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Bell had been employed in this capacity in Egypt since 1865 and had become a close

friend of Evelyn Baring (Lord Cromer), the British agent in Egypt. He had also become

an expert on Egyptian finance and published a pamphlet on that subject in 1887. Miss

Shaw's friendship with the Bell family was so close that she was practically a member of

it, and Bell's children knew her, then and later, as "Aunt Flora."

In 1890, when Bell was transferred to Printing House Square as manager of The

Times, Baring tried to persuade The Times to name Miss Shaw as Egyptian correspondent

in Bell's place. This was not done. Instead, Miss Shaw returned to London and was

introduced by Bell to Buckle. When Buckle told Miss Shaw that he wanted a head for the

Colonial Department of the paper, she suggested that he consult with Sir Robert Herbert.

From that point on, the account in The History of The Times is accurate. But it is clear, to

anyone who has the information just mentioned, that the recommendation by Sir Robert

Herbert, the test article on Egyptian finance, and probably the article itself, had been

arranged previously between Moberly Bell and "Aunt Flora."

None of these early relationships of Miss Shaw with Bell, Buckle, and Herbert are

mentioned in The History of The Times, and apparently they are not to be found in the

records at Printing House Square. They are, however, a significant indication of the

methods of the Milner Group. It is not clear what was the purpose of this elaborate

scheme. Miss Moberly Bell apparently believes that it was to deceive Buckle. It is much

more likely that it was to deceive the chief owners of The Times, John Walter III and his

son, Arthur F. Walter.

Miss Shaw, when she came to The Times, was an open champion of Lord Salisbury

and an active supporter of a vigorous imperial policy, especially in South Africa. She was

in the confidence of the Colonial Office and of Rhodes to a degree that cannot be

exaggerated. She met Rhodes, on Stead's recommendation, in 1889, at a time when Stead

was one of Rhodes's closest confidants. In 1892, Miss Shaw was sent to South Africa by

Moberly Bell, with instructions to set up two lines of communication from that area to

herself. One of these was to be known to The Times and would handle routine matters;

the second was to be known only to herself and was to bring confidential material to her

private address. The expenses of both of these avenues would be paid for by The Times,

but the expenses of the secret avenue would not appear on the records at Printing House

Square.(5)

From this date onward, Miss Shaw was in secret communication with Cecil

Rhodes. This communication was so close that she was informed by Rhodes of the

plot which led up to the Jameson Raid, months before the raid took place. She was

notified by Rhodes of the approximate date on which the raid would occur, two

weeks before it did occur. She even suggested on several occasions that the plans be

executed more rapidly, and on one occasion suggested a specific date for the event.

In her news articles, Miss Shaw embraced the cause of the British in the Transvaal

even to the extent of exaggerating and falsifying their hardships under Boer rule.(6) It

was The Times that published as an exclusive feature the famous (and fraudulent)

"women and children" letter, dated 20 December 1895, which pretended to be an appeal

for help from the persecuted British in the Transvaal to Dr. Jameson's waiting forces, but

which had really been concocted by Dr. Jameson himself on 20 November and sent to

Miss Shaw a month later. This letter was published by The Times as soon as news of the

Jameson' Raid was known, as a justification of the act. The Times continued to defend

and justify the raid and Jameson. After this became a rather delicate policy—that is, after

the raid failed and had to be disavowed— The Times was saved from the necessity of

reversing itself by the "Kruger telegram" sent by the German Kaiser to congratulate the

Boers on their successful suppression of the raiders. This "Kruger telegram" was played

up by The Times with such vigor that Jameson was largely eclipsed and the incident

assumed the dimensions of an international crisis. As the official History of The Times

puts it, " The Times was carried so far by indignation against the outrageous interference

of the Kaiser in the affairs of the British Empire that it was able to overlook the