"On our behalf our deputation frankly avowed knowledge of Jameson's

presence on the border, and of his intention, by written arrangement

with us, to assist us in case of extremity.

"With the full knowledge of this arrangement, with the knowledge

that we were in arms and agitating for our rights, the Government

Commission handed to us a resolution by the Executive Council, of

which the following is the purport:--

"'The High Commissioner 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 be

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

considered.'

"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 offer which our deputation, authorised by resolution of

the Committee, laid before the Government Commission:--

"'If the Government will permit Dr. Jameson to come into

Johannesburg unmolested the Committee will guarantee, with their

persons if necessary, that he will leave again peacefully 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

burghers, an attempt in which our efforts were happily successful.

"On the telegraphic advice of the result of the interview of the

deputation with the Government Commission, we despatched Mr. Lace, a

member of our Committee, as an escort to the courier carrying the

High Commissioner's despatch to Dr. Jameson, in order to assure

ourselves that the despatch would reach its destination.

"On the following Saturday, January 4, the High Commissioner arrived

at Pretoria. On Monday, the 6th, the following telegram was sent to

us:--

_From_ H.M.'S AGENT _to_ REFORM COMMITTEE, Johannesburg.

"'PRETORIA, _January 6, 1896_.

"'_January 6._--I am directed to inform you that the High

Commissioner met the President, the Executive, and the Judges

to-day. The President announced the decision of the Government to be

that Johannesburg 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 the subject than had already

been embodied in the President's proclamation. The High Commissioner

inquired whether any decision had been come to as regards the

disposal of the prisoners, and received a reply in the negative.

The President said that as his burghers, to the number of 8000, 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.'

"On the following day, Sir Jacobus de Wet, her Majesty's Agent, met

us in committee, and handed to us the following wire from his

Excellency the High Commissioner:--

HIGH COMMISSIONER, Pretoria, _to_ Sir J. DE WET, Johannesburg.

(Received Johannesburg 7.30 A.M., _Jan. 7, 1896_.)

"'Urgent. You should inform the Johannesburg people that I consider,

that if they lay down their arms, they will be acting loyally and

honourably, 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 prisoners are practically in their hands.'

"On this, and the assurance given in the Executive Council

resolution, we laid down our arms on January 6th, 7th and 8th; on

the 9th 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 time of the 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

protect both the State and Dr. Jameson from the consequences of his

action; that we have committed no breach of the law which 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 the Court, and submit to

the judgment that may be passed upon us.

(Signed) LIONEL PHILLIPS.

FRANCIS RHODES.

GEORGE FARRAR.

"PRETORIA, _April 24, 1896_."

"I entirely concur with the above statement.

(Signed) JOHN HAYS HAMMOND.

"PRETORIA, _April 27, 1896_."

AFTER DOORNKOP

The account given by Sir John Willoughby serves to explain the

doings of the Jameson troops. We all know how the raiders were

surrounded by the Boers, who had ample time to lay an excellent trap

for them, and how, after a plucky charge, they were forced to

surrender. Before surrendering, however, Dr. Jameson obtained from

Commandant Cronje, of Potchefstroom notoriety, a guarantee that the

lives of the force would be spared.

During this exciting period, when the failure of Jameson became

known, the consternation that prevailed in Johannesburg was

terrible. Panic-stricken women and children fled to the railway

stations, and the Cornish miners scrambled with them for places in

the departing trains. In the heat of January the poor refugees

started off provisionless, leaving all their worldly goods behind

them, their one care to be far away from the horrors that might take

place in a besieged town. In the train they were packed like

herrings in carriages or in cattle trucks, that would barely

accommodate them.

In addition to these miseries an awful accident took place on the

Natal line, when a train loaded with refugees ran off the rails.

Thirty-eight women and children were killed.

In Johannesburg the Reformers had a harassing time. Their offices

were besieged by people clamouring for arms. They had no rest night

nor day, and their anxiety for the safety of Jameson and his party

was intense. For themselves they were unconcerned, believing that

their share in the matter was unknown, and that the Government was

without a particle of evidence against them. And here we find that

another blunder was made. Major Robert White, one of the raiders,

had brought with him a despatch-box containing the key to a cypher,

which had been used during the whole of the negotiations, and with

it the names of the principal persons engaged in the conspiracy. Of

course, this fell into the hands of the enemy, who were not slow to

take advantage of their good luck.

[Illustration: COLOUR-SERGEANT and PRIVATE (in KHAKI), GLOUCESTER

REGIMENT.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]

On the evening of Jameson's surrender (Thursday), Sir Hercules

Robinson (Lord Rosmead), left the Cape for the scene of the

disturbance. The train he travelled by met with an accident; he was

infirm--his nerves were shaken. The President refused to be

interviewed on the Sabbath, and the result of his journey was a

single meeting with Mr. Kruger, but the British Resident, Sir

Jacobus de Wet, and Sir Sidney Shippard, were deputed to address and

pacify the perturbed multitude in Johannesburg. The Uitlanders,

they promised, should get their just rights--that her Majesty's

Government would ensure--but they must first give up their arms: the

fate of Jameson depended on it! The Reform leaders at this time knew

nothing of the terms of the surrender, and the guarantee given by

Commandant Cronje, or, perhaps, they knew too well what Cronje's

guarantees were likely to be worth; and much against their better

judgment, believing that their rights would be secured and the

safety of Jameson effected, they eventually consented to

disarmament.

As we know, the conspirators had been short of arms--they had about

2500 guns in all. When these were given up the Boers were

dissatisfied. They had reason to believe that some 20,000 guns were

to be supplied as part of the scheme, and suspected that the

Reformers were concealing the existence of many weapons. The word of

honour of the leaders produced no effect, and energetic search

through floors and in the mines was carried on for some months

afterwards.

Of course, this disarmament immediately threw the Reformers into the

clutches of the Pretoria Government. The authorities made haste to

issue warrants for the arrest of sixty-four of the most prominent

men of the movement; this in spite of the assurance made to the

British agent that "not a hair of their heads should be touched"!

Mrs. Phillips has reason to speak very bitterly of the mismanagement

of the High Commissioner on this occasion. Having done his gruesome

work, she says, "he returned to Cape Town, leaving Johannesburg

absolutely at the mercy of the Boers. He actually effected the

disarmament of this large town without making one single condition

for its safety, and from that day the most signal acts of tyranny

and injustice were committed over and over again by the Boer

Oligarchy, and there was no one to say them nay. This was a critical

event for English supremacy in South Africa, this final act of

supreme weakness and folly! Many of her most loyal subjects from

that moment have wavered on the brink, and some have gone over to

the side of the Africander Bond. It is such actions as these which

estrange the Colonists, and which give a little reality to the

bondsman's dream of a United South Africa under a Republican flag."

