upon the Transvaal a constitution which, within three years of a desperate racial struggle, is surely a monument of confidence and liberality. There has been no haggling over the contribution of the new Colonies to the cost of the war. That bone of contention has wisely been relegated without any kind of bargain to the people of the Colonies themselves. And the Colonies on their part are sensible of their responsibilities. It is little enough that they are able to do at present. But at least they have shown unanimous determination to admit from the outset the principle of reciprocal obligation. The Customs Conference of 1903, for instance, adopted without dissent a resolution in favour of preferential treatment for the Mother Country; and this resolution has found effect in the tariff of the five signatory Colonies.
The personal relations between England and South Africa become closer every year. You may find more South Africans in London to-day than ever before, and more visitors from home on the battlefields of Natal. This year a Transvaal team has competed at Bisley, with marked success, and the British Association has sailed en masse for Cape Town. Better mutual acquaintance is assured; and that, after all, is the foundation of a better mutual understanding.
