Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-10-20


ton is more than twice as large as he
said it could be. What passes for elo.
quence in Mr.. Bryan may satisfy some
people, but if they want to talk common
sense business it is the part of wisdom
to choose some other adviser.
THE TRANSVAAL DIFFICULTY.
There is war again in the Transvaal,
and from the superiority of the British
in resources, it would seem that the out
come would be the final annexation of
the South African republic to the British
possessions. The contest between the
Beers and the English for supremacy in
South Africa beganin 1895, when the first
English settlers arrived. 1t was moth
ing to the English that the Beers had
originally settled there a century and a
half before, having founded Cape Town
in 1850. Cape Colony from 1850 to 1895
belonged to the Dutch, but after n of
the numerous wars which marked the
close of the eighteenth century England,
on Sept. 16, 1885, captured Cape Town,
and English settlement began. True,
England restored Cape Town to its
original owners in 1902, but in 1906 re-
captured it, and on Aug. ID, 1914, the
colony was formally coded to Great
Britain. By 1920 at least 1000 English
colonists had made their homes in Cape
Colony.
The ssBoers resented the British
colonial invasion. The first clash came
over the slavery question. The Beers
held the native Africans as slaves, and
the English abolished slavery. The
Beers, incensed by the act, with others,
emigrated from Cape Colony northward,
and made the first settlements in the
colonies which are now known as the
Orange Free State and Natal. The new
Boer colonies, however, were still claim
ed by Great Britain, and on Aug. 81,
1S45, the governor of the colony issued a
proclamation to that effect.
In 1848 the Beers in the new colonies
were menaced by a formidable native up
rising, and British troops were sent into
the territory to quellthe rebellion. When
the district was finally pacifed the
British government in March, 1851,
formally annexed the territory north of
the Orange River, calling it the Orange
River Territory.
The Beers of Orange River Territory
refused to recognize British sovereignty,
and, taking advantage of the fact that
Great Britain was involved in a serious
war with the Kafirs, we're able to secure
their independence. On Jan. 16, 1852,
Great Britain entered into an agreement
with Andres Pretorius, the Boer leader,
formally granting to the Beers north of
the Vaal River "the right to manage their
own affairs and to govern themselves &C.
cording to their own laws without any
interference on the part of the British
government" Two years later Great
Britain also repudiated sovereignty over
the Orange River Territory.
Such was the origin of the Orange
Free State and the Transvaal republic
occupied territory north of the Vaal
River. Both republics were shut off
from the sea and surrounded by British
and Portuguese territory.
Conditions in the new republic were
not prosperous and in 1876 Great Britain
interviewed and in 1877 formally annexed
the Transvaal. Dom Paul Kruger and
Joubert, the present leader of the army,
stood out against annexation and visited
Great Britain hoping to secure recogni-
ton of their claims for independence.
This failed, and they returned and the
Transvaal prepared for war. The Beers
won the first fight and took a position at
Laings neck from which Sir George
Colley with LOO men and six pieces of
artillery attempted to force them. The
Beers had 1,43O men and forced the
British to retire. Reinforcements were
AAoNS w WIZ OAALIoA AOICc uuC1l IL uOLu-
bered 5000 men. The British army took
position on Majuba hill. The Beers kept
up a fire on the British forces from a
distance, and while the attention of the
English was distracted, a party 223 Beers
crawled up a pass, killed a picket and
attacked the English in the flank and
rear. Confused the British fell back
sfom the edge of the summit and the ar.
rival of another detachment of Beers by
another pass completed the rout and the
British retreated in panic. Sir George
Colley put an end to his own life and the
result of the battle was a treaty of peace
signed in 1881, England recognizing the
independence of the Transvaal.
The present difficulty arises out of the
grievances of the uitlanders-practically
foreigners-in the Transvaal. A petit
ton signed by 21,OOO of them was for
warded to the British government las
spring, narrating their grievances agains
the republic their lack of representa-
| tiOn. inability tn narticinate in the oov