Part 9 (1/2)

Whereas it has come to my knowledge that certain British subjects, said to be under the leaders.h.i.+p of Dr. Jameson, have violated the territory of the South African Republic, and have cut telegraph-wires, and done various other illegal acts; and whereas the South African Republic is a friendly State, in amity with Her Majesty's Government; and whereas it is my desire to respect the independence of the said State;

Now, therefore, I hereby command the said Dr. Jameson and all persons accompanying him to immediately retire from the territory of the South African Republic, on pain of the penalties attached to their illegal proceedings; and I do further hereby call upon all British subjects in the South African Republic to abstain from giving the said Dr. Jameson any countenance or a.s.sistance in his armed violation of the territory of a friendly State.

A reply was immediately sent to the British Agent stating that the Reform Committee were not aware of the reasons which prompted Dr. Jameson to start, but that as he was coming to their a.s.sistance, presumably in good faith, they felt morally bound to provide for him, and they therefore urged the British Agent most strongly to spare no effort in forwarding the proclamation to Dr. Jameson so that he might be aware of the action taken by the Imperial Government and might turn back before any conflict should take place between his and the Boer forces. The Committee offered to forward the despatch themselves if facilities of pa.s.sport were given.

A full meeting of the Committee was immediately convened in order to consider this new complication of the case, and the following telegram was approved and sent at 11.15 a.m., addressed to the Deputation of the Reform Committee, care of Her Majesty's Agent, Pretoria:

Meeting has been held since you started to consider telegram from British Agent, and it was unanimously resolved to authorize you to make following offer to Government. Begins: 'In order to avert bloodshed on grounds of Dr. Jameson's action, if Government will allow Dr. Jameson to come in unmolested, the Committee will guarantee with their persons if necessary that he shall leave again peacefully within as little delay as possible.'{22}

The Committee well realized the fatal results of Dr. Jameson's invasion under the circ.u.mstances, and much as their position had been injured and complicated by his action, it was felt that it would still be better to get rid of the foreign element which he represented and to fight the battle out under such conditions as might arise without any a.s.sistance than to let things go from bad to worse through further action on Dr. Jameson's part.

No reply had been received from the High Commissioner to the telegrams urging him to come up in person. Mr. Cecil Rhodes had telegraphed that he was urgently pressing the High Commissioner to come, but that he had received no a.s.surances as yet from him. During Wednesday Messrs. Leonard and Hamilton telegraphed that the former had seen the High Commissioner, who had declined to move unless invited by the other side; they were using every effort to induce him to move but no reliance could be placed upon him. They further advised that in their strong opinion a reasonable compromise should be effected, and that it was most vital to avoid offence. Mr. F.H. Hamilton, who was one of the first a.s.sociated with the movement, finding then that nothing more could be done and feeling that his proper place was with his comrades, refused to remain longer and returned to Johannesburg, arriving there after Dr. Jameson's surrender.

Two and a half days had now elapsed since Dr. Jameson started, and the Committee were still without word or sign from him as to his having started or the reason which prompted him to do so. None knew better than Dr. Jameson himself the difficulties and magnitude of the task which he had set the Reform Committee when he struck his camp at Pitsani and marched into the Transvaal. None knew better than he that with the best luck and all the will and energy in the world it would hardly be possible to do as much as place the town in a position of defence. Every hour some explanation or some message was expected from him, something to throw a little light on his action; but nothing ever came, and the Committee were left to act in the dark as their judgment or good fortune might lead them.

The deputation which had been sent to Pretoria met the Government Commission at noon on Wednesday. The Commission consisted of Chief Justice Kotze (Chairman), Judge Ameshof, and Executive Member k.o.c.k. There was a Government shorthand clerk present. Before the business of the meeting was gone into, at the request of the Chief Justice the deputation consented to minutes of the interview being taken, remarking that as they were dealing with the Government in good faith they had nothing to conceal. It may be well to mention that at the meeting of Messrs. Malan and Marais with the Reform Committee the question was raised as to the att.i.tude of the Government towards the deputation which it was suggested should be sent to Pretoria. Someone remarked that the Government were quite capable of inducing the deputation to go to Pretoria, having them arrested as soon as they got there, and holding them as hostages. Messrs. Marais and Malan both scouted the idea and stated positively that the Executive Council had formally acknowledged to them that they were negotiating with the Reform Committee in good faith, and that negotiations would of course be carried on in a decent manner as between two civilized parties in arms. These little incidents have a peculiar interest now in view of the treachery practised by the Government by means of the negotiations with the deputation.

