RHODES AND THE AFRIKANDER BOND
To return to the subject of the negotiations which undoubtedly took place
between Rhodes and the leaders of the Afrikander Bond during the war, I
must say that, so far as I know, they can rank among the most
disinterested actions of his life. For once there was no personal interest
or possible material gain connected with his desire to bring the Dutch
elements in South Africa to look upon the situation from the purely
patriotic point of view, as he did himself.
It would have been most certainly to the advantage of everybody if,
instead of persisting in a resistance which was bound to collapse, no
matter how successful it might appear to have been at its start, the
Boers, together with the Dutch Afrikanders, had sent the olive branch to
Cape Town. There would then have been some hope of compromise or of coming
to terms with England before being crushed by her armies. It would have
been favourable to English interests also had the great bitterness, which
rendered the war such a long and such a rabid one, not had time to spread
all over the country. Rhodes' intervention, which Sir Alfred Milner could
not have refused had he offered it, backed by the Boers on one side and by
the English Progressive party in the Colony on the other, might have
brought about great results and saved many lives.
No blame, therefore, ought to attach to Cecil Rhodes for wishing to
present the Boer side of the case. It would, indeed, have been wiser on
the part of Mr. Hofmeyr and other Bond leaders to have forgotten the past
and given a friendly hand to the one man capable of unravelling the
tangled skein of affairs.
At that period, whilst the siege of Kimberley was in progress, it is
certain that serious consideration was given to this question of common
action on the part of Rhodes and of the two men who practically held the
destinies of the Transvaal in their hands--de Wet and General Botha, with
Mr. Hofmeyr as representative of the Afrikander Bond at their back. Why it
failed would for ever remain a mystery if one did not remember that
everywhere in South Africa lurked hidden motives of self-interest which
interfered with the best intentions. The fruits of the seed of distrust
sown by the Raid were not easy to eradicate.
Perhaps if Mr. Rhodes had stood alone the attempt might have met with more
success than was actually the case. But it was felt by all the leading men
in the Transvaal that a peace concluded under his auspices would result in
the subjection of the Boers to the foreign and German-Jew millionaires.
This was the one thing they feared.
The Boers attributed to the millionaires of the Rand all the misfortunes
which had fallen upon them, and consequently the magnates were bitterly
hated by the Boers. And not without reason. No reasonable Boer would have
seriously objected to a union with England, provided it had been effected
under conditions assuring them autonomy and a certain independence. But no
one wanted to have liberty and fortune left at the mercy of adventurers,
even though some of them had risen to reputation and renown, obtained
titles, and bought their way into Society.
Unfortunately for him, Rhodes was supposed to represent the class of
people referred to, or, at any rate, to favour them. One thing is
certain--the great financial interests which Rhodes possessed in the Gold
Fields and other concerns of the same kind lent some credence to the idea.
All these circumstances prevented public opinion from expressing full
confidence in him, because no one could bring himself to believe what
nevertheless would have come true.
In the question of restoring peace to South Africa Rhodes most certainly
would never have taken anyone's advice; he would have acted according to
his own impulse, and more so because Doctor Jameson was not with him
during the whole time Kimberley was besieged. Unfortunately for all the
parties concerned, Rhodes let slip the opportunity to resume his former
friendship with Mr. Hofmeyr, the only man in South Africa whose
intelligence could measure itself with his own. And in the absence of this
first step from Rhodes, a false pride--which was wounded vanity more than
anything else--prevented the Bond from seeking the help of Rhodes. This
attitude on the part of each man would simply have been ridiculous under
ordinary circumstances, but at a time when such grave interests were at
stake, and when the future of so many people was liable to be compromised,
it became criminal.
In sharp contrast to it stood the conduct of Sir Alfred Milner, who was
never influenced by his personal feelings or by his vanity where the
interests of his country were engaged. During the few months which
preceded the war he was the object of virulent hatred on the part of most
of the white population of the Colony. When the first disillusions of the
war brought along with them their usual harvest of disappointments the
personality of the High Commissioner appeared at last in its true light,
and one began to realise that here was a man who possessed a singularly
clear view on matters of politics, and that all his actions were guided by
sound principles. His quiet determination not to allow himself to be
influenced by the gossip of Cape Town was also realised, and amid all the
spite shown it is to his honour that, instead of throwing up the sponge,
he persevered, until at last he succeeded in the aim which he had kept
before him from the day he had landed in Table Bay. He restored peace to
the dark continent where no one had welcomed him, but where everybody
mourned his departure when he bade it good-bye after the most anxious
years he had ever known.
