It was difficult
to see how they could be re-opened. In view of the arming of the
burghers, the small garrison of Natal had been taking up positions
to cover the frontier. The Transvaal asked for an explanation of
their presence. Sir Alfred Milner answered that they were guarding
British interests, and preparing against contingencies. The roar of
the fall was sounding loud and near.
On September 8th there was held a Cabinet Council - one of the most
important in recent years. A message was sent to Pretoria, which
even the opponents of the Government have acknowledged to be
temperate, and offering the basis for a peaceful settlement. It
begins by repudiating emphatically the claim of the Transvaal to be
a sovereign international State in the same sense in which the
Orange Free State is one. Any proposal made conditional upon such
an acknowledgment could not be entertained.
The British Government, however, was prepared to accept the five
years' 'franchise' as stated in the note of August 19th, assuming
at the same time that in the Raad each member might talk his own
language.
'Acceptance of these terms by the South African Republic would at
once remove tension between the two Governments, and would in all
probability render unnecessary any future intervention to secure
redress for grievances which the Uitlanders themselves would be
able to bring to the notice of the Executive Council and the
Volksraad.
