[-206-]
CHAPTER XX
THE JAMESON TRIAL
AFTER the ill-starred battle of Dornkoop resulting in the
defeat and capture of Dr. Jameson and his officers, the prisoners, as has been
stated, were handed over to the British authorities for trial and punishment by
President Kruger, who also demanded heavy indemnity from the English government.
They were detained in prison at Pretoria for four weeks, where their confinement
was made as comfortable as possible; where they were permitted to converse
freely, amuse themselves with various sports and were liberally supplied with
wines and other luxuries, and were then sent back to England. Their comfort was
also scrupulously considered throughout the voyage, Dr. Jameson spending much of
his time in reading and writing. The return was by the way of the Red sea and
the Mediterranean, and the London press was apprised of the state of their
health and other matters of interest when the ship touched at Malta, although
the newspaper correspondents were not permitted to go on board or to communicate
with the men. The same rule was rigidly observed when the vessel anchored at
Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon, February 2d.
On Monday the arrival of Dr. Jameson was eagerly expected,
and great crowds assembled around the Bow street police court, which was filled
with people who waited there all day. In the evening a police launch went down
the river with a detail of officers and met the "Victoria," upon which
their passage had been taken; the warrant for [-207-]
their arrest was read and Dr. Jameson and his associates were transferred from
the ship to the tug Corruna which landed them at the Temple Pier. The men were
haggard and exhausted from the long voyage, and were still clad in the brown
uniforms and broad-brimmed grey felt hats which they had worn in the battle at
Dornkoop; suffering keenly in the damp chill of the February evening after the
heat of the South African summer. They arrived at nightfall, and were driven to
the Bow street court without delay. No cards of admission had been required on
that first evening, and the body of the court room was filled with a
miscellaneous audience; upon the bench where he sat much of the time during the
subsequent proceedings, was the Duke of Abercorn, the Honorary Chairman of the
Chartered Company, with Lady Annaly, Lord and Lady Alington, Lord and Lady
Chelsea and others of equal position. At half past six the Public Prosecutor
arrived and at seven o'clock Sir John Bridge, the Magistrate, took his seat upon
the bench. Dr. Jameson and his twelve associates were immediately ushered into
the Court room through the prisoner's door, and they were greeted with ringing
cheers and with such enthusiasm that it was some time before order could be
restored. The magistrate rebuked this demonstration with great severity,
reminding those present that the men who had been so warmly applauded were there
to answer for a serious offense, and he threatened to clear the court if it
occurred again.
Dr. Jameson and his confederates were then formally charged
with having fitted out an expedition in December, 1895, within Her Majesty's
dominions, without her permission and marching against a friendly state, the
South African Republic.
The defendants gave bond in the sum of fr,ooo for their
re-appearance, and the magistrate again reminded them [-208-]
that the charge entered against them was a grave one, and they were
advised to keep arw~y from public places where their appearance might occasion
excitement.
There was such a desire to witness the proceedings, that the
authorities were overwhelmed with requests for tickets of admission to the court
room, which were somewhat difficult to secure. Mine was obtained through the
courtesy of friends at the American Embassy, and I was instructed to present
myself at the private entrance of the court at 9:30 o'clock, an unearthly hour
in London where the shop shutters have only just been taken down, and the
sober-minded part of the population are still at breakfast.
It was the 17th of March, St. Patrick's day, a bright, sunny
morning, and along the sidewalks in Wellington street, men and women were
selling tinsel ornaments, or sprigs of shamrock for the buttonhole, for which
they found many purchasers whose nationality was patent. Three policemen stood
guard at the main entrance of the Police court, and another at the gate leading
into a wide, flagged court by which the private entrance was to be reached. Here
the windows shone with much cleaning, and the bell and door-plate bore evidence
of skillful polishing, while the door-step was of snowy whiteness. It was much
more like the entrance to a private residence, whose mistress thoroughly
understood the art of good housekeeping, than any police court that I had ever
seen before.
When I took the seat assigned me, the clock upon the wall
showed that it was just half past nine. Policemen were stationed at the doors,
or came and went about their business; an artist at a desk made a rapid sketch
of the interior of the court room for one of the illustrated papers, and was
closely watched by several men who stood at his elbow, and whose close proximity
and fixed scrutiny did not seem to disturb him. He remained at his post all day,
and having completed his first task busied himself [-209-]
with the interesting personages who took part in the proceedings, or were
seated with the magistrates upon the bench, none of whom apparently resented
being sketched. Then the reporters of the great London news associations began
to drop in, and seated themselves around a narrow table much too small and
crowded for their needs. A good many of them, as would have happened in the
United States, were unmistakably Irish, and wore the distinctive shamrock in the
lapel. One lady sat at this table where she took occasional notes in a very
small and elegant Russia leather note book, while many of the men who could not
be accommodated there, wrote all day very laboriously and inconveniently upon
their knees. The "lady journalist," to use the conventional English
term, carried a volume of "Jude the Obscure" for mental refreshment
when the proceedings of the trial began to pall, or between intervals of
conversation with those of the reporters whom she knew.
