ee and honest government meant ruin, and they
strained every nerve, even to paying bogus English agitators, in order
to hinder the cause of reform. Their attitude undoubtedly had something
to do with stiffening the backs of the Boers and so preventing
concessions.

3. _That Britain wanted the gold mines._--No possible accusation is more
popular or more widely believed upon the Continent, and yet none could
be more ridiculous when it is examined. The gold mines are private
companies, with shares held by private shareholders, German and French,
as well as British. Whether the British or the Boer flag flew over the
country would not alienate a single share from any holder, nor would the
wealth of Britain be in any way greater. She will be the poorer by the
vast expense of the war, and it is unlikely that more than one-third of
this expenditure can be covered by taxation of the profits of the gold
mines. Apart from this limited contribution towards the war, how is
Britain the richer because her flag flies over the Rand? The Transvaal
will be a self-governing colony, like all other British colonies, with
its own finance minister, its own budget, its own taxes, even its own
power of imposing duties upon British merchandise. They will pay a
British governor 10,000_l._, and he will be expected to spend 15,000_l._
_We_ know all this because it is part of our British system, but it is
not familiar to those nations who look upon colonies as sources of
direct revenue to the mother country. It is the most general, and at the
same time the most untenable, of all Continental comments upon the war.
The second Transvaal war was the logical sequel of the first, and the
first was fought before gold was discovered in the country.

4. _That it was a monarchy against a republic._--This argument
undoubtedly had weight with those true republics like the United States,
France, and Switzerland, where people who were ignorant of the facts
were led away by mere names. As a matter of fact Great Britain and the
British colonies are among the most democratic communities in the
world. They preserve, partly from sentiment, partly for political
convenience, a hereditary chief, but the will of the people is decisive
upon all questions, and every man by his vote helps to mould the destiny
of the State. There is practically universal suffrage, and the highest
offices of the State are within reach of any citizen who is competent to
attain them. On the othe