For the benefit of those who may not be acquainted with the

negotiations which brought about this unfortunate disarmament, it

may be as well to repeat some of the correspondence that passed

between Sir Hercules Robinson and Mr. Chamberlain at this critical

period.

Sir HERCULES ROBINSON, Pretoria, _to_ Mr. CHAMBERLAIN.

(Telegraphic. Received 1.8 A.M., _6th January 1896_.)

"5th January, No. 3. Arrived here last night. Position of affairs

very critical. On side of Government of South African Republic and

of Orange Free State there is a desire to show moderation, but Boers

show tendency to get out of hand and to demand execution of Jameson.

I am told that Government of South African Republic will demand

disarmament of Johannesburg as a condition precedent to

negotiations. Their military preparations are now practically

complete, and Johannesburg, if besieged, could 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 the matter now stands, I see great

difficulty 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 make some demands

with respect to Article No. 4 of the London Convention of 1884."

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN _to_ Sir HERCULES ROBINSON.

(Telegraphic. _6th January 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 overthrow

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 against the

town do not seem to be urgently required at the present moment, and

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 by further correspondence.

Sir HERCULES ROBINSON, Pretoria, _to_ Mr. CHAMBERLAIN.

(Telegraphic. Received _7th January 1896_.)

"6th January. No. 2. Met President South African Republic and Executive

Council to-day. Before opening proceedings, I expressed on behalf of

her Majesty's Government my sincere regret at the unwarrantable raid

made by Jameson; also thanked Government of South African Republic for

the moderation shown under trying circumstances. With regard to

Johannesburg, President of South African Republic announced decision 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

being 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. President of South African

Republic said that as his burghers, to number of 8000, 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 South African Republic to Reform Committee

at Johannesburg through British Agent in South African Republic.

"The burgher levies are in such an excited state over the invasion

of their country, that I believe President of South African Republic

could not control them except in the event of unconditional

surrender. I have privately recommended them to accept ultimatum.

Proclamation of President of South African Republic refers to

promise to consider all grievances which are properly submitted, and

to lay the same before the Legislature without delay."

On January 7, Mr. Chamberlain replied:--

"No. 1. 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. 1. 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 hopeful

if no injudicious steps are taken. Please leave matter in my hands."

It is unnecessarily humiliating to dwell further on the astute

manner in which Mr. Kruger played with the British Government while

he kept Jameson and his party in durance vile, and in the agonies of

mental suspense--or to dilate upon the treacherous means he employed

to induce the Reformers and the town to lay down their arms. The

British Agent distinctly promised that "not one among you shall lose

his personal liberty for a single hour," and further declared "that

the British Government could not possibly allow such a thing."

Yet the British Government calmly looked on while the Reform leaders

were arrested and kept in Pretoria Gaol, at the mercy of a fiend in

human shape named Du Plessis, whose atrocious conduct and character

eventually caused him to be reported to the High Commissioner.

As an example of the way prisoners were treated, Mrs. Lionel

Phillips may again be quoted:--

"It is well known," she writes, "that one of Jameson's troopers on

the way down, falling ill, was taken prisoner by some Boers, and

kept at their farmhouse some days. He was tied up, and forced to

submit to all sorts of ill-treatment, being given dirty water to

drink, for instance, when half-dying of thirst. But his captor's

wife had compassion on him, and at the end of several days, to his

surprise, he was told that he was to be allowed to go free. The

Boers gave him his horse, mounted him, and informed him the one

condition they made was that he was to ride away as fast as he

could. He naturally obeyed, and as he galloped off had several

bullets put into him, poor fellow. That is a very favourite and

well-known method of Transvaal Boer assassination. It gives them the

pretext that a prisoner had been trying to escape."

Mrs. Phillips relates also the horrible experiences of her husband,

who was one of the Uitlanders conspicuous in the Reform movement.

"Lionel (her husband), George Farrar, Colonel Rhodes, and J. H.

Hammond were put into one cell, twelve feet square, without windows,

and were locked up there the first three nights for thirteen hours.

Then the prison doctor insisted on more space being allotted to

them, and the door, which communicated with a courtyard twenty feet

square, was left open at night. This was the space in which they

were permitted to take exercise. They were not allowed to associate

with their fellows at first. In January, in Pretoria, the heat is

intense, quite semi-tropical indeed, the temperature varying from 90

to 105 degrees in the shade. As the weather happened to be at its

hottest, the sufferings of these men were awful. The cells, hitherto

devoted to the use of Kaffirs, swarmed with vermin and smelt

horribly; while to increase their miseries, if that were possible,

one of their number was suffering from dysentery, and no

conveniences of any kind were supplied. With these facts in mind,

any attempt to describe what the prisoners underwent would be

superfluous. Add to all these hardships their mental sufferings, and

then judge of their state."

[Illustration: Rt. Hon. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.,

Secretary for the Colonies.

Photo by Russell & Sons, London.]

Can anything be more pathetic than the description of the state of

these men given by the wife of one of them--men who had been driven

to hatred and revolt by an inefficient, exclusive, and unscrupulous

Government, which was endeavouring to reduce the subjects of a

suzerain power to the level--to the, to them, despicable level--of

the Kaffirs? Of the fate of these unhappy sufferers we have yet to

speak.

THE FATE OF RAIDERS AND REFORMERS

Dr. Jameson, as we all know, was sent with his comrades to England

to be dealt with by the laws of his country. He and his officers

were tried and convicted under the Foreign Enlistment Act. Much

sympathy was shown him by the vast British public, and little for

the Reformers, who, whatever their part in the affair, had to suffer

most. They endured mental torture, and bodily discomfort of all

kinds--discomfort so acute that it brought on some active illness,

and caused one to commit suicide. A Judge from the Orange Free

State--Judge Gregorowski--who took an unctious joy in the

proceedings, was imported to try them, and he revived or unearthed

an old Roman Dutch law of treason for the purpose of sentencing them

to death. This sentence was fortunately not carried out, but it

served to keep the Reformers and all connected with them in a state

of agonised suspense. Besides these sufferers from the effects of

the Raid, there were others. Mr. Rhodes is said to have exclaimed,

"I have been the friend of Jameson for twenty years and now he has

ruined me!" The statement was somewhat exaggerated, but there is no

doubt that Mr. Rhodes, besides having to resign the posts he

occupied, lost much of the sympathy of the Cape Dutch. The

Uitlanders, also, who had previously enjoyed this sympathy now

forfeited it, all the Dutch being inclined to quote the impulsive

act of Dr. Jameson as an example of British treachery, and to look

upon Mr. Kruger in the light of a hero. Indeed, many of the British,

who took merely an outsider's interest in the state of affairs,

laboured under the impression that Mr. Kruger was a simple-minded,

long-suffering, and magnanimous person. They did not trouble

themselves to go deeply into the incessant annoyances and

injustices that for many years had harried the lot of the Uitlanders

and caused them at last to lose patience and revolt against

oppression. Even now there are people who lean to the belief that

the coarse nut of Boer character may possess a sound kernel, people

who prefer to hug that belief rather than inform themselves by

reading what Mr. Rider Haggard, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and other

well-informed men have to say on the subject.

