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History of Cape Colony from 1870 to 1899

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   Cape Colony
   History
    Pre-1806
    1806–1870
    1870–1899
    1899–1910

   The year 1870 in the history of the Cape Colony marks the dawn of a new
   era in South Africa, and it can be said that the development of modern
   South Africa began on that date. Despite political complications that
   arose from time to time, progress in Cape Colony continued at a steady
   pace until the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer Wars in 1899. The discovery
   of diamonds in the Orange River in 1867 was immediately followed by
   similar finds in the Vaal River. This led to the rapid occupation and
   development of huge tracts of the country, which had hitherto been
   sparsely inhabited. Dutoitspan and Bultfontein diamond mines were
   discovered in 1870, and in 1871 the even richer mines of Kimberley and
   De Beers were discovered. These four great deposits of mineral wealth
   were incredibly productive, and constituted the greatest industrial
   asset that the Colony possessed.

   This period also witnessed the increasing tensions between the
   English-dominated Cape Colony and the Afrikaner-dominated Transvaal.
   These conflicts led to the break out of the First Boer War. These
   tensions mainly concerned the easing of trade restrictions between the
   different colonies, as well as the construction of railways. The
   leaders of Cape Colony consistently believed the leaders of the
   colonies around them to be more trustworthy and reliable than they
   were, which caused internal problems within the Cape.

Development of modern conditions

   The Rt Hon. 4th Earl of Carnarvon
   Enlarge
   The Rt Hon. 4th Earl of Carnarvon
   A portrait of Bartle Frere
   Enlarge
   A portrait of Bartle Frere

   At the time of the beginning of the diamond industry, all of South
   Africa was experiencing depressed economic conditions. Ostrich-farming
   was in its infancy, and agriculture had only been lightly developed.
   The Boers, except those in the immediate vicinity of Cape Town, lived
   in primitive conditions. They only traded limitedly with the Colony for
   durable goods. Even the British colonists were far from wealthy. The
   diamond industry was therefore considerably attractive, especially to
   colonists of British origin. It was also a means to demonstrate that
   South Africa, which appeared to be barren and poor on the surface, was
   rich below the ground. It takes ten acres (40,000 m²) of Karoo to feed
   a sheep, but it was now possible that a few square metres of
   diamondiferous blue ground would be able to feed a dozen families. By
   the end of 1871, a large population had already gathered on the diamond
   fields, and immigration increased dramatically, which brought in many
   newcomers. Among the first to seek a fortune on the diamond fields was
   Cecil Rhodes.

   Sir George Grey's plan for a federation of all the various colonies in
   South Africa had been rejected in 1858 by the home authorities. The 4th
   Earl of Carnarvon, secretary of state for the colonies, turned his
   attention to a federation in South Africa after he successfully
   federated Canada. He envisaged a similar set-up in South Africa. The
   representative government in Cape Colony was replaced in 1872 by
   "responsible government", ie self-government, and the new parliament in
   Cape Town resented the manner in which Lord Carnarvon presented his
   suggestions. A resolution was passed on 11 June 1875 that started that
   any scheme in favour of confederation must originate from within South
   Africa itself. James Anthony Froude, a distinguished historian, was
   sent by Lord Carnarvon to further his policies in South Africa.
   However, the general public in South Africa deemed him to be a diplomat
   and representative of the British government, and he was thus not a
   success, and he entirely failed to induce the colonists to adopt Lord
   Carnarvon's plan. In 1876, Fingoland, the Idutywa reserve and other
   tracts of land along the Xhosa frontier were annexed by Britain on the
   understanding that the Cape government should provide for their
   government. Lord Carnarvon, still bent on confederation, now appointed
   Sir Bartle Frere governor of Cape Colony and high commissioner of South
   Africa.

   Frere had no sooner taken office as high commissioner than he found
   himself confronted with serious native troubles in Zululand and on the
   Xhosa frontier of Cape Colony. There was a serious rebellion in 1877 by
   the Galekas and the Gaikas. A considerable force of imperial and
   colonial troops was required in order to put down the uprising, and the
   war was subsequently known as the Ninth Kaffir War. The famous Xhosa
   chief, Sandii, lost his life during the course of the war. After the
   war ended, the Transkei or the territory of the Galeka tribe who were
   led by Kreli, was annexed by the British. While the war was being
   fought, Lord Carnarvon resigned his position in the British cabinet and
   his scheme for confederation was abandoned.

