In Europe the Dreyfus trial attracted great attention during July and August. Later the South African trouble came up and overshadowed all other subjects. The war was the final outcome of the Jameson raid of 1895, by which a party of Englishmen hoped to overthrow the Transvaal Republic under President Kruger, and establish a province under the protection of England. Kruger’s reply to England’s demands for a new franchise law was given September 17. It repudiated England’s claim, and both sides knew war to be inevitable. Preparations for the conflict at once began. October 12 the Boers invaded British territory and on the 20th of that month the first battle, at Glencoe, resulted. Both commanders were killed. The battle did not give either side the advantage. Mafeking was besieged October 26 and Ladysmith October 28. Kimberley, where Cecil Rhodes was at the time, next found a cordon of Boer soldiers and batteries surrounding it. The Boers were successful in the engagements at Modder River and Colenso, although both sides sustained heavy loss. The year closed with the three towns under siege and the British disheartened. President McKinley signed the peace treaty with Spain February 10, and the Queen Regent of Spain signed the document March 17, ending the war formally. Already there had been severe engagements in the Philippines and many of the volunteers who served in Cuba were sent to the new possessions in the Pacific. General Lawton and General McArthur were the most prominent in the campaigns in the interior of Luzon. They drove the enemy from town to town, capturing many prisoners. On April 27 Colonel Funston of the Twentieth Kansas Regiment, with two volunteers as companions, swam the Rio Grande River in the face of a murderous fire from the concealed enemy. A rope was carried across and by this means the soldiers were enabled to follow on rafts. The exploit ranks next to Dewey’s victory in Philippine war annals. The “embalmed beef” investigation ended at Washington February 6. On the following day the President suspended General Eagan from duty for six years for his attack on General Miles during the hearing of the beef scandal. Dewey was made a full admiral by Congress March 3. Charles M. Murphy rode a mile on a bicycle in 57⅘ seconds, behind an engine with a wind shield. Captain Alfred Dreyfus returned to France from Devil’s Island July 1. His trial began July 7. He was again found guilty, but the sentence of ten years’ imprisonment was not enforced, which was a practical vindication of the artillery officer. Secretary of War Alger resigned July 15, and Elihu Root was appointed to succeed him July 22. Cornelius Vanderbilt, born 1843, died at New York September 12. Admiral Dewey arrived at New York from the Philippines via the Suez Canal September 26. A great naval demonstration in the harbor and an immense parade followed.