Arizona republican., 1899-07-01
SOUTH AFRICAN CRISIS
rr Oom Paul" Practically Defcs The
 Whole British Empire.

In 9 little WhiteWashed cottage n South Africa sits "Oom' Paul Kruger. defyiHg the waole British nation. It is one Of the strangest spectacles Of the age to witness this 70-year-o.d BOer, the head of one of the eaTth's weakest nations. raising himself against the aggression of it's stronges. power. It is like 9 fswn biting it's strength against that Of q Ion. Wheth- the aStute old Boer VIII again outwit the diplOmatists of England, as he nas done cn numerous former occasions, remains to Ee seen.
 To understand the TransvaaI situa- ii0n thoroughly one must know that every British subject in the Trarsvaal considers that every inch of Transvaal soil $ rightfully the property Of the British nation, and that the Boers are merely ilterIcl5srs. with 70 rights that are deserving Of the respect of an Engl.shm9n. They regard the Boers as so many ignorant, U1cleaaiy sav- ages, who do not know how Q govern themselves, much less others. Every -Engl5shman n the gold fields, or in any other part of the republic, still smarts under the sting of the James on, failure, and nothing viL wipe out that score but the S ght of the British flag 4-J -'-So OfC4 N14S N4O4S Ol IllS It3IS- yaaL Everything that ingenuity can devise is done to embarrass he gov e-rmeat- Scores of mines are IJing idle for no other reason than to i'm press the home government that the Boer laws are so offensive that busi- ness interests must suffer Every mail that goes from Johannesburg to London carries to the colonial officSs scores of grievances from the English residents The recent petit:on, signed by q eco Eaglishmea in Johannesburg and inspired by Rhodes. asking for re- lief from the oppressive laws Of the Transvaal and the right of represen- tati0n, was an eXag aggeTated sample of the letters which constantly flow to London. The amazing part of the situation s that none of the American Gern2 |, Dutch, and French r6s.dsntS Of the Transvael-and there are many thousands of these in Business in the countTy-joins with the Engi5hnen in protesting against the laws of the Boecs Their sympathy with the Boers was shown at the time of the raid, when all of them ranged them selves on. the side of the Kruger cohorts
 TEis constant stream of protests r3 the colonial office has finally impelled secretary for the colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, to make a demand upon the Boer government for the cancel ing of the dynamite concession This demand, it is reported from Cape Town, the seat of British influerca ia South Africa, he has followed by supplementary demand somewhat in the form of a1 ultim tum. requiring that the Tr3rsYaal observe it's cbIi- gatiCns to the quesn by following the letter as well as the spi-i. of the treaty clause formulated by the London con- vent:on.
 President Kruger. in h.s usual blunt style. has replied to theI first demand by practically informing MT Cham beTlain that the Boer government IS conducting it's business affairs in it's own way. and that the British colonial office has TO legal or moral ught to offer any suggestions how those affairs should be c3ndUcteI The president shows that he has faith n his ability to cOndUo- the af3irs Of the T-ansvaal | government for the c0u1trys good. and does not hesitate to So inform Mir Chamberlain Whether Mr. Chamber lain will now invoke the power Of his government 't0 establish his authority ever the Transvaal law makers is. of course, 9 Secrst: but the recent in crease ta the imperial forces nsar the Trs nsvaal border indicates more than anything what may be g.Ven out at DOwEiDg street that the time has com 2 when the moOted question will bz set tied to the satisfaction of every Eng lishman There will not ba another Jameson raid fiasco, nor it is likely that the Beers will have T second Ma iuba HiIl day to celebrate. Three de- feats at the hands of the Boers tarn- ish the record of British activity n South Africa. and ample provision has bean made s-nCa the last to prevent the possibility of the fourth. Ger many. which threatened to interfere ID the last imbrogllo, has been comcili- ated by recent favorable treaties, and will not interpose In anything that England may do to the Boers. The Boer government is well aware that it