negotiations from his point of view. The Cape presented a petition drawn
up by fifty-eight members of the Cape Parliament, five of whom were
Ministers and had adopted Mr. Steyn's view; on the other side,
fifty-three members of both Chambers passed a resolution approving the
policy of the British Government. President Steyn complained of troops
being sent to Africa. Later events have proved whether these complaints
were justifiable. On September 29th, the Netherlands Railway stated that
communication with Natal was interrupted. The telegraph wires were cut.
On October 2nd, President Krüger, in adjourning the Volksraad _sine
die_, stated that "War is inevitable," and on October 9th, the
Government of the South African Republic handed an Ultimatum to the
British Agent at Pretoria.

The Ultimatum demanded Arbitration on all subjects; the withdrawal of
British troops; the re-embarkation of British troops landed after June
1st; troops on the high seas not be landed.

"The Transvaal Government requires an immediate and affirmative
reply on these four points, before five o'clock, p.m. on Wednesday,
October 11th, and it is added that should a satisfactory reply not
have reached within that period, it will, to its great regret, be
compelled to consider the action of Her Majesty's Government as a
formal declaration of War."

Next day Mr. Chamberlain naturally replied that "henceforth all
discussion was impossible." Notification was made on the 11th of
October. Englishmen and suspected foreigners were expelled; and
President Steyn, with the special Boer skill, in misrepresenting facts,
announced that "England had committed itself to an open, and
unjustifiable attack upon the independence of the South African