not it
approved of them. Under the regime of the days when the League was formed
it had been able to develop itself with great facility, the dangers which
lurked behind its encroachment on the privileges of the Crown not being
suspected. But Sir Alfred Milner discovered the menace at once, and with
the quiet firmness and the tact which he always displayed in everything
that he undertook proceeded to cope with the organisation.

Sir Alfred soon found himself confronted by the irritation of Rhodes, who
had relied on his support for the schemes which he had nursed in regard to
the Transvaal. I must here explain the reason why Rhodes had thrown his
glances toward the Rand. One must remember the peculiar conditions in
which he was placed in being always surrounded by creatures whom he could
only keep attached to his person and to his ambition by satisfying their
greed for gold. When he had annexed Matabeleland it had been principally
in the expectation that one would find there the rich gold-bearing strata
said to exist in that region. Unfortunately, this hope proved a fallacious
one. Although thousands of pounds were spent in sinking and research, the
results obtained were of so insignificant a nature, and the quantity of
ore extracted so entirely insufficient to justify systematic exploitation,
that the adventurers had perforce to turn their attention toward other
fields.

It was after this disillusion that the idea took hold of Rhodes, which he
communicated to his friends, to acquire the gold fields of the Rand, and
to transform the rich Transvaal into a region where the Chartered Company
and the South African League would rule. Previous to this, if we are to
believe President Kruger, Rhodes had tried to conclude an alliance with
him, and once, upon his return from Beira to Cape Town, had stopped at
Pretoria, where he paid a visit to the old Boer statesman.

It is quite likely that on this occasion Rhodes put in a word suggesting
that it would be an advantage to the Transvaal to become possessed of an
outlet on the sea-board, but I hardly think that Kruger wrote the truth in
his memoirs in stating that when mentioning Delagoa Bay Rhodes used the
words, "We must simply take it," thus associating himself with Kruger.
Cecil Rhodes was far too cute to do any such tiling, knowing that it would
be interpreted in a sense inimical to his plans. But I should not be
surprised if, when the President remarked that Delagoa was Portu