New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-12
SOTTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS

Mr. Rhodes and the Progressives have been
beaten in the Cape Colony elections by the AZ
rikandcr Bund 10y n narrow majority, ana wheh
Parliament reasscmblcs there VIII be putch
Prime Minister M Cape Town. That Is IN" hrst
salient feature Of currcn, South African news.
II bears, no doubt. burden OF disappointment
TO many we'll wishers for that colony ana 10 all
the personal admirers Of Mr.. Rhodes Yet
neither Of these will DO without consolation
The latter have the satisfaction OF knowing that
Mr. Rhodes was personally triumphant. having
been elected handsomely by two widely 'cpa
rated constituencics-Littlc Namaqua Lana. on
the Atlantic coast, al the mouth Of the orange
River. and Barky West. in the heart OF the
continent between Kimberley ana The Trans
vaal The former may rest content in the
knowledge that the victorious Dutch viii re
main perfectly loyal TO the empire, ana That IN
stead Of their Joining hands with President
Krgcr in league Of secession they nrc far
more likely soon 10 be AT complete loggerhends
with him. Moreover, II is Ia he BORE in nina
that the upper house Of the Parliament which
was elected last spring. has strong Progress
sive aiority To act as countcrbalnncc against
the Bund majority in the Assembly.
No, less significant than the Bund majority In
the Assembly however. is the great Progressive
majority in the country at large The latter Is
proportionntcy by far the greater OF the two.
In an Assembly Of scvcnty-nine members the
Bind has secured a majority OF three or four.
Al the same time the Progrcssivrs have two
thirds majority Of the electors of the colony.
The Bnnd members have been elected by total
| average vote for each Of less than LOO. while
tho Progressive members received nearly Zoo
each In that fact the moral victory is with the
| Progressives The leading issue Of their cam
| paien was demand for redistribution OF seats
so as to give equal rights and powers to men OF
| all partics The Justice OF that demand IS am
| nly vindicated in election returns. which show
| that under the present apporionmcnt one
Uutchman has more voting power than two
| Englishmcn The Bund Is supposed 10 be OPP
roscd 10 redistribution. but II seems doubtful
| whether In the face of the facts revealed by
this election, II can long refuse TO grant IL. The
probability Is that II Will prefer to grant II aud
| do the reapportlOning Itself. rather than run the
risk Of having 1t done by It's opponents
| A third feature of the situation, Of the great
| est interest Ia the possible effect Of the Dutch
| victory upon relations between Cape Colony and
| Rhodcsa. In the latter territory, which IL larger
and destined probably to be more important
than Cape Colony. Mr. Rhodes bears undisputed
| sway. II mas bppn MS lutI 10 uuIHllllSiPT III III
| close accord with the Cape. and to make the
| Cape its commercial base and outlet by way OF
the railroad which he has built from Kimberley
| to Buluwayo But-and il il n big and impor-
tant "but'-if Cape Colony shall now be gov
crned In a spirit hostile 10 him he may cut Rho
desia loose from ii altogether. He Is now com
plotting n railroad from BuluwnyO to Fort Sails
| bury and thence TO Beira, on the Lourenzo
Marquee coast That will give Rhodesia a vast
" shorter route TO tdewater than the line to the
| Cape and as short n route 10 England
| FINELY be II observed that talii lncrpnJcS in
volume and authority about British control and
perhaps ownership of Lourenzo Marquee and
Mozambique. milking the whole South African
coast British from the mouth Of the Orange
| River the west to Cape Delgado on the
east The two provinces named are now Portu-
| guesc. But n transfer Of them 10 Great Britain
has long been in contemplation. German oppo-
sitiOn has hitherto been accounted the chief IL
not the sole obstacle But the new Anglo-Ger-
man treaty or alliance Is said to give Great
Britain IN entirely free hand In that quarter,