When Sir Alfred accepted the post of Governor of the Cape Colony and
English High Commissioner in South Africa, he had intended to study most
carefully the local conditions of the new country whither fate and his
duty were sending him, and then, after having gained the necessary
experience capable of guiding him in the different steps he aspired to
take, to proceed to the formidable task he had set for himself. His great
object was to bring about a reconciliation between the two great political
parties in the Colony--the South African League, with Rhodes as President,
and the Afrikander Bond, headed by Messrs. Hofmeyr (the one most in
popular favour with the Boer farmers), Sauer and Schreiner.
In the gigantic task of welding together two materials which possessed
little affinity and no love for each other, Sir Alfred was unable to be
guided by his experience in the Motherland. In England a certain
constitutional policy was the basis of every party. At the Cape the
dominating factors were personal feelings, personal hatreds and
affections, while in the case of the League it was money and money alone.
I do not mean that every member of the League had been bought by De Beers
or the Chartered Company; but what I do maintain is that the majority of
its members had some financial or material reason to enrol themselves.
In judging the politics of South Africa at the period of which I am
writing, one must not forget that the greater number of those who then
constituted the so-called Progressive party were men who had travelled to
the Cape through love of adventure and the desire to enrich themselves
quickly. It was only the first comers who had seen their hopes realised.
Those who came after them found things far more difficult, and had
perforce to make the best of what their predecessors left. On the other
hand, it was relatively easy for them to find employment in the service of
one or the other of the big companies that sprang up, and by whom most of
the mining and industrial concerns were owned.
[Illustration: THE HON. J.H. HOFMEYR]
When the influence of the De Beers increased after its amalgamation with
the other diamond companies around Kimberley, and when Rhodes made up his
mind that only a political career could help him to achieve his vast
plans, he struck upon the thought of using the money and the influence
which were at his disposal to transform De Beers into one of the most
formidable political instruments the world had ever seen. He succeeded in
doing so in what would have been a wonderful manner if one did not
remember the crowd of fortune-seeking men who were continually landing in
South Africa. These soon found that it would advantage them to enrol under
Rhodes' banner, for he was no ordinary millionaire. Here stood a man who
was perpetually discovering new treasures, annexing new continents, and
who had always at his disposal profitable posts to scatter among his
followers.
The reflex action upon Rhodes was that unconsciously he drifted into the
conviction that every man could be bought, provided one knew what it was
he wanted. He understood perfectly well the art of speculating in his
neighbours' weaknesses, and thus liked to invite certain people to make
long stays at his house, not because he liked them, but because he knew,
if they did not, that they would soon discover that the mere fact of being
the guest of Mr. Rhodes procured for them the reputation of being in his
confidence. Being a guest at Groote Schuur endowed a man with a prestige
such as no one who has not lived in South Africa can realise, and,
furthermore, enabled him to catch here and there scraps of news respecting
the money markets of the world, a proper understanding and use of which
could be of considerable financial value. A cup of tea at Groote Schuur
was sufficient to bring about more than one political conversion.
Once started the South African League soon became a power in the land, not
so strong by any means as the Afrikander Bond, but far more influential in
official, and especially in financial, circles. Created for the apparent
aim of supporting British government in Cape Colony, it found itself
almost from the very first in conflict with it, if not outwardly, at least
tacitly. After his rupture with the Bond consequent upon the Raid, Rhodes
brought considerable energy to bear upon the development of the League. He
caused it to exercise all over the Colony an occult power which more than
once defied constituted authority, and proved a source of embarrassment to
British representatives with greater frequency than they would have cared
to own. Sir Alfred Milner, so far as I have been able to see, when taking
the reins, had not reckoned upon meeting with this kind of government
within a government, and in doing so perhaps did not appreciate its
extent. But from the earliest days of his administration it confronted
him, at first timidly, afterwards with persistence, and at last with such
insolence that he found himself compelled to see what he could do to
reduce to impotence this organisation which sought to devour him.
The problem which a situation of the character described thrust upon Sir
Alfred was easier to discuss than to solve. The League was a power so wide
that it was almost impossible to get rid of its influence in the country.
