y sat for three
months in conference with members of Her Majesty's Government before
coming to any decision. That decision was known as the London Convention
of 1884.

The displeasure of the Boer Delegates matured after their return to the
Transvaal, and was expressed in a message sent by the Volksraad to our
Government not many months after the signing of the Convention in
London.

In this document the Boers seem to regard themselves as a victorious
people making terms with those they had conquered. It is interesting to
note the articles of the Convention to which they particularly object.
In the telegram which was sent to "His Excellency, W.E. Gladstone," the
Volksraad stated that the London Convention was not acceptable to them.
They declared that "modifications were desirable, and that certain
articles _must_ be altered." They attached importance to the Native
question, declaring that "the Suzerain (Great Britain) has not the right
to interfere with their Legislature, and that they cannot agree to
article 3, which gives the Suzerain a voice concerning Native affairs,
nor to article 13, by virtue of which Natives are to be allowed to
acquire land, nor to that part of Article 26, by which it is provided
that white men of a foreign race living in the Transvaal shall not be
taxed in excess of the taxes imposed on Transvaal citizens."

It should be observed here that this reference to unequal and excessive
taxation of foreigners in the Transvaal, pointing to a tendency on the
part of the Boers to load foreigners with unjust taxation, was made
before the development of the goldfields and the great influx of
Uitlanders.

The Message of the Volksraad was finally summed up in the following
words: "we object to the following articles, 15, 16, 26, and 27, because
to insist on them is hurtful to our sense of honour." (sic.)

Now what are the articles to which the Boer Government here objects, and
has continued to object?

Article 15 enacts that _no slavery or apprenticeship shall be
tolerated_.

Article 16 provides for religious toleration (for Natives and all
alike.)

Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of all
persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the
Transvaal.

Article 27 gives to all, (Natives included,) the right of free access to
the Courts of Justice.

Putting the "sense of honour" of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the
question, past experience had