The Transvaal from Within

er this, further mobilization of other bodies took place and during the first week in December there collected at Pitsani Potlogo the body of men from whom Dr. Jameson's invading column w

men of the Bechuanaland Border Police who advanced from Mafeking under the command of Colonel Grey and Major Coventry were not so fully informed as to their destination and the reasons for the movement until they were actually in marching order to start. It would appear however from the general summary of the evidence and from the reports of the men who took part in the expedition, that they were informed that the destination of the force was Johannesburg, that the object was to render assistance to their countrymen in that town who were being grossly misruled by the Transvaal Government and were at that time in grievous straits and peril through having endeavoured to assert their right

eport of the Select Committee on the Jameson

to postpone flotation. Charles Leonard left last night for Capetown.' Messages to the same effect were sent from Mr. S.W. Jameson to his brother, and fr

brother that any movement must be postponed 'until we have C.J. Rhodes' absolute pledge that authority of Imperial Governm

doubt that some at least of the Johannesburg confederates wer

sent to impress on Dr. Jameson the necessity for delay.

olden arrived at Mafeking on the 28th

informing them that 'Zebrawood' (Colonel Rhodes) had asked him to 'stop "Zahlbar" (Dr. Jameson) till Heany sees him,' and asking that a special train might b

ed Company, that Heany left by it, caught up the ordinary train at Vr

p Mr. Isaacs, a local storekeeper, and purchased a pair of field boots and a kit-bag, and proceeded by special cart to Pi

deavour to put a stop to it. Therefore expect to receive telegram from you nine to-morrow morning authorizing movements. Surely Col. F.W. Rhodes advisable to come to terms at once. Give guarantee, or you can telegraph before Charles Leonard a

ws: 'If I cannot, as I expect, communicate with Bechuanaland Border Police cutting, then we must carry into effect original plans

in Johannesburg as follows: 'Guarantee already given, t

st positive reply absolutely

ing place, Mr. A. Bates was despatched from Mafeking into the Transvaal with instructions from Major Raleigh Grey to collect informa

ft to themselves; first delay was races, which did not exist; second policies, already arranged. All mean

later, Dr. Harris for the Chartered Company telegraphs: 'Goold Adams arrives Mafeking Monday, and Heany, I think, arrives to-night; after seeing him, you and we must

of a strongly discouraging tenour. One of them concludes by saying 'we cannot have fiasco,' and the

burg that, 'Have arranged for Captain Maurice Heany; Dr. Jame

la

d by public. Is it true? Consult all our friends and let me know, as Dr. Jameson i

ce Heany. Have no further news. I require to know. Unless I hear definitely to the contrary, shall leave to-morrow ev

the Transvaal. My reason is the final arrangement with writers of letter was that, without further reference to them, in case I should hear at some future time that suspicions have been aroused as to their intention among the Transvaal authorities, I was to start immediately to prevent loss of lives, as letter sta

he Hon. H. F. White, Major 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards; Hon. R. White, Captain Royal Welsh Fusiliers; Major J. B. Tracey, 2nd Battalion Scots Guards; Captain C. H. Villiers, Royal Horse Guards; and 120 of the Bechuanaland Border Police under Major Raleigh Grey, Captain 6th Inniskillen Dragoons, and the Hon. C. J. Coventry, Captain 3rd Militia Battalion Worcester Regiment. The two contingents met at Malmani at about sunrise on Monday morning, December 30. They marched throughout that day and night and the following day, Tuesday. There were half-hour rests about every twenty miles for rationing the men and feeding and watering the horses, the fodder being ready for the horses at various stores. Provisions for the men consisted of tinned meats and biscuits. There was n

sident Commissioner at Mafeking, received the following tele

cting him to return immediately. A copy of this telegram should be sent to the officers with him, and they should be told that this violation of

Jameson and each of the chief offi

I

rom His Excellency the High Commissioner, and I have accordingly to req

and then allowed to proceed with an escort. On Tuesday morning he crossed the Elands River and caught up the column at about 11 a.m. He had ridden all night, covering about eighty miles. He alleges that at first the officers would not take the letters, but eventually Sir John Willoughby accepted and read his and the others followed suit. He stat

er 30,

I

ch have no hostile intention against the people of the Transvaal; but we are here in reply to an invitation from the principal

fait

JAM

his Government to ride to Mafeking, presumably for the purpose of getting information. He had come with a guard of nine men, whom he had left some distance off; advancing alone to meet the column. He states that when released after two hours' delay he left the forces, and passing along the Ruste

30 p.m. on the previous day with a despatch for Dr. Jameson, reached the column and delivered their letters, and stated that they had been instructed to ta

uar

R S

es to feed, and having finished all my supplies in the rear, must perforce proceed to Krugersdorp or Johannesburg this morning for this purpose. At the same time I must acknowledge I am anxious to fulfil my promise on the petition of the principal

) L.S.

