seen professing opposite convictions; one party earnestly asserting the
complete blamelessness of their Government, whilst the other, with
equally sincere assurance, denounces the responsible Ministry for having
provoked a most unjust war against a totally inoffensive people, whose
only fault consisted in asserting its love of freedom, and for thus
plunging the entire British nation into blackest guilt deserving
universal reprobation, a blot and stigma upon Her Majesty's reign.

In following the course of the arguments which have led to those
opposing verdicts, one is impressed with the paucity and the clashing
character of the information adduced. The marked reticence on the part
of the British Cabinet in regard to its diplomatic proceedings tends
further to mystify the inquirer, and leaves the bulk of the British
nation in a painful state of suspense without conclusive data for
judging whether the war is really justifiable or not.

Nor do the various pamphlets and Press articles furnish sufficient light
for exploring the maze and producing an approximate unanimity of
conviction.

It is hoped that the succeeding pages will be found to supplement the
material so essential for diagnosing those grave questions with some
degree of certainty, and to locate the guilt more precisely.

Since my youth I have passed nearly forty years in uninterrupted and
intimate intercourse with all classes of Boers, resulting in a sincere
attachment to that people, with no small appreciation of its many good
traits and character. Besides making myself familiar with the earlier
portion of that nation's history, I have had leisure and opportunities
to closely follow up its later interesting phases up to the present