The National tribune., 1899-09-28
THE TRANSVAAL..
Strained Situation in South Africa
as Viewed by a Late Resident
of Cape Colony.


goldfields of the Transvaal were at that tim
undeyeiopcd, and operations by larg'
| army were very difficult, as waterplace:
We're few and far between.
The supplies for the army had to b,
brought M with OK wagons. There wer,
at that time no authentic and reliable
maps of the -Transvaal,- and the English
army had TO manuver as best it could
that is, follow the Beers wherever they
would lead them. which brought about
the final disaster of Gen. Collcy.
These mistakes are not likely to be re-
peated in case of another war of England
with the Beers. The country has been
surveyed from south to north and from
east to west, and maps are now in ex-
istence which will properly guide an in
vading force. The chief danger to the
Transvaal lies in the fact that the rail
way line to Buluwayo skirts the whole
western frontier.
WESTERN FRONTIER EXPOSED.
During the last war there was only the
Natal border to be defended. whilst now
the whole western frontier is exposed to
attack, and that is very serious matter, as
there are no Notifications on that frontier
worth speaking of except some natural
ones.
If a prospective expedition We're as ably
managed as the one under the command
of Sir Charles Warren against the Bechu-
anaS, there would be very little doubt that
England, provided she brought a great
orcc,-at least $4,000 men,-Lord Douglas
Compton puts the re- Iuircd force even at co.
00O.-woIld be able to crush the Transvaal.
But do nos lei us lose sight of facts. Sir
Charles Warren'5 forces had to provision
in the Cape Colony; there they had to buy
the necessary horses, and they also partly
recruited in the Same place.
Now. well remember the feelings
amongst the Beers, when came to South
Africa shortly after the Transvaal war.
If England at that time had not given
the Transvaal its freedom, the Beers OF
the whole Cape Colony would have risen
up in arms, aud as they are the most clan
niSh people l ever came in contact with,
and slow in adapting themselves to re-
forms do not think that they have chang
ed ore whit since the times of 1880. In
fact, the Boer party in the Cape Colony
has, through the efforts of the Afrikander
Bond, with the interchangeable Hofmeyer
at its head, grown stronger every year
until now they form a majority in the
Cape Parliament.
1t is due to the efforts of the Bond alone
that the Dutch language is allowed in the
Cape Parliament, and it is only since that
time that Boer representatives began to
enter Parliament. The Bonds repre-
sentatyes have carried many reforms
and it is now a power to be reckoned with.
do not think England would find many
recruits among the Boer population of the
Cape Colony for an expedition against
the TranSvaal, and it was just this ele-
ment that proved the backbone in all the
native wars. History may not record
this; in fact. it gives all the glory of these
bloody fights to the European soldiers;
but any one well acquainted with the coun-
try and the events which took place there,
knows differently.
ORANGE FREE STATE.
The Orange Free State will, when it
comes to war between England and the
Transyaal Republic, certainly stand. in
with the Transyaal. In truth, there ex-
lists an alliance between the two Boer Re-
pablics, and the Orange Free State GER
tainly has no great reasons to love Eng
land, having been deprived by her of the
diamond fields in very high-handed
manner. .--....
1t may be well worth while to point out
ho1 England obtained the diamond fields.
The who,e AREA of the diamond fields form
erly belonged to the Orange Free State.
When it became :. certainty that there
were rich diamond deposits in that territory
England quietly annexed that part Of the
country. On the 7th of November. 1871,
u number OF British mounted police APP
peared on the market place of the largest
Rush. The officer in
command ordered the Free State flag to
BE- hauled down, and in its place wa; raised
the Union Jack. He then read a procla-
nation to the citizens assembled, which
stated that England had annexed all the
diamond field territory.
FoIr weeks latcr the Government of the
Free State issued a formal protest against
this proclamation, but nothing came of it.
The Earl of Kimberley, who was Colonial
Secretary al that time, paid Il compara-
lively small sum to the Free State to make
the "anncxation" legal.
One Of the most Observing English
travellers. Anthony Froude. gives the
Transvaal Beers "A very good character in
his book, "Oceana, or England and her
Colonies" published in London i'll 1886.
Mr.. Froude states that the Transvaal
Beers have always settled their differences
with the Kaffir5 without much bloodshed.
\ million Of the latter live peaceably among
the Beers, and work with them and for
them. He says that the Testified lands
OF natives he has seen i'll South Africa
arc near Pretoria. He describes the Beers
as of rough simplicity, and possessing
great love for their Republic and its insti-
tutions. He compares the Beers to Hor;itius'
description Of the Roman peasants. who
had been turned into armed warriors. and
who conquered Pyrrhus and Hannibal
This is the description of the character
istics Of the Boer by AN unbiased English
critic.
THE UTTLANDERS.
AS to the so-cailed "Uitlanders'' in the
Transyaal, the less said about them the
better. | am now referring to the noisy,