to cover our rear and left Hank, and move the remainder of 
 the troops in the ordinary day formation as rapidly forward as possible. 
 
 In this formation a running rear and flank guard fight was kept up 
 for ten miles. Wherever the features of the ground admitted, a stand 
 was made by various small detachments of the rear and flank guard. 
 
 BB 
 
 
4i8 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 'il 
 
 In this manner the Boers were successfully kept a distance of 500 yards, 
 and repulsed in all their efforts to reach the rear and Hank of the main 
 body. 
 
 Iri passing through the various mines and the village of Randfontcin 
 we met with hearty expressions of goodwill from the mining population, 
 who professed a desire to help if only they had arms. 
 8 a.m. Ten miles from the start I received intelligence from Colonel Grey, 
 
 at the head of the column, that Doornkop, a hill near the Speitfontcin 
 mine, was held by 400 Boers, directly barring our line of advance. 
 
 I repaired immediately to the front. Colonel White remaining with 
 the rear-guard. 
 
 On arriving at the head of the column, I found the guns shelling i. 
 ridge which our guide stated was Doornkop. 
 
 The excellent dispositions for the attack made by Colonel Grey were 
 then carried out. 
 
 The B.B.P., under Major Coventry, who I regret to say was severely 
 wounded and lost several of his men, attacked and cleared the ridge in 
 most gallant style and pushed on beyond it. 
 
 About this time Inspector Barry received the wound which we have 
 learnt with grief has subsequently proved fatal. 
 
 Chief- Inspector Bodle at the same time, with two troops M.M.P., 
 charged, and drove off the field a large force of Boers threatening our 
 left Hank. 
 
 The guide had informed us that the road to the right of the hill 
 was impassable, and that there was open and easy country to the 
 left. 
 
 This information was misleading. I afterwards ascertained that 
 without storming the Boer position there was no road open to 
 Johannesburg except by a wide detour of many miles to the right. 
 8.30 a.m. At this moment Dr. Jameson received a letter from the High 
 
 Commissioner again ordering us to desist in our advance. Dr. Jameson 
 informed me at the same time of the most disheartening news, viz., 
 that he had received a message stating that Johannesburg would not or 
 could not come to our assistance, and that we must tight our way 
 through unaided. 
 
 Thinking that the first ridge now in our hands was Doornkop, we 
 again pushed rapidly on, only to find that in rear of the ridge another 
 steep and stony kopje, some 400 feet in height, was held by hundreds 
 of Boers completely covered from our fire. 
 
 This kopje effectually flanked the road over which the column must 
 advance at a distance of 400 yards. Scouting showed that there was 
 no way of getting round tiiis hill. 
 
 Surrounded on ail sides by the Boers, men and horses wearied out, 
 outnumbered by at least six to one, our friends having failed to k^ep 
 their promises to meet us, and my force reduced numerically by one 
 fourth, I no longer considered that I Wonderfully considerate ! seeing 
 was justified in sacrificing anv more of how they deliberately risked the lives 
 the lives of the men under nie. of thousands in Johannesburg wliea 
 
 As previously explained, our object *'*•-'>' smarted. 
 in coming had been to render assistance, without bloodshed if possible, 
 to the inhabitants of Johannesburg. This object would in no way be 
 furthered by a hopeless attempt to cut our way through overwhelming 
 numbers, an attempt, moreover which must without any doubt ha^e 
 entailed heavy and useless slaughter. 
 1).!$ a.m. With Dr. Jameson's permission, I therefore sent word to the 
 
 Commandant that we would surrender provided that he would give a 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 4x9 
 
 Hif^li 
 
 guarantee of safe conduct out of the country to every member of thr. 
 force. 
 
 To this Commandant Cronje replied by a guarantee of the hvcs of 
 all, provided that we would lay down our arms and pay all expenses. 
 
 In spite of this guarantee of the lives of all, Commandant Malan 
 subsequently repudiated the guarantee in so far as to say that he 
 would not answer for the lives of the leaders, but this was not until our 
 arms had been given up and the force at the mercy of the Boers. 
 
 I attribute our failure to reach Johannesburg in a great measure to 
 loss of time from the following causes : 
 
 (i) The delay occasioned by the 
 demonstration in front of Krugcrsdorp, 
 which had been assigned as the place of 
 junction with the Johannesburg force. 
 
 (2^ The non-arrival of that force at 
 Krugersdorp or of the guides to the 
 Krugersdorp-Johanncsburg section of 
 the road, as previously promised by 
 Johannesburg. 
 
 (3) The delay consequent on moving 
 to the firing 01 the supposed Johannes- 
 burg column just before dark on 
 Wednesday evening. 
 
 I append (i) a sketch-map of the 
 route from Pitsani to Krugcrsdorp, 
 miles) was covered in just under 70 
 
 off-saddled ten times. The 169 miles between Pitsani and Doornkop 
 occupied 86 hours, during 17 of which the men were engaged with 
 the Boers, and were practically without food or water, having had 
 their last meal at 8 a.m. on the morning of the ist January at Van 
 Oudtshoorn's, 17 miles from Krugersdorp. 
 
 The average weight carried by each horse was 16 stone. 
 
 (2) List of officers engaged in the expedition and composition of the 
 force marked B. From this it will be seen that there was a total of 
 494 men and officers (exclusive of staff). 
 
 (3) Plans of engagements at Krugersdorp and Doornkop, and of the 
 bivouac on the night of January ist. 
 
 I cannot close this narrative without testifying to the very great 
 gallantry and endurance of all officers, non-commissioned officers, and 
 troopers under my command in the field and on the march under most 
 trying circumstances. 
 
 How is it that nothing was said of 
 this to Celliers and Kowland ; nothing 
 in the letter of Colonel White and Dr. 
 Jameson which they wrote at 11 a.m. 
 Wednesday ; nothing in the message 
 sent by Bugler Valle, who was des- 
 patched on Thursday before daybreak 
 afkr the Krugersdorp fight ? How is 
 it that if the forces were to meet at 
 Krugersdorp Dr. Jameson telegraphed 
 to Dr. Wolff to meet him en rouU, so 
 as to decide whether to turn off 20 
 miles before reaching Krugersdorp and 
 march direct on Pretoria or go into 
 Johannesburg first ? 
 
 marked A. 
 hours, the 
 
 This distance (154 
 horses having been 
 
 -I 
 .4 
 
 to the 
 
 give a 
 
 Composition of Force. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Willoughby, Royal 
 Horse Guards 
 
 M.ijor Hon. Robert White, Royal Welsh 
 Fusiliers ... 
 
 Major C. Hyde Villiers, Royal Horse Guards... 
 
 Captain Kincaid-Smith, Royal Artillery 
 
 Captain Kennedy, B.S.A.C.'s Service 
 
 Captain E. Holden, Derbyshire Yeomanry 
 
 Surgeon Captain Farmer, B.S.A. Co. ... 
 Surgeon Captain Seaton Hamilton, late ist Life 
 (iuards ... .. ... ... ... 
 
 ffe-j 
 
 Commanding. 
 
 Senior Staff Officer. 
 Staff Officer. 
 Artillery Staff Officer. 
 Quartermaster. 
 Assistant Quarter- 
 master. 
 
 Medical Officers. 
 
 Ik 
 
ir 
 
 490 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Lieutenant Grenfell, ist Life Guards ... 
 Lieutenant Jesser-Coope, B.S.A. Co. 
 Captain Lindsell, late Royal Scots Fusiliers 
 Major T. B. Stracey, Scots Guards 
 
 Major Heany, B.S.A. Co 
 
 Captain Foley >• 
 
 Lieutenant Harry R. Holden, late Grenadier 
 
 vjUaiQS ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• / 
 
 Remount Officer. 
 Transport Officer. 
 In charge Scouts. 
 
 I Officers temporarily 
 attached to Staff. 
 
 Officers of Mashonaland Mounted Police. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. H. F. White, Grenadier 
 
 Commanding. 
 2nd in command. 
 
 Guards 
 Inspector Bodle (late 6th Dragoons) ... 
 Inspector Straker, commanding A Troop. 
 Inspector Dykes, commanding B Troop. 
 Inspector Barry, commanding C Troop. 
 Inspector Drury, commanding D Troop. 
 Sub-Inspectors Scott and Cashel, A Troop. 
 Sub-Inspectors Tomlinson and Chawner, B Troop. 
 Sub-Inspectors Cazalet and Williams, C Troop. 
 Sub-Inspectors Murray and Constable, D Troop. 
 Artillery Troop — Inspector Bowden and Sub-Inspector Spain. 
 Regimental Sergeant — Major Abbott. 
 
 Pitsani 
 camp. 
 
 Mafeking 
 column. 
 
 FcHals 
 
 Bechuanaland Border Police. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Raleigh Grey, 6th Dragoons Commanding. 
 
 Major Hon. Charles Coventry 2nd in command. 
 
 Captain Gosling, commanding G Troop. 
 
 Sub-Lieutenants Hoare and Wood, commanding G Troop. 
 
 Captain Munroe, commanding K Troop. 
 
 Sub-Lieutenant McQueen, commanding K Troop. 
 
 Medical Officer Surgeon Garraway. 
 
 Veterinary Surgeon Lakie. 
 
 M.M. Police officers and men , 
 
 0L4HX ••• ••• ••• •■• ••• 
 
 Colony boys (leading horses, etc.) 
 
 Horses 
 
 Mules 
 
 One i2i-pounder, 6 Maxims, 6 Scotch carts, i Cape cart, 2 grain 
 waggons. 
 
 B.B. Police officers and men 
 
 Staff 
 
 Drivers and leaders ... 
 
 Horses 
 
 Mules 
 
 Two 7-pounders 2 Maxims, 2 Scotch carls, 2 Cape carts. 
 
 Officers and men 
 
 Staff 
 
 Drivers, leaders, etc. 
 
 494 
 14 
 75 
 
 Horses 
 Mules 
 M.H. Maxims 
 i2i^-pounder 
 7-pounder 
 Scotch carts 
 Cape carts 
 
 372 
 
 480 
 128 
 
 122 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 160 
 
 30 
 
 640 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 421 
 
 Ammunition. 
 
 Carried by men and natives 
 
 Carried in Scotch carts and Cape carts ... 
 
 On the guns 
 In carts ... 
 
 ... 
 ••• 
 
 On limber 
 
 On one Scotch cart 
 
 On limbers .< 
 In Scotch carts 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 'I'otal 
 
 Total 
 
 ... 5o,(xx) 
 
 ... ^4,000 
 
 Lee-Met 
 
 ritlo. 
 
 ... I04,CXX3 
 
 
 ... 17,000 
 ... -:8,ooo 
 
 Maxim. 
 
 ... 45,000 
 
 
 44 
 80 
 
 I2i. 
 
 pounders 
 
 2^ 
 
 
 70 
 
 242 
 
 7-pounderi 
 
 The rifle ammunition used was that supplied by the Maxim firm for 
 their guns and also pellet powder. 
 
 The powder used with the 12^-pounder was that known as ' ballistite.' 
 Rocket signals and limelights were carried, but not used. 
 
 i^^ 
 
 . ! 
 
 Equipment Carried. 
 
 On the Persoa. 
 
 Rifle (10 rounds). 
 Bandolier (60 rounds). 
 Haversack (^ day's ration). 
 (d) Water-bottle filled. 
 
 On the Saddle. 
 
 (a) Nosebag (5 lb. grain). 
 
 b) Cloak on wallet. 
 
 c) Rille bucket. 
 
 d) Patrol tin (with grocery ration). 
 
 e) Leather axe-holder (every fourth 
 
 .cian). 
 
 Near-side wallet, 30 rounds and | day's rations. 
 
 Off-side wallet, jo rounds, tin dubbin, hold-all, and towcL 
 
 Average weight carried by horse x= 16 stone. 
 
 „ „ „ Scotch carts = 1,600 lb. 
 
 I; 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 MANIFESTO. 
 
 If I am deeply sensible of the honour conferred upon me by bcin^; 
 elected chairnian of the National Union, I am profonndly impressed 
 with the responsibilities attached to the position, 'ihe issues to be 
 faced in this country are so momentous in ciiaracter that ir has been 
 decided that prior to the holding of a public meeting a review of the 
 condition of affairs should be placed in your liands, in order that you 
 may consider matters quietly in your homes. It has also been decided 
 that it will be wise to postpone the meeting which was to have taken 
 place on the 27th December until the 6th day of January next. 
 
 On that day you will have made up your minds on the various points 
 submitted to you, and we will ask you for direction as to our future 
 course of action. It is almost utmecessiiry to recount all the steps 
 which have been taken by the National Union, and I shall therefore 
 con^'ine myself to a very short review of what has been done. 
 
 The Three Planks. 
 
 The constitution of the National Union is very simple. The three 
 objects which we set before ourselves are : (i) The maintenance of the 
 independence of the Republic, (2) the securing of equal rights, and 
 (3) the redress of grievances. This brief but comprehensive pro- 
 gramme has never been lost sight of, and I think we may ciiallenge 
 contradiction fearlessly when we assert that we have constitutionally, 
 respectfully, and steadily prosecuted our purpose. Last year you will 
 remember a respectful petition, praying for the franchise, signed by 
 13,000 men, was received with contemptuous laughter and jeers in 
 the Volksraad. This year the Union, apart from smaller matters, 
 endeavoured to do three things. 
 
