disfranchised for ever, and as far
as legislation could make it sure the country was preserved by entail
to the families of the Voortrekkers. The measure was only carried
because of the strenuous support given by the President both within
the Raad and at those private meetings which practically decide the
important business of the country. The President threw off all
disguise when it came to proposing this measure of protection. For
many years he had been posing as the one progressive factor in the
State and had induced the great majority of people to believe that
while he personally was willing and even anxious to accede to the
reasonable requests of the new population his burghers were
restraining him. He had for a time succeeded in quelling all
agitation by representing that demonstrations made by the tax-bearing
section only embarrassed him in his endeavour to relieve them and
aggravated the position by raising the suspicions and opposition of
his Conservative faction.

In 1893 a petition signed by upwards of 13,000 aliens in favour of
granting the extension of the franchise was received by the Raad with
great laughter. But notwithstanding this discouragement, during the
following year a monster petition was got up by the National Union.
It was signed by 35,483 Uitlanders--men of an age and of sufficient
education to qualify them for a vote in any country. The discussion
which took place on this petition was so important, and the decision
so pregnant with results, that copious notes of the Volksraad debate
are published in this volume (Appendix). The only response made to
this appeal was a firmer riveting of the bonds. It is but just to say
that the President encountered determined opposition in his attempt
to force his measure through the Raad. The progressive section
(progressive being a purely relative term which the peculiar
circumstances of the country alone can justify) made a stand,
state that two or three of the intelligent and liberal-minded farmers
belonging to this progressive party, men who were earnestly desirous
of doing justice to all and furthering the interests of the State,
declared at the close of the debate that this meant the loss of
independence. 'Now,' said one old Boer, 'our country is gone. Nothing
can settle this but righting, and there is only one end to the fight.
Kruger and his Hollanders have taken our independence more surely
than ever Shepstone did.' The passing of this measure was