The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1899-10-28
The Beers Are Tyrants.
Chicago Inter Ocean.

d lOI I1lcT Oh hlfnDcflV,
South Africa, gave an address
on THE British in the Trans
vaal" at the First Congrega-
tional church,, Eavanston last
evening, The address showed
the British side of the questi-
Oh.
Mr.. Fulcher characterized
the Transvnnl republic as "a
corrupt oligarchy, representing
less than one third of the l.
ilabitants, and those innlni-
grants, not having lived long
enough in the country to have
the right to consider new COM
ers intruders.
The speaker said the Beers
had frequently violated the
terms of the conventions by
raiding nativs territories. The
bigotry and tyranny displayed
BY the Dutch in their treat
'nent of foreigners was dwell
upon at length. Mr.. Fulchcr
said in part:
The foreigners outnumber
the Beers three to one, but
admission to citizenship is now
practically inpossibly, as the
Nooldsraad has the power of
veto on admission to this priv
lege. The government puts in
| Vulnerable obstacles in the way
Iof the mining companies. 1t
was long before it would allow
even a railroad To be built. The
foreigners have built up mag
pificent city. In developing
the gold industry, they have
spent millions of money, and
they are at the mercy of am
ignorant oligarchy.
"-All redress for their griev
ances has been denied. The
monster petitions to the Volks-
raad We're laughed at.
"The principal grievances of
the foreign residents are these:
They pay nine-tenths of the
taxes and have no voice as to
how the money is spent. Their
children can get no education
from the public schools, except
in Dutch language. Johannes
burg, a city of over 10000
almost all foreigners, is wret-
chedly governed, and the for
eigners have no part in it's
management. Their news
papers are gagged. Public
meeting r not allowed. Trial
by jury is q farce because only
burghers ear be jurors. The
dynamite monopoly conpels
the miners to pay double fof
the article. The government
may, without trial, expel any
one from the country and con-
fiscate his property. Foreign
ers are not allowed to possess
or carry arms. The constitu-
.ion has many elements of I'm
certainty. Thus, the Voldsraad
has the power by a majority
vote to- change the constitution
and a Judge of the high court
may be dismissed at any time
by the President, if his de-
c~isions are not acceptable to
that authority as was the case
with Chief Justice Koste, a
most honest and just Judge.
These r grievances which no
people. being in a large ma
jority and accustomed to
live under a free govern
ment, can endure long l don't
think Americans would submit
to such rule quietly.
The Trunsvaal republic is
corrupt throughout. The CON
F.! stitulion excludes all churches
which do not accept the Hell
delberg catechisn1, forbids
baptism and the Lords supper
to natives, allows onlymembers
of the Dutch church in the
upper cha,nber-which alone
possesses real political power
and requires all government
officials to belong to that
church.
"The claims that Great Brit
ain makes for her subjects in
the Transvaal being only for
such rights as are now given
in Cape Colony to the Dutch,
are perfectly just"
The Beers, said MI. Fulcher,
are a brave hardy race, with
strong domestic affection and
fanatically religious, but ignor-
ant lazy and obstinate. They
are called farmers, but they
cultivated little of the soil.
Their language is a combina.
ton of Dutch, French and
Kaffr.