During the course of the debate the proposal of the
Trans- vaal Government to purchase and present the King with the Cullinan diamond was alluded to by Mr. Churchill as " a wonderful event," which would greatly raise the prestige of British statecraft, and would probably be remembered for hundreds of years after a great deal of the legislation on which they were engaged had been forgotten. Mr. Lyttelton deprecated the reference as unfortunate, and later on Mr. Bonar Law spoke of the proposed gift as a kindly thought which did more credit to the hearts than the heads of the Transvaal Ministers. We cannot avoid the conclusion that Mr. Churchill's reference was not very well timed and was somewhat extravagant in expression. A considerable minority voted against the proposal in the Legislative Assembly, and a Motion in the Legislative Council disapproving of it on the ground that the cost of such a gift should not be chargeable directly or indirectly to funds raised by compulsory taxation was only defeated by 7 votes to 6. We should be the last to deny that the gift was prompted by a generous impulse, and is per se a proof of the good feeling of the Boers which deserves the warmest and sincerest welcome. At the same time, one is bound to feel that the gift is somewhat impaired by the financial position of the Colony. There is always something embarrassing in a gift from a son or daughter which one knows to be beyond his or her means, no matter how kindly the impulse. Happily, as Mr. Lyttelton put it, we can confidently rely on the admirable sense and tact which the King always displays in affairs affecting his subjects.
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