Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1899-10-21

taken into consideration that water is
a priceless possession on the plains of
South Africa no further explanation is
needed"
here is the authors reason why the
BoCr nation has not advanced so far as
it might:
"1hc Bocr of today is Il creature of
circumstance. He is outStrippcd be-
cause he has had no opportunities for
development. Driven from Cape Col
ony. where he was rapidly developing
a national character, he was compelled
to wander into lands that offered no
opportunities of any description. lie
has been cut off for almost Il hundred
years from an older and NOR" energetic
civilization. and even from his neigh
borS; it is no wonder that he is Il cen
tury behind the van No other civilized
race on earth has been handicapped in
such Il manner, and if there had been
one it is Il matter for conjecture whcth-
er it would have held its own, as the
Bocr has done. or whether it would
have fallen to the level of the savage"
Lobbyists seem to be as pcrniciously
active there as here. Mr.. Ilillcgas
seems inclined to blame them for the
compatibility of the Boer statesmen,
rather than the compatibility of the
statesmen for the existence of the lob
byiSt. He says:
Every train from Johannesburg, the
uitlander capital, takes to Pretoria
scores of lobbyists, who use all their
powers. both of persuasion and finance,
to influence the minds of the lcgiSla-
tors, either i'll the way of granting
valuable concessions for small cOnSid-
erations or of securing the passage of
bills favorable to the lobbyists. 1t is
no wonder that the uitlanderS declare
that less than oEe-fOurth of the raad
members are unassailahly honest and
that all others can be bribed. The
Boer alone is not blameworthy who,
having never possessed more than 500
at one time, yields to the constant i'm
portunitics of the lobbyist and sells
his vote for several thousand dollars"
However, Mr.. Hillegas makes out a
good case for his protcgeS. He says,
speaking of the first arrivals of uit-
landcrs in the Transvaal, attracted by
the discovery of gold:
''The natural contempt which the
EngliShmen. who compose the major
ity of the uitlander population, always
have for persons and races not their
intellectual or social equals soon Great
ed a gulf between the Beers and the
newcomers. This line of cleavage was
extended when the newcomers at
tempted to obtain foothOld in the pol
iticS of the country. The Beers, who
had been suddenly outnumbered three
to one, naturally resented the inter
ference, especially as it came from per-
sons who had no desire to become per-
mancnt residents of the country and
who wanted a voice iii the conduct of
the nati0na. affairs only as means to
attain their own ends, without caring
about the welfare of the entire re-
public.
zone example is sufficient TO show
the conduct of the uitlanders toward
the Beers, but thousands could be Civ
en-. President Kruger jOurncycd to
Johannesburg in order to learn from
the newcomers what his government
might do to improve the industry. \
crowd met Mr.. Kruger and after rude
remarks on his personal appearance
sang God Save the Queen Later
the TranNvaal flag was torn down from
a staff in front of the house in which
the president was comforting with lead
ing residents Of the city.
'Of the million white people south Of
the Zambczi, probably half are mere
fortune seekers, who would leave the
country the very instant they secured
Il moderate fortune. These have the
welfare Of the country at heart only in
so far as it interfcreS or assists them
in attaining their desired goal They
would ask that Portugal be allowed to
rule all of South Africa if they receiv-
ed the assurance that the much sought
after fortune could be secured six
months sooner. The question of grant
ing the right of voting to the uitland-
erS in the TranSVaal is one which so
vitality affects the future life of the
government that the Beers concession
of that right would be tantamOunt to
presenting the country to the British
government"
Teachers and Stationery.