The San Francisco call., 1899-09-18

day or Thursday to consider the next
step.
PRETORIA, Sept 1.-THE reply OF
the Government of the South African
republic to the latest dispatch, dated
September II, of the British Secretary
of State for the Colonies, Joseph Cham
berlain, after acknowledging the re-
ceipt of the British note, proceeds in
part as follows:
The Government deeply regrets the
withdrawal, as the Government under
stands it. of the invitation contained In
the British dispatch of August % and the
substitution in place thereof of an en-
tirely new proposal.
The. proposals. now fallen. through
contained in the Transvaal dispatch OF
from this Government by suggestions
made by the British diplomatic agent in
Pretoria (Conyngham Greenel to the
Transvaal State Secretary Of. w. Reitz)
suggestions which this Government acted
upon in good faith and after specially
ascertaining whether they would be likely
to prove acceptable to the British Gov
ernment. This Government had by no
means an intention to raise again need
lessly the question of its political status
but acted with the sole object of en-
deavoring by the aid Of the local British
agent to put an end to the strained con-
dition of affairs.
posal which this Government deems both
as regards its spirit and form, to be -
worded as relying upon intimations to this
Government would satisfy Her Majesty 8
f1culty as to the acceptance of these pro-
poSals by the people and legislature of the
Transyaal and also on account of sin
cere desire to secure peace and because
assured by Mr.. Chamberlain that such
proposals would not be deemed a refusal
Of his proposals. but would be settled on
their merits.
AS regards the joint commission. the
Transvaal adheres to the acceptance of
the invitation thereunto given by Her
Maiestys Government and cannot under
stand why such commission which before
was deemed necessary to explain the com
plicated details of the seven years law
should now be deemed unnecessary and
why it should now, without much in
quiry, be thought possible to declare this
law inadequate.
Further, there must. be a misappre-
hension If 1t be assumed that this Govern
ment was prepared to lay proposals for n
five years franchise on a quarter repre-
sentation of the new population before the
Volksraad for unconditional acceptance
AS to the language, this Government
never made any offer such as is referred
to. considering, as it did, such a measure
both unnecessary and undesirable
The proposed conference, as opposed r.
the joint commission Of inquiry. this Gov
ernment Is likewise not unwilling to enter
upon, but the difficulty is that an accent.
acceptance, on the side of the Transyaaf
of precedent conditions which this Gov.
to the Volksraad and. moreover, the sub.
jects to be discussed at the conference re.
main underlined. This Government,
ardently desires and gladly accepts arbi-
tration, as it's frs intention is to adhere
to the terms Of the London convention OF
1884.
The dispatch concludes by trusting
that the British Government on recon-
sideration may not deem it fit to make
more onerous or new proposals, but will
adhere to Great Britain's proposals for
a joint commission of inquiry as pre-
viously explained by the Secretary of
State for the Colonies to the Imperial
Parliam mt"