CIHM Microfiche Series (IMonographs) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) 11 CanadlM InMhutt fof Htotorieal MIcrarapraduetiaM / InMhut canadton d* mierorapradHctigm MMeriwiM C) 1 995 1 Tht ImtitiiH ha (tHniMid to abttin «M hat orlflMl ceprmitabltfwfitailnf. (=aMiinta(M>aapv«Mali nuy bi WbNofnpMaaNy MitWM, urMdi awif Mir my of *t inuiH in Mm npradiMim, or niiiMi flMy ■IfniflMMly dMifi «M MHri MdNd of WMiit, M* mm um w jim D □ Cbmh Cnmr □ Camt ranond MHltec hMkHMd/ Cwm iM n I ICMatHh I luwndt L_J Cmm i lop ip N I qMM m □ Cetoarad ink Ua odMr Ihn UiH or btackl/ Ena* di coolMr liA MiM 4w Maw oa Mini I InndiattfoaM □ ■ oa i d mi * oMwr milHial/ I 0Ti#itHMliniiMy ■tonf inttrior ma| D U nlim artt* pan MiMr * l-ankn ai * la dMorriai h lom * hi aii^ ImMmt* iMMrpMriMa,! II w pan «n awMna pipi MMdm liaMia Ion d-aa tatnirMlai aMvtiaatt daa It ina, mit, lorWN aria toil poaiWt. ea PHH o'oM paMWata. □ Additional tonunmnt:! 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Lea dtagrammaa euivann Hhiamnt hi mdthoda. 1 2 3 I _ 1 2 3 1 "" 4 5 6 MKneonr motunoN nn chut (ANSI and BO TEST CHMTT Ng. 2) LP £ 1^ ulii §22 S la §22. It. ^ 1053 DM Hobi StTMl RmAmIw. Nw Vork 14109 UU (71«) 3H-UM-FM 004i«8 The War in South Africa Its Cause & Conduct By A. Conan Doyle Author of The Great Boer War Toronto George N. Morang & Company, Limited 1903 oycr *VT»OglZBB KDITIOK Entond acewdiof t Cnvn. LUM, u tha nafutaaM li.^dn|l ud two, br OaoMi H. Maun of AgTieiillim, MOUIM ft PREFACE For some reason, which may be either arrogance or apathy, the British are very slow to state their case to the world At present the reasons for our actions and the methods which we have used are set forth in many Blue-books, tracts, and leaflets, but have never, so far as I know, been collected into one small volume. In view of the persistent slanders to which our politicians and our soldiers have been equally exposed, it becomes a duty which we owe to our national honour to lay the facts before the worid. I wish someone more competent, and with some official authority, had undertaken the task, which I have tried to do as best I might from an independent standpoint. There was never a war in history in which the right was abso- lutely on one side, or in which no incidents of the campaign were open to criticism. I do not pretend that it was so here. But I do not think that any unprejudiced man can read the facts with- out acknowledging tfiat the British Government has done its best to avoid war, and the British Army to wage it with humanity. To my publisher and to myself this work has been its own reward. In this way we hope to put the price within the reach of all, and yet leave a profit for the vendor. Our further ambi- tion is, however, to translate it into all European tongues, aAd to send a free copy to every deputy and every newspaper on the Continent and in America. For this work money will be needed— a considerable sum. We propose to make an appeal to the public for these funds. Any sums which are sent to me or to my pub- lisher will be devoted to this work. There cannot be too much, for the more we get the more we shall do. I may add that I have not burdened my pages with continual references. My quoutions are reliable and can always, if neces- sary, be substantiated. A. CONAN DOYLE. UNDERSHAW. HiNDHEAO: January, 1902. CONTENTS I. THE BOER PEOPLE. ....... .'"^ n. THE CAUSE OF QUARREL. ^ HI. THE NEGOTIATIONS „ IV. SOME POINTS EXAMINED jg V. THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE «, VI. THE FARM-BURNING ... ^ Vn. THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS g, Vin. THE BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA. . . „ IX. FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH TROOPS . io8 X. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE QUESTION. . . . „y XI. CONCLUSIONS. ,^3 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT Chapter I : The Boer People IT ii impouible to appreciate the South African ptoblem and the causes which have led up to the piefcnt war between the Bntish Empire and the Boer republics without some knowl- edge, however superficial, of the past history of Soath Afnca. To tell the tale one must go back to the beginning, for there has been complete continuity of history in South Africa, and every stage has depended upon that which has preceded it! No one can know or appreciate the Boer who does not know his past, for he is what his past has made him. It was about the time when Oliver Cromwell was at his zenith —in 1652, to be pedantically accurate— that the Dutch made their first lodgment at the Cape of Good Hopt. The Portuguese had been there before them, but, repfUed by the evil weathe^, and lured forward by rumours of gold, they had passed the true seat of empire, and had voyage>l farther, to settle along the eastern coast. But th- Dutchmen at the Cape prospered and grew stronger in that robust climate. They did not penetiate far inland, for they were few in number, and all they wanted a as to be found close at hand. But they built themselves house 1, and they supplied the Dutch East India Company with food and water, graduallv budding off little townlets, Wynberp., Stellen- bosch, and pushing their settlements up the long slopes which lead to that great central plateau which extends for i.coo miles from the edge of the Karoo to the Valley of the Zambesi. For a hundred more years the history of the colony was a ■ itcord of the gradual spreading of the Africanders over the huge expanse of veldt which lay to the north of them. Cattle taisuig became an industry, but in a country where six acres can hardly support a shc:!p, large farms are necessary for even small a THE WAR ; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT Remet «.d Swellendan,. where a Du"h feneS Ch^«.h~*; a itore for (he ule of the bare nec«Lri-. ^ i . . "'' ""' nude™, for a few ^tterei dwd"b.g. '^,'irdv he ....^T^ ' EmpiST ' ^^ *^'°?^ *" "'''*^ » 'Sm to the filftiS nJ"o2ll !l!! )^'i!^^~'^°" °i ^f*^ States there i. probably Tt^ Bri,. „Vr^/ J° "*"<;'■ '^ "O" inconteitafirflun fl-V^" ?^^ T P'ot^Wy made rapidly and careleMly^ that general redistribution which was iroina nn A. . u!!; " , call u^ the way to India tb^aa w^ZiTo i^.tJ^''^^^. I!o«;j!T^iS^ -^^ *""* *^ *"« Wing for six million ^^U*"""'r*°^^^^ <»« been a m«ed on^orgoS and of evil nine fierce Kaffir wars the im-atr^t rii ^'"^ ""*«' *« Africander. '^ ^*'™ ** ^"^^ Government and the ge^ri!^' tiS^riishTJ""^' "•°'' "^'^«'- With vicariou. SSm ,in?if ■'f^ '"S I"" *"' "»«■ i> "".fcJ tod m THE BOER PEOPLE rent local ratM. FinaUy, the compensation was made oavable in ,^J^.1^'"„,^"'''«^"°".'°'*»™8* *«« held in every littte townlet and cattle^,p on the KaroS. The old Dutch spirit wm up-the spirit of the men who cut the dykes. Rebemra wm TJ^T^'^ ' ™t untenanted land stretched to «,e n^ " tnem. Ihe nomad hfe was congenial to Uiem, and in their hum ttefr^nw" J"*°"^'*' "«^ buUock-carts in wh"h ^me f f thar old kinsmen came to Gaul— they had vehicles and hranM ^d forts all in one One by one the/were S up Ae CI trartis were mspamied. the women were seated inside ™e mm «^,.l "■■ '™«-*«"-'="5«» «^» walked alongside, and the ^ei?"a b'^^h^L'";*,'"'^"^' r' *=>" °tf by the for^idaW^ T? i' , bfanch of the great Zulu nation. betwL^eo'ranl," P*' ' ^'^"''''''"r' ' e'^^d »« the country DetweCTthe Orange River and the Limpopo, the sites of what have been known as the Transvaal and STotange Fr« Stote THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT At th, *'"'^'' 'i"'"" *''"" t° daim it a™. British coW British ^'UT M*^ ''"="«• *« unwelco™" do^ri« thT, tT<^Lai:o7h;,- """'"' *^"lf^'""' »'• "eld aSefen Jve ^^ n^™- 7 "^ successors have done so many times sin^ ft^ Z"!-'^'™"'" l'?*^"' »"<' the farmers diipe^ed. N^ ofTh, ^"".""■'TL'' '•*°™* » Bri'»h ^lony. and the majority oeai ausolutely impartially where his own country is a oartv to the quarrel. But at least we may allow that there s a S« fcr our adversary. Our annexation of Natal had hS^ bv n^fe^I mZ'-zS^ " *=" '^^"t "°' *« "ho first ^keVa? S- ft w«fc>rd ,^" which threw its shadow across the counSy. ft was hard after such trials and such exploits to turn their S upon the fertile land which they had conquered and^o mum t^ Ae bare pastures of the upland veldt. They^^^ out ^ NatS a heavy ^mse of injury which has helped to poison our relati^ tW*ittirsk?^'isrn?-«,.H- *"' i" ''•*''^' " "o^entou, ^S^ Sk off of r Bo^r 7}^Ih"^ "nigrants, for it was the head^ Sif ?al^^ ^^'^ ^- "^^ *Hert'y""a"'nU'a^n^ po.sjbly formidable flag would have been added to^ihe maritf™ The emigrants who had settled in the huge tract of countnr "^-.f? ?t °''*"«^' ^"" '" the south and the UmpWta th^ north had been recruited by newcomers from thl C^cSl«,v um.l they numbered some fifteen thousand souls tZ ^^. THE BOER PEOPLE tion >ras scattered over a space as Urge as Germany, and larEer than Pennsylvania, New York, and ifew Enrfand "nS, f^ ^jr^Sl,"nh"'""''"^'^'f »»'' democfatic to ie iLt d™ ^^^•^^if •*"? '"5' ^^ °* cohesion. Their wars with the i^ and their fear and disUke of the British Government T^JaT' 5^K*>i'"'y "«' *''■<='' held them to«"h™ They divided and subdivided within their own borders like a SiS";^:^ ^^^- The Transvaal was full of lu^y Se high- ^hlt h^T"'""' r**? '5'«"«"«^ among themselves as fiercdy M they had done with the authorities at the Cape. Lydenbure Zowpansberg, and Potchefstroom were on the ^int o'^l^S £ver"fn^ If '"v f^°'*'"- I" the south, bet^ the oZI River and the Vaal, there was no form of government at^ Sr^ri.r'"°' !>;;»<*. facers, Basutos, HottentoTTnd La^ aT ?ri I?* '.",,* phrooic state of turbulence, recognising neXr • the Bntoh authority to the south of them nor^Tri^vaS^ publ^ to the north. The chaos became at last unendSraS m 1848 a garrison was placed in Bloerafontein and the distrirt mcorporated m the Britisii Empire. The emigrantf made a fuSte If .1? ^T" u"'° *e setded order of civilised rule At this p;nod the Transvaal, where most of the Boers had ^ichAe^Britil '""^^'-acknowledgment of their ind^^^ence thJ^ the Bnt'sh authorities determined once and for aSl to irive !r^" ^"' ^eat barre-1 country, which produced little Mve bSi^ u"^' ,^^ "".attractions for a Colonial Office whiSi.wa ^chXf )^ hmitation of its liabilities. A convention wu concluded b«weai the two parties, known as the Sand Riv" feS the riJ^ »^"*'*'' ^^«™"ent guaranteed to the Be r ^^1 u ^*- *° °«nage their own affairs, and to eoveri STof TS ^J'u' °T*" •'"^' *'thout any interference uj^the ^ wlh .h^r"?*"- , ^* "t'P"'ated that there should be no ^enr^ ^L^^ that single reservation washed its hands finally, as it magined, of the whole question. So the Transvaal Republic came formally mto exi^sience. Kepunuc rennhl*^' rtfJV*"' ^'i'"" ""I ^*"'' ^'^" Convention, a second r^abhc, the Orange Free State, was created by the deliberate wrthdrawal of Great Britain from the territory which shrSd for eight year, occupied. The Eastern Question wa^ already ^ml!r'L'^i'^^^°"'^ "' " f'"" *»^ was driftfng^"^ ™^le to al.^mi. British statesmen lelt that their commit^ts were very heavy m every part of the worid. and the sZh Afncan amiexatioos had always been a doubtful value and^r 8 TH E WAR ; ITS CAUSE AND cnitfnTTr-r SbS^s'^w'S^cSr .^^! "» wai of , U„^ part of the m- ^thdW ^rlr^ ™Jonty or not it is im{^!ble to say, we Bri^ a,^ rt?T '"L?'''^ AS the RomlmTwithdrew fr™ Bn»«..S^JllJ^^™™'."»> 1»™ ■«*« Oral the cord and 1« ii,- Bntain, the time had come to cut Ts72cL^i}J^ '"'""S "**'°" •="«''«=' it» own affairs In 1072 complete self-government was given to it the aJw™^ extreme hberal ty of such measure TSh *L ^' T"* way in which th^ havr^en^cS^eTiiThowte^SSS! %.3lat.on might seen, to English ideas, ^ ^ZlSf^hle? rS »ons which made the illiberal treatment ^B^Sf seSletl^: Transvaal so kemly resented at the Cape. A »u"ch Go«r^«? was ruhng the British in a British cSrayraia mraS^tTlS! die Boer, would not give an Englishman a vote up^T^nW^ council m a city whiSi he had buUt himself '^ """mcipal For twmty-five years after the Sand River Convention th, burghers of the Transvaal Republic had pursued a^trmu™.' =„H violent existence, fighting inclUantly with Se na?iv™ ^^ times with each other, with an occasional fling at thfliSe Sh republic to the south. Disorganisation enVueH Tki i u " would not pay taxes and theT«^u™w« ^"ptv oSe'?-t" Kaffir tnbe threatened them from th^ n^,^'5V^ull " *» »ved aie ZS^^"""°" '° P^'*""* ««" Brit*h rnte^,S^ THE BOER PEOPLE 5 famers'lSSXds™ e°e^X' f™°?f" *° "j' ^^'^ <"' Indian, were on Ae waLtf, Si^h"!^ vi'°'Tu" *''™ *« Briti$h CommissiOTer aftT.^ • • T''«?P'?''"s Shepstone, the aU questions bvCfort^f *" '"1""^ °* ""•" -nonths, solved that' he tZ ^s^io^^f r^thTf"' ""= r^'^y- '^•« *»« men, showed 8« Wty of hU tlfef t£'t nl f ™ '*»'y-five was to be feared. This then .v,.h^, ° '"™'*' resistance of the Sand River Coov^nri^',^^ .l'^' *'? " "™Pl«e reversal in the histonr oIscSS? S ""^"^ °' * "^'^ ^'"P'" iTe-h^rp-i^Sll/^f^'ci^^or-h-^ nef " wor^^ S^th^^ '«^'' P^^i"* » S^th Africa, and rim^y Aj^g1^r^c^ti™1'„T-i i^T*^*" "° »«<' f»i* ^ not iistaSTfulfiuS 'Tf^hf t'*''*^' *'?^ P'r'*** "»<»<= "*« wouMh.ve;hadl"«^Vo{LS!dL^^^^ tW bumher. are a homely foS, Md^evHkl%SL^''?™°,'- ^' ' coffie with the anxious man wlroTiE, „ „1f,^'°"^'"P °* a year of coffee-money alWe^by the W^^T^ts VlL^ a by no means a mere form A «i;L , j -^^ ° "^ Pfes'doit into the social and d^oc'^c haWtT 0I tt"SrSir °^' 'f ilus Shepstone did so Sir On.^, i . ^r??"*- ^'^ Theoph- no VolSraad and ^' coff« L^ !f^^°" 1"* ".?»• '^«^ ^as rapidly. I~thr:SUrs*fBrit"sh\ad%'^Pk!J^'theT"^ hordes which had been threateninVthe l^d ^hl « '"''^ had been restored. The reaVi'" Government, an act whichTaT either In™^^ pusill^iimous or the most magnanimous in recent w!- tory. It .s hard for the big man to draw away from rtTsman before blows are struck, but when the big man L bwn taS down three t.mes it is harder still. An overwhelnTg British force was m the field and the general declared that he hriH Vh. h"""^^'^, S-Lff •'" '""'I- British Sita^ cal™tt f?.^^ ^^^f^r ^fore now fey thse farmers, Sd it i™X that the task of Wood and Roberts would have been hante^thm THE BOER PEOPl E II lulJ^ ' consented to the upraised sword beinff MavwT Wi.i. ^t^^^rJ^ *^ P""*'""^- thrmotr^^'Y.SoubudK Bntish public when t acquiesced in the u^^lf^% ^^^'^i^^^Z^l^Z^L^, *^' '° •"<«''=»' >"d contentious accustomed to be humbled, and yerSev fo^^S^*; J*"^*!/' ""? tete"!^ 'ii^^r^.^-^ts'rthf r^ ^^^^^^ :».e his wounded%s'^;'i^rt£x^°^'r.l?-rj la THE WAR ; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT THE BOER PEOPLE »3 n^ i ?iii !i */ '^"''y- l' T^y •« "''«''. Why Ihould these men be calkd freebooter, if the founders of Rhodesia were pioneers? The answer is that the Transvaal was limited W treaty to certam boundaries which these men transgress^ whHe S, P''^ ^"^ •"?''*" *•■«" ">« British powCT expanded to the nortli. The upshot of these trespasses i^as the sS?e mxm which every drama of South Africa riS^s down. Once ^r^ purse was drawn from the pocket of the unhappy taxpayer ^d a miUion or so was paid out to defray the expenses of the liolice force necessary to keep these treaty-breakers in order. Let this H^, lIIiT t"** *•«?*« »«»"' "" """^ »"<1 '"«e'^ damage done to the Transvaal by the Jameson Raid. In 1884 a deputation from the Transvaal visited England, and toto ,hl ,l';'"'»"°","'e clumsy Treaty of Pretoria was al e^ mto the stili more clumsy Convention of London. The chanees m the provisions were all in favour of the Boers, and a sS fr^™ th, T^ """, '" ^'^"S* P«»'=«- '"'«'• ««y'e wa» altered from the Transvaal to the South African Republic a chanee The'LZl °7'"'^»jy„™g?estive of expansi^ in ihe future. ^L^,S °*,.^'«a« Bntain over their lor.dgn policy was also relaxed, though a power of veto was" retainld. But the tnort fav'^'J?"? °' "!'■ '"'' "«= '"■'«»' <=a"« of future troX! « i,r f^^'""3.- ^ '"^'rainty is a va^rue term, but in politics as in theo ogy, the more nebulous a thing is the more does it «cite the imagination and the passions of men. ThTs sLeS^^ was declared m the preamble of the first treaty, and no mS itnJ? ^\\^u '^°"'^: W"' " thereby abnvated or w^ It not? The British contention is that only the articles were ^^^- Ti? ***** P'«™"* «»«"»*'' t° hold ^ for toth J^ • S-J^^''' P"'"! °?' "■»' "°* °"^ 'he suzeralS!^ but X ^^M^^PT^f"'-,"* *^^ Transvaal il proclaimed in that pr^ T^^^^i "?' i.^ ^' "^P'" "« other must do so also. O^ I Dr«mS1^ M**;!,*" ^"^^f P°'"' '°- *' f»" "«" "-ere is actual^^ foreT?iLV 1'"^°"? convention, which would seem, ther^ fore, to take the place of the first. As a matter of fact the dis- cussion IS a barren one, since both parties agree that Great Bmain retamed certain rights over the makinf of tr^ties by t^^^^--J"^"'^. "»•"' P'»" •>" " a diffe%nt positiS^ ta an entirely independent state. WTiether this difference amounts of V^^^Z^^i •' "f \fru"'^i'^'J°' *•>' »^"'™i'= discussic« Ae worf ' ' ^' " °* importance is the fact, not i 1! . ' Chapter II: The Cause of Quarrel priM can claim a cerSiZ whiT- ^ d»tnbuted that the enter- and »me veiy m^,he J^e™ tL',^""^' *?"* ***»'""« however, which tewawav tht^;i f^ *'" circumstancei . usually iakl WuTwly^L''^JS,1i^?^"''^ '•™°" '^ho 14 THE CAUSE O^ QUARRRI drixSi. that thiie dtSei wfl^h* 'Y«^ '' "»'' "^ American no"^.' ^SS'd ^X'dellt' ''^^^ •""pressing gri.v«,ce. Colony which he L^S now 4« W™ J"/ ^"'^ '1°" '^'P* « wtxme may be excuiahl, ii, ,^ *"« h'niKlf upon othen— and The p/mitive virtue ,Jh^h h^d ?fi™«'''- "'"?"«"'"» » '895. down in the face of t^mpttti^ 'haracterwed the farmer, brolfc Ijffected. some of Sle^JTrrall but Z''pL^"r'''" «"'« became a most corrupt oliearchv v^,i .„h " * Government l«»t degree. OfficialswiTimnJ^U T L'?.*' ?<=°mp«">t to the streamTf gold whrch SmeTn'^rn^ """•f"*" handled the fortunate l^itlanrr wh^id'ni^^en'tt Tfhe ?"'.''* ""- fleeced at every turn and met .Lifi, T i.5 'he taxation was he endeavoured to win" eft^cwJi h"^''i^-''u"?'' *»""*» "'•'en ably set right the wT^g. f r^S^hkh t *5ffer^' "1^'" "^^ an unreasonable person On .K-^IL? """™- He was not the verge of meeSJ^as S^iuMs Sew'^o t T •^"^"' «° roundel by rifles. But hi, Si^'tJs ntoU "m" " j* ?'" successive attempts at peaceful aritati^".nHi''' ""? "'♦"" petitions to the VolksiSTd, he SfgS^Tt' Sf .0 ™ r "' liT^ rn'igTJor°'^Lr^" uniess^he^ird'fi'-a^o';': i^; ^0? bitS'^X*atVV'^r%'elio'u''/ r/Tem^^^" T^ summed up m ijiis way "mou, ot them may be ei;hth^'?f%l!l'^evT^e»coX"'Th?r'«' '^"J «^«- Afnc«, Republic-whicb'i;ad°0,S4^'7^";^^^ the South goldfields were opened— had erown in i»™™ l^ Iz^ *''f" ** the country throGiTthe indus™the n!??comet^H°°^' ""5 from one of the poorest to the richeVnn »Ti u , '""' "^banged head of populatiori) ' '" "" *''°'«= «""-Id (per 16 THE W AR : irs CAUSE AND CONDUCT per annum on Uitlander childrai aSd « fi?~; i i'*'' S'*'' children— the Uitlander m XTj. „ • " ' **' '^*"' °" Boer original imn ^"''"''"' " »'*»>'. WuJg "even-eighths of the poli?eVa higrdSth-meTn what i^^Tn''^ cojruDt and violent thi. ina 4 which '?^'U b'^ilf ^e^X:..''"'''' ""o"-^' right te/rTinT" " "" """" "" *• P"" ""^ <" *« 7- DisabiUty from service upon a jury. atmura in order to eet a wors» n 7=1;.,? P?y °°°9°™- «»"> per law,, by which the ^r, wer^ Xwii°o fci?^' ,?'" ."""•^ the incompetence and extortions of the St«J^-i*^^' '^"^^'■ granting of concessions for numerous frtidSTf o,?'*"^' "" sumption to individuals, by which hi^hJS^l ordinary con- the surrounding of Mwnesburt hv Mlf T *"«. '"^•ained ; hadnoprofit-?h««w^amM^A^V.^ ^™7 ''•''''^'' ^^e town large, some petty whS? ^S-H ?J iT""' 8""="<:". 'ome life These a^t'hV:rotsThM."^^VarsT'™Kf} as^^e twop«,ny.halfpenny ^evances of Ihan'^n^o'flr^^^ ers'!^^dTh:"rapid"t''ead%'f'':lrr'=''''' 1™" *e Uitland- may be fathered f'rS^^V'lir^f't'h^Tlan';: ortn"*?'''' ^ervan^ from the opening of the ml'n'es't'T" e° oUlf Vf' THE CAUSE OF QUARREL »7 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 189s '893 '894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 i 51331 9iM«3 a49.64l 324.530 332388 323.608 361.27s 419.775 570*47 813*39 996959 1,080,383 . 1.316,394 which .howl, u Mr. FitzPatrick luu> pointed out, that the salary U«t had become twenty-four times what it was when the Uit- Umden arrived, and five times as much as the toul revenue was But «it3ide and beyond all the definite wrongs frcm which they suffered, there was a constant irritation to frabcm iid olol eressive men accustomed to liberal institutions, that they hould Be deapotically ruled by a body of men some of whL were Vnorant bigots, some of them buffoons, and u^rly all of tht^ STfiL'v ■w""!.'"'''^ '°'™P'- ""' °* twenty-five member,^ tne lirst Volksraad twenty-one were, in the case of the Selati Rail- % VT5*"y-, P"'''"'y »"<1 circumstantiany accused of briben- tT,^ "Th''''si"'u -^ "r^ '?"""• '""'■ <^''- and whS R,!^., il bl?<:k-hst includes the present vice-president, ScKa^k Burger; the vice-president of that date; Eloff. The son-iii-Uw of Kruger; and the secretary of the Volksraad. Appar«,Uy every man of the executive and the legislature had his p^-ke ^ n,i„^f2""5*w'"'"^'>' '* *" *"' "■•a»'^''- but wlien it is narrow- mmded and bigoted as well, it becomes indeed intolerable The fotowmg tit-bus from the debates in the two Raads show the hi il."" ^'"^ 'P'"' °f *" ""^ ""o were ruling over one of . S^ progressive communities in the world • Pillar-boxes in Pretoria were opposed on the grounds that 1^!^ r"' ^f a^as:*"' ?"d effeminate. Deputy Taljaard said in J' £°"''' "°' '^ "?.'' P«y'* *»"««<' t° be always writinp letters: he wrote none hlmselfT In the days of his youth he had written a letter and had not been afraid to travel fiftv jg THE WAR: ITS CATTS,..xT ^ CONDUCT '^^'^4l."'Zp^in^°7^^,^^,^y wagon to pet it_„d '^S#^SaH«^eono.^ day, dlf Ki^'^n.^^ 1'. t^Z/'^Vu^"^'- -'" the assuredly be loaded with Xme.n^k.""' *e country would «s hand against theXhty hanS of"?!^?"*^ '^ 't '"'«' "^ "*« Messrs. Declero an/ cVl 7 '"* Almighty. qno^ng UrgS^^'f^SnThe lcn>turS*' '•"'' '" ""*-"' "«i". always sS"7b^ Jh^T.^uVs™^^^'^ °'h» T *"-' ^a™ wa. bckuied His f/rn, wasTh^'dritaTed ""^ *" =^"^«' -"' »° prey which theydestroyed °™P*""8 ""e '°«>sts to beasts of differ^ttrorfes Tp^S'^The? "'" "" ''^'»' *"^ «""' bv God for their sinfXe?s'^" ^ *"* " 'P*^'"" plague^^nt In a further debate- neckti«/^n?e wore a"?l"":?ll*' .>>* °f """orfflity i„ scarves. This was a state o? J- ^ "?"'> ""^ "'hers wore sidered that the Ratd M D«^L'°*'''=.1fP'°'^''- ="<' ''* «»>- size and shape of neckti«° '^ " '°°' ^"W" "-d define the the^ye^^err;l^dt'lX?h'°"'= "'^^ °^ "^ ^" .' Afoy 8.-0„ the applicati™ ofX sLSTT^r'- """''"" = mission to erect an aerial tra^f mm fh^ ^- ¥' '^°- '" P«- ' Mr. Groblaar asked whSw - • ?""* '° *« miD. whether it cou^d flfrhrougfthe^r"™' '™" '^"^ " »»"«» »' grantr„gTh'^.^4~:;-4''« *e C^^^ '° -"^e against and^hat with so many ^th'^^SL^"' ^" ^"^'^^ "-"'' PatJ)'as"K4XV°a:.'i%rjiL"«^^^^ ings'""' '^-°" "■' "PP"^"''"" for a concession to treat tail- THE CAUSE OF QUARREL »9 He could not understand what it meant. He had eone to nieht- school as lone as he had been in Pretoria, and even now he could not explain everything to his burghers. He thoueht it a tm^X^^H^i"' should be made ^ ground undefwhU £rr SL * '■"^'' J?"* *'•''='' '" f"*"™ might be required t^^ "JL? r"- "' T'i^ '"PP°" "■' "commendation tato af/rh ,^1^ "" "T\°' ""^ ^"^"^ »''°"W •« translated Zt^Af' ""^ ' "^ ""'^ '"^ ""'' '""> '°™ °f them Such debates as these may be amusing at a distance but thev complete power over the conditions of your life I'nMn the fact that ihey were a community extremelv ore- occupied by their own business, it followed thkt the WtUndeS were not ardent politicians, and that they desired to have a^tare il,!iv*^'"'?"r.* °* *« State for the purpos- of nSckieX conditions of their own industry and of tSir own iU^^Ii^ more endurable. How far there was need of s^h^^int^ lUrofMT/^ ^ ^"i"^"' ^^'"y fair-minded man whS ^d^t"; hst of their complaints. A superficial view may r.-coS,e the l^'lu" •?' champions of liberty, but a deepeHnsig^St ^ s ood for all that history has show, .o be odious in the form of « clusiveness and oppression. Their conception of liberty^, b^ haTthlSvS'te'jSkd *"^^ "■"• ^°*' ^"'' *'"='■ '^y As the mines increased in importance and the miners in number, ,t was found that these^litical disabilWer aff«t^ some of that cosmopolitan crowd faVmore than othe« in^J^ flTZ'f ^u """""^ °* '^'5''°"' '° ^hich their Some'StitutS^ mol^ ?