On the opposite side of the court room was another small
table for the reporters of the London newspapers, while behind them, writing on
"blocks," which they also held upon their knees, were the
representatives presumably of the provincial press. The court room was as tidy
as a drawing room, and by no means gloomy. Upon the bench to the right and left
of the magistrate, Sir John Bridge, were a number of people who had been
permitted to occupy these seats during the trial, the Duke of Abercorn, the
Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry, Viscountess Knutsford, Lady Coventry, Lady
Rayleigh, Lady Cranborne, Lady Elizabeth Biddulph, Sir F. Dixon-Hartland, M. P.,
friends of the Magistrate and the defendants. To the left were "the
pews," as they were called, and to the right the witness stand; this was a
conspicuous object with a fanciful canopy supported by slender brass columns. In
the center of the main floor, on a lower level than the [-210-]
witness stand, was a space for the table at which the cleric and other
officials were seated. Mr. Cavendish, the clerk, rapidly recorded the evidence
as it was rendered, and when it was finished, read it aloud, submitting it to
the witness for his signature. This was written with a big quill, which seems to
be used exclusively in English courts. Although the Magistrate was not to take
his seat until eleven o'clock, the spectators who had been able to secure
admission were all in their places long before that hour. The audience was
strikingly distinguished in manner and appearance, even many who stood in the
rear of the benches throughout the day having an air of great refinement and
intelligence, very unlike the usual loiterers in ordinary court rooms. As it was
only the preliminary hearing for committal, the magistrate and barristers
appeared without wig and gown. At eleven o'clock the door in the rear of the
bench opened and the magistrate entered and, in obedience to some indistinct
command, the clerk, barristers and audience arose and stood until he was seated;
it was a recognition of the majesty of the law that seemed to me respectful and
dignified.
Opposite the table at which the clerk was seated was another
door marked in conspicuous black letters: "For Prisoners Only." When
Sir John Bridge had taken his seat this door opened and the defendants filed in;
Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, Major Sir John Christopher Willoughby, Col. Raleigh
Grey, Major the Hon. R. White, Major John B. Stracey, Major C. H. Villiers,
Captain K. J. Kincaid-Smith, Lieut. H. M. Grenfell, Capt. C. P. Foley, Capt. C.
L. D. Monroe, Capt. C. F. Lindsell, Capt. E. C. S. Holden, Major the Hon.
Charles John Coventry and Capt. Audley Vaughan Gosling. Two rows of chairs had
been placed for them outside the bar, upon the main floor, facing the bench, and
to these they were conducted by Jailer White, Dr. Jameson at the head of the
file and Major, the Hon. [-211-] Charles John
Coventry, bringing up the rear. All were bronzed by exposure to the African wind
and sun; all were faultlessly dressed, and, with one or two exceptions, their
demeanor was composed and well-bred. Dr. Jameson was very grave and he, alone,
was somewhat ill at ease. As he entered the court room a dark flush mounted to
his forehead, which slowly faded as he walked to his chair and seated himself
with great deliberateness. He was a man somewhat below medium height, with a
huge head carried a little to one side, showing a remarkable breadth of brow;
the eyes were large, dark and sufficiently expressive, when not concealed by the
heavy drooping lids that were frequently half, or wholly, closed; the nose was
prominent and large and rather symmetrical, the chin and mouth indicated decided
firmness; the whole expression and demeanor of the man evinced fearlessness that
would be disposed to express itself in deeds rather than words. He, too, was
carefully dressed in a dark frock coat and trousers, a spotless, white necktie
and pale grey gloves-the conventional morning dress of an English gentleman. He
walked with a heavy unelastic tread and a slightly swinging carriage, and sat
much of the time obliquely in his chair, one cheek resting upon his elegantly
gloved hand; his glance was often cast down or fixed at rare intervals upon his
counsel, Sir Edward Clarke; not once during the day, so far as I could observe,
did he give more than a passing look at the witnesses upon the stand; to
whatever was being drawn out of them he seemed quite indifferent, and, except
for that first dull flush, he was equally oblivious of the spectators about him
to whom he was a manifest object of interest. Such was the hero of one of the
most daring raids in all the annals of border warfare; to all appearance a
quiet, modest gentleman, in faultless and fashionable dress, with civilian
stamped upon him from head to foot, and who [-2l2-] would
have been recognized anywhere as the circumspect, model family physician. He
seemed pre-eminently a man to whom healing of wounds was far more congenial and
better suited than blood-letting with Maxim guns and Lee-Metford rifles, after
the manner which he had so rashly undertaken.
A certain romance was associated with Major Coventry; he had
been reported among the dead after the battle of Dornkoop, and a memorial
service had been. announced, to be held in the parish church at Croome, the
residence of his father, the Earl of Coventry. On the evening preceding this
service, the error was corrected and when it was learned that Major Coventry had
been wounded, but was still living and would recover, the arrangements were
hurriedly altered and a thanksgiving service was held, instead. His parents had
received innumerable letters and messages of condolence, and Major Coventry was
one of the few who had the doubtful privilege of reading his own obituary
notice. He, too, was bronzed and tanned, but on the other hand showed little
evidence, either of his wounds or his long journey. He, alone, of the thirteen
defendants was disposed to take the situation humorously. And, aside from this
facetiousness, which seemed a little ill-timed, he was a typical guardsman,
tall, broad-shouldered with a marked military bearing. By some juggle of fate he
appeared to have changed places with the mild and unaggressive physician;
judging from appearances alone, one would have selected him as the leader, and
would have said that Dr. Jameson accompanied the expedition against his sober
judgment, solely to minister to the needs of men who might require his
professional services. While Dr. Jameson sat indifferent and impassive, Coventry
smiled frequently and laughed inaudibly whenever he was especially amused by any
portion of the evidence. The fashionable audience was such [-213-]
as might have been seen at a morning concert at St. James, or at a
private view at the Royal Academy, and was accentuated by the uniformed police,
the motley crowd of witnesses who sat behind the defendants - mere lads many of
them - who blushed like school-girls when they stooped to kiss the Bible as the
oath was administered. The one exception to this shy and embarrassed group was
Inspector Brown, a middle-aged soldier, rather grave and stern of countenance.
It was very apparent that the witnesses for the defense were nerved up to the
highest pitch of excitement; but, nevertheless, they too exhibited perfect
self-control and were resolutely on their guard, determined, even while mindful
of their oath, that nothing should divert their vigilance or betray them into
making statements, if it could be avoided, that should prove damaging to their
leader. There was a pronounced esprit du corps among them which they made
no effort to conceal. They shook hands cordially when they met, like doughty
heroes in a common cause, advised by some officious individual who conspicuously
marshalled them to and from their places; as each man was summoned to the
witness stand this friend patted him encouragingly - on the shoulder, -
gave his hand a furtive grasp, whispered in his ear, and when he was dismissed
and rejoined his comrades, openly and heartily congratulated him upon the manner
in which he had acquitted himself.
