Milner's Kindergarten is the informal name of a group of Britons who served in the South African civil service under High Commissioner Alfred, Lord Milner, between the Second Boer War and the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It is possible that the kindergarten was Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain's idea, for in his diary dated 14 August 1901, Chamberlain's assistant secretary Geoffrey Robinson wrote, "Another long day occupied chiefly in getting together a list of South African candidates for Lord Milner from people already in the (Civil) Service". They were in favour of the unification of South Africa and, ultimately, an Imperial Federation with the British Empire itself. On Milner's retirement, most continued in the service under Lord Selborne, who was Milner's successor, and the number two-man at the Colonial Office. The Kindergarten started off with 12 men, most of whom were Oxford graduates and English civil servants, who made the trip to South Africa in 1901 to help Lord Milner rebuild the war torn economy. Quite young and inexperienced, one of them brought with him a biography written by F.S. Oliver on Alexander Hamilton. He read the book, and the plan for rebuilding the new government of South Africa was based along the lines of the book, Hamilton's federalist philosophy, and his knowledge of treasury operations. The name, "Milner's Kindergarten", although first used derisively by Sir William Thackeray Marriott, was adopted by the group as its name. The Boer War The discovery of gold in the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, located within the British colony of South Africa in 1867, led to conflict between the two peoples due to the migration of British settlers ("Uitlanders") into the region. Perhaps out of fear of eventual domination from the British, the Boer governments refused to grant citizenship rights to the settlers. Negotiations failed to achieve results, and conflict eventually erupted. An attempt to overthrow the Transvaal Government in late 1895, in a raid led by British Colonial Administrator Starr Jameson, led to embarrassment for the English. The Jameson Raid led to the appointment of a trustworthy Governor, Sir Alfred Milner, on 15 February 1897. Still, negotiations with the Boers achieved little. Milner blamed this on the conservative, isolationist policies of Boer President Paul Kruger in the Transvaal and Orange Republics. To stand up to "Krugerism", the British decided to increase their military