CHAPTER XXVI

STEVE MEETS A SYMPATHETIC BRITISHER--A RETROSPECT

Another month went by. The political turmoil still went on. Every day seemed to bring new probabilities forth. One day peace seemed assured; the following day some despatch, or public speech of the British minister’s, seemed to threaten the Transvaal with war. Meanwhile, the Government, with President Kruger at its head, went steadily on, pursuing its policy of conciliation and mercy, combined with great firmness where its rights were concerned. But, in spite of the many diplomatic victories gained by the Government, and the sympathy shown towards it by all the world, including many prominent British statesmen, yet the attitude of the Imperial Government seemed to be as if seeking a quarrel with the Transvaal. Consequently, it is not to be wondered at that the Transvaal Government was quietly preparing to defend itself. Whispers went about of large quantities of arms and ammunition being imported. Every field-cornet had orders to see that his men were all properly armed and ready to be called up, in case of need.

In the Free State the Government was giving full attention to the question of fully arming every Burgher. Even here President Kruger had won a great victory without lifting a finger, for a new President had been elected--a President heart and soul for the Afrikander cause; a President working for a closer union of the two Republics, which meant almost doubling the strength of the Afrikander nation. What is more, everyone felt that the Free State had a man for a President who was thoroughly unselfish. A man whose sole ambition seemed to be to live for land and people. A man who would not hesitate to give up his own ambition and position if it would benefit his country. May he long be spared to his people. In Cape Colony it was whispered that the Afrikanders were quietly arming and preparing for the struggle, should it come; determined, should the opportunity occur, to strike a blow for liberty.

But England seemed to realise the volcano on which she stood; the fire, which she would light, should she unjustly attack the Transvaal--and--desisted.

Steve received an invitation one day from a prominent townsman to a small dinner-party, to meet some friends.

Steve was placed at table between a Scotchman and an Englishman. After some conversation on general topics, the Scotchman, who seemed to be a kindly, genial old man, turned to Steve and said,--

‘It is so strange to me that I have met no Boers yet, and here I am in the capital of the land of the Boers. I have been six hours in Pretoria now, and during all that time I have seen no one whom I could recognise as a Boer from the descriptions I have heard and read of them.’

Steve smiled and said,--

‘What is your conception of a Boer? By what description would you recognise him?’

‘Oh, I would easily recognise one if I were to see one. Shall I describe to you what my idea of a Boer is, from reading and hearing him described? Here you are, then. I will begin from the top. Dirty slouch hat; long, greasy, unkempt hair; tangled and untrimmed beard; sly, crafty eyes; a sensual and unclean mouth; dirty and unwashed face; dirty, baggy, ragged clothing; if any shirt at all--dirty; if any shoes at all--made of untanned leather. In short, a _Boer_ is a man uncivilised, untaught, untamed.’

This was said in such an innocent, inoffensive way that Steve took no offence, but only laughed heartily, as if at a good joke.

‘Now, what are you laughing at? Do you mean to say my description is not true? If so, then you must blame those who have written the different descriptions from which I have gathered my ideal of a Boer.’

‘Pardon me, sir; but are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Where are you from?’

‘I am from Glasgow, Scotland, at your service,’ was the smiling and good-natured reply.

‘But how long have you been out of Glasgow?’

‘Not quite a month. I arrived here to-day, and I came straight here.’

‘But surely, on your way from the coast, you must have met many a Boer?’

‘No, I did not; but I suppose it is because I came straight on to Pretoria after leaving the steamer.’

‘Well, sir, you have a few things to learn yet, for I am afraid you will have to journey far to meet your ideal of a Boer. He does not exist.’

‘Well, I shall see. I suppose I will come across one or more during my stay.’

Steve could not suppress another hearty laugh; but as he saw that the kind-looking old man seemed hurt at his mirth, he hastened to say,--

‘Excuse me, sir; it amused me to hear you say that you would recognise a Boer when you saw one, and immediately after express a hope that you would see one or more during your stay. Why, don’t you know that half the guests round this table are what you call Boers, or, rather, what we call them as a nation--Afrikanders?’

‘Well, I am--blessed! Do you mean they are born Boers, or are they naturalised Uitlanders?’

