‘And now to the last point, that of the franchise. That a _settled_ and _loyal_ population cannot for ever be refused a reasonable voting power I am the last to deny. But is the Johannesburg population settled and loyal? Can you wonder that the Boers have their grave doubts? Where are all the men from the Transvaal who have made their fortunes there? The Beits, Taylors, Neumann, Bailey, the English, Barnato, Dunnings, and all the others? Do they throw in their lot with the Transvaal? Not at all; they live in London; spend their money there, regard themselves as English, and do not want to be anything. The very same men who now CLAMOUR WITH BAYONETS fixed for the franchise, cover the addresses presented to the High Commissioner when he comes into the Transvaal with thousands of signatures as “Her Majesty’s most loyal subjects.” Can you wonder at the Boer if he cannot conceive the dual loyalty which claims to swear allegiance to the Transvaal without abandoning that to England? ‘Can you wonder if he points to the doings of 1896 as his justification for the refusal to grant the franchise indiscriminately, points to the men who have called in the enemy, the Chartered Company, into the country, and under the dastardly pretext, too, that the Boer was threatening to murder women and children, when the Boers were quietly at their farms, while Johannesburg had for the last six months been arming its thousands of men with smuggled rifles and guns? ‘Can you seriously WONDER AT THE BOER, who knows only one loyalty to his country, that of leaving wife and child, plough and land, aye, and his life, too, in the defence of the independence of his beloved land? And are these qualities held so cheap in this nineteenth century that stock-jobbers and adventurers and their legal advisers may safely sneer at them and find the approval of the great English nation? I trust not. ‘Is the decision of peace or war of continents to be left in these hands? is what I would like to know as ‘A TRANSVAAL UITLANDER OF TEN YEARS’ STANDING.’ ‘_Jan. 31._’ After Steve had finished reading the extract, he sat looking at his guest thoughtfully for a moment, who seemed buried in thought. After a while, the visitor turned to his host and said,-- ‘Are those facts given in that letter based on truth?’ ‘Mainly so; the only fault is that he is too mild; he could put it much stronger in favour of the Government, without exaggeration.’ ‘Humph, this is a different tale entirely from the one told in Leonard’s manifesto; and from what I have seen and learned here, I am inclined to believe this one in preference to the other one. But let us take it for granted that this one is correct, and leave the question of the past alone for a moment, I want you to look into the future for a few moments, and tell me what do you and your countrymen look forward to as the probable future of South Africa?’