Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/168

 160] ENGLISH HISTOKY. [wly

on which the convention were based had not been kept. That being so they might claim that the Transvaal should put matters back as in 1884, and if the Transvaal would not meet their present moderate demands they might put in that whole claim. But they had adopted Sir A. Milner's view, which was that the first step to a settlement would be that the Outlanders should be given some substantial and immediate representation. The High Commissioner's proposals would have given the Out- landers at once about one-fifth of the First Eaad. The President had made two absolutely illusory proposals, which everybody now recognised as unsatisfactory, though Mr. Schreiner and Mr.Hofmeyr had rushed forward to accept the second. The present proposals of Mr. Kruger were a real advance, and the Government hoped to find in them a basis of a satisfactory settlement. If it did not fulfil the test he had mentioned, then : "I will assume that President Kruger must have the 'same object that we have, and must be seeking as we are, to relieve the pressure of a great number of questions by allowing the Outlanders to work out their own salvation by means of sepa- rate representation. President Kruger, who is aware of this, and must share our views, will no doubt be willing to make such alterations in his latest proposals as will make them effective for the purpose. We regret that President Kruger did not see fit to communicate to us the proposals which he was about to submit to the Volksraad, in order that we might have consulted with him in a friendly way, and the matter might not be dealt with without our having an opportunity of saying a single word of comment or criticism. The result has been, of course, that the act has now passed the Volksraad ; and we are told that it is finally fixed. If we were to take that literally, it would be an unfortunate position. But I do not take it literally. The President, in the communication in which he refused to communicate the act, invited friendly advice. We think that we are justified in those circumstances in appealing to him — as we have done — that a joint inquiry shall be held into these latest proposals with a view of seeing how far they will go in giving that substantial and immediate representation to the alien population which alone can be considered as a basis of satis- factory settlement. If this inquiry is accepted, and when it is concluded, the experts who will be engaged in it will make a report to the two Governments, and then we hope that it may be possible for us to come to an agreement. In any case, we shall press for the necessary alterations in order to secure the object which I have stated." The Government had issued no ultimatum, and did not intend to be hurried. He regretted most seriously the state of tension caused by delay, but the responsibility was so great that they must choose their own time and method for giving effect to their policy. There was no monopoly on the other side of a desire for peace: "This question was coming to a head in the period of the last Govern-