The prosecution was conducted by the Attorney-General, Sir
Richard Webster, Q. C., M. P., Sir Charles Matthews, Mr. Horace Avory and Mr.
Fulton. The counsel for the defense were Sir Edward Clarke, Q. C., M. P., Sir
Frank Lockwood, Q. C., M. P., Mr. E. H. Carson, Q. C., M. P., and Mr. C. F.
Gill. In addition to this imposing array of eminent men, Mr. Howard Spensley
appeared for. Dr. Jameson, the Hon. Alfred Lyttleton for Sir John Wil-[-214-]loughby,
Col. H. F. White and Major Robert White; Mr. Roskill for Major Coventry and
Captain Gosling; the others also having retained special counsel.
The chief strength of the English bar - a body of the
profoundest learning and of the highest professional skill, were thus arrayed
upon one side or the other, in one of the greatest political causes that had
been appealed to the courts of Great Britain since the days of Warren Hastings.
It was what was known as a trial at bar, that is, a trial before a special
bench, and it was the third that had occurred within the century.
It was one of the idiosyncrasies of the law which, the world
over, abounds in perplexing technicalities - pits for the feet of the unwary and
loopholes of escape for the cunning - that there had been some difficulty in
ascertaining the precise nature of the offense which had been committed; a deed
of such magnitude had not been anticipated in any existing statutes, and, like
the secession of our Southern States, no adequate penalty had been found for the
unforeseen conspiracy. It was none the loss patent that men holding the Queen's
commission had marched with an armed force into the territory of a friendly
people; a battle had ensued in which twenty lives had been lost, as nearly as
could be ascertained, and the government had been involved not only in costly
litigation, but in an international dispute where heavy and justifiable
indemnity would be demanded, and which would require many months and, possibly
years, finally to adjust.
It was at length decided that the case came properly within
this section of the Foreign Enlistment Act which had been adopted in 1870 and
was in force throughout British territory in South Africa:
"If any person within the limits of Her Majesty's
dominion, without the license of Her Majesty, prepares or fits out a naval or
military expedition to proceed against [-215-] the
friendly dominion of any friendly state he shall be liable to a fine and to
imprisonment not exceeding two years;" any person aiding or abetting such
an expedition was liable to the same penalty.
When the defendants were seated and the witnesses were in
readiness to be summoned to the witness stand, as they were required, there was
a subdued hum of conversation, the general air about the court room being
decidedly cheerful and social. Many of the spectators present were known to each
other, and exchanged compliments and inquiries as if they were at an "At
Home in Belgravia," or visiting between the acts of an opera. The Duke of
Abercorn sat at the right of the Magistrate, a man with delicately chiseled
features and an expression of marked cleverness, quietly and tastefully dressed
with a shamrock in his buttonhole. He listened with the greatest attention for
five hours, as became the Chairman of the British South African Company, which
was practically almost as much upon trial as Dr. Jameson, and his confederates.
There had been no demonstration of any sort, this time, when the defendants
appeared, the s-tern rebuke which the Magistrate had administered at the
arraignment being doubtless fresh in the minds of those who were present;
several women looked at the men steadily and unabashed through opera glasses, a
scrutiny which the victims endured unflinchingly. Once or twice, when the
testimony took a humorous turn, there was a ripple of laughter in which few of
the prisoners, except Major Coventry, joined. This, with a slight stir around
the door as telegraph messengers came and went, was instantly silenced by an
admonitory "S-s-s-s-h," and the people thus cautioned, obeyed with the
prompt obedience of tractable children. As the hours wore on, the defendants
showed signs of weariness; Dr. Jameson's head drooped heavily and~ now and then
he sighed as he shifted his position. Col. [-216-] Willoughby
and Col. White leaned forward, each with. his face in his hands, and,
occasionally one of the women on the bench rose and stood a moment, apparently
to obtain a better view. The first words uttered were a sharp passage at arms
between Sir George Lewis and Sir Edward Clarke. Sir George Lewis turned to the
bench and explained to the Magistrate that he had been instructed to - appear on
behalf of the South African Company. To this Sir Edward Clarke retorted, as if
questioning the statement "Sir George Lewis appears here, as a spectator.
It is pleasant to see him, but he has nothing to do with the case." To this
the Magistrate replied with great courtesy and forbearance:
"I understand that he is here to watch," and to
this Sir George responded politely: "Thank you, Sir John."
The Crown proceeded first, to establish the fact that the
raid had been planned and in contemplation for some months, extensive
preparations having been made to insure its success. The first witness-called
was Sidney George Buck, a mere slip of a lad whose parents lived in Surrey; and
nothing could have exceeded his stubborn intention not to utter a single word
more than was forcibly extorted by the ordeal of the examination and the
cross-examination that followed. As he took his place on the stand he was the
embodiment of alertness, and his eye never wandered for a moment; he stood erect
and looked his examiner, Mr. Sutton, straight in the face. As often as it was
possible he answered simply "yes'' and "no;" occasionally he
paused as if weighing consequences, and giving himself time to discover if there
were not some means of evading the question propounded, within the limits of his
oath to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
His replies were uttered in a perfectly distinct tone, as monotonous as the
continued repetition of the monosyllable in which they were conveyed. The gist
of his evidence [-217-] was that he had joined the
Bechuanaland police force in 1895 in which he had been made sergeant, and which
had been commanded by Col. Henry White; the force had been divided into troops,
A. B. and C., the latter having eight Maxim guns and one twelve-pounder. Captain
Stracey was troop commander and they had been ordered to march South. They
arrived at Pitsani Potlugo, the first week in December, the other troops
following and the artillery bringing up the rear. Before leaving Buluwayo their
rifles had been changed, and carbines substituted for these at Potsani. At the
latter place he saw Col. White, Sir John Willoughby, Captain Stracey and other
officers, all of whom he named, and they remained at Pitsani throughout the
month of December. On Sunday, the 28th of December, the troops were drawn up and
formed in squares, but he was not present, and a letter from Dr. Jameson was
read. The troops marched that evening. He was asked if he knew where they were
going.