Mr. Lionel Phillips as spokesman detailed at length the position of affairs in Johannesburg, citing the grievances and disabilities under which the Uitlander population existed. He pointed out that year after year the Uitlanders had been begging and pet.i.tioning for redress of these grievances, for some amelioration of their condition, for fair and uniform treatment of all the white subjects of the State, and for some representation in the Legislature of the country, as they were ent.i.tled by their numbers and their work and their property to have; yet not only had a deaf ear been turned to all their pet.i.tions, but the conditions were actually aggravated year by year and, instead of obtaining relief, there was a marked increase in the burdens and disabilities imposed. He informed the Commission that the Manifesto fairly represented the views of the Reform Committee and the people of Johannesburg; that, whilst they were determined to have their rights, they recognised that it might not be possible to obtain complete redress at once, and they were prepared to accept what they might consider a reasonable instalment of redress. He stated that Dr. Jameson had remained on the borders of the Transvaal with an armed force by a written arrangement with certain of the leaders, and that he was there to render active a.s.sistance should the community be driven to extremes and require his a.s.sistance; but as to his present action the Committee could throw no further light upon it, as they were in ignorance of his reason for starting; they could only a.s.sume that he had done so in good faith, probably misled by rumours of trouble in Johannesburg which he thought he had sufficient reason to believe. He added that so far from being invited by the Committee, messengers had actually been sent to prevent him from moving, but that it was not known to the Committee if these messengers had reached him or if the telegrams which had been sent with a like purpose had ever been delivered to him, and that consequently the Committee preferred to believe that he had come in in good faith and thinking the community to be in dire need, and for this reason the people of Johannesburg were resolved to stand by him.

In the course of the discussion, Executive Member k.o.c.k remarked: 'If you have erected fortifications and have taken up arms, you are nothing but rebels.' Mr. Phillips replied: 'You can call us rebels if you like. All we want is justice, decent treatment, and honest government; that is what we have come to ask of you.' Mr. k.o.c.k thereupon remarked that the deputation spoke as though they represented Johannesburg, whereas for all the Government knew the Reform Committee might be but a few individuals of no influence; and he asked if they could be informed as to who const.i.tuted that body. The deputation gave certain names from memory and offered to telegraph for a full list. The reply came in time to be handed to the Government and it const.i.tuted the sole piece of evidence ever obtained as to who were members of the Reform Committee. After hearing the statement of Mr. Phillips the Chief Justice informed the deputation that the Commission were not empowered to arrange terms, but were merely authorized to hear what the deputation had to say, to ascertain their grievances and the proposed remedies, and to report this discussion to the Government. Taking up certain points referred to by Mr. Phillips, the Chief Justice asked whether the Johannesburg people would consent to lay down their arms if the Government granted practically all the reforms that were asked. Mr. Phillips replied in the affirmative, adding that after enfranchis.e.m.e.nt the community would naturally be privileged to take up arms again as burghers of the State. The Chief Justice asked on what lines it was proposed that the franchise should be granted. The deputation replied that the community would be quite content if the Government would accept the principle, leaving the settlement of details to a Commission of three persons-one to be appointed by each party, and the third to be mutually agreed upon.

The meeting was adjourned at noon until 5 p.m., and in the meantime the deputation telegraphed to the Reform Committee in Johannesburg the substance of what had taken place, stating among other things that they had explained the arrangements with Dr. Jameson. That such a message should be sent through the Government telegraph-office at a time when every telegram was read for the purpose of obtaining information as to what was on foot is further proof (if proof be needed) that the 'revelations' as to the connection between Dr. Jameson and the Reformers, which were brought out with theatrical effect later on, were not by any means a startling surprise to the Government, and were in fact well known to them in all essential details before the first encounter between the Boers and Dr. Jameson had taken place. The significance of this fact in its bearing upon Dr. Jameson's surrender and the after-treatment of the Reform prisoners should not be lost sight of.