• them accustomed. The continental Uitlanders w^ Se bSo^ ■^e A ' " ■ ''" T """"lurable to the AmeriSn a^" .hfur Americans, however, were in so great a minority that It was upmi the British that the brunt of tie stru^rie for freedom fell. Apart from the fact that the Bn'tilh w^ more numerous than all the other Uitlanders combined there were special reasons why they should feel their humiha in" Lkf™ more than the members of any other race. In the firs^o acT T^L°^ *t,^"' '*' ^''' ^"'''^ South Africans, who iSew thai UtJti '""e^^'-."^. countries which gave them birth The mra hS; veTB^rr^l'""""' had been ^given to the kinsmeH these very Boers who were refusing them the management of their own drain, and water-supply. And again, evfrTBrit^ 4k ■ Ill: «o THE WA R: ITS CAUSE AKD CONDUCT ^«* *at Great Briuin claimed to be th, „^ South Africa, and so he wTm ii W.^ P^f^^unt power in might have looked for prot«ti.^ IJlrT"-^^' *° *'''<* he cing in hi, in-treatm^? Af Si^^ T!hV^ "' '"'' '"='1"''«- it was peculiarly Mllinp- th/t .h- i. ,?^ Paramount ^wwir* subject!^ The fiS^thetw^ ^"""""^ ''*'<* ™ P""'**^ energetic of the 4i"totoni '' *'" *' * ?*"'»'«" '"d honttly consiS^^'thT^r^ifir""' "^^ '° '"^'^ »'»'" -^ made, ks has W„ hriX ., ' °PP°nent3. The Boers had coumry^of the.'^w^ AevTH F'^V^V '° "^''blish a and fout,ht bravely After »Il I ■'^X^"'^'' *"• *°''''e'' hard, see an influxTs Lgers tato tie^' /'^T' ""^ *^" '««=<> t° of questionable Sc," , who X^S' tT' ?* ""r "" original inhabitants If the f^nrt,;. ^ '° outnumber the could, be no oi.gh to satisfyX^SP^l? fhey dlH^ryif^l ^as not that did they not leave it? No ^7 1 ?^ }'^t '^e country, why But if 4ey sUKd!l«themrtha„TfSl ht',*!,™ '° Vthere^ at all, and not presume 'o interfere wth 1' l'^ """? '?''"""* it might be tenable b'thSS'"^ unl^. '"T""'' ^""K" practice. meory, it is unjust and impossible in mi;i''ca?rieTout"rsotXcu°re cl""l'' '-^'^^ °' Thibet in a great tmct of counTy wWch lies rithV''"' " '^T°' ^ <*""« of industrial progress Th-^l-.' • *^'" *'='"°" ""e main line A handful o&Te by theS°nf" '°° ""'"'^'^ *«'fi°«>- ?f an enormouVToun?^ over which t?"''""" ?''" Possession ■ntervals that it is thei? S Thaf „n 7 "u ''°"^'' *' '"'='• the smoke of another a^d^tthoueh^heirT''°i!f' '=^"°' «< Cass Who ^Sfl doTin^^TbV^nl^oSreVsXTet^y.'' ^Tt^^:^ THE CAUSE OF QUARREL 21 outnumbered in their own land by immigrants who are far more highly educated and progressive, and yet they hold them down "^J.J'^'^Tu-^^ nowhere else upon earth. What is their right? The nght of conquest. Then the same right may be justly mvoked to reverse so intolerable a situation. ThU thev would themselves acknowledge. ' Come on and fight I Come *^ li "^"t^i* member of the Volksraad when the franchUe petition of the t'ltlanders was presented. 'Ptx)test! Protest! What 5s the good of protesting?' said Kruger to Mr. W. Y. Campbell- you hav.- not got the guns, I have.' There was always the ftial CO £ of appeal. Judge Creusot and Judge Mauser were always behmd the President. il,^"- •"'^ »'«"ment of the Boers would be more valid had they received no benefit from these immigrants. If thev had Jgnored them they might fairly have .stated that they did not r^hJZ ^:^T . ^"' '"^ *''■'' *«^y P™'^«'«d they grew w=v. It '^''>"'*"' «^Pe"». They could not have it both ways. It would be consistent to discourage him and not profit by hira, or to make him comfortable and build the Sttte uZ stronTri'"!' '°."'-'^''" him and at the same time to ZS A J ^ taxation must surely be an injustice r=iifl *^'"'- ■"•* ?'''°'* "gument is based upon the narrow racial supposition that every naturalised citizeTnot of Bo« ou 'bv'Z """' T'"'!'^^^ ^ unpatriotic. This U n° b^^e Dro«/n?V*'"P'? °' ^T'y-- 'T'" newcomer soon b..omes^ proud of his country and as ealous of her liberty as the old tM»nHr/'h™' *^"^r «^^f" "^* *™'<='>ise generou^y t^ the yot^Un;.H" "''"'■?"' "°"H ■'•"^'^ ''«"' fi™ "P°" i" base and not balanced upon its apex. It is true that the corrupt oliearchv wou^d have vanished and the spirit of a broader^more tS freedom mfluenced the counsels of the State. But the R«,ubl"c tionit'"'-^'"^f^^r^"^ '""'' permanent, with a^puU- ton who, if they diflFered in details, were united in essmtUls Whether such a solution would have been to the advSe of British interests in South Africa is quite another qS«f In SrimpS.""" °"' ^"''''"' ^™«" "="' "-" " «^ f^^d to „f*l' "'u ''1!* °^"'.^ Convention of Pretoria (i88i) the rights of burghership might be obtained by one year's resid^ce^ /^ I8& .t was raised to five years, the reasonable limit whicrcS^tains moLJ^ Great Bntam and in the United States. Had it r™ Sfh^^V^ir! 1 "/*'' '° ^y "'^' "^^^^ *°"'d "ever have beffl hS, rith.Ii"i"'"**^u'"'-''^r °r a «»■•■ Orievances would haZ been righted from the mside without external interference Hved fourteen year, i„ "e "o^?^^ ^^^.^Z^ *'« »»<• their wrong, werf^^eU, *t ,.?"'«T'"''' P"«iv^ ^t !S!? f""'^ ''■^y hope to move S?T *' 'r"^* °' t^e weired them down. S^,&,™ Hv '"f ^^ """^en which ponched in most respe«ful^L. '^"'°" ?* '3.ooo Uitlanden this failure, the National Lf^ ir ."^"^eterred, however, by Y^notoneofcapitS ' body in the Rid justice for the newcomer Mr f^"" " "^^ *° obtain SSe this select band. ' They bwi half tlV^-, *?* "" mouthpiece of quarter, of the taxes, ''^Srhe.'^f^'''*'"^ ^ « <«•« three- energy, and education are at iLt oS^.^f ""^n!^" '" <=»Pital, of us or our children on thatX wh^^ ^1' *"' beeome L J!^"ty of one in twmty witho^ , "^^ 5"'' """"^'v" the other nineteen, among thoM wh„ -n* ^'"^'' ^"""d among wished to be brothers, Ztthtr we bvn *" '"" "' *at they them strangers to the Republ^',r |y our own act have made sCTtunents were combated by mem W?i3'°"a''Ie and liberal signatures could not belong ♦o k^ =i,'^- ° .¥«"«> that the were actually agitating Sinst the't^'"? ""^«''- ™ce they othera whose intoleranceTM Ln™. Jk°^ ?" franchise, and member already quoted Jhf J^P^ssed by the deiiance of A, a-S its,- irSr^"- - 3 such a way that during th^Crte™ v."' ^'"^ '"^ed in applicant should give ud hirnJ," ^^^ of probation the period he would Really Mon'^'7r' """""aUty, sortat fo?,ha? were held out that1S^y^°s"fble attitud"""^ "' u^"' ^° Cs buiidin^'i'%HX:;!j:„;TK;ied"='^ ■'^^ r You see that flag?' said he ° r?i ,!i "P ?' ""e national fl^- " -" -" '' "o^-- Hfs ^a^imoIft/aS^^rm^^/^ ^ THE CAUSE OF QUARREL »3 thZ. • ■ ^"'Khem, fnends, thieves, murderers, newcomers, and TTJZ*1„hf =°"?''«?'y opening of one of hi, public addrisses. ^^t^^J^? ..only thirty-two mUe, frim Pretoria, and though the State of which he was the head depended for its r^mue upon the goldfields, he paid it only thrJHislts ii ni),e This settled animosity was deplorable, but not unnatural. A man unbued with the idea of a cUen people, and unread in any book save the one which cultivates this very idea, could not be expected to have learned the historical lessons of the advanuees whidh a State reaps from a liberal policy. To him it was as if the Ammwiites and Moabites had dananded admission into the twe^e tribes. He mistook an agitation against the exclusive poi y of the State for one against the existence of ihe State Itself. A wide franchise would have made his republic firm- based and permanent. It was a minority of the UitUnders who Bad any desire to come into the British system. Thev were a CMmopolitan crowd, only united by the bond of a coiimon in- J^ ?^' J^ "Mjonty of the British immigrants had no desire l^H ♦h"-'*^'-^"!'- ?"♦ *■"" "«^ "'hw method had failed! and their petition for the rights of freemen had been flung back at them, it was natural that their eyes should turn to that flag whu* waved to the north, the west, and the south of them^ the flag which means purity of government with equal rights and equal duties for all men. Constitutional agitatiwi was laid Sw^isTrisfag* """^^^'^ ™- «"<' everything prepared for an ni^.*^ ^ arranged that the town was to rise upon a certain night, that Pretoria should be attacked, the fort seized, and the Jl.*?!,.*"^ ^^nmun't'on used to arm the Uitlanders. It was a feasible device, though it must seem to us, who have had such Z^^""""^ °i *? "'""'> virtues of the burghers, a very desperate one. But it is conceivable that the rebels mi^ht havi held Johannesburg until the universal sympathy whi*h their cause excited throughout South Africa woild have caused GrSt matX h° '"*?"«"/■ Unfortunately they had complicated ?^Lr ^; fif*"?-^ ^'"' °"""'*.''*'P- Mr. Cecil Rhodes was Premier of the Cape, a man of immense energy, and one who ^L""^"!^''' ""'''=•", '° *' ""P"' Th'J'mo.iv^ of his ^Z fnr °^'™'-V*'*'L"'>'' '^^ """y.^y "»' 'hey were not sordid, for he has always been a man whose thoughts were Urge ^ »-hose habits were simple. But whatever they may have ^,;"n^? .f f '"-'■«8J''»«e<' d^ire to consolidate South Africa under Br.tish rule, or a bu.aing sympathy with the Uitlander. in Is* Chartered Company, of which^SwS. * °l°'"«e^«' country pelled to lay down their a™ Six^ ™h "; ""J' *"« =<""- the skirmish. '• ^"^ burghers lost their lives in Determined attempts have he«, ™.j . Government with this fa^eo ^ tT^^ t° connect the British Secretary and other statSmm werl -^™'' "^' *^'' Colonial impression has been fosterS bvThe ^T'"^^ °/ "• Such an Commission of Inquiry to push their rZ^'T '''""ance of the it IS much to be teerZt^ fw ""^"^ researches to the uttermost « not have ^^^''t'lZ'ZV''^ -^^«- tfa th,s^,3 not done for fSr S Mr ^'T.'.^*^ ">e idea British Government would beTinlirlf^ ..^''^'^'''a'n and the presence of the fact that the CoZfii? '^' ^"^^^ »'«'"•<• in the bers Sir Henry CampW LnneS ilid" s" 't?,-^™^ '*" "c™- ^s It conceivable that thesTraft^r^^ ,f ""..^'"'am Harcourt of damaging the Governmenr or that M '^^l' 'T''* f°r fear afterwards have the effrMtenr to DuMri "'• ^'^''*"''«'-'^" could knowledge of the businras k Vhr„i ^ """ ^'e^'y deny all had connived a. ^he supiressi™ of tL ^"5 °^ gentlemen who Such a suppo. un is riS™us at v^-f ■'"'•' ^' ''^ ""o*? theory that the Commissioi refrained fror^ 't.-^^o'ved in the ?ir^n"r;^r ^^"™ " -rw^'n^'-'ct.^^i; mfeXtTs°a'ar/e/"-\°' ^^- ^--berUiin smd a man with some sense of n,^?!!L!^ ' ^ ""^ °f resolution should t^ used forTn Td" ?s fuTa Z'U" "?^ "«=»"'' *hkh record of the burghers, the sort of mLT; ^'^'"^ ""* ""'tary of their country by 5^ pohcemen^H .""""" *' "■« "^ion be hkely. even^if L'ZZ^^T .^.i^Lf^H^J Would he ^ approved of the g^re^rTa^; J^^^^^e THE CAU:^E OF QUARREL »5 l^Id l^^""" ?"? °' '°"y- ^''- '«'""» sanctioned it, .wJnt^,^., O**"^ °/ Pu"'P°^ " '° *->^«' «»"Ketic steps, the instant that he heard of the invasion, to undo tl^t which he is supposed hunself to l'<»' "hat is the first I^"mos obvious thing which they would have done? Whether Jamescm gflt safely to Johannesburg or not there was evidently a Tob? n^ ,L? " ^"" race-struggle in South Africa. Would they Sf the rJ^.w ' P".'«' ""^ »"°«her, have increased the strength of the Bn6sh force in the country, which was so weak that it tW ffi'^"'"' «° '"«*«="" 'he course of events? It Is cemi^ ^ ^" J°- , ?V' "°**"S °f the kind was done. Mr. Chamberlain s own denial is clear and emphatic • rtJ ,f/^i,'? i"^ '" 'he most explicit manner that I had not then, and that I never had, any knowledge, or until, I think it was the day before the actual raid took ^ace, the sighted sus- of^the Transvaal.'-CBntish South Africa Committee, 1897 q! The Earl of Selborne, Under-Secretory of State for the Col- onies, was no less explicit : rfi^^'i't!'' '''*"^ "?■ **. ""y siibsequent period prior to the raid 4d we know of what is now called " J^eson's plan," nor Sat the revolution at Johannesburg was being largely con roUed and financed from Cape Colony and Rhodesia. Sir Her- ™l™^^^ P,'^^''l'' S? '"'P'"°" °f «'■'*' «'=» inipcnd'ing, nor ap- parently Presidoit Kruger, nor Mr. Hofmeyr, nor any publ^ man m South Africa, except those who were pr^aring theT; PLT/r^r"- "" *'"' ''^'"' ">*' *™™ "° quarter did the CoS Office receive any warning. I submit, therefore, it would have t^us.' »'"°^dinary thing if any suspicion had occurred «f Til' ^t^'"^ "' the Committe^a Committee composed of men of all parties, some of whom, as we know, were yearning ' to Sve joe a fall —was unanimous in condemning the raid and eoually ofTTheiX^-rt^SSf ""■ ^^'^""""" '^-^ '"^ ^-"=''«' ' Your Committee fully accept the statements of the Secretary lif' the plot during i„ developm™ ' ' " '"^ °^ '^°"' »"*« of c™clc-bSd° Jtt1?r i^ i'hr^ou'/"' 'r™ °f '«^ of . few an« pr^tntT P«rt of which wa. unde"'h" h«iS^5'.93«. S'-, 3- refrained from making some effo^,^ hi. country woulrf have which had already caused^Sch ^Svl m""""^ * "»'' °' 'hing, obviously become more serious wfthev,^^"' ?"'' *'''^'' ""•" Paul Kruger had hardened hfs heart .Ti ^'" "'« P""""- But The grievance, of the Uitlanders SSi "rl *" "°^ «° "^ '""ved. one power i„ the land to whYch^'J:rill'''l'? ""• Th< for «)me sort of redr«. =.,r,i7.i. ■ ^ "*'' heen ab e to aooeal Now it was decr^ Xt Z •"-'■ "?"■"" "'^^ 'he law coum yolk.ra.d. tKi Uu^lrprotel"."'' "^ "'^^"'^ ^^- datum of his high office Md he »« -1^ ^'^" ^"'^ » ''«8ra- without a pensioS. The Ju^e who had J^J"^ J" .'=°"»«I"«Ke was chosen to fill the vacanfy ^d th^ ^°"'"™"ed «he reformers wa. withdrawn from the Uhfandirs P™'""°" °f ^ fixed law int^r^Son^Tr„:]J;i,;^^„^rt ^^r^ '° — *-<= ^7, *hich the newcomer, "ufffred'ri »"". 'he- grievance, bchalk Burger, one of thi. m«c. i-u " , "f chairman was Mr proceedings^ere thorough Tnd im'^L'?^- f 'i}^ «°*"' '"•'The report which amply viXated Z^^i"^' ^' ■■""" «»» » remedies which would have Jon, .1 ■^*'°™«n. and suggested the Uitlanders. With such f^L, 1°"/ way towards satiffying the r'^J^ "■' f>^»'hfse' w" f hTv:'b^telr ''*'•' ""^"^ the President and his Raad wo, u 1! ," pressing. But Hons of the commissioa The ™i^7^T' ?' ""* '«-^o™™enda- Schalk Burger was a traitor t^!^ ^ autocrat declared that »«ch a docu^menr^d a new ^ctlLiirc'^ ^°^ """'"^ *'«""«• to report upon the report. Words S^n^^"™'"" *"» *°sen come of the affair. No JnriinLf^ ^^" ""^ 'he only out- But at least they had agair^'r^e^caT' IS- ?" "*""""=". and It had been 'endorsed by ^he m^t res^r^n"'/ u^" '''°"^' Gradually in the press of the EngSsoeaK /^ !''? '""•^''"»- was ceasing to obscure the issue More ^nrf^ ""',"" "^^ '"™ «^e from the .hooting S? a JohannesbuT iClti^^ .h^ L?°*' P°''=«™n. Jo"", in ^^ from thlTlIotii,gitrp't'''°""' '^■"°" "»" -"^ «- i-<^ Indg^C^f ^eS!ni^gr„t&t '"'•^•-' *" '"'» ^^ >»» deprived of all oolitical rio-htc !?»""*"? '?""• They are st 1 government ol tVZ'^LT&y^. ^^'?:^i^' T*-' " ""^ ments of the country the rev^f,^ If 1. u ^"""^ "" '«'••''■«- devoted to objects wSchkeeoIh^e,^^ I''^"'' " "'""PP'^d and feeling of irritation witS f„?„ ""T' *"■* *«="-f°"nded intereft of the S: MSm™nisT,^tiI''LnH™"T«- "'^ 8""="' moneys go hand-in-hand wiThn,f,i ? peculation of public adopted fo put a stop to the ^Xr-Th^'J^T"'' ■™"''^"'" W chUdren is made subkct to ?m^„- J ^''."■*?"°" °f Uitlande? afford no ad^uate ~To„Tth, r ^°"'^"'°"'- The police inhabitants ofloh^neXgthev are Xr'"'' ^"'^"'i °' '^'^ '°.'];%Pi-e aid safety of the l^i^I^dTr^'uS" °' **"«" n4^t&r^rpotrtKri' '^.^ begi„. go THE WAR : ITS CAUSE ANn CONDUCT *ubjecu lince the enactment nt >h. i . „ now been applied ^0^" to dellv^^Kil^^u ™» POwer hu inherent >«t italitnMt t»»ht'lZ f ^^^ "« »»^ « Uie "Wely, hi. right ^iri« hf L°' "^"y 1'*'*^ "bjecf- utmoM the l«niu.« iS^^TJ' ^7T«?- Stiminlng to the h«ve arrested t^riti.h S" wL* « '^r^'^' G^^nunS? peWion to Your Majesty M^h.^^fT"*** J" P'*^tin» • jyb^^t. Not content iriththU tie rJ""' '^°''"»°'* '«'"°w- M«je«ty'. loyal •ubjecte ^ta attJl', ^'T""™'- ^hcr Your before Your Maiestrrt..^«-i^?^P'*^ '° ""> 'heif grievance. «nd the object. S "t^i K^ed hv .'".:!$"^/S ** b^™ S" by Government official, and ^t^^Ln^l"^ ^"' o^gmisid pohce. By rea«,n,Therefore o??h, ^'L*^' Protection of the "^^■^ pi'^'ted^f-rHV^'^^^^^^^ '^•^IV:V^B'^^^'^ M^^^^ 'HeirVevaiS: protectiontoYourMa.S'.li!if^v'° ""°"' Y°"' Maj'i.t/, and to cau« an mu^V t^l^f^^l^ '*'.'•'"" *" thi.^St«e! Plamts enumenited^i7.e° fort^fn th f h^"'K?"'" "<' «=""- to direct Your Maiesty's representall n ^""l?"*?^"""- "«> mea.ures which will insure t?,.^i 1" ^°'"'' ' •'^'<- ' take plained of, and to obSn .ubsunS!? '' "'°™ °' '^e abuses ^. n.«t of this Sute fo a r^Sin?^;^'^ ^^ "« Govem- subjects.' recognition of their rights as British to tS We'L°Mttf''" Pf""°" '«»» ""r ill-used people Sometimes the Tfa^^w^,'^"-'^ »^vij.bly toward,""oSe'^'i the stream always ^ s^ffth^^^H ^„f "** *°™«'™es smooth, bu ever louder in the e^. "'^ ""* ""e roar of the fall wuided Chapter III: The Negotiations THE British Government and the British people do not desire any direct authority in South Africa, Their one supreme interest is that the various States there should live in concord and prosperity, and that there should be no need for the presence of a British redcoat within the whole peat peninsula. Our foreigfn critics, with their misapprehension of the British colonial system, can never realise that whether the four-coloured flag of the Transvaal or the Union Jack of a self-govemiinr colony waved over the gold mines would not inake the difference of one shilling to the revenue of Great Britain. The Transvaal as a British province would have its own legislature, its own revenue, its own expenditure, and its own tariff against the mother country, as well as against the rest of the world, and Britain be none the richer for the change. This 18 so obvious to a Briton that he Hrs oea.^«d to iiijist upon it, and It IS for that reason perhaps that it is so uniwrsally misunderstood abroad. On the other hand, while she is no gaiper by the change most of the expense of it in blood and in money falls upon the home country. On the face of it, therefore, Gre»» Britain had every reason to avoid so formidable a task as the conquest of the South African Republic. At the best she had nothing to gain, and at the worst she had an immense deal to lose. Thew was I°2n. "'■ ""'''t'on or aggression. It was a case of shirkine or fulfilling a most arduous duty. There could be no question of a plot for the annexation of the iransvaal. In a free country the Government cannot move in advance of public opmion, and public opinion is influenced by and reflected m the newspapers. One may examine the files of the press during all the months of negotiations and never find one reputable opmion in favour of such a course, nor did one in society ever meet an advocate of such a measure. But a creat wrong was being done, and all that was asked was the minimum change which would set it nght, and restore equality between the white races in Africa. 'Let Kruger only be liberal in the ex- tension of the franchise, said the paper which is most representa- tive of the sanest British opinion, 'and he wiH find tlat the ^-,-1^ 32 THE WA R: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT of full age the full vote^^d he wXh ^ °*- "" '?"''"" ">»><=» stability Ind power wWch^nnnfi^ i^''* «^^" "'« Republic a pleas of this S, a^S nersrsts^f v' "'"• " •"* "=J«" »» possibly stave oS hTevU Sv ,?/" P^sent policy, he may garchy for another few W' b^t Z'^'^T ''•? t^'"'^'='^ °«- The extract reflects the t^one of all the BrinTh" ** '"^l""^' exception of one or two oaoer, Jh i •i"'' .P'*" *"•> 'he persistent ill-usage of our'^eo^ e .„H .h""/"*"?* ^^^ «^ the culiarly responsible for the^ln thS^ slt", ^5 """ •"'' *^" P*" mterfering in the intemalTffa"rs of the Re^l,"°' {"'"'^^ "' '" denied that the Jameson RaiH h,^ i ^^P^hhc. It cannot be who wished to iitXe ™fclllTonTh '.f* 1°'^'- °' '""^^ jects. There was a wm.P h,S *J ^ " ^^^^ °^ B"«'sh sub- the capitalists were enXenW T f"'^?'' *r""« '^at perhaps It is dVult to ima^ne how^'^statlor^n'"';*'!^"*" ™'^»- to say nothing of a state of w,r . v""'^"t and insecurity, capital, and s^urel/iffcbti^u,' that TLtV° 'I' \dvantage^f using the grievances of tfc™itlander« f^fT? "'*-^hemer were way to checkmate him would be t^ ~ °r '"''■' the best The suspicion, however dTd exist L^ T"^ "'°" grievances, the obvious ax^d mamifv the r.™V? "5 '^'' *''° '*e to ignore tions the hand orcfeLYBrLTnTas wilJ^T''"".' *^-^«ia- had doubtless calculated that it would^ h„^' ^" adversary fussy and faddy minority ^' "^ *" earnest but petitir;ra"yin''g''SrS;:;fo'„\'o''^hei"^l? ^"'-""^ «"' their April previou/a correspTndS^ce had been";' '""""^k S'"« the Leyds, Secretary of State f^ fh- c !t ¥?'PS 'so clear that Great Britain haTbe^ tricked Ind "T Tr^« 't is a position, since she had r«:eivS TonuJf Jockeyed into such convention, and even the most cables" of Cnr" T 4''' '«°"<' could hardly have been expected i^ tL» Colonial Secretaries something L nothing Bm the conwi^f^: " ^"^ ^"bstantial the academic question of wVa7a su.Sv ■™"'5rl!' ^"^ "P"" admitted a power of veto over their fo^eS^ "V ^' J^^^-'svaal mission in itself, unless they openlv tore uf th*^ '''' ^"^- '''^ »<'- deprive them of the pbsitior^fTstlr^Pstete ^"^™*"" ' """* THE NEGOTIATIONS 33 But now to this de> ire. ..l.kh h?d so little of urgency in it A« seven months mte vered betv.eei, statement and reply, there came the bitterly vitol .;u(-:tion of th ,• wrongs and app4l of the f^,rt -.^ "T °' """"' ^^'=*'" «'''° •«<» >»«> appointed by a Conservative Government, commanded the respect aAd con- ^J^"°* ?" P!"f S" '""^f " *"' "''" °f "" able^lear headed man, too just to be either guilty of or tolerant of injustice. To him the matter was referred, and a conference was arranged ^T/o ''"''^' K™e" '"d him at Bloemfontem, the Tpiul of the Orange Free State. They met on May 31, , goo. ^ There were three different classes of subject which had to he discussed at the conference. One included aU those alleged breaches of the Convention of London which had caused so much fnction between the two Governments and which had thrice in raghteen years brought the States to the verge of war. Among these subjects would be the Boer annexations of native territorv such interference with trade as the stopping of the Drifts the question of suzeramtjr, and the possibility of arbitration The second class of questions would deal with the grievances of the UitUnders which presented a problem which had in no way been provided for in the conventions. .The third class contained the question of the ill-treatment of British Indians, and other causes of quarrel. Sir Alfred Milner was faced with the alterna- tive either to argue over each of these questions in turn— an endless and unprofitable business— or to put forward some one test-question which would strike at the root of the matter and prove whether a real attempt would be made by the Boer Gov- ernment to relieve the tension. The question which he selected was that of the franchise for the Uitlanders, for it was evident that if they obtained not a fair share— such a request was never made— but any appreciable share in the government of the coun- try, they would in time be able to relieve their own grievances and so spare the British Government the heavy task of acting as their champions. But the conference was quickly wrecked upon this question. Milner contended for a five-years' retroactive franchise, with provisions to secure adequate representation for the mininpr districts. Kruger offered a seven-years' franchise coupled with numerous conditions which whittled down its value very much ; promised five members out of thirty-one to represent half the male adult population ; and added a provision that all differences should be subject to arbitration by foreign powers— a condition which is incompatible with any claim to suzerainty Ihis offer dropped the term for the franchise from fourteen years I- concession froii, the BritiKve^nS "=''^f » most in,portint were impossible to the other ^H^- J^e proposals of each was bacic in Cape Town ^d^^e^dt/V""' ^1' ^"^^-^ Milner nothing settled Scept the extreme S^.^u"^*; '" P"'""" «'«•> ^On June 12 Sir AUnd MttnT °'^'"'}^y °f a settlement. Town and reviewed thsit^at^on ^Th?^„ ? •^•^?"*n'°" « ^^P* races was,' he said 'essoitial w c II ?"■?='?'« of equality bf where mequahty existed fcl ^°^ ^S"'^„.