Completely Out-Manoeuvred By The Astute Old
President, The Leaders Of The Reform Movement Used All Their
Influence In The
Direction of peace, thinking that a general
amnesty would follow; but the moment that they and their people
were helpless
The detectives and armed burghers occupied the town,
and sixty of their number were hurried to Pretoria Gaol.
To the raiders themselves the President behaved with great
generosity. Perhaps he could not find it in his heart to be harsh
to the men who had managed to put him in the right and won for him
the sympathy of the world. His own illiberal and oppressive
treatment of the newcomers was forgotten in the face of this
illegal inroad of filibusters. The true issues were so obscured by
this intrusion that it has taken years to clear them, and perhaps
they will never be wholly cleared. It was forgotten that it was the
bad government of the country which was the real cause of the
unfortunate raid. From then onwards the government might grow worse
and worse, but it was always possible to point to the raid as
justifying everything. Were the Uitlanders to have the franchise?
How could they expect it after the raid? Would Britain object to
the enormous importation of arms and obvious preparations for war?
They were only precautions against a second raid. For years the
raid stood in the way, not only of all progress, but of all
remonstrance. Through an action over which they had no control, and
which they had done their best to prevent, the British Government
was left with a bad case and a weakened moral authority.
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