University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk ...

390.
the conditions which the British Government could not
accept without losing the basis for dominance in South
Africa, The proposals wore refused and Chamberlain on
28th August warned Kruger that "the caands are running down in
the class*,,
(1)
In the event the Boars. lost a good
deal of justification and sympathy by inuuing an
ultimatum on 9th October demanding the withdrawal from
South Africa of all British reinforcements. They. followed
this up by the invasion of Natal on 11th October.
The fact that the Transvaal had started the wars - to be
joined by-the Orange Free Ctate1 appeared to vindicate
the theory that the Dutch had been conspiring to establish
their own supremacy in South Africa, It also created
in Britian a nodd. which favoured winning the wart
without worrying-unoconcorily over tiresome argu onto
abouf, peramounctjor the exact degree of technical
indopendence which the Transvaal had rained by the
Conventions
of 1881-4.
But up to the outbreak of war, the volume of anti-
war opinion was creator than pro-Covornmont opinion.
(1) tbl. 1p. 71"