 The Raad Elections. 
 
 First we were told that a Progressive spirit was abroad, that twelve out 
 of twenty-four members of the First Volksraad had to be elected, and 
 we might reasonably hope for reform by the type of broad-minded 
 men who would be elected. It was therefore resolved that we should 
 do everything in our power to assist in the election of the best men 
 who were put up by the constituencies, and everything that the law 
 permitted us to do in this direction was done. 
 
 422 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 423 
 
 Disappointed Hopes. 
 
 The result has been only too disappointing, as the record of the 
 debates and the division list in the Volksraad prove. Wo wcic more- 
 over told that public speeches in Johannesburg prevented tlie F'ro- 
 gressive members from getting a majority of the Raad to listen to our 
 requests, that angry passions were inflamed, and that if we would only 
 hold our tongues reform would be brought about. We therefore 
 resolved in all loyalty to abstain from inflaming angry passions, although 
 we never admitted we had by act or speech given reason for legislators 
 to refuse justice tj ail. Hence our silence for a long time. 
 
 The Railway Concession Next. 
 
 We used all our influence to get the Volksraad to take over the 
 railway concession, but, alas ! the President declared with tears in his 
 voice that the independence of the country was wrapped up in this 
 question, and a submissive Raad swept the pctifions from the table. 
 
 The Fk.vn'chise Petition. 
 
 Our great effort however was the petition for the franchise, with the 
 moderate terms of which you are all acquainted. This petition was 
 signed by more than 38,000 persons. What was the result ? We were 
 called unfaithful for not naturalizing ourselves, when naturalization 
 means only that we should give up our original citizenship and get 
 nothing in return, and become subject to disabilities. Members had 
 the calm assurance to state, witiiout any grounds whatever, that the 
 signatures were forgeries ; and, worst of all, one member in an inflam- 
 matory speech challenged us openly to fight for our rights, and his 
 sentiment seemed to meet with considerable approval. This is the 
 disappointing result of our honest endeavours to bring about a fusion 
 between the people of this State, and the true union and equality which 
 alone can be the basis of prosperity and peace. You all know that as 
 the law now stands we are virtually excluded for ever from getting the 
 franchise, and by a malignant ingenuity our children bom here are 
 deprived of the rights of citizcnsliip unless their fathers take an oath of 
 allegiance, which brings them nothing but disabilities. 
 
 The Bitter Cry of the ' Uitlander.* 
 
 We are the vast majority in this State. We own more than half the 
 land, and, taken in the aggregate, we own at least nine-tenths of tiie 
 property in this country ; yet in all matters affecting our lives, our 
 liberties, and our properties, we have absolutely no voice. Dealing 
 now first with the legislature, we ihid taxation is imposed upon us 
 without any representation whatever, that taxation is wholly inequitable, 
 (a) because a much greater amount is levied from the people than k 
 required for the needs of Government ; (6) because it is either class 
 taxation pure and simple, or by the selection of the subjects, though 
 nominally universal, it is made to fall upon our shoulders ; and (c) 
 because the necessaries of life are unduly burdened. 
 
 Abuse of Public Expenditure. 
 
 Expenditure is not controlled by any public official independent of 
 the Government. Vast sums are squandered, while the Secret Service 
 Fund is a dark mystery to everybody. But, essential as the power to 
 
 il 
 
424 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 control taxation and expenditure is to a free people, there are other 
 matters of the gravest importance which are equally precious. The 
 Legislature in this country is the supreme power, apparently uncontrolled 
 by any fixed Constitution. The chance will of a majority in a Legislature 
 elected by one-third of the people is capable of dominating us in every 
 relation of life, and when we remember that those who hold power 
 belong to a different race, speak a different language, and have different 
 pursuits from ourselves, that they regard us with suspicion, and even 
 hostility ; that, as a rule, they are not educated men, and that their 
 passions are played upon by unscrupulous adventurers, it must be 
 admitted that we are in very grave danger. 
 
 Tribute to the Moderates. 
 
 I think it is but just to bear tribute to the patriotic endeavours of a 
 small band of enlightened men in the Volksraad who have earnestly 
 condenmed the policy of the Government and warned them of its 
 danger. To Mr. Jeppe, Mr. Lucas Meyer, the De Jagers, Mr. Loveday, 
 and a few others in the First Raad, leaving out the second Raad, we 
 owe our best thanks, for they have fought our battle and confirmed the 
 justice of our cause. But when we look to the debates of the last few 
 years, what do we find ? All through a spirit of hostility, all through 
 an endeavour not to meet the just wants of the people, not to remove 
 grievances, not to establish the claim to our loyalty by just treatment 
 and equal laws, but to repress the publication of the truth, however 
 much it might be required in the public interest, to prevent us from 
 holding public meetings, to interfere with the Courts, and to keep 
 us in awe by force. 
 
 The Powers of the Executive. 
 
 There is now threatened a danger even graver than those which have 
 preceded it. The Government is seeking to get through the Legislature 
 an Act which will vest in the Executive the power to decide whether 
 men have been guilty of sedition, and to deport them and confiscate 
 their goods. The Volksraad has by resolution affirmed the principle, 
 and has instructed the Government to bring up a Bill accordingly next 
 session. To-day this power rests justly with the courts of law, and I 
 can only say that if this Bill becomes law the power of the Executive 
 Government of this country would be as absolute as the power of the 
 Czar of Russia. We shall have said goodbye finally to the last 
 principle of liberty. 
 
 President Kruger Indicted. 
 
 Coming to the Executive Government, we find that there is no true 
 responsibility to the people, none of the great departments of State are 
 controlled by Ministerial officers in the proper sense, the President's will 
 is virtually supreme, and he, with his unique influence over the legislators 
 of the House, State-aided by an able if hostile State Secretary, has been 
 the author of every act directed against the liberties of the people. It is 
 well that this should be recognized. It is well that President Kruger 
 should be known for what he is, and that once for all the false p' destal 
 on which he has so long stood should be destroyed. I challenge con- 
 tradiction when I state that no important Act has found a place on the 
 Statute-book during the last ten years without the seal of President 
 Kruger's will upon it ; nay, he is the father of every such Act. Remember 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 435 
 
 that all legislation is initiated by the Government, and, moreover. 
 President Kruger has expressly supported every Act by wliich we and 
 our children have been deprived by progressive steps of the rij^ht to 
 acquire franchise, by v.'hich taxation has been imposed upon us almost 
 exclusively, and by which the right and the liberty of the Press and 
 the right of public meeting have been attacked. 
 
 The Judges and the Liberty of the Subject. 
 
 Now we come to the judicial system. The High Court of this country 
 has, in the absence of representation, been the sole guardian of our 
 liberties. Although it has on the whole done its work ably, affairs are 
 in a very unsatisfactory position. The judges have been underpaid, 
 their salaries have never been secure, the most undignified treatment 
 has been meted out to them, and the status and independence of the 
 Bench have on more than one occasion been attacked. A deliberate 
 attempt was made two years ago by President Kruger and the Govern- 
 ment to reduce the bench to a position subordinate to the Executive 
 Government, and only recently we had in the Witfontein matter the 
 last of the cases in which the Legislature interfered with vested rights 
 of action. The administration of justice by minor officials, by native 
 commissioners, and by field-cornets, has produced, and is prodiicing, 
 the gravest unrest in the country ; and, lastly, gentlemen. 
 
 The Great Bulwark of Liberty, 
 
 the right to trial by jurymen who are our peers, is denied to us. Only 
 the burgher or naturalized burgher is entitled to be a juryman ; or, in 
 other words, anyone of us is liable to be tried upon the gravest charge 
 possible by jurymen who are in no sense our peers, who belong to 
 a different race, who regard us with a greater or lesser degree of 
 hostility, and whose passions, if inflamed, might prompt them, as weak 
 human creatures, to inflict the gravest injustice, even to deprive men of 
 the'r lives. Supposing, in the present tense condition of political 
 feeling, any one of us were tried before a Boer jury on any charge 
 having a political flavour about it, should we be tried by our peers, and 
 should we have a chance of receiving even-handed justice ? 
 
 The Secret Service Fund. 
 
 When we come to the Administration, we find that there is the 
 grossest extravagance, that Secret Service moneys are squandered, that 
 votes are exceeded, that the public credit is pledged, as it was pledged 
 in the case of the Netherlands Railway Company, and later still in the 
 case of the Selati Railway, in a manner which is wiiolly inconsistent 
 with the best intercstc of the people. 
 
 Squandering the Public Revenue. 
 
 The Delagoa Bay festivities are an instance of a reckless disregard 
 of a Parliamentary vote ; ^20,000 was voted for those useless festivities 
 — about ;^6o,ooo was really expended, and I believe certain favoured 
 gentlemen hailing from Holland derived the principal benefit. It is 
 said that ;£40o,ooo of our money has been transferred for some extra- 
 ordinary purpose to Holland. Recently ^^17,000 is said to have been 
 sent out of the country with Dr. Leyds for Secret Service purposes, and 
 the public audit seems a farce. When the Progressive members 
 endeavoured to get an explanation about large sums of money they 
 
4*') 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 were silenced by a vote of the majority prompted by President Krugcr, 
 The administration of the public service is in a scandalous condition. 
 
 A Corrupt Legislatuke. 
 
 Bribery and corruption are rampant. We have had members of the 
 Raad accepting presents of imported spiders and watches wholesale 
 from men who were applying for concessions, and we have tlic singular 
 fact that in every instance the recipient of the gift voted for the con- 
 cession. We have tlie President openly stating that such acceptance 
 of presents was wholly moral. We have a condition of affairs in which 
 the time of the meeting of the Volksraad is looked upon as tlie period 
 of tlie greatest danger to our interests, and it is an open secret that a 
 class of man has sprung up who is in constant attendance upon tiie 
 members of the Volksraad, and whose special business appears to he 
 the 'iHfluencing' of members one way or the other. It is openly 
 stated that enormous sums ef money have been spent, some to produce 
 illegitimate results, some to guard against fresh attacks upon vested 
 rights. The Legislature passed an Act solemnly denouncing corruption 
 in the public service. One man, not an ulTici.il, was punislicd under 
 the law, but nothing has ever been done since to eradicate the evil. 
 
 And a Taintkd Civil Skkvicf. 
 
 I think thousands of you are satisfied of the venality of many of our 
 public servants. I wish to guard against the assumption tliat all public 
 servants are corrupt. Thank God there are many who are able and 
 honourable men, and it must be gall and wormwood to these men to 
 find the whole lone of the service destroyed, and to have themselves 
 made liable to be included under one general denunciation. But th^'re 
 can be no health in an administration, and the public morals must be 
 sapped also, when such things as the Sniit case, and the recent Stiemens 
 case, go unnoticed and unpunished. 
 
 Two Glarino Cases. 
 I think it right to state openly what those cases are. N. J. Smit is the 
 son of a member of the Government. He absented himself for months 
 without leave. He was meantime charged in the newspapers with 
 embezzlement. He reUirned, was fined ^^25 for being absent without 
 leave, and was reinstated in office. He is now the Mining Com- 
 missioner of Klerksdorp. He has been charged in at least two 
 newspapers — one of them a Dutch newspaper, Lajici en Volk, published 
 within a stone's throw of the Government Office — with being an 
 ' unpunished thief,' and yet the Government have taken no notice of 
 it, nor has he thought lit to bring an action to clear himself. In the 
 Stiemens case two officials in the Mining Department admitted in the 
 witness-box that they had agreed to further the application of a relative 
 for the grant of a piece of public land at Johannesburg on condition 
 that they were each to receive one quarter of the proceeds. A third 
 official, the Landdrost of I'retoria, admitted that he had received ^^300 
 for his 'influence' in furthering the application; yet no notice had 
 been taken by the Government of their scandalous conduct, and sad to 
 say the judges who heard the case did not think it their duty to com- 
 ment strongly upon the matter. 1 have in my possession now a notarial 
 deed which proves that the Railway Commissioner, the Landdrost, and 
 the Commandant of Pretoria are members of a syndicate whose avowed 
 object is, or was, to wrest from the companies their right to the 
 
AIT EN O IX I 
 
 4^7 
 
 ' bewaarplaatscn. This shows what is facing on, and wliat is the 
 measure of safety of title to property. Those who should guard our 
 rtf'hts are our worst enemies. In a law introuaccd by the prcs(.'nt 
 (iovcrnniont, the Government, instead of the Courts, are the fni.il judf^cs 
 in cases of disputed elections. No Election Committees are allowed. 
 This operates aj^ainst candidates opposed to the Government, liccause 
 the Government has virtually a vast slandinf? army of committee men, 
 henchmen, officials beiu}^ allowed openly to take part in swaying elections, 
 and the Government being in a position, by the distribution of contracts, 
 appointments, purcliase of conce>sions, tlie expenditure of Secret 
 Service money and otlicrwise, to bring into existence ;md maintain 
 a large number of supporters who act as canvassers always on the right 
 side in times of elections. 
 
