The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-26
CECIL RHODES DEFENSE
He Says the BoersWere Friendly
to the Germans at the
Expense Of the
English.
BIZ Cable to the United pres..

LONDON, Feb. 26, 1897.-The South
African Committee of the House of Com
mons appointed to inquire into the Jame-
son raid into the Transvaal resumed its
sittings today and the examination of
Cecil Rhodes was continued. A number
OF peers and members of the House of
commons were present, but for the first
time since the inquiry began the Prince
of Wales was absent.
Mr.. Rhodes admitted that he had in
structed Mr.. Rutherford Harris. his agent
in London, to communicate confdentialfy
the plans of the secret movement to GER
tain persons in England, but he refused
to give their names. Mr.. Rhodes was
ased whether he regarded his having a
force ready to march into the Transvaal
as consistent with his position as Pre-
nier T. OF the Cape Colony and replied that
conduct, which did not appear to him
TO have beeen inconsistent
Witness was then asked concerning the
ailusion IN the. statement read by him
at the opening of the INQUIRY to the
intention of the Boer Government to in
troduce foreign influence into the Trans
vaal, Hon. Edward Blake adding that he
assumed that Mr.. Rhodes had adequate
grounds for the statement Mr.. Rhodes
said that he had, but if he should state
his reasons for his belief it might do
harm and cause irritation to a friendly
power. Nevertheless, he absolutely did
believe it.
To questions by Mr.. Blake in regard to
the imperial character of the proposed
federation of the South African States
Mr. Rhodes replied, You must remember
that when we federated Canada it was
local people federated and the impe-
rial government finally sanctioned it,,
MT, Blake-''Do you think that the end
justified the means?''
Mr.. Rhodes-"If I had succeeded we
should nave had a union of Africa and
the Chartered Company would have prof
i,ea grsi5X ana AS failed bna must take the
will accomplish the union I also hope
that the committee in their deliberations
wv WI take ia into consideration the objects /
Mr.. Rhodes was then examined by Mr.
Labouchere, who asked him whether Ger
nan many was was the power he believed to have
peen favored by President Kruger which
question the witness answered in the af
firmative - .Ae O.
In response to questions asking for evil
oence IN support of his belief, Mr. Rhodes
Teao extracts from a speech delivered by
PRESIDENT Kruger before the German Club
OF Pretoria, on the occasion of the BIRTH
day of the German Emperor in 1895. in
winch the Boar President claimed that
Great Britain had .relinquished her claim
OF suzeralaty over the Transvaal, and de-
cfared that he had been able to make a
treaty with Germany so that if one nation
tried to lick the Transvaalers other ma
tions would try to stop her. Mr.. Rhodes
also said that he had reason for belief
President Kruger intended by this speech
to claim the right to make such a treaty
and confirm it without the sanction of
the Queen.
The whole tendency of the Transvaal
policy, he added, was in favorNof foreign
ers, Germans especially, at the expense
of the English.
Mr.. MISUNDERSTANDING President
Kruger's speech was an after oinner or
ation."
Mr.: Rhodes-"P President Kruger drinks
nothing stronger than water"
Witness referred to the objection raised
by the German Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs in a speech in the Reichstag to a
commercial union of the South African
States as being likely to lead to a poh-
teal pretectorate and the exclusion of
German goods and denied that policy of
projection existed at the Cape
Protection" he said, means bad fac
tories and bad articles for the benefit of
a privileged few
Mr.. Rhodes further said that in some
of the mines they intended to employ
Americans only. because of their better
acquaintance with deep levels