Evening star., 1897-04-09
I1ATE NEWS BY WIRE
iResuming the Investigation Of the
Transvaal.
WHAT Or. JAMESON EXPECTED
Would Have Been Forgiven Had
He Succeeded.
lat Or. JAMESON EXPECTED
THE OFFICERS PROTECTED

LONDON, April 9.-The parliamentary
committee which Is Investigating the
Transvaal raid held its sixteenth sitting
today in the committee room of Westmn-
ster Hall There was a large attendance of
peers and members of parliament. DR..
Jameson arrived with Sir John Willoughby,
the military commander of the raid. and
the former vas again placed in the witness
box. The chairman, VIM. L. Jackson, men,
Der for North Leeds. conservative, explain
ed to DIR. Jameson the circumstances of
Sir John Willoughby's refusal to divulge
the subject of the conversations regarding &
the raid which had taken place between
them
In reply DIR. Jameson said that if the
committee had asked Sir John Willoughby
to explain the circumstances under which
a certain letter to the war office was writ
ten he would probably have given the
whole story DIR. Jameson added:
Since Tuesday last Sir John Wflloughby
and myself have reviewed our whole con-
versation of that six months, and the evil
dence i have already given represents the
true conclusions. Sir John Willoughby
learned that under certain circumstances
his officers would be deprived of their COM
missions. and he consulted me in regard
to that fact He afterward guaranteed
them. rightly or wrongly. their commits
sions before they crossed the Transvaal
border. and. by my advice, he sent a let
ter to the war office with the view of saw
ing his officers careers from ruin. He
wrote the letter in the strongest and short
est terms possible, not as self-justification.
but feeling IL incumbent upon him to do
something. i did not see the letter before
it was sent. but when / ascertained its
terms ir the prison grounds of Holloway
objected to its wording"
The chairman then proceeded to ques-
ticn Dr. Jameson as 70 whether the i'm
perial authorities referred to meant those
of ~baE 10, of ,S11n
The witness replied that he had mostly
in mind those of the Cape; but he was
willing to admit that the officers might
have formed an exaggerated idea and
gathered more therefrom than he intend
ed to convey.
As to Sir John Willoughby's guarantee
ing the officers commissions, DR.. Jameson
admitted he would have done the same
because he expected the affair to succeed
and was confident that in that case his
countryman would have forgiven him and
would not have touched the officers COM
missions
Sir John Wiiloughby then took the stand
ard admitted the much discussed letter
was drafted by u. F. Hawksley, the law
yer of the British Chartered South Africa
Company. Continuing. the witness said he
supposed that DR.. Jameson saw 1t before
1t was posted and was Mortified to dis
cover that he had not. He (Sir john
knew perfectly we'll that he could neither
retain his own commission nor accept 1t
back.
Here the witness was greatly moved.
Sir John Willoughby said he did not de-
ferd the wording of the letter. Time
pressed and words did not seem of i'm
portance. He could not give a better YER
sion then DIR. Jameson had given of the
private conversations which had taken
place between them His mind was rather
ju'nbled regarding the sequence of events
He admitted. however. that he was quite
wrong In using the words Imperial au-
thorities-'
DR. Jameson. in the course of his re-
plies. Indignantly denied having told the
officers that he had the queens govern
ment at his back. remarking that 1t would
have been idiotic in him and absolutely
untrue to say so.