manifesto to the pecuniary assistance furnished by foreign
sympathisers appears to rest on a misconception. It consisted
in the Transvaal of 2646 bales and packages, chiefly containing
clothing and miscellaneous stores, which were brought up from
the coast at military expense, and in the sum of £562, 2s. 2d.
received and distributed through the Burgher Relief Fund. I
have not yet received exact information as to the money
contributions to the camps in Orange River Colony, but it was
on a similar scale, and provides no ground whatever for an
unfavourable contrast with British liberality.
"On the general question of your appeal for help for the widows
and orphans, the maimed and the needy, and for assistance in
the education of the children, I desire to say that the
Colonial Government is making itself entirely responsible for
the maintenance of all destitute orphans, including their food,
clothing, supervision, and education. Large orphanages are
already in existence at Irene in the Transvaal, and Brandfort
and Springfontein in the Orange River Colony; and suitable
provision is also being made for widows.
"The Government have been, and are, making themselves
responsible for the education of the children. In the last year
of the war £100,000 was spent on education in the Transvaal,
and £32,500 in the Orange River Colony. At the date of the
signing of peace the number of children in Government schools
in the Transvaal was 28,000, and in the Orange River Colony
14,500. As a contrast to these figures it may be mentioned
that under the late Governments the total number of children
being educated never exceeded 15,000 and 9000, in the South
African Republic and Orange Free State respectively.
"With regard to your statements as to the desolation caused by
the war, I would point out that it was inevitable that much
damage should be caused in consequence of the prolongation of
hostilities long after there had ceased to be any reasonable
doubt as to the issue of the war. Though the principal centres,
such as Bloemfontein, Kroonstad, Winburg, Heilbron, Harrismith,
Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Ladybrand, Thaba N'chu, Bethulie,
Fauresmith, Jagersfontein, Koffyfontein, Boshof, in the Orange
River Colony, and Johannesburg, Pretoria, Potchefstroom,
Klerksdorp, Heidelberg, Standerton, Middelburg, Lydenburg,
Pietersburg, Nylstroom, Lichtenburg, Zeerust, Rustenburg, in
the Transvaal, are practically untouched, it is no doubt the
case that a large number of farmhouses and buildings have been
damaged or destroyed by one or other of the belligerents or by
natives. The value of such buildings in South Africa is,
however, in most instances not very great, and the pecuniary
loss is probably more than compensated by the increased value
of the land. The heaviest loss, and that temporarily pressing
most hardly on the people is, no doubt, the loss of their
stock; but the statement that every living animal was taken
away or killed is a great exaggeration. A recent census taken
in the Orange River Colony shows that, excluding animals
belonging to the military and Repatriation Department, there
are now in the colony over 120,000 head of cattle, 700,000
sheep and goats, and 27,000 horses. Similar figures for the
Transvaal are not yet available, but the local government is
spending very large sums to supply stock in both colonies. The
Repatriation Department in the Transvaal is using 36,000
animals for transport alone. It has already issued some 20,000
head of stock to the farmers, and is in a position to issue
another 35,000 by December 1. Assistance is being given in the
Orange River Colony on a like scale, and ploughs and implements
are being supplied as far as it is possible. So far, indeed,
from being a desert the country will, if rain is abundant, be
extensively cultivated at the end of the year; and it is the
earnest hope of his Majesty's Government that the strenuous
efforts now being made by the local governments, seconded by
the co-operation of the people themselves, will result in
bringing back a degree of prosperity in no way inferior to that
existing before the war."
This despatch satisfactorily disposed of many vexed questions, and
comfortable corroboration of the statements made therein is to be found
within the pages of General De Wet's account of the "Three Years' War."
There, though the General complains of the hardships endured by women
and children, he can offer no suggestion as to how these sufferings
might have been averted. On May 16 General Botha is reported to have
said:--
"Throughout this war the presence of the women has caused me
anxiety and much distress. At first I managed to get them into
the townships, but later on this became impossible because the
English refused to receive them. I then conceived the idea of
getting a few of our burghers to surrender and sending the
women in with them."
On the 29th of May, General De Wet, speaking in favour of continuing the
war, said:--
"I am asked what I mean to do with the women and children. That
is a very difficult question to answer. We must have faith. I
think also we might meet the emergency in this way. A part of
the men should be told off to lay down their arms for the sake
of the women, and then they could take the women with them to
the English in the towns."
Later, General Botha said:--
"When the war began we had plenty of provisions, and a commando
could remain weeks in one spot without the local supply running
out. Our families, too, were then well provided for. But now
all is changed. One is only too thankful nowadays to know that
our wives are under English protection. The question of our
women folk is one of our greatest difficulties. What are we to
do with them? One man answers that some of the burghers should
surrender themselves to the English and take the women with
them."
