To this the Boer Government replied that it would be glad to arbitrate
that point as well as the amount of the payment to be made for the
Jameson raid; and the various other points on which the two governments
were at issue.

Soon after this Dr. Leyds, President Krüger's confidential agent,
arrived in England, and had a conference with Mr. Chamberlain. They
appeared to come to satisfactory understanding, and there was every
prospect of a peaceful settlement to the dispute.

Some weeks after this conversation with Dr. Leyds, Mr. Chamberlain was
asked by the House of Commons whether he had consented to arbitrate with
the Transvaal.

Mr. Chamberlain answered that some points would certainly be submitted
to arbitration, but the question, of the Transvaal's right to allow a
foreign country to befriend her could not be so treated, because it was
expressly stated in the London convention that England had sovereign
rights in the Transvaal, and could therefore insist on her wishes being
carried out.

When the news of Mr. Chamberlain's speech reached Pretoria, the capital
of the Transvaal, there was great indignation among the Boers. The
matter was debated by the Volksraad or Parliament, and several members
declared that Great Britain must be shown that she no longer had any
sovereign rights in the Transvaal.

Meetings were held denouncing Mr. Chamberlain's remarks, and finally
President Krüger delivered a speech before the Volksraad which caused