nstinct and record, perceived an opportunity to improve his
position. The religious gentlemen who would not take blood-money now
objected that the amount proposed was altogether too small, and the
President with that readiness so characteristic of him observed that
he thought the prisoners must have made a mistake, and meant L40,000
apiece instead of L40,000 for the lot.

Another delay ensued, and in the meanwhile more and more deputies
flocked to Pretoria, and stronger grew the feeling, and more angry,
disappointed, and disgusted grew the communities of Johannesburg and
Pretoria. The President, however, played his game unmoved by any such
considerations.

The next announcement from the Executive was a wholly unexpected one.
It was that they felt it necessary to consult Judge Gregorowski as to
the amount of money which ought to be taken as a donation to
charities. The matter of assessing the value of a death-sentence in
cash might perhaps be deemed a perplexing and a difficult one from
lack of precedent, yet nobody supposed the Executive Council to be
unequal to the task. It might also seem unfair to impose this further
burden of responsibility upon a judge; but Mr. Gregorowski had proved
himself superior to precedent and untrammelled by custom; and there
was much to be said in favour of continuing an association which had
worked very satisfactorily so far.

When however the President, with that resolute determination to be
generous which was so well advertised, at last overcame all obstacles
and succeeded in holding a meeting of his advisers to receive Mr.
Gregorowski's report, and when it was found that that gentleman
assessed capital punishment at L25,000 per head, the Executive
Council with one accord avowed themselves to be so utterly taken by
surprise by the announcement that they required time to think the
matter over and decide upon a course of action.

No doubt this opinion of Mr. Gregorowski's took them quite as much by
surprise as did his original sentences. However in the course of a
day or two they had recovered sufficiently to intimate to the
prisoners that, if they would amend their first offer of L40,000 for
the four and make it one of L40,000 apiece, the Executive would
decline to accept so large a sum, as being greater than they
considered equitable and would reply that in the opinion of the
Government L25,000 apiece would be sufficient. It was quite plainly
intimated that this procedure presented