The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-25

house, the use of his best horse and
finest food. Naturally he will not give
an effusive welcome to an Englishman,
because he is the natural enemy of the
Boer, but to strangers of other nation
alities he opens his heart and house.
"The Boer homestead is as unpre-
tentious as its owner Generally II is
a low one story stone structure, with
a steep tile roof and a small annex
in the rear, which is used as n Kitchen
The door is on n level with the ground
and four windows afford all the light
that is required in the four square
rooms in the interior. A dining room
and three bed rooms suffice for a fam
lily, however large. The floors are OF
hardened clay, literally coated with ma
nure, which is designed to ward off the
pestiferous insects that swarm over the
plains.
Personal uncleanliness Is one Of the
great failings that has been attributed
to the Boer, but when it is taken into
consideration that water is a price
less possession on the plains of South
Africa no further explanation is need
ed.
Here is the authors reason why the
IpOtI ndllOn has lOl iuNd S' i'i
as it might:
"The Boer of today is a creature tf
circumstances. He is outstripped h"-
cause he has had no opportunities Tor
DEVELOPMENT. Driven from Cape Col
ony. where he was rapidly developing
a national character he was compelled
to wander into land that offered no
opportunity of any description He
has been cut off for almost a hundred
years from older and more energetic
civilization. and even from his neigh
bors: it is no wonder that he is a CEN
tury behind the van. No other civil
lied race on earth has been handi-
capped in such manner, and If there
had been ose It is a matter for con-
lecture whether it would have held its
own, as the Boer has done, or whether
il would have fallen to the level of the
savage"
POLITICAL ASPECTS.
Turning next to the Roer system OF
government, under which the Outland-
ers writhe, the author says; 'lhe
Constitution. or Gronfet, Of the south
African republic is modified counter
part of that of the United states. lt
differs in some salient features, but in
its entirety Il has the same general
foundation and the same objects"
The members of the Raad or con-
gress seem to have some queer customs
For instance: "All the members of the
Raad are obliged by law tn wear black
clothing and white neckties. This law
was framed to prevent some of the
rural members from appearing in their
buTgher costumes, and has had the eff
feet of making of the Raads ahmOst
Sombre looking body of lawmakers.
Almost all members wear loneAfrock
coats, silk hats and heavy black boots,
and when, during the re1esses, they
appear on the piazza of the government
building with huge pipes in their
mouths, the wisdom of tine black cloth
ing law is not apparent. There is little
formality in the proceedings Of the
Raads The black garbed legislators
make no prctensions to dignfied pro-
cedure, and when q playful member
trips another SO that he falls to the
floor. or pelts him with paper balls,
the whole Raad joins in laughter"
NOT INCORRUPTIBLF.
Lobbyists seem to be as perniciously
active there as here. Mr.. lIilegas
seems inclined to blame them for the
of the BOer statesmen,
rather than the compatibility Of the
for the existence of the
lobbyist. He says:
Every train from Johannesburg, the
Outlander capital. takes to Pretoria
scores of lobbyists, who use all their
powers. both of persuasion and fin
ance, to influence the minds of the
legislators, either in the way of grant
ing valuable concessions for small
consideration or of securing tn, pas.
sage of bills favorable to the lobby
lists. 1t is no wonder that the Outland-
ers declare that less than one-fourth
of the Raad members are unassailably
honest. The Boer alone is not blame
worthy who, having never possessed
more than 800 at one time, yields to
the constant opportunities of the lob
byist and sells his vote for several
thousand dollars"
Local political "bosses" have no
chance to flourish in the Transvaal. it
seems. There are no municipal gov
ernments. For this awkward system
the author again blames the lobbyist.
as follows:
"Beset by such influences the Raad
are naturally suspicious of
every bill that is brought before them
for consideration. They fear to make
a move in any direction lest their mo-
tives be misunderstood, or they play
into the hands of the Outlanders. one
of the results of the Volksraads fear
fulness is the absence of local govern
ments throughout the republic There
are no municipalities, counties or town
ships which can formulate and execute
ocal laws. Even Johannesburg, city
Of 100000 population, has no munich
pal government, although several at
tempt have been made to establish
one"
BOER VIEW OF JUSTICE.
AS legislators the Beers are said by
the Outlanders to be despotic. Mr..
calls this tendency idiosyn-
Grassy, and gives some examples that
might make "A czar jealous. Here are
two or three:
\ man named Oums, whose big
farm on the border became British ter
'itory through a treaty, sued the Trans
Saal government for damages where
lpon the Raad passed law that
Dums could never sue the government
FOR anything. The High Court sus-
Iainod the Jaw, and Dums is now
poor cab driver in Pretoria,
Another man sued the government
,or damages for injuries resulting
from a fall in the street. He was sue
2essful in his suit but the Raad i'm
thereafter passed a law
making it impossible for any person
TO sue the government for inquiries re-
aeived on public property
During a severe drOuth IN the !
TTanSVaal an American OfcSSiOnaI