Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-01-15
4 Dark Wsr-GIoud oyerhanes Europe.

Under the caption above the Lynch
burg Neaos says that. while yet the,
troubled ear is filed with the Z. adeI
sounds of war that broke i-supon the
peaceful season Of 1sristmas tide, in
this country e--a in England, over the
Venezpeian controversy, a yet wilder
alarm has suddenly disturbed the tran
guilty OF the mother country; grow
ing out of the jealousy between Ger
many and herself over their clashing
colonial interests in South Africa SO
great is the war feeling against Ger
many that the Venezuelan contention
is for the time forgotten by our Eng
lish cousins as comparatively insfgniti
cant. Indeed it is not unlikely that
the paramount Importance given to
the threatened outbreak with Ger
many may induce Great Britain to &C
cede to the demands of the United
States in the Venezuelan matter.
That our readers may have an intel
ligent understanding of the telegraphic
dispatches concerning this new war
cloud that darkens the horizon not
only o. England but of half of Europe.
we will state that England, Germany.
and France have in recent years ae.
quired important colonial interests ia
South Africa. Adjoining these. or
some of these, is the Transvaal Repnb
lie, with population of something less
than 400, 900. 1t came into existence
in 1852, when the Beers retired into
pendence, after the annexation of the
Orange River Free State to the British
crown Beers is name applied to the
Dutch colonists of the Cape of Good
Hope. Those of them who set up the
Independent Republic of Transvaal are
of the stout Calvanistic fighting stock,
and exceedingly formidable in battle.
The voting class are called first class
burghers," and are comparatively few
in number compared with the rest of
the population. By convention in
1884 Great Britain set up certain pre-
tensions in the Transyaal, and the
foreign relations of the Republic
have been since that time transacted
through the British Foreign Office
Since the discovery of large precious
deposits, few years since, thirty or
forty thousand Adventures, mostly
English, have swarmed into the gold
and diamond regions of the country,
and have become restless, turbulent
element of society. They have no
participation in the affairs of the gov
eminent, and are, as we said, dissat
isfied class.
Several yeers ago one DIR. Jameson,
sort of bold Rob Roy free booter, led
the first armed expedition against the
native negroes of the region covered
by the South African Company the
name given to a fighting corporation
sent out by the English, and somewhat
similar to the British East India Com
pany in its early history This Eng
fish Rob Roy has been in sympathy
with these adventures in the gold and
diamond regions. During the past two
years large number of the younger
sons and sciOns of aristocratic. families
in England, who have nothing to do at
home and prefer foreign mining and
fighting to domestic agriculture, have
crossed the equator and reinforced the
original adventures in the Transvaal
Republic. Some ten days, or two
weeks, since these disconnected and
adventurous elements, under the lead
of DR.. Jameson who came in with some
African Company, got up a revolt
against the constituted authorities,
and were summarily conquered by the
government troops. their leaders, and
a large number of the rank and file be
ing captured. The German Emperor
at once instructed Count Won HAITI
feldt. the German ambassador to Great
Britain, to inform Lord Salisbury with
the utmost frankness that it was the
firm determination of Germany not tc
allow the government of the Transvaa
Republic TO be overthrow.
| At the same time Count Won HAITI
feldt was instructed to demand an ex
PLANTATION of the movements of the
[auth orities of the British South Afri
can Company These presentations
} were Immediately answered by the
British foreign office.
The first replies made by Lord Sails
bury were deemed unsatisfactory, Sc
much so, indeed. that the relations Of
the two governments on Wednesday
last became SO strained as to be at the
point of absolute rupture.
While the diplomatic relations Of
the two countries were at this tension
the German Emperor sent to President
Kruger of the Transvaal Republic the
message which has set all England
afame. 1t was in these words:
Il express my sincere congratulations
that, supported by your people, and
without appealing for help to friendly
powers, you have succeeded by your
energetic action against the armed
bands, which invaded your country as
distnrbers of the peace, and have thus
been enabled to restore peace and safe
guard the independence of your coun-
ty against attacks from without"
The Emperor's message is hailed
with enthusiasm throughout Germany,
and the other continental powers are
in sympathy with the Germans, in a
common desire to repress what. they
consider the INSCRIPTIONS aggressions
and colonial rapacity OF Great Britain.
England understands plainly that the
message means that she must with
draw from all pretensions to interfere
in the affairs of the Transyaal; and so
resort to hostilities, that may not I'M
likely ultimately involve the whole OF
Europe, seems to be the almost inevi-
table outcome.
rrJC cDCvT ATnp AT HAHN TaE FOR