The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-07-14

mcnt which is chargcablc with the disalrcc-
ton is an ill-grounded prejudice against a
worthy although somewhat stolid race OF
men. From an early date public opinion in
England conceived supreme contempt for
the Dutch farmer or so-called Boer, who, If
not an admirable, is by no means CON
tcmptblc being.
Tho Hollanler planter and grazcr. the
pioneer of civilization in South Africa. may
be described in few words lie is unculti-
waited and unprogrcssivc. He Il not even
gregarious, but likes to plant himself in
tract of FROM six 10 twenty thousand acres
of undulating grass plain, selecting spring |
of water as the site for his homestead, ten |
miles, perhaps, from his nearest neighbor.
Hero he builds rude but roomy house, CON
structs kraals for his cattle, cncloscs fifty |
or n hundred acres TO be pluughed and sown
with wheat or corn, and fences in n garden
which he carefully irrigates, and which in
four or five years will bc stocked with lus-
cious fruits. In his almost limitlcss pas
lures herds and flOcks multiply with little
care. Thus he lives in homcly abundance,
in no haste to get rich, and without desire
of change From his children and his SER
wants the head OF the patriarchal household
exacts strict obedience but he is not Il hard
master. In religion he is a rigid Calvinist,
aud the old family Bible is all his literature.
| His notions Of things in heaven and on earth
are very much what might have been found
among Dutch burghcrs in the days OF WILL
LIAM the Silent. Work. la short, he consid-
ers the first duty OF man, and habits OF work
the only fitting education. Without tender
ness or enthusiasm and with a narrow in
tcllectual horizon, he has an answering
probity likely to conciliatc his quck-wtted
Kahr neighbors, and a stubborn practically
well suited to the rough conditions Of his
existence.
These are the mon who might easily have
been made faithful and useful subjects but
whom official ill-trcatmcnt has driven 10
migrate further and further into the wild
interior, until they now occupy beyond the
British confines two scmi-ndcpcndcnt
States. There was nothing interesting or
romantic about the colonial Hollander; his
simple, uncouth virtues were not thought
worthy of recognition, and while his inter
ests were disdainfully ignored, English mis-
sionaries and philanthropsts successfully
made protaaes Of the british IIottentot, the
Kafir, and the Bushman. The first bunder
was the abrupt repeal of tho Dutch law Of
settlement which to some extent restrained
the Hottentots and which was misreprc-
scented as a sanction OF prcdial bondage.
Thenceforth the colony was infested with
Migrants and thieves, and the final result OF
HOttcntot emancipation from a condition no
worse than that of English laborers at tho
beginning of this century, has been the
nearly complete disappearance Of the race.
The Beers who had suffered from the loss
Of their HottcntOt farm servants, found
themselves threatened year or two later
with the loss of their slaves. Now these, IL
must be remembered, were never worked in
gangs, but either employed in domestic at
. tendance or taught trades. OF all the slave
holders in the British dominions, the South
African Hollanders least deserved to be
hardly dealt with; and they We're prepared
D.. to submit to any scheme Of manumlssion
, which should have been tolerably fair. We
l cannot dwell on the negligence with which
. their interests, unlike those Of West Indian
, planters, were sacrificed, or on the offensive
manner in which the Emancipation act was
carried out. We merely note that emissa
res were privily sent about the colony t
y hear the complaints Of slaves against theil
n masters and that the meagrc indemnity
Y first offered was cut down to about one
: third, and made payable only at the Bank o
NJ England. OF course the Dutch settlers ha'
z to sell their certificates, at discount Otter
l. Of thirty per cent, and many refused il
a silent pride to receive the miserable sum al
= lOtted To them.
= II was however, the British policy u
:. ward the Kahrs and other savage tribes OF
n the north and east which alienated the Hol
e lander population, and prompted larg
l. part Of them to seek new homes in the vii
# dcrness. That the English colonsts VIII
c had begun to people the eastern province
l. and the acknowledgement Of the colonial au
le thOritics-and not the Dutch settcrs-wer
Is responsible for the terrible Kair war Of S3
lc il demonstrated by the fact that no sue
outbreak had occurred during nm occupatio
q of wcll-nigh two centuries. We may ad
l. that, Notwithstanding much philanthropy
Y gushing over the splendid capabilities of tn
II savagcs and comparisons highly unfavol
e able to the hOmcly qualities of the BOcr,
was established by Sir GEORGE CLERK,
y, 1853, that up 10 that time the missionarie
Is had accomplished no Improvement wha
ie ever among the natives not having cor
n vcrtcd single member Of an indcpendeI
10 tribe.
N Despairing Of protection under BIRTHS
e. views Of the Kafr question, and bclicvin
n. that they could establish more wholcson
Ii relations with the native races, the IIo
X anlcrs made treaties with several chic
IS beyond the Orange river, and broke up fro
I'd their old habitations with a passioua
he unanimity without parallel in modern hi
u tory. In less than ten years the tcrritOl
between the Orange and the Vaal, whit
10 had previously been rOamed over by Il
yh half-human Bushmen. was dotted wit
re pleasant farm houses, grdled by tcomin
r gardens, and tenanted by quiet and wei
al disposed population. This possession WI
fee coveted by the Government of Cape Colon
as and, accordingly, in ls4s, Sir HARRY SMII
IL proclaimed her Malesty's sovereignty ov,
the newly reclaimed country. Some rests
ance followed, but it was Ruthless an
n. under their leader PREToKIUs a conside
d. able proportion Of the Doors again N
r. grated, dying beyond the Vaal river, al
pc founding what is now known as the Som