The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-01-09
THE TRANSVAAL AFFAIR
War Preparations Being Still Wig
orouslyPushed in England,
wARsHIPs FOR DBLAGoA BAY.

Both British and German Vessels Dis
patched TO the Finest Harbor i'm South
Africa-Germany Only Intended "to Pro-
tect the Consulate at Pretoria"
LONDON, Jan. 9-The gravity of the
political crisis here is increasing instead of
diminishing The attitude of Emperor
William toward Great Britain in the mat
ter of DR.. Jamesons freebooting expedi-
tion into the Transvaal upon closer study
seems to have been deliberate and long
and carefully planned.
The Transvaal incident it would appear
was only the pretext seized upon by the
emperor i'm order to enter the field as an
active opponent of Great Britain's policy
of ACKNOWLEDGMENT in Africa, and her little
misunderstanding with King Prempeh Of
Ashanti, together with her support of
Italy's warfare against Abyssinia, are be
lieved to have been the irritating features
which finally induced his majesty to show
| his hand.
OF course this is only sample of the
| rumors in circulation here but it shows
/ the drift of the wind and has served TO in
cense the British to degree not witnessed
since the war with Russia was threatened
| few years ago.
/ The report that the Transvaal republic
/ will demand an indemnity of 50 800 900
| from Great Britain as one Of the results Of
/ DR. Jameson's invasion of the little Dutch
republic, has made matters worse. If this
turns out to be the case, no doubt will be
entertained that Emperor William in his
recent interviews with DR.. w. j. Leyds,
/ tle secretary of state of the Transvaal,
prompted this demand, and may also have
announced his intention of supporting it.
Under the circumstances, and in view Of
the war preparations by land and sea now
being vigorously pushed by Great Britain,
il is not astonishing that there is an omin-
Gus drop in consols which, as much as any
thing, is a clear indication that the gray
ity of the political situation is not news
paper exaggeration.
An editorial in The Times admits that
the Chartered South Africa company
ought to indemnify the Transvaal for DR.
Jameson's raid, but says there is not a
shadow of pretext for the demand for Hon
Cecil Rhodes expulsion
A dispatch to The Times from Berlin,
speaking Of the supposed purpose of the
Germans to dispatch troops to the relief OF
the Beers, says:
at is now explained that Germany
only desired to protect German residents
and its consulate at Pretoria and that no
arrangements had been previously made
with Portugal, and after hearing that DR.
Jameson had started Germany only had
time to telegraph an explanation of its in
tended action to Lisbon. The news of DR.
Jameson's defeat arrived before Portugal
had time TO reply. 1t is pity that this
explanation was not published earlier"
dispatch from Pretoria says the au-
thorities here hold documentary evidence
showing that the whole affair of the Jane
son raid and the uprising in Johannes
burg has been a plot to annex the Trans
vaal to British South Africa.
Delagoa bay, to which British and Ger
man war ships are being dispatched, is
pronounced the finest harbor in South
Africa, and the European powers which
have interests in Africa have long kept
Jealous watch of each others movements
in relation to it.
In the latter part of September, 1891,
there was a report in England that syn
dictate had purchased concession for
building q pier in Delagoa by which the
practical control of the port would pass to
the Transvaal. Soon afterwards there was
an uprising of Kaflirs against the Portu-
guese, to whom Delagoa bay belongs, and
British marines were promptly landed at
Lorenzo Marques from the gunboat
Thrush, against the protest of the Portu-
guese governor.
Delagoa bay is the natural outlet of the
trade of the Transvaal, and Portugal's in
terest is to make all the traffic of the
plateau of the interior converge toward
this port. To this end the Pretoria Io
renzo Marques railway was commenced in
1886 For half century prior to this at
tempts were made, but unsuccessfully, tC
establish communications between the
Transvaal and Delagoa bay With basins
? quays and railways at Lorenzo Marque;
! communicating with the gold fields and
/ rich country of the interior, Lorenzo Mar
ques will have great future before it. Al
present its chief imports are arms and al
coholic liquors Its exports are oil, nuts
caoutchouc, etc.
Lorenzo Marques has a splendid harbor
capable of holding and sheltering hun
dreds of the finest ships, The entrance &c
the harbor is SO wide and fine that fee
of ironclads could enter it. The harbo
covers some 1000 square miles of water
dotted here and there with wood claC
islands. Invack Island guards the en-
trance, and here the Portuguese have
planted batteries to defend the anchorage
The entrance to the inner harbor or En-
glish river, where Lorenzo Marques has
been planted, is about a mile wide.
The decision Of the ownership of the bay
of Lorenzo Marques became question OF
great Importance In 1879 Portugal
claimed possession Of the whole of it by
right of discovery, England by effective
colonization The British settled along
the southern part Of Delagoa bay, and
built a town, and in the course Of time
England, while acknowledging Portugal s
right to the northern part of the bay
claimed the southern rs her own. The
matter was brought to a crisis when, in
1868, the Transvaal republic claimed the
Maputa river from its junction with the
Pongola to its embrochure into the south
erD part of Delagoa bay
Both ENGLAND and Portugal strenuOuSlS