It was controlled by Rhodes, by De Beers, by the Chartered Company, by the
members in both Houses who were affiliated to it, by all the great
financial establishments throughout South Africa--with but a solitary
exception--by the principal industrial and agricultural enterprises in the
country. It comprised political men, landowners, doctors, merchants,
ship-owners, practically all the colonists in Rhodesia, and most of the
English residents of the Transvaal. It controlled elections, secured
votes, disposed of important posts, and when it advised the Governor the
Legislature had to take its remarks into consideration whether or not it
approved of them. Under the regime of the days when the League was formed
it had been able to develop itself with great facility, the dangers which
lurked behind its encroachment on the privileges of the Crown not being
suspected. But Sir Alfred Milner discovered the menace at once, and with
the quiet firmness and the tact which he always displayed in everything
that he undertook proceeded to cope with the organisation.
Sir Alfred soon found himself confronted by the irritation of Rhodes, who
had relied on his support for the schemes which he had nursed in regard to
the Transvaal. I must here explain the reason why Rhodes had thrown his
glances toward the Rand. One must remember the peculiar conditions in
which he was placed in being always surrounded by creatures whom he could
only keep attached to his person and to his ambition by satisfying their
greed for gold. When he had annexed Matabeleland it had been principally
in the expectation that one would find there the rich gold-bearing strata
said to exist in that region. Unfortunately, this hope proved a fallacious
one. Although thousands of pounds were spent in sinking and research, the
results obtained were of so insignificant a nature, and the quantity of
ore extracted so entirely insufficient to justify systematic exploitation,
that the adventurers had perforce to turn their attention toward other
fields.
It was after this disillusion that the idea took hold of Rhodes, which he
communicated to his friends, to acquire the gold fields of the Rand, and
to transform the rich Transvaal into a region where the Chartered Company
and the South African League would rule. Previous to this, if we are to
believe President Kruger, Rhodes had tried to conclude an alliance with
him, and once, upon his return from Beira to Cape Town, had stopped at
Pretoria, where he paid a visit to the old Boer statesman.
It is quite likely that on this occasion Rhodes put in a word suggesting
that it would be an advantage to the Transvaal to become possessed of an
outlet on the sea-board, but I hardly think that Kruger wrote the truth in
his memoirs in stating that when mentioning Delagoa Bay Rhodes used the
words, "We must simply take it," thus associating himself with Kruger.
Cecil Rhodes was far too cute to do any such tiling, knowing that it would
be interpreted in a sense inimical to his plans. But I should not be
surprised if, when the President remarked that Delagoa was Portuguese, he
had replied, "It does not matter, and you must simply take it." This would
have been far more to the point, as it would have hinted to those who knew
how to read between the lines that England, which Rhodes was persuaded was
incarnated in himself, would not mind if the Transvaal did lay hands on
Delagoa Bay. Such an act would furnish the British Government with a
pretext for dabbling to some effect in the affairs of the Transvaal
Republic.
Such a move as this would have been just one of these things which Rhodes
was fond of doing. He felt sometimes a kind of malicious pleasure in
whispering to others the very things likely to get them into trouble
should they be so foolish as to do them. In the case of President Kruger,
however, he had to deal with a mind which, though uncouth, yet possessed
all the "slimness" of which so many examples are to be found in South
Africa.
Kruger wrote, "Rhodes represented capital, no matter how base and
contemptible, and whether by lying, bribery or treachery, all and every
means were welcome to him if they led to the attainment of his ambitious
desires." But Oom Paul was absolutely wrong in thinking that it was the
personage he was thus describing who practised all these abominations. He
ought to have remembered that it was his name only which was associated
with all these basenesses, and the man himself, if left to his better
self, would never have condescended to the many acts of doubtful morality
with which his memory will remain associated in history.
I am firmly convinced that on his own impulse he would never, for
instance, have ventured on the Raid. But, unhappily, his habit, when
something "not quite" was mentioned to him, was to say nothing and to
trust to his good luck to avoid unpleasant consequences arising out of his
silence. Had he ventured to oppose the plans of his confederates they
would have immediately turned upon him, and ... There were, perhaps, past
facts which he did not wish the world to remember. His frequent fits of
raging temper arose from this irksome feeling, and was his way--a futile
way--of revenging himself on his jailors for the durance in which they
kept him. The man who believed himself to be omnipotent in South Africa,
and who was considered so powerful by the world at large, was in reality
in the hands of the very organisations he had helped to build.
