The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-31
The Arrested Mining Engineer
Tells of the Evils of the
Boer Government.
CAUSE OF THE BIG UPRISING.
Wealth Producers Find Themselves
Alone, With No Voice in the
Control Of Affairs.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 30,-Sen.
ator John P. Jones has received the fol-
lowing message from John Hays Ham-
mond, who is in jail at Pretoria, South
Africa:
81 was arrested with sixty otherst
charged with sedition and high treason.
The circumstances are as follows:
''The history of the Transvaal is that OF
small, unenlightened, retrogressive COM
munity. The Government is a narrow
oligarchy with bad, inefficient admins.
tration. Monstrous monopolies and cor.
ruption are rampant.
1.-The new population, including many
prominent Americans. comprises mora
than twice the number OF governing. They
are the wealth producers, capable of all
industries, yet they bear nine-tenths of
the taxation.
"They feel themselves alone, have no
voice in affairs, are excluded from franz
chise, have no municipal government, no
participation for their children in public
schools. They are oppressively taxed and
badly treated.
"Ihe independence of the Supreme
| Court is constantly assailed by the Legis-
lature. This condition of affairs has pre-
vailed for years. All petitions for redress
of grievances and remonstrances to the
Boer Legislature was treated with scorn.
I'm December the leading citizens of
johannesburg, including all the prominent
Americans, constituted reform commit
tee to obtain constitutional redress
kand issued manifesto of their
demands, having first hoisted the
Transvaal flag, and sworn to maintain the
integrity of the republic. While agitating
the questions constitutionally, the jane
son incident occurred. 1t was quite dis
associated from the reform movement
ION December 81 the committee sent a
delegation to johannesburg, asking the
reform committee to send deportation to
| Pretoria. The deputation went and con-
ferred with the Government. No under.
standing was arrived at.
"The battle of Doornkopf was fought,
Jameson's column was defeated and the
Johannesburg people were asked to lay
down their arms, which was done, on the
understanding from the Government that
their demands would be favorably con-
sidered, which were made solely to protect
the lives of our women, children and ouri
property.
"The Government agreed to all this.
The demands of the Government were
carried out without any demonstra-
ton of violence on our part. Never
theless many prominent Americans
and others, mum bering sixty, were arrested
and prosecuted for sedition and treason,
under penalties involving imprisonment
and confscation of property valued att
millions sterling
"The detention of all the prisoners is
uniustifable and the confscation Of prop
erty monstrous oppression.
"Ask our Government to urge on the
| Transvaal Government that the demands
of the reform committee were reasonable
and based on primary principles of the
republic.
Protest against the treatment of all, and
of Americans in particular. If the Trans
vaal Government persists in its present
course our Government can only invoke aid
of Great Britain as the paramount in South
African power to coerce the Transvaal,
which then forfeits the moral support of a
sister republic. This course the Transvaai
would fear.
''First-urge the reason ableness of our
claims, then warn the Transvaal Govern.
ment of the consequences of the loss of
support and invoking aid of Great Britain,
which is much disliked by the TransvaaI
] Government"