The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be formally
ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within three
months of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the ground
and become null and void.
Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the
retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to read
through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion that,
under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they could
reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the 28th
September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to a
General Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report
was presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through
the British Resident to "His Excellency W. E. Gladstone," in which the
Volksraad states that the Convention is not acceptable--
(1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852.
(2.
Pages:
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436