When all efforts to work upon Mr. Kruger failed, the wives of the

unhappy men applied to "Tante Sanne," as the President's wife is

called, and begged her intervention. She said, "Yes, I will do all I

can for you; I am very sorry for you all, although I know that none

of you thought of me that night when we heard Jameson had crossed

the border, and we were afraid the President would have to go out

and fight, and when they went and caught his white horse that he has

not ridden for eight years. But all the same I am sorry for you

all."

The wives of the Boers are very powerful, and it is possible that

Mrs. Kruger may have prevailed in some way over her husband, for at

last, after five weary months of imprisonment, after delays,

suspenses, and alarms too numerous to be here recounted, the

prisoners, on the 11th of June 1896, were released. They were

required to pay a fine of L2000, and to sign a pledge not to

interfere with politics for three years. It was owing to this pledge

that the valuable book, "The Transvaal from Within," which has here

been quoted, was not published till affairs therein set forth had

come in 1899 to the painful climax of war! Mr. Lionel Phillips,

however, was not so wise as Mr. Fitzpatrick. When Sir John

Willoughby in 1897 attacked the Reform Leaders of Johannesburg in

the _Nineteenth Century_, Mr. Phillips replied to it in the same

Review, August 1897, defending himself and his comrades from the

charges made. In consequence of this action Mr. Phillips was

considered to have broken his pledge and was condemned by the

Transvaal Government to banishment. Doubtless it was without much

regret that he shook the dust of that ill-conditioned State from off

his shoes.

THE ULTIMATUM

After the turmoil of 1896 affairs declined from bad to worse. The

state of tension between the oppressed Uitlanders and the now

suspicious Boers became from day to day and year to year more acute,

till at last it was almost unbearable. The incompetence of the

police showed that robbery, and even murder, might at any moment be

perpetrated and go unpunished, and alarm on this score was not

allayed by the action of a constable in shooting dead a Uitlander

named Edgar for having met his insults with a blow.

To thoroughly appreciate the misery and insecurity of the

Uitlanders, the atrocity of the Government, and the uncloaked

hostility to Great Britain that has existed till now, we may quote a

description of the situation given last year by Professor James

Liebmann. He wrote:--

"In the Transvaal a state of things reigns supreme which cannot be

surpassed by the most corrupt of South American Republics. There the

Boer shows his character in its most unpleasant features. Low,

sordid, corrupt, his chief magistrate as well as his lowest official

readily listens to 'reasons that jingle,' and, like the gentleman in

the 'Mikado,' is not averse to 'insults.' He calls his country a

republic--it is so in name only. The majority of the population,

representing the wealth and intelligence of the country--the

Uitlanders--are refused almost every civil right, except the

privilege of paying exorbitant taxes to swell an already overgorged

treasury. Under this ideal(?) government, which is really a

sixteenth-century oligarchy flourishing at the end of the

nineteenth, and is, certainly not a land where

'A man may speak the thing he will,'

you have a press censorship as tyrannical as in Russia, a State

supervision of telegrams, a veto on the right of public meeting, a

most unjust education law, and an Executive browbeating the

Justiciary; and, in order to accomplish so much, the Transvaal has

closed its doors to its kinsmen in Cape Colony--for you must not

forget that the oldest Transvaalers, from President Kruger

downwards, are ex-Cape Colonists, and quondam British subjects--and

imported a bureaucracy of Hollanders to plait a whip wherewith to

castigate her children.

"On the Rand, at present, the Uitlanders are voiceless, voteless,

and leaderless, whilst, on the other hand, large quantities of arms

have been introduced into the country, and the burghers, every one

of them, trained in the use of these weapons. Fortifications have

been raised at Johannesburg and Pretoria, to cowe those who are

putting money into the State's purse, and for this purpose the

President has acquired the services of German military officers who

will find congenial employment in thus dragooning defenceless

citizens.

"This is the state of affairs in the South African so-called

Republic in this year of grace (1898), which, according to the

Convention, granted equal rights to Briton and to Boer."

This being no exaggerated picture of the situation, it is small

wonder that at last the Uitlanders determined to bear the burden no

longer, but set their grievances before the Queen. Early in the new

year the following petition was forwarded to her Majesty:--

"_Humble Petition of British Subjects resident on the Witwatersrandt

Gold Fields to her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria._

"1. Your loyal subjects on these fields are by law denied the free

right of possessing such arms as may be necessary to protect their

lives and property, and such obstacles are placed in their way as to

render the obtaining of the necessary official permit almost

impossible. Consequently the Uitlander population of this State is

to all intents and purposes an unarmed community.

"2. On the other hand, the whole of the burgher section of the

community, irrespective of age, are permitted to possess and carry

arms without let or hindrance, and are, in fact, on application,

supplied with them by the Government free of charge.

"3. The police force of this State is exclusively recruited from the

burgher element, many of the police being youths fresh from rural

districts, without experience or tact, and in many instances without

general education or a knowledge of the English language; therefore,

as a whole, entirely out of sympathy with the British section of the

community, which forms the majority of the population.

"4. The foot police of Johannesburg, in whose appointment and

control we have no voice, is not a military force; yet its members

not only carry batons, but are also armed with six-chambered

military revolvers, invariably carried loaded.

"5. Under these circumstances, given an unarmed community policed by

a body of inexperienced rustics carrying weapons of precision and

utterly out of sympathy with the community they are supposed to

protect, it is not surprising that the power placed in the hands of

this police force should be constantly abused.

"6. For years past your subjects have in consequence had constantly

to complain of innumerable acts of petty tyranny at the hands of the

police.

"7. During the last few months, however, this antagonistic attitude

of the police has assumed a much more serious and aggressive aspect.

Without warrant they have invaded private houses and taken the

occupants into custody on frivolous and unfounded charges never

proceeded with; violently arrested British subjects in the streets

on unintelligible charges: and generally display towards your

Majesty's subjects a temper which undoubtedly tends to endanger the

peace of the community. In adopting this demeanour the police are

supported, with but a few honourable exceptions, by the higher

officials, as instanced by the continual persecution in the Courts

of many of your Majesty's coloured subjects at the very time when

negotiations are proceeding between your Majesty's Representative

and the Transvaal Government with regard to their status. This

feeling is also strongly evidenced in the particular case which we

now bring to your Majesty's notice.