^"'=^ Thel„e gJate policy was one not of agression h.f If . '" ^ '*™''- O"' could not, however, Sfefnto inri ff/r "^'"^P"'"*""' ""^'ch Kruger addressed the if, 'd' The oSeT-H ^7° •'"^^ '"'" we tittle and I could not give mor^r^' ^"^ T ''"""'^^'^ by us. I do not want war^butT will ^ •' ''"^^^ ''°°<* Although our indet)enH«ir» L. ?^ ' "°' P^e more awav restore! it.' He s^e ^^ft'h tjritv ^"h "'l!™.''"''^' ^odS %TS'tc°h'dtir'£^ rr -^^ ^- -" "' ""^' that an earnest national^ff^^ c^ i^^** ''°"' «^«"«1 it was In it he said: ^*°" ''"""''^ "^ "^de to set it right temp^e^ SsweH JthatT£ '», "Y^fwhelming. The only at- But, in fact, the-pSicy'oTfea^M' ^''T^'T iHeft aCe. for years, and it has led Vn f^^^!J- ? ''°"^ ^as been tried s not true that this s owi^'^'^^"^ 'T -^^^ '° ^°'^- ^ from bad to worse before tWra?riw ^^^^ *"« K°ing .caving things alon. a nt J^a^e'S^fcd°w^;%Mi^ - nenj^„'^hr^,tr-^^^^^^ sr=:^^-;-;a£»^:^yr^r tation of Great Britain within^he QWs Soiil^™" T"^ '^"■ of the press, not in the Trai^svaTl^w °°""''}°"^- A section constantly the doctrine of a r^„hl^ l^' P'"^':hes openly and and sup^rts it V m^acinVrer LeT to^^^^^^ "" ^°"'* Africa Transvaal, its alliance with fhe O^^r^'^'i^rZZt^. THE NEGOTIATIONS 35 sympathy which, in case of war, it would receive from a section of Her Majesty's subjects. I regret to say that this doctrine, supported as it is by a ceaseless stream of malignant lies about the intentions of Her Majesty's Government, is producing a great effect on a large number of our Dutch fellow-colonists.' Lan- guage is frequently used which seems to imply that the Dutch have some superior right, even in tl.is colony, to their fellow- citizens of British birth. Thousands of men peaceably disposed, and if left alone perfectly satisfied with their position as British subjects, are being drawn into disaffection, and there is a corre- sponding exasperation upon the part of the British. ' I can see nothing which will put a stop to this mischievous propaganda but some striking proof of the intention of Her Maj- esty's Government not to be ousted from its position in South Africa.' Such were the grave and measured words with which the British pro-consul warned his countrymen of what was to come. He saw the storm cloud piling in the north, but even his eyes had . not yet discerned how near and how terrible was the tempest. Throughout the end of June and the early part of July much was hoped from the mediation of the heads of the Afrikander Bond, the political union of the Dutch Cape colonists. On the one hand, they were the kinsmen of the Boers; on the other, they were British subjects, and were enjoying the blessings of those liberal institutions which we were anxious to see extended to the Transvaal. ' Only treat our folk as we treat yours I ' Our whole contention was compressed into that prayer. But nothing came of the mission, though a scheme endorsed by Mr. Hofmeyr and Sir. Herholdt, of the Bond with Mr. Fischer of the Free State, was introduced into the Raad and applauded by Mr. Schreiner, the Africander Premier of Cape Colony. In its original form the provisions were obscure and complicated, the franchise varying from nine years to seven under different conditions. In debate, however, the terms were amended until the time was reduced to seven years, and the proposed represen- tation of the Goldfields placed at five. The concession was not a great one, nor could the representation, five out of thirty-one, be considered a generous provision for half the adult male popu- lation; but the reduction of the years of residence was eagerly hailed in England as a sign that a compromise might be effected. A sigh of relief went up from the country. ' If,' said the Colonial Secretary, ' this report is confirmed, this important change in the proposals of President Kruger, coupled with previous amend- ments, leads Government to hope that the new law may prove to i I ^e£ir*°'^'°Sr^^^^^^ Sir Alfred accepted the principle fo^whfchM. "\' '^^ President,- ha "„ J P^"" 1° "consider Z detan oFh''^™,,'°"'»''«'' «^l"b^ showi, to be a possible hindrance t^fh /?,''*'"* «'•>*<='' "^n be t°^>"i,"^ view, and tha" h" will no, fil^"" .S"°'"P'«'™«>t of or reduced in value bv anv ..Tk. ,°* ""m to be nullified acts of administration ' A^ .^"•»«l"ent alterations of the law or he crisis to be at^ end • If thlT. 'IT "'"= ' Times ' dXeJ liaye induced their brtthren L^h, t* ''«««"«> of the CaS b.11 they will have deferCS tSe U J"*"'^^ '° <=»fO' such'^ the.r own countrymen ^d of thi Fn^r^;'"''V<*'' "<« only of Af-.ca, but of the British Emo re ,nH^ 'f V'°'°"'*'^ '" South The reception of the idea that the rri^- °^ ""' """^^d world" a conclusive proof how litt e it wL h "? "i"? =' ^ «"! is surdv fi't h-"'.'' ''»'' '° ^« '" ^"^'''"'' "'« S tions of detlTa?;°:'^hicrw\r ^"'7" '° "^ --^ast. Ques- promises of tfc "A^Td^f S t '' " '"' £f ' "'" ""-^ the The seven years offered L~V ^' '"S'^'ed upon Kuarante« ' S.r Alfred Mitoer had dS^d'^n ?!*" "^"^^ ^ flSThlSi The difference of two ve^. d to be an irreducible minimum ceptance, even at the ex^LT''' ""l'"^^^ hinder^T"ac" tentative; But there wer'^ondUi™T»vT"'="'°" «° <>"' «p?e drawn up by so wily a dfp?omat s?^VS'* ^^^^^^ '•"trust wh4 aspired to burghershin had m ^ ' !i °"' **^ that the alien w^ ^S^^'''^'?*''' ^"'^p^out o/^heTor'^ wire What could an Oppositiw do i? a vote of th. r" ^' "»J°"ty at any moment unseat them all? n , Government might which contained such prori^iois must £ "''*' """ " ">««ure before a British Governmem could™ccet,Mt7P' ^'^/^''^ ^^^ and a complete concession of iusticeroTsas""MXr' T rwmmifmk. THE NEGOTIATIONS 37 hand, It naturaUy felt loth to refuse those cUuses which offered some prrapect of an amelioration in their condition. It took the l^^'. ^X", °^'- of suggesting that each Government should appoint deleptes to form a joint commission which should in- A,.o.^.f , °^:u The proposal was submitted to the Raad u^n August 7, with the addition that when this was done Sir Alfred »1™l""*u"'.P'?'""'^ V' '""="" anything else, including arbitra- tion without the interference of foreign nowers. Ihe suggestion of this joint commission has been criticised as an unwarrantable intrusion into the internal aff-rs of another country But then the whole question from the , hning was about the internal affairs of another country, since there could be ^hlV 't1 Sou'h Africa so long as one race tried to dominate the K«t;. 'La% '-2 '"S«^^'' analogies, and to imagine what l?Zt r"'i''° 'f Ge'™a?y were to interfere in a question of i^rench franchise. Supposmg that France contained neariy as ma^y Germans as Frenchmen, anj that they were ill-treated, Oermany would mterfere quickly enough and continue to do so mitil some fair modus vtvendi was established. The fact is tl™ f\^'' °u ""^ Transvaal stands alone, that such a condi- tion of things has never been known, and that no previous pre- J^^lT T'r *".,"' 'T "•' general rule that white men who are heavily taxed must have some representation. Sentiment r^hrsM:o?Britar"" "''""• ""' ""°" ""* j"'"™ ^^ ="' fhi^r^r^''*''^J°"°*f^ upon the proposal of the Secretary of t\u -r^u ^° ■^P'y ^^' forthcoming from Pretoria. But u- l t i^u*"* '?'"^ evidence that those preparations for war which had been quietly going on even before the Jameson Raid were now bemg hurriedly perfected. For so small a"ta?e awr- rifl~ »TL"'"* ^'"^ '5™* "P°" ""*«"> equipment. Cases of rifles and boxes of cartndges streamed into the arsenal not onlv from Delagoa Bay bat even, to the indignation of thi Eng^sh colonists, through Cape Town and Port EUzabeth. Huce rack i««-cas^, marked 'Agricultural Instruments ' and 'Mining Ma- chinery ' arrived from Germany and France, to find their places m the forts of Johannesburg or PretorU. As early as May the Orange Free State President, who was looked upon b? he simple and trustful British as the honest broker who was about Xf^^ht^"- wf writing to Grower, the Transvaal official, haTri, ^'^" "l^th-^ 'wenty-five million cartridges which m^ilf^i^ imported. Th , was the man who was posing as mediator between the two parties a fortnight later at Bloanfonfein. hi 38 THE WAR; ^^°^'^^Z'^ThT^ ^^d ^ ^""'"^ - .he leth. wj-re enough to fumi,hfive ,0 "verTlSfT T''^"^ ">« «»'«« ^e .n,po.tation of ammunitio^ t« ™ the « '"• "'^ '=°""*'y- For what were these fnrn,;i.ilr °" "^ s*"* Plfantic scale war with Great BriU^rd'^XP/l'^S^--' ^^'t"'^ ^ » a defensive war that a <;tJ». a defensive war. It is not in every man of Dutch bkJ^n r°"u'1 "'*"°" ^fies to ar^ British reinforc^'^Jts Si^''^ ^hole of S?uth Africa^ To Transvaal was obviously prebSnlfor ^*^ "'t y^" '^at the eloquent fact lies a complete or^f,, " ^'Wsle. In that one ^^^-^Z^^:^^^ ..ere was was still some Peeks' & Z ra^ Sdr'i '''". ^'"' ^"^ then must not be unduly hurried wWll f^ '*''*,. Negotiations, British public waited weeTafS? week for 2^^'^^^ ^^ *« was a imit to their patience anrT^ "" f"'*"- But there when the Colonial Sj^reS^'.h" '^ was reached on August S which is as unusual ^t^isweToir-" » P'?'"""^ ofs^h' question could not be hung up forever ^iru^'P^'^y- that Ae down m the glass,' said hi ' If fh™ ^''^ ^""^^ ^^ running ourselves limTted by tha? which we\?v" °T *i ''«'" "°' hoW having taken the matter in h^d Z -u ^''^*''>' offered, but, have secured conditions which once £0^,"°. f* " ^ ™'" we is the paramount power in Son»w< • ^" 'hall establish which Wlow-subjects thS-Ithose "uaf riS,' """^ '>" '^«« ^70" which were promised them by Presidl/V^'' '=^"^' Privileges pendence of the Transvall «S1 „ . TJ Kruger when the inde- is the least that ilT/uX oX*o t- *' ?"''"• '"" *^''* Sahsbury, a short time beforeTn t. ^ ^"orded them.' Lord one in this country wfshes to Ifur^e"^"""^ "^P^"'''-- 'No >t IS recognised that while The' " conventions so long as the Tran^,, „„ ?»^ one side The^^'f"'"*. '^^ '"^epende^f o f'vil rights for settlers of au'nati^f^f'^""' ""'^' P°"«<=^ »"d once de.tt.yed%hey'"rl;e^-S"r^^^-3.d ^^ .^^. ^,„d' I^PP" ;^ '" '-"WIS-' THE NEGOTIATIONS 39 «h«pe.' The long-enduring patience of Great Briuin was begin- ning to show signs of giving way. Pressure was in the meanwhile being put upon the old Presi- dent and upon his advisers, if he can be said ever to have had any advisers, m order to induce him to accept the British offer of a joint committee of inquiry. Sir Henry de Villiers, representing the highest Africander opinicai of the Cape, wrote strongly pleading the cause of peace, and urging Mr. Fischer of the Free fatate to endeavour to give a more friendly tone to the negotia- tiorts. Try and mduce President Kruger to meet Mr. Chamber- lam m a friendly way, and remove all the causes of unrest which have disturbed this unhappy country for so many years.' Similar advice came from Europe. The Dutch minister telegraphed as follows : 'August 4, 1899.— Communicate confidentially to the Presi- dent that, having heard from the Transvaal Minister the English prop"* that whh pass away; and, finally that ,^f ""J"'' ''"^'' '"'erference would ended by reminding the Govern™. . ; ^''^'^'''a'n s despatch were other matterf of disDut?T ' °l *' Transvaal that ?here ments apart from the frSue Zf,^l^"" "■' two GoveS^! have them settled af fi,. ' ?"° """t it would be as w»ll .„ could not be bridged. &e Tr»1^' ",'^™» incredible tha^it alliance of the Orange FrefstIt^;lJ*Si,^^'f«="^« "°w ofihe was ripe for rebellion; and ft k^Jl'tL^^^i!^^ '^at the Colony '00 guns it was infinitely the stmi« v* ^'"^ 'aval'y and One cannot read the negotiati^?'f,1!LTl''?'y P°*" '" Afri^ m«nTr """^ -"«« to "ucS '^'S"';' "^'"S convinced thS mean them to succeed was the d^„ i,- i* ^^y which did not for war. De Villiers a fn'SiZ L^>"'' P^"=P?™d all the time Government: ' Throughour?he n^^.'"'.'"^' °' ""e TransvaaJ been wriggling to prevm a clear .^h"""?' ""^^ have alw^ the sequel showed clearlv ™„„tt ^ ^l^'^ decision.' Surelv It WAS fim^ til ^^ On September ^The^afswe? of^h^?'''"^ '""' '° *« situation ~., It was short l^^ tZ^^!^ 'r.^'^^£ THE NEGOTIATIONS A°»Z^.t' 'l^-^hi"- .They reasserted the non-existence S-« u^ """^y- V^' negotiations were at a deadlock. It was f^\u^ r "T ""^y '""'.•! ** ^~P"'«''- I" view o? the am- ng of the burghers, the small garrison of Natal had been ukine up positions to cover ihe frontier. The Transvaal asked for aH explanation of their prcence. Sir Alfred Milner answered ,h^ they were guarding British interests, and preparing agam contingencies. The roar of the fall was sounding\ud ",' ^°°^ these defensive measures, a message was sent to Pretoria, which even the opponents of the Government have acknowledged to be temperate and offering h w" n^u* Pf^"'"' settlement. It begins by repudiating national State m the sai ,; sense m which the Orange Free State IS one. Any proposal made conditional upon such an acknowl- edgment could not be entertained. The status of the Transvaal was settled by certam conventions agreed to by both Govem- maits and nothing had occurred to cause us to acquiesce in a radical change in it. The British Government, however, was prepared to accept the five years franchise as stated in the note of August lo, assuming at the same time that in the Raad each member might use his own language. ° 'Acceptance of these terms by the South African Republic Ih ".".""/emove. tension between the two Governments, and would in all probability render unnecessary anv future inter- vention to secure redress for grievances which the Uitlanders themseves would be .ble to bring to the notice of the Executive Council and the Volksraad. fi,'^" Majesty's Government are increasingly impressed with the danger of further delay in relieving the strain which has already caused so much injurj- to the interests of South Africa !^I '*^ i'ii-: ^m-^ 4> THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CniMmrn-. •nd they earnestly omi Hm. " the present prop45^ if i^i5't.S2^^^'"'* <>!*"''« "pl." to F'^ ^-^^nffi^S r ' — - 'Hi^vS tone that P^elf and pS^^tS^of Tv '""". f " '° «='»'«~«» » united in approvine it^ ,?^ u ■ '"'P '•'»<'« of opinion we« which woulS'^X^he tfflsic^T"^ '" » corresponding rep y Money, Mr. Leonard CoZ?y ^he*-'^?^A*° "»"<»" «/ most strenuous opponents nftt-' ^ ^^''^ Chronic!- '—gU the fied that it was a m«sa™eo? place BuT^' P°"=y-we« iatTs! a complete and abjectVrrS' u«^ r'""« "*''*'"■"«. »ve could have satis.-^.., thei Bom whHJ ?.,'^" °' *« B^tish, ideas of the r ov,-. nilitarv nr^' f ""= "lost exajfeerated our own. The condn^'S 'rc?;ti^''orth"%*''?''^"'^ °' the Transvaal lamb would have rafsX ?= "L'-^S'"'' *°" >nd the outcome of the war wlsll^tl^t!^"^^ '" Pretoria, where S'on. The burghers were ?n L^humorfn' ' ''"'^' '°""^- knew their own po^^r and th.v. , '5"' concessions. Thev &"^^ ?' Kir'The stS^grttrntlrv"'"" '"'?'"*«' Afnca We have beaten EnpLmH^h^f mihtary power in South the hcking that we shall rive her now?' .%''"* " " ""'Wig' " ^™. 'Reitz seemed to treat the whni '='"' ""^ Prominent dti- remarked de Villiers ' I, itLn ""'^ ""^"ef as a bie ioke ■ the Chief Justic^of the '^4^^^? '^'" r. '° «" ? ^ » ^ and Mafeking and ei"e th, P„m\ . * shall take Kimberlev they will sue^for p4ie ' Sufh tre Jhe''.^'^""^ ™ ^atel thj "0n''*sXL''",?t?i•'^^°'^-^^^^^^^^^^ to the me's^^Ie^f f;t°S:"i^awS^ ^^^^ ^r 'G<,ven,ment I-OTdon. In manner it was unl«nd1„5 '5'' '**' Published in substance, it was a complete retrit^f f,"! unconciliatory ; in It refused to recommend or Sr to .t," p' ?""''' ''*™^ds franchise and the other provis'^^^wh.Vh ? /d^" ** ^^'-years' mmimum which the Home SrZ^» '"".S*™ '^'^'^ as the 3:"^"« "justice towarrtheUwSslh '"'^' »? " '«'' nL'^*' of the Raad should be Whn^',»lM"«^""°" "-at Cape Colony and in Onada. -as^ftl^f;' -.^-^^J- -"^the m^'^ZM^ THE NEGOTIATIONS 43 British Goveniinent had sUted in their last despatch that if the rmly should be negative or inconclusive they reserved to them- selves the rifht to reconsider the situation de novo, and to tormulate their own proposals for a final settlement.' The reply had been both negative and Inconclusive, and on September 33 a council met to determine what the next message should be. It was short and firm, but so planned as not to shut the door upon peace. Its purport was that the British Government ex- pressed deep regret at the rejection of the moderate proposals which had been submitted in their last despatch, and that now in accordance with their promise, they would shortly nut forward their own pUns for a settlement. The message was not an ulti- matum, but It foreshadowed an ultimatum in the future In the meantime, upon September 21, the Raad of the Orange free state had met, and it became more and more evident that this republic, with whom we had no possible quarrel, but, on the contrary, for whom we had a great deal of friendship and admira- tion, intended to throw in its weight against Great Britain, isome time before, an oflfensive and defensive alliance had been ' concluded between the two States, which must, until the secret history of these events comes to be written, appear to have been a singularly rash and unprofitable bargain for the smaller one. She had nothing to fear from Great Britain, since she had been voluntarily turned into an independent republic by her, and had lived m peace with her for forty years. Her laws were as liberal as our own. But by this suicidal treaty she agreed to share the fortunes of a State which was deliberately courting war by its persistently unfriendly attitude, and whose reactionary and nar- row legislation would, one might imagine, have alienated the sympathy of her progressive neighbour. The trend of events was seen clearly in the days of President Brand, who was a sane and experienced politician. ' President Brand,' says Paul Botha (himself a voortrekker and a Boer of the Boers), 'saw cleariy what our policy ought to have been. He always avoided oflfend- ing the Transvaal, but he loved the Orange Free State and its independence for its own sake and not as an appendage to the Transvaal. And iff order to maintain its character he alwavs strove for the friendship of England. ' President Brand realised that closer union with the turbulent and misguided Transvaal, led by Kruger's challenging policy would inevitably result in a disastrous war with Englandr 'I [Paul Botha] felt this as strongly, and never ceased fight- ing against closer union. I remember once stating these anru- ments in the Vnlksraad, and wound up my speech by saying nay Heaven grant that r .,« . Strj'c; rJ%r5 jS-^-^ s„"^ "mplete hallucination as mTh. . "■"* '<*™» 'o have be«. . from a subr<''<-'— < "_""'»> 9y race-preiurtir. .,»....i " "'. '"« come to thin Paul Botha, . ,„, a, ,1 ^e up arms against a iTate which h^n'*'""*^ " '° *»mA the support whichTe'^cefveTfromt^ *"'"■'"? "^ "'' Raad, and showed unmistakably tha the tw^ * "i?^""'^ °* his Imrgh^ directed against the Fr^'^StaT sFr "aiV^".!' *<" '" "o wa^ was absolutely no rlir^^J^/ .P'pally. he stated that th«e' most friendly mtentions towards X\t -^"^*"'"'a»e^r^i5!«» THE NEGOTIATIONS 4J ?^tT^. L™' T". '°*»"'* "" Tr.n.va.1, .nd that he ^^ bv S.^™?" °' i'°T' *'■''='' *°"''' >« considered . ^^R-iH J.A^'*'"t- J^ •"'"tquent rewlution of the Free i^l! '*?*'': «"'"1K w«h the wordi, ' Come what may, the Free fh^T™'" '«?'?">'""' '*'*"»"y '"'fil i«» obligadoi, toward the TraittvaiU by virtue of the political alliance eldstinK Z7"m^ ^ f^™St''"' '^r^*' ''T ™r""''' " *" that fhU co^ try, formed by ourselves, and without a shadow of a cause of quarrel w.th us, could be «.ved from being draw^ into the whirU In the meantime, military preparations were being made upon ta t'h^' of'ihTJ^^^r '" ""= "" °' "■' ''"""' and^onsioeriS: »,5!^,^T" '•'■ *• * "T *•"" "•' negotiations had already assumed a very senous phase, after the failure of the BI^^ Britfsh w'"™'! ""^ i'l': despatch of Sir Alfred Mflne^^e fj^ft 7" u ^°""' ^*"" ""« absolutely and absurdW in- adequate for the purpose of the defence of our own frontier Surely such a fact must open the eyes of those who ?n sp^e of A statesman who forces on a war usually prepares for a war and m not'^Th^otr.!!*'- '^"'^" "'•* """"•e'^BritUh LThori^e' Katt^r^Ji,*. ^""? '"""'" P""" had at that date, scattered over a huge frontier, two cavalry regiments, three field tettenes, and s.x and a half infantry batulton™ six thou ^t T- « * T""™' P»*'°"' States could put in he Hd doubled their numbers, and a most excellent artillery u.cluS the heaviest guns which have ever been seen u^^tattefieW At this time It IS most certain that the Boers could hive made U«.r way easily either to Durban or to Cape Town The British W, condemned to act upon the defen^ve, could taveb^ masked and afterwards destroyed, while the main body ofX mvaders would have encountered nothing but ™ ?rreSdar lo«J resistance, which would have been neutillised by thl^TOthl or a,Xri^' °^ "'• °"'* '°J°"''"- I' '' extraordinary &ur Rr^r. .^ '"^u "^^'- *■? "^^ contemplated the possibility of ?he Boers taking the mitiative, or to have understSd that in that case our belated reinforcements would certainl/have Li to land under the fire of the republican tuns Thev rJ^ . ! mUtary risk by their inaction.^utaTSV'^'de'^ cl4Jt: wLh«°of"L"BriTi',h"^ "'"" ""'J ^t' f™™ tHkLghTs or ^tt: sttb^"d'?dedb;?„r* " "^ "'"^^^ '^ '^' *' f i the garri:^ ^ 1^>^Z"^TJ "^^ ^'««' ""^ Minister from Europe, and I»rtly We h "L'.T'?'*'' P""'>' ^f *^ ^IZJat'^^ c Their amVal late i^^^°l S'°°° ?rit'*h teS^ of troops m South Africa to 320S .T^'^l'l"^'' *" """"^ tea contest in tlie open field ^'1, /l?"' *•"**" adequate pltant enemy to whoS^ey were fi'L""= """e™"". mobile; «d to be strong enouTtostTve off ^h°fP°^' ^"'^'■ich proved Tm^X" °" ^"^" --""^-^ wi''i-r!:^7Xfc ni^sa^'ofTe^ejifs'S!!";^?!^^^^^ ^•^'='' "' «>' Cabinet desperate, but was still LcariZi?^ "'1'*"°" •"<" "^^a^ed toT troops were on the spot XSt hJl"l'^l'*° *°"»»"d regula? " *°"«nd Colonffi, but^fil^' 1^^° t/'r^""'"^ "^^ frontier, the attitude of Cane r^„i "?'^ '° '^°''" a ereat hearted «,d might b^^oSl ^hT t^^ 1*? 'V'^"' *hot nught conceivabfy thiWta its we eht il* ^' ^^M Population J^Iars could be spared to defrad^NaS^T'^ "*• ^''"'* '^e could reach them in less thi, a mmrt,' ^ ''°J<=mioKtmaiU hostUmes. If Mr. ChamberSn w?s ™ilJ°"l * ' ""'^^ of bh.«. .t must be confessed that VZ 'AA'.''^^^ The general press est^ted^he forelT.h?"" P« " the field /ran 25«x> to 35,000 men M^l °b 1^^ ''P"''"" ^^ed fnaid of Presidmt Kruge™; 2^d'J'„Z: ^?''T°?' » Pe"onaI of h«. life among the Bo?« c^sidereTS,7l « '"'* ^P™' °"«* too h.gh. The calculation hK assured w'f''™'"' ^ be A very scattered and isolated dSjuK , '" *° '^^ '«»"■ families were the rule, is a m^t Sit tw'„„?°"«^- *'"*' """^e reckoned from the suppos^ nftZV in^ '° Jf *'™«'- Soine years, but the figure givm at that H«. ""^'e during eighteen Others tc«k thef calfuUd™ f^ fiHr^T'lr^"""^™- last presidential election ; but no^e c^IhTm [ °' ''°**" " *•« tions there had been, and tiie fiX^l ''f* "^^ "hsten- than the voting age in the r»ubTs%^e «"d m forecast, m to Ma ^ m THE NEGOTIATIONS 47 According to this the fighting strength of the Transvaal alone was 32,000 men, and of the Orange Free State 22,000. With mercenanw and rebels from the colonies they would amount to 60,000, while a considerable rising of the Cape Dutch would bring them up to 100,000. Our actual male prisoners now amount to 42,000, and we can account for 10,000 casualties, so that, allowing another 10,000 for the burghers at large, the Boer foree, excludmg a great number of Cape rebels, would reach 62,000. Of the quahty of this large force there is no need to speak. The men were bpve, hardy, and fired with a strange religious enthu- siasm. They were all of the seventeenth century, except their nfles. Mounted upon their hardy Uttle ponies, they possessed a mobihty which practically doubled their numbers and made it an impossibility ever to outflank them. As marksmen they are supreme. Add to this that they had the advantage of acting upon internal lines with shorter and safer communications, and OTie gathers how formidable a task lay before the soldiers of the Empire. When we turn from such an enumeration of their strength to contemplate the 12,000 men, split into two detach- ments who awaited them in Natal, we may recognise that, far from bewailing our disasters, we should rather congratulate our- selves upon our escape from losing that great province which situated as it is between Britain, India, and Australia, must be regarded as the very keystone of the imperial arch. But again one must ask whether in the face of these figures It is still possible to maintain that Great Britain was deliberately attemptmg to overthrow by force the independence of the republics. There was a lull in the political exchanges after the receipt of the Transvaal despatch of September 16, which rejected the Bntish proposals of September 8. In Africa all hope or fear of peace had ended. The Raads had been dissolved and the old Presidents last words had been that war was certain, with a stein invocation of the Lord as the final arbiter. Britain was ready less obtrusively, but no less heartily, to refer the quarrel to the same dread judge. On October 2 President Steyn informed Sir Alfred Milner that he had deemed it necessary to call out the Free State burghers— that IS, to mobilise his forces. Sir A. Milner wrote regretting these preparations, and declaring that he did not yet despair of peace, for he was sure that any reasonable proposal would be favourably considered by Her Majesty's Government. Steyn's rephr was that there was no use in negotiating unless the stream of British reinforcements ceased coming into South Africa. As 4« THE WA A: ITS CAUSE ANp CONDUCT g.