The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-08-25
! KRUEGER'S Def.
fransvaa1's President Re-
pudiates the Suzerainty
of England
SPEECH TO THE VOLKSRAD
New Addition to the Troubles Of
Great Britain in Respects to
Her Colonies.
tBy Gable to The Associated Press.I


Aug. %, 1S97.-At a meeting of the Volks-
raad today President Kruger delivered a
speech which Is likely to cause the great
est excitement in Great Britain. During
the course of his remarks the President
said that the relations between Great
Britain and the South African Republic
were regulated at the convention of 1854.
He added that in the convention of Mo-
yember, 1881, a reference to the suzerainty
of Great Britain did appear, but that in
the next convention that of 1884, not a
single word appeared bearing precisely
upon that point and since then the suzsr-
ainty had ceased to exist. This, he con-
tinued, did. not do away with the fact
that the South African Republic and the
whole nation recognized the convention
and would endeavor to maintain II en-
tirely; but they could not recognize the
suzerainty of Great Britain, because it
was entirely opposed to that convention.
They wished to maintain friendly rela-
tions with the whole word and in this
way race hatred would gradually disap-
pear. Wherever love dwelt, said the Press
ident in conclusion, the blessing of God
would follow.
President Kruger's remarks were greet
ed with the loudest applause from all
present.
These utterances of President Kruger
are a reply to the British Secretary of
State for the Colonies, Mr.. Joseph ChaHl-
berlain, who maintained recently in q
speech that Great Britain exercised
suzerain rights over the South African
Republic. His attitude on this subject
led to violent debate in the House OF
Commons on April 20 last, after the pres
entation of the Budget by the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer, Sir Michael Hicks
Beach. One of the items asked for by
the Government was an appropriation OF
Sl000,e00 to make material increase IN
the Imperial garrison in South Africa
Sir William Vernon Harcourt, the Liber-
al leader, opposed the grant, saying that
the sum asked for was for a war policy
in South Africa, which the Opposition
was determined TO resist. Mr.. Chambers
lain denounced these remarks as being
"pernicious, dangerous and unpatriotic,
Whereupon Sir William Harcourt accused
Mr.. Chamberlain of trying to arouse a
war feeling and of using in all his re-
cent statements exaSperating language
calculated to excite feelings of racial
Chamberlain's policy had been defeated
by the good sense and feeling OF the peo-
pie OF Cape Colony pointing to the adop-
tion of a conciliatory motion in the Par
lament of Cape Colony as being q con-
demnation of this war policy.
Mr.. Chamberlain. In reply, asserted that
Sir William Harcourt's statements on the
subject of the conciliatory motion show
ing that the Governments policy had
been rejected by the Government and q.
ih Inaccurate. The policy Of the British
Government, he added, was to maintain
its obligations. not to engage In any aS-
gressiYe operations, nor to attack the In
dependence of a friendly. state, but ito
maintain our rights and the rights OF the
nation.''
Continuing, Mr.. Chamberlain said:-sT
had hoped that our policy would continue
to be non-partisan; but that hope has dis
appeared in the face of Sir William Har-
to raise the issue. Cheers and counter
cheers) Are the Opposition prepared to
take issue. with US when we say that
cations we intend that obligations
towards US shall be maintained? The
question between us and the Transvaal is
not interference in the internal affairs OF
the Transvaal, nor an attack upon the
London convention upon our part: but
breaches of the convention upon the part
of the Transvaal, and we are calling upon
them in friendly terms to give US salts
faetion.
knows that the Transvaal is asking for
a million. and for hundreds and hundreds
of thousands. The Transvaal has been
arming to an extent absolutely unjusti-
fable by an ordinary policy of defense.
We have not complained, but the result
has been that the present ornaments Of
the Transyaal are altogether dispropor-
tionate to the defensive resources OF
Cape Colony. and the Transvaals arrna-
ments, after expending considerably over
a million upon them, are still going on
Batteries of artillery and Maxim guns,
millions and millions of cartridges and
hundreds of thousands of rifles have
been imported into the Transyaal
II do not believe there is feeltng 70
repudiate the policy OF the government;
On the CONTRARY, | believe the teenns 0 oa
to be one of gratitude and satisfaction
with Her Majesty's Government. un-
derstand that they recognize their po-
amount power in South Africa and ara
determined. in the often used words, to
maintain the integrity. of all our rights
under the Convention"
There was a tremendous outburst Of
cheering upon the part of the ConSerya-
tives at the conclusion Of Mr.. Chamber
lain's remarks .oo-
outlines the constitution and government
of the South African Republic as follows:
The South African Republic; dE;;.,nalS alIS
formed by part of the Beers, who left the
Cape Colony in 1885 for Natal, but quilted
ish Crown. In 1852 the Independence OF
the Transvaal was recognised by the
British Government, and the constitution
articles is 7sSs was passed May e, is4s, ana on
the 'Grondwet. or Fundamental Law or
February IS, 1858.
'On April IL, 1871, the 1fduSV&hl WSs
annexed by the British Government,
against which, in December, 1880, the
Beers took up arms, and g treaty OF
peace was signed March q. 1881. Accord
ing to the convention ratified by the
yolksraad. October 26, 1881, seif-govern-
ment was restored to the TransTaal SO
far as regards internal affairs, the control
and management of external AFFAIRS being
reserved to Her Majesty as suzerain. A
British Resident was appointed with
functions analogous to those OF Consul
General and Charge dAnaires. Another
convention with the Government of Greet
27 1884 ratified by the Voiksraad August
s, by which the State is to be known as
the South African Republic, and the
foreign relations. Instead OF q Resident
the British Government Is represented by
a Diplomatic Agent
.sThe Constitution has been frequently
amended down to September, 1855