‘No, sir; born and bred in the Transvaal or Cape Colony. That one there was born in the Cape Colony; this one to the left was born and grew up on a farm in Waterberg; this gentleman just opposite us made his living by farming, until he became a Government official; that one to his right is an attorney, whose father was a true old Boer of the old school.’

‘Well, who would have thought it! One never gets too old to learn. It is lucky for me that they did not overhear me.’

‘It would not matter if they did. We Afrikanders are accustomed to be misunderstood and underrated.’

‘What do you mean by saying “_we Afrikanders_?” Surely _you_ are an Englishman; your speech betrays you.’

‘I am as true an Afrikander as Oom Paul himself; may I be as good a one as he is.’

‘You an Afrikander? _You_ a Boer? Surely, sir, you are trying to make fun of me?’

‘No, sir; we Afrikanders know how to respect our elders. I mean what I say. I have never been out of South Africa.’

‘Well, well, the world is full of deceit and lies! and when I go back to Scotland I shall tell the people of our country what a Boer really is. But this gives me just the opportunity I wished for. I wanted so much to have a talk with a Boer, but was afraid that I would not find one who could understand me. I want you to give me an idea of what the real feelings of your people are on the situation in South Africa, and of the events of the past few months. I came out to see and hear for myself what the Transvaal and its people are like; and you, I can see, are an educated man, and just the one to give me the information I want. Are you willing to speak to me on the subject?’

‘With the greatest of pleasure, sir. We ask for nothing better than to be better known and better understood; therefore I am willing to give you all the information you want.’

‘Well, then, if you will be so kind, give me, in a few words, the events which led up to the present situation.’

‘To begin from the very beginning: you know, sir, that South Africa was first colonised by the Dutch. To the Dutch was added a sprinkling, later on, of French Huguenots, also a little seasoning of German blood. These three nationalities readily united, and formed a sturdy race of hunters and farmers. A farmer in Dutch is a _Boer_; hence the name Boer, which really means the occupation and not the nationality of the race. Living a life of seclusion and simplicity on their farms, the one great characteristic of this people came to be their love of their Bible and their love of freedom. This was bred in them from their youth, and their faith is rather to die than to lose either. When the English came, they would or could in no wise understand or appreciate this race of simple, quiet and peace-loving people. Their love of peace was taken for cowardice. This at first led the English to feel contempt for the Boers. This naturally bred antagonism between the two races, which effectually prevented any fusion of the two nationalities. Then, also, the English wished to place the blacks on an equal footing with the whites. This led to further antagonism; for the Boers, while treating the blacks kindly and humanely, do not believe that blacks and whites were intended to be on an equal footing in this world. They contend that even the Bible teaches that the children of Ham shall be servants to the children of his brethren. In a dispute on this matter, a Boer and some of his relatives resisted the law, and were shot in the act, while several others were hanged at _Slachtersnek_ for the same offence. This settled the matter. The Boers saw they were the weakest; so they determined to leave their dearly-loved country and seek for a land in the wilderness, where they would be at rest, and the English cease from troubling them.

‘The first country they took possession of in the interior was what is now the Free State, and, soon after, Natal was occupied. In both of these territories they had to fight many a bloody battle with the fierce Zulus and other native tribes before they could live at peace. But no sooner were they settled, and had built homes and ploughed lands, than once more England followed them up, and forced them to ‘clear’ out after a short struggle. This happened in the Free State, as well as Natal. The Boers now _trekked_ in earnest to the Transvaal.

‘The Transvaal at this time was almost inaccessible to an English army, because of the distance from the coast in which it lay; therefore the Boers were not only able to hold their own, but also to harass the English in the neighbouring Colonies so as to force England to solemnly recognise their independence at the Sand River Convention. After the Sand River Convention, the Boers lived at peace with England for many years. But they still had to struggle on against native tribes, poverty, and the internal dissensions usual to a nation in its infancy and in course of formation. At last a time came when the hardy Boers were sorely pressed, what with no market for their produce, a President not in sympathy with their simple ways and manners, and native wars. In the meanwhile England, or rather certain Jingoistic Englishmen, began to see what a mistake was made when England allowed an independent state to grow up on the borders of its own possessions in South Africa, the more so as England had already been forced by avarice to do an unjust act to the Free State, by forcing that independent State to give up its most valuable possession--the diamond fields--for a paltry consideration. And gold having begun to be discovered in the Transvaal, it seemed to be the best policy to take full possession of the Transvaal before further discoveries of gold took place, which might necessitate the same course of action which was pursued in the case of the diamond fields. Besides, a trick of that kind does not generally succeed twice; therefore something new must be tried this time, and the best plan would be to take possession of the whole country on some pretext or other. When an excuse is sought to do an unjust thing, such an excuse is easily found. Now that the Boers were so hard pressed, what could be more in conformity with England’s usual policy of succour and protection of weak countries than relieving the Boers of any further trouble of forming their State on a firm basis by annexing the Transvaal? This was done in a manner unworthy the traditions of a country like England.

