, though it be but with the resources
of a child, such as my land is considered. This child is now being
trodden upon by one great Power, and the natural consequence is that
it seeks protection from another. The time has come to knit ties of
the closest friendship between Germany and the South African
Republic--ties such as are natural between father and child.

The very considerable increase in the number of Germans, and the
positive statement that a great many men of military training were
coming out for service in the Transvaal, that officers were being
employed to work up the artillery and to design forts, all tended to
increase the feeling of intense dissatisfaction and uneasiness which
culminated in the outbreak at the close of the year. Dr. Leyds, it
was well known, went on a political mission to Lisbon and to Berlin,
and it was stated that large sums had been withdrawn from the
Treasury and charged to the secret service fund, the handling
of which was entrusted to this gentleman. Dr. Leyds' personal
popularity, never very great, was at the lowest possible ebb. He was
regarded as the incarnation of Hollanderism--the 'head and front' of
that detested influence. It was not credited to him in the Transvaal,
as it has been elsewhere, that he designed or prompted the policy
against the Uitlanders. There it is fully appreciated that there is
but one man in it, and that man President Kruger. Dr. Leyds and
others may be and are clever and willing tools. They may lend acidity
or offensiveness to a hostile despatch, they may add a twist or two
to a tortuous policy, but the policy is President Kruger's own, the
methods are his own, all but the minor details. Much as the
Hollander-German clique may profit by their alliance with Mr. Kruger,
it is not to be believed that he is deceived. He regards them as
handy instruments and ready agents. If they profit by the
association, they do so at the expense of the accursed Uitlander; but
there is no intention on Mr. Kruger's part to allow Germany or
Holland to secure a permanent hold over the Republic, any more than
he would allow England to increase hers. He has played off one
against another with consummate skill.

Early in his official career Dr. Leyds was guilty of an indiscretion
such as few would have suspected him of. Shortly after his
appointment as Attorney-General he wrote to a friend in Holland,
giving his opinion of the Members of the Executive. His judgment was
sound;