It was not Cecil John Rhodes' will which was paramount in the South
African League. Kruger spoke absolutely the truth when he asserted that it
was essential "to know something about the Chartered Company before it was
possible to realise the true perspective of the history of South Africa
during the closing years of the last century." Another of Kruger's
sweeping assertions--and one which he never backed by anything
tangible--was when he further wrote that Rhodes was "one of the most
unscrupulous characters that ever existed, whose motto was 'the end
justifies the means,' a motto that contains a creed which represents the
whole man." Rhodes by nature was not half so unscrupulous as Kruger
himself, but he was surrounded by unscrupulous people, whom he was too
indolent to repulse. He was constantly paying the price of his former
faults and errors in allowing his name to serve as a shield for the
ambitions of those who were in no way worthy of him and who constantly
abused his confidence.
The habit became ingrained in the nature of Cecil Rhodes of always doing
what he chose without regard to the feelings and sentiments of others. It
persisted during the whole of the war, and would probably have proved a
serious impediment to the conclusion of peace had he lived until it became
accomplished. This characteristic led him, after all his intrigues with
the Dutch party and the Bond, to throw himself once more into the arms of
the English Progressive party and to start a campaign of his own against
the rebel Colonials and the Dutch inhabitants of the Transvaal.
While the siege of Kimberley lasted, even while he was seeking to become
reconciled to the British element, Rhodes asserted himself in a strongly
offensive manner. He sent to Sir Alfred Milner in Cape Town reports of his
own as to the military authorities and dispositions, couched in such
alarming tones that the High Commissioner became most uneasy concerning
the possible fate of the Diamond City. These reports accused the officers
in charge of the town of failing in the performance of their duties, and
showing symptoms of abject fear in regard to the besieging Boer army. It
was only after an explanation from Sir Redvers Buller, and after the
latter had communicated to him the letters which he himself had received
from Colonel Kekewich, the commander of the troops to whom had been
entrusted the defence of Kimberley, that Sir Alfred was reassured.
The fact was that Rhodes became very impatient to find that his movements
were watched by the military authorities, and that sometimes even the
orders which he gave for what he considered the greater security of the
town, and gave with the superb assurance which distinguished him, were
cancelled by the responsible officials. Disgraceful scenes followed.
Rhodes was accused of wishing to come to an arrangement with Cronje, who
was in charge of the besieging troops, in order to bring the war to an end
by his own efforts.
I never have been able to ascertain how much of real truth, if any, was in
the various accusations made against Cecil Rhodes by the English General
Officers, but they were embodied in the message which was alleged to have
been flashed across to Kimberley after the battle of Modder River by Lord
Methuen, but which was supposed by those whom it concerned to have been
inspired by the Commander-in-Chief:
"Tell Mr. Rhodes," the heliograph ran, "that on my entry into Kimberley he
and his friends must take their immediate departure."
Two years later, in November, 1902, Sir Redvers Buller, when speaking at
the annual dinner of the Devonians in London, remarked that he must
protest against the rumours which, during the siege of Kimberley, had been
spread by some of its residents that the Imperial authorities had been in
a perpetual state of "funk." The allusion was understood to refer to Mr.
Rhodes by his partisans, who protested against the speech. Rhodes, indeed,
during his whole life was never in greater disfavour with the English
Government than after the siege of Kimberley; perhaps because he had
always accused Whitehall of not understanding the real state of things in
South Africa. The result of that imperative telegram, and Rhodes' belief
as to its source, was bitter hatred against Sir Redvers Buller. It soon
found expression in vindictive attacks by the whole Rhodesian Press
against the strategy, the abilities, and even the personal honesty of Sir
Redvers Buller.
Whether Rhodes, upon his arrival in London, attempted to hurt the General
I do not know, but it could be always taken for granted that Rhodes could
be a very bad enemy when he chose.
Upon his return to Groote Schuur he seemed more dissatisfied than ever
with the Home Government. He was loud in his denunciations and unceasing
in his criticisms. Sir Alfred, however, like the wise man he was,
preferred to ignore these pinpricks, and invariably treated Rhodes with
the utmost courtesy and attention. He always showed himself glad to listen
to Rhodes and to discuss with him points which the Colossus thought it
worth while to talk over. At that time Rhodes was in the most equivocal
position he had ever been in his life. He could not return to Kimberley;
he did not care to go to Rhodesia; and in Cape Colony he was always
restive.