   What Lord Carnarvon did not realise was that at the time, Cape Colony
   was too busy dealing with "native" troubles to even consider something
   as involved as confederation. A wave of discontent spread amongst the
   different Xhosa tribes on the colonial frontier, and there was another
   uprising in Basutoland under Moirosi after the Gaika-Galeka War. The
   Xhosa under Moirosi had to be put down with severe fighting by a
   colonial force, but their defeat notwithstanding, the Basutos remained
   restless and aggressive for several years. In 1880 the colonial
   authorities attempted to extend the Peace Preservation Act of 1878 to
   Basutoland, which attempted a general disarmament of the Basutos.
   Further fighting followed the proclamation, which did not have a
   conclusive end, although peace was declared in December 1882. The
   imperial government took over Basutoland as a crown colony, on the
   understanding that Cape Colony should contribute £18,000 annually for
   administrative purposes. The authorities of the Colony were incredibly
   glad to be relieved in 1884 of the administration of the Transkei,
   whose administration had already cost them more than £3,000,000.

   Sir Bartle Frere, who had won the esteem and regard of loyal South
   African colonists with his energetic and statesmanlike attitude on
   relations with the natives’ states, was recalled in 1880 by the 1st
   Earl of Kimberley, the liberal secretary of state for the colonies. He
   was succeeded by Sir Hercules Robinson. Griqualand West, which included
   most of the diamond fields, also became an incorporated portion of Cape
   Colony.

Origin of the Afrikander Bond

   The disastrous end of the Boer War of 1881 had repercussions that
   spread throughout South Africa. One of the most important results was
   the first Afrikander Bond congress that was held in 1882 at Graaf
   Reinet. The bond developed to include both the Transvaal, the Orange
   Free State, and Cape Colony. Each country had a provincial committee
   with district committees, and branches were distributed through South
   Africa. Later on, the Bond in the Cape Colony dissociated itself from
   its Republican branches. The policy of the Bond is best summarised by
   an excerpt from De Patriot, a paper published in the colony and an
   avowed supporter of the Bond.

          The Afrikander Bond has for its object the establishment of a
          South African nationality by spreading a true love for what is
          really our fatherland. No better time could be found for
          establishing the Bond than the present, when the consciousness
          of nationality has been thoroughly aroused by the Transvaal
          war... The British government keeps on talking about a
          confederation under the British flag, but that will never be
          brought about. They can be quite certain of that. There is just
          one obstacle in the way of confederation, and that is the
          British flag. Let them remove that, and in less than a year the
          confederation would be established under the Free Afrikander
          flag.

          After a time the English will realize that the advice given them
          by Froude was the best — they must just have Simon’s Bay as a
          naval and military station on the way to India, and give over
          all the rest of South Africa to the Afrikanders... Our principal
          weapon in the social war must be the destruction of English
          trade by our establishing trading companies for ourselves ...It
          is the duty of each true Afrikander not to spend anything with
          the English that he can avoid. (De Patriot. 1882.)

   In addition to its press organs, the Bond published official statements
   from time to time that were less frank in their town than the
   statements from its press. South of the articles of the Bond's original
   manifesto can be considered entirely neutral, e.g. those referring to
   the administration of justice, honouring people, etc. However, these
   closes were meaningless in the view of the government in Cape Colony,
   for Article 3 on the manifesto advocated complete independence
   (Zelfstandieheid) for South Africa, which was tantamount to treason
   against the Crown.

