Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-04-10

intolerahle. and the Boers re.o,v..,
mat cost what It would. thew wo,,IS
ny pear foreign. suxeraintv A,,.r
p'',aacted negotiations tfey s,,ccee,,.,,
-. 1907, " having the Enrlisb v,,s.r'
amy claim. which had been fnsc-;h...,
:" the preamble and in tbro,. ~.
sraphs of the convention - loo,
formally struck out. Tne r;ot, .,n oi'
OF the British crown tn ,,.,,. ~oo.
thfough the TransvaaI in time - ,,.,. 80
or IN case OF the Apprehension =, i,.'n 80
u'1'. War, was abolished. Once ,nnro
.""' .he country was ackpowIedpod ~,
ue' '.s oiu name of the Soutb Afr,n.,.
,sepuphe. Ihe British Resident ya.
"one away with, and the only pri,,..I'
ohheer VINO should be entitled g. -
protection OF the republic was to ~
appointed 10 discharge the func,ions 10
a consul. or
clearly, then, the Hollander co,o,
wealth became In 1884 entirely tnd.,,..
dent. Toward England, no Les. -
toward ali other countries, 1t becana
foreign power. That this was tn. IN
derstanding OF British statesmen a,
the time, and subsequently, is ,nads
manifest by Mr.. Blind. Lord Derby
writing TO the TransvaaI deputatIon nm
Feb. 10, 1884 said: II transmit fnr
your perusal draft of the new con.
Vention which her Majesty's govern
Heht propose In substitution for the
convention OF Pretoria" In the pre-
amble and In all the paragraphs OF this
draft, as OF the treaty presently signed.
the claim TO suzerainty was entirely
dropped Years afterward, in answer
TO interpretations, both conservative
and liberal minister, Mr.. w. H.
Smith and Mr. Buxton. acknowledged
in the House of Commons that the.
treaty of 1884. declared by Lord Derby
to be a substitute for that of 1881, COM
tains no reservation of the Queens
right of suzerainty
Is there. then. absolutely nothing in
the treaty of 1884, the only one now
operative. which affords a coIofa able
pretext for the recent reassertion Of a
British claim 10 suZerainty over the
South African republic? The only
semblance of basis for such a claim
must be sought in the fourth article.
which says: The South African re-
public will conclude no treaty or en-
gagenent with any state or nation
1ther than the Orange Free State. nor
with any native tribe to the eastward
,r westward of the republic. until the
same has been approved by her Maj
,sty the Queen" 1t is added that such
shall be considered to have
been granted IL her Majesty's govern
nent shall not within six months have
given notice that the conclusion os the
reaty is in conflict with British inter-
ests. Does this stipulation constitute
How can it, when suzer-
linty, expressly conceded in 1881, was
ormally abolished in 1884? The fourth
irticie concerning treaties was simply
IN irksome concession made by a weak
bower to a strong one. That is ALL 1t
S much such a concession as the thir-
cen British colonies, calling them
elves the United States, made to the
ourt of Versailles by the treaty which
assured to us the aid of France in our
var for independence. Such conces-
ions do not create the relation of vas
alage. Not even the concession TO one
power of right to move troops, in
ase of war. through the territory of
mother makes of the second power a
'assal. If it did. as Mr.. Blind points
ut. the great German empire would
AVE been made a vassal of the Swiss
unfederacy by the peace of West
halia, and the kingdom of Sardinia
would have been vassal of Switzer-
and down to our own days. The fourth
rticle of the convention of Pretoria,
,hich we have cited above. means no
more than this. that two independent
ut contiguous powers. to wit, Eng
and and the South African republic,
the hypothetical existence of
ertain joint interests. But such re-
osnition does not authorize Mr.. Cham
erlain to set up claim of suzerainty.
-hich was renounced in 1884.
This is question as to which t be-
iooves the citizens of the United
tates. who at any hour may be called
pon to judge whether they ought to
with England or with the
'ransvaafs champion, the German
Emperor. to have definite and we'll
rounded opinions We may. therefore.
congratulate the North American Re-
lew upon being the first of American
eriodicals to set forth the exact facts
eSarding the treaty relations of Great
sritain and the South African repub-
G.