^ JXc^LL" 'soXc^^'2 *f !"•»"«"« to On October 7 the army reVervM for^fS.w'^! '"^ »? "«1"W- aUed out in Great Britain^^ oLr .• "' u ""^ "^"^s *^ been determined to send a <^side«bi-T' """"^ "«" '^ ^ ParUament was also summo^ li^'^.t/?'" '° South Africa. -.Hj^he ^ed for those ^^i S^^^^^J ^^^^ A'^ouJ^he'S::^^";^^- ^e action , the BHtish in Boers and so precipitated The wa^^Wh*" """™".<™ from the for It puts the cart before the hor« Th/T""'*"*'?" '» »'»'"-d. had mobilised upon September 27 andTw^Tl'""^ '^°"™>"'1m October 2. The railwlyrfcTd bL tiiT* °' 'I' ^'* State on Johannesburg had beeun and »r^. , °^"'' ""e exodus from m^ed by thf stopp^f "f ftralS ^7ie" "'*".'»'' "een ccT which was in it. Th! Brftish Ll^n «»fi««tion of the gold and could not have be^ the^^^^o71? '"^«« «» »" *«, could see such portents and dol^v 1 "■ ^" "° Government ^ry preparations Xh"«ete^ol"IP'..*° "^' *<«« ■»" A. a matter of fact, the BmV ■JfHm / ^^ *^ <="''<="' situation, date of the calling out of^herZ'""" *"! P^P*'"* before the later because the fnaldetik for ^^rli.f'' *»» ?"^ "'"vered It was on October o th,i tl. T^' "°* l^'te ready, of .the British cS ^ce wSrhT''*\''''"'"y procee^ding. arrival of an unexpected )^L7 ■ '"^°"?'« '<> a head by the Govermnent. InSis" wS «'nf ""''"?""" f'°" 'he^^ that the Uugh has up to now 4^ °ifT' " •""'' *>* ^°»fe»«d s.mple and pastoral Cth A*f„^ ne?gfcr "J^^ ""' °' " «>' t'^ that all reinforcements S had ai^v^ '".'I^Uy withd«^ should leave South Africa a«dth,f^^ *.'*'" "" 'a«t year the sea should be soit ScTwi h^ ."l^ *^ ^''^ "°w u^n satisfactory answer' wlthhfo^lSlli'^J'"'-?^- ^"''"^» Government win with ereat i^r^^ "j. ,^*'« Transvaal action of Her Majeahr's^ve^'!!,'* ^njPelled to regard X THE NEGOTIATIONS 49 ' October lo.— Her Majesty's Government have received with f^'l'^/*' '*" peremptory demands of the Government of the bouth African Republic, conveyed in your telegram of the oth October., You will mform the Government of the South African Republic m reply that the conditions demanded by the Govern- ment of the South African Republic are such as Her Majesty's Cx>vemment deem it impossible to discuss.' Chapter IV: Some Points Examined Afferent headings I wiH now ^v^ *"■- ^^^er their space as possible the cr7t,'csmsV^!,"'^u'"«"' *''°« a , . , emment h^ been subjated vlri^ ''5 *" ?"'"'' ^ov- and alternate lines of action haMf^'^.;?""" ^X7^t/r^7'^"\'''"^''''''' » '*' raid power of Mr RZdeV k7f^Jjf*'''"i " '"""^^ >" ^as in tZ should not be' with his ow^ iU^IJ J^P' °$" Englishman, templated an invasion ofX Tt^^T?''- u^« '''« he con- men is absurd. If he did wh"" ^jX," ^'"''f"' of PoUce- strongest steps to rendpr thl Z^ .'"oald he instant y take the !x.ssifiy 'ioTZur^z^i.z^Jtcri.'^^' ^^,»j I_rTr' "« cause of reform Tif.?. backs of the KLSIS!?^ *° "" with 1 rCinJ^.^ . 3- That Briiam ^ttf thTT^S"^ concessions. ^ "" S^et'TeaU-ni^^?-^^^^^^ wealth of Britai^i! ^T" ^"»" »»y holder, norZ,M ."h^ poorer by the v^j ZZJ^^ I? ^'":. She wH^^ S^ more than one-third o/^f efo^dit^' "U' '' ""likely C t>on of the profits of the toS^r^r^^ ?" "* <=overed by <»«- tier fl^ flies ^ ^ _^ ■ '"w is antain the richer because foveming colony, like aU^rtL, ^^I^wvaal wUl be VTelf! fa^ ?«i"er,'^iU oU bu^^irow^^'r*"' *** '^ ""^ power of imposing duties m^riritUh^ *^'^' «V" 't» own pay a British governor lofiw^ iTu*' "e«:handite. They wSl iS,oop/. »^, S„^™°J SSf£^^^ ^ *'" »« expected to ^pTd ten,, but it is not famili^to tSnaLif ^u "J^ °'" British'^s- as sources of direct reven.,. .^wT """pn' who look upon coloni« general, and at^e^e « °, 1"°'''" '=°""'ry. ItiftS^ tmental comments up^"Se™Th??' "Ti^^"- <" 2f ^- the logical sequel ofThrfim and ItT"? Transvaal *«■ wm i 5^,'*?«=°'ered in t£e ^S^** *' '5»' '»'" fought befo" undoubtedly £d weTfT^fd!; tlSL"^ " "'«*'^-Thi. ammient ant of the facts were led awav hv m-, "^^ * *''0 were imor- fact Great Britain and the^L^?,"'," f""es. As a mattlr of democratic communities in the worid%H»" »"«•» the m<^ from sentiment, partly for Dolih^^i ^^^^ Preserve, partly chief, but the will of thf ^^?'hS"^""""='- " he^e^tar^ sl?l''*X"'» ^ his ^r??L"to^^„'2 "p "".q-estion? Stote^ there i, practically universa° Tuffi *' "^^^^^ of the ^tiis^ii^'eiS-Si^idE-Sl'^^^^^^^ o-^-^y, not a democracy. tCtalrt lntSSr.^Li^ S ^f%, t^.' SOME POINTS EXAMINED 5J rate ^r^T. fi?' ^^'T"^ '°°^« ^'°™ *^ °*^r ^f- ThU « ,iS,T^ "* «««idaiicy of one race yver the other, such Te^^^X" "'""* in Ireland in the\ighteenth celitury. I^b^l^i^^r,T,^^'^- " ' "^"^^^ ""> 'he other a moi- f^tv»-i ""' "•« /"?'"= »'««• for liberty and the republic IS^tluTi^H^n Z?^^y' corruption, taxation without ^re- STf^StT " ""* °"~^ '° '^"^ ^"^^ conception 5- 7"Aa* iV wot a strong nation attacking a weak ow — That ?mstX'"1^** *° the sporting i/stinct. of Jh^hu^ InHr.T„ .always be » powerful one. But in this instance it is ,hi int ™»PPl'«»- Tte prepuition for war, the ultimatum, the ravasion and the first shedding of blood, M came f wm the nation which the result has shownlo be the weakeri-lL^n why this smaller nation atucked so audaciously was tfiatthev toew perf««ly weU that thev were at the time far the st«m«r ^^.TJT*' ^^"u- •"^»" '""^ information led S^o nSt fLi^ n^'^ *?"" T"";"' '° •* «» '""^ when B^tain had put forth all her strength. It certainly seemed that they were C h'^i'" this behet. The chief milita^ critics of the Stin^ W decUred that 100,000 men was the outside figure wh"h Bntom could place in the field. Against these theTtaew that without any nsmg of their kinsmen in the Cape the/c^ld pu'^ f^™L .""^J*^"'"' "I"' *"<* 'heir militate history ha'«■ Both U,e Tn.^""? ^^^ who hS The desire upon the paft^f ??"' 'd"- ""Mtration. "^ Bntem denied it. If Ji, T^ "*? "'"national sute r,«^f south Afncan RepubUc rfn«^j ^* ™ quest on whether A. ^siSr;*^ with7uslice.°2,5'^r'Britishr ^"•-''^e^id^tst pjwer, IS a question caoable of kI- V ' ""' to say suMrain >» «nnot arbitrate Tbr^d a^l"i "^'7«' to arbitS S^ors:.^os-^^t£i^tin?>o;x gSe^7hTre°?4^j;'''„^H£^^^ SOME POINTS EXAMINED 5f two at inue. It wu the Trin»v»«l which, after acKeinK to inch ^u nih ^""^ •uddenly to the arbitrament of the Mauser and uic craisot. A^iJ^, '** TT """ u'? "f^'' »fa)uba.-rhtn can be no doubt that our defeat in this skimush had left considerable heart- bunungs which were not aUayed by the sub«equent attitude of ^-25*"i^'* *"' «»»uniption, testified to by Bryce and other friendly observers, that what we did after the action was due not to a magnanimous desire to repair a wrong but to craven fear. ^rr **'?"'"' °f the war there was a strong desire on the part of the soldiers to avenge Majuba, which was fully gratified whoi. upon the anniversary of that day, Cronje and Ms 4.000 brav: compuiions had to raise the white flag. Buf'that a desire to avenge Majuba swayed the policy of the country cannot be upheld m view of the fact that eighteen years had eUpsed; that during that tune the Boers had amin and again broken the convertioiw py extendmg their boundaries; that three times matters were m such a position that war might have resulted and yet that peace was successfully maintained. War might very easily have been forced upon the Boers during the years before they turned Uieir country into an arsenal, when it would have been absolutely unpossible for them to have sustained a long canunign That it was not done and that the British Government ronJned patient until it received the outrageous ultimatum, is a proof that Majuba may have rankled in our memory but was not aUowed to influence our pohcy. 8. What proof u there that the Boers ever had any aeeressive dengns upon the Britishf— It would be a misuse of terms to call the general Boer designs against the British a conspiracy, for it was openly advocated in the press, preached from the pulpit, and sustamed upon the pUtform that the Dutch should predominate in South Africa, and that the portion of it which remained under Uie British flag should be absorbed by that which was outside it S)0 widespread and deep-seated was this ambition, that it was evident that Great Britain must, sooner or later, either yield to it or else sustain her position by force of arms. She was pre- pared to give Dutch citizens within her borders the vote, the power of making their own laws, complete religious and political freedom, and everything which their British comrades could have without any distinction whatever; but when it came to hauling dovra the flag, it was certainly time that a stand should be made. How this came about cannot be expressed more clearly than in the words of Paul Botha who, as I have already said was a voortrekker like Kruger himself, and a Boer of the Boers save I ^S&^°"s:i A^^i^r 'Br,?-« ««,.«.,, trine the me " F™»1 V™'^' "ee State I mCL« 'P^^mg this doc- E3q)re.s " was subsidis«1 it tr "'^^^ "™'y Wieve tW aVX:ara;^a^V„tr'.l->the Vollcsstem," written paper, but by fostering ^possible i^^f J^^Xi* *" ''"^ ™» « has done us incal- -^Jt,^ S OME POINTS EXAMINED ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT Brituh (W f,«„ °^"tS »7;?J|' Powr Md the exp'uUion of th. w« on the side ofT TnS>,t^n„^L^,* " "o"' *e God iZ nght on .t, side, will be aTATSde of F„^ ' ^T'l' '*°'"'* " had view with abhorrence any plotti„t Lid S^'>""« "« ""»« hcr^wer and position in L^KththX"? llT ^^rfi I*'**.- We'll see. tf-row of British power fn^omhAfwP'S''*'"*' for the S^ ^y «v?0' iPo..ible means-!^the presf S,?n^r? <=«»*'"»ly »Pread schools, the coUeges, the LerisU^^^' P^'P-'*' Jhe P'"«<»". the the present war, of Which^ R„-^^ u- " ''*' culminated in onpn and the cause Meve me fh ^^ *■" "worker, are the *.t down to pen his ultfSi'umTo Gr A?^ ""''" ?• W- Reitz •nd happiest moment of his life /,^,^^'uT" 'he P«>udest c.S:"^dVfi^ir;;si!srofihe 8;;!^" ^^^^^ °^ ^^e followmg passage from a so«^ H.i- 9"?"^ '^'*« Sute, the fontein in the^lir S? iKfore th7''l ''^ ^""^^ "' B'^" chise agitations: ' * °"°'^ *"« Jameson raids or fran- ■» to be done. We are1^ow°\^S.ran''d"nd are preparing: the way to uke our niacm «™«»« ihe great nation. ofthTworid/ ''"'* <;«.-„« S^^i.°L°?" '■'*■' '•''* "lother. ''• a union of the Statei of South Africa, and thi* has to come froirvrithin n« f^m^th""'- When that i. accompliah^ ^SS" X?^^' ^IJl to1i*SI?n!!l"'HT' *""? '"^.•" 9"»'»*" °f Dutch thought, to ta followed by many ugns that the idea was being pr^red for m practice. repeat, that the fairest and mcW^JS^Hd histonan cannot dismiui the movement as a myth ""'»»»«'> Wlvi',h™,lHlL°"*J";'' "'e't' Why shoulrf they not do so? Why should they not have their own views as to the future of ^veLH""' r^ "'°"''' '*^ "°* endea"o7r ,0 £« one universal flag and one common speech? Why should they not ^ nTL°"' '°'?"'f • " "•'y «"• «"<» P-'h us into the ,2? I «e no reason why they should not. L« them try if therwiU ^1^ , p V L"^ *° P"""" ""»"• B" '« "» have ^ end of ulk about British agression, of capiulist design, upon the goldfield. hive b^TT^?'." ^°"lu^^'- "■? '" "'*^^" vSi whSh Stw.rT " '" •^f ""= •""«■ Let those who talk about ^^f^'T "T "" [^^"P '"™ 'heir attention for a mmnent to the evidence which there is for republican desiens wC^"'""'"- h^ "i«"L"fl«t that in the firitisS^ysSl f?i^n™ I- ' ■'i'?'' '"."•?" ""'i^" ""«""• "hich the ^uest freedom lies, which stands for universal liberty, and which for reaction and racial hatred. Let them ponde/ and m,wer all this before they determine where their s™pathies lie Long before the war, when the British public and the British J^f^?^*^' ^^ *™7 ^o^fidw" that the solution would hs found m peace, every burgher had been provided with his n«e, his ammunition, and his instructions as to the nart which he was to play in that war which they looked upon « cem^ A huge conspiracy as to the future, which might be verbally discussed but which must not be written, seems to have pre^ vailed among the farmers. Curious evidence of it came into my own hands m this fashion. After a small action at which I ,^ present I entered a deserted Boer farmhouse which had been part of the enemy s position, and desiring to carry away e le souvenir which shouTd be of no value, I took some i^pers which ap^Ted o be children s wnting-exercises. They were so, but imone them were one or two letters, one of which I append in all it! frankness and simpUdty. The date is some fourte^Heeks bef^l f I Il'-» ■ PlETEK WlESE.' and Queen. Th^l **'•.*"« '" the Raarf «.„. ^ ^'n« It one is sfrnpl^a iXf? '<:^',''°. b«ause if Zl B^^^fH""**"?/ "■»« to^he«°b^,''T' *" P°«"" they taS^f Chapter V: The Negotiations for Peace T™ wS,Th^/H'°"P','° ?'"'« th' history of the war not in the spirit of a Uwver nr^nW I •'^'^J '"'•J«^'= '" """. endeavour to depict thrmltteTTh^is ."'■' *"!' "'l^ "> ''°""« differ from the ition ri r of Ae l^tUhr *''^ ^ ""''"'^ '° generals in the fieM i„ ,^- u '^""s" Gk)vemraent or of the tionTnSkSg fSace td «^f, ' *!!' ''^'" ""h «-' quS! blame for not^ hS ^^.^wTZ °* '"■ '^' ^""«'' »« '» 'th^'r.°n'i'°" '--^'"'^-^^^ "'"' '"'^' Th^ C:Sf„to'B*"s"Te*rtoi"H '^^r^' "X" "«°rious. PM«1 to them into ^t^^chlTl^l- ^'^" ^''J '"«'" f"'-:" op- e genius of S,™ Robe*^ 'S?"'^ °i*« relieving fonS',^ Bo.« were driven baSTfoIke fim'' ?l ^''°'* Sti« ' rSe the first time there ^efiS^ ^L°K^'" '="?''"'»• Then fo? by ^/^ranW;4X°L'^^,r»"'^ who have « with which South AfrKnow h™/"°'5' """^ ~°"°™'= ™^ ^e ^iSt'-o'ft^Tri^r^i?^^^^^^^ »rarS ^^'4^^"^-^%ZrZt°L^' '^«^"" °f various bemg earned on with the «r^urS.se of nn^ "^ ."^^^ «nd « estys authority in South aLv,^^ j ,''"'^*'™"iinK Her Mai. ^tration overfall &SS?^AfL"^'i„^i,°' ''*!''"? iy^ActoS^- Gc«remn,ent, we consider i o^r"Z™l!l^ ^ "" Majesty's ^.=JVu*'e ""dertaken sole°y as a Vfl'^"'^ '° "declare t4t Pard the threatened indepenL"e ofV?- « '"if"i"'« ^o "Re- public, and IS only continued^ order ?n. ^°""' African Re- mcontestable independence of b^thR^ ^"'^ ""d safeguard tf^ national States, aJ^to obufa, the ^f"*"''" "' ^overe^ l„te"! Majesty's subjects who iSve ^k» 47*^,^' "^' "-ose of Her surfer no harm whats'oever ?n -^cTnr T* "' " "*« ^" 'h^ On these conditions, but o^7SJ^ '^ S'^'*''- now, as in the past desiroL^f ^ "Conditions alone, are we South Africa, anT^f pS„ an ™T,f f^'' r^stabiish^ Tn over South Africa; while, if ?ler Maie,°'?r *"■* "°* "^"g ^Z*'' '? ^"""y the indep»denceTf^th„^'''"'"°'t»deter- nothmg left to us and to oSrSe hi . R«P«bUc., there is m the course already begun Kite "f Z P«"evere to the end eminence of the BritishE^o"re '^fi^ '?' overwhelming p,^ hghted the ^"tinguishabkCoffiSle'^/f;!;^ ^'{wg THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 63 feelingsof honSf theBS ^ ''"'"«i°" "ight hurt the of the%ritisrE"pfr '''4"'^^\P^^,^,''?' "°^t'«'t the prestige capture of one of our fore«bvH^M,"l'.'^ "'^'"■*'' ''>' ^^ are thereby forced to e^.,^.„fh Majesty's troops, and that we- had occupied, ttS^tdfficXToverir"'""' *^''='^ °"^ '°^"» clearly to inform your cSv^^^mJ', ^i"* '^,"° '°"«" hesitate the /hole civifoed' :;rW wSTw" a" ffin.'"!l' ''^^'°' conditions we are ready to restore ^"z ^ *' ""^ °" **"' Here is Lord Salisbury's reply: . I . ,, ., . ' Foreign Office : Mwch ii, igoo. d.tii'tt,?5th%f°Ma;ch'f±°^'^''«^ ^r ^.°"°"»' '«'<^'" port is principally to detn^^ fh^^H""'*?'"' r'"'^'' "-e pur- shall re Government African^public and Om?e Free sST"^^^^^^ °^ ?''= ?°"* M;i^tfan»t7oC«fcn'5?r?S" ^''""^'' '^'"~" «" wet« in existence A Sssionhfn 'J«i™ventions which then months between Her mSv°^ r ^^ proceeding for some African RepubUc, of whichihe ohS.™""""" ^"^ «>" South certain ve^ serious Sevance.1^i!S **l'°u °^^™ «<>ress for in the SouS Afric^ ^puSSc Ue sufTel^W ?"l'^'' """•""» srs■p^l4^i?£itS»?^^^^^^^^ Town^dl^tal NohTfrinJli^ British ^rrisons of Cape the ConventiMrhad uMo 3KiLt t,t "f ' P^^nteed ^ side. Suddenly, at two days' not^tl,!^ .fr. ?" "'^ ^""^h after issuing k;, nsTtint^ uhS^tlln, /°!'*'' i^'"°" '*'P''l'Iic, Majesty, and the Oran«^^"sC ' J,h "?* "l' "P°" «" even been any discussi!^,t^k a Luar,rJ!°'"H '"..*""* "°' dominions were immediately invaded bvth-t^' ""^Majesty's was laid to three towns wi* nThe Bn^i S f^t.V.T'i''"' '^^ tion of the two colonies was ovemir^h'^rd/stl'u^ron^t-J rV,» lu ' "pessary to discu« "/{.^""ops were made. I dn ocen reconstituted we shnT.M • P"**'?'* reason. Had thtt L^' with the franchise ques«™ ),!' n? ^ V' •^«" '"'^d once more' ■^'^ THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 6c earth have^<^e^e 3^ *A!?f5« T"" .^°"'<' "y ""i"" "» of peace we "ould te^ t^'" ' u^"""" .*« day of the signing ablMoe to tKrth of ul „, *■ ^t"" i"'P'«°'ble and fomid- rength for 4e 4^v wh» he 3,/"« T* ""* P^'P^""? '''' Our colonies wouWIie e"r in TAT^' "J'" *" advantage, can blame us f™ decTdinTtS.^L "^ k T ° .-."I "'°"'=^- ^^° •uch a way that it sS^n^vf^ ,'°^ ''"°"'<' "* done now in to be done^once more^ ' "" '" " *' =°"'d help it, need ready expUtaed ttoTfor S^T««f"'^ ^°"^ .. ^'"='''"" ""d al- of independence w^im^fhle^^^^^^''''" ^^X« 'he restoration througlli, th^t^deSd^g' ""Here fsl^jf^f T" ?""*«* account of the interview and"? thf^Sn", « J^u^':"*™'' ' °*" showed ve^"^d'leW td' '""^ 'f"^^^ '^'"' ««"». who peace Ho =.u^ f teelmg and seemed anxious to brine kbout S^d St"h^houid'"sub™f to"^,!^"^" """""^ °' '""J*^ -^* if they agreed he shouW 4° Or!SrS;;.'?V P^'*J ""<* them to agree. Thev should all ih2f\ J" '"?''?">' ""d get finish the war. He toM me .h»/^r ^^i" "'"'' """^ ""d time, and that he was nortiT^ J S'' '° -, «° °" f°' '"■^ peace without indep^de^- He tl^"* l"*.'? *>""» »•»"« of independence" bTlZLed to r- ''"^ 'L"'' ^°' »°"« "^^d abdm""]&rv^t"d'm:rf is T"""""' ^^ ^'°"''» »»''«d Secretary, an7fiid"?St tSject t'o" co^^^^". ^^ ^■°'""'" Ke-^r^^^dt c^.^^:;S r ?^^ -^^^^^^ ^^i^Sr^-=^'^^^ "'-^ v.wm 111 n-^- Pro.«:t himfrZ^lJf ^ m'^M'* ""e to have a rifle .„ w^^eSnlfS ^'"'«»- 0™?W fS"^"?^* government "p;i?','"<'erelS,"'- "' "^'-^^ '<> notes ^^h hi "i^^ t"-gh!'nr "^^ *" --M <- imposed on ' Kji'-qTrSerS'? P™™^" °' war retu™ . farms, and' enVbUt^!^ o ^«"'r ""»*«>« to ,^, ^ ass.stance would be ^:S^ '° ''»« «fr«h. I «ud I th^i X' mar Deing disfranchised. seemed not adverse to "«^ww wM qualified by b^ 5^,1^ '*'" "id daring Jh| held OT their conduct. ^°'°""' *°™ "quiiy musTbe '■ ^" P"^"'" to be at once sent back. I THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 67 ' 3. Crown Colony government to be given as soon as onuihu- oS.er"'fr~"'Briti.f"«* *°- «?'%«"»'-« gov"m*S?»" afS"^! eqiiiiitj*" ^'"' ""* ^'*"''' "^8"^ «° *« P"' upon »» 'S- tfcit the Government should help to replace the farmers Kr^^:a^^^?r^^ '"^ Rep'ifa^iorr;^!!;.- ■ ^' xt"'. "L' %'^"'s T* allowed sporting fire-arms. u^Ju V5' , *^**" '*'°"ld have the protectioii of the law bat should not have the vote. • ' H™™.,°Jl!^l"'i^'\"'" ^'^ Kitchener, 'I must inform Your Honour tfiat if the terms are not accepted after a reasonable deUv for consideration, they must be regarded as canceUed " ^ th, m.n , "Tu""^ chivalrous Botha was overruled by fte men around him, many of whom had Uttle to lose by a continuance of the struggle. It was evident that he did not himself consider independence vital, since he had gravelv dis- cussed terms which were based upon loss of independence. But other influences had been brought to bear upon him, and this Z/"f ^Tir^ide:"""' **"* *■" '"^"y «^*' «-" °f ~ JfL^Z-^^' '"??'■ '° a<='?'°*'«>8e receipt of Your Excellency's ^Z T?l ":'«'*'''?» Your ExceUency's Govemmem is pre- pared to take m the event of a general and total cessation of hostilities. I have advised my Government of Your Excellmcv's said letter; but, after the mutual exchange of views af™? "of^Tris^ ^'''''•^V" ^''^ Februai, Vit wTce'rlaiS" not surprise Your ExceUency to know that I do not feel dis- posed to recommaid that the terms of the said letter shall have the eamat consideration of my Government. I may add also that my Government and my chief officers here entirdy a«ree to my views. ■' "«"•"= ..JLT"" ** °l«erved that in this reply Botha bases his refusal upon h,s own vKws as expressed in the original interview with fh«.r"' w<,l«"f his own authority, therefore, to show mfl h2JZ'l,"°^ detemmed by any changes which Chamberlain may have made m the terms— a favourite charge of that irentle- man s enemies. "* _ It is impossible to say how. short of itidety^iH^v- i^reat Dntam could have improved upon these terms, and it has already '.I i I Government withdrew theseV,^ i""? ' '■«f"sal, the Bn^2 As speed in this matter is of ZJ. ™* condition, tending parties, and as such desoST <:2?'^"™=« '» both con'. THE NEGOTI ATIONS FOR PEACF. ^. Lows Botha, Comniandant-Genend/ ' 1 '- nis Kitchener answered : ' Vn„. w"^"' H«d,»rter.. South Afric. ftrtori., M^ l6. .», to state that I oSTmlv h!!^ °/..'°"' '"'i"'- »"<'• ™ «Ply. bee in the fieM In r^rt J thf c^fc f"." r?' 'uperiSTcrfBcer! not recognise ^oXial .tatST^f^v n^h''"'"'"' "". flritishS^^S't'.^'rb^' ^Sl^*'^'™ "ff*!^ aroused the i.tronir«t diMn,« IL -^^ generou. that they li»ve ' {h«y have »eme!Tot^'™^li^Ji°rS:'"*~»'«^**^ been won by the .word Sta^Tf. fej?" P*" »" «h.t had «ve only independent and X?L^ been refused the enemy, ha. to continue until the h,t bSL^ h!^^ P'"' " *« *ar ft '» only necesMrv to Lz?^k''J*P°"«* °''* °^ AWca. attenq)to at peacrA^J,.iJ!lK. ''J?'^' '° "« unofficial Boer the British fw and to «»i. -» P""' *"« disposed to acceS g«y were Z b„ve PiS deTet" £SSf ^ The^er. oYS B"*« of Kroon.tad. Fr^r of K^w" °' Christian. Paul to h« brother: 'Whi^ is^fer 7ottb^Jl^ "»"• *««« tbestruggle and run the ri* n* Z.i ?*Pn'*c to continue submit? Could weforVmSL, ,?^ nnn a, , nation, or to "y. if it were ofreJ«rto uT^h th^l^H**^ bad. thi coun^ ported by a Government whicTl«. ^""? °u'. P~P«« to be wp. ate feeling aside forTm^^f^H'*"^'*'^- Put pawioSl * will thenVe *itii mnS.T'th^^beTthw'^'^-r"- ^^ the country i, to give in™o be iS^ *^L°' «••« P«°Ple and "dtogetresponsiBlegovinmifflt' WK ' "V Govenunent. tnanv ol the best of tl^SK «,rt ^"!.'^' sentiment, of •nacfe their fellows. ^ i„^rr "** *^ mdeavoured to per- Peace Committees worefo?J»S ^""svaal aad in the Free State deputies to Iay'Se*faSsWe^CU"'*T' *'»^' on commando. The results were tl^™ t °'' ?«■• brethren Mwgendaal and de Koch, were"h^;„JT? °i *« '""'V. havmjf b«n first beaten. S^^ of the cS^.""^' ^' ^°^' all were ill-nsed. "" °*ers were beaten, and This severity did not, however ,tr^ »i,- •t a fiercer tn^. The^buiSm Vh^ * movement, but gave finding it usel^ to ai^?'':^'th 5>eir**fdlo" '"™"'" °^ ^^ knowing that their counhy wm beS^ h,S^.« T""™?*^™ «"d insensate resistance, took the itt™™*' hopelessly ruined by the arms against them. ThS^e are aTpreT^t'tC V ^'' °^ ^""^ of bu«:hers fighting upon the Brit?sh .If- """8^ command™ Boer GmeraC-MaraisVCeK^ aSd th, V """""^ded by three whom had made their na^„^' fettol ^" ^ ^"^l'' »" °f t'vl^l ^f *° "l^P" those stoCT ^tiX iL'-K tbi» fact wh.ch I shall presently deal. Theyn^'h^lS^^ ^X"%i^ '• I THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 71 knowing the truth, and h?w <4n [hel Zw k^l.E^""" '" whM they believe that truth tob*? ^ "™^' *'' A: i Chapter VI: The Farm-Burning „ mitted that the results^ave not L°ffi^- '' ""»' *>' ad- all tnonil questions apart a UnZ^ ' r^ "' «'«' "lat, puttine » IHcely to'settle dowTas we h^lCthrn ^ " "■' '"' »'"'"^ settle down, as contented BritXci^.i ' ^^"u™^' "entually when a nation adopt, guerSa acticf f, H Vi^ '^• ^^er hand, »u.7jnng:, to the whole country wWch „^I.