"8. The lamentable tragedy which has been the immediate cause of

this our humble Petition cannot, therefore, be regarded as

incidental, but symptomatic.

"9. This case is that of the shooting of Tom Jackson Edgar, a

British subject, by Police-Constable Barend Stephanus Jones, a

member of the Johannesburg Constabulary.

"10. From the accompanying affidavits, already published and sworn

by eye-witnesses of the tragedy, it would appear that the deceased,

while in the occupation of his own house, was shot dead by

Police-Constable Barend Stephanus Jones as the latter was in the act

of unlawfully breaking into the house of deceased without a warrant.

"11. Police-Constable Barend Stephanus Jones, though in the first

instance placed in custody on a charge of murder, was almost

immediately afterwards let out on bail by the Public Prosecutor,

who, without waiting for any Magisterial inquiry, reduced the

charge, on his own initiative, to that of culpable homicide.

"12. The bail on which the prisoner was released was the same in

amount--namely, L200--as that required a few days previously from an

Uitlander charged with a common assault on a Member of the

Government Secret Service, and the penalty for which was a fine of

L20.

"13. The widow and orphan of the late Tom Jackson Edgar have been

left absolutely destitute through the death of their natural

protector.

"14. To sum up: We humbly represent to your Majesty that we, your

loyal subjects resident here, are entirely defenceless since--(1)

The police are appointed by the Government, not by the Municipality;

(2) We have no voice in the Government of the country; (3) There is

no longer an independent Judiciary to which we can appeal; (4) There

is, therefore, no power within this State to which we can appeal

with the least hope of success; and as we are not allowed to arm and

protect ourselves, our last resource is to fall back on our status

as British subjects.

"We therefore humbly pray: That your Majesty will instruct your

Representative to take such steps as will ensure (_a_) a full and

impartial trial, on a proper indictment, of prisoner Police-Constable

Barend Stephanus Jones, and adequate punishment for his offence, if

found guilty; (_b_) proper provision by the Transvaal Government for the

needs of the widow and orphan of the deceased Tom Jackson Edgar, killed

by their agent; (_c_) the extension of your Majesty's protection to the

lives, liberty, and property of your loyal subjects resident here, and

such other steps as may be necessary to terminate the existing

intolerable state of affairs.

"And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."

Of course, this move enraged the authorities of the Transvaal, who

tried to prove the existence of a plot against the Republic, and

even to represent that British military officers were implicated in

it. But Sir Alfred Milner exposed the little machinations of the

"secret service" people, so that their duplicit efforts were not

crowned with the hoped-for success. Mr. Steyn then succeeded Mr.

Reitz as President of the Orange Free State, and his appearance on

the political scene was the signal for an offensive and defensive

alliance between the two Republics. Following the example set by

President Brand, Mr. Steyn--in the character of umpire or

peacemaker--assisted to promote a meeting at Bloemfontein between

Sir Alfred Milner and President Kruger. The Uitlander Council drew

up the following declaration:--

"The proposals submitted at the Bloemfontein Conference by his

Excellency the High Commissioner were briefly:

"1. That the Uitlanders possessing a certain property or wages

qualification, on proving that they had resided five years in the

country and on taking an oath of allegiance, be given full burgher

rights.

"2. That there should be such a distribution of seats as would give

to the new-comers a substantial representation in the First

Volksraad, but not such as would enable them to swamp the old

burghers.

"All must admit that this scheme is most conservative, because--

"(_a_). It does not restore to the Uitlanders all the rights of

which they have been unjustly deprived since the retrocession.

"(_b_). Nearly the whole revenue of the country is derived from the

taxation of the Uitlanders.

"(_c_). The Uitlanders form at least two-thirds of the total white

population. (This was practically admitted by President Kruger at

the Conference.)

"(_d_). In most new countries one or two years' residence ensures

full voting power. There is no reason why there should be more

stringent conditions in operation in this State than in Natal or

Cape Colony, or than those which existed until quite recently in

the Orange Free State, and which were only changed from one to

three years on account of the unhealthy political conditions in the

South African Republic.

"Notwithstanding, however, the conservative character of the scheme,

the Uitlander Council consider that the proposals of his Excellency

the High Commissioner are calculated in no small degree to bring

about a practical and permanent settlement. But in the opinion of

the Uitlander Council, it is essential at the outset to fix

definitely the conditions under which:

"1. All duly qualified persons can get the franchise without any

unnecessary expense, trouble, or delay, and without being subjected

to any kind of intimidation.

"2. Those who have got the franchise shall be able to use it

effectively.

"3. Redistribution of seats shall take place periodically by

automatic arrangement, and representation shall bear some definite

relation to the number of electors.

"Having regard to the recent history of the Government of this

country, and the facility with which even fundamental laws are and

may be changed, the Uitlander Council are convinced that no

settlement will be of any value unless its permanency is guaranteed

by an understanding between the Imperial Government and the

Government of the South African Republic.

"Further, knowing by past experience that every effort will be made

by means of the existing Government machinery to obstruct and

pervert even the smallest measure of reform, and bearing in mind the

immense discretionary power accorded by the laws to all Government

officials, the Uitlander Council are strongly of opinion that the

understanding between the two Governments should provide for such

immediate changes in the present laws of the country as would make

it possible to carry out Sir A. Milner's scheme, not only in the

letter, but also in the spirit.

"The outcome of the understanding between the two Governments should

be the inclusion among the permanent and fundamental laws of the

South African Republic of a Reform Act embracing, in addition to the

clauses providing for naturalisation and redistribution on the lines

already indicated, the following among other provisions:

"1. No burgher or alien shall be granted privileges or immunities

which on the same terms shall not be granted to all burghers.

"2. No person shall, on account of creed or religious belief, be

under any disability whatever.

"3. The majority of the inhabitants being English-speaking, English

shall be recognised equally with Dutch as an official language of

the State.

"4. The independence of the High Court shall be established and duly

safeguarded.

"5. Legislation by simple resolution (_besluit_) of the Volksraad

shall be abolished.

"6. The free right of public meeting and of forming electoral

committees shall be recognised and established.

"7. The freedom of speech and of the press shall be assured.

"8. All persons shall be secured in their houses, persons, papers,

and effects against violation or illegal seizure.

"9. The existence of forts and the adoption of other measures

intended for the intimidation of the white inhabitants of the

country, being a menace to the exercise of the undoubted rights of a

free people, shall be declared unconstitutional.

"10. Existing monopolies shall be cancelled or expropriated on

equitable conditions.

"11. Raad members must be fully enfranchised burghers and over

twenty-one years of age. Any candidate for the Presidency must be a

fully enfranchised burgher over thirty years of age, and have been

resident in the country for ten years.

"12. All elections shall be by ballot and shall be adequately

safeguarded by stringent provisions against bribery and

intimidation.

