Government from making this grant, on the ground that they had no power to alienate a right which belonged to the town itself.  In order to make the application to Court it was necessary, in terms of the constitution of the municipality, to obtain the signature of the Burgomaster.  That official as representing the Government refused point blank to authorize the council to dispute the Government’s action in a Court of Law, and the council were obliged to apply for an Order of Court compelling the Burgomaster to sign the documents necessary to enable them to contest in the Courts of the country the validity of an act of the Government which was deemed to be infringement upon the rights of the town.  In the face of this the President capitulated for the time being; but neither he nor the concessionaire makes any secret of the determination to find a quid pro quo.

The year 1898 brought in its turn its full share of fresh encroachments and exactions.  The bare enumeration of the concessions, privileges, and contracts, proposed or agreed to, is sufficient to indicate what must be the condition of mind of one whose interests are at stake under such a regime.  Not all ‘concessions,’ ‘contracts,’ and ‘protected factories’ confer exclusive rights, but many might easily in effect do so and all are infringements upon the rights of the public.  Here are some from the official list of 1899;—­Dynamite, Railways, Spirits, Iron, Sugar, Wool, Bricks, Earthenware, Paper, Candles, Soap, Calcium Carbide, Oil, Matches, Cocoa, Bottles, Jam, &c.

A large loan had been constantly talked of throughout the year, but no one knew for what purpose it could be required.  The Government vouchsafed no information at all but negotiations were carried on both in Pretoria and in Europe.  Month after month went by, but the millions were not forthcoming, and the Government believed or affected to believe that their failure was due to a conspiracy among the capitalists, and in retaliation they directed and subsidised a fierce anti-capitalist campaign in their press.  The explanation of failure, which did not occur to them, may have been that investors believed that the course pursued by the Transvaal Government must inevitably lead to conflict with the paramount power, and they had no faith and no assurance that in the event of such a conflict taking place the British Government would take over loans which must have been contracted only for the purposes of war against England.

The juggling with the dynamite question continued throughout the year.  The President had successfully defeated the aim of the Volksraad, and the investigation and reports which had been ordered by that body in 1897 to be made by lawyers and auditors, although duly handed into the Government, were suppressed by the President and not permitted to be shown to the Raad.  On the contrary, the astounding proposition was made that in return for a very inconsiderable reduction in the cost of dynamite (half of which was