^'^'''? ~"«» Ihow; t»>l- They have been the Mme i^a I «,»r^ '!f "" ."^af^biy en- army which is stung by ^riC striW« ^"^f- "'i "'"«'• The occasionally indiscrfminatdy An "™l""v''u".f""'«^»'y and wiped and harassed b«ome, «nh,«^ *''"^'' " continually called upon to 'ake tho« h™ heT^lI"'^' '".<*• » ^"»1 f=el, experience sugg-st. Thtt such m^/ ""u'^'''''' Precedent and to an extreme by the BriHsh .nfh^?'"'^' "i"* "« been pushed the captured glrilLCt^'^^l n •''°*" ''i "" '»« ">at his protot^-pe, the fra,u7lrn^ ThtlL^"^"" ?' war-unlike may be dfsiussed later At ores™* 5^'?.' ''''^"°" °' K^'rillas to the burning of farms '^ ™' *' *'" ~"fin« O"' attention •9^' l"it''the'1lo"^J5:„,?°!', -<»« « ^ted Februaty 3. burning and blowinTun lil i ^''™" ."" "^n'^b troop* 'of the devastation offamTs^'te^l' '^ farmhouseiTd of cusation of having used ^rmiTn,.^ ™""-'''° '"'ludes an ac- Lord Roberts rLfedii^^Z™' "^'"f' ">« ^oers. gent instructions hSdleen^v™ to th.y •.•■:.' *'^~' *^' "^n- Pt?'c property. • AH wamrdest^ctf™ '^r ■'"'^^ '° '^^ ful mhabitants is contrary to Rrif.^i! • °' "''"^ to peace- will, if necessary, be rigorous^ r»r?.'!TK """ '."^tion and that It was an untrue st!?emCTt th!S ?,,' \T "« added couraged by British officers toTomnil ^Ja^^ "" ^^ «>- which has been the subject of mTv'fF?^-'^''""'- The charge. Continent is as absurd as most^^hel^""' '^"°°^' "Pon the artists. Why should the Sta^VhU^'X^dTfel./t'^l' THE FARM-BURNING 73 ^Snth, ana U . J^^ '^.^'l^^^-^, ^^ not in accordance .^cULTu7:^! °' "■ .' " 'i' „ "''■"« expulsion of loyal subjects of Her Ma, . L ' ^^- '" * the invaded districts of this Cdmv f„, . ,^ / '^P"" '' commandeered by the invader I?' ' '' '■'"■'' '' '<■ force men to tak/slde, S thrir -'.'to'-V'Lr ":""'" " by threats of spoliation and expul,,' „ \u., / ,„' '"•"'■7 dren have had to leave their hSnes o vin^ ,- ! °' ""',""1- and many of those who were fS^erly "f cL', : ■^^'■'^• "^Tjr "?r^"e maintainedTy Xri ,- ^ ■'"'' •''^■ He adds: ' I beg to call Your Honours' a i .i. would specify Mr Theodore w3^/- .. ^' *" instance I farmswitZtheactialTaoftheBriHl^? ^°f" ^"" "-at or be guilty of the wanton d«tri,S^^ f '^'* '''*" a"'horise being justified'^ "7 L'^uCs and custom'T'nr- °i- "r^^e nit :j^t^n^l=tv±^— - P^o^tt:^ cJt.r^mttf tt rh^n-'anl Sr^ ^^ fft^'-^-M,-- ' sideration wnich was shown u,^ this 'Tn? see™^V„^', J*"' "T were at the spot to be exaggerTed and'^^^rfcrn 're^ .t^ m 74 THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT that when we applied for leave to use the deserted villas to put our sick wldfcrs into-the hospitals being f ul^-we J^rrtold w^o wer^it tZ'?tL'°"' "^ ^"T '"^y with^Se'r^n^l wno were at that tune on commando ajfainst us I rem«nh^ fieW '.h^ M 'IL« '•"i ']" ~""P"ed-"on Wng round tTc^ fmifi^hl"* '^."'^ *°^ "^'"K •""»• ""> be4 told Xnt w« impMSible as it was private property. The same extreme respect for personal propertv was shown ^Z^ ^"^ Roberts's advance. The count?/^^* wh chr S for X"* ■"1!.'' ''V''' *"■* ^°'^' •»"• *'* as^ruXus a S of Frln..^''*^ °* P^P^'^'' " Wellington showed in tfie « , ,1? if 4'u"" '"'."f^ *'''<''«'" was allowed to take so much It ts t™^'"^,*^';' P""'~ *°^ looting was prom^an" sT™ SS ^ - T - 'a"-iS»som^ ;SrtiS g«^Ve1a?ye::^^?:-.J-^^^^^^^^ S^e"=To^?.-^^^^^^^^ bully beef he tramped through a land of plentT ^ to be sutioned for several months some distance from the m?! -^ land of large farms well stocked with every sort of food Why It was impossible to get this food for th. m-i r j ^ f-now, but I do know that SV prices for Ke^milk^lS who'^'' """^ ""•= '^'P' ^"y ^^^ by the wiVes^ihrfa™ "rs who were away upon commando; and that the hunirrv mlSers were quite unable ,o buy. and were not pemitted t^tX the nourishment which was essential h<:""u«u lo laxe, tne pSPnJ^^L^ y''"' ^'^ Roberts's force was advancing on Pretona De Wet soit in a despatch to complain of the deMruc^ tion of two farms, Paarde Kraal and Leeuw Kop Lord Robm. replied that these two farms were destroyed^^e whfle ^ white flag was flying from the houses, the t?oops Were fir^ uooS h^HH ' /»™^'««»». 'I have had two farms^^r Kr^s'ST' he adds destroyed for similar reasons, and shall cwutaue to punish all such case, of treachery by the destructi^ oTu^TfiTrti" irrm. THE FARM-BURNING 7J where they occur.' Here is a definite declaration of policy, quite distinct from wanton destruction, and it is difficult to see how any General could take any other steps, with justice to his own men. These farms, and all which are included in this category, w»re justly and properly destroyed— the famiUes beiue removed without violence to a -place of safety The next representations from the Boer Commander were more dennite in their nature. 'Complaints are repeatedly reaching me,' he writes, 'that private dwellings are plundered, and in some cases totoUy destroyed, and aU provisions taken from women and children, so that they are compelled to wander about without food or cover- •mg. To quote several instances: It has just been brought to mv notice by way of sworn affidavit that the house of Field-Comet b. Buys on the farm, Leeuwspruit district, Middelburg, was set on fire and destroyed on 20th June last. His wife, who was at home, was given five minutes' time to remove her bedding and dothing, and even what she took out was again taken from her. Mer food, sugar, &c., was all taken, so that for herself and her children she had neither covering nor food for the following night .She was asked for the key of the safe, and after it was given / up by her she was threatened with a sword, and money was de- manded. All the money that was in the house was taken away all the papers in the safe were torn up, and everything at the homestead that coflld not be taken away was destroyed. The house of Field-Comet Buys's son was also destroyed, the doors and windows broken, 4c. ' It has also been reported to me that my own buildings, on the farm Varkensprait, district Standerton, as well as the house of Field-Comet Badenhorst, on the adjoining farm, have been totally destroyed, and such of the stock as was not removed was shot dead on the farm. 'Further, there is the sworn declaration of Mrs. Hendrik Badenhorst, which speaks for itself. ' I cannot believe that such godle.''s barbarities take place with Your Excellency's consent, and thus I deem it my solemn duty to protest most strongly against such destruction and vindictive- ness as being entirely contrary to civilised warfare.' The greater part of these alleged outrages had occurred on General Buller's side of the Transvaal, so the matter was referred to him. He acknowledged that he had ordered six farmhouses to be destroyed ; 'The following circumstances induced me to give the order. On entering the Transvaal I caused the attadied Proclamation 76 THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT (A) to be widely distributed along my line of route. We marched from Volksrust to Standerton practically unopposed. Shortly after our arrival at Standerton our telegraph Ime Wa» cut on several nights following, and attempts were made to damage the miliury line by placing dynamite cartridges with detonators attached upon it. These attempts were all made on or in close vicinity to the estates above named. A watch was kept and it was found that the attempts were made not by any formed force of the enemy, but by a few scattered banditti who were given shelter during the night in the houses I afterwards had destroyed, and who thence, when they could, tried to murder our patrols, and sallied out at night to damage the line. It was further ascertained that these men came and usually returned, through Varkenspruit. I directed' that copies of ProcUmation (A) should be personally left at each house, and the inmates of each should be warned that these depredations could not be per- mitted, and that if people living under our protection allowed this sort of men to resort to their houses without informing us, they must take the consequences, and their houses would be destroyed. This warning had some effect for a day or two, but on 1st and and of July the nuisance recommenced, and on the 7th July, having acquired full proof that the houses were being regularly used as shelters for men who were hostile to us, and who were not under any proper command, in fact, who were only acting as banditti, I had the houses destroyed. ' The women and children .xcupying the farms yvere removed elsewhere with as little inconvenience to themselves M we could Here again it is impossible to doubt that the British coin- manders were well within their rights. It is true that Article XXIII. of the Hague Conventions makes it illegal to destroy the enemy's property, but it adds: 'Unless such destruction be im- peratively demanded by the necessities of war." Now nothing can be more imperative in war than the preservation of the com- munications of the army. A previous clause of the same Article makes it illegal to ' kill or wound treacherously individuals be- lonjrine to the hostile army.' it is incontestable that to take the cover of a farmhouse which flies the white flag in order to make attacks is to ' kill or wound treacherously.' and so on a double count the action of the British becomes legal, and even inevitable. Lord Roberts's message to De Wet upon August 3, 1900, restates both his intentions and his reasons for it : ' Latterly many of my soldiers have been shot from farm- houses over which the white flag has been flying, the railway and THE FARM-BURNING 77 telegraph lines have been cut, and trains wrecked. I have there- fore found it necessary, after wamini; Your Honour, to take sudi steps as are sanctioned by the customs of war to put an end to these and simiUr acts, and have b-imed down the farmhouses at or near which such deedi have been perpetrated. This 1 shall continue to do whenever I consider the occasion detraiids it. ■ The remedy lies in Your Honour's own hands. The destruc- tion of property is most distasteful to me, and I shall be greatly pleased when Your Honour's co-operation in the matter renders it no longer necessary.' , . . . t t.™ This raises the question of the legality of the burning of farm- houses in the vicinity of the place where the railway is cut. 1 he question presented itself forcibly to my mind when I saw wUh my own eyes the tall plumes of smoke rising from »« wrm- houses, De Wet's among them, in the neighbourhood of Roode- val There it. no doubt whatever that in the war of 1870— the classic type of modem war-the villages and .Populati«.s near the scene of a cut railway were severely punished. But 1 he Hague Conventions had not then been signed. On the one hand, it ™v be urged that it is impossible without such disciplinary measures to preserve a line of 1,000 miles running all the way through a hostile or semi-hostile country. Also that it is im- peratively demanded by" the necessities of war. On the other Tand, there is Article L.. which says, ' No general penalty can be inflicted on the population on account of the acts of individu^s, for which it cannot be regarded as collectively responsible. An argument might be advanced for cither ^'f «• ''"'"'S,'*:^ **!,"" ally determine is the strongest argument of ail-that of selt- prMervation. An army situated as the Bntish Army was, and deoendent for its suppHes upon its communications, m»it keep them open even if it strains the Conventions m doing so. As a matter of fact, farm-burning had no effect m checking the railway- Tut ne and had a considerable effect in embtttenng the poputa- ticm Yet a General who was cut off from his l«se thirty times n a month was bound to leave the argument of legjl'tV 'o the iurists and to adopt the means which seemed most likely to stop th" nuisance. The punishment fell with cruel mjustice upon some individuals. Others may have been among the actual ™On"september a Lord Roberts communicated his intentions *°. SiR*"l have*the honour to address Your Honour regarding the opitstions of those comparatively small bands of armed Boers who conceal themselves on farms m the neighbourhood 78 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT t°h,°«iili?' ?K <=™™;""i°'ti<»> and thence endeavour to damage bv t^^^L"""' "'<^"»<=™S the lives of passengers tra^i^ by tram who may or may not be combaUnts -vcmnK ..J' L "??°". '"'■ "^ai" referring to this subject is that ex- coll^nH^f v'"'h~'="P''^ ^y "'« Army under the ^Vso^al t^^t^n S, t"' "°"?"' *."• " ""^ "° f"™"" body of Boer troops m the Transvaal or Orange River Colony, and that the war » degenerating into operati<^s carried on by i??4ular md l^rjlino^f"?''- ^"'^ *°"" ^ «> ruinouVtiTecounTr^ ^ev^r^f^L "■'''' '""" ""y P°"' °' ^'^*' 'hat I f«l bound to , ^^ejjthmg m my power to prevent it views are °thlt"»ll'7'" " "'""" 'if' ""''■ '° 8*^'^ «««' '° these s ti:^iipp,"r ."^^nii't^t r^M^hatw^: tirstik^XX/lc"?'"' "" '° "^ --'"'-^ -='--" ° ™» .w'^11'!;.^''"' 'h^penalty is le^l at aU, it must be allowed that It IS put m a mmimum form, since only one farm in each case '^yti^r'"^'- ""'* '"e further cleari/g of stoc" I "ndoub^ ^y justified, since u would tend to cripple the mobility of Boer n«ders approaching the line. Yet one farm for each attackbe- r'pr^lT '"'" "'''" *' ""*'=''' "' °" "" »ve?^e of F^y^^'"^ ""?'*'' '"'° "=*"'" '°'' which farms were burned : ( i ) cLtii^"!ff "r'f " ™T '?!■ ?■''*"• (^> »» » punishment forihe w.*^ "'JL"'"??- '^ 'h.rd cause now comes to the front. A ^J J^^n"" °f burghers had taken the oath of neutraUty and had been allowed to return to their farms by the British. Th«e C^mJ"u- '*?.,"*'''''' °\ '«="?"'^'' by the fighting commandos' mto breaking their parole and abandoning those fams on ™hich they had sworn to remain. The farmhouses were their bail and Lord Roberts decreed that it was forfeited. On Augu« 2, he announced his decision to- General Botha- *^ ^ th',^fl^°u°'" [*?'■"«'.'' that well-disposed families living on their farms have been driven from their houses, and that their property has been taken away or destroyed. This no doubt s true, but not m the .sense which your letter would implv. Bureh: ers who are wel -disposed towards the British Government fnd anxious to submit to my authority, have had their property seized ^J^l B°«'/°"'"'?"''™' ""'' ^^' '*"' threatened whhdeaThh- they refused to take up arms against the British forces. Your HOTOurs contention that a solemn oath of neutrality which the burghers have vo untanlv taken in order to remain in unmolested occupation of their farm, is null and void, because vou Sve nm THE FARM-BURNING 79 consented to it, is hardly open to discussion. I shaU punish those who violate their oath and confiscate their property, no burgher havmg been forced to take the oath against his wuf' It IS quite certain that the Boer Government compiitted a very dear breKh of the Conventions of the Hague in impdlinB or even m permitting these men to rejoin the ranks. 'In such «ase8, says Article X., their own government shall not require ot, nor accept from, them any service incompatible with the [»role given. This is clear as regards the government. But in the case of the men it is different. Their promise was in a sense conditional upon effective protection from our troops We had no right to place a man in so terrible a position that he had to choose between breaking his parole and death at the hands of his own countrymen. If we were not sure that we could protect them, we could have retained them in guarded camps, as we evmtually did. If we chose to turn them loose upon the wide veldt, then it was our fault more than theirs that they were forced into the ranks of the enemy. To their credit be it said that even under such pressure many of them were true to their oath. But if their guilt is indeed no greater than our own, then how are we justified in burning down their houses? It seems to me that these cases are very different from those in the two other categories, and that the question of compensation to these men should be at least considered. I take it that the numerous cases w^re on commando ' is marked against a burned farm on the official list, means that he hn\ returned to commando after giving his parole. The destruction of his house under those cir- cumstances is, in the peculiar conditions of the case, a harsh measure, but if ' on commando ' means simply that the man was away doing his duty to his country, without any question of parole, then our conscience can never permit that man to go with- out compensation. We can trace in this account of the communications between the leaders the growth of those harsher measures which have been so generally deplored in this country. So long as the war was r^ruUr it is certain that nothing could be more regular than the British conduct. When, however, the war became irreguUr upon the part of the Boers, and their army dissolved into small bands which hamed the lines of communications, the small posts and the convoys, there was a corresponding change upon the part of the troops. Towards the end of the year igoo that change was pushed to considerable lengths. Certain districts which had tieen Boer centres where thev habitually collected time after time, were devastated and destroyed. Such districts were those mtAs. JL %sF->,^ ?i 1, go THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT of Kroonstad, Heilbron, Venteraburg, and Winburg. In these four districts about one hundred and seventy homes were destroyed. The village of Bothaville, which was a depot of the enemy, was also destroyed. It consisted of forty-three housaa. In the Transvaal the number of houses actually destroyed for strategic purposes seems to have been very much smaller. In the official returns only about twelve houses are so mentioned. Altogether the houses which have been burned for reasons which are open to dispute, including those of the men upon commando, do not appear to exceed two hundred and fifty. It must be confessed that the case of these houses is entirely different from the others which have been destroyed, because they were used for active warlike operations. Of the 630 build- ings which we know to have been destroyed, more than half have been used by snipers, or in some other direct fashion have brought themselves within the laws of warfare. But it cannot be said that these others have done so. The cost of the average farm- house is a mere trifle. A hundred pounds would build a small one, and 300/. a large. If we take the intermediate figure, then the expenditure of 50,000/. would compensate for those cases where military policy and international law may have been at variance with each other. The burning of houses ceased in the year 1900, and, save in very special instances, where there was an overwhelming military necessity, it has not been resorted to since. In the sweeping of the country carried out t^ French in the Eastern Transvaal and by Blood to the north of the Delagoa Railway, no buildings appear to have been destroyed, although it was a military necessity to clear the farms of every sort of supply in order to hamper the movements of the com- mandos. The destruction of the crops and herds of the Boers, distasteful as such work must be, is exactly analogous to the destruction by them of our supply trains on which the army depended for their food. Guerilla warfare cannot enjoy all its own advantages and feel ncaie of its own defects. It is a two- edged weapon, and the responsibility for the conse(piences rests upon the combatant who first employs it. . M ''' }J chapter VII: The Conccntraticm Camps WHEN considerable districts of the country were cleared of food in order to hamper the movements of the commandos, and when large numbers of farmhouses were destroyed under the circum- stances already mentioned, it became evident that it was the duty ot the British, as a civilised people, to form camps of refuge for the women and children where, out of reach, as we hoped, of all harm, they could await the return of peace. There were three courses open. The first was to send the Boer women and children into the Boer hnes — a course which became impos- sible when the Boer army broke into scattered bands and had no longer any definite lines; the second was to leave them where they were; the third was to gather them together and care for them as bat we could. It is curious to observe that the very people who are most critical of the line of policy actually adopted, were also most severe when it appeared that the alternative might be chosen. The British nation would have indeed remained under an in- effaceable stain had they left women and children without shelter upon the vddt in the presence of a large Kaffir population. Even Mr. Stea^ could hardly have ruined such a case by exaggeration. On some rumour that it would be so, he drew harrowing pictures of the moral and physic .1 degradation of the Boer women in the vicini'y of the British camps. No words can be too strong to stigmatise such assertions unless the proof of them is over- whehnngly strong — and yet the only ' proof ' adduced is the bare assertion of a partisan writer in a partisan paper, who does not claim to have any personal knowledge of the matter. It is impossible without indignation to know that a Briton has written on such evidence of his own fellow-countrymen that they have ' used famine as a pander to lust.' Such language, absurd as it is, shows very clearly the attacks to which the British Government would have been subjected had they not formed the camps of refuge. It was not merely that burned-out families must be given a shelter, but it was that no woman on a lonely farm was safe amid a black population, even 8j 8a THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT L^lt^ ' f ■"*"' °' procuring food. Then, again, we had tomed our leswn a. regard, the men who hacT^ie^ thrir £?««;„! ^ '*'?"''' u°' "«^™ •>* "ff*""! the altSnativrof ri^M''^'' °'"'? ■"■ **'"& P""»''ed by their own people The a^ for the formation of the camps must be admittedto ^ corn^ G^.41,nT?!5!.'"'"«^- ^^'y *"^ '°""«1. therefore, by the CiOvermnent at convenient centres, chiefly at Pretoria Johannw- burg Krugersdorp, Middelburg, PotcJiefstroom RuSurg tattT«tv:^.''Rr'°"',''''='^"''S^^«' Klerk5dorp, 'and VoTsruft' ,pff,lJ? f"^ t"u "'"«.** *"" "° "«* things, for the British refugees from Johannesburg have been hving*for over^a y^ in precisely such places. As no political capitallnd no inten^tiLS hlt'Tn,"','!^'*- ^, '"'r-^d.^rom their suCngs, TndTry h~r,1^,r iS"" '""i-'?" "jth dignity and .J^^^ ^^ heard htt e of the condition of their live., which is in liany ways more deplorable than that of the Boers ' ^ n,.J^fhi"?r''*'"?i!"'