ed in Pretoria, having point-blank
refused to comply with the orders, were placed under arrest. The High
Commissioner, Sir Henry (now Lord) Loch, was appealed to, and, acting
on instructions from the Imperial Government, immediately proceeded
to Pretoria. The excitement was intense. In Johannesburg a number of
men were prepared to make a dash on Pretoria to effect the forcible
release of the prisoners, and had any steps been taken to enforce the
commandeering law within the Witwatersrand district, without doubt a
collision would have taken place. The supply of arms in the town was,
it is true, wholly inadequate for any resistance to the Boers, but in
the excitement of the time this was not considered.

Sir Henry Loch's visit had the effect of suspending all action; but
the opinion in Pretoria was that should the High Commissioner proceed
to Johannesburg there would be such an outburst of feeling that no
one could foresee the results. Every effort was made to prevent him
from going. Among other steps taken by the President was that of
sending over for the President of the Chamber of Mines, Mr. Lionel
Phillips, and requesting him, if he had the interests of the State
and the welfare of the community at heart, to use his influence to
dissuade the High Commissioner from visiting the town in its then
excited state. Sir Henry Loch, in deference to the opinion expressed
on all sides, agreed not to visit Johannesburg, but to receive
deputations from Johannesburg people at his hotel in Pretoria. The
High Commissioner's visit was successful. The Government agreed to
absolve British subjects from the operation of the Commando Law; but
the men who had been arrested and already sent under guard to the
front were allowed to proceed and receive their discharge at the
scene of war, and were compelled to find their own way back,
receiving no consideration or compensation for the treatment to which
they had been subjected. In this respect it is difficult to say that
Sir Henry Loch achieved all that might have been expected from him.
Possibly, to insist on more than he did would have left President
Kruger no alternative but to refuse at all risks. The Volksraad being
then in session, there may have been some diplomatic reasons for not
pressing matters too hard.

A trivial incident occurred which once more excited bad party
feeling. The High Commissioner was met at the railway-station by the
President in his carriage. The enthusiastic cr