within a few weeks. (7) In the meantime the form and scope of the proposed Tribunal are also to be discussed and provisionally agreed upon, while the franchise scheme is being referred to the people, so that no time may be lost in putting an end to the present state of affairs.  The Government trust that Her Majesty’s Government will clearly understand that in the opinion of this Government the existing franchise law of this Republic is both fair and liberal to the new population, and that the consideration that induces them to go further, as they do in the above proposals, is their strong desire to get the controversies between the two Governments settled, and further to put an end to present strained relations between the two Governments and the incalculable harm and loss it has already occasioned in South Africa, and to prevent a racial war from the effects of which South Africa may not recover for many generations, perhaps never at all, and therefore this Government, having regard to all these circumstances would highly appreciate it if Her Majesty’s Government, seeing the necessity of preventing the present crisis from developing still further and the urgency of an early termination of the present state of affairs, would expedite the acceptance or refusal of the settlement here offered.

21st August.

Sir, In continuation of my dispatch of the 19th instant, and with reference to the communication to you of the State Attorney this morning, I wish to forward to you the following in explanation thereof, with the request that the same may be telegraphed to His Excellency the High Commissioner for South Africa, as forming part of the proposals of this Government embodied in the above-named dispatch:  (1) The proposals of this Government regarding question of franchise and representation contained in that dispatch must be regarded as expressly conditional on Her Majesty’s Government consenting to the points set forth in paragraph 5 of the dispatch, viz.:  (a) In future not to interfere in internal affairs of the South African Republic. (b) Not to insist further on its assertion of existence of suzerainty. (c) To agree to arbitration. (2) Referring to paragraph 6 of the dispatch, this Government trusts that it is clear to Her Majesty’s Government that this Government has not consulted the Volksraad as to this question and will only do so when an affirmative reply to its proposals has been received from Her Majesty’s Government.

NOTE.

In reply to the above proposals of the South African Republic, the Secretary of State for the Colonies declared Great Britain “unable to appreciate the objections entertained by the Government of the South African Republic to a Joint Commission of Inquiry,” and refused to enter into a consideration of the alternative proposals of the South African Republic.

As a consequence of this refusal, the South African Republic communicated to Great Britain that the “proposal for a five years’ franchise and extension of representation of the Witwatersrand with the conditions attached thereto” had lapsed, whereby also lapsed the necessity of laying it before the representatives of the people for ratification.