With Buller in Natal | Page 3

citizens of the republic, and be liable to be
commandeered and called upon to serve in arms, not only against the
natives, upon whom the Boers were always making aggressions, but
against England, when the war, which all foresaw could not long be
delayed, broke out.
For months the negotiations went on between President Kruger and Mr.
Chamberlain, the British colonial minister, and the certainty that the
Boers were bent upon fighting became more and more evident. Vast
quantities of rifles, ammunition, and cannon poured into the Transvaal,
their passage being more than winked at by the Dutch ministry of Cape
Colony.

It was that day known that President Kruger had thrown off the mask of
a pretended desire for peace, and that an ultimatum had been
telegraphed to England couched in terms of such studied insolence that
it was certain war must ensue. The greatest civilized power on earth
would have shown less arrogance towards the most feeble. Not only
was England called upon to send no more troops to South Africa, but to
withdraw most of her forces already in the country, and this by a state
that owed its very existence to her, and whose total population was not
more than that of a small English county.
The terms of that ultimatum had just become known in Johannesburg,
and it was not surprising that it had created an intense excitement. All
had long felt that war must come, and that at an early date, but the step
that had now been taken came as a surprise. From all appearances it
had seemed that the negotiations might be continued for months yet
before the crisis arrived, and that it should thus have been forced on by
the wording of the ultimatum showed that the Boers were satisfied that
their preparations were complete, and that they were in a position to
overrun Natal and Cape Colony before any British force capable of
withstanding them could arrive. England, indeed, had been placed in a
most difficult position. The ministry were not unaware of the enormous
preparations that the Boers were making, and had for some time past
been quietly sending out a large number of officers and a few
non-commissioned officers and men to the Cape. But so long as there
was a hope that the Boers would finally grant some redress to the
Uitlanders, they could not despatch any considerable number of troops,
for had they done so they would have been accused not only on the
Continent, but by a section of Englishmen, of forcing on a war with a
weak state, whereas in point of fact the war was being forced on by a
country that most erroneously believed itself to be stronger than
England. The Boers of the Transvaal knew already that the Orange Free
State would join them at once, and believed firmly that every
Dutchman in Natal and Cape Colony would at the signal take up arms.
Presently a gentleman detached himself from the crowd in front of the
Exchange, and joined a lad of some sixteen years old who was standing
on the other side of the street.

"Well, father, is it all true what they say?" the latter asked--"that Kruger
has sent such an ultimatum to England that war is certain?"
"It is quite true, Chris; war is absolutely certain. Kruger has given the
British Government only two days to reply to the most insolent demand
ever addressed to a great power, and worded in the most offensive
manner. I imagine that no reply will be given; and as the ultimatum was
sent off yesterday, we shall to-morrow morning be in a state of war."
"Well, father, there is no doubt what the result will be."
"No doubt whatever as to the final result, but I am afraid things will go
very badly for a time. I am glad, very glad, that Kruger should have
sent such an ultimatum. It cannot but be accepted as a defiance by all
England; and I should say that even the opposition, which has of late
continually attacked Mr. Chamberlain, will now be silenced, and that
Government will be supported by all parties."
After a quarter of an hour's walk they arrived at home. It was a
handsome house, for Mr. King was one of the leading men in
Johannesburg. He had come out with a wife and son ten years before,
being sent by some London capitalists to report to them fully upon the
prospects of the gold-fields. Under his advice they had purchased
several properties, which had been brought out as companies, and
proved extremely valuable. He was himself a large holder in each of
these, and acted as manager and director of the group. "What is the
news, Robert?" his wife asked, as he and