CAPE COLONY AND SnTTII AFRICA. 



105 



expert. -(I. and the mining people who had sub- 

 scribed to the manifesto were believed to have 

 made complete preparations for war and to have 

 :;u.oi)0 rifles. On that day the English miners and 

 mechanics began to congregate in the streets and 

 talk of revolution. The English mines were sud- 

 denly closed down on the pretext that with the 

 price of breads! uffs so high the owners could not 

 afford to keep them open. The miners who were 

 laid off each received a rifle, and each went home 

 and sent his wife and children out of town. Before 

 Dec. 30 few arms had been given out except by the 

 managers of the gold mines about 7 miles east of 

 Johannesburg, who armed all the miners in their 

 district. The miners who would not join the revo- 

 lutionary movement were treated with contumely. 

 A body of Cornish miners, who preferred to return 

 to England rather than fight in a cause in which 

 they were not interested, to promote schemes of 

 ambition and avarice with which they had no sym- 

 pathy, were hooted and stoned when they boarded 

 the train for Durban. 



Many different corps were formed in Johannes- 

 burg for the preservation of order, such as the Aus- 

 tralian, the Cumberland, the Westmoreland, the 

 Scotch, and the American societies, as well as a 

 local police organized by the Mercantile Associa- 

 tion. More arms and ammunition poured into 

 Johannesburg on Dec. 30. At noon on Dec. 31 the 

 Transvaal flag was hoisted at the office of the Con- 

 solidated Gold Fields, where the Reform Commit- 

 tee publicly distributed rifle? and cartridges to all 

 men who offered themselves in response to adver- 

 tisements in the papers. In the night of Dec. 30 

 the Boer police were withdrawn for the reason that 

 many of the rabble of the city, who had a natural 

 antipathy for the police, were arming, and it was 

 wished to avoid all chances of a collision between 

 the police and the English-speaking inhabitants. 

 When it became known in Johannesburg on Dec. 

 31 that Jameson was approaching the city, while 

 many condemned the move as fatal to the demands 

 of the Uitlanders, they were greatly outnumbered 

 by the war party. All business was suspended, and 

 the place took on the appearance of a beleaguered 

 city. The Reform Committee made a public declara- 

 tion that it had nothing to do with the invasion of 

 the Republic. In the evening the committee de- 

 clared a provisional government for the city, and 

 announced that there were 10,000 armed men to 

 support it, half of them mounted and nearly all 

 armed with magazine rifles. Pickets were posted, 

 and scouts were sent out on bicycles to watch for 

 the Boers, who were expected to come, 8,000 strong. 

 to besiege the city. Cannon were wheeled ont to 

 guard all the roads. The Reform Committee were 

 afraid to detail any of their men to meet Dr. Jame- 

 son for fear of leaving the city insufficiently pro- 

 tected. The war party were indignant at this, but 

 none expected that Jameson would be stopped when 

 he was known to be a short distance outside, at 

 Krugersdorp. where there were only 500 Boers to 

 oppose him. The Germans in Johannesburg took 

 an oath of loyalty to the South African Republic, 

 and organized a volunteer force of 300 men on Dec. 

 31 to defend the Government and fight the rebels. 

 In Pretoria also a corps of Germans was organized, 

 which offered its assistance to the Government. 



The Reform Committee had taken possession of 

 Johannesburg on Dec. 31 under the Transvaal flag. 

 President Kri'iger invited a deputation to meet him 

 and the Executive Council to discuss terms. An 

 armistice for three days was arranged on Jan. 1 by 

 Gen. Joubert, who agreed to make no aggressive 

 move against Johannesburg if the people there 

 committed no hostile act. On the same morning a 

 proclamation of the High Commissioner was read, 



forbidding all British subjects in the Transvaal to 

 render assistance to Dr. Jameson. A committee 

 went to Pretoria, and there Lionel Phillips, as its 

 chairman, offered himself and the rest of the depu- 

 tation as hostages for Jameson and his force, if the 

 Boers would allow them a safe conduct out of the 

 Transvaal. The joint deputations came to an 



GEN. P. J. JOUBERT. 



Commander of the Boer forces. 



agreement to invite Sir Hercules Robinson to act 

 as mediator on the question of grievances. Presi- 

 dent Kriiger assured the British agent that if the 

 Johannesimrgers remained quiet and committed no 

 hostile acts, the town would not be molested nor 

 surrounded by the Boer forces. 



The High Commissioner told the Johannesburg 

 insurgents that further resistance would only en- 

 danger the safety of Dr. Jameson and render a 

 satisfactory settlement impossible. The leaders 

 sought to make the concession of items in the 

 manifesto, as well as the safety of Jameson, condi- 

 tions precedent to disarmament ; but finally, in 

 submission to an ultimatum of the Government of 

 the South African Republic to the effect that Jo- 

 hannesburg must lay down its arms as a condition 

 precedent to the discussion and consideration of 

 grievances, on Jan. 7. the Reform Committee tele- 

 graphed Sir Hercules Robinson that the Titlanders 

 had resolved to comply with the demand of the 

 Transvaal Government that they relinquish their 

 arms; the people would place themselves in the 

 hands of the High Commissioner, Vicing confident 

 that he would see that justice was done them. Sir 

 Jacobus de Wet communicated to President Kriiger 

 the formal resolution of the Reform Committee, 

 declaring that the committee had instructed its fol- 

 lowers to lay down their arms, relying on the Trans- 

 vaal Government to maintain order and protect life. 

 A large force of Boers had taken up a position near 

 Johannesburg. 



Mr. Hofmeyr telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain, 

 demanding a searching inquiry into Dr. Jameson's 

 raid and a radical change in the position of the 

 British South Africa Company. The British min- 

 ister replied that the first object of the Govern- 

 ment was to prevent the further embitterment of 

 the relations between the British and the Dutch. 



On Jan. 9 the Transvaal Government proclaimed 

 a general amnesty to all insurgents with the excep- 

 tion of leaders, if they laid down their arms within 

 twenty-four hours. Col. Rhodes. Lionel Phillips, 

 Sir Drummond Dunbar, Dr. Sauer, and 18 other 