Sir Edward Clarke, for the defense, sharply objected to this,
but the witness made a tacit confession that he did know; and that he had been
told "by others." They had taken with them one day's rations and
reached Malmani at day-break where they were joined by 120 men, all the staff
officers being present. The order of march after leaving Malmani was: scouts in
front, an advance guard, rear guard, and flanking columns. When asked what this
order was called, technically, he replied:
"I do not know."
There were eight Maxims for the column, one seven-pounder and
the twelve-pounder. The horses were fed during the halt at Malmani, the feed
having been obtained at stores along the road. A limited supply of tinned meats,
and the like, was procured for the men, and twenty five miles from Malmani
forage was again obtained, with provisions for the troops at a store similar to
that at Mal-[-218-]mani. The column had marched
incessantly on the 29th halting in the evening. On Tuesday they again marched
until sundown. The capture of Captain Eloff of the South African Republic police
was the chief incident of Tuesday. The witness was asked if he could recall
another incident that occurred about midnight, and he replied quietly:
"Yes."
When he was asked to state what this incident was he replied
concisely:
"The Boers fired on us."
The examiner then wanted to know, plainly, if this was the
first that he had seen of the Boers and the witness again said :
"Yes."
Sir Edward Clarke, keenly intent upon the examination,
quickly interposed:
"It was midnight; how could he see them?"
But the lad said that they had not seen them before, and when
fired upon, they returned the fire, a speech which moved Major -Coventry to
laughter. It also raised sympathetic and deferential laughter in the court which
was instantly silenced by the uplifted hand and the official "S-s-sh."
On being asked what the Boers did in retaliation the young man said simply:
"They got out of the way as quickly as they could,"
at which there was more laughter, this also, being at once suppressed. The
witness then continued his story, stating that after this encounter with the
Boers the troops halted for the night. The march was resumed Wednesday morning
and at noon that day-they reached a small hotel about four miles from
Krugersdorp; there they found sixty or seventy Boers.
"Were they troopers?" asked the Magistrate.
"Yes, mounted men," was the reply.
On meeting them, the Witness Stated, the columns halted [-219-]
and the guns were brought up. He believed that the Boers fired first, and
remembered that the fire was returned. When asked,
"What became of the Boers?" he replied with
his former conciseness:
"They went."
At this, Major Coventry again laughed heartily, but his humor
was hardly in keeping with the suppressed anxiety which, by this time, disturbed
the assumed nonchalance of the witness. A few Boers, it was explained, bad been
seen at a mine near Krugersdorp. The mine was shelled for half an hour by the
order of Col. White, who had planned to take possession of it and the fire was
not returned. When asked if it was a hot fire the witness replied guardedly:
"Yes; pretty warm," and at this Dr. Jameson smiled
faintly, for the first time.
At three o'clock in the afternoon the troops dismounted and
lay down, making no further effort to approach the mine. The witness himself
remained dismounted until sunset, lying down during the firing. Later in the
evening the columns drew off and marched in what direction he did not know. His
horse was shot, he became separated from the troop and retraced his steps over
the hills on foot. In the morning he again heard firing and went in that
direction, having walked about all night. On Tuesday morning he found himself in
the vicinity of the mines at Johannesburg. The firing ended suddenly; he then
changed his dress and having learned of the surrender of Dr. Jameson's forces,
he went to Krugersdorp thence to Johannesburg and Cape Colony. This information
was not given by the witness in any sort of a connected narrative, but was
pieced together from the inquiries put to him by the examiner to whom, whenever
it was possible, he answered "yes" or "no;" "I cannot
say," "I could not [-220-] say, or
"I do not know." But the questions, in themselves, indicated very
thorough knowledge of the case on the part of the prosecution. The evidence was
not materially varied in the long and minute cross-examination which followed,
and which was conducted by Sir Edward Clarke himself, nor did the
Attorney-General, Sir Richard Webster's re-examination secure any new facts or
any alteration in those already included in the first statement.
The second witness, Philip Leopold Hill, testified that he
had seen Dr. Jameson and had heard him say that they were going to Johannesburg
to protect the women and children; that they would have the aid of the Cape
Mounted Rifles, and the Natal Mounted Police, although he hoped that they would
be able to push through without fighting, before the Boers had time to collect.
They were promised re-mounts, stores of food and were to be joined by the
Bechuanaland Mounted Police. This was stated in a speech which Dr. Jameson
delivered to the men and he also read from a letter which he held in his hand at
the time. He said that he wanted to reach Johannesburg in forty-eight hours. The
witness admitted that the volunteers were "all sorts of people," and
said that he, himself, had seen "two sailors and some waiters."
This confession as to the Falstaffian character of Dr.
Jameson's forces again disturbed the gravity of the court. The letter which had
been seen in Dr. Jameson's possession was identified and was read aloud. It was
as follows:
JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 20, 1895.
DR.