"13. All towns with a population of 1000 persons and upwards shall

have the right to manage their own local affairs under a general

Municipal Act. The registration of voters and the conduct of all

elections shall be regulated by local bodies.

"14. A full and comprehensive system of State Education shall be

established under the control of Local Boards.

"15. The Civil Service shall be completely reorganised, and all

corrupt officials shall be dismissed from office, and be ineligible

for office in the future.

"16. Payments from the public Treasury shall only be made in

accordance with the Budget proposals approved by the Raad, with full

and open publication of the accounts periodically.

"17. No person shall become a burgher, and no fresh constituency

shall be created except in accordance with the lines herein laid

down, and officials shall have no discretionary power in this or any

other matter affecting the civil rights of the inhabitants of the

country."

The Conference was a complete failure. Mr. Kruger obstinately

refused to make the proposed concessions, and Sir Alfred Milner

would be contented with nothing less.

[Illustration: Sir ALFRED MILNER, K.C.B.,

High Commissioner for South Africa.

Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.]

The President afterwards agreed to grant a "seven years'

Franchise" on terms that were scarcely practicable, while the

Secretary of State for the Colonies held out for the five years'

Franchise at first demanded. The bargaining was pursued for some

weeks with considerable animation, and in the end Mr. Kruger offered

to allow the five years' franchise on what he knew to be the

impossible condition, that the question of suzerainty should be

entirely dropped.

The mobilisation of the burghers, which had been secretly on foot

for some time, was forthwith carried on apace, and later--much too

tardily--British patience gave way, and troops were despatched to

South Africa. Then followed, on the 9th of October, an insulting

ultimatum from President Kruger, demanding the immediate withdrawal

of British troops from the Transvaal border, and an assurance that

no more should be landed. In default of this assurance, he declared

that at 5 P.M. on the 11th of October a state of war would exist. To

such an ultimatum only one answer was possible. British troops at

once started for the Cape.

Naturally the whole of Great Britain was in a state of turmoil, and

the vast multitude of people--"the men in the street," so to

say--were inclined to express surprise that the question of two

years' difference in the terms of obtaining the franchise should

have been made into a _casus belli_. To all thinking men it was

patent, however, that the quibble about the franchise was merely a

Boer _ruse_ to obtain time for the carrying out of a long-concerted

scheme for the elimination of the British from the Cape to the

Zambezi. These were aware that the military methods of the Transvaal

were under process of reorganisation, and indeed had been readjusted

gradually ever since 1896, and that the simple methods of 1881 had

been superseded by newer and more modern principles of warfare. It

was known that great additions had been made to the warlike

resources of the Republic, and that the President of the Free State

was, if anything, more bitter than Mr. Kruger in his hatred of Great

Britain and all things British, and that the two Republics would

make common cause with each other against a mutual enemy. It was

also known that foreign experts were imported, and foreign stocks of

war material--material of the newest and most expensive kind--were

prepared in anticipation of war, and that even such a thing as

tactical instruction--a thing hitherto ignored among the

Transvaalers--had been acquired from accomplished German sources,

and all this for one sole purpose--war with Great Britain. In order

that there may be no doubt that the Boers were completely prepared

and determined to fight long before the insolent Ultimatum was

published, it is desirable to read a letter which appeared in the

_Times_ of the 14th of October 1899. This epistle, which was

appropriately headed "Boer Ignorance," emanated from a Dutch

writer, whose address was in a well-known part of Cape Colony. It

runs:--

"SIR,--In your paper you have often commented on what you are

pleased to call the ignorance of my countrymen, the Boers. We are

not so ignorant as the British statesmen and newspaper writers, nor

are we such fools as you British are. We know our policy, and we do

not change it. We have no opposition party to fear nor to truckle

to. Your boasted Conservative majority has been the obedient tool of

the Radical minority, and the Radical minority has been the blind

tool of our far-seeing and intelligent President. We have desired

delay, and we have had it, and we are now practically masters of

Africa from the Zambezi to the Cape. All the Afrikanders in Cape

Colony have been working for years for this end, for they and we

know the facts.

"1. The actual value of gold in the Transvaal is at least 200,000

millions of pounds, and this fact is as well known to the Emperors

of Germany and Russia as it is to us. You estimate the value of gold

at only 700 millions of pounds, or at least that is what you pretend

to estimate it at. But Germany, Russia, and France do not desire you

to get possession of this vast mass of gold, and so, after

encouraging you to believe that they will not interfere in South

Africa, they will certainly do so, and very easily find a _casus

belli_, and they will assist us, directly and indirectly, to drive

you out of Africa.

"2. We know that you dare not take any precautions in advance to

prevent the onslaught of the Great Powers, as the Opposition, the

great peace party, will raise the question of expense, and this will

win over your lazy, dirty, drunken working classes, who will never

again permit themselves to be taxed to support your Empire, or even

to preserve your existence as a nation.

"3. We know from all the military authorities of the European and

American continents that you exist as an independent Power merely on

sufferance, and that at any moment the great Emperor William can

arrange with France or Russia to wipe you off the face of the earth.

They can at any time starve you into surrender. You must yield in

all things to the United States also, or your supply of corn will be

so reduced by the Americans that your working classes would be

compelled to pay high prices for their food, and rather than do that

they would have civil war, and invite any foreign Power to assist

them by invasion, for there is no patriotism in the working classes

of England, Wales, or Ireland.

"4. We know that your country has been more prosperous than any

other country during the last fifty years (you have had no civil war

like the Americans and French to tone up your nerves and strengthen

your manliness), and consequently your able-bodied men will not

enlist in your so-called voluntary army. Therefore you have to hire

the dregs of your population to do your fighting, and they are

deficient in physique, in moral and mental ability, and in all the

qualities that make good fighting men.

"5. Your military officers we know to be merely pedantic scholars or

frivolous society men, without any capacity for practical warfare

with white men. The Afridis were more than a match for you, and your

victory over the Soudanese was achieved because those poor people

had not a rifle amongst them.

"6. We know that your men, being the dregs of your people, are

naturally feeble, and that they are also saturated with the most

horrible sexual diseases, as all your Government returns plainly

show, and that they cannot endure the hardships of war.

"7. We know that the entire British race is rapidly decaying, your

birth-rate is rapidly falling, your children are born weak,

diseased, and deformed, and that the major part of your population

consists of females, cripples, epileptics, consumptives, cancerous

people, invalids, and lunatics of all kinds whom you carefully

nourish and preserve.

"8. We know that nine-tenths of your statesmen and higher officials,

military and naval, are suffering from kidney diseases, which weaken

their courage and will-power, and make them shirk all responsibility

as far as possible.

"9. We know that your Navy is big, but we know that it is not

powerful, and that it is honeycombed with disloyalty--as witness the

theft of the signal-books, the assaults on officers, the desertions,

and the wilful injury of the boilers and machinery, which all the

vigilance of the officers is powerless to prevent.

