declined an invitation to attend. On June 1 Sir J. Gordon Sprigg moved the second reading of the redistribution bill, making its acceptance a Cabinet question. The day before Mr. Schreiner had given notice of a motion of censure on the ground that Sir J. Gordon Sprigg had misrepresented the people in a letter to Mr. Chamberlain praising Mr. Rhodes and condoning his acts. After the redistribution bill had passed the second reading by a vote of 42 to 35, although its features were objectionable to the Dutch, the motion of want of confidence was carried on June 22 by 41 votes to 36. On June 28 the Legislature was prorogued. The House of Assembly was dissolved, and elections took place in August. The principle for which Sir Gordon Sprigg and the Progressives contended in the campaign was British supremacy, such supremacy as would make the British Government the judge in its dispute with the South African Republic as to the meaning of the convention of 1884. Cecil Rhodes was the central figure in the contest, and his policy of British rule, leading to imperial expansion throughout Africa from Cairo to the Cape, versus what he called Krügerism, was the question at issue. Electoral and fiscal reforms, compulsory education, irrigation, and the other items in the ministerial programme were thrust into the background and the race struggle was boldly challenged by the British partisans, although the Afrikander party, led by Englishmen like Mr. Schreiner and Mr. Merriman, declared its loyalty to the British connection, and had the cooperation of Mr. Rose-Innes and his Independent Progressives in its opposition to Rhodes and his methods. In raising the race cry and in justifying menace and interference in the affairs of the Transvaal under the guidance of Mr. Rhodes the Government party miscalculated its strength. When the returns were all in it was found that the Afrikander Bond had a majority in the new Assembly. Basutoland. The country of the Basutos, who raise wool, wheat, mealies, and Kaffir corn, and possess immense herds of cattle in the fertile plateau lying between Cape Colony, Natal, and the Orange Free State, which has an area of 10,293 square miles and a population of about 250,000, is a Crown colony, administered by a Resident Commissioner, Sir G. Y. Lagden. The imports in 1896 were valued at £135,560, and the exports at £160,277. The revenue was £45,867; expenditure, £45,768.

The chief Masupha having resisted the police who attempted to arrest his son Moiketsi on the charge of assault and jail-breaking, the paramount chief Lerothodi marched with 10,000 men against his unruly vassal, who, after a siege and severe skirmishing, surrendered on Jan. 18, 1898.

Bechuanaland. The Bechuanaland protectorate comprises the country of Khama, chief of the Bamangwato, and the Bakhatla and Bangwaketse countries under the chiefs Lenchwe and Bathoen, containing in all 213,000 square miles, extending north of the Molopo from the South African Republic and Matabeleland on the east to German Southwest Africa on the west. The sale of intoxicants is forbidden in the protectorate, which is governed by the chiefs under the control of a Resident Commissioner, F. J. Newton, answerable to the High Commissioner. The natives are peaceful agriculturists and graziers, and they pay a hut tax for the support of the British administration. The Bechuanas who were found in the Langberg at the close of the rebellion of 1897 and were deported to the number of nearly 2,000 to Cape Colony and indentured to farmers for the period of five years, having been given the option of going as servants or standing their trial for treason, were placed with good masters and made good servants, according to the report of the Government inspectors.

Natal. The legislative powers are vested by the charter of 1893 in a Legislative Council of 11 members appointed for ten years and a Legislative Assembly of 37 members elected for four years by male citizens possessing or occupying immovable property or having an income of £96, of whom there were 9,208 in 1896. The Governor is Sir Walter Francis Hely-Hutchinson, appointed in 1893. The ministry constituted on Oct. 4, 1897, was composed as follows: Premier and Colonial Secretary, H. Binns; Attorney-General and Minister of Education, H. Bale; Colonial Treasurer, Mr. Arbuckle; Minister of Native Affairs, J. L. Hulett; Minister of Public Works, Mr. Hime; Minister of Agriculture, E. Ryley.

