1874-1901 LAST YEARS OF NINETEENTH CENTURY 977

fere to prevent the annexation of Zululand and Bechuanaland, and north of the Transvaal a British colony called Rhodesia was established in 1889 by a chartered company called the British South Africa Company. A more serious cause of dispute arose from the treatment of British settlers in the Transvaal. Many Englishmen were established in that country before its retrocession by Mr. Gladstone, and the discovery of large goldfields there in 1886 attracted a large white population, four-fifths of which was of British origin. These immigrants, whom the Boers called 'outlanders,' were badly governed, heavily taxed, and persistently denied the political rights which the men of Dutch descent enjoyed in all the British colonies in Africa. Discontent spread among the outlanders, and, as all redress of their grievance was refused, some of them plotted an armed rising in order to force concessions from the Transvaal Government. At the end of 1896 a small body of irregular troops levied for the defence of the territories of the Chartered Company against the natives entered the Transvaal, but were defeated and captured by the Boers. Though Jameson's raid,' as this invasion was termed, from the name of its leader, was disavowed by the British Government, it greatly increased the friction which already existed between the republic and its suzerain. The Transvaal Government, which had at first promised concessions to the outlanders, became still more hostile to them, and prepared large armaments. In 1899 the British outlanders petitioned the Queen to intervene on their behalf, and Mr. Chamberlain, the Secretary for the Colonies, demanded that they should be granted political rights. Mr. Krüger, the President of the Republic, refused any substantial concessions, and demanded, on behalf of the Transvaal, the complete abolition of British suzerainty. No agreement was

arrived at, and, as the British Government declined to withdraw the troops which it had sent to the Cape, President Krüger published a declaration of war and invaded the British colonies. (October 1899.) The Boers of the Transvaal, who were joined by those of the Orange Free State and by many colonial rebels, gained at first many successes. Mafeking and Kimberley, in the north-west of Cape Colony, were for many months besieged, and the army of 11,000 men charged with the defence of Natal was shut up in its fortified camp at Ladysmith. Efforts to relieve Kimberley and Ladysmith were defeated with loss at Magersfontein and Colenso. Early in 1900, however, Lord Roberts relieved Kimberley, forced 4,000 Boers to surrender at Paardeberg, and successively occupied the capitals of the Free State and the

Transvaal. General Buller about the same time relieved Ladysmith, and drove the Boer forces out of Natal. President Krüger fled to Europe, and the annexation of the two Boer republics was proclaimed. Nevertheless, their subjugation was only partial, and for some time longer roving bands of Boers carried on an active guerilla war, which is being gradually suppressed.

While the Transvaal War, like the Crimean War, revealed many defects in the organisation of the army, it also exhibited a convincing proof of the military value of the colonies. The self-governing colonies of Great Britain, regarding the war as one for the unity of the Empire, sent contingents of volunteers to take part in it. It became evident that the Empire, whicl. had grown up during the nineteenth century, was not a coilection of heterogeneous atoms, but a great association of states bound together by common interests and common aims.

Queen Victoria did not live to see the conclusion of the war: she died on January 22, 1901, in her eighty-second year, having reigned a longer time than either Elizabeth or George III. Like Queen Elizabeth, she might have said with truth that she never cherished a thought in her heart that did not tend to her people's good (p. 478). Her influence in public affairs was constantly employed to moderate party differences, and to facilitate the harmonious working of the constitution. Though with the advance of democracy, the direct power of the monarchy steadily diminished, its popularity, thanks to her, had continually increased. She left her successor not only wider dominions than she had inherited, but a throne established upon a firmer because a broader basis.

Books recommended for the further study of Part XI. WALPOLE, SPENCER. A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815. Vol. ii. p. 159-vol. V.

Life of Lord John Russell.

LE MARCHANT. Memoir of Viscount Althorp, third Earl Spencer.
GREVILLE, CHARLES C. F. Memoirs.

MCLENNAN, J. K. Memoirs of Thomas Drummond.

THURSFIELD. Peel.

MORLEY, J. Life of Richard Cobden.

BULWER, SIR H. L., and ASHLEY, HON. E. Life of Viscount

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INDEX