The CiREAT I'ACIl'IST. 



613 



held a position in the 'rriins\ual very much like that 

 of our House of Lords in this country. The Boers, 

 constituted a landed oligarchy., and the Outlanders, who 

 were taxed without representation, seemed to me to 

 have a grievance of which I made myself the spokes- 

 man. I was, therefore, for years the advocate of 

 reforms in the Transvaal which would obviate a 

 conflict that threatened to become inevitable. But 

 although I constantly advocated reform in the Trans- 

 vaal, I was resolute in opposing any action which would 

 alienate the Dutch of the Free State and of the Cape 

 Colony. A policy of steady pressure on the one hand, 

 coupled with the sedulous cultivation of the Dutch 

 majority in South Africa, seemed to me to promise a 

 peaceful solution of the difficulty. 



THE JAMESON R.MD. 



Unfortunately Jfr. Rhodes was impatient. He 

 feared that the Outlanders would make a revolution 

 on their own account, and that they would establish 

 a Republic which would be more hostile to Great 

 Britain than that of President Kruger. He also 

 believed that he could carry with him the Dutch of 

 the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State in 

 supporting a revolution which would upset Presi- 

 dent Kruger, and pave the way for a more liberal 

 Government at Pretoria. His plans were spoiled by 

 Mr. Chamberlain, who insisted that Dr. Jameson 

 should go in under the British flag, and that the 

 Transvaal should be annexed to the British Empire. 

 This policy destroyed all chance of a successful revolu- 

 tion, and the conspiracy might have been dropped if 

 it had not been for .Mr. Chamberlain urging Mr. Rhodes 

 to hurry up, as delay was dangerous and American and 

 Kuropean complications might ensue if the matter was 

 not put through promptly. Thus, goaded by 

 .Mr. Chamberlain, Dr. Jameson made his lamentable 

 Raid, which resulted in overwhelming disaster. From 

 that moment I used every effort in order to prevent 

 Mr. Chamberlain from avenging his defeat by making 

 war upon the Transvaal. 



SIR ALFRED MII.NER. 



I had known Sir Alfred .M liner for years, and 

 believed him to be a thoroughly level-headed man, 

 rtho understood the impossibility of governmg 

 South Africa except with the aid of the Dutch, 

 and I pressed upon the Government his appoint- 

 ment as High Cnmmissiontr at Capetown in the 

 belief that he would be strong enough to keep Mr. 

 Chamberlain from i;oing to war. My advice was 

 followed ; Alfred Milner wa.s appointed, and he left 

 London with every assurance that he would [)revent 



any attack upon the Transvaal. The result, alas ! 

 proved how terribly we had been mistaken. For a 

 sea.son he acted in accordance with our hopes, but 

 afterwards he suddenly changed front, and became 

 the most ardent advocate for war, and succeeded in 

 bringing both Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Chamberlain to 

 support a policy which has resulted in the present 

 di.sastrous conflict. My responsibility both for training 

 Alfred .Milner and for pressing for his appointment as 

 High Commissioner must be taken into account as a 

 very heavy set-off against any work which I have 

 been able to do in the cause of peace. 



RESPONSIBILITY FOR JINGOISM. 



Xor is this by any means the only set-off against 

 an\- action which I have taken in recent years in defence 

 of the cause of peace. I cannot conceal from myself 

 the fact, however sad it may be for me to admit it, 

 that the earnestness and enthusiasm with which 1 

 insisted upon the importance of the position of the 

 English-speaking race, and the emphasis which I laid 

 upon the immensity of our Imperial responsibilities, 

 contributed not a little to swell the tide of Jingoism 

 which of late has carried e\erything before it. My 

 disciples accepted so much of my teaching as ministered 

 to their own pride and vainglory, and left unassimi- 

 lated the moral considerations which were the indis- 

 pensable corrective. Nay, more, the very effort which 

 I made to present the moral aspect of imperialism was 

 used by the Jingoes as a kind of virtuous cloak behind 

 which they could carry out their designs. 



RKSPONSinil.ITV FOR MR. RHODES. 



The same tendency may he noticed in relation to 

 what I have written about Cecil Rhodes. Because I 

 knew and appreciated Mr. Rhodes' devotion to a highly 

 ideal conception of the Empire, and also because I 

 believed in his devotion to the Dutch of South Africa, 

 I supplied him with a certain moral status in public 

 estimation which he would otherwise have lacked, 

 and thereby enormously increased his influence in 

 London ; and from the effects of this the cause of 

 peace is still suffering. My only consolation in 

 meditating upon this disastrous misapplication of my 

 teaching when it had been stripped of its moral 

 ingredients is that this has been the fate of nearly all 

 those who have lalioured for the moral improvement 

 of their kind. Of this the most conspicuous illustration 

 is supplied by the way in which Christianity has been 

 used to defeat the Objects of its founder. 



THE PEACE CRUSADE. 



We now come to the time when I first appeared 

 conspicuously before Kiirope as an advocate of peace. 



