rial.

JANUARY 7.--Sir Jacobus de Wet and Sir Sydney Shippard addressed the
populace from the Band Club balcony, exhorting them to accept the
ultimatum.

LATER.--I have had such a reassuring conversation with Sir Sydney
Shippard this evening. He is a most intelligent man, and speaks with
such fluent decisiveness that all he says carries conviction. I am
told that Sir Jacobus's speech was a rambling, poor affair and weak;
the crowd showed a restlessness that at one time threatened to become
dangerous. He was fortunately pulled down by his coat-tails before the
crowd lost self-control.

Sir Sydney's speech, on the contrary, was strong and full of feeling.
He told the people that he sympathised deeply with them in their
struggle for what he believed to be their just rights, but that being
an English Government official he could take no part. He reminded them
that Jameson was lying in prison, his life and the lives of his
followers in great jeopardy. The Government had made one condition for
his safety: the giving up of their arms. 'Deliver them up to your High
Commissioner, and not only Jameson and his men will be safe, but also
the welfare of those concerned in this movement--I mean the leaders.'
He continued: 'I, whose heart and soul are with you, say again that
you should follow the advice of the High Commissioner, and I beg you
to go home and to your ordinary avocations; deliver up your arms to
your High Commissioner, and if you do that you will have no occasion
to repent it.'

JANUARY 8.--Arms are being delivered up. About 1,800 guns already
handed in. The Government assert that we are not keeping our agreement
and are holding back the bulk of the guns. My husband tells me that
these are being given up as fast as possible, but that there are not
over 2,700 among the entire Uitlander population. The Reform Committee
has assured the High Commissioner that they are keeping good faith,
but that they never had more than about 2,700. The disarmament is
universally considered the first step to an amicable settlement. The
Reform Committee has sent out orders and the guns are coming quietly
in. Everybody feels a certain relief now that the strain is eased; the
members of the Committee are dropping down into all sorts of odd
places to make up for the lost sleep of the past week. Dozens are
stretched on the floor of the club rooms. Some steady-going gentlemen
of abstemious habit are unprejudiced enough to allow themselves t