; for as little as the old constitution had brought them to ruin, so
little would a new constitution bring salvation. . . . If the citizens
of England had behaved towards the Crown as the burghers of this State
had behaved to their Government, England would never have stood so long
as she had." He pointed out to them their hopeless financial position.
"To-day," he said, "a bill for 1100 pounds was laid before me for
signature; but I would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that
paper--(cheers)--for I have not the slightest ground to expect that,
when that bill becomes due, there will be a penny to pay it with."
And finally, he exhorted them thus: "Let them make the best of the
situation, and get the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to
join their hands to those of their brethren in the south, and then from
the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was
something grand in that, grander even than their idea of a Republic,
something which ministered to their national feeling--(cheers)--and
would this be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who
would not be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but
welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order."

These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic,
and from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was
thoroughly convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It
is interesting to compare them, and many other utterances of his made at
this period, with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous document
recently published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of the
lessons taught us on Laing's Nek and Majuba by such "an inherently
weak people as the Boers," and points to them as striking instances of
retribution. In this document he attributes the Annexation to the desire
to advance English supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold of the way
to Central South Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he does not in
any way indicate how it could have been averted, and the State continue
to exist; and he seems all along to feel that his case is a weak one,
for in explaining, or attempting to explain, why he had never defended
himself from the charges brought against him in connection with the
Annexation, he says: "Had I not endured in silence, had I not borne
patiently all the accusations, but out of selfishness or fear told
the plain truth of the case, the