JAMESON-
Dear Sir: The position of matters in this state has become so
critical that we are assured that at no distant period there will be a conflict
between the government and the Uitlander population. It is scarcely necessary
for us to recapitulate what is now a matter of history. Suffice [-221-]
it to say that the position of thousands of Englishmen is
rapidly becoming intolerable. Not satisfied with making the Uitlander population
pay virtually the whole of the revenue of the country, while denying them
representation, the policy of the government has been steadily to encroach upon
the liberty of the subject and to undermine the security for property to such an
extent as to cause a very deep-seated sense of discontent and danger. A foreign
corporation of Hollanders is to a considerable extent controlling our destinies
and, in conjunction with the Boer leader, endeavoring to cast them in a mold
which is wholly foreign to the genius of the people. Every public act betrays
the most positive hostility, not only to everything English, but with the
neighboring states as well. In short, the internal policy of the government is
such as to have raised into antagonism to it, not only practically the whole
body of Uitlanders, but a large number of Boers, while its external policy has
exasperated the neighboring states, causing the possibility of great danger to
the peace and independence of this great republic. Public feeling is in a
condition of smouldering discontent; all the petitions of the people have been
refused, with a greater or less degree of contempt, and in the debate on the
franchise petition signed by nearly forty thousand people, one member challenged
the Uitlanders to fight for the rights they asked for, and not a single member
spoke against him. Not to go into detail, we may say that the government has
called into existence all the elements for armed conflict. The one desire of the
people here is for fair play, the maintenance of their independence, and the
preservation of those public liberties without which life is not worth living.
The government denies these things and violates the national sense of Englishmen
at every turn. What we have to consider is, what will be the condition of things
here in the event of conflict. Thousands of unarmed men, women [-222-]
and children of our race will be at the mercy of well-armed
Boers, while property of enormous value will be in the greatest peril. We cannot
contemplate the future without the gravest apprehension, and feel that we are
justified in taking any steps to prevent the shedding of blood and Insure the
protection of our rights. It is under these circumstances that we feel
constrained to call upon you to come to our aid, should a disturbance arise
here. The circumstances are so extreme that we cannot avoid this step, and we
cannot believe but that you, and the men under you, will not fail to come to the
rescue of people who will be so situated. We guarantee any expenses that may be
reasonably incurred by you in helping us, and ask you to believe nothing but the
sternest necessity has prompted this appeal. We are,
Yours
faithfully,
CHARLES
LEONARD.
FRANCIS
RHODES.
LIONEL
PHILLIPS.
JOHN
HAYS HAMMOND.
GEORGE
FARRAR.
There was some discussion over the propriety of reading this
letter to which Sir Richard Webster finally consented.
But little evidence was brought out in the examination of the
remaining witnesses called to the stand that day. Charles Henry Ribson testified
that, in their encounter with the Boers, seventeen men had been killed and the
survivors who surrendered were taken to Pretoria John William Brown, Inspector
of the Police, said that, suspecting Dr. Jameson, he had watched his forces and
saw them enter the Transvaal. He then sent a dispatch to the authorities at
Mafeking which had involved a ride of fifty miles on horseback to Manbigo, the
nearest station as the [-223-] telegraph wires had been cut. This dispatch was identified by
the next witness, Ernest Ormonde Butler. Five copies had been made of it. It
was as follows: "From the High Commissioner to the President Commissioner,
Cape Town, 30th, December, 1895. - It is rumored here that Dr. Jameson
has entered the Transvaal with an armed force. Is this so? If so, send official
messenger on fast horses, ordering him to return immediately. A copy of this
telegram should be sent to the officers with him, and they should be told that
this violation of the territory of a friendly state is repudiated by Her
Majesty's government, and that they are rendering themselves liable to severe
penalties."
The witness had been orderly-room sergeant in the
Bechuanaland police. He had also seen a copy of the following letter which had
been addressed to Dr. Jameson by the resident Magistrate:
"Sir: I have the honor to enclose a copy of a telegram
that I have received from the High Commissioner. I have accordingly to request
that you immediately comply with His Excellency's instructions. I am, etc.,
yours,.
"J.
NEWTON,
"Resident
Magistrate."
A copy of this telegram was enclosed in letters to Major
Coventry, Captain Monroe and Captain Gosling, but the witness was uncertain as
to Sir John Willoughby.
The Attorney-General then stated that the evidence of the
next witness would be very lengthy and the Judge consented to postpone hearing
it until the following week. As the court adjourned, and the defendants drove
away in cabs waiting for them at the Bow street entrance of the court, a great
crowd was collected along the sidewalk opposite, extending for some distance up
and down the street; there were admiring exclamations, but no demon-[-224-]strations were made. The first outburst of popular enthusiasm
was over and the public, regaining their common sense, were beginning to take a
rational view of the case.
The week following, March 24th, the hearing was
resumed as had been decided upon. The scenes enacted in and around the court
were a repetition of the first day. The same care was exercised as to the
admission of spectators, the same newspaper reporters with their carbon paper
and sharpened lead pencils, were present, even the "lady journalist" was in
her old place, and, as before, jotted down occasional observations in her little
Russia leather note-book.
A youth with a sallow complexion, a huge nose and a sloping
forehead, arrayed in the most correct morning dress, had a conspicuous seat with
which he was not pleased, and he called one of the polite good-tempered
policemen, and taking out his card with an air of great importance ordered the
officer "to hand that to the Attorney-General." He also sent a card to the
Magistrate, which was passed from hand to hand; after a little delay the
policeman returned and said something very indefinite about "a better place
afterwards." The young man was observed, subsequently, not occupying a better
place, but squeezed in amongst a dozen swarthy Africanders and apparently
un-able to extricate himself; he did not return after luncheon. Those who had
been invited to sit upon the bench arrived in gay parties; the space at the rear
was again packed by men and women who stood throughout the session. The Duke of
Abercorn was present and deeply interested as before. The counsel were rather
dilatory, and it was a quarter past eleven when the prisoner s door opened
through which the defendants entered. Dr. Jameson's demeanor was unchanged,
except that he appeared somewhat more weary and dejected than before. He was
dressed with the same care, and as he crossed the [-225-] threshold into the court room, once more the focus of
inquisitive eyes, he again blushed painfully. He was seriously out of health,
and his condition had been aggravated by the smoke and fog of London. Throughout
that morning he looked frequently at the witnesses, but during the long
examination and cross-examination of Mr. John Thomas White he closed his eyes
and appeared to sleep. In its repose the face was troubled and melancholy, and
one studied the heavy features in vain, for any trace of the martial spirit that
had conceived the rash enterprise, which began so romantically in the Transvaal
to terminate prosaically in Bow street and Holloway jail. From time to time
throughout the day, -amusing incidents occurred; but so far as he was concerned,
they passed unheeded, and Sir John Willoughby, Col. White and Col. Grey, who sat
near him, were almost as grave as their leader. Captain Coventry, although it
was said he still suffered from the effects of his wound which had so nearly
proved fatal, was in his accustomed high good humor, laughing and joking sotto
voce, and finding undiminished diversion in his surroundings.