"10. We know that the Conservative Government is a mere sham, and

that it largely reduced the strength of the British artillery in

1888-89. And we know that it does not dare now to call out the

Militia for training, nor to mobilise the Fleet, nor to give

sufficient grants to the Line and Volunteers for ammunition to

enable them to become good marksmen and efficient soldiers. We know

that British soldiers and sailors are immensely inferior as

marksmen, not only to Germans, French, and Americans, but also to

Japanese, Afridis, Chilians, Peruvians, Belgians, and Russians.

"11. We know that no British Government dares to propose any form of

compulsory military or naval training, for the British people would

rather be invaded, conquered, and governed by Germans, Russians, or

Frenchmen, than be compelled to serve their own Government.

"12. We Boers know that we will not be governed by a set of British

curs, but that we will drive you out of Africa altogether, and the

other manly nations which have compulsory military service--the

armed manhood of Europe--will very quickly divide all your other

possessions between them.

"Talk no more of the ignorance of the Boers or Cape Dutch; a few

days more will prove your ignorance of the British position, and in

a short space of time you and your Queen will be imploring the good

offices of the great German Emperor to deliver you from your

disasters, for your humiliations are not yet complete.

"For thirty years the Cape Dutch have been waiting their chance, and

now their day has come; they will throw off their mask and your yoke

at the same instant, and 300,000 Dutch heroes will trample you

underfoot.

"We can afford to tell you the truth now, and in this letter you

have got it.--Yours, &c.,

P. S.

"_October 12._"

This letter, though false in many particulars, certainly pointed out

some "home truths," which it was desirable for the British public to

read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. It also served to cast aside

the thin veil which had covered our political relations with

President Kruger and his party, and to show the firm foundations on

which the hatred of the Boer for the Briton had been built for

years. The question of the franchise was a bagatelle: a soap-bubble

would have been pretext enough for war when the right hour and

moment arrived. As allowed by this candid writer, whose valuable

avowals cannot afford to be ignored, for many years treachery and

disloyalty had existed, and the Boers had only bided their time.

They "desired delay, and had it," playing their cards so skilfully

as to deceive even the British Government, and imply to them and the

world that the franchise question and the discontent of the

Uitlanders was the main cause of the disagreement.

Before passing on to the terrible drama that, owing to the defiance

of Mr. Kruger, was afterwards enacted, we must assure ourselves that

the sad climax was bound to have come sooner or later. If the future

of South Africa is to be saved, the prestige of Great Britain must

be maintained; her citizens must be protected, and the betrayals of

Downing Street of 1881 and 1896 must be atoned for. Though darkness

reigns at the time of writing, the future of the Transvaal is a

bright one. Reactionaries of the Hofmeyer and Kruger stamp will pass

away, and we may look to the twentieth century for a happy

settlement of the terrible difficulties which stare us in the face.

But the settlement can never be effected by the policy of

compromise. It can never be lasting while Conventions are allowed to

become the pawns of parties; it can never be noble nor dignified

until the petty ambitions of political strife are subdued and the

grand whole, Great Britain--not the infinitesimal island, but the

immense and populous Empire--is ordered and laboured for with the

courage and strength that comes of undoubted unanimity! It remains,

therefore, with each individual man and woman among us so to work

that the grand result is not unnecessarily delayed.

[Illustration: VISCOUNT WOLSELEY,

Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

Photo by London Stereoscopic Co.]

APPENDIX

CONVENTION OF 1881

CONVENTION FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TRANSVAAL TERRITORY

PREAMBLE. Her Majesty's Commissioners for the Settlement of the

Transvaal territory, duly appointed as such by a Commission passed

under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet, bearing date the 5th of

April 1881, do hereby undertake and guarantee on behalf of her

Majesty, that, from and after the 8th day of August 1881, complete

self-government, 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 reservations and limitations:--

ARTICLE 1. The said territory, to be herein-after called the

Transvaal State, will embrace the land lying between the following

boundaries, to wit: [Here follow three pages in print defining

boundaries].

ARTICLE 2. 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 herein-after defined; (_b_) 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 3. Until altered by the Volksraad, or other competent

authority, 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 applicable thereto, provided that

no future enactment especially affecting the interests of natives

shall have any force or effect in the said State, without the

consent of her Majesty, her heirs and successors, first had and

obtained and signified to the Government of the said State through

the British Resident, provided further that in no case will the

repeal or amendment of any laws enacted since the annexation have a

retrospective effect, so as to invalidate any acts done or

liabilities incurred by virtue of such laws.

ARTICLE 4. On the 8th of August 1881, the Government of the said

State, together with all rights and obligations thereto

appertaining, and all State property taken over at the time of

annexation, save and except munitions of war, will be handed over to

Messrs. Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, Martinus Wessel Pretorius,

and Petrus Jacobus Joubert, or the survivor or survivors of them,

who will forthwith cause a Volksraad 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 5. All sentences passed upon persons who may be convicted of

offences contrary to the rules of civilised 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 imprisonment have been remitted in part by

her Majesty's Administrator or other officer administering the

Government, such remission will be recognised and acted upon by the

future Government of the said State.

ARTICLE 6. 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 herein-after 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 herein-after specified which may have been committed by the

people who were in arms against her Majesty during the recent

hostilities, except for such losses or damages as may already have

been compensated for.

ARTICLE 7. The decision of all claims for compensation, as in the last

preceding Article mentioned, will be referred to a Sub-Committee,

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

remaining 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 majority of them, will be final.

The said Sub-Commissioners will enter upon and perform their duties with

all convenient speed. They will, before taking evidence or ordering

evidence to be taken in respect of any claim, 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 be so entertained, the

Sub-Commissioners will, in the first instance, afford every facility for

an amicable arrangement as to the amount payable in respect of any

claim, and only in cases in which there is no reasonable ground for

believing that an immediate amicable arrangement can be arrived at will

they take evidence or order evidence to be taken. For the purpose of

taking evidence and reporting thereon, the Sub-Commissioners may appoint

Deputies, who will, without delay, submit records of the evidence and

their reports to the Sub-Commissioners. The Sub-Commissioners will

arrange their sittings and the sittings of their Deputies in such a

manner as to afford the earliest convenience to the parties concerned

and their witnesses. In no case will costs be allowed to either side,

other than the actual and reasonable expenses of witnesses whose

evidence is certified by the Sub-Commissioners to have been necessary.

