The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-12
TICKLISH IN THE TRANSVAAL.
KRUGER PLAYING a DEEP GAME
WITH THE BRITISH.

AAaES 10 fFeNOrlA Nltnout linking
Further Efforts to Get the BOer
BOer President to Visit England
in Person.
London, April 1.-THE communications
that are passing between Mr.. Chamber
lain, the colonial secretary, and President
Kruger Of the Transvaal, will, when pub
lished, be found to be models of frank and
direct statements on the part of the
former and of diplomatic finesse, yelled
with an air of simplicity, on the part of
the latter. A month hence it is likely that
Mr.. Chamberlain will be compelled by
events to issue the correspondence in a
blue book in order to Justify whatever
strong action may be taken after diplo-
macy fails to settle the troubles between
Great Britain and the South African re-
public.
The representative of the United Press
is able to predict on thoroughly reliable
information that Mr.. Chamberlain will
come out of the negotiations with high
tened reputation. Throughout the COM
munications he has not budged from his
public declarations to adhere to the Anglo
Boer convention of 1884, while respecting
the internal independence of the republic.
The Pretoria authorities use certain or
gans in London as the media for the
spread of useless frictions that Mr.. Cham
berlain will cancel the convention; that he
has telegraphed to the Boer government
that Great Britain has no intention of
sending troops to Cape Colony, etc, doubt
less with a view to influence public opin-
ion here. Mr.. Chamberlain counters these
stories with explicit denials that he has
sent such kilograms.
The public in half conscious that a final
crisis is near and accepts the denials i'm
plicitlly. Whether the country will ulti-
hmately confirm Mr.. Chamberlain's pol
icy is doubtful, but it is Impossible that
the developments will show him to have
been duped by President Kruger. Instead
! of weakening on the clause of the con
vention, giving Great Britain suzerainty
over the Transvaal, he proposes TO
strengthen it, The present clause en-
powers the Transvaal to conclude treaties
with foreign powers subject to the veto
of Great Britain. This clause, Mr.. Cham
| berlain has sought to have altered by
making Great Britain party to the treat
| les on lines similar to those existing IN
| the case of Great Britain and her colon
| les. With regard to the protection of the
| foreign residents of the republic, Mr.
Chamberlain continues to recomm end
| that the franchise be given to them after
| five years and he also recommends au-
| tonomy for the Rand, the measures there
|
! president.
To none of these proposals has President
| Kruger definitely assented. He responds
| that the volksraada is not likely to give
| its consent to such changes as the Brit
| ish colonial secretary proposes. He has
! taken no steps to summon the volksraad
| Notwithstanding the report that he pro-
| posed to summon it at a date earlier than
| the one fixed for the opening of the regu-
| lar session.
| The position just misses a deadlock
| through the stiffness of the Pretoria
| government. report is credited in tho
| colonial office that Mr.. Chamberlain has
| asked the assent of his colleagues to a
| proposal not to wait for the decision OF
| the volksraad regarding the visit of Pres
| ident Kruger to London, but TO send a
= plenipotentiary to Pretoria as a last er-
| fort to arrange the terms of settle
| ment The Earl of Selborne, parliament
| tary secretary of the colonial office, Is
| mentioned as the envoy, but he is too
| young to be entrusted with such mo-
| mentous task.
| Consols yesterday touched 11OA, the high
| est price on record, and were hard to pro-
cure at that price. Indian per cents were
| quoted at over ILL., which was also a re-
| cord price. These values would have been
| held Incredible a year ago The rise in
| consols is largely attributable to the buoy
| ancy of trade, as shown in the board of
trade returns and the increase In the i'm
| ports and exports. The strength of the
| Indian securities leads to the expecta tion
| of conversion operation.
| sIhe government proposes that the
House Of Common shall commence sitting
| in the morning, beginning on Tuesday
| next, with view to expedite business, so
as to enable parliament to be prorogued
at the middle of August. The proposal is
| not acceptable to the liberals, who sus-
| pect that the early rising of parliament
| means giving the government a free hand
| to carry out its plans to extend the oper-
| ations in the Soudan. Neither does 1t meet
| with the approval of the Irish members,
| who rightly calculate that it will delay
| consideration of the land bill. Gerald Bal
| four, chief secretary for Ireland, will, on
| Monday, Introduce a bill to put the pro-
| posal into effect. The opposition has
! therefore, determined, apart from other
| reasons, to enter upon campaign of OBJ
| struction and not to withdraw from it un-
| an autumn session.
As far as it has gone, the Soudan expe-
| dltlon IS disappointing to the war office
| and the government. Dispatches are sent
| daily from Cairo praising the rapidity of
| the movement at the front and the com
pleteness of the preparations. The truth
| as known at the war office, which is s1ls-
| tained by private advices, is that the ad-
| vance beyond Assouan is excessively slow.
| ana the want of forage. The worst fea-
| ture for the government is the enorn1 olIs
| and unexpected expenditures that have
| Deen, and are yet to be made. Lord Gro
| mer, the British diplomatic agent at Cairo
| advises that it will be early necessary 10
draw draw upon the Egyptian treasury for
| tl,VOUUOV, IN ADDITION to the $500, 600 already
| drawn, and this fact renders it probable
| mat the entire reserve of the Egyptian
'QepL commission Will be ultimately alb
| sorbed in preparations before there is act
ual contact with the dervishes. No au-
| lhor1ty ventures to speculate as to what
| viii happen when the reserve is exhausted
Until September, the only forward move
| ment from Akasheh that is likely TO be
! made will be to Forket ten miles up the
| river. This will be merely due to the dis
| cOVery that Akasheh is a bad strategic
| position. The place is surrounded by low
| hills, commanding the camp, and for this
| reason H. has already been found advisable
to form a chain or forts in the hills. The
| sanitation of the camp is bad. The mer-
| curry reaches an average of 100 degrees
in the shade, and this extreme heat i'm
| pedes the work Of even the F'eHaheen la
borers At Wady-Halfa, a large number
| of the men belonging to the North Staff
ordshire regiment have been invalided by
| the heat.
That no operations of importance are
intended during the summer is evident
| from the fact that Gen. Sir Redvers Bull
Ter is reported to have been nominated
| for the chief command of the expedition
He lwill not leave England until July,
when the campaign will be fairly entered
| upon.
The Nile will be the sole line Of advance.