l with the invaders,
was their ability to mobilize at short notice. And in this connection
arises the question: Did the Boers know beforehand of the intended
invasion, and were they waiting until Dr. Jameson should walk into
the trap? On behalf of the Boers it is strenuously maintained that
they had not the remotest notion of what was brewing, and that had
such an idea occurred to them they would of course have reported
matters to the High Commissioner. The President's unyielding mood
before he heard of Dr. Jameson's start, and his change afterwards,
the state of demoralization in Pretoria, the unpreparedness of the
State Artillery, and the vacillation of General Joubert, the
condition of alarm in which the President was during that night of
suspense before the surrender, when Chief Justice Kotze sat with him
to aid and cheer, and when the old white horse stood saddled in the
stable in case Johannesburg should attack Pretoria; all point to the
conclusion that it was not all cut and dried. With a singular
unanimity, the Boers and their friends and the majority of the
Uitlanders in the Transvaal support this view; but there are on
record certain facts which are not to be ignored. Apart altogether
from the hearsay evidence of telegraphists and Boer officials in
different parts of the country, who state that they were under
orders from Government to remain at their posts day and night--that
is to say to sleep in their offices--a fortnight before the Jameson
raid took place, a significant piece of evidence is that supplied by
the Transvaal Consul in London, Mr. Montagu White, who in a letter to
the London Press stated that on December 16 he received information
as to the plot against the independence of the Republic, and that he
on that date cabled fully to President Kruger warning him of what was
in contemplation, and that the President took the necessary
precautions. Now, on December 14 it was announced in Pretoria that
the President, being greatly in need of a rest and change, was about
to undertake a tour through the country to visit his faithful
burghers. Perusal of the newspapers of the time shows that among the
Uitlanders no significance was attached to this visit. Indeed, the
Uitlander press agreed that it had become painfully evident that His
Honour required a change in order to restore his nervous system. As
nothing can better represent the opinions of the time than the
current comments of the Press, the following