With that good fortune which seems to have followed the Boers throughout this business, these torn fragments were picked up on the battle-field by a Boer official four months later, having remained undisturbed during the severe rain and wind storms of the wet season. Some portions were missing, but the others were

AR

e. We are all right, feeling intense. We have armed a lot of men. Shall be very g

ine fellow.

R.

rink a glass

P.

eat: armistice for 24 hours agreed to. My view is that they ar

R.

JAME

h, misled by some false reports. In the second letter Colonel Rhodes expresses the opinion that it was wrong to agree to send in a deputation to meet the Government. This was written before the deputation had gone to Pretoria, and clearly implies that the moral ef

000 men should come out probably the Boers would draw off. This witness in his evidence at Bow Street also alleged that one of the despatches expressed surprise at Dr. Jameson's movement. There is now a complete record of these despatches. They make no allusions to giving assistance, and the Johannesburg leaders are very clear on the point tha

yclist despatch-rider who took the letter and received the reply, which report was taken down in shorthand by the clerks in the Reform Committee room as it was made verbally by him immediately on his return. Both these records dispose of Mr. Rowland's statement about 2,000 men; and apart from th

Dr. Jameson. It was in the form of a memorandum from Col. H. F. White to Col. Frank Rhodes, and bore no s

t, but of course it will depend on the amount of fighting we have. Of course we shall be pleased to have 200 men meet us at K

S

er detailing the inciden

during my travels. I explained to him everything in detail. The Doctor seemed to be very brave. He told me that he had two scrimmages, and that no damage had been done. I said to him whether it would not be well for him to halt until we got through and sent him some help. The Doctor said he did not think there was anything to fear, and at the s

shorthand notes, concludes with an account of the return journey. M

e most certainly was that he had never

n a party of some fifty Boers ensconced in a good position. No casualties however occurred until Krugersdorp was reached at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. A message was sent by Sir

night. An ambush at the crushing mill and works of the Queen's Mine was shelled and an attempt was made to storm it by a small party of the invaders. It wa

he spot, a man who was never seen after the events of the following day and is freely alleged to have been a Boer agent. It is stated by competent judges that, had Dr. Jameson's force pushed on during the night on the main road to Johannesburg, they would have succeeded in reaching that town without difficulty. As it was however they camped for the night in the direction of Randfontein and in the

en us two forces, both stationary. Then one began to move away and from the regularity of its movement we recognized that this must be Dr. Jameson's trying to round the opposing B

orge and May Mine, two miles north-west of Krugersdorp, a small mining township twenty-one miles west of Johannesburg. Fighting took place from three in the afternoon

s men behaved with great gallantry, and he also said that admirable arrang

was marching. The Boers in the night had been reinforced by men and with artillery and Maxims. Their position was an exceedingly strong one on an open slope, but alon

Boers lay hid behind rocks and fired with rifles, Maxims, and artillery upon their assailants. The Boers

d, and as we stood we saw his brave little band riding dejectedly back

ed him in giving up the contest when he found the enemy's position so strong that in any case it would have been no disgrace to have been beaten by superior numbers of such a brave foe as that Boer force which I saw in the very position they had fought i

soldiers-spoke in feeling terms of the splendid bravery shown by their assailants. They were perfectly calm and spoke without any

l military officer, and they thought that no officer was killed, and that the report that Sir

, the officer in command of the force, then sent the followi

rantee us safe conduct out of the c

. WILL

en minutes, of which the foll

all immediately assemble our office

MAN

d note was received by the surrenderin

you have caused the South African Republic, and if you will surrender with your arms, then I

Commandant,

is letter, Sir J. Willoughby replied, accep

ur instructions as to how and where we are to lay down our arms. At the same time I woul

time after Jameson's force had ceased. After Sir J. Willoughby had received the first answer the State Artillery opened fire and continued firing for at least fifteen minutes. Sir J. Willoughby sent Colonel the Hon. H. White and Captain Grenfell to the Commandant with a note requesting to know the reason for firing on a flag of truce, and requesting that it might cease. Sir J. Willoughby has no copy of the letter he wr

Cronjé replied that they had surrendered to him upon certain conditions, and those conditions had been accepted by him. In the course of the discussion, in which several other prominent Boers joined, disapproval was generally expressed of Cronjé's acceptance of the terms and threats were used to Dr. Jameson in person. Eye-witnesses on the Boer side state that Dr. Jameson declined to discuss the matter further; he merely bowed and walked away. It may be remarked that it is not by any means unusual for the B

correspondent, describ

ions, and the tremendous strain of continuous engagements for nearly twenty-four hours. Some almost slept in their sadd

ravenous hunger. In many cases the Boers gave from their own scant stock of provisions to the st

the Boers treated most of the prisoners with consideration, they jeered somewhat when Dr. Jameson was brought forward; but this was promptly suppres

der a strong escort of Boers. About half an hour later the rest of the prisoners were also escorted out

