New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-16
SHREWD LOOM PAUL"
gr APPRECIATES ENGLAND AND KNOWS
WHEN TO YIELD.
vns REMARK ABOUT THE QUEEN AND ITS MIS-.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES SOUTH AFRICAN
STATES AND THEIR RELATIONS
WITH GREAT BRITAIN.


WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
Two years ago the average American citizen |
.onld hardly have found the Transvaa in the |
Nc atlas and could not have told whether "Oom |
paul. was a split in the mugwump party or a |
topie on the Great Karroo. And then the Grand
Gid Man of South Africa got obstreperous. and
Ieander Jameson burned TO be second Give
ard William Of Hohenzolern became telegraph |
cally vocifcrous. and in a twinklng Pretoria was
more familiar than Hoboken. and as theme or
poite converse ton johannesburg was consid-
srably ahead Of Hunters Point. Even down to
this day, though the Jameson raid has passed
into the musty ancient history of more than a
wear ago, there Is no more fascinating figure on
the boards than that of the venerable Dutch
uncle One gets provoked with him, of course.
for his contumacicus conservatism. But 1t is
Impossible not to admire his cleverness in
diplomacy and his singeness of purpose In maxi
Ing everything else bend to the profit of his own
land and people. For that is what he is doing.
For a couple of years he has been intriguing
with Germany against Great Britain and the
German Emperor has imagined that the Trans
yaal eager to be included in the German
colonial empire, TO be ruled over by such gentry
as Karl Peters. the woman butcher. This is far
from true. loom Paul. was simply using Ger
many as pawn in his game with Great Britain;
that was all. To him there only two impor-
tant Powers in the world, the Transvaa ana
Great Britain. All the rest are minor provinces.
And If ever the Transvaal has to yield up its IN
dependence he would a thousand times rather IL
would be to Great Britain than to any other'
AN ADMIRER OF GREAT BRITAIN.
For he appreciates Great Britain, does 'h's
phlegmatic Dutchman, and admires her even
- n 49, hug n
foe1nan worthy Of his steel, and no one else Is
'"The Queen he said one day not long ago. Is
a difficult woman to deal with" That raised
great fuss in England, some translating the woro
~fractovs or "cantankerous. or even VICIOUS
and constituting II as gross insult Not So the
Boer President merely meant that she was
strong and commanding figure, and must be
regarded seriously; she was not to be shifted at
or wrapped around ones little finger, as was the
German Emperor. for example And so, re-
terring TO the interesting International episode
when Germany began sending ships and troops
10 Delasoa Bay. and Great Britain. without dis
turbng its regular navy at all. in twinkling
sen: out flying squadron that sufficient to
send the entire German Navy to Davy Joness
locker. ard then the German Government sud
denly discovered that it really had nothing TO
d. or the slightest interest look after in that
quarter Of the world-referring TO that episode,
"Oom Paul" observed with grim humor. not un-
mingled with exultaton. The Old Lady at
Windsor lust sneezed and the rest Of them
scattered"
There is no one who knows better than "Oom
Paul" in the language Of the West not Ito bite
of more than he chew" He makes Dig
claims of course far beyond hope OF realiZa"
,,o, and he stands up for them stifi1y. But when
tt>s t.r.e comes he yield as gracefully as an
sAcphant can walk backward. Thus he had his
voksraad q few months ago. enact an mni-
fration law which was. everybody could see
IN fragrant violation Of the London Convention
and he made a show OF enforcing it. But when
It had served its purpose as bluff, and the
peremptory demand for its repeal came from
Great Britain repealed il was, If report be true,
without demur SO. in all probability, Will DC
rspealed all the other acts which violate the Lon
DON Convention. without the firing or SHOT
Abandoned also VIII be the somewhat lofty de-
nand for arbitration. Only. in so doing loom
paul" vii! rnanag e to secure handsome qsid pro
o)o He Will get some compensation for the out
rage Ct the Jameson raid. and he will have the
Transvaal stocked with such supply of arms
and ammunition as 1t never had before and as IL
never could have got save in just such circum-
stances as these. Then he will settle down into
all fr:cndlness with Great Britain, and be we'll
pleased TO have the Transvaal remain an au-
tonomous republic within the limits and beneath
TIE suzcrainty Of that British Empire which
u himself regards Us the greatest Power on
earth.
cpEar BRrTAIN'S AFRICAN SOVEREIGNTY.
And we'll he may regard It as such. For in
what Is broadly termed South AFRICA the SOW
ereignty of Great Britain. as against that OF all
other European nations, is exclusive ana SUI
nrene The denarcatior of the coast line. as
oh observes, Is q
rough but still an approximate index of the gen.
oral nosition The scaboard from the mouth or
Via Orange River on the west TO within a short
distance of Delagoa Bay on the east is entirely
IN british hands The next northern nelghbofs
on the west are the Germans, ard on the east the
Portuguese and between them stretches an ehor-
nous English Hinterland, in which the sphere
OF British influence extends in an unproKen Inc
froIn the Cape of Good Hope to the shores OF
Lake Nyassa and Lake Tanganyika, embracing
the upper basin of the Zambesi and all but
reaching tho sources of the Congo
The leading and the oldest settlement in South
Africa is that Of the Cape Colony. which having
gradually extended It's boundaries, now includes
the regions known GrtQualand West ana Pom
dolard. and since last year the formerly separate
colony Of British Bechuanaland which Is bound
ed ON the north by the Moopo River. This area
reaches nearly 100000 square miles, or almost
two and half times the size OF Great Britain
and Ireland. The population is approximately
100000, of whom less than 100000 are whites.
The affairs Of the colony are controlled by
legislative body, while the imperial power is rep
resented by Governor, who is also her
Ma1esty's High Commissioner for South Africa
Going northward along the east coast, the sea-
board Is continued by Natal, with an area OF
10000 square miles and a population Of o3O.OOO.
49, n
rnin!stration is similar 70 that Of the Cape Col
ony being vested in a Governor and a Legislat-