of the Transvaal, once let us make them believe that they can rely upon the friendship of England, and that their independence is guaranteed and will be safeguarded by England, and we shall find the whole Dutch population of South Africa drawn by imperceptible cords of sympathy and goodwill towards the Paramount Power in South Africa. The outcome of such a state of things, the possibilities, vast and grand beyond question, which it opens up, are to me singularly entrancing. I can see in my mind, though I shall probably not live to see it in the flesh, a vast confederation under the protection of Great Britain occupying, shall I say South Africa, or shall I say the greater portion of that dark Continent which will then be no longer dark? I see a happy and contented and prosperous population, drawn from the unemployed in this country, developing the untold wealth, mineral and vegetable, of that rich land, keeping up the best traditions of the English race, and building up slowly but surely an empire which will in time, in the centuries to come, mayhap rule the world and replace that British Empire which will then, in accordance with those mysterious laws which affect empires and nations, as well as individuals, have ceased to exist, having accomplished the purposes for which Providence permitted it to increase and prosper, and extend and grow in wealth and greatness as did, too, the Greek and Roman Empires. CHAPTER XVIII CONCLUDING REMARKS I HAVE now accomplished the task I had set before me. As I said at the beginning of this book, so now I repeat at the close, it makes no pretensions to literary merit. It is merely a rough-and-ready and hurried production of a man who has no time to cultivate style, and who has to dash off his ideas and impressions during odd moments at various portions of the day. But I felt, and felt deeply, that the Boers had not had justice done to them in this country. I felt, and I still think, that taking the great mass of literature, ephemeral and otherwise, which has appeared in connection with the Transvaal Question, the Boer side of the question has scarcely if at all, been heard. And so I determined that if no one else would take up the cudgels on their behalf, I would to the best of my poor ability. All I ask the reader of this book is that he will, in perusing and considering it, clear his mind of cant and prejudice and those preconceived ideas generally, which are so fatal to arriving at a sound judgment upon any matter, public or private. No man, at least no honest man, could deny that the Boers have for many decades past been treated by successive British Governments and Cape Governors with gross injustice, or that the time has not assuredly now come when we should attempt to rectify this matter, and to see that they shall, though late in the day, have at least justice. A man can be enthusiastic about these simple peasant farmers, whose only desire is to serve God in solitude, and to possess and till the land and enjoy the fruits thereof in due season, in peace and quietness. But who could get up the slightest enthusiasm for the financiers of Johannesburg, men who think of nothing, speak of little and are concerned about hardly anything but gold? These men have practically deified the precious metal; they have set up another golden calf in Johannesburg, and they cannot understand, much less sympathise, with these poor farmers, these simple heroes, who disdain to fall down and worship this bovine deity. Frankly speaking, I cannot keep my patience with men who prate about the wrongs of the Uitlanders and ask us to rise to heights of pity and to excesses of enthusiasm over the "grievances of the Uitlanders." For myself, I care not whether they get the franchise or not, for I know full well that they themselves care nothing. As I have said, over and over again, I repeat here as my last word, that the so-called grievances of the Uitlanders have been, and are, a mere blind to the carrying out of their nefarious projects, and that their only object has been, and still is, to get possession of the Rand, in order to possess its riches for themselves and themselves alone. APPENDIX PRESS TELEGRAMS AND LETTERS IN THE DATE OF THEIR ORDER OF RECEIPT EXTRACT FROM "THE GALWAY VINDICATOR " Mr W. F. REGAN It will be perceived, from an advertisement in our columns, that Mr Regan is about to publish a work illustrative of the present state of the Transvaal, giving the respective positions of Boers and Uitlanders. Just now this is a very interesting question, so that Mr Regan's work will be most acceptable to the public, as accurate knowledge is essential. Mr Regan's capability for the task he has undertaken is unquestionable, as he is well informed on all questions connected with the Transvaal Republic. [TRANSVAAL CRISIS M |