The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-22

grievances Of the emgrants arose from one snutc,.
They desired self-goycrnmcnt, and, under British
administration, this was denied them In their
own words, uttered In 1912: we ascribe nil
these evils to this one cause, viz: the want Of A
representative government refused to us by tho
executive authority OF that same nation which
regards this very privilege az one pitts mos, sacred
rights of citizenship, and that for which every
true Briton Is prepared to give his life" Tn.
Great Trcck was, in word. the protest Of tn,
Eastern frontiersman against foreign autocrato
despotsm. As the creation OF tho repubcs Of
Swcllendam and GRAFT Reinet in 1895 had GIN.
phahzed his resistance and shown his hostility
to the misrule OF the Dutch East India Company,
80 the declaration Of independence north OF the
Orange River and the re ostab shment OF a self.
governing republic proved In ls3s-4O tho
frontersman's determination to DO FREQ from all
foreign control The emgrants were tho cham.
pions Of self-goyernment and OF FREQ Representa-
tive institutions in South Africa against dospous
rule from abroad.
No census Of the Capo Colony was taken between
the years 1905 and 1858 In the flrst-montioncd
year the entire population Of South Africa vaa
according to the British census returns of the tina
about 2l,0OO. An official statement however,
published by tho Batavian Government authors
ties In 1905, gave the number as between rs 900
and 20, 600, not including the soldiers OF tho gar
rison. II is possible that the British census 10
turns were incomplete. for many OF the inhabitanu
were disinclined To recognize tho British Govern
ment, and. In some of the outlying districts, 10
would be difficult for the officials 70 get full reuna
On the other hand 1t is not unlikely that some Of
tho inhabitants had left for Batavia and for Hol.
land when the Government was transferred from
the Batavian Republic to Great Britain AT the
census Of 1855. the white population Of South
Africa had increased to 100000. DR.. voigt esti.
mates that, in 1895. the entire white population
was probably some 10000 or 10000 A very
large number Of the cmigrants who came to South
Africa in the time Of the Dutch East India Com.
pany, wcro Germans. chiefly from tho Rhine
provinces In the time Of Gov Simon van
der Stell, shortly after tho arrival Of the Hugue-
nots it was computed that oneeighth Of the white
population French. With the Huguenots
had come many emigrants from Piedmont and
Savoy. All these different elements OF the popu.
lation being Protestant they had intermarriod.
and the result in 1886 mixed race which
could no longer be correctly called Dutch OF
the assumed population OF 10000 or go 900, pro-
baby less than onofourth were still OF pure Dutch
descent
As TO the language spoken by this new nation
ality-unquestionably We are dealing with a new
nationality by 1836---it has been described a.
Dutch very much simplifed. and with its gram
NAUTICAL irregularities rounded of TO suit the climate
and the composite race DR.. Voigt lets tho de-
scripdon stand for what 1t is worth. He leaves
il TO philologists to decide whether the called
Cape Dutch bears the same relation 10 the present
language of Holland as docs Canadian French
to that Of France Certain il is that in the South
African vocabulary, there numerous words,
phrases and idioms altogether unknown In the
Netherlands. The very considerable number Of
words and phrases derived from French sources
show the influence which the large immigration
of Hugucnots had in modelling the new Ian.
guage. To the present day. the double negative
exactly corresponding TO the French ne pas can
be heard in everyday conversation in all parts Of
South Africa A good many words and phrases
also are of German origin, while. in recent times
the English vocabulary had been largely drawn
upon Tho absence Of the arbitrary rules for gender
which obtain in both Dutch and German and
the consequent similarity Of the Cape Dutch to
the English language, in the fact that there is
only one form for her definite article instead Of
three (masculine, feminine and neutcr) as in the
Dutch and German OF today. and in the Anglo
Saxon at the time Of the Norman Conquest Is
another point worth noticing. In 1886. the lam
guage spoken all over South Africa was already
what It is now. that Is TO say different from the
language Of Holland Dutch itself Is from Ger
These volumes stop, We have said at tho year
1845. A summary of the events which have since
occurred in connection with the Orange Free State
and the Trunsvaal down to the Convention Of
1884 between Great Britain and the South African
Republic will be found in any good cyclopndia
We pass TO an appendix in which DR.. Voigt dis
cusses England's native policy, past and present
in South Africa. He begins by pointing out that
to such an extent was the policy OF England in
South Africa in the early forties directed by ths
group Of ill-informed philanthropists, afterward
known as the AbOrigines Protection Society, that
what was presumed 10 be the interests Of the natives
were everywhere placed first and foremost II
might often happen that these imaginary inter
ests would clash with the indisputable interests
Of the white community. but the wiseacres Of
Exeter Hall and Downing Street never wasted
any sympathy on the white people, To them
Africa was, and had TO remain, Black Mans
Country. Tho whites were there on suffrance.
and had no such claim on official consideration
as to be allowed to resort to measures for their
own defence and protection by territorial rear
rangement or alteration Of boundary lines to safe
guard the frontier settlements from being swamped
and destroyed by hordes of savages. The cello
bratcd dispatch pennod by the Earl OF GlenelH
when Secretary of the Colonies. and numerous
other State papers. prove that this is eIagger-
ated statement.
But why, asks DR. Voigt should Englishmen
have insisted upon applying to white men in South
Africa a standard OF conduct 30 different from
that which they had applied to themselves? II
is certain that In South Africa, with its problems
Of different races and distinct natonalitos Eng
lsh statesmen and English writer's have re-
peatedly presumed to apply a different criterion TO
that which, Judging from the history OF Europe.
ono might suppose to be a Just one; and so, in
Natal. as in the Cape Colony. the idea Of complete
civil equality on the part Of the black and tho
white was insisted upon by the British authorities.
Now, as tho author OF this book points out, the
Oriental element in the nature Of tho Kafir (hs
is part Arab and part black renders him quite
unable 10 understand tho principle OF equality
without at tho same time, doing violence to our
commonly accepted ideas OF right and wrong.
To the kafr all authority is centred in tho chief,
and every white man is a chief in the eyes of tho
savage. Where. however. he himself is placed
on equality with the white man, there is 10 his
mind an end to all authority and all power. and
then he no longer fears punishment The result