Interest will not run on the amount of any claim, except as is

herein-after provided for. The said Sub-Commissioners will forthwith,

after deciding upon any claim, announce their decision 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 have been

decided upon, the British Government and the Government of the Transvaal

State will pay proportionate 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 8. 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 sustained by reason of the following acts committed during the

recent hostilities, viz., (_a_) commandeering, seizure, confiscation,

or destruction of property, or damage done to property; (_b_) 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 (_b_), 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 are in this Article specially provided for, will be

entertained. No claims which have been handed in to the Secretary of

the Royal Commission after the 1st day of July 1881 will be

entertained, unless the Sub-Commissioners shall be satisfied that the

delay was reasonable. When claims for loss of property are considered,

the Sub-Commissioners will require distinct proof of the existence of

the property, and that it neither has reverted nor will revert to the

claimant.

ARTICLE 9. 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 pay interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum

from the date of such default; but her Majesty's Government may at

any time before such payment pay the amount, with interest, if any,

to the claimant in satisfaction of his claim, and may add the sum

thus paid to any debt which may be due by the Transvaal State to her

Majesty's Government, as herein-after provided for.

ARTICLE 10. The Transvaal State will be liable for the balance of

the debts for which the South African Republic was liable at the

date of annexation, to wit, the sum of L48,000 in respect of the

Cape Commercial Bank Loan, and L85,667 in respect to the Railway

Loan, together with the amount due on 8th August 1881 on account of

the Orphan Chamber Debt, which now stands at L22,200, which debts

will be a first charge upon the revenues of the State. The Transvaal

State will, moreover, be liable for the lawful expenditure lawfully

incurred for the necessary expenses of the Province since the

annexation, to wit, the sum of L265,000, which debt, together with

such debts as may be incurred by virtue of the 9th Article, will be

second charge upon the revenues of the State.

ARTICLE 11. The debts due as aforesaid by the Transvaal State to her

Majesty's Government will bear interest at the rate of three and a

half per cent., and any portion of such debt as may remain unpaid at

the expiration of twelve months from the 8th August 1881 shall be

repayable by a payment for interest and sinking fund of six pounds

and ninepence per cent. per annum, which will extinguish the debt in

twenty-five years. The said payment of six pounds and ninepence per

L100 shall be payable half yearly in British currency on the 8th

February and 8th August in each year. Provided always that the

Transvaal State shall pay in reduction of the said debt the sum of

L100,000 within twelve months of the 8th August 1881, and shall be

at liberty at the close of any half year to pay off the whole or any

portion of the outstanding debt.

ARTICLE 12. All persons holding property in the said State on the

8th day of August 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 her Majesty during the recent

hostilities shall suffer any molestation 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 protection for their persons and property.

ARTICLE 13. 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,

herein-after mentioned, in trust for such natives.

ARTICLE 14. 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 purposes, subject always to the pass laws of the

said State, as amended by the Legislature of the Province, or as may

hereafter be enacted under the provisions of the 3rd Article of this

Convention.

ARTICLE 15. There will continue to be complete freedom of religion

and protection 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 16. The provisions of the 4th Article of the Sand River

Convention are hereby re-affirmed, and no slavery or apprenticeship

partaking of slavery will be tolerated by the Government of the said

State.

ARTICLE 17. The British Resident will receive from the Government of

the Transvaal State such assistance and support as can by law be

given to him for the due discharge of his functions, he will also

receive every assistance 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 expropriation of land for the

purpose.

ARTICLE 18. The following will be the duties and functions of the

British Resident:--Sub-section 1. He will perform duties and

functions analogous to those discharged by a Charge d'Affaires and

Consul-General.

Sub-section 2. In regard to natives within the Transvaal State he

will (_a_) report to the High Commissioner, as representative of the

Suzerain, as to the working and observance of the provisions of this

Convention; (_b_) report to the Transvaal authorities any cases of

ill-treatment of natives or attempts to incite natives to rebellion

that may come to his knowledge; (_c_) use his influence with the

natives in favour of law and order; and (_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.

Sub-section 3. In regard to natives not residing in the Transvaal

(_a_) he will report to the High Commissioner and the Transvaal

Government any encroachments reported to him as having been made by

Transvaal residents upon the land of such natives, and in case of

disagreement between the Transvaal Government and the British

Resident as to whether an encroachment has been made, the decision

of the Suzerain will be final; (_b_) the British Resident will be

the medium of communication with native chiefs outside the

Transvaal, and subject to the approval of the High Commissioner, as

representing the Suzerain, he will control the conclusion of

treaties with them; and (_c_) he will arbitrate upon every dispute

between Transvaal residents and natives outside the Transvaal (as to

acts committed beyond the boundaries of the Transvaal) which may be

referred to him by the parties interested.

Sub-section 4. In regard to communications with foreign powers, the

Transvaal Government will correspond with her Majesty's Government

through the British Resident and the High Commissioner.

ARTICLE 19. The Government of the Transvaal State will strictly

adhere to the boundaries defined in the 1st Article of this

Convention, and will do its utmost to prevent any of its inhabitants

from making any encroachment upon lands beyond the said State. The

Royal Commission will forthwith appoint a person who will beacon off

the boundary line between Ramatlabama and the point where such line

first touches Griqualand West boundary, midway between the Vaal and

Hart Rivers; 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 Barolongs.

ARTICLE 20. All grants or titles issued at any time by the Transvaal

Government in respect of land outside the boundary of Transvaal

State, as defined, Article 1, 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 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 State 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 Government of the former South African

Republic for land excluded from the Transvaal by the 1st Article of

this Convention, or where permanent improvements have been made on

the land, 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 permanent improvement thereon.

ARTICLE 21. 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

Vice-President, as the case may be, and the Resident, and such

Commission will be a standing body for the performance of the duties

herein-after mentioned.

ARTICLE 22. The Native Location Commission will reserve to the

native tribes of the State such locations as they may be fairly and

equitably 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 either in other land or in money as

the Volksraad shall determine. After the boundaries of any location

have been fixed, no fresh grant of land within such location will be

made, nor will the boundaries be altered without the consent of the

Location Commission. No fresh grants of land will be made in the

districts of Waterbergh, Zoutspansberg, and Lydenburg until the

locations in the said districts respectively shall have been defined

by the said Commission.

ARTICLE 23. If not released before the taking effect of this

Convention, Sikukuni, and those of his followers who have been

imprisoned with him, will be forthwith released, and the boundaries

of his location will be defined by the Native Location Commission in

the manner indicated in the last preceding Article.

ARTICLE 24. The independence of the Swazies within the boundary line

of Swaziland, as indicated in the 1st Article of this Convention,

will be fully recognised.

ARTICLE 25. 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 maintained 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 26. All persons other than natives conforming themselves to

the laws of the Transvaal State (_a_) will have full liberty with

their families to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the

Transvaal State; (_b_) they will be entitled to hire or possess

houses, manufactures, 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 Transvaal citizens.

ARTICLE 27. All inhabitants of the Transvaal shall have free access

to the Courts of Justice for the protection and defence of their

rights.