4 killed and 5 wounded. The losses of Dr. Jame

2 sacks of projectiles, 300 cartridge-belts, 13 revolvers, 4 mule-waggons, 5 Scotch carts, 742 horses (in which were included the 250 horses which were captured in charge of two troopers near Blaaubank), a fu

nnesburg and the Imperial Government, however the juggling with Dr. Jameson's life afterwards and the spurious magnanimity so freely advertized, may detract from what they did and may tend to bring ridicule and suspicion upon them, one cannot review the broad facts of the Jameson invasion, and realize a position which, if only for the moment, gave the aggrieved party unlimited scope for revenge upon an aggressor who had not the semblance of personal wrong or interest no

in accordance with what the highest Boer authorities would have accepted. It seems to be beyond question also that the conditions of surrender were purposely suppressed in order to enable the President to bargain with Johannesburg; and, as has already been stated, such action materially detracted from the credit due to the Transvaal Government. This is their characteristic diplomacy-the fruit of generations of sharpening w

he individuals, unrestrained by those in authority, are left to exercise their power at the dictates of their

rom a rifle butt. When unable to bear the treatment any longer Black stood up and, tearing his shirt open, cried out, 'Don't shoot me in the back! Shoot here! My heart's in the right place.' He was then untied and (as alleged by Dutch witnesses) given an opportunity to escape. He mounted his horse, but before he had gone far was shot dead. On the appeal of Sir Jacobus de Wet the

en or seventeen years, he was recognized and rather harshly treated. He was attached by a leather thong to the saddle of one of the Boer Commandants and made to run, keeping pace with the horse. After a spell of this treatment he was released, and the Commandant in question offered to make a bet with him that he would not be able to race him on horseback to the ambulance waggons a few hundred yards off, the prisoner to take a short cut across a swamp

the President was during that night of suspense before the surrender, when Chief Justice Kotzé sat with him to aid and cheer, and when the old white horse stood saddled in the stable in case Johannesburg should attack Pretoria; all point to the conclusion that it was not all cut and dried. With a singular unanimity, the Boers and their friends and the majority of the Uitlanders in the Transvaal support this view; but there are on record certain facts which are not to be ignored. Apart altogether from the hearsay evidence of telegraphists and Boer officials in different parts of the country, who state that they were under orders from Government to remain at their posts day and night-that is to say to sleep in their offices-a fortnight before the Jameson raid took place, a significant piece of evidence is that supplied by the Transvaal Consul in London, Mr. Montagu White, who in a lett

lar terms concerning the pronouncedly loyal and hearty reception accorded to him on his visit to the Rand Agricultural Show, seems to argue a lapse into the habits of his youngest days, which has a direct significance in the case of ordinary individuals, and is known by a very familiar name. That he should tragically declare that only across his bleeding corpse will the Uitlander ever come into his own, is merely the extravagant and regrettable melodrama of an overheated mind. The general desire is quite averse to e

IS P

nd the usual professions of fervid patriotism and of readiness for target practice with the Uitlander as the mark have been profusely evoked. This sub-official aspect of the itinerary has been discreetly veiled in all the reports which have been permitted to transpire, and the censorship thereof has been more than normally exacting and severe; but we are from private sources left in no manner of doubt that Mr. Kruger has been canvassing and stimulating the Boers to be ready for any emergency, and has been metaphorically planting a war-beacon on every hill. All scrutiny and inquiry fail to discover that he has uttered one single word which can be described as an emollient to the present critical situation. He has pandered rather to the worst racial passions of the Boer, instead of using the enormous responsibility resting upon him in the direction of mediation. Old patriarchs-whom we cannot but respect and admire whilst we deplore their immitigable and hopeless rancour against the cause of the newcomer-have been permitted, apparently without rebuke, to show their wounds to the younger and more malleable generation in His Honour's presence,

e German White

res.' Baron von Marschall communicated this to Sir Frank Lascelles, and, after pointing out the possible consequence of bloodshed, emphasized once again the necessity for maintaining the status quo. In reply to the German Cons

eson's intended invasion. He heard that a certain young lady who resided at Luipaardsvlei, near Krugersdorp, whose fiancé occupied a good position in the Bechuanaland Border Police, had received a letter from him at Mafeking to the effect that he intended paying her a vis

ation of the letter,' said Mr. Bodenstein, 'I went at once to Pretoria. I arrived there at eleven o'clock at night, and early the next morning I saw the President and informed him abo

on, the Attorney-General of Cape Colony, were on a visit to Johannesburg on December 27, and heard it publicly stated that Dr. Jameson with 800 men was on the border for the purpose of invading th

following the troop with others for a considerable time and that he was sure Jameson had not 800 but between 450 and 500, as he had repeatedly counted them; that the force was being delayed by small parties drawing it into useless fighting and so losing time; that he himself had been obliged to come on ahead, having been recalled on account of his wife's seriou