 Native Affairs. 
 The administration of native affairs is a gross scandal and a source of 
 immense loss and danger to the community. Native Commissioners 
 have been permitted to practise extortion, injustice, and cruelty upon 
 the natives under their jurisdiction. The Government has allowed 
 petty tribes to be goaded into rebellion. Wc have had to pay the costs 
 of tile 'wars,' while the wretched victims of tlieir policy have had their 
 tribes broken up, sources of native labour liave been destroyed, and 
 large numbers of prisoners have been kept in goal for something like 
 eigiiteen months without trial. It was stated in the newspapers that, 
 out of 63 men imprisoned, 31 had died in that period, while the rest 
 were languishing to death for want of vegetable food. We have liad 
 revelations of repulsive cruelty on the part of field-corncts. We all 
 remember the Rachman case, and the April case, in which tlie juc 
 found field-cornets guilty of brutal conduct to unfortunate natives 
 but tiie worst features about these cases is tliat the Governmciit has set 
 the seal of its approval upon the acts of these officials by paying the 
 costs of the actions out of public funds, and the President of the State 
 a few d'lys ago made the astounding statement in regard to the April 
 case, that, notwithstanding the judgment of tiie High Court, the Govern- 
 ment tiiouglit that Prinsloo was riglit in his action, and therefore paid 
 the costs. The Government is enforcing the 'plakkersvvet,' which 
 forbids the locating of more than five families on one farm. The field- 
 cornets in various districts have recently broken up homes of large 
 numbers of natives settled on ' Uitlanders' ' lands, just at the time when 
 they iiad sown their crops to provide the next winter's food. The 
 application of this law is most uneven, as large numbers of natives arc 
 left on the farms of the Boers. Quite recently a well-known citizen 
 brought into the country at great expense some hundreds of families, 
 provided them with land, helped them to start life, stipulating only that 
 he should be aiile to draw from amongst them labour at a fair wage to 
 develop his properties. Scarcely had they been settled when the field- 
 cornet came down and scattered the people, distributing tiietn among 
 Boer farms. The sources of the native L-.bour supply liave been 
 seriously interfered with at the borders by Government measures, and 
 difficulties have been placed in the way of transport of natives by 
 railway to the mines. These things are all a drain upon us as a State, 
 and many of them are a burning disgrace to us as a people. 
 
 gcs 
 
 The Education Scandal. 
 The great public that subscribes the bulk of the revenue is virtually 
 denied all benefit of State aid in education. There has been a deliberate 
 
498 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 attempt to Hollandcrise the Republic, and to kill the English Ianj»ua>;e. 
 Thoiisinds of children arc Rrowinjjup in this land in i;4iiorance, unfitted 
 to run the race of life, and there is the possibility that a lar;^e number 
 of thcin will develop into criminals. We have had to tax ourselves 
 privately to guard .against these dangers, and the ini(|uity of denying 
 education to the children of men who are paying taxes is so manifest 
 that I pass on with mingkd feelings of anger and disgust 
 
 Railways. 
 
 This important branch of the public service is entirely in the hands 
 of a corporation domiciled in Holland. This corporation holds a con- 
 cession, of course under which not only was there no ade(iuate control 
 over expenditure in construction, but it is entitled to charge and is 
 charging us outrageous tariffs. How outrageous these are will be seen 
 from the admission made by Mr. Middelbcrg that the short section of 
 lo miles between Hoksburg and Krugersdorp is p.'iying more than the 
 interest on the cost of the construction of the whole line of railw.iy to 
 Delagoa Bay. To add these to its general revenue, of which lo per 
 cent, is set aside as a sinking fund, and then to take for itself 15 per 
 cent, of the balance, the Company reports annually to the Raad from 
 Amsterdam in a language which is practically foreign to it, and makes 
 up its accounts in guelders, a coinage which our legislators I venture to 
 say know nothing of ; and this is independence. We are liable as 
 guarantors for the whole of the debt. Lines have been built entirely 
 on our credit, and yet we have no say and no control over these 
 important public works beyond the show of control which is supposed 
 to be exercised by the present Railway Commissioner. The Company 
 in conjunction with the Executive Government is in a position to 
 control our destinies to an enormous extent, to influence our relations 
 internally and externally, to bring about such friction with the neigh- 
 bouring States as to set the whole of South Africa in tumult. Petitions 
 have been presented to the Raad, but the President has constantly 
 brushed these aside with the well-worn argument that the independence 
 of the Slate is involved in the matter. It is involved in the matter, as 
 all who remember the recent Drifts question will admit. I have been 
 told that it is dangerous for the country to take over the railway, 
 because it would afford such an immense field for corruption. Surely 
 this is the strongest condemnation of the Government by its friends, for 
 if it is not fit to run a railway, how can it be fit to manage a wliole 
 State ? The powers controlling this railway are flooding the public 
 service with Hollanders to the exclusion of our own people, and I ma'' 
 here say that in the most important departments of the State we ar 
 being controlled by the gentlemen from the Low Country. While th. 
 innocent Boer hugs to himself the delusion that he is preserving his 
 independence, they control us politically through Dr. Leyds, financially 
 through the Netherlands Railway, educationally through Dr. Mansvelt, 
 and in the Department of Justice through Dr. Coster. 
 
 Customs and Trade. 
 
 The policy of the Government in regard to taxation may be practi- 
 cally described as protection without production. The most monstrous 
 hardships result to consumers, and merchants can scarcely say from 
 day to day where they are. Twice now has the Government entered 
 into competition with traders who have paid their licences and rents 
 and who keep staffs. Recently grain became scarce. The Govern- 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 429 
 
 mcnt were pctitiuncd to suspend the duties, which arc cruelly liiL'h, 
 in order to assist the miiiinj; industry to feed its ialunirers. The 
 Government refused this request on the ple:i tliut it was not in a 
 position to suspend duties without the permission of tlie Volksraad, 
 and yet witliin a few days wc find that the (iovernment has jiiraiited 
 a concession to one of its friends to import ^rain free of duty and to 
 sell it in competition with the mercliants who have liad to pay duties. 
 I do not attempt to deal with tiiis important question adecpiately, but 
 pive this example to show how the (Iovernment rcjjards the rijt»hls of 
 traders. 
 
 MONOrOLIES. 
 
 It has been the sle.uly policy of the Ciovernment to j^rant con- 
 cessions. No sooner docs any commodity become absolutely essential 
 to the community than some harpy endeavours to }»ct a concession 
 for its supply. There is scarcely a commodity or a rij^ht which lias not 
 been made the subject of an application for the grant of a concession. 
 We all remember the bread and jam concession, the water concession, 
 the electric lighting concession, and many others, but I need only point 
 to the dynamite concession to show how these monopolies lend to 
 paralyse our industries. There may be some of you wiio have not yet 
 heard and some who have forgotten the facts connected with this 
 outrage upon public rights. 
 
 Story of the Dynamite Concession. 
 
 Some years ago, Mr. Lippert got a concession for the sole right to 
 manufacture and sell dynamite and all other explosives. He was to 
 manufacture the dynamite in this country. For years he imported 
 dynamite under the name of Guhr Imprcgne duty free. He never 
 manufactured dynamite in the country, and upon public exposure, the 
 Government was compelled to cancel the concession, the President 
 himself denouncing the action of the concessionnaire as fraudulent. 
 For a time we breathed freely, thinking wc were rid of this incubus, 
 but within a few months the Government granted virtually to the same 
 people another concession, under whicli tiiey are now taking from the 
 pockets of the public ;^6oo,ooo per annum, and this is a charge which 
 will go on growing should the mining industry survive the persistent 
 attempts to strangle it. How a body charged with the public interests 
 could be parties to this scandalous fleecing of the public passes com- 
 prehension. Then, the curious feature about the matter is that the 
 Government gets some petty fraction of this vast sum, and tlie con- 
 cessionnaires have on this plea obtained enormous advances of public 
 moneys from the Government, without security, to carry on their trade. 
 Shortly, the concessionnaires arc entitled to charge 90s. a case for 
 dynamite, while it could be bought if there Vv^re no concession for 
 about 30S. a case. It may be stated incidentally, that Mr. Wolmarans, 
 a member of the Government, has been for years challenged to deny 
 that he s enjoying a royalty of 2s. on every case of dynamite sold, and 
 that ht .las up to the present moment neglected to take up the 
 challenge. Proper municipal government is denied to us, .md we all 
 know how much this means with regard to health, comfort, and the 
 value of property. The Statute Books are disfigured with enactments 
 imposing religious disabilities ; and the English language, the language 
 spokei ')y the great bulk of the people, is denied all official recognition. 
 The naiural result of the existing condition of things is that the true 
 owners of the mines are those who have invested no capital in them — 
 
430 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 the Government, the railway concessionnaires, the dynamite con- 
 cessionii.iircs, and others. The country is rich, and under proper 
 government could be developed marvellously, but it cannot stand the 
 drain of the present exactions. We have lived largely upon foreign 
 capital, and the total amount of the dividends available for shareholders 
 in companies is ridiculously small as compared with the aggregate 
 amount of capital invested in mining ventures. Some day the 
 inevitable result upon our credit and upon our trade will be forced 
 upon us. 
 
 Hatked of the Saxon. 
 
 There is no disguising the fact that the original policy of the Govern- 
 ment is based upon intense hostility to tiie English-speaking population, 
 and that even against the enfranchised burgher of this State ihere is the 
 determination to retain all power in the hands of those who are enjoying 
 the sweets of office now, and naturally the grateful crowd of relations 
 and friends and henchmen ardently support the existing regime ; but 
 there are unmistakable signs, and the President fears that the policy 
 which he has hitherto adopted will not be sufficient to keep in check 
 the growing population. It seems the set purpose of the Government 
 to repress the growth of the industry, to tax it at every turn, to prevent 
 the working classes from settling here and making their homes and 
 surrounding themselves with their families, and there is no mistaking 
 the significance of the action of the President when he opposed the 
 throwing open of the town lands of Pretoria on the ground that ' he 
 might have a second Johannesburg there,' nor that of his speech upon 
 the motion fur the employment of diamond drills to prospect Govern- 
 ment lands, which he opposed hotly on the ground that ' there is too 
 much gold here already.' 
 
 The Policy of Force. 
 
 We now have openly the policy of force revealed to us. ;^25o,ooo is 
 to be spent upon the completing of a fort at Pretoria, ;£ioo,ooo is to be 
 spend upon a fort to terrorize the inhabitants of Johannesburg, large 
 orders are sent to Krupp's for big guns, Maxims have been ordered, and 
 we are even told that German ofilcers are coming out to drill the 
 burghers. Are these things necessary or are they calculated to irritate 
 the feeling to breaking point ? What necessity is there for forts in 
 peaceful inland towns ? Why should the Government endeavour to 
 keep us in subjection to unjust laws by the power of the sword instead 
 of making themselves live in the heart of the people by a broad policy 
 of justice ? What can be said of a policy which deliberately divides 
 tlie two great sections of the people from each other, instead of uniting 
 them under equal laws, or the policy which keeps us m eternal 
 turmoil with the ncigiibouring States ? What shall be said of the state- 
 craft, every act of which sows torments, discontent, or race hatred, and 
 reveals a conception of repubhcanism under which the only privilege 
 of tlie majority of the people is to provide the revenue, and to bear 
 insult, while only those are considered Republicans who speak a certain 
 language, and in greater or less degree share the prejudices of the 
 ruling classes? 
 
 A. Stirring Peroration. 
 
 I think this policy can never succeed, unless men are absolutely 
 bereft of every quality which made their forefathers free men ; unless 
 we have fallen i^o low that we are prepared to forget honour, self- 
 
ll ^ 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 431 
 
 respect, and our duty to our children. Once more I wish to state 
 agam m unmistakable language what has been so freqLnty stated n 
 per ect smcenty before, that we desire an independent republ c wliicS 
 S.n .h%*'"n '•^P^blic. in which every man who is prepLred to take 
 the oath of allegiance to the State shall have equal rights in wh ch our 
 
 tit'n "K^' ^:rfi'^ "P ''^'^ ^y ^'^^^ ^^ ""'^ed membesoTa strong 
 commonwealth ; that we are animated by no race hatred, that we deSf 
 to deprive no man. be his nationality what it may, of any right 
 
 The Charter of the Uxiox. 
 We have now only two questions to consider : (a) What do we want ? 
 (b) how shall we get it? I have stated plainly What our grievl ces 
 are.andsha answer with equal directness the question,^ Wha do 
 we want ?• We want : (i) the establishment of this^Republ c as a true 
 Repub he .• (2) a Grondwet or Constitution which shall be franiedbv 
 competent persons selected by representatives of the whole people and 
 framed on Imcs laid down by them-a Constitution which shLi be safe 
 guarded agamst hasty alteration ; (3) an equitable franchise 1-ivvfnd 
 airrepresentaton; (4) equality of ll/e Dutch and EnS LS^ 
 ^lnt?P°r^f '"^'^^ ° ^^' Legislature to the heads of the grea^depart: 
 ?ourt 'of^-uTe v^tV''f°"^^''''^^'''"^^= (7) independence o?the 
 Ses-fs^ihlr.'! ^ adequate and secured remuneration of the 
 udges, (8) hberal and comprehensive education; (g) efficient civil 
 \nul^\7'-^ adequate provision for pay and pension\-\%) free trade^n 
 South African products. That is what we want. There now remains 
 the question which is to be put before you at the mcctincTf the 6H1 
 January, VIZ.. How shall we^t it? To this qiestTon I ^shal expect 
 
 Chakles Leo.N'ard, 
 Ckatrman of the Transvaal National Union. 
 
APPENDIX K. 
 