   If the Bond prompted disloyalty and insubordination in some of the Cape
   inhabitants, it also caused loyalty and patriotism in another group. A
   pamphlet written in 1885 for an association called the Empire League on
   the behalf of the Bond, stated the following:

          (1) That the establishment of the English government here was
          beneficial to all classes; and
          (2) that the withdrawal of that government would be disastrous
          to every one having vested interests in the colony. . . .
          England never can, never will, give up this colony, and we
          colonists will never give up England. Let us, the inhabitants of
          the Cape Colony, be swift to recognize that we are one people,
          cast together under a glorious flag of liberty, with heads clear
          enough to appreciate the freedom we enjoy, and hearts resolute
          to maintain our true privileges; let us desist from reproaching
          and insulting one another, and, rejoicing that we have this
          goodly land as a common heritage, remember that by united action
          only can we realize its grand possibilities. We belong both of
          us to a home-loving stock, and the peace and prosperity of every
          home in the land is at stake. On our action now depends the
          question whether our children shall curse or bless us; whether
          we shall live in their memory as promoters of civil strife, with
          all its miserable consequences, or as joint architects of a
          happy, prosperous, and united state. Each of us looks back to a
          noble past. United, we may ensure to our descendants a not
          unworthy future. Disunited, we can hope for nothing but
          stagnation, misery and ruin. Is this a light thing?

   It is probable that many Englishmen who read the Empire League's
   manifesto at the regarded it as unduly alarmist, but subsequent events
   proved the soundness of the views it expressed. From 1881 onwards, two
   great rival ideas came into being, each strongly opposed to the other.
   One was that of Imperialism — full civil rights for every "civilized"
   man, whatever his race might be, under the supremacy and protection of
   Britain. The other was nominally republican, but in fact exclusively
   oligarchic and Dutch. The policy of the extremists of this last party
   was summed up in the appeal, which President Kruger made to the Free
   State in February 1881, when he bade them: "Come and help us. God is
   with us. It is his will to unite us as a people ... to make a united
   South Africa free from British authority."

   The two actual founders of the Bond party were a German man named
   Borckenhagen who lived in Bloemfontein, and an Afrikaner named Reitz,
   who afterwards became the state secretary of the Transvaal. There are
   two recorded interview that show the true aims of the founders of the
   Bond from the very beginning. One occurred between Borckenhagen and
   Cecil Rhodes, the other between Reitz and T. Schreiner, whose brother
   later became prime minister of Cape Colony. In the first interview,
   Borckenhagen remarked to Rhodes: "We want a united Africa," and Rhodes
   replied: "So do I". Mr Borckenhagen then continued: "There is nothing
   in the way; we will take you as our leader. There is only one small
   thing: we must, of course, be independent of the rest of the world."
   Rhodes replied: "You take me either for a rogue or a fool. I should be
   a rogue to forfeit all my history and my traditions; and I should be a
   fool, because I should be hated by my own countrymen and mistrusted by
   yours." But as Rhodes said in Cape Town in 1898, "the only chance of a
   true union is the overshadowing protection of a supreme power, and any
   German, Frenchman, or Russian would tell you that the best and most
   liberal power is that over which Her Majesty reigns."

   The other interview took place just as the Bond was being established.
   Being approached by Reitz, Schreiner objected to the fact that the Bond
   aimed ultimately to overthrow British rule and remove the British flag
   from South Africa. To this, Reitz replied: "Well, what if it is so?"
   Schreiner expostulated in the following terms: "You do not suppose that
   that flag is going to disappear without a tremendous struggle and hard
   fighting?" "Well, I suppose not, but even so, what of that?" rejoined
   Reitz. In the face of this testimony with reference to two of the most
   prominent of the Bond’s promoters, it is impossible to deny that from
   its beginning the great underlying idea of the Bond was an independent
   South Africa.

Hofmeyr

   The Cape legislative assembly passed an act in 1882 that gave members
   the right to speak in Dutch on the floor of the House if they so
   desired. The intent of the act was liberal, but the moment of its
   introduction was inopportune, and its effect was to give additional
   stimulus to the actions of the Bond. It also allowed a number of
   Dutchmen to be elected to the House. The Dutchmen were poorly educated
   and would not have been elected if they were required to speak English,
   thus giving Dutch leaders greater influence.

