The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-10-16
Most Agree That Both
Are Some to Blame.
Aud Majority Are Inclined to
Side With England.

The PRESS gives today some expires.
sions of opinion gathered from sevsral Of
the prominent ministers of the city touch.
ing the South African war and the fail.
ure of the sovereignties involved to
secure solution OF the questions involved
through the peaceful methods of arLitra.
ton.
REV. DIX. DALTON.
| Rev. DIR. Dalson's views are EN- bodied
In the following:
| 1.-THE question propounded is, could II
not. snd ought 1t not. TO have been pre-
vented by arbitration? Arbitration Ii
the method by which independent states
sack to settle their disputes. but sovsr-
eign state cannot consistently consent to
IL In dispute with a colony OF .dependen-
cy. 1t would invite foreign Intervention
and lead to more evils than IL would
cure.
"Has England suzerainty over the Bo-
ersp England claims, and the Beers
deny, 1t because not reasserted in 1884,
as IL had been in 81. Ths balance OF
proof seems to me in favor Of the Eng
lish contention. This rules out arbitra-
tion. But even SO, Ia the war now on
just or justifable, wise or even prudentP
by the highest Christian standard,
certainly not. The rulers of England
ought to have shown more forbearance.
The Beers showed no sense of justice
and no mercy to the Outlanders, mostly
English. The whirllgig Of time however
wou Id have avenged their wrongs and
secured their rights. But the English
colonial secretary lost patience and the
lions roar resounded through the world.
ideally, then, England is to be con-
demned. but comparatively not much,
Compared with our own and other
nations, we cannot throw the first stone,
as witness our war in the Esst, which
is ON about the same plane. and equally
humiliating. though we too have good
legal claim to sovereignty there. And
did we behave any bstter In the Mexican
war. as to causes and conditioner And
in the war with the South, the secession
lists wore as sincere as we. They were
defending their view of state rights, as
they had always asserted them-some-
thing we could not tolerate.
100 much has been made of the
suffrage question and others related to 1t.
1.-The real reason Of the war, is the de-
termination OF England to put an end to
the injustice and wrongs inflicted on the
English in the Transvaal, which need
not enumerate. To make the case our
own, suppose gold mines of equal extent
and richness were soon discovered in
Mexico. Would the United States taler-
ate for a year such abuses as have been
heaped upon the English In Johannes
burgf Certainly not And If we would
not, how much less France. Germany,
or Russia. as witness their history, their
action in all similar cases heretofore or In
China today.
"Other nations then cannot consistent
ly condemn England, for their hands are
not clean, not even our own.
Nevertheless. England owed it to her.
self to give the world an example of q
more excellent way. If she may do as
others do, b England has presidents
enough. But If the question is counsel
OF perfection, war cannot be approved"
REV. DIR. HENRY BLANCHARD.
II do not like 20 mount to the judges
bench. The question before us is a diff
cult one to decide, The evidence is not all
in. But SO far as I have been able to
master the facts, my decision is strongly
against our British brethren. / have
been much impressed by review in
Literary Digest of Mr.. Howard @. Hill
egas's book on Dom Paurs People, He
writes as one whose pride in the Anglo
Saxon race causes him to wish that there
were more justice and less venom in the
alleged grievances of the Uitlanders
SIT certainly Is a frightful sequel of
the Peace Conference at The Hague to
have Great Britain engage in war with
the Beers. Her representatives were sim
csrely desirous of securing arbitration. 1t
seems to me that she should have ac.
cepted arbitration as to her claim of suz-
erainty. On the other hand, we are to
consider that the peace party in England
Is silenced by the extraordinary message
of President Kruger. Whoever IL respon-
sible for this terrible tragedy must be
condemned by all lovers of humanity.
SIT seems to ms that English stock
jobbefs and politicians and Dutch fanati-
eism ara the causes of this dreadful war.
May IL soon end and prepare the way for
q worlds tribunal before which all ma
tionaI disputes shall be presented and by
which all such shall be decided justly"
REV. DIR. SMITH BAKER.
"My sympathies are with the republics
in South Africa. / wish the war could
have been settled by arbitration. My
feeling is that the Beers in South Africa
are fighting for their rights and liberties
inst n L rs,r 10 ti,ara dfd a., 4ha wawo1..a..-