The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-19
The Military Forces in South Africa.

According to the latest reports from
Pretoria and London it seems probable
that Great Britain may undertake to coerce
the South African Republic into the accept
ance Of such changes in its internal gov
eminent as Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN may pre-
scribe. In that event there will be war, and
1t is, therefore, interesting to consider on
which side would be the chances, we will
not say Of ultimate, but Of immediate, sue
cess. An answer to the question involves
an estimate OF the respective forces of the
tombatants.
At the first glance the disproportion OF
strength seems more astounding than any
Of which history bears record since Athens
withstood at Marathon the NIGH. of the
Persian Empire. On the one side is arrayed
the stupendous British Empire, which rules
over quarter Of all the human beings alive,
and which is, by far the richest power ever
known upon the earth. On the other side
is the Transvaal, land-ocked republic
the area Of which, according to the high
est estimate, Is 1870, 200 square miles,
or less than half the size Of Texas.
Before the rush OF gold-seekers to the
Rand in 1885, the whole white population
Of the Transvaal was computed at 80, 600.
there were also nearly million aborigincs
who, however, would constitute source Of
danger in time of war Assuming that all
the whites at the date named were Beers
and that the BOcr element has since
increased only at the normal rate, we infer
that it must now fall far short Of 100, 600
AS the total includes women and children
II is inconceivable that the Beers of the
Transvaal alone should be able to call under
the colors more than 20, 900 men, OF whom
portion would be required to keep down
the Outlanders in the gold-mning district
and the aborigncs in the rest Of the terri
tory. We must put, therefore, at Is, 900
the largest number OF soldiers which the
Transvaal Beers, single-handed, could mus
ter for operations in the field against
an invading army. 1t follows that, if the
South African Republic had to rely exchl-
sively upon it's own resources, and could
expect no assistance from without, a con-
test between it and tho British Empire
would be absurd
But It may be said the Transvaal could
rely upon assistance from without; first
and Immediately from the Orange Free
State, and, later also, from the Afrkander
element in the Cape Colony and Natal Let
us again examine the relevant statistics
and see what such aid could amount to.
The Orange Free State, which, by the way,
contains7O, 900 square miles, an area corre-
spending almost exactly to that OF Mis-
souri,, had in 1880 n population Of 1873, 900,
OF whom 81, 900 We're whites. Again assum-
ing that all the whites are Beers, and that
thew hayn ainpa inprnnSaI nj br 1
rate, the Boer element In the Orange Free
State must fall short OF 100000, and
could not conceivably send to the
assistance OF their Transvaal kinsmen
more than 10000 men. AS the quarrel is
not their own, 1t Is improbable that, at first
at any rate they would send upward of
5000. In Natal, which comprises II, 1000
square miles, being about half the size OF
the State Of Maine, there were, twenty
years ago, 10000 whites, one-ffth of whom
We're OF Dutch extraction. Assuming, once
more, that the Boer element in Natal has
since increased at the normal rate, we can
not now reckon it at moro than 10000
men, women and children, nor can it be
counted upon to place in the field more than
1900 adult males.
We come, lastly, to the Cane Colony.
which, apart from its dependencies, con-
tains 10000 square miles. and is about
three-fourths as large as Texas. According
to the census of 1891 its population was
900, about one-thrd Of whom are
whites. The result of the last elections for
the popular branch of the colonial legis-
lature would indicate that the Arrikander
element constitutes a slight majority of all
the whites. We shall be on the safe side il we
compute the whole number of Afrlkanders
In the Cape Colony at 400, 900, who, If they
were unanimously disposed to assist the
south African Republic. might possibly
put In the field some 10000 men. They