   At the time, the head of the Afrikander Bond in Cape Colony as well as
   leader of Dutch opinion was Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. Although he was the
   recognised leader of the Dutch party in Cape Colony, he consistently
   refused to take office, preferring to direct the policy and actions of
   others from afar. Hofmeyr sat in the House of Assembly as member for
   Stellenbosch, a strong Dutch constituency. His influence over the Dutch
   members was very strong, and in addition to directing the policy of the
   Bond within the Cape Colony, he supported and defended the aggressive
   expansion policy of President Kruger and the Transvaal Boers.

   In 1883, during a debate on the Basutoland Dis-annexation Bill, Rhodes
   openly charged Hofmeyr in the House with a desire to create a "United
   States of South Africa under its own flag". In 1884 Hofmeyr led the
   Bond in its strong support of the Transvaal Boers that had invaded
   Bechuanaland, proclaiming that if the Bechuanaland freebooters were not
   permitted to retain the territory they had seized, totally disregarding
   the terms of the conventions of 1881 and 1884, there would be a
   rebellion among the Cape Colony Dutch. Fortunately for the peace of
   Cape Colony at that time, Sir Charles Warren, who had been sent by the
   imperial government to maintain British rights, was able to remove the
   invading Boers from Stellaland and Goshen, which were two republics set
   up by the Boer invaders in March 1885. Thus, no rebellion occurred.
   Nevertheless, the Bond party was so strong in the House that they
   compelled the ministry under Sir Thomas Scanlen to resign in 1884.

   The logical and constitutional course for Hofmeyr to follow in these
   circumstances would have been to accept office and form a government
   himself. This he refused to do, instead preferring to give his support
   to someone who would be entirely dependent upon him. This person, named
   Upington, was a clever Irish barrister who formed what has subsequently
   come to be known as the "Warming Pan" Ministry in 1884. Many British
   colonists, who remained sufficiently loyal to the United Kingdom,
   denounced this political act to Britain invoking the constitution that
   Britain had conferred upon Cape Colony as they wanted the man who
   really wielded political power to act as the responsible head of the
   party. Hofmeyr’s refusal to accept this responsibility as well as the
   nature of his Bond policy that won for him the political sobriquet of
   "the Mole". Englishmen and English colonists would have accepted and
   welcomed open and responsible exercise of power as conferred under the
   constitution of the country. But the underground method of Dutch
   policymaking, which was strongest in Pretoria, was deeply resented by
   Britain-loyal colonists.

   Hofmeyr practically determined how Dutch MPs should vote from 1881 to
   1898 while also guiding the policy behind the Bond throughout its
   history. He resigned his seat in Parliament 1895, which made his
   political dictatorship even more remarkable. Other well-known
   politicians from the Cape subsequently changed their views to those of
   the Bond in order to maintain their popularity.

Rhodes and Dutch sentiment

   Cecil Rhodes recognised the difficulties of his position and showed a
   desire to conciliate Dutch sentiment by considerate treatment from the
   outset of his political career. Rhodes was first elected as member of
   the House of Assembly for Barkly West in 1880 to a loyal constituency.
   He supported the bill permitting the use Dutch in the House of Assembly
   in 1882, and early in 1884 he was appointed to his first ministerial
   post as treasurer-general under Sir Thomas Scanlen. Rhodes had only
   held this position for six weeks when Sir Thomas Scanlen resigned. Sir
   Hercules Robinson sent him to British Bechuanaland in August 1884 as
   deputy-commissioner to succeed Reverend John Mackenzie, the London
   Missionary Society's representative at Kuruman, who proclaimed Queen
   Victoria's authority over the district in May 1883. Rhodes's efforts to
   conciliate the Boers failed, hence the necessity for the Warren
   mission. In 1885 the territories of Cape Colony were farther extended,
   and Tembuland, Bomvanaland, and Galekaland were formally added to the
   colony. Sir Gordon Sprigg became prime minister in 1886.

