the British Government intended to make war on the South African
Government. This telegram was sent to the Orange Free State because
they knew that the latter had made a defensive alliance with the
South African Republic since the year 1899.

Then the South African Republic decided that they must defend their
frontiers against the enemy who threatened their borders, and I was
obliged to take a most painful step, namely, that of severing the
bonds of friendship that existed between us and the British
Government, and, true to our alliance with the Transvaal, to help
the sister Republic. That we were perfectly correct in our surmise
that the British Government had firmly decided to wipe out the two
Republics has been clearly proved since the breaking out of the
war. It was not only made evident from the documents that fell into
our hands, although there it was easy to gather that since 1896,
that is from Jameson's raid, the British Government was firmly
determined to make an inroad into the two Republics: only lately it
has been acknowledged by Lord Lansdowne that he in June, 1899, had
already discussed with Lord Wolseley (then Commander-in-Chief of
His Majesty's troops), the best time at which to make an attack on
the two Republics. Your Excellency will thus see that it was not we
who drew the sword, but that we only put it away from our throats.
We have only acted in self-defence--one of the holiest rights of
man--in order to assert our right to exist. And therefore I think,
with all respect, that we have a right to trust in a just God.

I again observe that your Excellency reverts to the impossibility
of intervention by any foreign power, and that your Excellency
interprets our resistance as only based on the hope of such
intervention.