New-York tribune., 1899-12-04
THE QUESTION OF PARAMOUNTCY.

British paramountcy in South Africa is still n
matter of at least academic dispute. The Beers
still use IT, or opposition 10 it, as their rallyins
cry. The British must, they say, be defeated,
or else they will be forever the leading race IN
South Africa The same cry Is echoed In the
anti-British press Of the Continent We are
even told that the German Emperor, though en-
treIy friendly to Great Britain in the present
embodiment. realizes that her success will not
conduce TO the advancement OF German inter
ests However interesting such views of the
case NAV be- they are doubtless futile, partly be-
couse they are opposed to the inevitable and
nartlv because their point Of view Is Incorrect
Whether 1t be desirable or not, British para
mountcy in South Africa seems to be assured.
II would have been practically certain had
there been no war and had the two Boer States
bean made and maintained absolutely indepen-
dent. and 1t will be- if possible, the more certain
after they have been beaten in war and com
PEELED to acknowledge the political supremacy
Of Great Britain. And that will not be merely
because Of Great Britain's superior military
power. 1t will be because the British are the
colonlzlng. civilizng, constructive race. 1t is
they who are building railroads and opening
mines and founding cities In that way, and in
he established No empire can be long held
merely ot the point Of the bayonet or, II it be
so held, it will not be worth the holding. Great
Britain could not have held Cape Colony as
she has for nearly century had she depended
upon garrisons and fleets. She has held 1t ~
colonizing it with her own sons, by pouring 10
capital for the development Of It's resources ana
by giving it free government and an advanced
INT, md
are as well contented with her rule and as loyal
to 1t as the British themselves.
II Is the old parable Of the stewards and the
talents over again. Portugal should have been
the paramount Power in South Africa. She
originally possessed It.. To this day she holds as
much Of it as Great Britain does. and a greater
stretch of coast; but she has not improved her
| talent or her opportunity She has not civilized
| Angola and Mozambique. Compare Quilimane
with Cape Town and you have the gauge Of
| Britain's superiority over Portugal in the
struggle for supremacy Germany is supposed
10 look with jealousy upon the increase Of Brit
ish influence. But Germany has nearly as big
a territory there as Great Britain. Damaraland
and Great NamaQualand are more than half as
big as Rhodesla. But what Is she doing with
them? In all her $4,000 square miles of At
RIGA she has only about a thousand Of her own
subjects, and they are practically all soldiers
and officials. Real colonlsts she has none. Great
Britain has had Rhodesia only about half as
long, yet she has made Of the late Lobengula 5
kraal European city Of six or seven thousand
| population, with "all the modern improve
| ments" The Beers of the Transvaal have for
years had the finest and richest territory in the
whole continent But they have done almost
nothing toward improving IT, and left TO them
selves would have lived for generations to come
In rude, uncultured, sQuatter fashion, with
homes a mile apart, on land capable Of sustain
! ing in prosperity a dense population. and over
the richest mineral deposits in the world.
We are not saying that any Of these clrcum-
| stances Justify the seizure Of one mans land
by another But there is an inexorable law of
nature that takes away the talent from him
who does not improve 1t and gives 1t TO him
who will improve It. 1t is the same law that
took all of North America from Spain and gave
| It TO other more progressive nations, and finally
put It all in the possession OF the English speak
/ ing race. We may regret It on sentimental
grounds but cannot check II. The old French
! Creole life OF New Orleans, the dreamy exist
ence Of the Spanish priests and their focks in
the lands Of the Missions, the sturdy conserva-
tism OF the Knickerbockers OF New-Amsterdam.
the arcadian simplicity Of the Habitants Of Que
bee were all beautiful. 1t seemed a pity they
could not remain just so forever. But the great
mill ground on and the great wheels rolled on.
and industry and commerce and civilization
claimed their own. So In South Africa, as else
where, the question of paramountcy is not one
Of guns and swords, nor Of boundaries and
treaties, but OF men and women, OF work and
.f nd
Power which most effectually marshas these