South African Customs Union

   There was considerable unrest in Cape Colony in the period from 1878 to
   1885. In this short period of time there were chronic troubles with the
   Bastuos which prompted the Cape to give them back to the imperial
   authorities as well as a series of native disturbances which were
   followed by the First Boer War of 1881 and the Bechuanaland
   disturbances of 1884. In spite of these drawbacks, the development of
   the country continued. The diamond industry was flourishing. A
   conference was held in London in 1887 for "promoting a closer union
   between the various parts of the British empire by means of an imperial
   tariff of customs". At this conference, Hofmeyr proposed a sort of "
   Zollverein" scheme, in which imperial customs were to be levied
   independently of the duties payable on all goods entering the empire
   from abroad. In making the proposition he stated that his objective was
   "to promote the union of the empire, and at the same time to obtain
   revenue for the purposes of general defence". The scheme was found to
   be impractical at the time. But its wording, as well as the sentiments
   accompanying it, created a favourable view of Hofmeyr.

   In spite of the failure of statesmen and high commissioners to bring
   about political confederation, the members of the Cape parliament set
   about establishing a South African Customs Union in 1888. A Customs
   Union Bill was passed, constituting a considerable development towards
   federation. Shortly after the bill passed, the Orange Free State joined
   the union. There was an attempt made then, and for many years
   afterwards, to get the Transvaal to join, but President Kruger, who was
   pursuing his own policy, hoped to make the South African Republic
   entirely independent of Cape Colony through the Delagoa Bay railway.
   The plan to create a customs union that included the Transvaal was also
   little to the taste of President Kruger's Hollander advisers as they
   were invested in the plans of the Netherlands Railway Company, who
   owned the railways of the Transvaal.

Diamonds and railways

   Another event of considerable commercial importance to the Cape Colony,
   and indeed to all of South Africa, was the amalgamation of the
   diamond-mining companies which was chiefly brought about by Cecil
   Rhodes, Alfred Beit and "Barney" Barnato in 1889. One of the principal
   and most beneficial results of the discovery and development of the
   diamond mines was the great impetus that it gave to railway expansion.
   Lines were opened up to Worcester, Beaufort West, Graham’s Town, Graaff
   Reinet, and Queenstown. Kimberley was reached in 1885. In 1890 the line
   was extended northwards on the western frontier of the Transvaal as far
   as Vryburg in Bechuanaland. In 1889 the Free State entered into an
   arrangement with the Cape Colony whereby the main trunk railway was
   extended to Bloemfontein, the Free State receiving half the profits.
   Subsequently the Free State bought at cost price the portion of the
   railway in its own territory. In 1891 the Free State railway was still
   farther extended to Viljoen’s Drift on the Vaal River, and in 1892 it
   reached Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Rhodes as Prime Minister

   Cecil Rhodes
   Enlarge
   Cecil Rhodes

   In 1889 Sir Henry Loch was appointed high commissioner and governor of
   Cape Colony after succeeding Sir Hercules Robinson. In 1890 Sir Gordon
   Sprigg, the premier of the colony, resigned, and a government under
   Rhodes was formed. Prior to the formation of this ministry, and while
   Sir Gordon Sprigg was still in office, Hofmeyr had approached Rhodes
   and offered to put him in office as a Bond nominee, but the offer was
   declined. When Rhodes was invited to take office after the downfall of
   the Sprigg ministry, however, he asked the Bond leaders to meet him and
   discuss the situation. His policy of customs and railway unions between
   the various states when added to the personal esteem which many
   Dutchmen at the time had for him, enabled him to undertake and to
   successfully carry out the business of government.

   The colonies of British Bechuanaland and Basutoland were now included
   in the customs union between the Orange Free State and Cape Colony.
   Pondoland, another native territory, was added to the colony in 1894.
   The act dealt with natives who resided in certain native reserves and
   provided for their interests and holdings. It also awarded them certain
   privileges that they had hitherto not enjoyed, and also required them
   to pay a small labour tax. This was in many respects the most
   statesmanlike act dealing with natives on the statue-book. In the
   parliamentary sitting of 1895, Rhodes was able to report that the Act
   had been applied to 160,000 natives. The labour clauses of the act,
   which were not being applied, were repealed in 1905. The clauses had
   some success as they prompted many thousands of natives to fulfil their
   labour requirements in order to be exempted from the labour tax.

   In other regards, Rhode's native policy was marked by a combination of
   consideration and firmness. Ever since the granting of self-government,
   the natives had enjoyed the right to vote. An act passed in 1892, on
   Rhodes' insistence, imposed an educational test on applications who
   wanted to register to vote as well as creating several other
   restrictions on the native vote as there were fears that "tribal"
   natives would possibly "endanger" the current system of government.

