They spoke about the troubles of the foreigners in the Transvaal. Mr.
Hammond declared that the Boers made life so difficult for foreigners that
unless some change was made, the people of Johannesburg would revolt.

Dr. Jameson went to Pretoria at Mr. Hammond's invitation, and saw for
himself the condition of things.

Plans were then made to overthrow the government, and to make a pretence
of finding out who the people would prefer to have for a President, by
taking a man-to-man vote of the whole population. The person chosen by
this vote was to be declared President.

Dr. Jameson was to bring his soldiers to Johannesburg, to keep order while
the vote of the people was being taken.

This plan, while it was fair enough in sound, was in fact an infamous
scheme to trick the Boers out of their rights.

The Uitlanders, as we told you before, far outnumber the Boers.

By taking a vote of the whole population, every Uitlander would have had a
vote; these foreigners would of course have voted for the person who would
let them have things their own way, and as they outnumbered the natives,
the poor Boers would have had their rights taken away from them by
foreigners, who, according to their laws, had no right to vote at all.

The scheme was as clever as it was infamous. To the world it would have
seemed fair enough, and only those familiar with South African politics
would have understood what a shameful trick it was.