At this period all kinds of discussions used to take place concerning the
ultimate results of the war and the influence which it would have on the
future development of affairs in the Transvaal. The financiers began to
realise that after the British flag had once been raised at Pretoria they
would not have such a good time of it as they had hoped at first, and now,
having done their best to hurry on the war, regretted it more than anybody
else. The fact was that everybody in South Africa, with the exception of
the Boers themselves, who knew very well their own resources, had believed
that the war would be over in three months, and that the Transvaal would
be transferred into a Crown Colony where adventurers and gold-seekers
would have a fine time.
Rhodes himself had more than once expressed his conviction that the
destruction of the Boers would not take more than three months at the
most, and this assurance was accepted as gospel by most of the financiers
of Johannesburg. An exception was Mr. F. Eckstein, the general manager and
partner in the concern of Wernher, Beit & Co., and one of the ablest
financiers in that city. From the first he was quite pessimistic in regard
to the length of time the war would take.
As the war dragged on without there seeming any chance of its being
brought to a rapid conclusion, it became evident that England, after all
the sacrifices which she was making, would never consent to leave the
leaders of the movement--the ostensible object of which had been to grant
to the Uitlanders certain privileges to which they had no right--as sole
and absolute masters of the situation. In fact, the difficulties of the
war made it evident that, once peace was proclaimed, public opinion at
home would demand that the Transvaal, together with the Orange Free State,
should be annexed to the British Empire in view of a future federation of
the whole of South Africa, about which the English Press was already
beginning to speak.
That South Africa should not remain a sphere of exploitation sent shivers
down the spines of the financiers. The South African League was observed
to become quite active in discovering rebels. Their zeal in this direction
was felt all over Cape Colony. Their aim was to reduce the register in
order to bring about a considerable falling off of voters for the
Afrikander Bond, and thereby substantially influence the results of the
next election to the Cape Parliament.
At this period certain overtures were made once again to the Bond party.
They proceeded apparently from men supposed to act on their own
initiative, but who were known to be in favour at Groote Schuur. These
advances met with no response, but when the rumour that they had been made
spread among the public owing to an indiscretion, Rhodes hastened to deny
that he had been a party to the plan--as was his wont when he failed to
achieve. All the same, it is a fact that members of the House of Assembly
belonging to the Afrikander party visited Groote Schuur in the course of
that last winter which Rhodes spent there, and were warmly welcomed.
Rhodes showed himself unusually gracious. He hoped these forerunners would
rally his former friends to his side once more. But Rhodes was expecting
too much, considering ail the circumstances. Faithful to his usual
tactics, even whilst his Afrikander guests were being persuaded to lend
themselves to an intrigue from which they had hoped to win something,
Rhodes was making himself responsible for another step likely to render
the always strong hatred even more acute than ever. More than that, he was
advocating, through certain underground channels, the suspension of the
Constitution in Cape Colony.
[Illustration: THE RT. HON. SIR W.F. HELY-HUTCHINSON]
The particulars of this incident were only disclosed after the war was
over. The whole thing was thrashed out in Parliament and its details
communicated to the public by Mr. David de Waal, one of the truest friends
Mr. Rhodes ever had. The discussion took place after Sir Alfred Milner had
been transferred to Johannesburg and Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson had taken
his place in Cape Town. The South African League had become more active
than ever, and was using all its influence to secure a majority for its
members at the next general election. The Bond, on its side, had numerous
adherents up country, and the stout Dutch farmers had remained faithful to
their old allegiance, so there was no hope that they would be induced,
even through the influence of money, to give their votes to the
Progressives. The only things which remained were: a redistribution of
seats, then a clearing out of the register, and, lastly, a suspension of
the Constitution, which would have allowed the Governor a "free" hand in
placing certain measures on the statute book. The most influential members
among the executive of the South African League met at Cotswold Chambers,
and Rhodes, who was present, drew up a petition which was to be presented
to the Prime Minister. Sir Gordon Sprigg, who filled that office, was a
man who, with all his defects, was absolutely incapable of lending himself
to any mean trick in order to remain in power. When Sir Gordon became
acquainted with the demands of the League he refused absolutely to take a
part in what he maintained would have been an everlasting blot on the
reputation of the Government.