   Rhodes opposed native liquor trafficking and suppressed it entirely on
   the diamond mines at the risk of offending some of his supporters among
   the brandy-farmers of the western provinces. He also restricted it as
   much as he could on native reserves and territories. Nevertheless,
   liquor trafficking continued on colonial farms and to some extent on in
   native territory and reserves. The Khoikhoi were particularly fond of
   the drink as they had been almost completely demoralised from their
   military losses.

   A little-known instance of Rhode's keen insight in native affairs that
   had lasting results on the history of the colony is his actions in an
   inheritance case. After the territories east of the Kei River were
   added to the Cape Colony, an inheritance claim came up for trial. In
   accordance with the law of the colony, the court held that the eldest
   son of a native was his heir. This decision was strongly resented among
   the natives of the territory, as it directly contradicted native tribal
   law which recognised the great son, or the son of the chief wife, as
   heir. The government was threatened with further native rebellions when
   Rhodes telegraphed his assurance that compensation would be granted and
   that such a decision would never be made again. His assurance was
   accepted and tranquillity was restored.

   At the end of the next parliamentary sitting after this incident
   occurred, Rhodes tabled a bill that he had drafted that was the
   shortest in the history of the House. It stated that all civil cases
   were to be tried by magistrates and that appeals could be launched to
   the chief magistrate of the territory with an assessor. Criminal cases
   were to be tried before supreme court judges on circuit. The bill
   passed with the effect that, inasmuch as the magistrates practiced
   according to native law, that native marriage customs and laws,
   including polygamy, were legalised in the colony.

   Sir Hercules Robinson was reappointed governor in 1895 and high
   commissioner of South Africa to succeeded Sir Henry Loch. In the same
   year Mr Chamberlain became secretary of state for the colonies.

Movement for commercial federation

   With the development of railways and the increase in trade between Cape
   Colony and the Transvaal, politicians in both places began to debate
   forming a closer relationship. While acting as Premier of Cape Colony,
   Rhodes endeavoured to bring about the friendly gesture of commercial
   federation among the states and colonies of South Africa by means of a
   customs union. He hoped to established both a commercial and a railway
   union, which is illustrated by a speech he gave in 1894 in Cape Town:

          With full affection for the flag which I have been born under,
          and the flag I represent, I can understand the sentiment and
          feeling of a republican who has created his independence, and
          values that before all; but I can say fairly that I believe in
          the future that I can assimilate the system, which I have been
          connected with, with the Cape Colony, and it is not an
          impossible idea that the neighbouring republics, retaining their
          independence, should share with us as to certain general
          principles. If I might put it to you, I would say the principles
          of tariffs, the principle of railway connection, the principle
          of appeal in law, the principle of coinage, and in fact all
          those principles which exist at the present moment in the United
          States, irrespective of the local assemblies which exist in each
          separate state in that country.

   President Kruger and the Transvaal government found every possible
   objection to this policy. Their actions in what became known as the
   Vaal River Drift Question best illustrates the plan of action that the
   Tranvaal government thought best. A series of disagreements arose over
   the termination of the 1894 agreement between the Cape government
   railway and the Netherlands railway. The Cape government had advanced
   the sum of £600,000 to the Netherlands railway and the Transvaal
   government conjointly for the purposes of extending the railway from
   the Vaal River to Johannesburg. At the same time, it was stipulated
   that the Cape government have the right to fix the rate of traffic
   until the end of 1894, or until the Delagoa Bay-Pretoria line was
   completed.

   The rate of traffic was fixed by the Cape government at 2d. per ton per
   mile, but at the beginning of 1895 the rate for the 52 miles of railway
   from the Vaal River to Johannesburg was raised by the Netherlands
   railway to no less than 8d. per ton per mile. It is evident from
   President Kruger's subsequent actions that these changes were based
   upon his personal approval with the goal of compelling traffic to the
   Transvaal to use the Delagoa route instead of the colonial railway. To
   compete with this very high rate, the merchants of Johannesburg began
   moving their goods across the Vaal River with wagons. In a direct
   response, President Kruger closed the drifts or fords on the Vaal
   River, preventing through-wagon traffic. This created an enormous block
   of wagons on the banks of the Vaal. There were several protests
   launched by the Cape government against the actions of the Transvaal
   because it was a breach of the London Convention.

