It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a very
favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape Government
were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected from it. Sir
G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that remained in the
country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite recently allowed a body
of 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not altogether, drawn from among
the loyalists, to be raised for service in the Basutu war, a serious
drain upon the resources of a country so sparsely populated as the
Transvaal.
Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th
January to consider Mr. Gladstone's letter, but the Bezuidenhout
incident had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a
month, and it was announced that it would be held on the 8th December.
Subsequently the date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again
to the 8th. Every effort was made, by threats of future vengeance, to
secure the presence of as many burghers as possible; attempts were
also made to persuade the native chiefs to send representatives, and to
promise to join in an attack on the English.
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