‘Sir Theophilus Shepstone, England’s tool and emissary, sent a letter to the Transvaal Government, in which he requested a conference to discuss certain matters in which the States and Colonies of South Africa were alike interested, amongst which was the threatening attitude of the natives in the Transvaal, stating, in a passing sort of way, that he was bringing an escort of a few gentlemen and twenty-five border policemen from Natal; and as he was sure that there would be no objection to his coming, he would not wait for a reply, but would start at once.

‘Of course no reasonable objection could be made to his coming, so he was received in a friendly manner. What was the surprise of the Government when Sir Theophilus, after a pretext of discussing matters, formally annexed the land in the name of the Queen? Of course protest was made, but no heed was given to it. What were the Boers to do? They had no wish to fight mighty England; so it was decided to try all peaceful ways to endeavour to get their beloved country back. Deputation after deputation was sent to England, praying the Queen to give back their own. But it was all in vain. England would not easily give up territory once obtained.

‘At last, at a great meeting of the people, it was decided to fight, and, if need be, _die_, for their independence. War was declared. The result all the world knows. The Boers fought bravely and fairly, and through God’s blessing, the cause of justice was victorious. England, after the loss of several battles, professed to see the justice of the claims of the Boers at last. A truce was called, and England promised to accede to the wishes of the Transvaalers on terms to be decided at a convention to be held at Pretoria. The Boers were disbanded and sent home rejoicing at having achieved their independence. The convention was held. But alas for England’s good name, now that the Boers had gone home and had once more settled peaceably to their occupations, she would not give up all she had taken. She had taken the Transvaal as an entirely free and independent country. Now, after her latest promises, she would not give back more than a shadow of that former independence possessed by the Transvaal. England must retain the suzerainty of the country, with a right of veto on the foreign policy of the country. The Boers loved peace. They accepted these terms, hardly realising what a yoke they placed upon their necks in so doing. After some years it was seen that the country could not be _free_ while England retained the suzerainty of the Transvaal. The British Government was approached on the subject. A new convention was drawn up in 1884 and agreed to, by which the suzerainty was withdrawn. Now came a time of prosperity to the country. Gold was discovered in various places. Wealth poured into the country. A large population of Englishmen grew up in the gold-digging centres. Once more an Ahab desired to possess the vineyard of his neighbour. Not content with reaping the fruits thereof, the Englishmen living on the goldfields wished to have full possession of the whole country. Agitation and conspiracy was rife. The result has been seen in the events of the first few days of January of this year. Although these events have been distorted shamefully, yet you must know enough to glean the true facts of the case from what you have heard.’

‘Although you have put it in a very few words, yet you have put it so plainly that you have enlightened me on many points which were dark to me before. Past events, as stated by you, make the crime against your country even blacker than it appeared to be before. But what about the complaints of ill treatment and oppression laid by the Uitlanders against your Government?’

‘Oh, that is easily disproved. But I see signs of the company dispersing. I am afraid we have paid our host and his guests a poor compliment by keeping our conversation all to ourselves. But if you will do me the honour to come to my quarters to-morrow evening and have a cup of tea or something stronger, if you prefer, with me, then I shall show you a very capable article from some English paper, which was taken over from the paper in question by _The Press_. This article, by facts and figures, disproves the Uitlander grievances much more capably than I could do offhand. What do you say?’

‘With pleasure. I should like nothing better than to continue our conversation when we have more leisure. You may expect me. At what hour shall we say? Will seven o’clock do?’

‘Finely; that is settled then.’

After this the conversation on politics was dropped, and Steve and his new acquaintance joined in the general conversation.