n person the first agricultural show
held on the Witwatersrand. Every precaution was taken to insure him a
good welcome, or, at least, to avoid any of those signs which would
indicate that Johannesburg likes President Kruger no more than he
likes Johannesburg; and even those who were most conscious of the
President's malign influence did all in their power to make the visit
a success, believing themselves to be in duty bound to make any
effort, even at the sacrifice of personal sympathies and opinions, to
turn the current of feeling and to work for a peaceful settlement of
the difficulties which unfortunately seemed to be thickening all
round. The event passed off without a hitch. It would be too much to
say that great enthusiasm prevailed; but, at least, a respectful, and
at times even cordial, greeting was accorded to the President, and
his address in the agricultural show grounds was particularly well
received. The President returned to Pretoria that night and was asked
what he thought of the affair: 'Did he not consider it an _amende_
for what had happened five years before? And was he not convinced
from personal observation that the people of Johannesburg were loyal,
law-abiding, and respectful to the head of the Government under which
they lived?' Mr. Kruger's reply in the vernacular is unprintable; but
the polite equivalent is, 'Ugh! A pack of lick-spittles.' In spite of
a subsequent promulgation it seems clear that there is no 'forget and
forgive' in his Honour's attitude towards Johannesburg. The result of
this interview became known and naturally created a very bad
impression.

During his second term of office Mr. Kruger lost much of his personal
popularity and influence with the Boers, and incurred bitter
opposition on account of his policy of favouring members of his own
clique, of granting concessions, and of cultivating the Hollander
faction and allowing it to dominate the State.

Outside the Transvaal Mr. Kruger has the reputation of being free
from the taint of corruption from which so many of his colleagues
suffer. Yet within the Republic and among his own people one of the
gravest of the charges levelled against him is that by his example
and connivance he has made himself responsible for much of the
plundering that goes on. There are numbers of cases in which the
President's nearest relatives have been proved to be concerned in the
most flagrant jobs, only to be screened by his influence; such cases