 THE CASE OF THE CHIEFTAINESS TOEREMETSJANI 
 
 On the reports which have appeared the case or cases of Toeremets- 
 jani V. P. A. Cronje, Jesaja v. P. A. Cronje and D. J. Schoeman, Scgole 
 I'. P. A. Cronje and J. A. Erasrrius, have attracted, as well they might, 
 a good deal of attention. The following resum6 and commentary were 
 compiled by a legal gentleman who was present during the trial, but 
 not professionally employed in it. 
 
 The facts revealed in the evidence (writes our correspondent) speak 
 pretty well for themselves, but they were brought out into lurid pro- 
 minence in the cross-exammation of Commandant Cronje by Mr. 
 Justice Jorissen. In order to make the case quite clear, it is as well 
 to state for the benefit of those who are not intimately acquainted 
 with things in the Transvaal that this Mr. Cronje, who is now the 
 Superintendent-General of Natives, is the same Cronje concerning 
 whose action in regard i > Jameson's surrender there was so much 
 discussion. After the Jameson Raid, President Kruger, pursuing his 
 policy of packing the Executive with his own friends, decided to 
 put Cronje upon the Executive, for which purpose he induced 
 General Joubert to resign his position as Superintendent-General 
 of Natives. The President's intention becoming known to Raad 
 members, the strongest possible objection was expressed to this 
 course as being wholly unconstitutional and in direct conflict with the 
 Grondwet ; the President in the first place having no right to add to 
 the number of Executive members and no authority for appointing any 
 person to fill a vacancy if there were one. Notice of motion was 
 promptly given in the Raad to instruct the Executive not to take the 
 proposed course, as the Raad felt that the privilege and power of 
 appointing members on the Executive rested with them alone. Twenty- 
 four hours' notice was requisite to bring a matter up for discussion 
 before the Raad. President Kruger hearing that notice had been given 
 promptly called a meeting of the Executive and appointed Mr. Cronje 
 in defiance of the notice of motion, so that when the motion came on 
 for discussion on the following day he replied to the Raad's instruction 
 that it was too late to discuss the matter, the appointment having been 
 made. Mr. Cronje, therefore, appears on the scene on this occasion 
 without much to prejudice the unbiassed reader in his favour. The 
 circumstances of the surrender of the Potchefstroom garrison, which 
 was secured by treacherously suppressing the news of the armistice 
 between the two forces (a treachery for which public reparation was 
 afterwards exacted by Sir Evelyn Wood), the treatment of certain 
 prisoners of war (compelled to work for the Boers exposed to the 
 
 432 
 
 H 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 433 
 
 
 fire and being shot down by their own friends in the garrison), the 
 summary execution of other prisoners, the refusal to allow certain of 
 the women to leave the British garrison, resulting in the death of at least 
 one, are matters which although sixteen years old are quite fresh in the 
 memory of the people in the Transvaal. The condition of Dr. Jameson's 
 surrender revived the feeling that Mr. Cronje has need to do someUiirg 
 remarkable in another direction in order to encourage that confidence 
 in him as an impartial and fair-minded man vi'hich his past career 
 unfortunately does not warrant. Commandant Trichard, mentioned in 
 this connection as a witness, was one of the commandants who refused 
 to confirm the terms accorded by Cronje to Jameson. Mr. Abel Erasmus 
 is a gentleman so notorious that it would be quite unnecessary to further 
 describe him. He is the one whom Lord Wolseley described as a fiend 
 in human form, and threatened to " hang as high as Haman." Abel Eras- 
 mus is the man who had desolated the Lydenburg district ; the hero 
 of the cave affair in which men, women, and children were closed up 
 in a cave and burnt to death or suffocated ; a man who is the living 
 terror of a whole countryside, the mere mention of whose name is suffi- 
 cient to cow any native. Mr. Schocman is the understudy of Abel 
 Erasmus, and is the hero of the satchel rase, in which an unfortunate 
 native was flogged well-nigh to death and tortured in order to wring 
 evidence from him who, it was afterwards discovered, knew absolutely 
 nothing about the affair. The Queen, or Chieftainess, Toeremetsjani, i^ 
 the present head of the Secocoeni tribe and the head wife of the late 
 chief, Secocoeni. This tribe, it will be remembered, was the one which 
 successfully resisted the Boers under President Burger and Comman- 
 dant Paul kruger — a successful resistance which was one of the troubles 
 leading directly to the abortive annexation of the Transvaal. The 
 Secocoeni tribe were afterwards conquered by British troops, and 
 handed over to the tender mercies of the Boer Government upon 
 the restoration of its independence. 
 
 It is necessary to bear these facts in mind in order to realise the 
 hideous significance of the unvarnished tale. 
 
 Now to the trial. 
 
 Mr. Advocate Wkssels, who acted for the natives, gauging pretty 
 accurately what the defence would be, called two witnesses to prove the 
 prima facie case. Jesaja, one of the indunas flogged, whose case was 
 first on the roll, proved that he was flogged by order of Commandant 
 Cronje without any form of trial, and without any charge or indictment 
 being made against him, and that he received twenty-six lashes, the 
 extra one being given because he declined to say ' Thank you ' for the 
 twentv-five. Commandant Trichard next gave evidence, and from him 
 Mr. Wi'.ssia^ elicited that Cronje had gone through no form of trial, but 
 handed over Jesaja and the other twelve indunas to be lloggi'd by 
 Erasmus and Schoeman. 
 
 Advocate : Do you positively swear that Commandant Cronje speci- 
 fied the sentence of twenty-five lashes each ? 
 
 Witness ; Yes. 
 
 Which answer was quite in accordance with the pleas of Erasmus 
 and Schoeman, who stated specifically that they administered the lashes 
 in accordance with the orders and sentence given by Commandant 
 Cronje. The Court held that a sufficient prima facie case had been 
 made out by the plaintiff, and that tlic onus now lay on the delendants 
 to prove their case. The witnesses called were Commandant Cronje and 
 Mr. Stiemens, secretary to the former. Mr. Stiemens in his evidence fully 
 corroborated Trichard's evidence as to the passing of tba sentence by 
 
 FF 
 
 IS 
 
434 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Cronje upon the indunasand the absence of any form of trial ; and nothing 
 more need be said about this witness. With Mr. Cronje's evidence, 
 however, it is necessary to deal at length. Mr. Cronje admitted under 
 cross-examination that he had not observed any particular form of trial, 
 although, as was pointed out, the law dealing with native trials stated 
 specifically ' that the rules which govern procedure in civilized courts 
 shall be followed as closely as possible.' He stated that as regards the 
 Chieftainess, he called her up and read over to her 'point by point' 
 'the indictment under which she was charged,' which indictment, 
 however, as he admitted, consisted merely of a letter of complaint 
 written by Field-cornet Schocman to him as Superintendent-General of 
 Natives. He claimed that no form of trial was necessary, inasmuch as 
 he acted under the authority of the President, who has supreme power 
 over natives, and was not obliged to observe any particular form of trial. 
 ' Point by point I read the charge,' to use his own words, ' against the 
 woman, and point by point I could see by her demeanour that she was 
 guilty.' As regards the thirteen indunas, Mr. Cronje admitted that he 
 did not know whether these were indunas. He considered them guilty, 
 not because they had done anything, but because in their position as 
 advisers of the Chieftainess they ouglat to have advised her oetter than 
 they appeared to have done. Instructions had therefore been given to 
 arrest these indunas, and they had caught as many as they could. There 
 was no evidence to show that they were indunas, or that they were ever 
 in a position to advise or had advised the Chieftainess ; in fact, it was 
 admitted that they were a lot of thirteen caught out of a tribe as one 
 might catch so many sheep out of a flock. Mr. Cronje denied that he 
 had sentenced these men, and repeatedly stated that he had handed 
 them over to Erasmus and Schoeman, to be dealt with according to 
 law. 
 
 Mr. Wessfxs cross-examined the witness upon this point as follows : — 
 
 Advocate : I believe Commandant Trichard accompanied you on this 
 connnission ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Advocate : He was present throughout the whole proceeding? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Advocate : He had every opportunity of knowing what took place and 
 what was said ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Advocate : You will be surprised to hear that Mr. Trichard states that 
 you actually passed sentence upon the thirteen indunas in such words 
 as, ' I hand you over to the Native Commissioner and Field-cornet to 
 be dealt with according to law. And you instigators will get twenty-five 
 lashes each between tlie shoulders.' Do you positively deny that von 
 said anytliing about twenty-five lashes ? 
 
 Witness : Yes, I deny it. 
 
 Advocate : Do you deny that you gave any indication or opinion as 
 to what ouglit to be done with these men ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Advocate : Well, Mr. Cronje, I want to know which of you two the 
 Court is to believe, you or Commandant Trichard ? 
 
 Witness : Commandant Trichard has made a mistake. 
 
 Advocate : No, no, no, Mr. Cronje, that won't do ; there are no mis- 
 takes in this business. I want you to tell the Court which of you two 
 men under oath is lying and wliich is telling the truth. 
 
 Witness : Commandant Triciiard is lying. 
 
 (At this point there was some commotion in Court caused by Com- 
 
 !,'%,■ 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 435 
 
 the 
 
 mandant Trichard jumping up and making use of some expressions 
 towards the witness. The matter ended in a rather fierce altercation 
 after the Court adjourned.) It is only necessary to add that Mr. 
 Stiemans, who followed Cronje, fully corroborated Trichard's evidence. 
 There were many other interesting points brought out by Mr. Wessels 
 in his cross-e.xamination, but it is unnecessary to further detail this part 
 of the proceedings, as the same ground was covered by Mr. Justice 
 
 torissen, who took the witness in hand and whose cross-examination 
 rought out the salient features of the case with extreme vividness and 
 dramatic effect. The Judge first dealt with that portion of the evidence 
 relating to the so-called 'trial' of the Chieftainess. 
 
 Judge : Mr. Cronje, in your evidence just now you said that you read 
 over to this woman the charge that v.'as laid against her. ' Point by 
 point ' you say you read it to her, and ' point by point you could see by 
 her demeanour that she was guilty.' Is that so ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Judge : Very well, Mr. Cronje, I will take the indictment, ' point by 
 point,' as you did. Point the first, Mr. Cronje. (The Judge here read 
 the first of the seven clauses in Schoeman's letter which formed the 
 indictment.) Now kindly explain to me what there was in the woman's 
 demeanour which conveyed to you the idea that she was guilty on this 
 point. 
 
 The witness became considerably embarrassed and did not answer. 
 
 Judge : No answer, Mr. Cronje ? Well, we will take point No. 2. 
 (The Judge dealt with all the seven clauses in a similar manner, the 
 witness failing to make any answer throughout. After the last point 
 had been dealt with and remained unanswered, the Judge addressed 
 the witness again amid a most impressive silence in Court). 
 
 Judge : Mr. Cronje, 'point by point' I have read to you the indict- 
 ment as you read it to the woman ; ' point by point ' I have asked you 
 to give me certain information ; ' point by point ' you have failed to 
 make any answer. Well, Mr. Cronje, I can only tell you this, ' point by 
 point ' I shall set that down in my notes. (After an interval, during 
 which the Judge filled in his notes, the examination was resumed.) 
 
 Judge : Now, Mr. Cronje, as I understand it, it was in consequence 
 of Field-cornet Schoeman's complaint to you as Superintendent-General 
 of Natives that you were sent by the Government to investigate the 
 matter ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Judge : You called the woman up before you and read to her the 
 charges. 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Judge : You brought no evidence against her ? 
 
 Witness : No. 
 
 Judge : You did not call upon Schoeman to produce any evidence 
 :\gainst her ? 
 
 Witness : No. 
 
 Judge : His letter of complaint to you seemed sufficient ? 
 
 Witness : Yes. 
 
 Judge : You did not give her any opportunity to bring evidence ? 
 
 Witness : It was not necessary. 
 
 Judge : Oh, dear no ; I quite understand that ' you could tell from 
 her demeanour that she was guilty.' But as a matter of form you did 
 not hear any evidence on her behalf ? 
 
 Witness : No. 
 
 Judge : You just sentenced her out of hand. 
 
436 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 Witness ; I sentenced her to pay a fine. 
 
 Judge : And then as regards the thirteen indunas, if they were 
 indunas, as you denv sentcncintj tiieni we need not refer furtlier to 
 that point, but I put this to you — there was no evidence brougiit against 
 them ? 
 
 Witness : No. 
 
 Judjie : There was nothing to show that these men had ever advised 
 the woman or were in a po^ ition to advise her ; in fact, as far as the 
 evidence goes, there was nothing to show that they even belonged to 
 the tribe, but in your opinion tiiey ougiit to have advised her differently, 
 and you thcrufore sentenced them to twenty-five lashes each. 
 
 Witness : I did not sentence them, but handed them over to the 
 proper authorities to be dealt with according to law. 
 
 Judge : Oh, no, Mr. Cronje, that is not how the case appears to me. 
 You came up to tliese people in the capacity of Judge, to do justice as 
 between man and man according to your lights, to follow the procedure 
 that is observed in civilized courts, to represent the strength, the rights, 
 and the responsibilities of this Republic, ana if we are to accept your 
 evidence as true, you did not try the men whom you were to have tried. 
 You heard evidence neitlier for nor against them, but you handed them 
 over to — to wliom, Mr. Cronje ? Not to the proper authorities, but to 
 Erasmus and Schoeman, the other parties in the case which you were 
 sent up to try. It seems to me, Mr. Cronje, that this is a case witiiout 
 parallel. 
 
