But these learned men say we have grievances; they ought to know! And if we really have any wrongs to be redressed, the sooner it is done the better; so hurrah for these philanthropic (?) gentlemen who are going to redress our wrongs. They say we ought to have the franchise, so the franchise we will have, and so on.
It went uphill, it is true; the agents of the organisation found great difficulty to get the public mind wound up to the right pitch, and when they did succeed for an hour or so to get an enthusiastic audience together, it only lasted for that brief hour.
But even for this want of enduring enthusiasm a remedy was found, viz., a committee was appointed who were supposed to represent the Uitlander population, who made up in themselves for all want of public enthusiasm. Gold could do a great deal; besides, the head of the organisation knew the art of _buying_ enthusiasm.
For a time the National Union took a spurt, kept alive by inflaming speeches and circulars; but as soon as a little boom in shares took place, the public would have nothing to do with politics, and again and again the committee found the Union to consist of _themselves_. This would never do; the objects of the Union would never be attained if something was not done soon.
The plans of the parent organisation were nearing completion. Soon it was rumoured that the president of the Union and other members of the secret organisation were preparing to issue a manifesto, by which means they hoped to once more wind up public opinion, and to inflame the hotter Boer haters to the fullest extent. When once the public were excited enough, a meeting would be held, where revolutionary proposals would be made by certain agents, which, it was hoped, would be taken up and supported by the public. This was December 1895.
Peace on earth, good-will to all men is supposed to prevail at this season; not so with the enemies of the country.
The President was away on one of his yearly visits to outlying districts. He would return on Boxing Day, expecting everybody to be indulging in the usual festivities of the season.
Alas! it is not so in a certain building in Johannesburg. A group of men are exulting over a document. It is a proof of the famous National Union Manifesto, issued by the chairman of the Union; issued in the name of the Uitlander population, without their consent. On their own responsibility, the chairman of the Union and a few of his fellow-conspirators issued a manifesto with the full and deliberate intention of causing a civil war in South Africa, a war of races--a war, the result of which, and the ending of which, no man could surmise.