The adjourned meeting between the Government Commission and the Reform Committee deputation took place at 5 p.m., when the Chief Justice intimated to the deputation that they had reported to a full meeting of the Executive Council all that had taken place at the morning meeting, and that the Executive had authorized them to hand to the deputation in answer a resolution, the substance of which is given hereunder:

The High Commissioner has offered his services with a view to a peaceful settlement. The Government of the South African Republic have accepted his offer. Pending his arrival, no hostile step will be taken against Johannesburg provided Johannesburg takes no hostile step against the Government. In terms of a certain proclamation recently issued by the State President the grievances will be earnestly considered.

It is impossible to give the exact wording of the minute because the original doc.u.ment was inadvertently destroyed and all applications to Government for a copy were met at first by evasions and finally by point-blank refusal. The doc.u.ment was required as evidence in the trial of the Reform prisoners and every effort was made to secure an exact copy. As a last resource the above version, as sworn to by a number of men who had seen the original doc.u.ment, was put in. The Government were informed that if a true copy of the original resolution as recorded in the Minute Book of the Executive Council were not supplied for the purposes of evidence in the trial the prisoners would hand in the version given above. No reply was received to this, and the State Attorney acting on behalf of the Government admitted the version here given in the statement put in by the prisoners. It is clear therefore that if this version errs in any respect it cannot at all events be to the disadvantage of the Government or they would a.s.suredly have objected to it and have produced the resolution itself.

On receipt of the above resolution the deputation inquired whether this offer of the Government's was intended to include Dr. Jameson. The Chief Justice replied that the Government declined to treat about him as he was a foreign invader and would have to be turned out of the country. The deputation thereupon handed in the telegram from the Reform Committee, already quoted, offering their persons as security, and pointed out that this was the most earnest and substantial guarantee that it was possible to offer that the Committee had not invited Dr. Jameson and had no desire to destroy the independence of the State. The Commission in reply stated that the proclamation of the High Commissioner was being forwarded to Dr. Jameson from various quarters, and that he would inevitably be stopped. In reply to the statement by the deputation that they were not empowered to accept terms which did not explicitly include Dr. Jameson but would report to headquarters and reply later on, the Chief Justice stated that the Government required no answer to the resolution handed to them. This was in fact their answer, and if the people of Johannesburg observed the conditions mentioned therein there would be no further trouble, but if they disregarded them they would be held responsible for whatever followed. The deputation returned to Johannesburg fully convinced that the grievances would be redressed and a peaceful settlement arrived at through the mediation of the High Commissioner, and that Dr. Jameson would inevitably obey the latter's proclamation and leave the country peacefully on ascertaining that there was no necessity for his intervention on behalf of the Uitlanders.

Not only did the Government supply the deputation with the minute in writing already quoted, but they also instructed the local officers of Johannesburg to make public their decision to avail themselves of Sir Hercules Robinson's services. It will be observed that the notification published in Johannesburg is not so full as the Executive minute handed to the deputation in Pretoria, but the spirit in which it was given and accepted is shown by the following notice issued by the Reform Committee embodying the official statement:

REFORM COMMITTEE.

NOTICE.

The Government have handed us a written reply this afternoon (January 1), stating they have agreed to accept the offer of the High Commissioner to go to Pretoria to a.s.sist the Government in preventing bloodshed, and then the representations of the Committee will be taken into serious consideration. The communication referred to is as follows:

'The Government of the South African Republic have accepted the offer of the High Commissioner to come to Pretoria.

(Signed) J. L. VAN DER MERWE, Mining Commissioner. J. F. DE BEER, Judicial Commissioner. CARL JEPPE, Member of the First Volksraad, Johannesburg. A. H. BLECKSLEY, Commandant Volunteers.

Desirous as the Committee has always been to obtain its objects without the shedding of blood and incurring the horrors of civil war, the opportunity of achieving its aims by peaceful means is welcome.

The Reform Committee desires that the public will aid them with the loyalty and enthusiasm which they have shown so far in the maintenance of its organization, and will stand firm in the cause of law and order and the establishment of their rights.

By order of the Committee.

This notice was published in the local press, and also distributed as a leaflet in Johannesburg.