 There was no answer from the witness. 
 
 Judge : One point more, Mr. Cronje, and I have finished. When you 
 handed over these men to be dealt with, did you notify them that they 
 had the right of appeal from any sentence that might be imposed upon 
 them ? 
 
 Witness : Yes, I did. 
 
 Judge ; Riglit ! Now, Mr. Cronje, did you notify Erasmus and 
 Schoeman that they should stay execution of the sentence pending the 
 hearing of any appeal ? 
 
 After considerable pause the witness was understood to saj'^ "No." 
 
 Judge : You did not tell these officials to stay execution ? 
 
 Witness : No. 
 
 Judge : Then you merely gave these natives the right to appeal 
 against the sentence of lashes after they should have received the 
 lashes ? 
 
 There was no answer from the witness. 
 
 Judge : That will do, Mr. Cronje. I do not think that these people 
 have much reason to thank you for the leave to appeal. 
 
 Cronje was followed in the witness-box by Stiemens, whose evidence 
 is already referred to, and the Court then adjourned. 
 
 The next morning, shortly before the opening of the Court, the State 
 Attorney came down on behalf of the Government and arranged with 
 Plaintiffs' Counsel to adjourn for the day to enable parties to try and 
 settle the three cases out of Court. The Court thereupon adjourned at 
 the request of parties, and during the day the tliree cases were settled 
 on the following basis : Tlie Government refunds Toeremetsjani the 
 £J47 IDS. with interest at 6 per cent, from the date of payment by her 
 to i'.rasmus, and pays lier costs, to be taxed as between attorney and 
 client. 
 
 The Defendants Cronje, Erasmus, and Schoeman, pay each of the 
 thirteen indunas who were flogged £25 as compensation, and pay the 
 costs of Jesaja and Segole, to be taxed as between attorney and client. 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 437 
 
 Postscript. 
 
 One last touch of irony is needed to complete the story of the suits 
 brought by the Chicftainess Toeremctsjani and her indunas against 
 Messrs. Erasmus, Schoeman, and the rest. It seems tliat tiiese same 
 gentlemen have actually been appointed by the Government to 'in- 
 vestigate matters' in the district where these Kaffirs live. Poor 
 Toeremctsjani and the unfortunate indunas, as a contemporary remarks, 
 m.ay be expected to give a grovelling welcome. No more High Court 
 for them. 
 
 The natives, by the way, interviewed since their return to the kraals, 
 state that they have not yet received the settlement arranged. 
 
 In connection with the above sample of justice to tlu; natives it is as 
 well to recall anotiier recent incident which has latelv taken place. 
 Some natives being severely mishandled by the local authorities, and 
 being in consequence destitute of means to proceed against them in 
 law, applied to Court for leave to sue in forma pauperis. Tiiis leave 
 was granted. Immediately upon this becoming known petitions were 
 got up among the Boers, with the result that \he Volksraad some six 
 weeks ago took a resolution instructing the Government to immediately 
 bring in a law forbidding the judges to grant such leave, and making it 
 impossible for a native to sue Government or any white person tn forma 
 pauperis. Comment (concludes the correspondent who sets out tlv:se 
 various facts) is superiluous. 
 
 ti 
 
 1: 
 
 •■s 
 
APPENDIX L. 
 
 59, HoLBORN Viaduct, London, E.C. 
 
 6th May, 1897. 
 
 REPORT ON THE LETTER WRITTEN ON A TORN TELEGRAM 
 FORM SIGNED " F. R.", BY MR. T. H. GURRIN, EXPERT 
 IN HANDWRITING. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Henry Gurrin, of 59, Holborn Viaduct, London, E.G., is 
 a professional expert in handwriting, recognized and employed by the 
 Director of Puolic Prosecutions, the Home Office, and the authorities at 
 Scotland Yard, and is constantly engaged by them in that capacity. 
 He is also frequently engaged in the same capacity by the Bank of 
 England and other public bodies. 
 
 He has acted as handwriting expert in a very large number of civil 
 and criminal cases at sessions, assizes, and before the High Courts, for 
 over twelve years past, and can conscientiously say that his experience 
 in the identification of genuine handwriting and the detection of forced 
 and altered documents is very extensive. 
 
 Mr. Gurrin begs respectfully to submit the following report : — 
 
 ' Having been instructed by Mr. Braunstein, solicitor, of 27, Great 
 George Street, Westminster, I have examined a photograph of torn 
 portions of a letter written on a telegram form of the South African 
 Republic. 
 
 ' My attention has been directed to the evidence of Major Sir J. C. 
 Willoughby, appearing at page 302 of the Minutes, in which he has 
 given his version of the missing portions of this document. 
 
 ' I have compared this version of the missing words with the vacant 
 spaces, and I find that the words supplied in question 5,571 would 
 occupy, as near as can be estimated, the missing spaces, judging from 
 the other writing in the document. 
 
 * I read the first portion of the document as follows :— 
 
 ' " Dear Dr., 
 
 " The rumour of massacre in " 
 " Johannesburg that started you to our " 
 " relief was not true. We are all right ; " 
 "feeling intense ; we have armed" 
 " a lot of men. Shall (not ' I shall ') be very glad" 
 " to see you. We are not in possession ot " 
 " town." 
 
 438 
 
APPENDIX L 
 
 439 
 
 ' Major Sir J. C. Willoughby reads line 6, " Wc (or the Boers)." It 
 cannot possibly be " the Boers," as the first letter is clearly a portion of 
 a capital " W," and corresponds with the iirst portion of the " W" as 
 made at line 3 ; and further, there would be no room for the two 
 words "the Boers," between the portion of the letter "W" and the 
 word "not." 
 
 ' Af^ain, I am of opinion that the last word in line 6 was "of," as there 
 is still visible an ascending curved stroke corresponding to that with 
 which the writer terminates the letter " f." 
 
 ' With reference to the rest of the version as contained in question 
 5.573> ^ respectfully submit that the missing words supplied are abso- 
 lutely inconsistent with the spaces which these words would occupy if 
 written naturally by the same writer. 
 
 'The words " I will bring at least three hundred" do not correspond 
 with the still existing marks on line 7. The portion of a letter appearing 
 in the middle of the line would not, as far as I can judge, he a part of 
 any of the words suggested which would come at the centre of that 
 line. It might be a part of a capital "W," or an initial "p," or it 
 might be a linal " d " turned back to the left, and the last letter in the 
 line looks as though it was intended for an "e." In support of this 
 theory, I compare it with the " e " at the end oi the word " true " in 
 line 3, and the " e" at the end of " intense," line 4. The writer, wlien 
 making a final "d," makes the latter portion of the letter somtt'ijng 
 like this, but in the instances in this document he exerts more pressure 
 than we find here, see, for instance, the " d " in " started," at line 2, the 
 "d" in "glad," in line 5, and "d" in "armed," line 4. Besides, I 
 cannot think that this can be the end of the word " hundred," as, 
 judging from the length of the word "started," the word "hundred" 
 would have occupied from the third vertical line, and this would 
 certainly leave no room for the other words suggested in the version 
 given by Major Sir J. C. Willoughby, viz. : " We will bring at least, or 
 about three." If the words " will send out some," or " we will send 
 out some," are written in line 7 after the word " town," adopting, as 
 nearly as possible, the space that would have been occupied by the 
 writer for these words, they will just fill t!;e line. In like manner, with 
 regard to line 8, there is just room after the words " men to " for the 
 two words " meet you," and the small mark appearing before the full 
 stop might have been the terminal of the letter " u," but it would have 
 been impossible to get into this small space the words "meet you at 
 Krugersdorp," and even if the words "meet j'ou at" were omitted, 
 and if it be assumed that the word which originally stood there was 
 " Krugersdorp," then the mark appearing before the full stop could 
 not by any theory be construed as having been portion of tlie letter 
 " p," as I have examined various specimens of Colonel Rhodes' hand- 
 writing, and have seen him write specimens containing the letter " p " 
 and find that he does not terminate a " p '' with any stroke of this 
 description, but that he terminates it inside the oval portion of the 
 letter near the downstroke. With regard to the rest of the line, the 
 last two letters appear to have been " ne," and there is a dot just in 
 the position that would apparently have been occupied by the dot had 
 the previous letter been "i." Consequentl}', I am of opinion that 
 the theory that the words " will send," or " we will send out some men 
 to meet you," " you are a fine fellow," is perfectly consistent with the 
 spaces left in the torn document, but that the theory that the words 
 which were originally in the spaces were " I will bring at least or about 
 three hundred men to meet you at Krugersdorp, you are a gallant 
 
440 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 fellow," is not onlj' inconsistent with the amount of space available, 
 l)iil does not lit in with the letters and portions of letters still vi'-ible. 
 
 'T. H. gurkin; 
 
 Contents of the letter according to a statement signed by Dr. 
 jruneson, Sir John Willoughby, Major Robert White and Colonel 
 'i\';ilci,i;h Grey : — 
 
 ' The rumour of massacre in Johannesburg that started you to our 
 relief was not true. We are all rigiit, feeling intense. We have 
 armed a lot of men. I shall be very glad to see you. We (or the 
 Boers) are not in possession of the town. I will bring at least, or 
 about, 300 men to meet you at Krugcrsdorp. You are a gi'llant fellow.' 
 
 According to Colonel Francis Rhodes and Mr. Lionel Phillips, the 
 contents are as follows : — 
 
 'The rumour of massacre in Johannesburg that started you to our 
 relief was not true. We are al! right, feeling intense. We have armed 
 a lot of men. Shall be very glad to see you. We are not in possession 
 of the town. We will send out some men to meet you. You are a Ime 
 fellow.' 
 
 ' We, the undersigned, were present in the Reform Committee's room 
 when Colonel Rhodes despatched the letter to Dr. Jameson, which 
 commences, " Dear Dr. — The rumour of massacre." We read the 
 letter, but cannot now recall the exact words on the missing fragments ; 
 but we do hereby declare on oath that there was no offer of 300 men, 
 nor of any other specific nunfher of men, nor was the word Krugersdorp 
 mentioned. The spirit of the letter was to suggest that a few men 
 should or would be sent in the character of a complimentary escort to 
 show Dr. Jameson his camp. 
 
 'Geo. W. Farrar. 
 'S. W. Jameson. 
 ' As witness — 
 
 ' J. Percy FitzPatrick. 
 ' Johannesburg, loUi April, 1897.' 
 
INDEX 
 
 Act of Annexation, 16 
 
 Visitations for reforms, 60 
 
 A ncsiiof, Judge, 149 
 As witness, 224 
 Member of Ccmmission, 155 
 On Maniis and Malan, i.)8 
 Relinquishes judij^eship, 299 
 Trial of Reformers and, 231 
 
 Annexation party, 47 
 
 Anstrutiier, Col., at Bronkhorst 
 Spruit, 30 
 
 April case, loi 
 
 Auchinleck, Captain, 37 
 
 Auret, J. G., 151 
 
 Aylward, Alfred — 
 On annexation of Transvaal, 12 
 Quotes despatch on Zulu claims. 
 
 22 
 
 B 
 
 Bailey, Abe, 127, 151 
 
 Receives telegram from 'Godol- 
 phin,' 137 
 Banjai, Republic of, 55 
 Barherton Goldtields, Develop- 
 ment of, 78 
 Barberton, Sheba Mine, 60 
 Barbour, Dr., shot, 42 
 Barry, J. D., on delegates' mission 
 
 to England, 21 
 Basutoland, Fugitives from, 7 
 Basutos and 'I'ransvaal Boers, 
 
 199 
 Bech uanaland — 
 Boers in, 50 
 Border Police, 139 
 Fugitives from, 7 
 
 licit, Alfred — 
 And reform, 121 
 Graaff's sug.qcstion to, 294, 
 note I 
 Bethcil murdered, 51 
 Bettington, Col., starts to rr.'.'et 
 
 Jameson, 171 
 Bew.'uirplaatsen question, 92, 95, 
 
 and note, 346, 352 
 Bezuidcnhout, 41 
 
 At Fotchefstroom, 30 
 Birkenruth, K., 3^9, 357 
 Black, Trooper, shot, 190 
 Bloemfontein, Meeting at, 362 
 Blokland, Beelaerts van, 64 
 Bodenstein, J. C, Field-Cornet, on 
 
 Jameson Raid, 194 
 Boer — 
 Characteristics, 41, 42, 48, 50, 
 
 288 
 Covet other lands, 50 
 Demand execution of Jameson, 
 
 205 
 Evasion of treaty obligations, 56 
 Experience as soldier, 2(1 
 Invade Natal, 35 
 Knowledge of intended inva- 
 sion (?), 191 
 Memorial for repeal of annexa- 
 tion, 46 
 Military power, 41 
 Reason of aversion to English, 3 
 Reform and, 104, 1 18 
 Treatment of prisoners, 188 
 Botha, Hans, 134 
 Bouwer, despatch rider, 179 
 Bower, Sir Graham, 215 
 Brakiian, A., 349, 357 
 
 Mt 
 
4.|S 
 
 INDEX 
 
 BricUmaUer's license, (>4 
 
 British Indians, ^29 
 
 British subjects commandeered, 82 
 
 Britten, T. K., 350 
 
 Bronkhorst Spruit, 114 
 
 Bronkhorst Spruit, Battle of, 30, 
 
 37.42 
 Brown v. State (see Witfnntein 
 
 case) 
 Burger, Schalk W., Chairman of 
 
 Commission of Imiiiiry, 303 
 Burners, President — 
 Address to Raad, 17 
 And Sir Theophilus Shepstone, 
 
 14, 20 
 Liabilities for Sccocoeni War, 24 
 Butler, Sir William, refuses to 
 accept petition, 335 
 
 Caledon River, 11 
 
 Cam,>bell, W. Y.— 
 
 And President Kruger, 302 
 Organizes Diamond Jubilee 
 celebration, 312 
 
 Cape Bay question, 329, 339 
 
 Cape ceded to iMigland, 3 
 
 Cape Colony — Free State Railway 
 and Netherlands Railway, 114 
 
 Cape Times on Sampson and 
 Davies' imprisonment, 295 
 
 Capitalists and Government, Cor- 
 respondence between, 345 se(jq. 
 
