e Transvaal, that might have been expected
from his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On the contrary, he
declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not be cancelled, and
on the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a Boer petition, written
with the object of inducing him to act up to the spirit of his words and
rescind the Annexation, writing thus:--"Looking to all circumstances,
both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and to the necessity
of preventing a renewal of disorders which might lead to disastrous
consequences, not only to the Transvaal, but to the whole of South
Africa, our judgment is, that the _Queen cannot be advised to relinquish
her sovereignty over the Transvaal;_ but, consistently with the
maintenance of that sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of
the Transvaal should, without prejudice to the rest of the population,
enjoy the fullest liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that
this liberty may be most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal
as a member of a South African confederation."

Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly means
that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that England will
be prepared to grant it responsible government, more especially if it
will consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. Gladstone, however, in a
communication dated 1st June 1881, and addressed to the unfortunate
Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses "respect and sympathy,"
interprets his meaning thus: "It is stated, as I observe, that a promise
was given to me that the Transvaal should never be given back. There is
no mention of the terms or date of this promise. If the reference be
to my letter, of 8th June 1880, to Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not
think the language of that letter justifies the description given. Nor
am I sure in what manner or to what degree the fullest liberty to manage
their local affairs, which I then said Her Majesty's Government desired
to confer on the white population of the Transvaal, differs from the
settlement now about being made in its bearing on the interests of those
whom your Committee represents."

Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be
called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone
might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty
whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second
paragraph