intervention of Mr. Chamberlain. The indignation at the Cape was so
great, that Mr. Chamberlain having asked the Cape Government, whether,
in the event of war resulting, it would pay half the cost, and undertake
the transport of the troops by the railways, the proposal was accepted
by an Afrikander minister! Mr. Krüger yielded and re-opened the drifts.


5.--_Methods of Exaction._

A reduction of £100,000 was made on the railway tariffs; but in July,
1897, the duties on corn and food-stuffs were increased by £200,000. At
the end of 1898, a certain number of these were lessened, but not that
on flour. A comparison of the list of duties between 1897 and the end of
1898 shows that they were increased on twenty-eight products, and
decreased on four.

Coal travelling a distance of 25-1/2 miles, the charge made by the
Netherlands Railway Co. is 4s. 5d., which is 8-1/2d. per ton per mile;
while the Free State Railway only charges 5-3/4d. and the Natal line
3d.

The Company collects the customs dues for account of the State, as
security for the payment of interest on their shares and debentures.

Dr. Kuyper is quite willing to admit that the "financial administration
leaves something to be desired," but he adds that, "while at the Cape
the taxes on produce are at the rate of 15 per cent., in the Transvaal
they are only 10 per cent." But it is easy to see how, by means of
railway tariffs and various combinations, due to the cunning of Mr.
Krüger and his Hollander friends, it has been possible to enhance prices