The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-09-08
THE TRANSVAAL
CONTROVERSY,
Made a Little Palmer For
Business Men.
CAUSES OF THE TROUBLES.



The Courier. Journal has been re-
quested by an old friend to make a
little palmer for busy men the nature
and causes of the troubles in the
Transvaal. All necessary:intorma-
tion on the subject has heen pub
lish ed in the newspapers from time
to time, but many readers are not
able to recall particulars that were
given some time ago, especially as
the subject then had but faint in
terest for them. Being willing to
oblige, the Courier.J Journal will en-
deavor to "post the books" so as to
exhibit the main items of the ac-
count upon the ledger.
1t will not have escaped notice
that the main complaint of the Brit
ish subjects in the Transvaai is the
denial of suffrage. There are in
cidental complaints of taxation, the
dynamite monopoly and the like,
but the suffrage question is the main
point. 1t Is not denied that the
authorities of the Traasvaal Repub
lie have made rather stringent
naturalization laws. These do not
affect British subjects more than
others except to the extent that
there may happen to be more of
them in the Transvaal than of other
nationalities. But why should the
Beers seek to make conditions of
naturalization so difficult?
To understand this subject proper
ly we must have some general know
ledge of the history of the Transvaal
Republic and it's people. For $50
years before 1906 the Dutch had had
control of Cape Colony, territory
at the extreme southern part of At
RIGA. In 1906 it passed definitely
under control of Great Britain, as
the result of the Napoleonic wars,
the British taking it to prevent its
falling into the hands of the French.
The inhabitants of the colony, who
were of Dutch descent, were called
Beers, a word originally meaning in
their language a farmer. Without
going into details, which may be
found in the history of South Africa,
it is sufficient 10 say that British
rule proved unpalatable to the Beers.
Many of them determined to leave
the colony, and find in the wilder
ness food for their f1ocks and pas
toral freedom that had been enjoyed
by Abraham and Jacob. Mr.. j. H.
Mccarthy, him self British sub.
iect, says of them: "They had
nothing in common with the Eng
lishman and they wished nothing
in common. They were primitive
people, farming, hunting and read
ing the Bible; pious, sturdy and in
dependent" So they determined
to "trek"-a word which now means
to migrate with ones effects in order
to found new colony. With their
oxwagons their focks and herds the
leading Beers and their followers
plunged into the wilderness and
went into Natal, to the northeast of
Cape Colony. This movement is
known in history as the Great Trek.
This was about 1884. In Natal they
founded new colony. They
bought the land from the Zulus.
but the latter proved treacherous,
and the sturdy Beers had to conquer
a peace from the savages. Then the
English followed, made war on the
Beers and took the country from
them. Then they trekKed again,
in 1843, going to what is now known
as the Orange Free State, west of Ma
tai. The English followed them
again; there was more war, and IN
l848 the leading Beers fled again,
crossing the river Vaal to the north
and founding there the Transvaal
Republican, other words, the re
public beyond the Vaal. In 1877
the republic having hard time in
wars with the natives, Great Britain
again intervened, and the British
flag was hoisted in the republic
: The Beers made a strenuous resis-
J tance and defeated the British
| forces in several battles in 1890 and
1881, the most notable of which was
that at Majuba Hill, in the latter
year. Negotiations brought about
a cessation of hostilities, and self
} government was granted the BOer'
, under a British prOtectorate. I'm
, der the treaty of 1884 the prOtectOrat'
was abolished, a provision being in
3 scribed that the British Crown
2 should have a veto on treaties made
by the Transvaal Republic will
foreign countries.
After this came the discoveries o
t the rich gold mines in the territOr!
of the Transvaal. Not that the eXis
tence of gold in South Africa was
not known before in general way
but the richness of some of the min
Z ing regions had been hardly suspect
I ed. immigration from abroad wa
{ greatly stimulated, and among tn
+. newcomers were many British sub
iects. These people made untol'
1 millions by the development of tn
e mines and the sale of shares, goOC
q and bad, to spectators all over tn,
. world. But they were not satisfied
70 be rich. They desired to rule tn
: country, and so to regulate taxation
: that they might pay as little OF it a
Z possible. The naturalization law
of the country stood in the way, .
they have been clamOriny 70
l. changes that would enable the.1 {
e do in the Transvsal by their vote
what the English had done In Nata