This was another and one of the clearest examples of the 'something for nothing' policy, for it will be observed that of all the things mentioned dynamite alone was the matter to be definitely settled—and that to the satisfaction of Mr. Kruger. Long years of experience had taught the Uitlanders to examine any proposals coming from the Government with the utmost care; and the representatives of the mining industry were soon of one mind in regarding these negotiations as nothing but a trap.
Of the five men who represented the Government, viz., the President, the State Secretary (Mr. Reitz), the State Attorney (Mr. Smuts), the Foreign Plenipotentiary (Dr. Leyds), and the 'disinterested intermediary,' Mr. Lippert, it was easy enough to account for three. The President had frequently pledged himself to maintain the monopoly, and always referred to it as the corner-stone of the independence. Dr. Leyds had chosen to associate himself with the defence of the concessionaires upon all occasions, and had even gone so far, as evidence given at the Industrial Commission showed, as to misrepresent the facts in their defence. The difficulty was how to explain the association of the State Attorney and State Secretary, in whose good intentions and integrity there was a general belief. The solution was to be found in the illusory promises of reform under the heading of franchise and reorganization of the finances and other matters. These proposals, it was believed by Mr. Kruger and his party, would secure the support of the two above-named officials, as well as entice the capitalists into the trap set for them. But there were other points of advantage for Mr. Kruger. The whole scheme was in accordance with the divide et impera policy. The first impression, if the scheme were accepted, would be that the capitalists had secured something for themselves by bartering away the rights of the public; so there would have been a division in Johannesburg. Another effect to be brought about by the proposed action regarding the Indians would have been to divide the Uitlanders from the Imperial Government, and the net result of it all would have been that neither the public nor the capitalists would have got anything but illusory promises and Mr. Kruger would have secured his dynamite; for had he been able to extract from the Industry an expression of approval or acquiescence, it would have given him his majority in the Volksraad in favour of the monopoly.
The following is the correspondence which passed:—
JOHANNESBURG, S.A.R.,
27th March, 1899.
To the Honourable the State Secretary, Pretoria.
HONOURABLE SIR,
Before communicating to you and the representatives of the Government whom we met the expression of our opinion and that of our London friends on the proposals submitted to us by Mr. Lippert on behalf of the Government of the S.A.R., we deem it advisable to recite shortly how we have arrived at the present position.
On the 27th of February Mr. E. Lippert called together Messrs. A. Brakhan, E. Birkenruth, and G. Rouliot, to whom he submitted a certain programme concerning the settlement of some pending questions forming the subject of grave differences between the Government of the S.A.R., on the one part, and the whole Uitlander population and the mining industry on the other part, with a view to ascertain whether these gentlemen were willing to open negotiations on the basis suggested, in order to try to come to a settlement. Upon the affirmative answer of these gentlemen, Mr. Lippert obtained an equal expression of approval from Dr. Leyds, the State Secretary, the State Attorney, and also of President Kruger. The preliminary programme at Mr. Lippert's request was then communicated by cable to our London friends. Upon receipt of a reply to the effect that our London friends were in favour of any arrangement which would produce harmony and secure administrative and financial reform, which was communicated to Mr. E. Lippert, a meeting was arranged with Dr. Leyds, Messrs. Reitz, Smuts, and Lippert, as representing the Government, on the 9th of March; but as Messrs. Brakhan, Birkenruth, and Rouliot had repeatedly mentioned that they did not consider themselves qualified to discuss matters on behalf of the general body of Uitlanders, and seeing that the programme submitted was to be considered as a whole, and either adopted or rejected as such, therefore it would be necessary to obtain the views, on the franchise question, of prominent citizens more able to express the wishes of Uitlanders on this subject; Mr. Lippert, on behalf of the Government, invited in addition Messrs. Pierce and Pistorious to be present at the meeting.
At this meeting several points were discussed, but as no definite proposal regarding franchise could be submitted, no decision was arrived at, it being made clear, however, that this was only a preliminary conversation with the object of exchanging views, and that in any case the opinion of the Uitlander population, and also that of our friends in Europe, would have to be fully ascertained.