ARTICLE 28. All persons other than natives who established 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 such last-mentioned 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 Government of the Transvaal State.

ARTICLE 29. 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 30. All debts contracted since the annexation will be

payable in the same currency in which they may have been contracted;

all uncancelled postage 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

State; all licences duly issued since the annexation will remain in

force during the period for which they may have been issued.

ARTICLE 31. No grants of land which may have been made, and no

transfer of mortgage 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 place of such

Secretary for Native Affairs.

ARTICLE 32. This Convention will be ratified by a newly-elected

Volksraad within the period of three months after its execution, and

in default of such ratification this Convention shall be null and

void.

ARTICLE 33. Forthwith, 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 Royal 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 Burghers, 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 obligations thereto appertaining on the 8th day of

August; and we promise and undertake that this Convention shall be

ratified by a newly-elected Volksraad of the Transvaal State within

three months from this date.

CONVENTION OF 1884

A CONVENTION BETWEEN HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC.

Whereas, the Government of the Transvaal State, through its

Delegates, consisting of Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, President

of the said State, Stephanus Jacobus Du Toit, Superintendent of

Education, and Nicholas Jacobus Smit, a member of the Volksraad,

have represented 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 Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint

George, Governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and on

behalf of the Transvaal State (which shall herein-after be called

the South African Republic) by the above-named Delegates, Stephanus

Johannes Paulus Kruger, Stephanus Jacobus Du Toit, and Nicholas

Jacobus Smit, shall, when ratified by the Volksraad of the South

African Republic, be substituted for the articles embodied in the

Convention of 3rd August 1881; which latter, pending such

ratification, shall continue in full force and effect.

ARTICLES.

ARTICLE 1. The Territory of the South African Republic will embrace

the land lying between the following boundaries, to wit: (Here

follows a long description of boundaries).

ARTICLE 2. The Government of the South African Republic will

strictly adhere to the boundaries defined in the 1st 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 Government of the South African Republic 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 1 of

this Convention; and the President of the Orange Free State shall be

requested to appoint a referee to whom the said persons shall refer

any questions on which they may disagree respecting the

interpretation of the said Article, and the decision of such referee

thereon shall be final. The arrangement already made, under the

terms of Article 19 of the Convention of Pretoria of the 3rd August

1881, 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 Barolongs, shall continue in force.

ARTICLE 3. If a British officer is appointed to reside at Pretoria

or elsewhere within the South African Republic to discharge

functions analogous to those of a Consular officer he will receive

the protection and assistance of the Republic.

ARTICLE 4. 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

Republic, 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 shall not, within six months after receiving a

copy of such treaty (which shall be delivered to them immediately

upon its completion), have notified 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.

ARTICLE 5. 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

L250,000, which will be a second charge upon the revenues of the

Republic.

ARTICLE 6. 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 L100 per annum, which

will extinguish the debt in twenty-five years. The said payment or

six pounds and ninepence per L100 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 to 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 7. 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 person who has remained loyal to her Majesty during the

late hostilities shall suffer any molestation 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 protection for their persons and

property.

ARTICLE 8. The South African Republic renews the declaration made in

the Sand River Convention, and in the Convention of Pretoria, that

no slavery or apprenticeship partaking of slavery will be tolerated

by the Government of the said Republic.

ARTICLE 9. There will continue to be complete freedom of religion

and protection 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 10. The British officer appointed to reside in the South

African Republic will receive every assistance from the Government

of the said Republic 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 11. 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 defined in Article 1, 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 boundary 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 consideration from the Government of the

South African Republic for land excluded from the Transvaal by the

1st 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 improvements thereon.

ARTICLE 12. The independence of the Swazis, within the boundary line

of Swaziland, as indicated in the 1st Article of this Convention,

will be fully recognised.

ARTICLE 13. 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 article coming from any part of her Majesty's dominions than

are or may be imposed on the like article coming from any other

place or country; nor will any prohibition be maintained or imposed

on the importation into the South African Republic of any article

coming 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 to 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 or

possessions.

ARTICLE 14. All persons, other than natives, conforming themselves

to the laws of the South African Republic (_a_) will have full

liberty, with their families, to enter, travel, or reside in any

part of the South African Republic; (_b_) they will be entitled to

hire or possess houses, manufactories, 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 15. All persons, other than natives, who established their

domicile in the Transvaal between the 12th day of April 1877 and the

8th of August 1881, 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 16. 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 17. All debts contracted between the 12th April 1887 and the

8th August 1881 will be payable in the same currency in which they

may have been contracted.

ARTICLE 18. No grants of land which may have been made, and no

transfers or 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

for natives will remain in force, an officer of the South African

Republic taking the place of such Secretary for Native Affairs.

ARTICLE 19. The Government of the South African Republic will engage

faithfully to fulfil the assurances given, in accordance with the

laws of the South African Republic, to the natives at the Pretoria

Pitso by the Royal Commission in the presence of the Triumvirate and

with their entire assent, (1) as to the freedom of the natives to

buy or otherwise acquire land under certain conditions, (2) as to

the appointment of a commission to mark out native locations, (3) as

to the access of the natives to the courts of law, and (4) as to

their being allowed to move freely within the country, or to leave

it for any legal purpose, under a pass system.

ARTICLE 20. This Convention will be ratified by a Volksraad of the

South African Republic within the period of six months after its

execution, and in default of such ratification this Convention shall

be null and void.

Signed in duplicate in London this 27th day of February 1884.

(Signed) HERCULES ROBINSON.

" S. J. P. KRUGER.

" S. J. DU TOIT.

" M. J. SMIT.

END OF VOLUME I.

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.

Edinburgh & London

TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES:

General : Both Potchefstrom and Potchefstroom have been used several

times. Spellings have been preserved as written.

Page viii: Drummer replaced with drummers to agree with caption of

illustration.

: Removal of additional closing parenthesis after Gloucester

Regiment

Page x : Hyphen removed from gold-fields (2 occurrences) to ensure

consistency with other uses

Page 15 : Spelling of attemped revised to attempted

Page 43 : Added closing parenthesis after ...blacks

Page 57 : As written. Vjin should probably read Vijn

Page 68 : Comma after pledge replaced with full stop (period)

Page 75 : Hyphen removed from farm-house to ensure consistency with

other uses

Page 76 : Closing quote added after fusiliers.

Page 78 : Hyphen added to bloodspilling to ensure consistency with

other use

Page 84 : Spelling of tambookee standardised to tambookie

Page 108 : Hyphen added to reaffirmed to ensure consistency with other

use

Page 113 : Spelling of pourtrayed and dulness left as taken from original

quotation.

Page 139 : As written. Reims should probably read riems

Page 179 : Spelling of cowe left as taken from original quotation.