lves satisfied with the final settlement arrived at.

'And should, after the passing of the above proposals of law as a
whole by the Volksraad, the Government desire us to give publicity to
this our declaration for the promotion of peace and goodwill, such
publicity as the Government may desire shall be given thereto.'

While the negotiations were actually in progress, and while the
Imperial Government were awaiting a reply to their dispatch, the
President made two determined attempts to rush the confirmation of
the dynamite monopoly through the Raad. The first proposal was for
the fifteen years' extension, and the second provided for condonation
of all breaches of the concession in the past and for compensation
upon the expiry of the concession.

The Uitlanders had not failed to perceive that the pit dug for them
might conceivably serve another purpose. They ignored these two
breaches of faith on the part of the President, and pursued the
negotiations; and Mr. Kruger overreached himself. Having failed with
Johannesburg, and having failed in the Raad, he appealed to his
burghers with the scheme of mock reform. His hope was to get such
support in the country that the Volksraad in its May session would
have to spare the monopoly. He did not realize that he would have to
make good the things which he had offered as shams. His greed had
given the opening: his hand had provided the weapon. It is not good
to be too clever; and the luck had turned.

The publication of the correspondence between the Government and the
capitalists created a profound impression. The series of speeches
delivered by the President in support of his sham reforms only
deepened that impression by providing more and more convincing
evidence as to who the real intriguers and mischief-makers were. To
the Uitlander public one thing became quite clear, and that was that
it was the Government who wished to barter their rights away and the
capitalists--the abused capitalists--who refused to do so. An attempt
was immediately made to hold a large public meeting for the purpose
of endorsing the attitude taken by the negotiators, but the
Government refused permission to hold an open-air meeting. In their
attempt to hold a meeting indoors, the Uitlanders were defeated by
the building being condemned as unsafe. The Government yielded,
however, before the storm of disapproval which followed their
prohibition, and the State Secretary, Mr. Reitz, suggested that th