The first witness that day was Francis William Penzera, fresh
from the hands of a Bond street tailor, with a gardenia in his buttonhole. He
was a major in the Bechuanaland Border Police, an Engineer and Superintendent of
Public Works in Bechuanaland and the British Protectorate north of Bechuanaland
to the Matabele border. He kissed the Bible when it was presented to him with
much grace and dignity, very different from the awkward dive at the book which
was made by the next witness. His testimony related chiefly to the topography of
the country, and his readiness to make extended explanations was very different
from the reticence of the witnesses who had preceded him. His evidence involved
a tedious examination of maps on the part of the counsel, [-226-]
and at intervals he was interrupted by the clerk, Mr.
Cavendish, who asked him to spell difficult South African names like "Rametlhabama
Spruit." He complied with the request and spelled name after name without a
moment's hesitation-a rather remarkable feat, considering their length and
their abounding consonants. In addition to this he displayed, not only a
thorough knowledge of the country, but of the natives. He stated emphatically
that the subsidy granted the projected railway to Bulywayo by the Chartered
Company had been withdrawn, and he was unable to say when the line would be
completed.
Another witness, a man named Canning, was recalled to testify
as to the amount of ammunition which Dr. Jameson's forces had left when they
surrendered, which he said was "about one--fourth." This was emphatically
denied, half audibly, by one of the Chartered Company's partisans who sat quite
near me.
"That's a mistake!" he exclaimed, "We
did not have an ounce. When asked by Sir Edward Clarke if he, Canning himself,
had any ammunition left he replied with considerable temper: "No."
John Thomas White, whose evidence consumed the remainder of
the morning, was tall and spare, bronzed like his comrades. His manner, however,
was very different; and where they had stood erect and composed, he twisted from
side to side, leaning forward over the edge of the witness stand and then
catching the supports in either hand and leaning backwards, as if he were going
through some sort of gymnastic exercise, for the expansion of his chest. The
Magistrate watched his gyrations with a somewhat puzzled expression, and one
expected momentarily to hear him request the young man to stand still; but that
probably would have been a breach of official decorum, and the gymnastics
continued for two or three hours-until the witness was dismissed.
[-227-] His story was by far the most dramatic that had been related,
by any of the preceding witnesses, and this, like the rest was secured
piece-meal, bit by bit, sentence by sentence. Sergeant White was a no less
important person than the messenger who had been sent out to order Jameson to
desist from carrying out the contemplated raid. He described, in a very
straightforward manner, scenes and events in the Transvaal after the expedition
had been set on foot - the deserted stores where they obtained seemingly abundant
supplies for themselves and forage for their horses; the armed Boers whom he
met and by whom he was stopped and disarmed. He first explained how he was
approached with inducements to leave the Bechuanaland Mounted Police and join
the Chartered Company's forces. From this portion of the evidence, an impression
was left upon the mind of those present that the officers holding commissions in
the British army had encouraged vigorous recruiting, inducing White and others
to leave the troops in which they had enlisted and to which they properly
belonged, to join the forces organized for the raid. Sergeant White said upon
this point that Major Coventry, Captain Gosling and others had offered him
promotion if he would come over to them, but he had declined.
"Are you married or single?" he was asked.
"Married," he replied; then he added with unconscious
naiveté, "I told Captain Gosling that I was a married man and could not
afford to knock about in those irregular corps."
This blunt estimate of Dr. Jameson's troops was greeted with
a roar of laughter; even the Magistrate smiled and Coventry was convulsed. The
only persons who failed to appreciate its humor were Dr. Jameson and his sober-visaged associates on the front row of chairs.
A division was finally made, the witness explained,[-228-]
when order was restored, and men like himself who refused to
join the Chartered Company's troops, were transferred to what was called F
Troop. This was ordered to parade at half past eight o'clock in the evening of
December 29th. They were then marched between two hundred and three hundred
yards from the main body by Major Coventry. Sergeant White made another
statement which produced a subdued sensation. The destination of the expedition
had been kept secret, and two or three of the men who had been asked to
volunteer inquired:
"Are you going to fight for the Queen?"
Col. Grey replied:
"No; we are going to fight for the supremacy of the
British flag in South Africa."
This astounding speech was followed by a pause, in which
there was silence and even Coventry's eye fell - the first seriousness that he had
displayed. The statement that the real purpose of the expedition was not
generally known, was repeated; their orders were to proceed to Johannesburg,
which they were told they must reach in fifty hours-orders that were given by
Major Coventry. All the men who were willing to go were ordered to ride out to
the front. As he and several others remained behind, Col. Grey came up and said:
"What is the matter with you men? Why don't you come?"
And when they were told that they were to fight, not for the
Queen, but for the supremacy of the British flag in South Africa, twelve or
fifteen men went over. The column commanded by Col. White, Major Coventry,
Captain Gosling and Captain Monroe, finally left at ten o'clock in the evening
of December 29th. About thirty officers and men who declined to go remained in
the camp.