Area and Population. The area is estimated at 20,461 square miles. The population in 1891 was 543,913, comprising 46,788 whites, 41,142 East Indians, and 455,983 Kaffirs. This does not include Zululand and British Amatongaland, which were incorporated in the colony in December, 1897. The area of Zululand is about 12,500 square miles, and the population 180,370, including 1,100 whites. Finances. The revenue for the year ending June 30, 1896, was £1,457,338, of which £745,703 were railroad receipts, £265,369 customs revenue, £19,612 excise duties, £37,556 receipts from sales of land, £45,945 post-office receipts, £22,080 telegraph receipts, £28,123 stamps and license dues, and £76.847 the native hut tax. The expenditures amounted to £1,282,484, of which £745,703 were for operating the railroads, £66,929 for public works, and £107,150 for defense. The expenditure from loans, not included in the above, was £232,652. The debt on June 30, 1896, amounted to £8,054,343. The armed forces consist of 490 mounted police and 1,391 volunteers, not including the naval corps of 90 men.

Commerce and Production.-Maize, wheat, and green crops are grown for home consumption, and sugar and tea for export. The country is rich in coal and iron. The total value of the imports in 1896 was £5,437,863, and of the exports £1,785,375. The principal exports were wool for £590,605, gold for £102,624, coal for £88,334, hides and skins for £42,730, Angora hair for £24,925, and bark for £16,450.

Navigation. There were 740 vessels, of 1,071,196 tons, entered and 727, of 1,063,797 tons, cleared in 1896. The colony possessed 13 sailing vessels, of 675 tons, and 14 steamers, of 2,050 tons.

Railroads.-The Government railroads in 1897 had a total length of 402 miles, built at a cost of £6,117,211. The receipts in 1896 were £1,136,213, and expenditures £421,989, giving a profit of 11% per cent. on the capital.

Legislation. The farmers of Natal have not hitherto exercised such influence as to obtain protective duties as they have in Cape Colony. A duty was imposed, however, on imported mealies at a previous session, and on Jan. 7 the Government carried a bill placing one of 2d. a pound on frozen meats by 25 to 11 votes. By a majority almost as large the Legislature on June 10 ratified the Cape Town convention uniting the colonies in a customs union. This increases the duty on coal 1s. per 100 pounds, and reduces the duty on frozen beef 1d. per pound, and on flour 6d. per 100 pounds.

Orange Free State. The legislative power is vested in the Volksraad, a single Chamber of 58 members elected for four years by the votes of all adult male whites, one half being renewed every two years. The President of the republic, who is elected by all the burghers for the term of five years, is M. T. Steyn, elected Feb. 21, 1896.

Area and Population.-The Free State has an area of 48,326 square miles, with a population in

1890 of 77,716 whites, divided into 40,571 males and 37,145 females, and 129,787 natives, divided into 67,791 males and 61,996 females; total, 207,503. There is considerable immigration from Germany, Great Britain, and Holland.

Finances. The revenue for 1896 was £374,774, and the expenditure £381,861. Of the revenue, £138,247 was derived from customs duties on imports, £57,431 from stamp duties, £35,694 from posts and telegraphs, £30,845 from transfer duties, £16,410 from the native poll tax, and £15,301 from quit rents. Of the expenditures, £50,236 went for salaries, £48,077 for public works, £47,163 for education, £30,320 for posts and telegraphs, £12,454 for police, and £7,145 for the artillery. In 1897 the revenue reached the total of £1,072,519. There are 2 batteries of artillery at Bloemfontein, the capital, manned by 80 officers and men, with a reserve of 350 trained gunners. The number of burghers subject to be called out for service by the field cornets is 17,381.