   President Kruger was not moved by these protests, and an appeal was
   made to the imperial government. The imperial government made an
   agreement with the Cape Government to the effect that if the Cape would
   bear half the cost of any necessary expedition, assist with troops, and
   give full use of the Cape railway for military purposes if required, a
   protest would be sent to President Kruger on the subject. These terms
   were accepted by Rhodes and his colleagues, of whom W. P. Schreiner was
   one, and a protest was sent by Chamberlain stating that the government
   regarded the closing of the drifts as a breach of the London
   Convention, and as an unfriendly action that called for the gravest of
   responses. President Kruger reopened the drifts at once, and stated
   that he would issue no further directives on the subject except after
   consultation with the imperial government.

   Leander Starr Jameson made his famous raid into the Transvaal on 29
   December 1895, and Rhode's complicity in the action compelled him to
   resign the premiership of Cape Colony in January 1896. Sir Gordon
   Sprigg took the vacant post. As Rhode's complicity in the raid became
   known, there was a strong feeling of resentment and astonishment among
   his colleagues in the Cape ministry who had been ignorant of his
   connections with such schemes. The Bond and Hofmeyr denounced him
   particularly strongly, and the Dutch became even more embittered
   against the English in Cape Colony, which influenced their subsequent
   attitude towards the Transvaal Boers.

   There was another native uprising under a Bantu chief named Galeshwe in
   Griqualand West in 1897, but Glaeshwe was arrested and the rebellion
   ended. Upon examination, Galeswhe stated that Bosman, a Transvaal
   magistrate, supplied him with ammunition and encouraged him to rebel
   against the government of Cape Colony. There was sufficient evidence to
   believe the charge to be true, and it was consistent with the methods
   the Boers sometimes used among the natives.

   Sir Alfred Milner was appointed high commissioner of South Africa and
   governor of Cape Colony in 1897, succeeding Sir Hercules Robinson, who
   was made a peer under the title of Baron Rosmead in August 1896.

Schreiner's policy

   Map of Cape Colony. Cape Colony is red, while the yellow is the
   Transvaal and Orange Free State.
   Enlarge
   Map of Cape Colony. Cape Colony is red, while the yellow is the
   Transvaal and Orange Free State.

   Commercial federation advanced another state in 1898 when Natal entered
   the customs union. A new convention was drafted at the time, creating a
   "uniform tariff on all imported goods consumed within such union, and
   an equitable distribution of the duties collected on such goods amongst
   the parties to such union, and free trade between the colonies and
   state in respect of all South African products". Another Cape
   parliamentary election was held in the same year, which elected another
   Bond ministry under W. P. Schreiner. Schreiner remained as head of the
   Cape Government until June 1900.

   During the negotiations that proceeded the outbreak of the Second Boer
   War in 1899, feelings were running very high at the Cape. As the head
   of a party that depended upon the Bond for its support, he had to
   balance several different influences. However, as prime minister of a
   British colony, loyal colonists strongly felt that he should have
   refrained from openly interfering with Transvaal government and the
   imperial government. His public statements were hostile in tone to the
   policy that Chamberlain and Sir Alfred Milner pursued. The effect of
   Schreiner's hostility is believed by some to have encouraged President
   Kruger in his rejection of the British proposals. In private, Schreiner
   directly used whatever influence he possessed to induce President
   Kruger to adopt a "reasonable" course, but however excellent his
   intentions, his publicly expressed disapproval of the
   Chamberlain/Milner policy did more harm than his private influence with
   Kruger could possibly do good.