 Capitalists and Reform, 119 
 
 Carnarvon, Lord, 211 
 Federation 15111, i6 
 Memorial to, for repeal of 
 annexation, 46 
 
 Carter, Thomas Fortescue, ' Nar- 
 rative of Boer War' quoted, 
 
 29,30 
 Celliers, J. F., editor of De Volks- 
 stcin, 16 
 
 In gaol, 17 
 
 Report, 181, 182 
 Cetewayo, 12; letter to Sir T. 
 
 Shepstone, 22 
 Chamberlain, Joseph — 
 
 Despatch on Dynamite Mono- 
 poly, 342 
 
 On London Convention, 57, note 
 
 On spirit and letter of Con- 
 vention, 365, note 
 
 Representations on behalf of 
 Reformers, 228 
 
 Telegram on prisoners, 215 
 Telegrams to Sir Hercules 
 Robinson, 205, 2o(), 2 if), ^17 
 Transvaai polic)', 22M 
 Ultimatum on Vaal River Drifts, 
 
 City and Suburban G.M. Co. and 
 
 gold thieves, 295 
 Cloete, judge, ' Fiix Lectu^c•^J,' 10 
 Colley, Sir George, 35 
 
 On 'Grave of Reputations,' 44 
 Coicaists and missionaries, o 
 CiKnmando law and British sub- 
 jects, 82, 83 
 Conmiission meets deputation 
 from Johannesburg, 155 
 Resolution, 158 
 Cookiiouse Drift, 230 
 Coolie question, 347 
 Cornish, Surgeon-Major, killed, 42 
 Coster, Dr., State Attorney, 99 
 Admits breach of undertaking, 
 
 228 
 Conduct in Schumacher appeal 
 
 case, 227 
 Conduct of trial of Reformers, 
 
 224 
 Demands severest penalty under 
 
 Roman-Dutch Law, 245 
 Olfer to prisoners, 237 
 Coventry, Major Hon. C. J., 173, 
 
 17,7 
 Cronje, Commandant P. A., at 
 
 Potchcfstroom, 43 
 Note to Sir John Willoughby on 
 
 conditions of surrender, 185 
 Crow, Dr., on Boer firing, S2 
 Cunynghame,Sir A.,on annexation 
 
 of Transvaal, 23 
 Cyanide case, 91 
 
 D'Urban, Sir Benjamin— 
 
 On trek of 1836, 10 
 
 Policy towards natives, 7 
 Dalrymple, W., 349, 350 
 Davies, W. D. (Karri), 281 
 
 Declines to sign appeal, 257, 261 
 
 In prison, 294 
 
 Rumours of release, 295 
 De Beer, J. F., 303 
 Deane, Colonel, at Laing's Nek, 35 
 Dclagoa Bay, 10 
 Delagoa Bay R.iilway, 62 
 
 Opened, 106 
 
 Uvl 
 
INDEX 
 
 443 
 
 35 
 
 Derby, Lord, refuses abolition of 
 
 suzerainty, 57, note 
 Devil's Kantoor, concessions, 56 
 Dieperink, 364 
 Diiii/ulii, established as king by 
 
 Hoers, 51, 
 Docid, Thomas R., arrested, 335 
 Donaldson, James, attacked ' by 
 
 Boers, 59 
 ' Donkeys and mealies scandal,' 317 
 Doornkop, 180 
 Dnornkop fi^ht, i8a 
 Material captured, 188 
 Surrender at, 195 
 Du I'lessis, 270, nole 2 
 Advises leaders to appeal, 275 
 Character, 258, 266 
 Chief Inspector of Prisons, 281, 
 
 note 
 Gaoler of Reformers, 251 
 On prison rules, 263, 266 
 Treatment of Sampson and 
 
 Davies, 219, nole 3 
 Use of stocks, 268 
 Du 'loit. Rev. S. J., 361 
 Dunn, J. S., editor of Critic — 
 Krause's action for libel against, 
 338 
 Durnford, Colonel A. W., on Ccte- 
 
 wayo's forces, 22 
 Dutch colonists, 3 
 Dutch East India Company, 
 
 regime, 4 
 Dutch Republic in South Africa, 
 
 Dream of, i 
 Dyas, Walter, wounded, 42 
 Dynamit-^' monopoly, 72, 289, 325, 
 326, 345, 353 
 Proposal to extend, 341, 360 
 
 E 
 
 Edgar, Tom Jackson, shot, 333 
 Elands River, 178 
 Election law, 109 
 Elliot, Captain, murdered, 33, 42 
 Eloff, Lieutenant, at Mafeking, 179 
 Eloff location scandal, 322 
 Emancipation of slaves, 8 
 Emperor William, banquet in 
 
 honour of, 106 
 English and Dutch in Government 
 
 schools, 341 
 English language not recognized, 
 
 III 
 
 English language subNtituted for 
 
 Dutc'i in courts of law, 10 
 Erasmus, Abel, (logs Englishman, 
 
 42 
 Erasmus Farm, Sir Bartle Frere 
 
 meets Boers at, 28 
 Essclen, Ewald, 79 
 And President Kruger, 84 
 As State Attorney, 97 
 Sketch of career 86 
 Evans, Kmrys, protest, 339 
 Explosives, report on, 305 
 
 Farrar, George, 243 
 
 And Reform, 121 
 
 Bail refused, 223 
 
 Released, 279 
 
 Sentenced to death, 248 
 Faure, Hon. J. A., visits Johannes- 
 
 burg. 194 
 Ferreira, Captain, 163, note 
 Field-Cornets and registration, 58 
 Fingos, 7 
 
 Fish River jungles, 6 
 FitzPatrick, J. P., Secretary of 
 Reform Committee, 241, 350 
 
 Bail refused, 223 
 
 Graaff's suggestion to, 293 
 
 Views on native question, 328 
 Flag question, 127 
 Fort, Seymour, 207 
 Franclii.se, 348, 3:5^ 
 
 Law No. I of 'US76, 47, 73 
 
 Law No. 7 of ihiS2, 47, 73 
 
 Law No. 4 of l'S^)^^, 73 
 
 Law No. 13 of 1891, 74 
 Law No. 14 of 1,^93, 74 
 Law No. 3 of 1S94,' 75 
 Memorandum, 350 
 Memorials on, 74, 76 
 Towns disfranchised, 48 
 Eraser, Edmund, on trial of Edgar's 
 
 murderer, 337 
 Free State and President Kruger, 
 
 288, 289 
 Free State Volksraad, records of 
 attack by Transvaal Boers, 199 
 Frere, Sir Bartle — 
 Meets Boers at Erasmus Farm, 
 
 27, 28 
 On Alfred Aylward, 12 
 Policy recognized, 44 
 Policy towards Zulus, 23 
 
444 
 
 INDEX 
 
 li 
 
 Prevented from settling Trans- 
 vaal matters, 26 
 Visits Transva.il, 26 
 
 German Cons;:!, Pretoria, tels- 
 f'raplis to i^'oreign Office, 193 
 
 Gladstone Ministry, 1881, policy, 45 
 
 Gladstone, W. E. — 
 Altitude towards annexation, 38 
 Makes peace with Boers, 36 
 
 Glencli;, Lord, justifies Kaffirs, 6 
 
 Gold discoveries, 18S5, 1886, 60 
 
 Gold Law, 94 
 
 Gold thefts, 295 
 Hcport on, 308 
 
 Graaf, D. P', sug 'ests United 
 States of South Africa, 293 
 
 Graham shoots Trooper Black, 190 
 
 Grant, Baron, arranifement with 
 President Kruger, 57 
 
 Grant, Case of, 267 
 
 Gregorowski, judge — 
 
 Becomes Chief Justice, 298 
 In trial of Reformers, 231, 236 
 On Law i of 1897, 297 
 On value of death sentence, 278 
 Sentences on Reformers, 248 
 
 Green murdered, 42 
 
 Greene, Conyngham, British Agent 
 in Pretoria, 31O 
 
 Grtufell, Captain, 186 
 
 Grey, Colonel, 173, 177 
 
 Groblcr, Piet, on shooting Black, 
 190 
 
 H 
 
 Hall, Volunteer, at Standerton, 37 
 
 Hamilton, F. H., 128, 129, 130 
 Returns to Johannesburg, 154 
 Sent to Cape Town, 129 
 Telegram to Jameson, 131 
 
 Hamilton, J. G., 349, 350 
 
 Hammond, John Hays, 121, 243 
 Bail refused, ? .3 
 Released, 228, 279 
 Sentenced to death, 248 
 
 Harris, Dr. Rutherfoord, 128 ; tele- 
 gram to Old Bailey, 137 
 
 Heany, Major, 169 
 Carries instructions to Jameson, 
 
 130, 132 
 Prisoner in Pretoria, 204 
 
 Herbert, Robert, 15 
 
 Heyman, Col., opi nion of Jameson' - 
 entering Johannesburg, 160, 
 168 
 
 Hicks Beach, Sir M., 2O, 28 
 
 High Court crisis, 296 
 
 High Court judgment ag;i;iist Re- 
 formers, 226 
 
 Hillier, Dr., on Potchefstroom and 
 Johannesburg revolts, 197 
 
 ' History of the Boers,' by George 
 McCall Tlical, extract from, 5 
 
 Hofmcyer, J. H., 362 
 Asks Sir ri. Robinson to come to 
 Pretoria, 202 
 
 H olden, Capt., meets Jameson, 169 
 Prisoner in Pretoria, 204 
 Reaches Pitsani, 170 
 Rides to Pitsani, 130, 132 
 
 Hottentots, 7 
 
 House of Commons : debate on 
 annexation, 39 
 
 Hugo, Thomas, 303 
 
 Hull, H.C., ij5, 350 
 
 I 
 
 Imperial Government — 
 
 After policy, 24, 2/ 
 
 Charges against, 6 
 Industrial Commission of Inquiry, 
 296, 302 
 
 Expose gold thefts, 295 
 
 Members, 303 
 
 Report, 304 seqq. 
 Ingogo Leights, 35, 37 
 
 Boers' conduct at, 42 
 Invasion, 173 scqq. 
 
 J 
 
 Jameson, Dr. — 
 
 Ability to enter Johannesburg, 
 
 Arrangement with, 121, 123 seq., 
 
 167 
 Conditions of surrender, 185, 201, 
 
 286 
 Force with, 177 
 In danger of being shot, 201 
 Letter of invitation to, 124, 125 
 
 note, 164, 173, 200 
 Letters from Reform Committee, 
 
 180 
 Message to Sir Jacobus de Wet, 
 
 171' 
 Messengers to, 130 
 
INDEX 
 
 445 
 
 Reply to Col. Rhodes' letters, i8i 
 Reply to protest from Com- 
 mandant of Marico, 179 
 Reply to Sir J. de Wet, 179 
 Solicitor's letter to Colonial 
 
 Office, 219 
 Start, 177 ; effects of 13H, i6i 
 Tele^'ram to Dr. Rutherfoord 
 
 Harris, 169 
 Telegram to S. W. Jameson, 131, 
 
 137 
 Trial, 173 
 
 Turns trekkers 'oack, 55 
 Jameson Raid, Majority Report, 
 174 {src also Reform Move- 
 ment) 
 Jameson, S. W., 131, 137 
 Johannesburg — 
 
 American deputation from, 135, 
 
 Disarmament, 208, 211, 212 
 
 Dynamise explosion, 294 and 
 note 2 
 
 Feeling against capitalists, 119 
 
 Growth of, 79 
 
 Meeting in Amphitheatre to pro- 
 test against arrest of Dodd 
 and Webb, 336 
 
 Members of Reform Party in, 
 127 
 
 Municipality granted to, 323 
 
 Named after Johannes Rissik.6i 
 
 News of Jameson's surrender 
 reaches, 200 
 
 Helilion for bail for Reformt s, 
 230 
 
 Position of inhabitint:' in 1896, 
 285 
 
 Potchefstroom revolt and, 197 
 
 Put m stale of defence, n9, 
 141, 150 
 
 Ra:id visitors from Pretoria, 146 
 
 Rising in, 123, 126, 134 
 Johannesburg .S7ijr (see iVrtr, Johan- 
 nesburg) 
 Jones, P.oer policeman, 334 
 
