The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-02-03
The g ailg Argns.
ROCK ISLAND.
The South African War,

|
The conflict OF the Beers In the Trane.
vaal for the maintaiuance of their hard
earned liberty seems to be assuming
unexpected importance. These vigorous
South African highlandere, who have
recently repulsed Gen. CoLLEY 10 his
attempt to force the passage of the
Drakenberg, belonging to the stock oil
Dutch colonists who. from 1911 to 1872
fought seven great wars with the Ka6r
tribes around the Cape of Good Hope,
and were successful in all but The last
The emancipation of slaves by Great
Britain In 1883 throughout all her
colonies created an upheaval 10 Cape
Colony for which its older settlers were
i'll prepared. and the Dutch farmers,
without whose prowess England could
scarcely have held the colony against
the repeated invasions of the Kair
hordes. peacefully left it and migrated
with their effects northward across the
Orange river and the Drakenberg noun.
talns to find new homes. Pursued hither
by the expanding wave of British terri.
torial aggran dig ement the Beers retreate6
still further northward across the river
Wal to the slopes of the agaiesbergen.
establishing there the new republic which
became known as tas Trausvaal, and
which in 1877 Lord BEAooNsFIELD. under
the guse of protecting, annexed to the
British crown.
| Viewed as a mere colonial war the pres.
snt effort to throw off British rule may not
be of more than local interest. But the
Transvaal is the geographic key to the
great central region of Africa drained by
the Zambesi. Sir BARTLE FRERE. the
ex. governor of South Africa. recently
depicted to the Royal Geographical
society the great wealth of this region
and tho funniest valley, reciting
instances of the safe and easy means OF
travelE them, and showing the
great value of the prospective traffic be-
tween the High Veldt" of the Transvaa
and the Zambesi. Nearly as large in area
as Great Britain and Ireland, lying in a
mild aud healthy climatic belt three or
four thousand feet above the sea and
Astounding in mineral wealth, especially
gold. over the northern region, this part
OF Bosrland is of far more Intrinsic value
than the colonial possessions which Eng
land acquired in 1906 under the shadow Of
Table Mount. But lis position with respect
to the great South African interior aud the
color it is destined to give the vi'izstion
which will penetrate tina. interior gives
the present war IN the Transyaal a world
wide interest. Upder liberal republican
government and free from the exactions OF
British rule, it would doubtless in few
years open railway connection with Della
able trade with the net distant Central
African plateau. which attracts traders
from both sides OF the continent.
England has little to gain in this COM
test aud is likely to incur heavy debt f
she pursues it. January and February
are bad rainy months. and the roads il
such they can be called. Leading u tn, bs-
sieged capital. Pretoria. offer very pr
csrious passage for Sir George Cnolsy'>
troops. The late reverse TO his f'roaa, Il
is said, will necessitate the surrender Of
the several garrisons to whose reIet he
was marching, AMI their artillery will prove
Of great value to the Beers in resis ing
any further evidence It is. therefore,
oct Impossible that time remains for
friendly Intervention to avert long and
bloody guerilla war