It was all the more
dreadful that these poor farmers, after having lost all their cattle by
rinderpest, had just succeeded in getting together fresh herds, and were
hoping for renewed prosperity. Then came the almost certain chance of
their beasts being raided, of their stores being looted, and of their
women and children having to seek shelter to avoid rough treatment and
incivility. Often during the long evenings, especially when I was
suffering from depression of spirits, I used to argue with Mr. Keeley
about the war and whether it was necessary. It seemed to me then we were
not justified in letting loose such a millstream of wretchedness and of
destruction, and that the alleged wrongs of a large white
population--who, in spite of everything, seemed to prosper and grow rich
apace--scarcely justified the sufferings of thousands of innocent
individuals. Mr. Keeley was a typical old colonist, one who knew the
Boers and their character well, and I merely quote what he said, as no
doubt it was, and is, the opinion of many other such men. He opined that
this struggle was bound to come, declaring that all the thinking men of
the country had foreseen it. The intolerance of the Boers, their
arrogance, their ignorance, on which they prided themselves, all
proclaimed them as unfit to rule over white or black people.
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