134 A NATURALIST IN THE TRANSVAAL. 



country will be in the hands of the colonists from whom 

 he trekked, the British whom he not unnaturally 

 dislikes, and the Hollander, w r ho in his heart he 

 distrusts and hates. 



The present inhabitants of Pretoria, ignoring the few 



Boers for the reasons just given, are Colonials that is, 



descendants of colonists who have settled near the Cape 



or at Natal and even Australians, the Briton, the 



Hollander, the German, and Jews of various nationalities. 



Some of the largest stores belong to old British Colonists, 



who have come up to the Transvaal and now form a 



nucleus of the most reliable residents in the state. 



Many of these men are wealthy, their property is 



inseparably connected with the Transvaal, and having a 



large stake in the country, they do all they can to 



preserve its integrity, to develop its resources, and to 



improve the social condition of the towns in which they 



live. In the earlier clays, before the influx of the 



mining migrants, their trade was principally carried on 



with Boers ; and though they now do a larger trade with 



the different nationalities who have made the Transvaal 



their home, they have not forgotten their earlier and 



still constant customers, and are true in their allegiance 



to the Republic. Fortunately some of these merchants 



do also a large Kafir trade, and the aborigines thus 



procure advocates whose interest it is to see that they 



are neither driven from the country nor prevented from 



earning a just wage, some of which must find its way to 



the store. Though undoubtedly large quantities of 



alcohol do pass from their hands and through their 



agents to the native races, to the utter demoralization 



and physical deterioration of the Kafir, who cannot drink 



in moderation when liquor is to be procured, the injury 



thus done is somewhat compensated by the interest 



these traders bestow in seeing that the Kafirs are not 



unduly oppressed by some native Commissioners, whose 



policy can only be improved by the utmost publicity that 



can be given to it. The British South-African Colonist 



is still destined to play a large part in the fortunes of 



the Transvaal. He is the merchant of to-day, and will 



