Another branch of the propaganda operated through the Stock Exchange, and its results were probably more practical than those of the literary branch. It is easier to reach the English masses through the Stock Exchange than by any other means. Whenever one of the "Kaffir" or Transvaal companies failed to make both ends meet in a manner which pleased the stockholders, it was only necessary to blame the Boer Government for having impeded the digging of gold, and the stockholders promptly outlined to the Colonial Office the policy it should pursue toward the Boers.
The impressions that are formed in watching the tide of events in the Transvaal are that the Boer Government is not greatly inferior to the Government of Lord Salisbury and Secretary Chamberlain. The only appreciable difference between the two is that the Boers are fighting the cause of the masses against the classes, while the English are fighting that of the classes against the masses. In England, where the rich have the power, the poor pay the taxes, while in the Transvaal the poor have the power and compel the rich to pay the taxes. If the Transvaal taxes were of such serious proportions as to be almost unbearable, there might be a cause for interference by the Uitlander capitalists who own the mines, but there no injustice is shown to any one. The only taxes that the Uitlanders are compelled to pay are the annual poll tax of less than four dollars and a half, mining taxes of a dollar and a quarter a month for each claim for prospecting licenses, and five dollars a claim for diggers' licenses. Boer and Uitlander are compelled to pay these taxes without distinction.
The Boers, in this contention, must win or die. In earlier days, before every inch of African soil was under the flag of one country or another, they were able to escape from English injustice by loading their few possessions on wagons and "trekking" into new and unexplored lands. If they yield their country to the English without a struggle, they will be forced to live under a future Stock Exchange Government, which has been described by a member of the British Parliament as likely to be "the vilest, the most corrupt, and the most pernicious known to man."[#]
[#] The Hon. Henry Labouchere, in London Truth.
The Boers have no better argument to advance in support of their claim than that which is contained in the Transvaal national hymn. It at once gives a history of their country, its many struggles and disappointments, and its hopes. It is written in the "taal" of the country, and when sung by the patriotic, deep-voiced Boers is one of the most impressive hymns that ever inspired a nation.
THE TRANSVAAL VOLKSLIED.
The four-colours of our dear old land
Again float o'er Transvaal,
And woe the God-forgetting hand
That down our flag would haul!
Wave higher now in clearer sky
Our Transvaal freedom's stay!
(Lit., freedom's flag.)
Our enemies with fright did fly;
Now dawns a glorious day.
Through many a storm ye bravely stood,
And we stood likewise true;
Now, that the storm is o'er, we would
Leave nevermore from you
Bestormed by Kaffir, Lion, Brit,
Wave ever o'er their head;
And then to spite we hoist thee yet
Up to the topmost stead!
Four long years did we beg--aye, pray--
To keep our lands clear, free,
We asked you, Brit, we loath the fray:
"Go hence, and let us be!
We've waited, Brit, we love you not,
To arms we call the Boer;"
(Lit., Now take we to our guns.)
"You've teased us long enough, we troth,
Now wait we nevermore."
And with God's help we cast the yoke
Of England from our knee;
Our country safe--behold and look--
Once more our flag waves free!
Though many a hero's blood it cost,
May all the nations see
(Lit., Though England ever so much more.)
That God the Lord redeemed our hosts;
The glory his shall be.
Wave high now o'er our dear old land,
Wave four-colours of Transvaal!
And woe the God-forgetting hand
That dares you down to haul!
Wave higher now in clearer sky
Our Transvaal freedom's stay!
Our enemies with fright did fly;
Now dawns a glorious day.
CHAPTER X
PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE
Ever since the Jameson raid both the Boers and the Uitlanders have realized that a peaceful solution of the differences between the two is possible but highly improbable. The Uitlanders refused to concede anything to the Boer, and asked for concessions that implied a virtual abandonment of their country to the English, whom they have always detested. The Boers themselves have not been unmindful of the inevitable war with their powerful antagonist, and, not unlike the tiny ant of the African desert, which fortifies its abode against the anticipated attack of wild beasts, have made of their country a veritable arsenal.
Probably no inland country in the world is half so well prepared for war at any time as that little Government, which can boast of having less than thirty thousand voters. The military preparation has been so enormous that Great Britain has been compelled, according to the colonial secretary's statement to the British Parliament, to expend two and a half million dollars annually in South Africa in order to keep pace with the Boers. Four years ago, when the Transvaal Government learned that the Uitlanders of Johannesburg were planning a revolution, it commenced the military preparations which have ever since continued with unabating vigour. German experts were employed to formulate plans for the defence of the country, and European artillerists were secured to teach the arts of modern warfare to the men at the head of the Boer army. Several Americans of military training became the instructors in the national military school at Pretoria; and even the women and children became imbued with the necessity of warlike preparation, and learned the use of arms. Several million pounds were annually spent in Europe in the purchase of the armament required by the plans formulated by the experts, and the whole country was placed on a war footing. Every important strategic position was made as impregnable as modern skill and arms could make it, and every farmer's cottage was supplied with arms and ammunition, so that the volunteer army might be mobilized in a day.