The evening times., 1899-12-28
THURSDAY. DECEMBER IS. 1899.
DeIagoa Bay.

DeIagoa Bay.
For at least three weeks Europe has been
looking for an announcement of the cession
OF Delagoa Bay by Portugal to England
and so the sensation sprung by the 10
kal Anzieger." of Berlin, has created sur
prise only on account of the extent Of the
International land deal which it asserts,
on what il declares TO be reliable authori
ty, has been effected by means of Sc
cret treaty between England, Germany,
and Portugal.
The same journal before now has man
aged to secure and publish matter Of
great political Importance considerably in
advance OF its official and semi official con-
temporaries. and although there are
guarded and evasive denials OF its state
ments in German Government quarters, the
general opinion in diplomatic circles ap-
pears 10 be that they are substantially cor
rect. The transaction, as printed by the
'Lokal Anzeiger." gives Germany all the
Portuguese possessions in Asia. and all
those in Africa, north of Mozambique. ex-
cept strip of land three miles wide fo-
the Cape to Cairo railway. England re-
ceives all the remaining possessions of
Portugal in Africa including of course.
the pert of Lourenco Marques and Delagoa
Bay.
The impression in Europe is that the de-
tails of this arrangement will be officially
promulgated in January or February, u;-
less intervening events shall compel the
parties 10 it TO some precipitate acton
And this il is reasonable TO expect will
be apt TO happen. There is every reason
for believing that Great Britain Will b.
compelled to get possession of DelagoI
Bay without much more delay, il the South
African war is to be brought to close
within the next year. The back door OF
the Transvaal is now all but wide open.
The port of Lourenco Marques is neutral,
and to continue the policy OF ssizing ap-
psrently neutral goods, under neutral flags.
bound for neutral port, viii not only
involve serious expense and trouble for the
British Government. but would certainly
tend to establish a dangerous precedent,
which might some day react disasuously
to British commerce, and might threaten
the foreign relations OF the empire very
shortly.
There is little question that. in captur-
ing oargoes of flour. lard, beer, and other
commodities not ordinarily contra5and
of war. in neutral bottoms, Great
Britain violates the accepted rules
of international law. and distinctly the
Declaration of Paris. Yet the temptation
to do this is obviously strong, since it is
plain that large cargoes of foodstuffs. COM
forts. and luxuries destined ostensibiy for
Lourenco Marques. can have no other ac-
tual destination than the Transvaal. As
far as the United States is concerned,
while We ought to and naturally will pro-
test against such illegal practices. con-
siderations of comfy will no doubt limit
the action of our State Department TO
such formal representations, provided
Great Britain is willing TO and promptly
shall indemnify our citizens who may suf-
fer on account of the capture of their
merchandise.
Complaisance in a serious matter of this
kind would not be of long duration, and
it behooyes Great Britain 10 secure some
alternative means of relief. This would
be furnished by the occupation of Delagoa
Bay. On military grounds that movement
should not be postponed another week. II
the authorities at Pretoria are convinced
that the cession is certainty it is highly
probable that Kruger will lose no time in
declaring war against Portugal, and will
try to occupy the Portuguese territory be-
fore the, British can get in and take pos
session. II would not be possible for the
Beers to keep the pert of Lourenco
Marques open; because the British fleet
could blockade it absolutely. but they
might considerably interfere with the in
vssion of their country by a column of
troops from Delagoa Bay, and that would
be the object of a descent from Pretoria. |
The probability that the "Lokal Anzie- |
ger story is, in the main, truthful, and
that it will be so accepted by DR.. Ledys, the !
Transvaal agent in Europe. and by the BOer |
council. leads us TO expect that a new and |
Interesting chapter in the South African |
history is about to be opened. Something is |
liable TO happen on any day calculated to !
astonish the natives of two hemispheres. |
A British feet and army might appear in |
Delagoa Bay inside of the next fortnight. |
or We might hear that Lourenco Marques |
had been raded and looted and the railway
10 Pretoria destroyed. The whereabouts of |
Sir Charles Warren and his division are not |
satisfactorily accounted for. They are re-
ported as having gone to Durham, and one |
despatch locates Warren at Cheveley. All |
the same. his objective may have been far
ther up the coast, and statements regard
ing his presence with Butler intended to
mislead. One might say with a good deal of |
confidence that the situation in South At
RIGA is heavily loaded and very likely to go
on suddenly.
Too Much Kindness.
Pennsylvania judge recently found |
fault with what he called the luxury Of the |