ct, as, upon whatever it amounted to, they counted to rebuild their
fortunes when Britain became sole and absolute mistress on the Rand.

The most dangerous element in the situation was that group of easygoing
loafers who lived on the fringe of finance and picked up a living by doing
the odd things needed by the bigger speculators. When things began to be
critical, these idlers were unable to make money without working, and
while prating of their patriotism, made the British Government responsible
for their present state of penury. These men had some kind of instruction,
if not education, and pretended they understood all about politics, the
government of nations, and last, but not least, the conduct of the war.
Their free talk, inflamed with an enthusiasm got up for the occasion, gave
to the stranger an entirely incorrect idea of the position, and was
calculated to give rise to sharp and absolutely undeserved criticisms
concerning the conduct of the administration at home, and of the
authorities in the Colony. They also fomented hatred and spite between the
English and the Dutch.

The harm done by these people, at a moment when the efforts of the whole
community ought to have been directed toward allaying race hatred, and
smoothing down the differences which had arisen between the two white
sections of the population, is almost impossible of realisation for one
who was not in South Africa at the time, and who could not watch the slow
and gradual growth of the atmosphere of lies and calumny which gradually
divided like a crevasse the very people who, in unison, might have
contributed more than anything else to bring the war to a close. One must
not forget that among these refugees who poisoned the minds of their
neighbours with foundationless tales of horror, there were people who one
might have expected to display sound judgment in their appreciation of the
situation, and whose relatively long sojourn in South Africa entitled them
to be heard by those who found themselves for the first time in that
country. They were mostly men who could talk well, even eloquently; and
they discussed with such apparent knowledge all the circumstances which,
according to them, had brought about the war, that it was next to
impossible for the new-comers not to be impressed by their language--it
seemed bubbling over with the most intense patriotism.

The observer must take into account that among these people there happened
to be a good