It is stated in Pretoria that President Kruger has replied
to Mr. Chamberlain's invitation in a despatch which is "con- ciliatory in tone," bat which concedes nothing, and which means, it may be presumed, that unless certain concessions are made which will not be made, Mr. Kruger will not come. He is afraid of his supporters, who, being more ignorant, are much more bitter than himself. Reports are constantly spread that the Boers are "arming," but it is probable that they are only filling up deficiencies in their equipment which were revealed in the Jameson raid. It is also announced that armed and trained Germans are arriving at Pretoria in some numbers, but this is hotly denied, and whether it is true or not, a few hundred Germans would not make the Boer force mobile, or greatly increase the Boer defensive power. Indeed they might diminish it, for they would want to fight in the open. The German Press also is very bitter about the Transvaal, but there is some evidence, chiefly an interchange of courtesies, that the German Government is receding from any projects of interference it may have entertained. The truth seems to be that everything advances as slowly as if telegraphs did not exist, and that their existence makes all who watch somewhat impatient.
Previous page
