In his report of January 26th, 1899, Mr.Rouliot says: "Had this new tax formed part of a general scheme for the readjustment of taxation, it might have been defended, but those who are considered best qualified to express the views of the government, content themselves by saying that it has the right to take a share of the profits realised by the mines and add that this tax is only a beginning." 6 .-- _Attempt to Raise a Loan._ Not content with increasing taxation, the government now wished to raise a loan.

The attempt failed.

The Government of Pretoria blamed the mining companies for the failure.

Mr.Rouliot said, on January 26th: "It is true that the companies did not actually support the government in its efforts;" but he added:-- "Neither the Chamber of Mines, nor, to my knowledge, anyone directly, or indirectly, connected with mining interests did anything to embarass the government in its financial negotiations.
It is useless to abstain from plain speaking; on the contrary, I hold it to be my duty to be frank and to state to the government that if it failed in its negotiations, it is due to its bad financial policy; to its want of an efficient system of audit; to its costly and terribly wasteful administration; to the want of precise information as to the object of the loan, and the manner in which it was to be expended." In fine, Law I.of 1897, and the fantastic method of legislation adopted by the Volksraad, show that the Government of Pretoria offers no better guarantee to people dealing with it than did the Grand Turk, some fifty years ago.
7 .-- _Fleecing the Uitlanders!_ Taxation, to the Boer, means getting all he can out of the Uitlander, the old characteristic of all oligarchies.

The Boer may cheerfully augment both the taxes and his expenditure.