^ '° '^■™ '•'' °^P»' the authorities carried SI w-.S""*,*'"' K'-ft thoroughness. The sites seem to ha« c^dLL^'-??'' *' arrangements in most cases aU S mZlr r : Jh^y were formed, however, at an unfortunate momen . Great stram had been placed upon our CommCsuiat by the large army, over 200,000 men, who had to beSi'dbv three tmy railways, which were continually cut. In^anuarJ 1901 De Wet made his invasion of Cape Colmy, and the Cn^ upon the lines was excessive. The extraordinary spStade Tas presented at that time of the British straining eveh- ner^to f«d the women and children of the enemy, wSiie ^at J^^y ^^ inT'pMe'fSi:"''" "'"' ''""'"^ "" '""■" *"•=" w^Hring! The numbers of the inmates of the refugee camps increased mpKlly from 20.000 at the end of the year i^xi, uTto more Ihan .00,000 at the end of ,901. Great efforts were made by the mil" tary authorities to accommodate the swelling tide of refuse, and no money was spared for that purpose. Early in theTeVr 1901 a painful impression was created in England by the reiort of Miss Hobhouse. an English lady, who had visited the c^pl and criticised them unfavourably. The value of her reportwas discounted, however, by the fact that her political prejudfces were known to be against the Govemmen: Mr. Charles Hob- house, a rdation of hers and a Radical member of Pariiament has since then admmed that some of her statements will not bear examination. With the best will in the worid her conclusbns THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS 93 would have been untrustworthy, since she could speak no Dutch, had no experience of the Boer character, and knew nothing of the normal conditions of South African life. I believe I have done the lady an injustice, and that she has some knowledge of Dutch. Her main contentions were that the diet was not sufficient, that there was little bedding, that the water-supply was short, that the sanitation was bad, that there was overcrowding, and that there was an excessive death-rate, especially among the children. As to diet the list which she gives agrees roughly with that which is officially quoted as the daily allowance at Irene Camp, near Pretoria, in July. It is as follows : ^ Meat Coffee Flour Sugar S^t Jib. 3 OX. fib. a oz. J_oz._ To every child under six, a bottle of milk. It must be confessed that the diet is a spare one, and that as supplies become more plentiful it might well be increased. The allowance may, however, be supplemented by purchase, and there is a considerable outside fund, largely subscribed by British peo- ple, which is used to make the scale more liberal. A sli^t difference was made at first between the diet of a family which had surrendered and of that the head of which was still in arms against us. A logical distinction may certainly be made, but in practice it was felt to be unchivalrous and harsh, so it was speedily abandoned. As to the shortness of the water-supply, it is the curse of all South Africa, which alternately suffers from having too much water and too little. With artesian wells and better arrange- ments this difficulty is being overcome, but it has applied as strongly to our own camps as to those of the Boer refugees. There seems to be a consensus of opinion from all the camps that the defects in sanitation are due to the habits of the inmates, against which commandants and doctors are perpetually fighting. Camp life without cleanliness must become unhygienic. The medical reports are fiiied with instances of the extreme difficulty which has been experienced in enforcing discipline upon those who have been accustome>l to thr absolute liberty of the londy veldt. On the question of .overcrowding, the demand for tents in SoLith Africa nas been excessive, and it may v.-eil have taxed all «4 THE WAR ; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT time ot Miu Hobhoiue'. ni«!» i. • ^ 'wwdied iince the toll, «mim,„m «»wi„«, kT,. ,£; £ "S THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS cai« in point the Boer mothers, with a natural initinct. preferred to cbag to the children and to make it diflicult for the medical men to remove them in the fint itagea of the diieaie. The re»ult wai a rapid spread of the epidemic, which was the more fatal as many of the sufferers were in low health owing to th- pnvations unavoidably endured in the journey from their own hornet to the camps. Not only was the spread of the disease assisted by the mother, but in her mistaken zeal she frequently used remedies which were as fatal as the disease. Childroi died of arsenical-pcMsonmg, having been covered from head to foot witn green paint ; and others of opium-poisoning, having quack drugs which contained laudanum administered to them ' In Potchefstroran as at Irene,' says Dr. Kendal Franks, ' the death- rate IS attnbuuble not so much to the severity of the epidemic as to the ignorance, pervcrseness, and dirty habits of the parents themselves. But wliatever the immediate cause the death of these numerous children lies, heavy, not upon the conscience, but upofi the heart of our nation. It is some mitigation to know that the death-rate among children is normally quite remarkably high m South Africa, and that the rate in the camps was frequently not higher than that of the towns near which the camp was situated. Be this as it may, we cannot deny that the cause of the out- break of measles was the collection of the women and children by us into the camps. But why were they collected into camps' Because they could not be left on the veldt. And why could they not be left on the veldt? Because we had destroyed the means of subsistence. And why had we destroyed the means of sub- sistenM!" To limit the operations of the mobile bands of gueril- las. At the end of every tragedy we are forced back to the common origin of all of them, and made to understand that the nation which obstinately perseveres in a useless guerilla war pre- pares much trouble for its enemy, but absolute ruin for itself We have pushed our humanity in this matter of the refugees so far that we have looked after our enemies far better than our friends. I recognise that the two cases are not on all fours sincf ■ the Boers are compelled to be in camps and the loyalist refugees are not. But the fact remains that the loyalists are in camps through no fault of their own, and that their condition is a worse one than that of our enemies. At East London, for example there are two refugee camps, Boer and British. The fotmer has ,-JSO, the latter 420 inhabitants. The lormer are by far the better ted, clad, aid housed, with a hospital, a school, and a washhouse, all of which are wanting in the British camp. At Port Elizabetli mumm'-JLj^;^w,:^.jtim^m^ ■m^m-u "^fuj}? (ANSIo«dlSOTljrCH«TN..J) 1.0 laaia i2j u i l.f 1.25 la 12£ j4 ^^PPLED M/CE ^ii-i y*,_»« Inc » Tort IMOa OiOaa-sw-F. 86 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT there is a Boer camp. A Dutch deputation came with so/ to fnTfhl ™ ""•'"""« '^'^ condition Jut returned without Itnd- K^ n 'J"u "'^ " "°"''"K "»» ""<'«'•• The Boer refuKeenmd ^e Bnhsh are catered for by the same man at Port uSb^S, He 15 allowed isd. per head for the Boers per day, aiid 8rf for the British. These are the ' Methods of Baftorial^ ' sourct LTTrom RL/'*T°r'°"',°^ "■« °^P» ^"^ British sources and from Boer. I have only seen one British witness (name not mentioned) who is quoted in the appendix of Mr Methuen's ' Peace or War.' She takes much tiK Cie view in^ of II^^JT'Vh'^ "T '!"= "l^ffi"™* di«. the wanHf fieT'a^d ^nrt^n"^l5'"^ ,, ^«^"'"- ^^"^ '"° '»<»'" I »ha" very shorUy Mr. Seaton of Johannesburg (Secretary of the ConKreeational Church and of the burgher camp), says: ' The repom ^ s^?d make our blood boil. They are (rightfully «a^SdTd°n many mstances not only misleadini but untnS A moie cA^' " ""^^ "* **=="" 'o^-^- • Therii. ^o "veJ! 'Some weeks ago there was an epidemic of measles in camp of a ven- severe type, and naturalKr there were many dS Z?o,! '^nH^'V''*™- , ^*,<'°<='°'- an/nurses worked rth™ utmost, and I am pleased to say the epidemic is stamped out No doubt this IS what caused the talk by the pn)-Bo«s h, °he kT °^ ^'"'" °' """f""' f°^he inmates, and Sr^=, "' '" S"*". '° "ff""^ 'h' <•"?»"='' °* tt»*things, mili- •ao: stores and ordnance have been kept back.' The Rev. R. B. Dgu^as (Presbyterian minister), writes: nf hrntTtf !? "' 1^' ^.^.V" "°' ^™S credence to the tal-s of brutahty and cruelty which are being freely circulated by dis- loyal agitators about the treatment of the Boer refugees But one point on which you ask for more information is v^rth beine noticed-the difference of treatment between families of thos? on commando and others. I am in a position to state that the whole difference made amounted to two ounces of coffee and four ounces of sugar per week, and that even this distinction totally disapprared by the midd e of Mareh. As a set-off to this, the iH w L*°'"Tk"*Vu'" *»«."'?'J">>g 'ome sixty cases of clothing, &c., sem out by the chantable, refused to give any help to tffe families of some who were not on commando, on the ground that these articles were for the benefit of those who wire fighting for their country. "S"""s Mrs. Gauntlett, of J[ohannesburg, writes : ^'J.^'^"' "^f ""^d" statements you sent me from English papers on cruelty to Boer refugee families. I am amazed at the iniquity of men who circulate such lies, and the credulity of those who believe theiru The opinion of Germans, French, Americans! • f^JZ^^T^lP^^^K^'J^' °" ** 'P°'' " "'»« ^e leniency and amazmg liberality of the Government to their foes is prolonging the war. A Dutch girl in the Pretoria Camp decJed to th! nurse that for seven months they had not been able to get such good food as was given them by the British ' ^: ^S,"'*'"' Secretary of the Pretoria Camp, writes: The Boer women and children get as much food as thev re- quire, and have all sorts of medica' comforts, such as beef-tea extracts of meat, jellies, brandy and wine, and the advantage of 88 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT fully qualified attendants. Not only are their absolute require- ments provided for, but even their " fads " are considered.' Mr. Scholtz, Inspector of Camps for the Transvaal, reports: Many of the children, when they first arrived at the camp were little better than skin and bone, and, being in so emaciated a condition, it was not surprising that, when they did catch measles, they could not cope with the disease. Many of the women would not open their tems to admit fresh air, and, in- stead of giving the children the proper medicines supplied by the military, preferred to give them home remedies. The mothers would not sponge the children, and the greatest difficulty was experienced in inducing them to send the patients to hospital, fhe cause of the high death-rate among children from measles is due to the fact that the women let their children out as soon as the meades rash has subsided. Pneumonia and bronchitis naturally supervene. Another cause is that the mothers persist m giving their children meat and other' hidigestitle foods, even when the doctors strictly prohibit it, dysentery resulting as a matter of course. In other respects the health of the camp is good, there being tmly one case of typhoid out of s,ooo residents m camp.' "^ Here is light on the Krugersdorp Camp: •JOHAKKESBURG, July 3ist.— (Renter's Special Service.)— Commandant Alberts, commanding the Boers near Krugersdorp tas sent, a letter to the officer commanding the British forces at Krugersdorp, stating that as he has with him on commando se-.eral families whose male relatives have recently surrendered he wishes to know if he will receive these families, as they would like to go to Krugersdorp. The officer replied that he would be P , iL- '° "<=*'™ 'hem, and they are expected to arrive to-day This action on the part of the Boers clearly .«hows that the femihes themselves have no longer ■any objection to the Refugee Gamps, where evo far as their reports are known, nothing of the sort has been alleged. Captam Slocum, the American representative, writes from Bloemfontein: 'The British have been too merciful, and I believe had a more rigorous course been adopted when the Army first entered this capital and the enemy thoroughly stampeded, the war would nave been materially shortened.' The French military attach* said: 'What I admire most in this campaign is the conduct of your soldiers. Here they are trekking and fighting daily in an uninteresting country, scorched by day, cold by night, without drink, without women. Any other soldiers in Europe wo.ild have mutinied long ago.' There were several foreign war-correspondents with our army. Of these the only Frenchman, M. Carrere of the ' Matin 'was m ardent pro-Boer. Read his book. 'En pleine Epopee' He is bitter against our policy and our poliHcians. His eyes are very keenly open for flaws in our Army. But from cover to cover he has nothing but praise for the devoted Tommy and his chivalrous otncer. Three American correspondents were there— there may have been more, but three I knew. Tnece were Messrs. Julian Ralph, 93 ^'t 94 THE WAR : ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT James Barnes, and Unger. The first two were much impressed by the himianity and discipline of the British troops, though Mr. Ralph was, I believe, like Captain Slocum, of the opinion that it was occasionally pushed too far. Mr. Unger's published im- pressions of the war confirm the same idea. Here, then, is practical unanimity among all the imi)artial witnesses. On the opinions of our own correspondents I will not dwell. I have the advantage of knowing nearly all of hem, and though among them are several gentlemen who hav a chivalrous and idealistic sympathy for the Boers, I cannot recollect that I have ever once heard one of them record a sin^e instance where they had been shocked by the conduct of a soldier. J may, perhaps, be permitted to add my own testimony. I w«M to South Africa with great sympathy for the individual Boer, aiid with a belief th?t I should find soldiers in the field v«ry different from soldiets in peaces ' I was three months in Bloemfontein when there were from ten to thirty thousand men encamped round the town. During that time I only once saw a man dnmk. I never saw a man drunk during the short time that I was in Pretoria and Johannesburg. I once heard of a soldier strildatrft Boer. ^^ ^^^ because the man had refused to raise his hat at the burial of the soldier's comrade. I not only never saw any outrage, but in many confidential talks with officers I never heard of one. I saw twenty Boer prisoners within five minutes of their capture. The soldiers were giving them cigarettes. Only two assauHs on women came to my ears while I was in Africa. In each case the culprit was a Kaffir, and the deed was promptly avenged by the British Army. Miss Hobhouse has mixed with a great number of refugees, many of whom are naturally very bitter against us. She is not reticent as to the tales which they told her. Not one of them all has a story of outrage. One woman, she says, was kicked by a drunken soldier, for which, she adds, he was punished. An inmate of the Springfontein Refugee Camp, Mr. Maltman, of Philippolis, writes : ' All the Boer women here speak in the highest terms of the treatment they have received at the hands of soldiers.' Here is the testimony of a burgher's wife, Mrs. Van Niekirk : ' Will you kindly allow me to give my testimony to the kindly treatment of the Dutch women and children by the British trorps? As the wife of a Transvaal burgher, I have lived in Krugersdorp since 1897, until three weeks ago. The town was taken in June last, and since then there has always been a fairly large force of The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA 95 men in, or quite near it ; indeed, on several occasion^ the num- bera have amounted to ten thousand, or more, and •. ^ - been of many different regiments, English, Scotch, Irish, and ' olonial. ' At such times the streets and the few shops o^. m were thronged with soldiers, while even when the town was quietest, there were always numbers of them about. The women were at first afraid, but they very soon discovered that they could move about as freely as in ordinary times, without fear of any anno)ance. Dur- ing the whole six months I never saw or heard of a single in- stance where a woman was treated with the slightest disrespect ; the bearing of both officers and men was invariAly deferential to all women, and kindly to childn '. ' Last July a detachment of Gordon Highlanders was camped on the vddt for a week in front of my house, which stands ahno;'' alone on the outskirts of the town. My husband was away during the time, and I was alone with my young children. The nearest camp-fires were not a dozen yards from my gate, yet I never experienced the ' least annoyance, nor missed from my ground even so much as a stick of wood. ' I could multiply instances, but after this little need be said ; if I had not seen it I could not have believed that a victorious, army would behave with such humanity and consideration in the- territory of a people even then in arms against them ; and if they behave so in Krugersdorp — a place mind you, where during the last six months their doings could not be openly criticised— is - it likely that their conduct in other places win be so entirely' different? — I am, Ac' This is the testimony of a woman. Here it is from a man's - point of view — an old burgher who had very special opportunities- for studying the conduct of British troops: ' Allow me to state here, once for all, that throut-hout the entire war all the English officers — and a great many of all ranks came to see us — treated us with the greatest kindness and cour- tesy. They knew, too, that I was a burgher, and that I had several sons who were doing their duty in fighting for the inde- pendence of our country. ' I return once more to the conduct of " Tommy Atkins." We saw numbers of convoys, some oi which were more than sixteen kilometres lone, bringing a great many Boer prisoners and their families to ftetoria. Tommy was everywhere, watch- ing the wagons, marching without a word in clouds of dust, frequently in mud to the ankle, never rough towards women or children, as has been so oftei. repeated. We have heard the contrary stated by our tried friends and by our own children. 96 THE WAR; ITS C A US K AND CONDUCT mvahd, At our farm he Mped " wf own W ^Pi '"^ ^"^ drowninif heart, or in removing a {"t p^thLTl^d te^lX' . D . t. _ ^"^ DUKCHEB OF THE TEANSVAAr Kiatenbjg, Tnannal; July, igoi. ^-whsvaai. a tarm in the Thabanchu district of the Oranm Free Sut* iJ iiic Victors in tneir games or to mixing n societv with them • Is this consistent with stories of militaiTbAitalitl ' T" ,,^ P«|rs^to be a ve^. modified heU which is loSe i^lSl'portLTf wUh'SficS fvef h'"'" " "^^ Peopl'e.td d"ffat i !' N^r :r„or"o*:: »;:« °T4f4rb^ri""S'=A 1 .i»th':tLrx°Sct'^i^.^^^^^^ efforts to spare the people%ufrering by i»uSg ^rSSg p^^! tJ^ . ^.* . The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA 97 li^*'. ^' "w how the officers wiited till the fanners had had time to digat these repeated warnings, and then with what re- luctance both officers and men went to carry out the work of destruction, but we never heard of a case where there had not hrst been some overt act on the part tf the enemy. A story of reported outrage at a Dutch mission-house in the Slums of a large town was found after personal investigation to have been anything but an outrage as the result provld. The young soldiers who entered the house when the door was opened in aiiswer to their knock, withdrew after they had discovered that the ladies who occupied the house were missionaries, nor had anything been removed or injured. But the garbled story, with Its misuse of the word "outrage," reached a district in Cape Colony where it did no little i.Hschief in fanning the flames of animosity and rebellion. Thus the reported " outrage " was not even a common assault. . 'It may be said that our love for the soldiers has warped our judgment. We would say we love Goo, and we love truth more than the honour of our soldiers. If there was another side we should not hide it. So much for the general facts. But it is notoriously difficult to prove a negative. Let us turn then to particular instances which have Iwen raked together, and see what can be made of tnem. Une of them occurred early in the war, when it was stated that there had been two assaults upon women in Northern Natal. Were are the lies duly nailed to the counter, .u D* V''^'' of D"nou can say from me, that the story is nothine but a pack of lies.' * The other case, alleged at Dundee, furnished no names. The only thing specified was that one of the men was in the uniform of a Highlander. The Vicar replies to this ' As you are aware no Highland regiment has been stationed at Dundee durine the war. ° The weapons of slander wert blunted by the fact that about May 1900 the Transvaal Government, wishing to allay the fears 98 THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT of the women in the farms, published an announcement in the Volksstem advismg every burgher to leave his family upon tne larms as the enemy were treating women ai.d children with flie utmost consideration and respect. We know that both Presi- dent Kruger and General Botha acted up to this advice by leavine their own wives under our protection while they carried on their campaign against us. At the very instant that Kruger was falsely stating at Marseilles that we were making war on women and children, his own mfirm wife was being so sedulously guarded by British soldiers that the passer-by 'vas not even allowed to stare curiously at the windows or to photograph the house There was a lull in the campaign of calumny which was made up for by the whole hearted effort of M. van Broekhuizen xhis man was a minister in Pretoria, and, like most of the Dutch ministers, a red-hot politician. Having given his parole to re- strain his sentiments, he w?s found to be still preaching in- flammatory political sermons; so Hi was advised to leave and given a passage gratis to Europe. He signalised his arrival by an article prmted in the ' Independence Beige,' declaring among other statements that 30 per cent, of the Boer women had been rumed by the British troops. Such a statement from such a source raised a feeling of horror in Europe, and one of deep anger and incredulity on the side of those who knew the British Anny. The letter was forwarded to Pretoria for investigation and elicited the following unofficial comments frc«n M. Con- stan;on, thr; former Swiss Consul in that city, who had been present during the whole British occupation: ' I am more than astonished, I am disgusted, that a Lausanne paper should print such abominable and filthy Ues. The whole article from the beginning to the end is nothing but a pack of Ues, and the writer, a minister of the Gospel, of M men, ought to know better than to perjure himself and his office in the way he does. 'I have lived for the last eighteen years in or around Pretoria, and know ahnost every Boer family in the district. The two names mentioned by Broekhuizen of women assaulted by the troops are quite unknown to me, and are certainly not Boer names. ' Ever since the entry of the troops in the Transvaal, I have travelled constantly through the whole of Pretoria district vnd part of the Waterberg. I have often put up at Boer houses lor the night, and stopped at all houses on my road on my business. In most of these houses the men were away fighting against the British; women and children alone were to be found on the The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA 99 farms. Nowhere and in no instance liave I heard a single word of complaint against the troops; here and there a few fowls were missing and fencing poles puUed out for firewood ; but this can only be expected from troops on the march. On the other hand, the women could not say enough in praise of the soldiers, and their behaviour towards their sex. Whenever a camp was established close to the homestead, the officers have always had a picket placed round the house for the object of preventing all pilfering, and the women, rich or poor, have everywhere been treated as ladies. ' Wliy the Boer women were so unanimous in their praises is because they were far from expecting sufh treatment at the hands of the victors. -'' ' Our town is divided into wards, and every woman and child has been fed whenever they were without support, and in one ward .ve have actually five hundred of these receiving rations from the British Government, although in most cases the men are still fighting. In the towns the behaviour of the troops has been admirable, all canteens have been closed, and in the last six months I have only seen two cases of drunkenness amongst soldiers. 