“This government has also, by the formulation of the now existing franchise law and by a resolution with regard to the representation, constantly held these friendly discussions before its eyes. On the part of Her Majesty’s government, however, the friendly nature of these discussions has assumed more and more a threatening tone, and the minds of the people of this republic and the whole of South Africa have been excited and a condition of extreme tension has been created, owing to the fact that Her Majesty’s government could no longer agree to the legislation respecting the franchise and the resolution respecting representation in this republic, and, finally, by your note of Sept. 25, 1899, which broke off all friendly correspondence on the subject and intimated that Her Majesty’s government must now proceed to formulate its own proposals for the final settlement. “This government can only see in the above intimation from Her Majesty’s government a new violation of the convention of London, 1884, which does not reserve to Her Majesty’s government the right to a unilateral settlement of a question which is exclusively a domestic one for this government, and which has been already regulated by this government. “On account of the strained situation and the consequent serious loss in and interruption of trade in general, which the correspondence respecting franchise and the representation of the people of this republic has carried in its train, Her Majesty’s government has recently pressed for an early settlement, and finally pressed, by your intervention, for an answer within forty-eight hours, a demand subsequently somewhat modified, to your note of September 12, replied to by the note of this government of September 15, and to your note of September 25, 1899, and thereafter further friendly negotiations were broken off, this government receiving an intimation that a proposal for a final settlement would shortly be made. “Although this promise was once more repeated, the proposal, up to now, has not reached this government. “Even while this friendly correspondence was still going on the increase of troops on a large scale was introduced by Her Majesty’s government, the troops being stationed in the neighborhood of the borders of this republic. “Having regard to occurrences in the history of this republic, which it is unnecessary here to call to mind, this republic felt obliged to regard this military force in the neighborhood of its borders as a threat against the independence of the South African Republic, since it was aware of no circumstances which could justify the presence of such a military force in South Africa and in the neighborhood of its borders.