On the afternoon of December 30th Sergeant White was [-229-]
ordered to go to the orderly room where he found Captain
Walford, Adjutant of the Bechuanaland Border Police and Mr. Newton, Commissioner
for the Protectorate. He was asked by the Commissioner if he would carry a
dispatch to Col. Grey in the Transvaal, making the journey unarmed, but wearing
the uniform of the Bechuanaland Border Police. He consented to go if given a
pass. He was asked by the examiner if he could recall the wording of the pass
and he replied:
"Yes," it said: "To all whom it may concern: this is
to pass Sergeant White, of the Bechuanaland Border Police, who is carrying
dispatches from the High Commissioner to Dr. Jameson."
He went to the hotel in Mafeking where a packet was given
him; it was tied up in waterproof. and there was no address on the cover. He was
told to give this into the hands of "the Colonel" - not Dr. Jameson. He was
left to infer that Col. White was meant; his name was not mentioned, and he was
ordered to "reach the column at any cost and not to spare his horse." He
left Mafeking between 2 and 2.30 o'clock on Monday afternoon,
December 30th, the road having been designated, the distance from
Mafeking to the Transvaal border being about twelve miles. After crossing the
border he was stopped by ten armed Boers who took him to the house of Field
Cornet Low at Molofo where the dispatches were taken from him; after some
indecision they were given back and he was finally allowed to proceed under an
armed escort. They rode all night passing two armed men, with two Kaffirs
mounted on horses branded "C. C." They obtained food and forage for their
horses at two deserted stores, then rode a distance of eighty miles and came up
with the column the next morning, still under escort. The packet which contained
five letters was given to Cal. Grey who ordered him to turn them over to Col.
Willoughby and [-230-] he in turn sent the messenger with them to Dr. Jameson. Dr.
Jameson also refused to receive them and sent White back to CoI. Willboughby
who, he said, was in command. The letters were finally delivered amongst the
officers, and he was told to wait an hour for an answer. Notwithstanding the
fact that the letters had been read, the column mounted at noon and proceeded on
its march to Johannesburg. They had 300 fresh horses and he was asked to take
the tired horses, some 290 branded "C. C.," back to Mafeking, and six Cape
boys were promised him by Col. Grey to help look after them. Before they
started, half an hour after the column had left, twenty armed Boers rode up and
posted a guard around the kraal where the horses were collected. Sergeant White
started back to Mafeking, still unarmed, and three hours after sunset met a Boer
officer with 300 men who had come from Rustenburg, taken possession of the
stores and were pursuing Jameson's column. They had captured the Kaffirs whom
he had met with the mounted police, the night before.
John Frank Jones was called at this point in the narrative to
identify the signature of Dr. Jameson that had been affixed to a letter, which,
however, he had not written.
The cross-examination was conducted by Sir Edward Clarke and,
contrasted with the somewhat brusque and direct method of the Attorney-General,
his manner was suavity itself. He was a stout man, rather short of stature, with
strong irregular features and thin lips which, in repose were tightly
compressed. In the cross-examination Sergeant White was not quite so definite as
he had been at first respecting the horses, which he had been asked to take back
to Mafeking; he thought of the entire number perhaps one-third were fresh.
"You did not examine them closely," the Magistrate asked
in his mild voice.
[-231-] "I did not examine them carefully, but I should think
that one-third were fresh."
Aside from this slight and unimportant discrepancy, the story
which Sir Edward Clarke drew from the witness was the same that had been told
the Attorney-General.
When he had finished the court took a short recess for
luncheon, and rather a singular thing occurred. Throughout the morning it had
been difficult to either see or hear the witnesses from the seat which I
occupied, the view being obstructed by those who were standing. At last I also
rose, when a tall, fair-haired young man, neatly though not fastidiously
dressed, sitting on one of the front benches, rose also, and begged me to take
his seat, which I hesitated to do. He politely insisted, and I then sat down
while he stepped into the place I had vacated. When the court convened, after
the recess, I apologized for having deprived him of his place and he replied:
"O you were quite welcome to it." Then he removed his hat
and continued to talk, with a certain diffidence, for several minutes. Presently
the name of Barend Daniel Bouwer was called and the young man rose and walked to
the witness stand.
Another man, rather untidy and much embarassed, took his
place in a vacant space between the witness stand and the counsel. This proved
to be the interpreter and the whole of Mr. Bouwer's testimony was given in Dutch
and was translated by this interpreter. When chatting with me his English seemed
so perfect, both in accent and in fluency, that I could not have supposed he was
other than an educated Englishman. The young Boer's manner was modest and
pleasing; there was nothing to indicate that rudeness and coarseness which
certain chroniclers have attributed to his race; his bearing was that of an
intelligent and well-bred man. He spoke in tones so low that it was almost
impossible to hear him, and, although [-232-] his speech was perfectly unintelligible, the Attorney-General
felt impelled at last to ask him "if he could not speak louder".
The Dutch vernacular, from the lips of the interpreter, was
very harsh and guttural and much interspersed with English. When he asked the
witness if he went east or west he said:
"Oost or west?"
Bouwer testified that he was a clerk in the office of General
Joubert, Commander-in-chief of the forces of the South African Republic. He knew
Sir Jacobus de Wet, the British representative at Pretoria. On December 31st, he
had received orders to look up two Africanders to take a dispatch to Dr.
Jameson; he was asked to define the term "Africander."
"It is a Dutch resident who is entitled to vote," he
replied, in his native tongue, which was put into English by the interpreter. He
found one, he said, but could not find two.
"What!" exclaimed Sir Edward Clarke with
the suavest irony, "You could not find two?"
Bouwer colored with embarrassment at the laughter which this
occasioned among the friends of the Chartered Company, and in which the Judge
and the Duke of Abercorn and a few of the defendants also joined. Presently
Bouwer resumed his story and said that he was ordered to go to Sir Jacobus de
Wet and was informed that he was the man to carry a letter which was given him.