Commerce and Production.-There are 6,000 farms averaging 4,000 acres each, but only 250,000 acres are under cultivation. The number of horses at the last census was 248,878; of cattle, 895,099; of sheep, 6,619,992; of goats, 853,155; of ostriches, 1,461. The production of diamonds increased from 99,255 carats in 1890, valued at £223,960, to 282,598 carats in 1894, valued at £428,039. There are large coal deposits, and gold has been found. The value of the imports in 1896 was £1,186,457, of which £845,812 came from Cape Colony, £224,440 from Natal, and £116,205 from Basutoland; value of exports, £1,744,484, of which £612,313 went to Cape Colony, £116,961 to Natal, £75,751 to Basutoland, and £944,459 to the South African Republic. There are 1,500 miles of telegraphs, connecting Bloemfontein with the Transvaal, Natal, and the Cape, and 330 miles of railroad traversing the republic from the Orange river to the Vaal, joining those of Cape Colony and the South African Republic.

Political Affairs.-A conference of delegates to discuss the basis of a Federal Union between the Orange Free State and the South African Republic was held at Pretoria in January, 1898. The Volksraad, which was opened on April 4, voted to grant concessions for railroads to Kimberley and to Ladybrand.

South African Republic. -The legislative power is vested in two Volksraads, each consisting of 27 members elected for four years. Bills passed by the Second Volksraad to become law must be ratified by the First Volksraad, whose members are elected by the first-class burghers, comprising the male whites who were resident in the republic previous to 1876 or who have borne arms in the war of independence of 1881, the Malaboch war, or the Swaziland expedition in 1894, or in the operations against the Jameson raiders in 1896. The Second Volksraad is elected by burghers of both classes. Second-class burghers are adult male whites who obtain naturalization after two years of residence by taking the oath of allegiance, registering themselves in the books of the field cornet, and paying a fee of £2. Only first-class burghers can vote in the election of the President or the Commandant General. The State President, whose term is five years, is S. J. Paulus Krüger, elected for the third time in 1893. The Vice-President and Commandant General is Gen. P. J. Joubert, elected in 1896. The Executive Council was composed in 1898 of the Vice-President; Dr. W. J. Leyds, the State Secretary, elected in 1897 for the third time: P. A. Cronje, Superintendent of Natives; J. H. M. Kock, Keeper of the Minutes: and J. M. A. Wolmarans and S. W. Burger, non-official members.

The Transvaal was occupied and annexed by

Great Britain in 1877, but revolted in 1880, and in the treaty of peace, signed on March 21, 1881, was recognized as independent once more in all internal affairs, though subject to the suzerainty of Great Britain, which assumed the control and management of external affairs and appointed a British resident. On Feb. 27, 1884, a new convention was signed, from which the clause relating to suzerainty was omitted. A diplomatic agent replaced the British resident under this convention, but all treaties with foreign powers, save the Orange Free State, or with native tribes to the north or west of the Transvaal, were required to be submitted to the British Government, which has six months in which to approve or reject them. In token of its regained independence the Republic, previously known as the Transvaal, was recognized under the new title of the South African Republic.

Area and Population.-The area of the Republic is 119,189 square miles, and the white population, according to the census of 1896, is 245,397, of whom 137,947 are males and 107.450 females. The native population is estimated at 622,500. The white population of Pretoria, the capital, is about 10,000. The total population of Johannesburg, the mining center, on July 15, 1896, was 102.078, divided into 79,315 males and 22,763 females, and consisting of 50,907 whites, 5,759 Indian coolies, Chinese, and Malays, 2,879 of mixed races, and 42,533 Kaffirs.