Doornkop), and this statement was published in a Johannesburg paper on the morning of January 1, but was of course regarded as mere gossip of a piece with that which flooded the newspapers at the time. It is only r

which his burghers threatened to make into Mashonaland via Rhodes' Drift when Sir John Willoughby gained his first experience of Oom Paul. The military commander of Dr. Jameson's force had called on the President to add weight to the remonstrances which were being made against the action of the burghers in invading the Chartered territory, and the President, playing his cards for a favourable settlement of Swaziland, had replied that he had done all that he could, and events must take their course. 'Tell him,' said S

l between the prisoner and the President. Oddly enough President Kruger was a rebel and a filibuster himself in the days of his hot youth, and one of his earl

t is. Dr. Hillier, of Johannesburg, one of the Reformers, called attention just before the outbreak to the extraordinary parallel between the revolt of Potche

life of a settled community. Mr. Pretorius and his followers began to feel that in the altered circumstances of the State the time had arrived for a remode

heal

etoria and Potchefstroom, and called public meetings at all the centres of population. At these meetings there was an expression by a lar

outh Africa's historian the gist of the compla

try, without any other right to preeminence than that of being composed of the earlie

ant, Mr. S.J.P. Kruger, as we shall see later. Shortly after these meetings were held, a Representative Assembly, consisting of twenty-four members, on

e Assembly at Potchefstroom were almost unanimously repudiated, and a manifesto disowning the new Constitution and everything connected with it was drawn up. Mr. Pretorius then issued a proclamation, deposing Commandant-General Schoeman from all authority, declaring Zoutpansberg in a state of blockade, and prohibiting traders from supplying 'the rebels' with ammunition or anything else. This conduct on the part of the new Government under Mr. Pret

calling the other party 'rebels.' In order to strengthen its position, the party of Pretorius now determined on a bold stroke. They sent emissaries to endeavour to arrange for union with the Free State. The Free State Government rejected their overtures, but Pretorius was led to believe that so ma

martial law in force throughout the Free State, and calling out burghers for the defence of the country. It soon appeared that the majority of the people were ready to support the President, and from all quarter

t position for three hours. Threatened from the north as well as the south Pretorius felt his chance of success was small,

he northern forces moved over the Vaal after this event. Those who remained and those who had been previously arrested were brought to trial for high treason. One man was sentenced to death, but the sentence was

etorius and Kruger made a raid à la Jameson into the Orange Free State for political purposes, to encourage those who were believed to be anxious to effect a union. And just as Jameson failed against the Government of Pretoria, so Pretorius failed against the Government of the Orange Free State. In 1857

resident stated in open Raad that proof had been obtained of a proposed combined attack on the Free State by the Transvaal Boers, led by Pretorius and Kruger on the one side, and the Basutos under Moshesh on the other-a ho

s for Ch

use of Commons the following questions and answers o

, as quickly as you could, and you just gave the message as accurately as you could to

t. He was in a bell-tent when I arrived and he went outside and walked up and dow

Jameson himself took occasion to explain this referenc

which has been brought up against me very unpleasantly, which I wish I had never sent, where 'fear' is imputed in the telegram as it stands here. My explanation is that I was irritated at the time at the trouble going on, and that I used it

ls have since been photogra

nel Franc

onel Ph

igures '2,000' in Colonel Rhodes' letter (see photograph

ffice. It has been printed and-to a certain extent-circulated, and cannot therefore be regarded as private. But apart from this it is a document so peculiar-so marked by mishandl

hefstroom commando the worst reputation of any. Apart from the execution of several British subjects who were suspected and, on wholly insufficient grounds, summarily shot as spies, there are the unpleasant facts that he caused prisoners of war to be placed in the forefront of the besieging operations and compelled them to work in the trenches in exposed positions so that they should be-and actually were-shot by their own comrades. There was also the incident in which he refused to allow one or two of the ladies who were among the beleaguered garrison, and who were then in extremely bad health, to leave the fort to obtain such food and medical attendance as would enable them to live. One of the ladies died in consequence. But the incident which has more bearing on Jameson's surrender than any other is that connected with the armistice, when Commandant Cronjé, in defiance of treaty obligati

e could descend and that his only chance lay in 'bluff.' Stepping on to the outermost ledge in full view of the enemy he calmly laid down his rifle, drew off first one and then the other of his velschoens (home-made hide shoes, in those poorer days worn without socks) and after quietly knocking the sand out of th