The age-herald., 1899-09-21
BOTH NATIONS
 ARE PREPARING War the Only Key to TTansVaaI
 SituatiOR TROOPS RUSHING ID CAPE Burghers aD : lsh Each Realize That
 B'ys -n't '' Spilled
 
 z z C0NFEfS : : WITH THE GENERALS
 o$
 Io Lanst e Closeted With Lord Wolse- ly and Sir Evylin-Wood- Rumors ofReassembling Parliament -Harcourt Speaks
BursherS aD s lSh Each Realize That
 B':T9 .uSt be Spilled.
:; {: WITH THE GENERALS

l ward show of calm, Great Britain is in l practically the same condition today 1 was the United States a few weeks before l the opening of the war with Spain. Be- l neath the crust of diplomatic reserve, the | military officials are working day and night preparing for the signal to begin hostili- ties whether that comes or not. England is not going ito be caught nap ping any more than the TransvaaL. While
 Lord Salisbury is quietly at home in Hat field house. MT. Chamberlain is buried in work at the colonial office, and double forces at the Royal arsenal and dockyards are straining every nerve to equip and transport troops to the Cape. It may be set down for certain that | Great Britain will do nothing to preeip- tate matters, and the colonial office Is far I from admitting that the cause is hopeless. 1 The Omcia Reticent l The report that Great Britain has de-
 manded the dismantlement of the fort at | Johannesburg, together with a material re- l duction in the armament of the burghers,
 the colonial office today would neither con- l firm deny, although it is much doubted. l Meanwhile, the Marquis of Lansdowne, 1 secretary of state for war, who returned l l conferences with General Lord Garnet Wolsely field marshal, and General Sir l ENylin Wood, adjutant general to the l forces, and the activity at headquarters is l reflected in the contract, supply and trans- port departments.
 The departure of the British transport 1 Jelunga for the Mediterranean with 1.0oo 1 troops was witnessed by large and l thusiasic crowd.
 Al Woolwiteh activity increases daily, especially in the ordnance department
 where Maxim guns, lyddlte shells, balloon | equipments, gas reservoirs, wagons for | lime light apparatus, water carts, ambu- | lances army wagons and other parapher- l nalia of modern warfare are being hurried l forward
 Reassembling of Parliament While rumors of the re-assembling of parliament are current the fact is recalled 1 that in the Afghan war in 1878 Great Brit ain declared first and then assembled par Nament.
 This evening the Marquis of Lansdowne | issued strict order to the staff of the war | office warning all subordinates to refrain 1 from giving the press any information l without the authority of their superior5 l and calling attention to previous breaches
 of duty in this respect which, the order l says will be no longer tolerated" Advices from Capetown this evening are l to the effect that the Afrikanders declare 1 that ,ne TransYaal will not yield further, 1 and that if the imperial government does | not recede from it's present position, war l is inevitable The South African News l supports the contention of the TransYaal that the convention of 1881 abolished the suzerainty.
 Burghers Going to Laager 4la
 are rapidly going into Laager, while tho
 exodus from Johannesburg yesterday
 reached 1000 persons. The stock exchange
 at Johannesburg has resolved to close the
 moment martial law is proclaimed, but all current contracts will be carried out until the procama tion suspending all business. In the mean time the merchants are erect ing barricades in front of their shop win- dows.
 At Pretoria the interest seems to be cen tered in the meeting of the Orange Free
 State volksraad tomorrow, which, IL is
 hoped, may somehow suggest modus vi-
 vendi.
 A special dispatch from Johannesburg
 says. that 450 persons left by one train to- day.
 Harcourt Speaks at Tredgar
 Rt Hon. Sir William Vernon Harcourt, liberal member of parliament for West Monmomths and formec leader of the liberal opposition in the house of commons,
 in the course of an address to his const,t- uents this evening in New Tredegar, said he could not read the persistent attempts O: the war press to aggravate the Trans vaal situation without indignation.
 Great BGltain," said the speaker "can not claim general sovereignty in the Trans vaa when she has only partial suZerainty, and President Kruger cannot claim for tho Transvaal the position of an interna tonal sovereign state. Both sides, therefore have made allegations which cannot be main- tained by either"
 Sir William declared there Was no casus
 bei, and expressed the hope that a shame- ful catastrophe might be averted.
 k-uger Appeals to Victoria
 The Capetown correspondent of the Daily
 Mail says President Kruger has cabled a
 strong personal appeal to the queen, be- seechng her to intervene 10 prevent blood shed. It is about column in length and is intended to scarify the consciences of tha Unco Guid when published.
 Sir Alfred Milner has sent a courteous message to Vice President Stein, assuring --fs.r7ss --r