Finances.-The revenue for 1896 was £4,807,513, and the expenditure £4,671,393. For six months of 1897 the revenue was £1,805,226, and the expenditure £1,865,714, against £1,734,728 for the whole year 1894. The provisional estimates for the whole year 1897 made the revenue £4,886,499, and the expenditure £4,702,028, including large extraordinary expenditures, as £1,054,028 for public works, £527,300 for armaments, £500,000 for explosives, and £150,000 for prevention of the spread of the rinderpest. There was an unexpended balance of £591,118 on June 30, 1897. The chief part of the revenue is derived from the gold fields in the shape of mining licenses and royalties, duties on imports destined for the mining regions, railroad revenue, receipts from the dynamite monopoly, etc., land sales, quit rents, the hut tax, stamps, transport dues, and customs produce the rest of the revenue. The revenue collected from the mines in 1895 was £1,848,571. The gold fields at Barberton are on lands belonging to the Government. The import duties collected in 1896 amounted to £1,355,486. The amount of the public debt in 1897 was £2,673,690.

Defense.-All able-bodied citizens belong to the militia and can be mustered, all armed and mounted, for active service at any time. The only standing force is the artillery, numbering 32 officers and 368 men. Since the Jameson raid the Government has paid part of the expenses of 3 volunteer corps of infantry and 6 of cavalry, numbering 2,000 men.

Commerce and Production.-One third of the inhabitants of the Republic are engaged in agricul ture, but stock raising is the principal industry. There are 12,245 farms, of which 3,636 belong to the Government, 1,612 to absent owners and companies, and 6,997 to resident owners. The gold mines employed 9,375 whites and 64,012 natives in 1896. The claims cover an area of 442,000 acres. There are 200 mining companies, having a nominal capital of £57,000,000 and £21,000,000 of invested capital. The total production of gold from the first discovery in 1884 to the end of 1896 was £42,334,248. The output for 1896 was £8,603,821, compared with £8,569,555 in 1895, £7,667,152 in 1894, £5,480,498 in 1893, £4,541,071 in 1892, £2,924,305 in 1891, and £1,869,645 in 1890.

The coal mines in the eastern part of the Trans

vaal are being developed rapidly, and the deposits in the Witwatersrand produce a steady output of excellent coal. The total quantity raised in 1896 was 1,437,297 tons, valued at £612,561.

The total value of dutiable imports in 1896 was £14,088,130, of which £9,264,378 came from over sea and £4,823,752 from neighboring countries. The total value in 1895 was £9,816,304, and in 1894 it was £6,440,215. The extent of the gold exports is seen in the Cape Colony returns. Other chief exports are wool, cattle, hides, grain, ostrich feathers, ivory, tin from Swaziland, and coal.

Communications.-The continuation of the railroad crossing the Orange Free State to Pretoria by the construction of 78 miles from the Vaal river places the Boer capital in direct communication with Cape Town, 1,040 miles distant. The Delagoa Bay line to Pretoria, 295 miles long, has been in operation since the beginning of 1895. A line from Natal enters the Transvaal and has its present terminus at Charlestown. A line to Selatie, 191 miles in length, is approaching completion. The total length of railroads within the Transvaal was 716 miles in September, 1897, when there were 270 miles additional partly constructed and 252 miles more projected.

The telegraphs within the Transvaal have a total length of 1,952 miles, connecting with all the telegraphs and cables of South Africa.

Political Affairs.-Cecil Rhodes, who, when Prime Minister of Cape Colony, was the originator and prime mover in the conspiracy for the overthrow of the Transvaal Government that was rendered abortive by the vigilance and decision of the Boer authorities, by resuming his political activity in South Africa strengthened the position of President Krüger and made the Boers more determined and unyielding in their resistance to the demands of the Uitlanders. What still more aroused the fears of the Boers and excited their jealous love of independence was Mr. Chamberlain's dispatch of Oct. 16, 1897, roughly asserting the continuance of British suzerainty. Before the presidential election several hundred Uitlanders, who had volunteered to fight the Jameson raiders and the Johannesburg revolutionists, were admitted to full burgher rights. The English Government intervened in behalf of Indian Banyans, who were required to live and to trade outside of towns, but only to secure an interpretation of the law, since these British subjects were placed under similar disabilities in Natal and lately in Rhodesia. On Jan. 19, in accepting one of the new forts round Pretoria, the President said that readiness for war was the best guarantee of peace. The popular vote for President, which was given near the end of January, resulted in the triumphant re-election of Stephanus Johannes Paulus Krüger, who received 12,858 votes, to 3,753 for Schalk Burger and 2.001 for Gen. Joubert. About two thirds of the electorate voted.