It is gratifying to note how the horrible charges of barbarity, brought
by persons ignorant of the real state of affairs in South Africa at the
time of the war, are disposed of by this one sentence from the mouth of
General Botha, "One is only too thankful nowadays to know that our wives
are under English protection." We owe General De Wet some gratitude for
his book, bitter as it is, since he makes evident that a main reason for
the surrender of May 31 was to ensure the safety of the women who were
not in the concentration camps, and whom they feared could not be placed
in those positions of security. It is plain that if the Boers could have
charged the British Government with the protection of those women they
would have held out for some time longer. In discussing the question of
the destruction done, we have only again to turn to General De Wet's
history to discover how necessary was the burning of certain farms
which, worked by Kaffirs under the direction of the women, were
provision bases of the Boers; and how imperative too was the shooting of
horses, since, to quote the General himself, the Boer is only half a man
without his horse. Indeed, though De Wet complains of the methods of the
British in carrying on the war, his own narration of his exploits--the
wrecking of trains, the destruction of railways, the burnings of the
veldt, and the stripping of prisoners--offers the "best explanation yet
published of the necessity for the measures of which he complains."
To return to General Botha. In reply to Mr. Chamberlain he wrote from
Horrex's Hotel, Norfolk Street, Strand, on the 12th of November,
stating:--
"... That there were some misunderstandings as to the reasons
which led to the appeal to the world on behalf of their
fellow-countrymen, which he wished to try to remove. In the
first place, however, he sincerely shared Mr. Chamberlain's
desire to avoid controversy, the more so as there were some
assurances in the Colonial Secretary's recent speech--which he
(General Botha) was privileged to hear--of a kind to gratify
all who had the fortunes of his destitute fellow-countrymen at
heart. He wished also to say that he and his colleagues
welcomed Mr. Chamberlain's decision to visit South Africa, and
his determination to see the condition of their country with
his own eyes, and form a first-hand judgment on its needs."
Dealing then with the "misunderstandings" which he wished to remove,
General Botha wrote:--
"We made no secret in accepting the Terms of Surrender that the
compensation or assistance therein promised would be totally
inadequate to enable the Burghers of the late Republics who
remained in the field or were in the prisons and concentration
camps to make a fair start in life again. On the contrary it
was made clear by us that in the absence of further help from
the British Government we would have at once to appeal to the
charity of the civilised world for further help for the widows
and orphans of our Burghers, and for those who had been
rendered unfit for work by wounds or sickness during the
war....
"It was only from your speech of November 5th that we learnt
that the grant was intended entirely for all who are destitute,
or who cannot make a fresh start in life without help. We
always understood that the £3,000,000 were to be given in
partial compensation for war losses, and that that was also
understood by Lord Milner is clear from his despatch of June
11th (published in Blue Book, Cd. 1163, page 141), in which he
expresses his intention of distributing it _pro rata_ to those
who can prove losses through the war.
"It therefore appeared to us that the free grant made no
general provision for widows, orphans, and the destitute except
in so far as they could prove war losses, and we distinctly
gathered from your remarks that you could do no more for them.
Under these circumstances we issued our appeal. We were, I need
not say, highly gratified to learn from your recent speech that
the Government would undertake a fuller responsibility for
those needing their help, and particularly for the information
that if more money than has been voted should be needed, the
loan would be increased accordingly. We feel sure that it will
ultimately be found that the £3,000,000 already assigned will
by no means suffice to meet what is required as a free gift.
Meanwhile, the needs of the sufferers are pressing, and we are
glad to think that the sums which, through the generosity of
the public, we have been able to collect, will to some extent
minister to them without any delay, while they will also
supplement what is being done by the Government.
"In regard to the loan, the provision lately made and the
promise that the amount would be augmented if necessary came as
a great relief after the months of waiting and suspense, when
we were continually being told of those who, from lack of
timely assistance, were compelled to part with their property
to meet the urgent wants of themselves and their families. Some
further and more detailed information as to the terms and
conditions under which loans will be obtainable would be
gratefully welcomed by the people interested.
"With regard to your reference to the free grant of three
millions as something 'without any precedent in the history of
the world,' I wish to say nothing that can excite or prolong
controversy. You must only allow me to remark that the whole
circumstances are unprecedented; that the gift of £3,000,000
was one of the conditions upon which the burghers laid down
their arms; and that our view is, that having taken the assets
of our Governments, you may fairly be expected to meet their
liabilities, not in part, but in full.
"In regard to the large sums of money alleged by you to remain
unexpended in Europe out of sums remitted by the Transvaal to
Europe during the war, I can only assure you that I have no
knowledge of any such remittances, and should be surprised to
find that any were made. There is no sum of money belonging to
the late Government known to me over which I have any authority
whatever. I can only say that should any such sums exist I
personally should be very glad to see them devoted to the
objects mentioned."
