Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1899-09-14
LAST TERMS TO B0ERS
Great Britain Insists on Suzeranity
Over Transvaal.
A PROMPT REPLY DEMANDED
Kruger's Government Must Accept
EnEland's Ultimatum or Ffght-Af-
rikander Bund Favors Peaceful
Solution-Situati0 Critical.

| Cape Town the greatest uncertainty pre-
walls regarding the exact situation Of at
| fairs in the Transvaal. That Is owing
to the rather conflicting reports on the
| subject of the terms Of the British dis
patch delivered to the volksraad. If the
time limit of 48 hours for a reply Is cor
rect, It would appear that matters are at
last verging toward the end Of the crisis,
but the British officials refuse to deny
! or affirm the correctness Of the latest
| Pretoria dispatches, saying the British
| terms are as outlined in the special dis
patch from Pretoria last night-namely,
q five years franchise, quarter repre-
sentation for the gold6elds In the volks-
raad, equality for the British and Dutch
in the volksraad and equality for the old
and new burghers in regard to presidan-
tial ard other elections.
The question Of the time limit is inter-
preted variously here and at the Cape,
some persons regarding 1t as an ultima
tum which il not likely to be complied
with, while others look on 1t as pacific
offer which opens the way to further ne
gotiations.
The Reply an Ultimatum.
A special dispatch to The Pail Mall
Gazette from Cape Town says the Brit
ish reply is regarded as equivalent to an
ultimatum, and the correspondents ad-
vices from Pretoria indicate that war is
inevitable.
A Pretoria special to the Cape Times
SAYS the Transvaal has notified the min
ers of Italy that 1t will give them a safe
conduct and protection in case they wish
to remain in the Transvaal.
The report that the Rand 1rishmen
have formed a corps to help President
Kruger is confirmed, and it is said at
Cape Town that a cable message has
been received there from New York say
ing that 10000 Irishmen there are ready
to help the Transvaal.
The Orange Free State burghers are
reported to be bitterly divided over the
merits of the controversy and their prob
able course in case of war.
A special dispatch from Pretoria says
the leaders Of the Afrikander bund have
telegraphed to President Kruger, urging
him to yield to Mr.. Chamberlain's last
demands.
Britain Claims Suzerainty.
The message of the secretary of state
of the colonies, Mr.. Joseph Chamberlain,
says liz lAc SOACeSSltAo illtuc
in President Kruger's note of Aug. lS
have been withdrawn on account of the
British attitude regarding suzerainty and
adds:
"Her majesty's government has abso.
lutely repudated the view of the political
status Of the Transvaal taken by the
Trnnsvaal government. claiming the stat
US Of a sovereign state, and therefore are
+o onnoiIor prpnncal ms do
conditionally on their acceptance of this
view"
Continuing, the note says the British
government Is satisfied that the law EN-
bodying the proposed alleviating meas
ures for uitlanders Is inefficient to secure
immediate and substantial representation
which, it is understood, the Transvaal
admits to be reasonable. 1t then says
Moreover, the presentation Of the pro
posals in the note of Aug. 10 indicates
that the government of the South Afri-
can Republic themselves recognized that
their previous offers might with advan-
tage be enlarged and the independence of
the republic thereby In no way be inn
piled"
The Franchise Proposals..
The dispatch then goes on to say that
Great Britain is still prepared to accept
the franchise proposals Of Aug. 10, pro-
vided court of inquiry, whether joint
or unilateral, shows the new scheme to
be unincumbered by multiplying condi-
lions. In this connection the British
government assumes that the new mem
bers Of the raad will be allowed to speak
their own language, and adds that the
acceptance of these terms would at once
remove the tension and "would, in all
probability, render unnecessary any fur
ther intervention Of her majesty's gov
eminent to secure redress for grievances
which the uitlanders themselves would
be able to bring to the notice Of the ex-
ecutive council and volksraad. Her mai
estys government is increasingly i'm
pressed with the danger Of further delay
In relieving the strain which has already
caused 80 much injury to the interests Of
South Africa, and they earnestly press
for an immediate reply to the present
proposal. If acceded to, they will be
ready to make immediate arrangements
for a further conference between the
president and the high commissioner to
settle all details of the proposed tribunal
Of arbitration and the questions referred
to In my note Of Aug. 80, which are
neither uitlander grievances nor questions
of the Interpretation Of the convention,
but which might be readily settled by
friendly communication between repre-
sentatives Of the two governments. If,
however, as they most anxiously hope
will not be the case, the reply of the
Transvaal should be negative Of con-
elusive, l am to state that her majesty's
government must reserve to themselves
the right to consider the situation de
novo and formulate their own proposals
for final settlement"
The exact franchise proposals which
Mr.. Chamberlain says Great Britain is
still prepared to accept with the court of
inquiry proviso are five years franchise,
q share for uitlanders in the election of
the president and equal rights and in
creased representation for the gold6elds
to the extent of eight new seats. These
were presented by President Kruger on
Aug. 10 and later were withdrawn.
The Plague In South Africa.