sentences:  Chamberlain was startled but von Hatzfeldt assured him that von Bülow's motivation was to fend off opponents in the Reichstag.Although Chamberlain was irritated by von Bülow's behaviour, he still hoped for an agreement.Chamberlain and the British government had long wished for the federation of South Africa under the British crown, but it appeared that the growing wealth of the Transvaal would ensure that any future union of Southern African states would be as a Boer dominated republic outside the British Empire.