34C 



The Review of Reviews. 



April »J. ISOS. 



That is just how it stands. We have slain our 

 brother Boer, and, alas ! there is nothing in his 

 pockets. But it may be said that, if only the wicked 

 pro-Boers had kept silent we should have had our 

 compensations. That is all nonsense. Lord Milner, 

 with the sole exception of the defeat of his attempt 

 to suspend responsible government in the Cape, was 

 absolute in South Africa. The pro-Boers singly and 

 collectively w'ere utterly impotent. He had his own 

 wav in ' everything, and the Empire paid 

 _;^25o, 000,000 in order to give him a free hand to do 

 whatever seemed good in his own eyes. If he had 

 been Governor-General of the Caucasus, appointed 

 bv an autocrat, he could not have been more free 

 from all interference by pro-Boers. But now he tells 

 us that, despite all his expenditure of blood and 

 treasure, he left British supremacy on such shaky 

 foundations that, if any attempt is made to govern ' 

 the country on British Liberal principles, the whole 

 edifice wili come crashing about our ears. But as 

 nothing was more certain than that the Liberals 

 would come into power in due course, his attempt 

 to found an Imperial system incompatible with 

 Liberal principles was just as absurd as it would be 

 for a man to build his house on the sand below high- 

 water mark. It is no excuse to say that it misht 

 have stood all right if the tide did not rise. Tides 

 do rise, and the sane builder recognises that alike 

 in nations and in oceans the rise of the tide is part 

 of the nature of things. 



The true British garrison that wil! 



The True secure South Africa for the Empire 



British Garrison, is the population which learns b;> 



experience that under the British 

 flag racial supremacv is unknown, that the right o'' 

 self-government is fundamental, and that while the 

 Empire is ready to help, it is never willing to 

 trample under foot even the weakest of its members. 

 A'.readv the advent of the Liberal Governm.ent under 

 " old-methods-of-barbarism C.-B." has increased tha. 

 garrison bv a hundred thousand fighting men. For 

 if the Chamber of Mines at Johannesburg had ven- 

 tured to make good the threats it uttered when C.-B. 

 made his Albert Hall speech, and tried to cut the 

 painter, the Boers would have been the most effec- 

 tive allies of the British Army in defending the in- 

 dependence and integritv of the South African do- 

 minions of his Majesty King Edward VII. Seldom 

 has there been a more signal and instantaneous 

 manifestation of the magic influence of justice and 

 sympathy than in the rally of the who'.e Boer nation 

 to his Majestv's Ministers the moment they showed 

 that they intended to keep faith with his Afrikander 

 subjects! General De Wet even carried this so far 

 as to deprecate making any representations to the 

 new Government until time had been given them 

 to see what they would do of their own free will. 

 That was not sound, although exceedingly well 



meant, advice. The Boers cap best help the British 

 Liberals by making it exceedingly clear and plain 

 what are the actual needs of the country. We all 

 want to do the right thing, but there are many 

 amongst us who require to be told very plainly what 

 the right thing is. 



I regret verv much that we have 



President not in London at this moment a 



Steyn's Letter, representative of the South African 



Dutch, duly accredited by the 



Boers of the three Colonies, to speak in their name, 



with full and accurate knowledge of the local facts 



at his finger ends. General Smuts had to return, 



Mr. Engelenburg was only here for a few weeks, and 



there is no one left who can speak with authority. 



We have, it is 

 true, the resolu- 

 tion of the 

 Boer leaders at 

 Pretoria and 

 the letter of 

 President 

 Steyn. They are 

 good at laying 

 down general 

 principles : but 

 what is wanted 

 is the imme- 

 diate reply by 

 someone on the 

 spot to the mis- 

 representations 

 and the false- 

 hoods of the 

 Ascenden cy 

 Party. The Pre- 

 toria resolution 

 was passed at a 

 meeting of Het 



General Smuts. VoUc, General 



Bothaand other 

 Boer leaders being present. It is as follows, and is 

 dated February 23rd : — 



Het Volk has learned witb great satisfaction the decision 

 of the British Government to revoke the existing Constitu- 

 tion, and for the statement that full self-government would 

 shortlv lie granted to the Transvaal and the Orange Colony, 

 tile meeting expresses its gratitude. It further hopes that 

 in granting a Constitution the peculiar circumstances of 

 the means of securing contentment and co-operation be- 

 the country will be considered, and that it will thus be 

 tween all sections of the community, and the prosperity 

 and progress of the Colonies. 



Mr. Esselen, who spoke at the meeting, said that 

 the Boers would accept a voter's basis if women were 

 recognised as citizens and entitled to vote. The 

 essential part of President Steyns letter, written in 

 response to my appeal for a delegation, runs thus : — 



I will restate what we would like to have and what we 

 have a r'eht to expect. Well then: — 



Fiist.— We want Eneland to carry out the Treaty of 

 Vereeniging and the promises made at that time: — 