He was told to place it in Dr. Jameson's hands and although the British
representative did not know where Jameson was, Bouwer was told to ride in the
direction of Rustenburg; nothing was said about Krugersdorp. Bouwer was
accordingly given the letter and shortly after noon accompanied by the one
Africander who had been detailed to accompany him, rode in the direction of
Rustenburg as he [-233-] was ordered. He was asked where he came up with
Jameson's
forces and, through the medium of the treble- voiced interpreter, replied:
"Close to the spot called Van Nit Hooriswinkle Spruit,
or Van Nit Hooriswinkel."
"You had best get that right," said the Attorney-General,
and not unreasonably, addressing the clerk of the court; "Have you got it,
Mr. Cavendish?"
Mr. Cavendish, who sat at his desk behind the rail which
separated the officials of the court from the audience, wrote rapidly for a
moment, then critically inspected his work, after which, with something of an
air of relief, he replied in the affirmative. This caused another laugh at which
the witness and the interpreter smiled deprecatingly. The humor of the incident,
failed, as usual, to amuse Dr. Jameson.
Van Nit Hooriswinkle Spruit, Bouwer explained, after Mr.
Cavendish had finished dotting his "i's" and crossing his "t's," was
eighteen miles northwest from Krugersdorp. When he reached the column they had
halted; he, the witness, was unarmed and dressed in civilian's clothes. He asked
a sentry where Dr. Jameson was and was told that he was in camp. He was allowed
to proceed and met an officer whom he could not identify among the defendants,
who asked his name, and was then taken to Dr. Jameson's house.
"Is that gentleman sitting at the end of the row Dr.
Jameson?" asked the Attorney-General.
Bouwer leaned forward an instant, looked down at Dr. Jameson,
who turned his face toward the witness that he might be more readily identified.
Then Bouwer replied: "Yes."
"What did you say to him?" he was asked.
"I said," replied Bouwer, "I have a letter for you
from Sir Jacobus de Wet, and he explained that he spoke Eng-[-234-]lish. At the request of the Attorney-General he repeated the
statement in English, just as he had made it to Dr. Jameson, and he did this so
readily and intelligibly that the Magistrate remarked in rather a surprised
tone:
"You speak English very well."
Bouwer smiled at the compliment, but continued to give his
testimony in Dutch.
"Dr. Jameson read the letter," he went on, "and said
he would give me a letter to take back."
It was written while Bouwer went out to look after his horse
and given him when he returned. He had no further conversation with Dr. Jameson,
and rode away accompanied by the Africander, who was afterwards discovered by a
number of men whom they met, and who would not allow them to proceed. Bouwer
went back, and this occurrence was reported to Dr. Jameson, who at once mounted
his horse and rode with the witness to the place where he had been detained.
Jameson told him that he thought he had been stopped by Col. White, and added:
"If Col. White will not let you go on you will have to
go with the troops to Johannesburg." The Africander objected to this, and said
that it was not right for the Chartered Company's forces to stop the messengers
on their return; that Col. White had no right either to stop them or keep them
prisoners.
At the request of Sir Richard Webster, Col. White rose, tall
and broad chested, a man thirty years of age or more, of distinctly military
bearing; he was at once identified by Bouwer and sat down again.
"Dr. Jameson spoke to Col. White, Bouwer continued,
looking steadily at the defendant, then identifying him.
The Attorney-General next produced a document and asked
Bouwer if Col. White had given it to him.
"No sir," he replied without hesitation, "It was
given me by Sir John Willoughby. "
[-235-] Col. Willoughby was asked to rise for identification, as
Col.
White had done-a slight, swarthy man, much less soldierly, and rather more
embarrassed than Ccl. White had been. Captain Grenfell also rose and was
identified as the man who had been with Col. Willoughby at the time Bouwer met
him.
The document proved to be a pass which had been given Bouwer and the Africander to enable them to go through
Dr. Jameson's lines and it had been signed by Sir John Willoughby. The Attorney-General turned to the Magistrate, after Bouwer
had identified the pass, and said that he had in his hand, also, a letter which
Dr. Jameson had commissioned Bouwer to carry.
"I will read it Sir John," he said, and permission being
given, did so. It had been delivered to Sir Jacobus de Wet by Bouwer in
Pretoria, and was as follows:
"Jan. I, 1896. To Sir Jacobus de Wet, Her Majesty's
Agent at Pretoria:
"Dear Sir: I am in receipt of the message you sent from
His Excellency the High Commissioner, and beg to reply, for His Excellency's
information that I shall, of course, obey his instructions. I have a very large
force both of men and horses to feed, and as I have finished all my supplies in
the rear I must perforce go either to Johannesburg or Krugersdorp this morning
for this purpose. At the same time, I must acknowledge that I am anxious to
fulfill my promise on the petition of the principal inhabitants of the Rand to
come to the aid of my fellow-men in their extremity. I have molested no one, and
have-explained to all Dutchmen and all I have met that the above is my sole
object, and that I then desire to at once return to the Protectorate. I am,
Yours faithfully,
"L. S. JAMESON.!"
[-236-] After some debate between the counsel for the Crown and for
the defendants, it was directed to finish that day the examination of those
witnesses who had arrived, after which a lengthy adjournment would be ordered
until others could be summoned from South Africa.
With one or two exceptions the story had been related, in
reality, by the prosecution; the witnesses merely confirming the statements of
the counsel and concurring in a recital of successive events. There was,
however, nothing that so much as suggested the bullying of a witness, and no
display of autocratic authority on the part of the Magistrate. The eminent men
employed on either side were as courteous as they were learned, and there was a
marked disposition to get at the truth and to deal impartially with both the
defendants and those who had been summoned to appear against them. There was no
impatience, no hurry; sufficient time was given for the thorough investigation
of any point that appeared confused or doubtful; those who were diffident and
embarrassed were treated with a consideration that speedily restored their
self-confidence, and there ~vas no great elation over any advantage gained by
either side. The entire proceedings forced one to feel the profoundest respect
and admiration for the decency and dignity of an English court.