The National tribune., 1899-09-28

revolutionary element those who eaticcd
Jameson and number of British officers
of good standing by false tales of their
sufferings, and by stating that even their
women and children were in great danger,
to make that freebooting expedition into
the Transvaal, which met with just deserts
by being severely and quickly repulsed by
the Beers with heavy losses and punish
ment.
These so-called "Uitlanders" with their
| fancie1 wrongs promised to raise big
| force to meet Jameson, but what did they
actually do? They calmly waited at
j johannesburg and allowed Jameson and
his men to stand the brunt of the fighting;
they never even as much as raised a hand
nor pulled a trigger nor touched their
pockets.
The respectable Uitlanders, who have
possessions in the Transyaal. have always
acted proper, and have lately tried to get
the Transvaal Government to bring about
certain necessary reforms, and would
surely have succeeded if it had not been
for certain element, whose sole aim it
appears to be to force a war
Far be from me to put myself in the
front as a champion of the Bo.rs. | GER
tainly think some concessions should be
made. but it is not the object of the writer
to discuss political matters, but simply
to put forward certain facts, so that every
one may draw his own conclusions about
the matter.
When the Beers went across the Vaal
River they went into Kaffir territory. Eng
land at that time had no idea of taking
possession of that country, as they had
their hands full in the Cape Colony. The
Beers had to fight hard to wrest the coun-
try from the Kaffirs, and they lost many
men and great deal of livestock They
Were Il hardworaing people, and soon
developed the country. and then when
the Kafiirs Were subjugatol and the coun-
try promised fair to become a prosperous
one. England stretched ont her hand and
annexed it in 1887, under Lord Beacon
fields Government, and put Sir Tleo-
philus Shcpstone there as Chief Magistrate.
But Sir TheOphilus could not get along
with the Beers; he had no sympathy for
them; he thought them Sow, lazy, good
fOr-nOthing people, and lie certainly under
estimated their power OF enduring con-
tinual grinding down, vixen in a year of
drOuth, after the crops had failed and their
herds were greatly decimated and there
was poverty and misery all around, he tried
to get the full taxes of the destitute people.
4 little leniency at that time would have
saved England the Transvaal, but the
Commissioner carried everything with a
| high hand and wanted to sell out those who
did not, and III fact mostly could not, pay
! their taxes. Then tie Beers became deS-
perate and the trouble started, the end of
which is too well known to bear repetition.
| The situation for the Beers, who can
command a 70 eof only about % 600 men,
| forces considerably to defend the length of
the western and Natal frontier.
TRANSVAAL REPUBLIC. .- 90.
| Before going further, it may be as well
to cast cursory glance at the country
The Transvaal-the original part of the
South African Republic-betwcen 22o and
2Oo South Lat, and 25o and $50 East Long,
Greenwich, is part Oh the South African
high plateau.
! 1t may be divided into three natural terri
tories. The "HOogeveld" (high plateau,
which is the Southern part, chiefly popu-
lated by Beers, is from $500 to 5000 feet
above the sea, and consists mostly of
sparsely-growing grassland with "a few
mountains scarcely rising above ], GOO feet
over the plateau.
The MagaIies Mountains divide it from
the Northwestern Territory, the 'Bushveld,"
1000 to 1900 feet above the level of the sea-
the plains OF which are mostly covered with
savannah forest, thorn bushes or brush
jungle. These parts are not free from
fever i'll the Summer.
There is u dense population of Bechuanas
and Basutos. The Beers have mostly
settled i'll the mountains grouped rOuEd tie
Waterbury, about 5. 600 feet above sea level.
This part is fairly healthy.
The third territory, finally, the "Banken-
weld" includes the mountain and terrace
land III the East, and is intersected by rivers.
This terrace land forms the connection be
tween the high plateau to the Indian Ocean.
The mountains, of which the highest is the
MaucfI Mountain, III feet, are "cloofed."
In the valleys there are forests. From the
2511ao northward there is fever during the
Summer, even in the higher parts OF the
"Bankenveld."
The air in the Transvaal is dry through
out the year, the temperature rises in Sum
mer To 112o Fahrenheit. The nights are
always cool. The cold months are June,
July and August. The rains fall in the
Summer from September to April. The
country is mostly suited for stock raising,
and does not produce enough breadstufT for
the consumption of the inhabitants.
So much for the Typographical aspects.
In going into the facts Of the case little