The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-11-15
British Misrepresentation.

One of the most remarkable arti.
cles on the South African situation
that has appeared 10 the English
papers is the interview of the London
Chronicle with Mr.. Frank Watkins.
an Englishmsn who has resided in
the TrsnsvaaI for twenty six years.
and wss one of the pioneer gold
miners of the country He repre.
sented the mining regions in the
upper legislative house of the Trans
vaal-or "second voIksraad," az it is
cslled-from 1890 to 1896. The
first startling statement by Mr.. Wat
kins was that many EogIisbmen. az
we'll az other foreigners. would fight
with the Beers in this contest He
says:
can quite believe it. The miners
cannot speak out. They are entirely
under the thumb of the big com.
panies. Candor means loss of work.
But whea the mines shut down there
ls nothing to prevent them from
fighting with the Beers, for they do
not love the capitalists. and one of
the certainties of the future in the
Trsnsvaal is q conflict between capi.
tel and labor The capitalists expec.
it, and fear that the methods they
have adopted in working up the
miners against the Transvasl NAV re-.
coil on themselves
This opinion is what might natu
rally be suspected from what is
known of Mr.. Cecil Rhodes and his
associated capitalists They have
made every effort TO introduce the
compound system" of negro labor
10 the Transvaal. which is practically
equivalent to slavery for y ears They
have this system 10 the parts of
South Africa under British control
ln Rhodesia the chartered COMPANY
exaots tribute from the independent
miner OF one half of all the gold be
mines In fact, Mr.. Watkins saws
that the mining laws of the Trans
vaaI are better than in "sny other
country" He ssys further that the
charges of corruption against Kruger
and the volksrasd are mere charges,
no one Of which has ever been GUS.
tanned. and that they emanate from
these same capitalists who have tried
to bribe the Boer government but
failed to do go As to franchise ex.
tension. and other favors to outlaud
ers. he says that the Beers were
gradually becoming more liberal. and
were extending rights, until the
Jameson raid, "when they became
frightened of the use that might be
made of the new suffrage, and st,E
fened their backs" He insists that
the negroes are better treated in the
Trsnsvaal than 10 the British colo.
MES. and that the contrary opinion ia
the result Of misrepresentation. Es.
peclalIy Interesting is his explanation
of the removal of Chief Justice Ko,ze.
which has been cited as an ,lustra.
tion Of exercise of arbitrary power
by President Kruger. He says:
do not agree with the president
on that matter, but public opinion
here entirely misrepresents it. Chief
Justice Kotze took the extraordinary
course of reversing a decision he had
gwen IN famous case-the Doms
case. 1t is as if Lord Russell were
to suddenly say that be had changed
ed his mind on an important
decision. But it happened tha. the
raad framed resolution on the
previous decision of Ko,ze, and his
change OF front threw them into con
fusion The voIksraed condemned
Kotze's new judgement, and there
was thus conflict between the legis
Iative and the judiciary Kruger then
got the raad to pass resolution that
he-Kruger-might dismiss Judges
in case they defed resoIu.
ton Of the volksrasd and he then
dismissed KOtze | do not entirely
defend it; but your parliament, too
can obtain the dismissal of the Judge
by an address to the queen
That puts very different light on
the case from what has been given by
the English press and the angIomaniac
press IN the country The method
10 rather summary, but it might not
be bad thing to place some such
muEz'e on the courts in this country.
especially when they reverse their
own decisions, as occurred in the
recent income tax case. 1t would
not ln]ure our supreme court if few
corporation lawyers could be cum
marlly removed from it it-Indianspolis
Sentinel.