After Rhodes' death, when the question of the suspension of the
Constitution was raised by the Progressives in the House of Assembly, it
was discussed in all its details, and it was proved that the South African
League, in trying throughout the country to obtain signatures to a monster
petition on the matter, had resorted to some more than singular means to
obtain these signatures. Mr. Sauer, who was the leader of the Bond party
in the Chamber, revealed how the League had employed agents to induce
women and sometimes young children to sign the petition, and that at the
camp near Sea Point, a suburb of Cape Town, where soldiers were stationed
previous to their departure for England, these same agents were engaged in
getting them to sign it before they left under the inducement of a fixed
salary up to a certain amount and a large percentage after it had been
exceeded, according to the number of the names obtained in this way. When
trustworthy people of unimpeachable character wrote to the papers
denouncing this manoeuvre the subsidised papers in Cape Town, and the
Rhodesian Press, refused to publish the affidavits sworn on the subject,
but wrote columns of calumnies about the Dutch Colonials, and, as a
finishing stroke, clamoured for the suspension of the Constitution.
The speech of Mr. Sauer gave rise to a heated debate, during which the
Progressive members indignantly denied his assertions. Then stepped in Mr.
David de Waal, that friend of Rhodes to whom I have already referred. He
rose to bring his testimony to the facts revealed by Mr. Sauer, who was
undoubtedly the most able leader which the Afrikander party possessed,
with the exception, perhaps, of Mr. Merriman.
"In February, 1902," he said, "there was a meeting in Cotswold Chambers
consisting of the twenty-two members of the House of Assembly who went by
the name of 'Rhodes' group.' It was at first discussed and ultimately
decided to wait on the Prime Minister and to interview him concerning the
expenditure of the war, which had reached the sum of £200,000 monthly.
Then, after some further discussion, we came to the conclusion to meet
once more. This was done on February 17th. You must remember that war was
still raging at the time. At this second meeting it was agreed to
formulate a scheme to be submitted to the Government which proposed the
suspension of the Constitution in regard to five clauses. The first was to
be this very suspension, then a new registration of voters, a
redistribution of seats, the indemnity to be awarded to the faithful
English Colonials, and, finally, the reestablishment of the Constitution.
As to this last I must make a statement, and that is, that if I had known
that it was meant to withdraw the Constitution for more than one month I
would have objected to it, but I was told that it would be only a matter
of a few days."
At this point Mr. de Waal was interrupted by a Progressive member, who
exclaimed that Dr. Jameson had denied that such a thing had ever been said
or mentioned.
"I know he has done so," replied Mr. de Waal, "but I will make a
declaration on my oath. A committee was then appointed," he went on,
"which waited on the Prime Minister and presented to him this very same
petition. Sir Gordon Sprigg, however, said that he would not be ruled by
anyone, because they had a responsible Government. The Committee reported,
when it returned, that the Prime Minister was opposed to any movement
started on the basis of the petition which they had presented to him, and
that he would not move an inch from his declaration, saying energetically,
'Never! I shall never do it!' Sir Gordon Sprigg had further pointed out
that the result of such a step would be that the Cape would become a Crown
Colony and would find itself in the same position as Rhodesia."
Perhaps this was what Rhodes and the South African League had wished, but
the publication of the details connected with this incident, especially
proceeding from a man who had never made a secret of the ties which had
bound him to Rhodes, and who, among the latter's Dutch friends, had been
the only one who had never failed him, drove the first nail into the
coffin of Rhodesian politics.
It was common knowledge that de Waal had steadfastly stood by Rhodes even
during the terrible time of the Raid. Moreover, he was a man of high
integrity, who alone among those who had attached themselves to the
destinies of the Empire Maker had never taken part in the financial
schemes of a doubtful nature which marked the wonderful career of Rhodes.
This declaration opened the eyes of many persons who, to that day, had
denied the political intrigues which had been going on at Cotswold
Chambers. Afterwards it became relatively easy for Sir Alfred Milner to
clear the atmosphere in South Africa and to establish public life on
sounder principles than the pure love of gain. It cannot be sufficiently
regretted that he should not have done so before Rhodes' death and thus
have given Rhodes--and, incidentally, the country for which Rhodes had
done so much in the way of material development--the opportunity to shake
off his parasites and become a real factor in solidifying the great area
in which he was such an outstanding personality.