put
fresh claims before Mr. Gladstone, and Lord Derby, then Colonial
Minister. They did not ask the repeal of the stipulations of the
Convention of 1881--that was hardly necessary, as these stipulations had
neither been observed by them nor enforced by our Government, but what
they desired and asked was the complete re-establishment of the
Republic, freed from any conditions of British Suzerainty. This would
have given them a free hand in dealing with the natives, a power which
those who knew them best were the least willing to concede.

Sir R.N. Fowler was at that time Lord Mayor of London. According to the
custom when any distinguished foreigners visit our Capital, of giving
them a reception at the Mansion House, these Transvaal delegates were
presented for that honour. But the door of the Mansion House was closed
to them, and by a Quaker Lord Mayor, renowned for his hospitality!

The explanation of this unusual act is given in the biography of Sir R.
Fowler, written by J.S. Flynn, (page 260.) The following extract from
that biography was sent to the _Friend_, the organ of the Society of
Friends, in November, 1899, by Dr. Hodgkin, himself a quaker, whose name
is known in the literary world:--"The scene of Sir R. Fowler's travels
in 1881 was South Africa, where he went chiefly for the purpose of
ascertaining how he could best serve the interests of the native
inhabitants. He left no stone unturned in his search for
information--visiting Sir Hercules Robinson, the Governor of the Cape,
Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Sir Evelyn Wood, Colonel Mitchell, Bishops
Colenso and Macrorie, the Zulu King Cetewayo, the principal statesmen,
the military, the newspaper editors, the workers at the diamond-fields,
and many others. The result of his inquiries was to confirm his belief
of the charges which were made against the Transvaal Boers of wronging
and oppressing the blacks.

"It was the opinion of many philanthropists that the only way to insure
good Government in the Transvaal--justice to the natives, the
suppression of slavery, the security of neighbouring tribes--was by
England's insisting on the Boer's observance of the Treaty which had
been made to this effect, and the delimitation of the boundary of their
territory in order to prevent aggression. With this object in view
meetings were held in the City, petitions presented by Members of
Parliament, resolutions moved in the House; and when at last it was
discovered that Mr. Gl