“In your position you as go-between can do endless good towards
     arriving at an understanding at such Conference.  I know well that
     there is a party who will do everything possible to prevent this.”

Nevertheless he also is in favour of the policy advocated by Mr. Melius de Villiers:—­

     “We must now play to win time.  Governments are not perpetual.  It is
     honestly now the time to yield a little, however one may later
     again tighten the rope.”

This shows how this former Minister at the Cape meant to abide by Conventions.  How Mr. Krueger did abide by the Conventions of 1881 and 1884 is a well-known fact.  No wonder if England was suspicious of the “ridiculous proposals,” to use Mr. de Villiers’ phrase, offered by President Krueger.  The letters written by Mr. Te Water and Mr. Melius de Villiers show that there was good reason for suspicion.  These letters show also what responsibility has been assumed by the members of the Liberal party who sided so eagerly with Mr. Krueger and by those who, like Mr. Stead, backed at first Mr. Rhodes’ policy with all their might (so Mr. Clark wrote to General Joubert, Mr. Krueger, and President Steyn) and were blind enough to imagine that their party was strong enough to elbow out the Government and revert to Mr. Gladstone’s policy after Majuba.  Had they been more far-sighted they would have recognised that the Transvaal had since 1881 condemned itself, and that no Ministry, be it Liberal or Conservative, could follow again in the steps of Mr. Gladstone.

* * * * *

Since President Krueger has left the Transvaal, and Botha is negotiating for a surrender, the pacification of the Transvaal needs no more war operation, it has become a mere question of police arrangements.  Nevertheless Dr. Leyds is still as active as ever.  He reminds us of the Spanish Ministers who when they got the news that the Spanish fleet had been annihilated by Dewey, manufactured forthwith a report to the effect that Americans had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Spaniards. Le Petit Bleu does the same.  The announcement—­English troops retreating—­appeared in a marginal note the very day that Lydenburg was taken.  On Tuesday, 11th September, L’Eclair made the following announcement:  “London, 10th September, Prince Henry sails back to Germany.  From well-informed quarters I learn that the main object of the German Emperor’s brother’s visit was to discuss the ways and means of preserving Transvaal independence.”

Eight days previous to this Dr. Leyds had tried to make the world believe that he had come to an understanding with the Czar.  In both cases the object aimed at was obvious.  Yet though the Dreyfus affair has taught me the all-powerful and far-reaching influence of a lie, I confess that Dr. Leyds is a puzzle to me.