'We are quite a little Swiss colony here, and I don't know one of my coimtrymen who would not endorse every word of my statement. ' Many may have sympathies with the Boers, but in all justice they will always give credit to the British troops and their officers for the humane way this war is carried on, and for the splendid way in which Tommy Atkins behaves himself.' With this was printed in the ' Gazette de Lausanne,' which instituted the in(^uiry, a letter from Mr. Gray, Presbyterian minister in Pretona, which says : ' A few days ago I received an extract from your issue of November 17 last entitled " La Civilisation Anglaise en Afrique." It consisted mainly of a letter over the signature of H. D. van BroeWiuizen (not Broesehuizen as printed) Boer pastor of Pre- toria. Allow me, sir, to assure you that the wholesale statements with regard to the atrocities of British soldiers contained in that letter are a tissue of falsehoods, and constitute an unfounded calumny which it would be difficulty to parallel in the annals of warfare. It is difficult to conceive the motives that actuate the writer, but that they have been violent enough to make him absolutely reckless as to facts, is evident. ' When I got the article from your paper I immediately went out to make inquiry as to what possible fotmdation there was for loo THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CQNmrrT subSuted 3' J^r^rZf """°"™^; but had never been .p» ah,, »„». ™«s, i *¥hi?;ir;z''j:"" of lu-Uitrrr/df '"'^""''° '•""• '"° ^-" » *«= «-« pa^dT'^' ' ^" <=''»"«'«^«' he always humbly bigs my 'I have seen the last of them and their affectionate attentinn. their respect, and their confidence. On this head I coul^rlw m^^^mstances of exquisite feeling on thi 'plrt oVS^i^ '^? Tfcc BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA loi 'A wounded English soldier was speaking of Cronie. "Ah Sttter. «ud he, " I am glad that we h^mfde so maiy prison-' '"S?}!''u" ^ ^^i ^*"™? *° 'i«"' *ofds of hatred. un, he said, I was glad to hear it because I know that they at least would be neither wounded nor killed. T^« ^l{ aresuXrin'^/-'"" ''""'"^' ■"=*'"" *"' ^'^ »"«" *^' we w!" v**"'"*^' ''°"' *'"* ■"*' General Wavell : , ,., ^^^} *"^* """« 'o protect you," he said. too wenT«,^l ^^J "?" ^ *!;°"«^'"' " J '"°«' yo" soldiers too wen. General We dpn't need any protection."' - of inLZf . T^ 'tr ''""»'i«d the combatants, ancT so it is of mterest to have Nurse Bron's impressions at the end of igoi S>he_ gives her conversation with a Boer. ^ " All that I have to say to you is that what you did down Aeie has never been seen in any other war. Nev^ in ^y iuT- ISL^n^ r'" ^^ '"'='' * ^"'""^'y "=' ^"^ committed as the shootmg of one who goes to meet the white flag " Very pale, the chief, a true " gentleman " fifty-three years old sfsfer"' cMirta, answered, "You In tight, ,\!Ji t^^A™?^ T" *"* of these things," I said, "I will say that I understand very well that you are defending your count^ &glUh*" "°' *''""" ''°"' '^'"^ " y°" do abou?The7e ] ]| We repeat what we are told." .' " No," I said "you all of you lie, and you know that you are W, with the Bible on your knees and ^invoking the n^e of God, and, thanks to your lies, all Europe believes that thrill: hsh army is composed of assassins and thieves. You see how- they treat you here ! " ' She proceeds to show how they were treated. The patients It may be observed, were not Boer combatants but Cape rebels' Iiab^ to instant execution. This is the diet after operations • ' For nght or ten days the patient has champagne of' the choices French brands (her italics), in consideribll quantity then old cognac, and finally port, stout, or ale at choice, with five or SIX ^gs a day beaten up in brandy and milk, arriving at iMt at a cranplete diet of which 1, though perfectly well, coul* not have absorbed the half.' 'This,* she says, ' is another instance of the " ferocity " with which, according to the European press, the EngUsh butchers, have conducted the war.' 104 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT The Sisters of Nazareth in South Africa are a body who are •above political or racial prejudice. Here are the published words of the Mother Superior: ' I receive letters by every mail but a word that would imply the least shadow of reproach on the conduct of the soldiers has never been written. As for the British soldier in general, our sisters in various parts of the colony, who have come a great deal in contact with the military of ail ranks, state that they can never say enough of their courtesy, politeness, and good be- haviour at all times.' These are not the impressions which the Boer agents, with their command of secret-service money and their influence on the European press, have given to the world. A constant stream of misrepresentations and lies have poisoned the mind of Europe and have made a deep and enduring breach between ourselves and our German kinsmen. The British troops have been accused of shooting women. It is wonderful that many women have not been shot, for it has not been unusual for farmhouses to be defended by the men when there were women within. As a matter of fact, however, very few cases have occurred where a woman has been injured. One amazon was killed in the fighting line, rifle in hand, outside Ladysmith. A second victim furnished the famous Elofl myth, which gave material for many cartoons and editorials. The accu- sation was that in cold blood we had shot Kruger's niece, and a Berlin morning paper told the story with many artistic embellish- ments, as follows : ' As the Boer saw his wife down, just able to raise herself, he made an attempt to run to her assistance, but the inhumans held him fast. The officer assured him that she was shot through the temples and must anyhow die, and they left her therefore lying. In the evening he heard his name called. It was his wife who still lived after twelve hours' agony. When they reached Rusten- bufg she was dead. This woman was Frau Eloif, Kruger's niece. In addition to the sympathy for the loss Kruger has suffered, this report will renew the bitter feeling of all against the brutality of English warfare.' This story was dished up in many ways by many papers. Here is Lord Kitchener's plain account of the matter: ' No woman of that name has been killed but the report may refer to the death of a Mrs. Vandermerve, who unfortunately was icilled at a fi>.nihouse from which her husband was firing. Mrs. Vandermerve is a sister-in-law of Eloff. The death of a woman from a stray bullet is greatly to be regretted, but it appears clear The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA 103 that ho- husband was responsible for the fighting which caused tne.acadent. So perished another myth. I observe, however, now (Christ- mas 1901), a continental journalist describing an interview with Kruger «ays, he wore mourning on account of his niece who died of a gun-shot. Might not his wife's death possibly account for .the moummg? i^d yet another invention which is destined to the same fate IS the story that at the skirmish of Graspan, near Reitz, upon June 6, the British used the Boer women as cover, a subject which also afforded excellent material for the caricaturists of the Father- land. The picture of rows of charming Boer maidens chained in the open with bloodthirsty soldiers crouching behind them was too alluring for the tender-hearted artist. Nothing was wanting for a perfect cartoon— except the original fact. Here is the report .as It appeared in a German paper: 'When .the English on June 6 were attacke'^ by the Boers, they ordered the women and children to leave the wagons. Placing these m front of the soldiers, they shot beneath the women's arms upon the approaching Boers. Eight women and two children fell throo^ the Boers' fire. When the Boers saw this they stopped firing. Yelling like wild beasts, they broke through the soldiers lines, beating to death the Tommies like mad dogs with the butt ends of their rifles.' The true circumstances of the action so far as they can be collected are as follows : Early on June 6 Major Sladen, with 200 :mounted infantry, ran down a Boer convoy of 100 wagons. He took forty-five male prisoners, and the wagons were full of women .and children. He halted his men and waited for the main British force (De Lisle's) to come up. While he was waiting he was fiercely attacked by a lar^ body of Boers, five or six hundred, -under De Wet. The British threw themselves into a Kaffir kraal and made a desperate resistance. The long train of wagons with the women still in them extended from this village right across the plain, and the Boers used them as cover in skirmishing up to the village. The result was that the women and children vere under a double fire from either side. One woman and two children appear to have been hit, though whether by Boer or Briton it must have been difficult to determine. The convoy and the prisoners remained eventually in the hands of the British. It will be seen then that it is as just to say that the Boers used their women as cover for their advance as the British for their defence. Probahly in the heat of the action both sides thought more of the wagons than of what was inside them. 104 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT These, with one case at Midctelburg, where in a night attack of the Boers one or two inmates of the refugee camp are said to have been accidentally hit, form the only known instances in the war. And yet so well known a paper as the German ' Kladdera- datsch ' is not ashamed to publish a picture of a ruined farm with dead women strewed round it, and the male child hanging from the branch of a tree. The ' Kladdetadatsch ' has a repuution as a comic paper, but there should be some limits to its facetions- ness. In his pamphlet on 'Methods of Barbarism," Mr. Stead has recently produced a chapter called ' A Glimpse of the Hellish Panorama,' in which he deals with the evidence at the Spoelstra trial. Spoelstra was a Hollander who, having sworn an oath of neutrality, afterwards despatched a letter to a Dutch newspaper without submitting it to a censor, in which he made libellous attacks upon the British Army. He was tried for the offence and sentenced to a fine of loo/.. Mi imprisonment being remitted. In the course of the trial he called a number of witnesses for the purpose of supporting his charges against the troops, and it is on their evidence that Mr. Stead dilates under the characteris- tic headline given above. Mr. Stead b^ns his indictment by a paragraph which speaks for itself : ' It is a cant cry with many persons, by no means confined to those who have advocated the war, tiiat the British Army has spent two years in the South African Republics with- out a single case of impropriety being proved agamst a single soldier. I should be very glad to believe it ; but there is Rudyard Kipling's familiar saying that Tommv Atkins is no plaster saint, but a single man in barracks, or, in tir:^ case, a single man in camp, remarkably like other human beings. We all know him at home. There is not one father of a family in the House or on the London Press who would allow his servant girl to remain out all night on a public common in England in time of profound peace in the company of a score of soldiers. If he did, he would feel that he had exposed the girl to the loss of her character. This is not merely admitted, but acted upon by all decent people who live in garrison towns or in the neighbourhood of barracks. Why, then, should they suppose that when the same men are released from all the restraints of civilisation, and sent forth to bum, destroy and loot at their own sweet will and pleasure, they will suddenly under^fo so complete a transformation as to scrupulously respect the wives and daughters of the enemy. It is very unpopular to say this, and I already hear in advance the shrieks of execration of those who will declare that I am calum- The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRICA io{ Hifci!Jf,!!'/.iP''^' soldier, who are spending their Uves in the defence of the raterests of the Empire. But I do not say a word agauMt our soldiers. I only say that they are men.' He adds: «,hi' i' f" ""P'«*»"' f»«. but it has got to be faced like other facts. No war can be conducted— and this war has not beoi conducted— without exposing multitudes of women, married smd sinrie, to the worst extremities of outrage. It is an inevit- able mcident of war !♦ is one of the normal phenomena of the mihtary Inferno. It is absolutely impossible to attempt any comparative or quantitative estimate of the number of women who have suffered wrong at the hands of our troops. V Was ever such an argument adduced in this world upon a serious matter. When stripped of its rhetoric it amounts tothis 250,000 men have committed outrages. How do I prove it? Because they are 250,000 men, and therefore must commit out- rages. Putting all chivalry, sense of duty, and every higher ccaisideration upon one side, is Mr. Stead not aware that if a soldier had done such a thing and if his victim could have pointed him out. the man's life would be measured by the time that was needed to collect a mihtary court to try him. Is there a soldier who does not know this? Is there a Boer who does not know it? It is the one offence for which there would be no possible forgiveness. Are the Boers so meek-spirited a race that they have no desire for vengeance? Would any officer take the responsibility of not repotting a man who was accused of such a cnme? Where, then, are the lists of the men who must have suffered if this cruel accusation were true? There are no such lists, becausf such things have never occurred. Leading up to the events of the trial Mr. Stead curdles our blood by talkmg ot the eleven women who stood up upon oath to testify to the ill-treatment which they had received at the hands of our troops. Takji with the context, the casual reader would naturally imagine that these eleven women were all complaining of some sexual ill-usage. In the very next sentence he talks about ' such horrible and shameful incidents.' But on exami- nation it proves that eight out of the eleven cases have nothing sexual or, indeed, in many of them, anything criminal in their character. One is, that a coffin was dug up to see if there were arms in it. On this occasion the search was a failure, though it ' has_ before now been a success. Another was that the bed of a sick woman was searched — without any suggestion of indeli- cacy. Two others, that women had been rnnfined while on the trek in wagons. ' The soldiers did not bother the wonien during io6 THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT or after the confinement They did not peep into the waeca,' said the witnesi. These are the trivialities which Mr. Stead tries to bluff us faito classifying as ' horrible and shameful inci- dents.' But there were three alleged cases of assault upon women. One of them is laid to the charge of a certain Mr. E — — n, of the Intelligence Department. Now, the use of Mr. and the descrip- tirai 'Intelligence Department' make it very doubtful whether this man could be called a member of the British Army at all. The inference is that he was a civilian, and further, that he was a Dutch civilian. British names which will fit E— n are no^ common, while the Dutch name Esselen or Enslin is extremely so. ' I have never been to the Intelligence Department to find out whether he rea% belonged to that Department,' said '> woman. She adds that E n acted as an interpreter. Sui<:ly, then, he must have been a Dutchman. In that case, why is his name the only name which is disguised? U it not a little suggestive? The second case was that of Mrs. Gouws, whose unfortunate experience was communicated to Pastor van Broekhuizen, and had such an effect upon him as to cause him to declare that 30 per cent, of the women of the country had been ruined. Mrs. Gouws certainly appears by her own account to have been very roughly treated, though she does not assert that her assailant went to the last extremity — or, indeed, that he did more than use coarse terms in his conversation. The husband in his evidence says : ' I have seen a great deal of soldiers, and they behaved well, and I could speak well of them.' He added that a British officer had taken his wife's deposition, and that both the Provost-Marshal and the Military Governor were interesting themselves in the case. Though no actual assault was committed, it is to be hoped that the man who was rude to a helpless woman will sooner or later be identified and punished. There remains one case,- that of Mrs. Botha of Rustenburg, which, if her account is corroborated, is as bad as it could be. The myster of the case lies in the fact that by her own account ■ a- British fcice was encamped close by, and yet that neither she nor her husband made the complaint which would have brought most summary pimishment upon the criminal. This could not have been from a shrinking from publicity, since she was ready 1 tell the story in Court. There is not the least indication who this solitary soldier may have been, and even the date was unknown to the complainant. What can be done in such a case? The President of the court-martial, with a burst of in- dignation which shows that he at least does not share Mr. Stead's. ■ The BRITISH SOLDIER IN SOUTH AFRIC. I07- ^ r'ncH ^f^Ti'L*?' ""^ "="■"" " South Afric, cried: Jot h^ th^ fi?^ *k"'*"1 ""^ ^motd to a woman, would it 32 e^iltv J?,^ *'^'"^ Z"' » "»" «o do to rush out and bring me guilty man to justice? He ought to risk his life for that I» f^'L"" "^^ ^°' •'™ *° be Wtened. We &,eUsh are stJL ^'^°"' "!f'°"- '^' '""'«°^' however Sad K no «r;...^L™^ 5* ""S "" ">« 'he case stiU en^^th? earnest attention of our Provost-Marshal, and that the SS if he exist. wUl sooner or later form an objeit-les»^ upSiTdpliSe fi^ M^'^J' '2 'he "f^est garrison/ Such was ?h^ S^"Cj 1st nmi*:. fh**"* '*"'? fluently of the charges made, but delibe" ofc" w^s'suSSeS!'' ""' """ ' ■»"«" "-^ -' °"« R^T'q u^ "" ''l^P?'' ^'?'' «h»" with the words of the. PmoA;: ' ° *' °"''* Reformed Churdi «■ / Not a smgle case of criminal assault or rape by non-cora- nussioned officers or men of the British Army in > r«TrS^ Boer women has come to my knowledge. I askid several Ztl^ men m turn about this pofnt «.d^r testimonris Ae^^t os mine. <,^^^^' S.'*"! »y' that it must be so because there are- fuS?^r/'""- ^°^^ "•' perversion of argument^ further? Which are we to believe, our enemy upon Sie soot or- the joumalut in London? "^ • i Chapter IX: Further Charges Against British Troops Expansive and Explosive Bullets WHEN Mr. Stead indulges in vague rhetoric it is diffi- cult to comer him, but when he commits himself to a definite statement he is more open to attack. Thus, in his ' Metl;qds of Barbarism ' he roundly asserts that 'England sent several million rounds of expandmg bullets to South Africa, and in the North of the Transvaal and at Mafeking for the first three months of the war no other bullets were used.' Mr. Methuen, on the authority of a letter of Lieutenant de Montmorency, R.A., states also that from ^°^}'- ■^' "P to January 15, 1900, the British forces north of Mafekmg used nothing >.at Mark IV. ammunition, which is not a dum-dum but is an expansive bullet. Mr. Methuen's statement differs, as will be seen, very widely from Mr. Stead's ; for Mr. Stead says Mafeking, and Mr. Meth- uen says north of Mafeking. There was a very great deal of fighting at Mafeking, and comfaratively little north of Mafeking during that time, so that the difference is an essential one. To test Mr. Stead's assertion about Mafeking, I communicated with General Baden-Powell, the gentleman who is most qualified to speak as to what occurred ^hcre, and his answer lies before me: ' We had no expanding bullets in our supply at Mafeking, unless you call the ordinary Martini-Henry an expanding bullet. I would not have used them on humane principles, and moreover, an Army order had been issued against the use of dum-dum bullets in this campaign. On the other hand, explosive bullets are expressly forbidden in the Convention, and these the Boers used freely against us in Mafeking, especially on May 12.' I have endeavoured also to test the statement as it concerns the troops to the north of Mafeking. The same high authority says : ' With regard to the northern force, it is just possible that a fev/ sportsmen in the Rhodesian column may have had some sporting bullets, but I certainly never heard of them.' A friend FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH 109 of mine who wu in Lobatsi during the fint week ««" there was Mme carelestnew in per- mitting jportuig ammunitiOQ ever to get to the front at all. \H^en ^J^J^^t^"* **■';"" *"■' ^"^ ^y De Wet at Roodeval. a ^^„u "^ °[ !>""'"« <^rtridge5 were captured bv he Bom (the officer, had used them for shooting springbok).* 1^ fnend, Mr. Langman, who was present, mw the Boers in ,nmi ixre'Lf isfv''"' '"""."""^ ^"»" .h^:^ai^'™x,;£uX «^5Jr 1. Vi *•" f^y """« «""■ °*» ""munition Such cartridges should never have been permitted to go up. But in l^n»°I '"^''* .°* bungling, the evidence shSws that ^ery effort has been made to keep the war as humane as possible, 1 ^i"hn.Ht^Jli°^ *''" * *""" ''"°*l«lKe will shoVthat the same holds good lor our enemies, and that in spite of adividual excq,tions, they have never systematically use^T anjSiii^^mi what one of their number deKribed ai a ^gentlenuily^u'rrt. Conduct to Prisoners on the Field .«2j.*i!,.l°"°>i.*^' *5 ^."*"''' '°'**" have been exposed to =r^h,.;I?'i'' "' *""' ?«l"hroad, which are as unfounSd and as shameful as most of those vhich have been already treated, the first occasion upon which Boer prisoners fell into our hands was at the Battle of Elandslaagte" on October 2i, i^! rhat night was spent by the victorious troops in a pourine nte round such fires as they were able to light. It has lien r Jori"d by several witnesses that the warmest comer by the fire was reserved for the Boer prisoners. It has been asserted mJIs a«^ asserted that when the Uncers charged a small body of tne enemy after the action, they gave no tuarter— 'too well sutetantiated and too familiar,' says one criti2 of this assertion I believe, as a matter of fact, that the myth arose from a sensa tional picture m an illustrated paper. The charge was delivered late m tne evening, ir uncertain light. Under such circumstances It 13 always possible, amid so wild aijd confused a scene that a man who would hive surrendered has been cut down or ridden over. But the cavalry brought back twentv prisoners, and the FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH .„ ^s^.^:^ i«s^"r xTwt'^'"^" iiffher •fSLw • ^"/'' '"?'"»'«» •hould be accepted with ™ such msunce h« been «:tuallv brought to my V^"ce -S^ a vivid and much-quoted account of the number of Rn*^ actltitl^'Xe^ltT'LT.^: .He*^"it*".^r.«.'';^L' In some ways i fear that the Conventions of Th» h,om.. n ch,et stand up unscathed from behind their r^ksLdch?^ their own pe«onaI safety. Only at that nZJ^^, .Te^otL, iia THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCF teen his antagonist or been on equal terms with him. He must pve quarter, but it must be confessed that this is tryinir human nature rather high. ' " ^^ But if this holds good of an organised force defending a posiuon, how about the soUtary sniper? The position of such a man has never been defined by the Conventions of The Hague and no rules are Uid down for his treatment. It is not wondwful If the troops who have bcai annoyed by him should on occasion tel« the law mto their own hands and treat him in a summary The very first article of the Conventions of The Hague states that a belligerent must (i) Be commanded by some responsible persOTj; (2) Have a distinctive emblem visible at a distance; (3) Carry anns openly. Now it is evident that the Boer sniper who draws his Mauser from its hiding-place in order to have a shot at the Rooineks from a safe kopje does not comply with any one of these conditions. In the letter of the law, then, he is undoubtedly outside the rules of \varfare. In the spirit he is even more so. Prowling among the rocks and shootmg those who cannot tell whence the bullet comes there is no wide gap between him and the assassin. His victims never see him. and in the ordinary course he incurs no personal danger. I beheve such cases to have been very rare, but if the ^Idlers have occasionally shot such a man without reference to the officers, can it be said that it was an inexcusable action, or even that it was outside the strict rules of warfare ? I find in the ' Gazette de Lausanne ' a returned Swiss soldier named Pache, who had fought for the Boers, expresses his amaze- ment at the way in which the British troops after their losses P.