 Acquitted, 338 
 Jorissen, Dr. — 
 
 Delegate to England, 21 
 
 Judgment in ' Rachmann ' case, 
 101 
 
 Refuses to judge Rcformcis, 231 
 
 Takes office under Idritish 
 Government, 25 
 Joubert, Christiaan, Minister of 
 Mines, 36, 303 
 
 Questions witness, 310 
 Designs, 330 
 Joubert, General Piet, 194 
 Candidate for Presidency, 78 
 Character, 8X 
 
 Decl-nes office under liritish, 25 
 Demands Leyds' ^li.^missal, 107 
 Gives escort and pass to Elliott 
 
 and Lamiii;rt, 33 
 Head of Progressive Party, 86 
 Letter to Lo ', l^'ugula, 54 
 
 K 
 
 Kaffirs' inroad, 1H34, 6 
 
 Kimberley, Lord, on Queen's 
 authority in Transvaal, 40 
 
 Kock, Judge, 331 
 Created Minute Keeper to Exe- 
 cutive, 89 
 Member of Commission, 155, 156 
 On acquittal of Jones, 338 
 
 Koir.ati Bridge, stone used for, 65 
 
 Kort'i, Judge de — 
 A nd trial of Reformers, 23 r 
 Reverses decision of Judicial 
 Commissioner, 226 
 
 Kotze, Chief Justice, 99, 149 
 And trial of Reformers, j^i 
 Chairman of Commi.^sion, 155, 
 
 157 
 Dismissed, 298 
 
 Judgment in 'April ' case, loi 
 Judgment in favour of Brown, 
 
 296 
 Judgment on Reformers, 226 
 Takes office under British, 25 
 Krausc, Dr., First Public Pro- 
 secutor, libel action ag;iinst 
 J. S. Dunn, 338 
 Kruger, Stephanos Johannes 
 Paulus — 
 Address to Johannesburg, J14 
 Anecdotes of, 83, 84, 196 and 
 
 note 
 Attitude towards Johannesburg, 
 
 ^5 
 Attitude towards mining indus- 
 try, 56, 91 scijq., 105 
 Attiiudc towards President 
 
 Burgers, 20 
 Attiuide towards LMtlanders, 78 
 Challenge to Chamberlain, 313 
 Charges against Schalk Burger, 
 
 311 
 'Climb.s down,' 115, 215 
 
446 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Communications with Chamber- 
 lain, 228 
 
 Conduct in ' Rachmarin ' and 
 ' April ' cases, loi 
 
 Conduct of presidential election, 
 1893, 86 
 
 Conference with Sir Alfred 
 Milner, 362 
 
 Delegate to England, 21 
 
 Dismisses Kotze, 298 
 
 German policy, 106, 130 
 
 Magnanimity to raiders, 187 and 
 Hole. Appendix G 
 
 Meets Sir Henry Loch, 83 
 
 Nepotism, 85 
 
 On Dutch language in schools, 
 
 341 
 On granting franchise to Uit- 
 
 landers, 77 
 On 'olive branch,' 148 
 On rumoured rising in ]ohannes- 
 
 l^urg, 134 
 On nitlaider manifesto, i 
 Opens Agricultural Show, Wit- 
 
 watersrand, 84 
 Policy of his life, 288, 289, 290 
 Power over Boers, i 
 President, 46, 78 
 Proclamation of Jan. 9, 1896, 212 
 Proclamation on Bechuanaland, 
 
 Proclamation on Johannesburg 
 
 rising, 145 
 Proclamation to trekkers(i89i), 
 
 55 
 Proposals to Uitlanderr,, 344 
 
 Correspondence on, 345 seqq. 
 Refuses to receive Cecil Rhodes, 
 
 79 
 Regard for anniversaries, 342 
 
 note 
 Releases prisoners, 272 
 Reply to Mercantile Association, 
 
 136 
 Repudiates J. B. Robinson, 314, 
 
 and Sir Henry de Villiers, 290 
 Sir Hercules Robinson and, 220 
 Sketch of, 2 
 Takes office under British 
 
 Government, 25 
 Telegram to Reform Committee, 
 
 160 
 Treatment of Ameshof, Coster, 
 
 and Kotze, 289 
 Trc.amcnt of Dr. Leyds, 107 
 Treatment of Free State, 288 
 
 Ultimatum to Reform Com- 
 mittee, 206, 2:1 
 Visits Euiope (1884), 57 
 Visits Johannesburg, 79, 80 
 Krugersdorp, 81 
 
 Battle at Queen's Mine, 170, 1M3 
 Krugersdorp -Johanncsburg-Boks- 
 burg Tramway, 67 
 
 to 
 
 to 
 
 Lace, J. J. — 
 Accompanies messenger 
 
 Jameson, 163 
 Delivers proclamation 
 
 Jameson, 171 
 Returns to Johannesburg, 201 
 Laing's Nek. 35, 37, 40 
 Lambert, Captain, report to Sir 
 
 George Colley, 33 
 Land en Volk, 89 
 
 On President's travelling ex- 
 penses, 85, Appendix C 
 Langcrmann, M., 151 
 Lanyon, Col., and J. F. Celliers, 17 
 Law I of 1897, 296, 299 
 Lawley, A. L., 138 
 Le Caron, Major, on Alfred 
 
 Aylvvard, 12 
 Leonard, Charles, Chaiiman of 
 National Union, 121 
 Drafts letter to Dr. Jameson, 125 
 Interview with C. Rhodes, 122 
 Leader of Reform movement, 
 
 151 
 Sent to Cape Town, 128, 129, 130 
 Telegram to Jameson, 131 
 Leyds, Dr. — 
 
 Defence of dynamite monopoly, 
 
 344 
 Letter on Members of Executive, 
 
 107 
 Meets prisoners after sentence, 
 
 249 
 On bail for Reformers, 228 
 Plenipotentiary in Europe, 330 
 Political mission to Lisbon and 
 
 Berlin, 106 
 Selati Railway and, 70 
 Skill as letter-writer, 286 
 State Attorney, 64 
 Supports dynamite monopoly, 
 
 Lion Veld, 27 
 
 Lippert, Edouard, dynamite con- 
 cessionaire, 343, 344 
 Liquor Law (Native), 96, 144, 327 
 
INDEX 
 
 447 
 
 Liquor, Report on sale of, 305 
 Lo Bengula, letter froni F. J. 
 
 Joubcrt to, 54 
 Local Board for Goldficlds, report 
 
 on, 308, 311 
 Loch, Sir Henry (Lord), at Pre- 
 toria, 82 
 Lombaard, Field-Cornet, 329 
 London Con\'ention of 1S84, 57, 
 Appendix B 
 Breach of, 53 
 
 Cancellation proposed, 221) 
 Closing Vaal I?iver drifts a 
 
 breach of, 115 
 Dynamite monopoly a breach 
 
 of, 342 
 Fixcb south-western boundaries, 
 
 51 
 War tax a breach of, in, note 
 
 London Missionary Society, 
 
 charges agninst, 6 
 
 l^ov'iday, in first Volksraad, 64 
 
 Lv'ienburg, 36 
 
 Concessions at, 56 
 
 M 
 
 Ma Ntatisi, 7 
 Mackenzie, Thomas, 3=50 
 Mal'cking, 173, 179 
 
 Attacked by Boers, 51 
 Majuba Hill, 35. 37, 40 
 
 Ambulance affair at, 42 
 Malabocli prisoners in Pretoria 
 
 gaol, 264 
 Malaboch, Uitlander sympathy 
 
 with, 264 
 Malabocli war, 81, 134 
 Malan, Commandant — 
 
 Delegate to Johannesburg, 147, 
 
 148 
 Repudiates terms of surrender, 
 186 
 Malmani, 177 17>> 
 Manifesto, 1895, i, 149, 151 
 Mansvelt, Dr., Superintendent- 
 GiinerrJof Education, 112, 341 
 Advot ates suppression of private 
 schools, 291 
 Mantatees, 7 
 
 Marais, Eugene, editor of Land en 
 Volk, 85 
 Charges against Koch, 89 
 Delegate to Joiianncsburg, 147, 
 148 
 Marico, Commandant of district, 
 pri>tesls agau.st invasion, 178 
 
 Martin, W. A., 350 
 
 Mashonaland — 
 Boers and, 53 
 Chartered Company occupies, 
 
 56 
 
 Matabeleland, Boers and, 53 
 
 Mataheleland Border Police 173 
 
 Mendelssohn, Emmanuel, Conces- 
 sion granted to, 323 
 
 Mercantile Association and Presi- 
 dent Kruger, 136 
 
 Meyer, George, Field-Cornet, loi 
 
 Middelburg, 36 
 
 Milner, Sir Alfred, High Commis- 
 sioner. 314 
 Conference with resident 
 
 Kruger, 362 
 Despatch to Chamberlain, 336 
 
 Mining Journal (Johannesburg) 
 on railway monopoly, f)8 
 
 Missionaries and slave emancipa- 
 tion, 8 
 
 Molteno-Merriman Ministry, 26 
 
 Moodie, G. I^iggott, Farms allotted 
 to, 56 
 
 ' Moodies,' 5O, 58 
 
 Morice, Judge — 
 And trial of Reformers, 231 
 Supports decision of Judge de 
 Korte, 226 
 
 Moshesh and Boers, 199 
 
 Municipal Law, 286 
 
 N 
 
 Napier, Sir George, 7 
 
 'Narrative of lioer War ' quoted, 
 
 29. 30 
 Natal and Zulus, 23 
 Natal Volksraad on slavery, 7 
 Native labourers' wages, 105 
 Naturalization Law, 98 
 Netherlands Railway Compaiiy-- 
 Account of, 63 seqq. 
 Concession, 289 
 Redu';tion in rates, 311 
 Tariffs, 1 14, 288, 289 
 Newton, F. J., Resident Commis- 
 sioner at Mafeking, letter tt,' 
 Jameson, 178 
 
 Oliphant, A., Attorney-General, la 
 ' Olive branch ' phrase, 147, 149 
 
+♦8 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Paper currency, redemption of, lo 
 Pass Law, 102, 103, and nolc 
 Phillips. Lionel, President of 
 Chamher of Mines, 83, 121, 
 
 243 
 Bail refused, 223 
 Banished, 2(So, vote 
 Chairniaii of Reform Committee, 
 
 151 
 
 Interview with Rliodes, 122 
 
 Letter to Jameson, 180 
 
 Released, 279 
 
 Sentenced to death, 248 
 
 Speech before Commission, 155 
 Pierce, Jolm ^L, 349, 357 
 Pil.qrim's Rest Concessions, 56 
 Pistorius, H. F. E., 349 
 Pitsani, 130, 133, 170 
 
 Men drilled at, 173 
 Plea of guilty in South African 
 
 courts, 249 
 Political organisations, 347, 353 
 Ponsonby, General, 23 
 Potchefstroom — 
 
 Armed burghers and Imperial 
 olhcials at, 30 
 
 Defence of, 57 
 
 Revolt and Johannesburg, 197 
 
 Siege of, 43 
 Presidential election, 1893, 86 
 Press agitation, 346, 353 
 Press Law, 291 
 Pretoria Convention of 1881, 43, 45 
 
 Boer dislike of, 50 
 
 I3roken in spirit and letter, 365, 
 j'ld note 
 
 Delined Transvaal boundaries. 
 
 First violation of, 48 
 Pretoria F^ort, Plan to seize, 123, 
 
 127, 138 
 Pretoria Gaol — 
 Rulc,> of, 263, 265 
 State 'if, 251 
 Pretoria Waterworks Company 
 
 case, 209 
 Pretorius, Henning — 
 And Kruj^r- , 197 
 Purchases beam from which 
 Boers were hanged, 229 
 Prinsloo, Field-Cornet, loi 
 Progressive Dutch of South Africa, 
 
 .■>' '.1 
 Public Meetings Act, 291, 334, 335 
 
 Q 
 
 Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 296, 312 
 
 R 
 
 ' Rachmann ' case, joo 
 
 Raid Inquiry by Select Committee, 
 
 301 
 Railways, Report on, 307 
 Reform, Boer meaning of, 104, 
 
 118 
 Reform Committee, 139, 141 
 
 Deputation to meet Government 
 Commission, 150, 151, 155 ; 
 Report, 161 
 
 Dilemma, 151 scqq. 
 
 First notice of, 142 
 
 List of members, 156, 224 
 
 Matters to be dealt with, 142 
 
 Messages received from Pre- 
 toria, 204 
 
 Notices, ly), 211 
 
 Receive delegates from Pre- 
 toria, 147, 148 
 
 Supplying arms, 143 
 
 Telegram to deputation, 153 
 
 Ultimatum from Pretoria to, 
 206 
 Reform Movement — 
 
 Commissariat Department, 143 
 
 Intelligence Department and 
 Dr. Jameson, 168 
 
 ManifeitO, 129, 149, ii;i. Appen- 
 dix I. 
 
 New programme, 129 
 
 Origin of, 117 seqq., 291 
 Reform Party in Johannesburg, 
 
 127 
 Reformers — 
 
 Advised to appeal for clemency, 
 253. 256 
 
 Arrested, 214, 216, 222 
 
 Conunitted for trial on charge 
 of liigh treason, 224, 227 ; 
 names of, 232 
 
 Comnmtations of sentences, 261 
 
 ' Dog ' interview with President 
 Kruger, 274 
 
 Indicfnicnt, 233 
 
 ' Irreconcilabk's,' 239 
 
 Leaders offer line, 277 
 
 Leaders released, 279 
 
 Let out on bail, 223 
 
 Life in gaol, 251 sf(/(/. 
 
