led,
Jameson's force should have got in without firing a shot, and that,
properly handled, they should not have been stopped by a much greater
number of Boers. However this is as it may be.

It has been stated, and the statement has gained considerable
credence, that the very train which brought the deputation back to
Johannesburg after their negotiations with the Government also
brought a detachment of the State artillery with field-pieces and
a plentiful supply of ammunition to reinforce the Boers, who were
then in position to intercept Dr. Jameson, and it has further been
suggested that the obvious course for the Reform Committee to have
taken was to break up the line and to stop trains passing out towards
Krugersdorp, also to seize the telegraph and railway offices. Such
action would have been perfectly futile. As a matter of fact the
artillery and ammunition were sent direct from Pretoria by waggon,
and not through Johannesburg at all.{23} Any such action as the
seizing of the telegraph and railway offices would have been useless
in itself, if intended to aid Jameson's force, and would of course
have been a declaration of war on the part of the Committee against
the Transvaal Government, a declaration which they were not able to
back up by any effective measures. A partially successful attempt
was made to blow up the line between Johannesburg and Krugersdorp by
individuals who thought that they would be rendering a service to the
cause, and who did not stop to calculate the full effects of their
action.

During the afternoon of Wednesday, while the deputation were still
engaged in negotiation with the Government Commission, the messenger
despatched by Sir Jacobus de Wet, British Agent in Pretoria, to
deliver the High Commissioner's proclamation to Dr. Jameson, arrived
in Johannesburg, and applied at the Reform Committee rooms for an
escort through the lines of defence, showing at the same time the
passport given him by the Commandant-General to pass him through the
Boer lines. It was immediately decided to take advantage of the
opportunity in order to bring further pressure to bear upon Dr.
Jameson to induce him to leave the country peacefully, and to make
finally and absolutely sure that he should realize the true position
of affairs. Mr. J. J. Lace, a member of the Reform Committee,
volunteered to accompany the messenger to explain to Dr. Jameson the
state of affairs in Johannesburg and to induce him to retur