A constitutional conflict between the President and Chief-Justice Kotze began in September, 1895, when the case was pending of Brown, an American citizen, who had been ousted by operation of this resolution from a mining claim and had brought suit for damages against the State Secretary. The High Court having given judgment for Brown on Jan. 22, 1897, denying the validity of a resolution of the Volksraad rescinding the proclamation on which Brown based his claim, the Volksraad as soon as it met passed Law 1, 1897, declaring that the testing power does not exist and never did exist; requiring the judges of the High Court to take oath that they will carry out all laws and resolutions of the Volksraad and not presume to test them by the Grundwet, or Constitution; and furthermore

empowering them to dismiss any judge from office who in answer to formal interrogatories will not undertake to observe Volksraad laws and resolutions. By a written agreement made on March 22, 1897, through the mediation of Sir Henry de Villiers, Chief Justice of Cape Colony, the judges promised not to exercise the testing power, and the President undertook to introduce a draft constitutional law providing that the Grundwet can be altered only by special legislation and safeguarding the independence of the judiciary. He promised in his negotiations with Sir Henry Villiers to have a commission appointed, but Mr. Kotze assumed that a bill was to be introduced forthwith, and when the commission protracted its deliberations, and the session of 1897 passed without any action being taken by the Volksraad in the matter, he wrote to President Krüger on Feb. 5, 1898, that he considered the understanding between them as having lapsed and no longer existing. The President held that he was not bound to carry through such legislation as the judges demanded, but that they had engaged themselves not to test acts of the Volksraad. He regarded Chief-Justice Kotze's letter as a virtual refusal to answer or an insufficient answer to the question that he had put to him on March 4, 1897, under the law passed by the Volksraad, and accordingly on Feb. 16, 1898, he dismissed him from office in accordance with a decision of the Executive Council. Mr. Kotze replied that Law 1, 1897, was no law, and claimed that he was still Chief Justice, having been appointed for life, and not being liable to removal under the Grundwet except on charges of grave misdemeanor. He assumed to adjourn the court but Judge Gregorowski was appointed acting Chief Justice and opened court immediately. Mr. Kotze addressed a manifesto to the people of the Republic, and afterward went to England and appealed to the British Government to interfere as suzerain to prevent the property rights and liberty of Uitlanders being overriden by the Boer oligarchy. He had been appointed Chief Justice for life by the British when they were in occupation of the Transvaal. Justice Ameshoff, who had stood by the ex-Chief Justice in all his contentions, and who looked for the succession to the presidency of the court, resigned his office. Judge Gregorowski was sworn in as Chief Justice on March 31.

The session of 1898 was opened on May 2. A proposal to raise a state loan of £6.000,000 to build railroads and extensive irrigation works was postponed to be considered at the next session. President Krüger was sworn in for the new term on May 12. He proposed to withdraw the licenses from banks that oppressed poor people and increased the existing depression, and suggested, for the prevention of spurious mining companies, that a certificate from a Government engineer be required before a company can be floated. Of the draft laws submitted one provides for the infliction of one to six years' imprisonment upon officials revealing the contents of documents which in the interest of the state should remain secret. alien's expulsion law, to which the British Government objected, was amended in compliance with Mr. Chamberlain's demand, so that an Uitlander accused of acts endangering the security of the state, and therefore liable to expulsion by executive order under the act as it stood, must first be placed by the Government in a position to bring forward his interests. Another bill enabled the executive authority to decide what is a dishonoring sentence. A third virtually prohibits any alien not a burgher of the Orange Free State from bringing firearms into the Transvaal without a permit from the State Secretary. There was a bill authorizing the Gov

The