The San Francisco call., 1896-05-01
SECRET rELEGRAMs DEoIPHERE1
Evidence of the Dmplicity of .he English
in the Raid.


LONDON, ENG, April 30.-A dispatch
from Pretoria to the Times says that the
health of John Hays Hammond is in
such a state as to cause great anxiety
He is obliged to eat ordinary prison fare,
which in the state OF his health is any
thing but beneficial New rules go into
operation to-day, the correspondent says
which permit prisoners TO have better
food and enjoy many comforts now denied
them. The leaders condemned to death
are confined in one small room, where
they are visited by crowds of friends and
relatives.
a rumor is in circulation on the Stock
Exchange that the Transvaal Executive
has imposed punishment of five years
penal servitude, with Punishment at the
end of the Imprisonment, upon Ham
mond, Rhodes and the other reform COM
mittee leaders whose sentence of death
was commuted yesterday.
In the House of Commons to-day Cham
berlain said that he was informed that the
presiding Judge who imposed sentence on
Rhodes, Hammond, Farrar Phillips and
the other members of the reform commit
tee in the High Court at Pretoria mad been
borrowed from the Orange Free State. His
name, he said, was Gregorowski and he
was of Polish nationality.
Dalziel asked whether the selection of
Judge Gregorowski was an indication of
impartiality or corruption, and Chamber
lain made no reply. Dalziel gave notice
that he would ask the question again for
mally.
vastly different aspect has been put
on the Transvaal trouble by the publica-
ton of a number of cipher telegrams
translations Of which will be found below.
1t has been claimed by many interested
persons that Cecil Rhodes, the head and
front OF the British South Africa Com
pany, and other officials of that concern
were not cognizant OF the intended raid
into the territory of friendly State and
had no knowledge that revolution was
pending IN Johannesburg.
Some critics of the company, nota bly
Mr.. Labouchere, M. P, editor of Truth,
held that the company's officials were
fully aware OF the intended movements
and scathingly arraigned them for their
duplicIty and hypocrisy. This called down
upon his head vituperative abuse from
certain journals, against which there is
more than suspicion that they are SUBJ
sidized by the company.
1t appears now, however, to be pretty
firmly established that the event has justi-
fed Mr.. Labouchere's charges. and this
fact is admitted even by the papers that
have heretofore been firm in their defense
of Mr.. Rhodes and his colleagues. The
publication of the kilograms will prove
rather severe blow to the cock-sure di-
plomacy of Mr.. Cham berlain, Secretary of
State for the Colonies, who has been
Iauded on all sides for the great skill he
had displayed in the negotiations with
President Kruger.
A careful review of all the facts since the
trouble began will show that every move
on the diplomatic cnesspoard has been
won by the man, whom many of the Eng
lishmen characterized an ignorant Boer.
He may be ignorant, he himself has even
confessed that he has little learning de-
rived from books. but all through the
trouble he has shown that for the Trans
val he is the right man for the place he
holds. He is natural-born diplomat,
who has made Ir. Chamberlain his toy