Yes! but in other countries the newcomers do not _outswamp_
the old burghers." The whole grievance of the Boers is neatly summed
up in that single sentence; and so far it proves them well entitled to
our respectful pity.

It was, however, mere fatalism resisting fate when to a deputation of
complaining Outlanders Kruger said "Cease holding public meetings! Go
back and tell your people I will never give them anything!" Similarly
when in 1894 35,000 adult male Outlanders humbly petitioned that they
might be granted some small representation in the councils of the
Republic, which would have made loyal burghers of them all, the
short-sighted President contended that he might just as well haul down
the Transvaal flag at once. There was a strong Dopper conviction that
to grant the franchise on any terms to this alien crowd would speedily
degrade the Transvaal into a mere Johannesberg Republic; and they
would sooner face any fate than that; so the Raad, with shouts of
derision, rejected the Outlanders' petition as a saucy request to
commit political suicide. They felt no inclining that way!
Nevertheless one of their number ventured to say, "Now our country is
gone. Nothing can settle this but fighting!" And that man was a
prophet.

[Sidenote: _Boer preparations for War._]

For that fighting the President and his Hollander advisers began to
prepare with a timeliness and thoroughness we can but admire, however
much in due time we were made to smart thereby. Through the suicide of
a certain State official it became known that in 1894--long therefore
before the Raid--no less than L500,000 of Transvaal money had been
sent to Europe for secret uses. Those secret uses, however, revealed
themselves to us in due time at Magersfontein and Colenso. The
Portuguese customs entries at Delagoa Bay will certify that from 1896
to 1898 at least 200,000 rifles passed through that port to the
Transvaal. It was an unexampled reserve for states so small. The
artillery, too, these peace-loving Boers laid up in store against the
time to come, not only exceeded in quantity, but also _outranged_, all
that British South Africa at that time possessed. Their theology might
be slightly out-of-date, but in these more material things the Boers
were distinctly up-to-date. For many a week after the war began both
the largest and the smallest shells that went curving across our
battlefields were theirs; while many of our guns were mere popguns
firing smoky