**" ]"°"""'ff °' * position gave quarter to those who had inflicted those losses upon them. • aily once,' he says, ' at the fight at Tabaksberg, have I seen the Boers hold on to their position to the very end. At the last rush of the enemy they opened a fruitless magazine fire and then threw down their rifles and lifted their hands, imploring quarter from those whom they had been firing at at short range. I was astounded at the clemency of the soldiers, who allowed them to live. For my part I should have put them to death.' Of prisoners after capture there is hardly need to speak. There is a universal consensus of opinion from all, British or foreign, who have had an opportunity of forming an opinion, that the prisoners have been treated with humanity and generosity. The same report has come from Green Point, St. Helena, Ber- muda, Ceylon, Ahmednager, and all other camps. An outcry was FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH ,n many other cKl^v^iJ^h.,^ recklessness with which so it wis a hot-W^^f dr^„ hurled against the authorities, thit was no grafn of trSth ta^e J^."^""!" ^'^ t^^ 'hat there a very fcalthv on, A^ v **?'""?"». and the camp has been b^n^u'ETeite^ Tha^J cr[S' if "1°"^ "''' *«" -" the conclusions of Mr We Colii.^« h^ • "■'^ '° "P^^ month; •* "-oUrngs dunng a visit to it last hal?noth~g Tlntfc^^^^f '- --Ives and men. we could not be hettir tr.oV-3'^ j .; ^^ pnsoners of war we wisred^tlly to b^Tserted? is"«'^°^.DiA<^ (*» '"ey itispossiWetobe' •"'*"'=^>' " ^ """d and considerate d the^crdi^oUh/BeZ^i' ^'"^"^ "^ " America as t» ^^on Hasrirhafr^<-.^rctt'to K-rt IS r^-^^w^rtL^te^^ c^3fcS KfoSjrt5^bESIBS?r^ good hospitals a^d giod dortdra It i^ tJf., 5^^/' ^"""f V Boers are short of clfSing CThese are ve^ few anTfh °r *' emment. is issuing clothing to thS, On the whole ^*v's^T" Compare this record with the undoubted privations manv of t^e ,i,l1v if k'^"°'" "'«'"=» °' "'^ ««eric patienVs th^e "?d wL^^fi^!^™"M"^""'"' °f British Col^ial prisS who ITrS^f?^^'^ '" '='"' ?" *''' »'''"^'' P'« that in fiSe fS? their flag they were traitors to the Africander cause ^ Executions The number of executions of Boers as distinMiihwl fmm »•,. execution of Cape rebels, has been remarkab ^few in a w„ whfch has already lasted twenty-six months. So far as I have "abt 114 THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT S^^tS t!^ ""l «^°"»Pi™<7 upon August 24, igoTat A- S^;**" •'l"?^ °' °"« or two hoWe-poisSier. in NaS^and n^,^"*! °t three men after the actioTof OctoSr 27 Iw near Fredencstad. These men, after throwing down thdi a^' and recavmg quarter, picked them up agaS and fir^at? J^i^ """ 'T^J"'*- ^° "^^ there Svf bSn Sher^ SSJSi.TS.l^^^tfo^rUS."^^-*-' -" °^ "-^^"^ Sm ^ STflict??' "''" '?•* '^''^" J^"" h^adlLTdT ^rivWth™?fi^ f P^t'-'y ^P"" ?« rank-and-file beyond de- priving them of the franchise for a few years. A few who like Ac Douglas rebels, were taken red-hai.ded uAi fte fi°M of U^-^ZZ^^^. *° "-«'' °f imprisonmS? which''^'ri:l TTiis was in the year igoo. In looi there was an invasion of g.^«Ct~c|et.1-^^^ wlw^.„ ^1' *""* ^"y '"°''"«. and never fightine save ^^ nf 7h T'l *' *" overwhelming advantage, peSetrated aU £1 of. the Colony and seduced a number of BriHsh subjects from their allegiance. The attacking of small posts MdtS^, raflmg of trains, military or civilial wer" heTr chS e^,^^! ment. To cover their tracks they continually murder«jTat v« whose information might betray them. Their presmcrkeorjh^ Colony in confusion and threatened the con^Si^Xns "^Pf' Z by'?yrl™t"SLlfl'"^"«'" ''™\!« '° ' continental reader «»nds of Austri^ subjects who were"" ^^ «SS«"C: FURTHER CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH 115 to tear up the railway lines and harass the communications. That was our situation in South Africa. Would the Austrians under these circumstances show much mercy to those rebel bands, especially if they added cold-blooded murder to their treason ? Is Jt likely that they would? The British, however, were very long-sufferine. Many hun- dreds of these rebels ^sed into their hands, and most of them escaped with 6ne and imprisonment. The ringleaders, and those who were convicted of capital penal offences, were put to death. I have been at some ''^ins to make a list of the executions in 1901, including those u.ready mentioned. It is at least approxi- mately correct: NomlKT PUca Dau Rouon 3 DeAar 1901 . March 19 Ttme II July 10 13 »3 . •* " >5 Aug. 33 St-iS " II ** 13 ** 13 14 15 17 '* 39 Nov. II " 13 33 36 Dec. 36 37 Train wrecking. Boot breaking oath of nmtnUtr. Fighting. a Pretoria 1 1 I a a Midddburg Cape Town Cradock Midddburg Kenbardt 1 3 1 I t Several 1 I a Pretoria Odeaburg Middelbt^ Middelbs^ Vrybmv (hanged). Tarkaatad. ;■..'!.■.;. Middelburg Cradock (I hanged, t ihot) T... Boerapv. Fighting. Train-wrecking and mnrderiag native. ^ Fighting. Shooting a native. Fighting, marauding, and aaaanlt- ing, etc. Persuading surrendered bura^Mn to break oath. Cape Police deserter. Shooting wounded. a 1 1 I I a I 3 Mafeking... Coleabo^ Johaiuiesbui]^ . ■ * • Aliwal North Krugeradorp Mafeking..: Allowing 3 for the ' several ' at TarkasUd on October 12, that makes a toul of 34. Many will undoubtedly be added in t|ie future, for the contmual murder of inoffensive natives, some of Ii<_T HE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCr Cape PoUce, and the ShJ ^Vwere S*. H" '"".*^ %hti„g and bearing arrSuher;'wn'^"c^'^,;".''^*«' '"^"^ Hostages Upon Railvay Trains . ^^^^y^'^ZtT^^^^^^t- " " T" '<> ™. to ing those stepT;hich it wiTSfdSvIo uS'l'' V ""«'*?- guard their own trooos 1/ ,11 *h" '^ •!?• * J" °''<'" '° «fe- railway cuttingTw^H^W togrther itTZ' .n^'''"'"'''«? *"» say that it would furnish ^^nv lm.H j '"deration to considerable battle On « k«?^^ k'Ued and wounded as a and thirty „,^tre S^a^ JSi'd'l^dXreTre'^ri," "^""^ "f» *hf« smaller numbers wer^ Mly hurt ^ """"'""* de^I 'i t^ta^lsl^trn^l^r'^T/r^r "l^'^« '" '"- To support it. But to^hSate ^hv' "I '' "?"y Precedents to tn>i« is likewise k^Wewarfa^ChlS"'^' T"" ** support it also. The^^maSs tabUuall J^rfM T^^v P'"^<*""' *<> result justified them la ib^ r«nlt hi^ *^. 1 '!! ^'^"' «"d the time (6ctober igST) That it ^« =^ .iS""*^ "'• ^™" 'he have iot heard o?a\X ca« of W '" ^outh Africa we no doubt that the lives ffm^^v •Iw-^'''"*^^ ""• *ere can be crilians, have be» ''^1,%'Z'ra^T- "" '^"""^ °^ ^- frJm'^lTalf of 't'he aSS T ^^'^ ' ?"" ""^ of nuny he describes hfs^pture'- ^°""' Sternberg. I„ the first our'5;j^''°"T"e'l:rtlJ,';",U''orr ^f r''"^^^ '" «"ding rest. AVe sat do^n >« of the to4rffad"5.e war ol'tdT/V"!'' r P"-""^ "- -"«cn combatants might havesi^^ted Ir? ".»h°"">ve ended, the of respect for! lmi^a;^t|^;ti:f'''Z *» ^^rvalrous feeling pealed to the God of battles 7nd heard .Lf f^" *""""« *P- pnce more against it. Hence can,, .h„ 1^ J"^?™™*' appealed less stniggle^hich has co^so man! hves^^ol^'i, '"Ir '*>■''- "t is'^eTlSt"^*-^ whole char^cTeroTihe" ran" '"*'""^- to exas^^VS* & %^%y^' 'here were many things and ther«sed manyT4eI*ich7eem:d"Mr"r- 'H P""'"^ solder to be cowardlv ,„m » • t ^9 "'^ ^''^'Shtforward played the white^S t^clTld ^nT -^ Individuals undoubtedly ing up their )^n^ in ok7r to ^r^" ft Zr^-^'*/ °^ ^°^^- cover. There atti many insSnces of fWr_?°l'''T.^"''" *eir L«rd Roberts was himVlf T^LesVoiV"''!"'- '". ?« case official protest: witness of it. Appended is his 'Another instance having occurred of a gross abuse of th-- "7 f|| tig THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONntTr-r belligerent nghu must first wear some emS which is viribk ?h,?,'^w- ^' 'l";;:'^ ">"* *•>« »«°"d artideTs to the^ffeS W *hl D *°*^ themselves may be excused from this ruk but the Boers were the mvac' rs at the outset of X wl, .L^' Tinifomis of our own soldiers, and by this means effected severa surprises. It .s typical of the good humour of the British d,^ Ss"^''h1'^' I'haki-clad b^urghers have passed through ou ?r tL-r^ "' "° f'^'^y ''** "" •>««> inflicted upon them for their dangerous fcreach of the rules of war. In this asT .tn*^^ *?' "" t™" h™''*?*'. we have gone too f^r in the d?rei ^Z 1 "=. """«=/■ H»<> the first six i*aki."b«n officially confirmed were thus reported at the time from Aliwal : at WhfiS? ^^""^^y^r- commanding the Omnge River Police at Smithfield, was dnving here, unarmed, in a cart vesterdav when he was "held up " by two Boers. He was SkenTris^er' handcuffed, and treacherously shot in the back wUh a reX^ and again through the head. icvuiver 'The murderers stripped off the leggings which Lieutenant afte™!:^'/. T'.JH^li^^iJr"'^'^ his dothes for m^Ty.Td afterwards dragged the body to a s^uit. where later in the dark was discovered by the Cape Police and brought here Two L. tives were eye-witnesses of the murder. Lilutenint Neumewr had served with distinction in the Rhodesian campaign • ™^ IJO THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND rnMmrr^-. and terrible feature in7l» »i^.k- "» '*en the most savage have been u.rf m t.S^.te,^''^,^"'"""^ "" *»* "<«" K^ •ide Kddier,. ThTBriSh^M ' •^'* f^""' '"" °" either by letting loose the Basutw Se Liu, ln^h"'S* °'. "" *•'' whom have blood-feudi «rfrt, rilf n ' "f '*. *' Swans, all of the Boers would h™eh^**!,5°«"- I« ». very certain that '8S7 the Tiansvaalers h,H , compunctions, for when in ha?ePaulBXTev"e^ceforTh'.7'7r 'l!' ^«« Sute we a Kaffir chief to att^Jk the?r kinsmL f" ""f,' ""^ "'"P""* 'vith • I .have particular knowied«oTthT^^^^ '"L.^""" »>" = part in the commando Which m,rrJ ™""' ***=»"" ^ took Transvaal forces. ■The^tTLP°'^"'"'T ""« '° "<« the but, incrediblTas it mav «em ,V' eventually amicably setried, five pe,«,„,, head^ ^'^th^Zt^lJ'^Z^^^^'^ "^-'ly «"' the fiasuto chief, to prevail u3h?m,i^^ P^"'' ^° Moshesh, m the rear! I was'^JSTof S^ ^f,^".?"?* "'' *""■ ''»""«> his companions. s<»ne^f wh<^ I*^^^ '^' '='P*'i'"«' Gee™ »n«,"»««' that and %ulus. As it was, hweverTvmH^ii'"*?'" °' f'" ^waas fend their own lives .nSZZn.I^.^^^'i!!'? "««v« to de- fend their^own liv„ ate«.-JC a^rk^ ^^^ -«.v. nicu uwn II hoti.:ni:Siarn!r-an*?'^Siis^^ tirSe'tf *«". -- any way comiect^theiS^^^ rthe bS h'o'''"' ^^y -^o"" " were done to death in this fashi,m if j. • "°«'.™"y hundreds After a British defeat «o r^r^TJLV"'^'*\^° compute. column hard up.^ the tack^?kn^. ^ "^I '?'""= » B"t"h Kaffir boys. wirtheir*S^-,°'jks^h'S' oT Hhe" kr," '^"^--J'^J^ Boers had just evacuated. "*' 'vhich the jn the BriSh town of S 1™;..'"?? " » '"'»' British .Sb^ •Pying- here, since the m^ had n«^ lj:t ■"'' P""'"' "» of app«ided documents will sZl whvT '^' '"' °*" '°«">- The "» duty until justice has hL,/ ^ """o" **" "<>» l«ve done touching letter LC^ub«^ed??on,T" '^^ """erers °A the district in which he f^s Jhw c^ ^1f " '° '^e governor of wJif' J° ^'^''''S ""der which he'wril^'-?!?^' ''^ *°"'d be ■Ah I, " ''""*' murder- ^- ^'" "e'" "«*> of flog^ frrefu1S'/ti°K°frat^'"='''^^^^^ *- "^-ileMly Se';?'rai.*'-r«^,^^^^ '•Wii;t-s^£'$^&A^^^^^^ Esau fecr;ury°'^^rSS^>t^{vi^writ to the Co w^tS ^^irr^ofe £»^Whd'K?c°fdrc2 .eed.--Cape Town. Fe^™a!^ ^ ^"nr^et'll^'i^";;^- '^a^o-atLt^^^^^^^ the Boers' to Mr. LabouchereSHousei?r^~^'°"^**'-- B«>dric?s r^ February 22, 190,) °"'* °^ Commons, February 3, ('TiSS^ The original rule of the British €.^ *3. 1901). scouts should be unarmed "^«f!^, ^"'J?' *»» that the black «at.ves. \yhen it t^fl^d hat tW 1",^""''™' o'^™^ they were given rifles, as it was inh.mSir'* »y»tematically ,h« wthout any means of defoia fh^ J? "P°" them to death ""» *«ch the railway fefhavea^? wl '""*""«' K»ffi" phases of the war, the weanon. flh! 5*?" employed in later sidering how pr^sUd th^llSh ^e^,""!'" ?"Wefence. g^- " were at «je time, and consider* IM THE WAR; ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT I ili£i!!lfi-^t V*** ""y. ""'^ •»« thrown « IwKe and hifhtv &> far Hw ;^ i '^'"'' ""' *"= *<* *'»«'y *"<» well- natr?« t^» uL^ ^"y "■"■■ """-deroi tactics against the iviSL'c-e'S? W«e'r':'^i^^'« •"" ^' '"«•«'■ «- » '^« bein;d^^«^J;^J.^harI«C.tton, «nd Imperial Y^on^. b;mg on tiie ground, wounded, between t^S F LTS iJ,? '!J!f,'?l^°* S" P«t™l ?« to the kraal and toldVi Lanpipruit, and »n- "« "way. Another n«ive. th, w"?e o^f' '^''' ?' '"« ''«<»" he a force under Commandant^ R^i": Hopetown district, by at the time, and the natives wer^sl^n?,- "' '?.'' °ff-»ddled van Reenan eive hi« ™~, .""P'ng m a stable H« h..!j order was prTltlyrr^ed^iutt V° "'°°' 'hr^ative^' ^^ SJ"" he was told Sat tSe ' North and aSd for Tim ZuI^TnH ".F""'")' "«•' Wat^al brSSSy" " '""''" ""■ •^"'""^ how „,tema^e ha. been thi. I reproduce it in its official curtness- 4'^Na5te"d^^Krk„«tj5u^-. J-n^ ^, ^iSrj^tT^rSlVy'th^^^^^^^ J. Joubert's commando. '^ ■'' ■'°""'«' ""d J- Dihmir, of _ THE OTHER S.r .E OF THE QUEST.ni. .., •ween Pretori.'a„d^Joh^^£?4'^,?' "^I ».' Zev«,font«n. b.- 4rB^'„^:;'''C.t^''"''- ^-^. May 8. ,9o..-N.tiv« N.dr.hot'd^d"""' *"^"™''' Gordon". May ,3, ,90.^ ^.dlhof ' '^'~^' ^""'^'' Po" three native, wore cptumi cafcV' ''"■"^"y between Boer guerillas behaved as dwTc''^ *k '° ^""•' *at the or the^exican in 1866 Such ,„ ^^-^ «^'""^ '" '8lo, The Boers gave quart„and they "^rived'Tt Tl" "^ "'f'?"'- lated instances, and seven" emerI\S.l^ i u' ^"'"^ '»°- moralisation of their rS ^Of fhl ^™ '%" '""r" "'« <>«- circums^ncesof.thLVeTth^f SLta'^rM^r^™^^^ quote the i be cpfncial intimation was as follows : .T- . ,,. ' P«toria : September ar. saw the two walking back to the two Boer, ?whn I """"'"."« . good two mile, o#f.^ thi.tr!:? ^7. ^wLX/J^^ctl __E!i£02JiERSIDK£FJf^^TEST10^ or ten minutes weVere ju t ible to .ii;"'„''- 1' ',' ' ""• °f ^^^ shot, immediately after which w/^ '!'^ ■"S-v.^i the sound of a bolting ^,<'^t^>^rLTrossthtZmHdX:^'V ^''^ ■""= B«rsp.i,opi„gf„,,„h^^j;eldt nderless, vv.th one of the shi^R^L^rh^^n",'^™' J^™' H--"^. -d Batt. Bedford- 6. 1901, I was present whiJ^' ' ^' Gra'pan on June having previously captured a coTvov'?^ ""l"''''' 'JS! ">« sSers! wards the wagons I fo,,nH f^ S °^ ^^"^ 'hem. On going to- were outnumCd and Tesi^ani'^oLf """^ '^"^- ^'^^1 we "'"»,1J>d.held our hands up Priva°eBfum''' l^''^ ''°^" °"' shouted, "Don't shoot me I have ttr!, j'' *'''° *»* "'th me, Boers then shot Private RlnntHi^" ^"W" "y ""e." The above his head at tSeLieut^lntM •""^^^ "is hJiSs mercy, you cowards/' The B^r^^Ln!.' k*" '''?"'^''> " Have tenant Mair dead as he was It^riin^ •l^u'^'f ^'^ '"ot Lieu- bead. They then shot at Privates fe,^'* j"' "ands above his both standing with their v,f-T ^earse and Harvey, who were Pearse in thf n":,se' '„7lcS W ??^,^;! S""= bullet hi,^ngP°n^:;: rushed from the wagons Shr^tene??""^'- ^"■° ^°=" *en and told me to lie down ' ""^^'™«d to shoot me, kicked me, being fufy^ ^:^: ,t S-ell, ^d Bf- Bedfordshire Regiment. June 6, 1901. About noon ' hands up"" stomach Lieutenant Mai? fneili^H "'f',''™ *^'°"Sh the and said, "Have mercy, yoVcoward?^ tS" V™™ J'« w^^ons, dead from his horse. "^V B«rwi .„„^* ^. ""en shot him touching Lieutenant Mai at7he tta,e rfe"?.''" ""rse almost --ance-Corporal Harvey and Private Pe=I. ?°*'' ""•" 'hot at together with their hands up ftovt »h^, L" 7''°. "'"«' ^t^ding -ng Private Pearse and mtn^Un^^r^^^'j^^^^ --1- rag THE WAR: ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT feme"' in May"J^,Ts^;f "' """"^ °' *'' "°"'"'"' "' ^'^- Private D. Chambers, H. Company, ist Batt. Derbyshire Reo^i on the ground near me. This Boer also fired at me°but „ii"f R.^[i^*'r i^- ^^P?" ^'' '^'^'■'" Girling, ist Batt. Derbyshire a!^^':.'^-"^ ''"'y '"'O™' ^t»te: ' WK 1st lying wounded on the ground with two other wounded men four feoers cSiTuo t^ a™ f^r** G°°^«"". of our regiment, was killed. The S Co^l?"^' '""' away, and after swearing at us rode awfyT Corporal Sarg-ent, ist Batt. Derbyshire Regiment beine dulv r'^"''."'"''^. ^''""= 'y'"e wounded behindTrick i !aw a in Ae'h^d.- '"'"'"''"'■^ °*^" "''° '^"^ -^■'-^ "-y. wounded Iw.;^"'!!'?^^''^*^' Chambers, 69th Company Imperial Yeomanry be.ng duly sworn, states : ■ I saw a Boerfa short man with T dSk beard, gomg round carrying his rffle under his arm, .-. *onp wS Priv.2T'"r? p^n' ^•*.''??°' '^"^ of °"^ wounded" "''' duly sworn ;£ '"'. T^u"" S°'"P„*">' '"P^"*' Yeomanry, being •luly swora, states: 'I heard a Boer call to one of our men tf ^I7(^t' ^""'^l' '"i V''^" *«> did so the Boer shot hi^ from abou fifteen yards off; I was about twenty yards ofl'.' Priyate T. George, 69th Company, Imperial Yeomanry beinp I ^^wTn' ""^'Z- / ^ *" walkingLck to camp woTd7d, w"e^ I saw a Boer about seventeen years of age shcit at a wounded Derby man who was calling for water ■ tliP Ro^r TLt ^onnaea to me and took my bandolier awa^' "^ Gunner W. H. Blackburn, aSth Battery Royal Field Artillery being duly sworn, states: ' I saw a Boer take a rifl» ,„^ k J^' Ijerlrom a wounded Derby m^^" andThen'sWt hfm'"! St then came to me and asked We for my rifle; I shoWed it hS where it was lymg on the ground.' Thmgs of this sort are progressive. Here is what occurred at Brakenlaagte when the rear of Benson's column was destroy^ Major N. E. Young, D.S.O., Royal Field ArtTllerv^^Hr;., report to the Comman^der-in-Chief o'f B^er cru^^ to'lhe ott wd men wounded m the action with Colonel Benson's columS J? Prakenlaagte. It is dated Pretoria, November 7, and Lord Kiteh «ner s covenng letter is dated November 9 Major. Young, who made the inquiries into the cha.«s of cruelty m accordance with Lord Kitchener's instructio^s.^ys: f'urf" ^ Lieutenant ReirinaW Q. trousers. Captain C W r„ii- ^ remainder ■8 130 THE WAR, ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT Trooper Hood, 2iid Scottish Horse • ' wk;i. i i ■ on the ground, the Boers cime cIosTup and^d ^^t'^ Uooper Jamieson, Scottish Horse: ' The Boers tooW off hi. Pnvate Parrish, ist Batt. Kind's Royal Rifle Sros- »' we have their feUow-countrymen "^ho fc f"'^°"'^ ^"^ "'ose of there are a number nf „!^™ "^^ traduced.,them. But never descended to "S^h L^^""^°' '!:« ^^r who hlv^ Iff '■fj^'''^"*''' hate bee^l^-^fd'ed'"^.*!^" 1?""=^"^ ^old after it broke out, have fnnnrf . ' '' also that we mieht could accept. At thefr back tt T' ""??' "^ich the B^rs goodhearted idealists who have n« ^"^ ""."'?*" ""''"''le and cnticaliy, but are oppressed bv the f.»r^'f!u 't' «""tion very too roughly towards these ZtoraI?J^,w- ** Empire is acting •s just as honest as, and inSv mZ , "' ^^^ »" "P'""" some journalists whose a™c^e T^h^^^'' ' '^an, that of brought shame upon us S is nn L^^'""'"^ of the war such vews than wTMethuen in his ' Pe,^"" ,,^P'"f '™'^"^e of moderate statement. Let us examin. v °' ^"' »" ^^le and the^^uses of the wa. which haT Llrea'.;^ ^S °aS /5«f|''trAt]s-/fcx^x.^^- '"? »=--- of resemblance-and also of dX?I^.. ?^ *" certainly points hally unjust with the Americans ^H^l!" ^"^ *»» essen- Boers. We have the Empire at otfrhfT"'*"^ J"'' with the command of the seas. -WeTre ve.^ w^?hv"°?i, ^' "^^^ the andimportant factors. *« ^ery wealthy. These are all new js ™-h"„^o!-!ette^^;>iTthrsi"l*'= ?"«'" -«-inty Government of Washin^'S^' The s^uat^"^^""". "8^'"^' "he was that of the North after Bull R.fnS?" ilT^ "^'^r Colen^o to say of Boer bitterness, but wa" it ^- ?*'"';:*" has much bitterness? That war was fouUrto L fi? J" J*^ ^"'hem has come of it. I do not cla°m that th^^'^h.^nd we see what ■s at least as. nearly exact as fh^* ^ the parallel is exact, but it .uch depressing ciLcffi,' "g^fchf .**'• **^huen' d^ws our P™.p«... but it U in ^.c^'.'ruTy^pte.-^S": "h^ lis ^•^^t 134 THE WAR! ITS CAUSE AND CONDUCT I f ; Your lazy, dirty, drunken, lower classes ' your officers are pedantic scholars or frivolous societv m«, ' in J^^td'n'e/di'sS^e ■'*"""' ''"'' "'S"" o*-" »« -«-- No great chivalry or cons deration of th^ fi»li^— „» gramme. A translation runs thusr ""'="'""8 ** ^oer pro- ' Then shall onr ean with pleasure listen To widow's wail and orphan's cry And shall wb gird, as joyful witness,' The death-watch of your villainy. • Then shall we massacre and butcher You, and swallow ghid your bload' And count It " capital with intereirt "— Villain's intferest— sweet and good. ■ And when the sun shall set in Heaven au-k with the cloads of steaming bloM A ghastly, woeful, dying murmur ' Will be the Briton's but salute. • Then Shan we start our joUy banquet And toast the fint •• the British blood." • No doubt a decent Boer would be as ashamed nf n,j. «f«»n. of our JinR^ papers. But ^"SL"' J^d.^. "^.IS CONCLUSIONS ,3j suggest? Is i, noVevident that if i^S^^"°^ '°""' ^-'^ »>e Boe™ the war would hav7bi„ withn,?tT^''i'?'" ""' '''ft "> 'he which led to it would be stirt^ J ' ""l""' ""« ^11 the causes of such a peacrr s^oSd STac^^d'bv"'*"!^:^- ^>« "orrow the UitlaiKfer question, and ever^ nfh.? "'Vfran/hise question, of which we have nu.de such sacrifices ^u'TJ°' "« "«""f Is It even tenable on th^ ^^.,-j x t' '* ™' » sane policy' fectly clear th« i, mu ? Ie!™to tother"?''^' '"" " " ^r- m the course of a few v«„? Wh°JL''*il^'" ^ Sr<^*'^T stru|Se half done it would hf*eSma^L?,^S TJ"^ ^■'^ ^^ ^ i>ure y there is nn nAj / ""aoness to hold our .and seemed >ong?o''„s"°whrhav;^a'r^''"8s. The war has 't will p,t,bably seem a very tSort "^ "' ?"' 1° «" de«:endants huge a country and so stuhlv,^, = f 'rJ°' "'* conquest of so Four-fifths of LmaTh.^'^^SecoS^tJ^",*"'^ '' "°' ™dle^ and the fifth remainingTminishe. week^'' "'^^"^y^ ""^ l™>ds, and efficiency increase Th"re i, not ,hi^ Tlh' ^^^ ™°''""y Mr Methuen's Uraent about The condiHnn ''l^i'"' STOund for far fitter than when it began It is ™ h ?■ n' ^"^^^ I' » very few months must Tee the l«f ^'"^Jly certain that a Meanwhile civil life is Lintog str^«h'°^"^'*° '"'"'«' ''o*"- Orange River Colony MysTs o^^l " TT' A'-^-^y 'h^ withm measurable distance of do^^h^' . ^^e Transv^ is wakmg up, and on the R^d the 3 '* tu**™'- ^"''''stries are that of the cannon. Fif^»h„Xd of f.,""""?.,""" "^^^^^ work, and the refugees are "etumW It tV '"^ *i'" «»" ^ at It IS argued.that the Wttem«r^ofVL 1.™'^ °' 4oo a week, out. but histo,y has shoZE?s th^fi't^P't..*"' "'^^ die to an absolute finish which teive the I«5*'^ *'"'='" ^' '™*f'« Lee's noble words: We are a O.rSS^™""'",''- Remember fought this fight as long and i^ welUs w/LP^S'"- ^' ^^' been defeated! For us, as a Chri<,ti,n "?«* how. We have one course to pursue. We mS a^.P!?"*'. »»■*« " "ow but how a brave man arn-JI n, ■ / ^' 'he situaton.' That is So it may at 1^ w2 he'tj;;'^. °' •"■« <^ °f hattU centration camps have at Ie«rLnI?f IIP"*"" "">?» and con- .n contact with our people. PerSoftV.™' "*■" ^-"^ *<*«n. -«1. not be entirely SS. I^;&'':' Sute.. With NauS British Ri^"-"^"^ ^'"'' African British, the Cape half and half »n5'l''*i.^?J'''''' ""= Transvaal s-rA^efSS-^^^ all d.terthat"'it'":;3d'T'a""" "''^^ ' •"" f°™"^ w"h form a Boer Reservatir^ th^ n„«h"' "!^ P™ticable step to vaal fWatersS-r!, ,^^^ . * northern districts of the Trans- BasutK^fn'^Bimolan^rHSinV'^V'''^'" "-^^ •'■"^« inhabitants of a proteS^d state tnT„^,^"1'?" '""'°0'. or the 'ong as they rema^in "iceaWe u-lder the Brit^'h'^'" '"""■,'" protection from the invasion ^l 1 ■ '^""sh flag, complete them live the" o^lIves^„°fh^ nwn" °' '"' Pr°»P«'°r- Let form of home ruro Their owS Th ^*^' «".«^«>me simple could never rub shou dera w?ih ;h The irreconcilable men who there, and the British col^.^fwoud b^^^th";°1'' ^""^ % ^'^'^ placing in quarantine of th<^e who mi^ttfect tlT^" ^^L'^^ with the r own bittemeM ^.,^u, t*. ■ ,' '""' neighbours source of daZr s n^ we co„H .n r"f *„";!''' "°' ^ ^ serious valve in South Afri« "^ "" ^"P'" «"" ''"^e n° "fety I cannot conclude this short review of the «n,ments"al53 i^eaVlll caL^'^nc*:^' ^^ ""= the part of tfie oermU A *.... K_ ' a" cases incorrect upon YveTGuyot in'^ce anSM T ,f k ^'"'-j'e?l>«r of hoiiKi tliat p-U-tlook^iftta'i^a,,,.,^ ^ -""""o".*! .tarn off -«~»a,„a ttelr«ocki»rlr2L'*^''"d "»ida|»r■ I never, for eampio, saw one drankoB tMBaJ^/''. id by the calumolee which be fend ia (^CfihA nenui papen. • I caoaot undcntaod,' aid ho. -from what qoarter tbi miSLm fcr -)orinj,ii,j,«a,joSo«h Afdo. I ««r heard of lb. eiletS^ 2nta cJS3rSS"if a •onln pap« The whole eondiia of the Brttiih cM and maitair aaiboriSnluu Um chaiacleneed bjr atreme and oceplional fanmanitr.' aoinotiuee naa oeen So spoke a tnilhfU and ki^al gentle^aa.