settled. On August 28th Mr. Chamberlain replies. Concerning the
suzerainty, he refers to his despatch of July 13th; he consents to
discuss the Constitution of a Tribunal of Arbitration from which Foreign
Powers, and foreign influence, shall be excluded; he concludes by
proposing a fresh Conference.

What is the reply of the Boer Government on September 2nd? The
withdrawal of its proposals of August 19th and 21st, relative to the
five years' Franchise and increase of number of seats in the Volksraad.

Thus, at the end of three months' negotiations, no conclusion had been
arrived at.

It is to this despatch of September 2nd, that Mr. Chamberlain's despatch
of September 8th, replies; in that despatch he states, that he is still
prepared to accept the proposals of August 19th concerning the
Franchise, provided that the enquiry by a Commission, joint or
unilateral, prove that the law is workable.

The representation of Uitlanders in the Volksraad, is, of course, only
possible on condition that they had the right to make use of the English
language.

On September 23rd, the Transvaal Government replies that the _taal_, a
language not spoken by any but Boers, is to remain the only language
used in the Volksraad, and in dilatory phraseology paves the way for the
ultimatum of October 9th. Here we have a summary of the negotiations
relating to the franchise, from the time of the Bloemfontein Conference.