 Nationalities of prisoners, 262 
 
INDEX 
 
 449 
 
 Options before prisoners, 236 
 
 Plead guilty, 240 
 
 Position of, 279 
 
 Released, 272 
 
 Sentenecs, 2.48 
 
 Statement of four leaders, 240 
 
 To abstain from politics for 
 
 three years, 285 
 Treatment in gaol, 222 
 Reitz, F. W., State Secretary, 330 
 Reply to capitalists, 351 
 Suggests indoor meetings, 360, 
 
 3<''4 
 Relief Committee, 144 
 Republican movement, 287 
 Retief, Piet, 41 
 
 Reasons for trekking, 5 
 Rhodes, Cecil — 
 
 And reform, 121 
 
 Attitude towards Transvaal 
 
 Government, 51 
 
 Reform 
 
 Kruger's 
 
 Objects in joining 
 
 Movement, 122 
 Proposes President 
 
 health, 79 
 Telegram to Jameson, 131, 132 
 Rhodes, Col. Francis, 121, 243 
 Arrives at Buluwayo, 279 
 Bail refused, 223 
 Letter to Jameson, 180, 181, note 
 On Du Plessis, 270 
 Sends to meet Jameson, 171 
 Sentence of banishment, 279 
 Sentenced to death, 248 
 Rhodesia, 122 ; rebellion and 
 
 massacre in, 294 
 Rhodes's Drift, trekkers turned 
 
 back at, 55 
 Rinderpest, 294 
 Rissik, Johannes, 61 
 Roberts, Sir Fi'ederick, 36 
 Robinson, Sir Hercules 
 Rosmead) — 
 Attitude towards Uitlanders, 314 
 Change of policy, 219 
 Goes to Pretoria, 203 
 Has no communication with 
 
 Reformers, 220 
 Offers assistance at Pretoria, 159 
 Proclamation to Jameson, 149, 
 
 Telegram to F. J. Newton, 178 
 Telegrams to Chamberlain, 205, 
 
 2o(). 209, 210, 216, 217, 21H, 219 
 Telegram to Sir J. de Wet, 207, 
 
 2ii', 243 
 
 (Lord 
 
 Robinson, J. B., 290, 313 
 
 Rupture with President Krugci , 
 
 314 
 Robinson, John, letter on Cit- 
 
 lander education, ii2 
 Roman-Dutch law and trial ot 
 
 Reformers, 238, 247, 249 
 Rose Innes, J. — 
 At Pretoria trial, 224 
 Interviews Chief |ustice Kot/.e, 
 
 255 
 Interviews President Krugev, 
 
 256 
 Movement in favour of prisoners, 
 
 271 
 Opinion on Roman-Dutch law, 
 
 238 
 Rosebery, Lord, annexes tetri 
 
 toriesof Zambaan and Umbe- 
 
 gesa, 56 
 Rosmead, Lord {see Robinson, Sir 
 
 Hercules) 
 Rouliot, G., 349, 357 
 Rowland carries despatch to 
 
 Jameson, 180, 181 
 Rustenberg, defence of, 37 
 Rylands, I'etcr, motion condemn- 
 ing annexation, 39 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, 39 
 Schmitz-Dumont, 303 
 Schoeman, Hendrick, 94 
 
 On Raiders at Doornkop, 195 
 Schroeder, portrait of Presideni 
 
 Kruger, 70 
 Schumacher appeal case, 227 
 Schumacher sent to gaol, 226 
 Schutte, chief magistrate of Pre- 
 toria, 94 
 Secocoeni, 13, 24 
 Secocoeni tribe, 328 
 Selati Railway Company- 
 Account of, 69 
 
 And Government, 318 
 
 And Leyds, 108 
 
 Bribes to secure contract, 320 
 
 Concession, 289 
 Settlement — 
 
 Effects of, 40 
 
 Terms of, 36, 38 
 Sheba Mine, 60 
 Sliepstone, Sir Tlieophilus — 
 
 Annexes Transvaal, 12, 24 
 
 Despatch on Zulu claims, 22 
 
 aa 
 
 I 
 
450 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Letter to Sir Bartle Frere, 14 
 Letter to Robert Herbert, 15 
 Negotiiitions with President 
 
 Burgers, 10 
 Zulus and, 2. 
 
 Shippard, Sir Sidney, 207 
 
 Skinner, H. K., 350 
 
 Slagter's Nei<, Boers hanged at, 
 4.230 
 
 Slaves, liberation of, 7 
 
 Smit, General Nikolas, 36 
 Demands Leyds' dismissal, 107 
 Visits Europe, 57 
 
 Smit, J. S., ' Koos,' Government 
 Railwav Commissioner, 94, 303 
 
 Smuggling.'sS 
 
 Smuts, J. C, Acting State Attorney, 
 
 330 
 
 Solomon, Richard, Counsel for 
 Reformers, 235 
 
 South African League, Johannes- 
 burg branch, 335 
 
 South African Republic {see Trans- 
 vaal) 
 
 Spies, 364 
 
 ' Stand by Jameson,' 164 
 
 Standard and Diggers News, 323 
 
 ' Standard History of South Africa,' 
 Story of Potchefstroom revolt, 
 197 
 
 Standerton, defence of, 37 
 
 Standerton, petition against Wes- 
 sels, 229 
 
 Star (Johannesburg) — 
 
 Extracts on President Kruger, 
 
 192, 193 
 Xoiicf ot Reform Committee, 
 
 142 
 On surrender of raiders, 188 
 
 Stcllaland affair, 116 
 
 Steyn, President, 362 
 
 Stockenstrom, Sir Andries, 10 
 
 Store, R., 350 
 
 Swaziland, Boers in, 52 
 
 Taxes on mining leases, 326 
 Thcal, George McCall— 
 ' History of the Boers,' 4 
 'Standard History of South 
 
 Africa,' story of Potchefstroom 
 
 revolt, 197 
 rheon, despatch rider, 179 
 Thompson, F., 53 
 Times, letter on education of Uit- 
 
 landers, T12 
 
 Toeremetsjani, native chieftainess 
 
 328, Appendix K 
 Tongaland, Boers in, 55 
 Tracey, Major J. B., 177 
 Transfer Law, 109 
 Transvaal — 
 
 Annexed, 12, 24 ; effect of, 25 
 Concessions, 49; of 1899, 324 
 Condition in 1896, 294 
 Correspondence with capitalists, 
 
 345 ie</9. 
 Correspondence with Imperial 
 
 Government, 286 
 Fixed salaries 1880-1899, 327 
 Grondwet altered, Law No. 4, 
 
 1890, 73 
 Grondwet, formalities for intro- 
 duction of new laws, 109 
 Influx of miners, 60, 78 
 Loan talked of, 324 
 ' Moral and Intellectual Dam- 
 ages,' 287 
 Natal Railway, agreement with, 
 
 289 
 Petition presented to Reformers, 
 
 254. 258 
 Population, 46 
 Prospecting commences, 56 
 Re-established, 45 
 Revenue, 71 
 
 ' South Airican Republic,' 57 
 Triumvirate, 46, 49 
 Transvaal Boers, alliance with 
 
 Basutos, 199 
 Transvaal fives, 66 
 Transvaal National Union, 60 
 Account of, 118 
 Constitutional agitation for 
 
 rights, 117 
 Petition on franchise, 76 
 Transvaal Republican Union, 60 
 Transvaal Volksraad — 
 
 Attitude towards mining in- 
 dustry, 62 
 Discussion on petition for fran- 
 chise, 76 
 Elections, 90 
 Hostile to dynamite monopoly. 
 
 343 
 Protests against annexation, x6 
 Ri verse decisions of High 
 
 Court, 99, 100 
 Session of 1895 and Reform, 99, 
 
 103, 119 
 Suspend duties on articles of 
 
 food, 152 
 
INDEX 
 
 45» 
 
 Trekkers' story, ii 
 Treks (1650), 3 
 
 „ (1836], 10 
 
 » (1837), II 
 
 „ (1890, 1891) (Banjailand 
 
 trekj, 55, 116, 196 
 Trimble, Andrew, Chief Detective, 
 
 97 
 Organises police force, 1^3 
 
 Trollope, Anthony, on annexation 
 
 of Transvaal, 14 
 
 U 
 
 Uitlander EducationCouncil Fund, 
 
 339 
 CJitlanders — 
 Appeal to England, 365 
 Disfranchised, 76 
 Education scheme, 339 
 
 Letter from John Rooinson 
 on, 112 
 Leaders black-listed, 364 
 Manifesto, Boxing Day, 1895, 
 
 I, 149. 151 
 Meetings, 360 
 Petition to British Vicc-Consul, 
 
 335 
 Petitions for franchise, 74, 76 
 
 Rejected, 91 
 Position in 1896, 285 
 Soundness of cause, 361, 364 
 Umbandine, King of Swaziland, 
 
 will, 53 
 Umbegesa, Chief, 55 
 Union ground, Johannesburg, 
 
 granted to Syndicate, 321 
 United States of South Africa 
 
 suggested, 293 
 Upington, Sir Thomas, visits 
 
 Johannesburg, 194 
 Utrecht, 36 
 Uys, Piet, 41 
 In Zulu War, 52 
 
 Vaal River, 11 
 
 Vaal River drifts closed, 115, 288, 
 289 
 
 Vaal River Water Supply Con- 
 cession, 85 
 
 Valle, Bugler, arrives in Johannes- 
 burg, 170 
 
 Van Hattum & Co., 65 
 
 Van Riebeck trek, 3 
 
 Vanderkemp, Dr., 9 
 
 Veale, Dr., 195 
 
 Verceniging, Line blocked at, 115 
 Viljoen, 364 
 
 Villiers, Captain C. H., 177 
 Villicrs, Sir Henry dc, 290 
 Compromise in High Court 
 
 cribis, 297 
 Volksstem, 16 ; on Slagter's Nek 
 
 executions, 230 
 Voortrekker party, 26, 76 
 Vorster, Barend, 317 
 Vorster, Barend J., jun., 69 
 
 W 
 
 Wakkerstroom, 36 
 
 War breaks out, 30 
 
 War of Independence, 41 
 
 War of the Axe, 7 
 
 War tax cm farms, 1 10 
 
 Warren expedition, 51 
 
 Webb, Clement Davies, arrested, 
 
 335 
 Wessels, Advocate — 
 Appeal on behalf of prisoners, 
 
 244 
 Counsel for defence of Re- 
 formers, 224, 227, 235 
 Wet, Sir Jacobus de, 153, 160, 163 
 Despatch to Jameson, 179 
 Meets Reform Committee, 207 
 On English prisoners, 215 
 Telegraphs Boer Ultimatum to 
 
 Reform Committee, 206 
 Telegram to Reform Committee, 
 
 243 
 Treatment by Transvaal officials, 
 262 
 White, Col. Hon. H. F., 177, i86 
 Memorandum to Col. F. Rhodes, 
 182 
 White, Major Hon. Robert — 
 Affidavit, 235 
 Despatch-box, 234 
 White, Montagu, warns President 
 
 Kruger, 192 
 White, Trooper J. T., sent with 
 
 letters to Jameson, 178 
 Willoughby, Sir John, 177 
 
 First interview with President 
 
 Kruger, 196 
 Message to Krugersdorp, 183 
 Report on expedition, 183, note 
 Surrenders, 185 
 Winslow, Col., defence of Potchef- 
 blroom, 37 
 
4Sa 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Witfontein farm case, loo, 206, 
 299 
 
 Witwatersrand Chamber of Mines, 
 61 
 
 Fusion of two Mining Chambers, 
 
 313 
 Offer to compensate dynamite 
 
 monopohsts, 343 
 Organise supplv of labour, 102 
 Report of Industrial Commission 
 
 of Inquiry, 304 saj. 
 Report on sale of liquor (1895), 
 
 Split in, 312 
 
 Witwatersrand conglomerate for- 
 mation, 60 
 
 Witwatersrand discoveries, 78 
 
 Witwatersrand Main Reef, banket 
 beds, 92 
 
 Wolff, Dr., 132 
 Absent from Johannesburg, 
 
 Commissariat arrangements, 177 
 Interview with Jameson, 133 
 
 Wolniarans, 148 
 
 At trial of Reformers, 244 
 Wolseley, Sir Garnet, 38 
 
 Settlement of Zululand, 51 
 Wood, Sir Evelvn, 35, 36 
 Woolls Sampson, A., 127, 134, 281 
 
 Declines to sign appeal, 257, 26X 
 
 In prison, 294 
 
 Rumours of release, 295 
 
 Younghusband, Captain Frank, 
 account of fight at Doornkop, 
 184 
 
 Zambaan chief, 55 
 
 Zambili, Tonga Queen Regent, 55 
 
 Zeiler, Judicial Commissioner, 225 
 
 Zoutpansberg, 10 
 
 Zulu encroachments, 21 
 
 Zulu War, 22, 26, 52 
 
 Zululand invaded by Boers, 51 
 
,244 
 i 
 
 d, 51 
 .6 
 
 7. 134. 281 
 al, 257,261 
 
 95 
 
 n Frank, 
 Doornkop, 
 
 Re,£^ent, 55 
 iioner, 225 
 
 ers, 51