   Schreiner asked the high commissioner on 11 June 1899 to inform
   Chamberlain that he and his colleagues decided to accept President
   Kruger's Bloemfontein proposals as "practical, reasonable and a
   considerable step in the right direction". Later in June, however, Cape
   Dutch politicians began to realise that President Kruger's attitude was
   not as reasonable as they had believed, and Hofmeyr, along with a Mr
   Herholt, the Cape Minister of Agriculture, visited Pretoria. After they
   arrived, they found the Transvaal Volksraad to be in a spirit of
   defiance and that it had just passed a resolution that offered four new
   seats in the Volksraad to represent the mining districts, and fifteen
   exclusive burgher districts. Hofmeyr, upon meeting the executive,
   freely expressed indignation at these proceedings. Unfortunately,
   Hofmeyr's infleunce was more than counterbalanced by an emissary from
   the Free State named Abraham Fischer who while purporting to be a
   peacemaker, pratically encouraged the Boer executive to take extreme
   measures.

   Hofmeyr's established reputation as an astute diplomat and the leader
   of the Cape Dutch Party made him a powerful delegate. If anyone could
   convince Kruger to change his plan, it was Hofmeyr. The moderates on
   all sides of the issue looked to Hofmeyr expectantly, but none as much
   as Schreiner. But Hofmeyr's mission, like every other such mission to
   induce Kruger to take a "reasonable" and equitable course, proved
   entirely fruitless. He returned to Cape Town disappointed, but not
   altogether surprised at the failure of his mission. Meanwhile, the Boer
   executive drafted a new proposal which prompted Schreiner to write a
   letter on 7 July to the South African News, in which while referring to
   his own government, he said: "While anxious and continually active with
   good hope in the cause of securing reasonable modifications of the
   existing representative system of the South African Republic, this
   government is convinced that no ground whatever exists for active
   interference in the internal affairs of that republic".

   The letter proved to be precipitate and unfortunate. On 11 July, after
   meeting with Hofmeyr after his return, Schreiner personally appealed to
   President Kruger to approach the imperial government with a friendly
   spirit. Another incident happened at the same time that caused public
   feeling to become extremely hostile towards Schreiner. On 7 July, 500
   rifles and 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition were off shored at Port
   Elizabeth, consigned to the Free State government, and forwarded to
   Bloemfontein. The consignment was brought to Scheiner's attention, but
   he refused to stop it. He justified his decision by saying that since
   Britain was at peace with the Free State, he had no right to stop the
   shipment of arms through the Cape Colony. However, his inaction won him
   the sobriquet "Ammunition Bill" among British colonists. He was later
   accused of a delay in forwarding artillery and rifles to defend
   Kimberley, Mafeking, and other towns in the colony. He gave the excuse
   that he did not anticipate war, and that he did not want to create
   unwarranted suspicions in the minds of the Free State government. His
   conduct in both instances was perhaps technically correct, but was much
   resented by loyal colonists.

   Chamberlain sent a conciliatory message to President Kruger on 28 July,
   suggesting a meeting of delegates to consider the latest set of
   proposals. On 3 August, Schreiner telegraphed Fischer begging the
   Transvaal to accept Chamberlain's proposal. Later, after receiving an
   inquiry from the Free State amount the movements of British troops,
   Schreiner curtly refused to disclose any information, and referred the
   Free State to the high commissioner. On 28 August, Sir Gordon Sprigg
   moved the adjournment in the House of Assembly to discuss the removal
   of arms from the Free State. In reply, Schreiner used expression which
   demanded the strongest possible censure of Sprigg possible, both in the
   colony and in Britain. Schriner stated that should troubles arise,
   Sprigg would keep the colony aloof in regard to both its military and
   its people. In the course of his speech, he read a telegram from
   President Steyn in which the president repudiated all possible
   aggressive action on any part of the Free State as absurd. The speech
   created a scandal in the British press.

   It is quite obvious from a review of Schreiner's conduct through the
   latter half of 1899 that he was entirely mistaken in his view of the
   Transvaal situation. He demonstrated the same inability to understand
   the uitlanders' grievances, the same futile belief in the eventual
   fairness of President Kruger as premier of Cape Colony as he had shown
   when giving evidence before the British South Africa Select Committee
   into the causes of the Jameson Raid. Experience should have taught him
   that President Kruger was beyond any appeal to reason, and that the
   protestations of President Steyn were insincere.
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