The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-11-26
EVERY. DAY FACTS
AMONG THE B0ERS
LOOSE OFFICIAL METHODS
Many NlsopprOptiationS Of Public
Funds Go UnpuDished- Kruger's
Peculiar joke.
Soc York commerclaI AavertIser.

| In the winter the trek BOers. owing
To the want of grass on the high
| weld. take their cattle to the low
country 70 feed. Many Of them 60 into
Iululand, and. by arrangements with
/ the chiefs. their herds are allowed 10
graIe on the Zulu pastures. This sea-
| son. owing 10 thc political crisis. the
Beers have had 10 return home before
the grass had come up In the Trans
yaRi. and have in many cases pcrfOrce
left their cattle behind. Therefore, 20
prcvcn, the Zulus from stealing the
beasts or ncgiecung them. number
81 the gentle BOIS IN the Mahlabatini
district have forclbly abducted M many
children as thDy could lay hands on;
~ that II anything happens 10 the cat
tie something viii happen TO the chill
drcr. These farmers belong TO the
Utrecht and Vryheid districts.
A young man who was acting as min
Ing commissioner AZ Krugersdorp com
mit,ed little error by apprOpriating
10 his own us,s some Ei.500 u public
money His name was Nicholas Smii.
end after the discovery of the false
step he decamped and was absent from
duty-it is said in Mozamblque-for
some weeks. His father also a public
official repaid about half the money,
and the prodigal returned 10 his post.
President Kruger shortly afterward
visited the dorp to talk over the mat
ter with the bugh irs. whereupon one
Of them. also an ofiiceholder. asked
his cxcellcncy n officials OF the state
were allowed 70 steal the public mon
ey. TO run away and then come back
and be relnsta'cd.
The critical citizen added. IN that
frec and easy way In which they are
accustomed TO converse with the head
Of the state. that. as a good deal Of
the republics cash PASSED through his
hands. he would like 20 know whether
he could help himself Tell US" replied
the genlal president. how much you
have taken" and then his honor Join
ed IN the Homeric laughter which this
refined witticlsm evoked But the
stern republican was not 10 be put OF: :
he insisted on knowing whether Nick
Smii--as everybody called him-had
not stolen the states money and gone
UNPUBLISHED. We'll" retorted the for
giving president, II don't know any
thing about the stealing. but he was
ava, without leave. and has been
fined E25 for H." There the matter
might have ended. but there happened
10 be few Uitlanders In Krugersdorp
and these, with the more respectable
burghers. did not relish The repeated
references In he Critic 10 the "un-
punished thief" and they kept remon-
strating, So. to make things pleasant
all round. the revered president remov-
cd the mining commissioner to Potch-
efstroom and gave him better salary
Subjoned Is a literal transcript from
the report of the First Volksraad Of
August 96lh: Petitions from various
districts with sSS signatures We're read.
praying that law should be passed
Immediately prohibiting the reappoint-
ment In the states service OF officials
who had been dismissed for embezzle-
ment, fraud and so IN. The memorial
lists said It frequently happened that
officials were dismissed for embezzle-
ment and were subsequently promoted
to higher position In the civil SER
vice, to which procedure they objected.
The memorial commission suggested
that these petitions should be referred
to the government with instructions
to publish draft law as prayed. and
submit II TO the 'aad next year. The
commissions report was carried.
An Orange Free State burgher in
reply tc the assertion that the ad-
mlnistretion Of his republic was more
honest than that OF the Transvaal.
said; Yes; We are not SO bad as they
ART, hut it's easy being honest where
there's nothing TO steal"
In case Of a postmaster in the Trans
vaRl put on trial recently for misap-
preparation OF government funds, mer-
clful Roer iurisJs acquitted the erring
official on the ground that, after ALL
he had stolen only e4OO, and he might
have taken e2,OOO" a fellow feeling
makes us woalrous kind.
The pious bible reading. psalm sing
ing Beers are unable to comprehend
the new-fashioned notion which the
Anglo Saxon Uitlanders have intro
duced into the Transvaal that the Kaf-
firs have some rights, Great indigna-
ton was expressed recently because
tn. interfering foreigners caused a
Mr.. ITys to be put on trial Cor such a
trine as logging three Kaltir girls to
death MIR. Kotze ex-chlef justice Of
the Transvaal, was retained for the
defense The trial was to have been
begun In a few days, As It is, the
outbreak Of war has saved Mr., Uys.
No wonder Paulus Stephanus Kruger
Is moved to tears when he thinks Of
the trouble the Uitlanders have brought
upon him and his godly flock. No
wonder he asserts that they have
taken my coat and my trousers, and
now they want my independence" al
though what part Of Mr. Kruger's ap-
parel represents his in ependence is
not known.
A first-class price doesn't always in