Passing to the subject of the concentration camps, General Botha said it
was not his intention in the references he had made to them to suggest
that they ought to be broken up before the people could be brought back
to their farms. He proceeded:--
"We recognise that towards the close of the war improvements
were introduced into them, in consequence of which the
death-rate fell to an ordinary figure; but we do not know on
what grounds you asserted that a death-rate of 21 per 1000 was
lower than that which obtained before the war in normal
conditions, and we are not prepared to agree that that was the
case. My remark at Paris about the sufferings of the women and
children had reference more particularly to those remaining
outside the camps, who had their dwellings, with the furniture,
food, and all that they contained, burnt or destroyed by
British troops; their herds killed or removed, and themselves
left destitute on the veldt. These were certainly sufferings,
and they did carry great weight with us, among other reasons,
in inducing us to surrender."
While admitting that the Government was making great efforts to carry on
the work of education in the camps, General Botha said he could not help
sharing with his colleagues many objections to the large orphanages
which had been referred to. He also wished to point out with reference
to the pecuniary and other assistance given to the Boers in their
misfortunes by "foreign" sympathisers, that in cash and in kind they
totalled a value more than a hundredfold what Mr. Chamberlain had been
led to suppose. On the subject of the desolation caused by the war,
General Botha continued:--
"You are about to proceed to South Africa yourself, and if--as
I have no reason to doubt will be the case--you get some of our
own people to go over the country of the late Republics with
you, you will be able to judge for yourself whether the
description of the ruin and desolation as given by myself and
others of us was--nay, I might almost say, if it could
be--exaggerated.... If your allusion to 'one or other of the
belligerents' is meant to suggest that the destruction of
houses was practised by us you have been misinformed. My orders
were definite that no houses should be destroyed; I know of
only four cases where the orders were contravened, and in those
instances every endeavour was made to trace the perpetrators,
and where known they were promptly punished."
General Botha further stated that he had no definite information
relative to the increase in the selling value of the land, but the
figures quoted showed to any one who knew the country before the war the
fearful loss which had taken place in cattle, sheep, and horses. He
concluded:--
"I regret to have to dwell on these points, and have done so
only to remove misunderstandings as to the grounds for our
appeal for aid. I do not doubt your desire to restore peace and
the elements of prosperity to our unhappy country, and I would
wish that we might so far as possible avoid controversy as to
the past, and address ourselves entirely to the necessities of
the present."
To this letter Mr. Chamberlain replied, on the 15th of November, as
follows:--
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 12th of November, in reply to my comments on statements
contained in the 'Appeal of the Boer Generals to the Civilised
World,' and in their speeches on the Continent.
"I appreciate the spirit of the last paragraph of your letter,
and share the wish which you express therein, and in view of my
approaching visit to South Africa I will not prolong the
present correspondence.
"I trust that during my tour I may gain much valuable
information which will assist his Majesty's Government in their
efforts to restore peace and prosperity to the countries which
have suffered by the war."
On the 18th of November, General Botha wrote the following answer:--
"I have to thank you for your letter of 15th instant, and wish
only to say, in reply, that I cordially join in the hope that
your visit to South Africa may be a step towards that
restoration of peace and prosperity to our desolate country,
which I am sure that it is your desire to promote."
[Illustration]
The above map shows the position of the three Powers mainly concerned
with the future of South Africa. The total mileage of German territory
is said to be about 931,460 miles; that of Portuguese territory about
790,240 miles. The British possessions include the following:--
Sq. miles
Basutoland 10,293
Bechuanaland 213,000
Cape Colony 221,311
Central African Protectorate 42,217
East Africa 1,000,000
Zanzibar Protectorate 1,020
Natal 29,200
Nigeria 400,000
Orange River Colony 48,326
Rhodesia, Southern 144,000
Rhodesia, North-Eastern 120,000
Somaliland 68,000
Transvaal 119,139
Swaziland 8,500
Gold Coast 40,000
Lagos 28,910
Gambia 4,500
Sierra Leone 30,000
---------
Total area 2,528,416
These figures are taken from _The Statesman's Year Book_ for 1902. The
areas of Barotseland, Adansi, and Ashanti are not included in the list,
as the figures for these areas are not given.
TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
General: Variable hyphenation of gold(-)fields, over(-)sea,
food(-)stuffs and break(-)down as in the original text
General: Variable accenting of regime as in the original text
Page 8: millitary corrected to military
Page 10: some corrected to same after "for South Africa generally,"
Page 60: hundered corrected to hundred
Page 64: Winkie standardised to Wankie after "being constructed through
the"
Page 72: comphrehensive corrected to comprehensive
Page 84: intercouse corrected to intercourse
Page 101: The last part of the caption for the illustration of DRIVING
AN "END" IN MAY CONSOLIDATED MINE, JOHANNESBURG is illegible and has
been omitted.
Page 125: Oliphants as in the original text
Page 131: Kafirs as in the original text
Page 147: Candian corrected to Canadian in "The Canadian Pacific
Railway"
Page 150: Machadadorp standardised to Machadodorp after "A line from
Springs to"
Page 154: employées as in the original text
Page 159: Teneriffe as in the original text
Page 162: redwater standardised to red-water
Page 169: toxines as in the original text