The evening times., 1899-10-13
DEGENERACY OF THE BOER
Not the Man He Was in 1881, 1t
Is Said.
The Coming of the Out1ander Held
Responsible for the MetamorphOsis
African Methods of Fighting
Easily Confused Under Fire.
(From the London Mail.l

The Boer today is not the man he was in
1881 If it comes TO fighting this will be
speedily apparent.
Circumstances have changed him might
lily. new generation has sprung up, and
the evolution of degeneracy is even more
marked in the young Boer than it was in
his father At Majuba our opponents were
sturdy men, poor. hungry, i'll clad, Ill fed,
and good marksmen TO a man. 1t is very
different today. The causes are simple
enough.
The Boer of nineteen years ago eked out
bare living from hand to mouth He had
to shoot for the pot" The daily food of
his family depended upon the game he shot
He was housekeeping, sober man of strict
ly religious principles, according to his
lights, and knew nothing Of the ways of
the Outlander.
The son of this hardy pioneer has had a
totally different upbringing. Thirteen years
ago began the great rush to the Witwaters-
rand gold fields. Thousands of strangers
poured into the country, bringing with
them money, customs, and luxuries which
had been hitherto unknown. Many Boer
farmers sold their farms. or options there
on. for thousands of pounds. Their sons
earned money as 'kurveyors' or transport
riders. There was no longer any necessity
to shoot for the daily food. A certain
number of inefficient schools were estab
lished. The Outlander brought with him
all manner of vices, which the idle young
Boer was only too ready to assimilate. He
rejected the advice of the "predikant,'' or
pastor The towns, now rapidly springing
up on the gold fields, attracted and repelled
him. He drank ''squareface' or "dop" in
place of coffee. He learned what a hotel
was, what a staircase looked like and what
a music hall meant.
In Pretoria came an increasing demand
for sons of the country to take up Gov
ernment positions, and if a young Boer
could only read and write an appointment
was his, at salary which meant to him
riches beyond the dreams of avarice. Then
again in Pretoria, he had money offered
him at every turn. There were contracts
to be made, Jobs" to be done, conces-
sions to be obtained, votes to be Influenced
Bribery and corruption were blatant and
ready to be fieeced. What did the young
Boer want? Was 1t gold watch or a
four wheeled spider. or his hotel bill for
a month? Certainly, here's check! In re-
turn a little favor. A concession, of
course. And SO the ball rolled on.
No wonder the Boer today Is degenerate.
1t is impossible that he could be anything
else. He is really only semi-civilized, and
that fact accounts for much of the misun-
derstanding between his Government and
ours. ga
Descended though he undoubtedly is
from some of the, very best Huguenot
stock-as witness the frequent recurrence
OF such names, as De Villiers pronounced
Filljee), Celliers tRpronounced Celljee),
Surrurier, Lahusehagne. Foure, Joubert,
and many others-yet, owing to the hard
ship, expatriation, ewildness Of surround
ings, and want of intercourse with his
kind, he has gradually returned to prim-
tive state-has degenerated, in fact
though by no means on Nordau lines. to a
NATURALIZATION which is pitiful in its
bigoted ignorafice. a
The history Of South Africa tells US that
the Dutch took possession of the Cape
Colony in 1852, under Jan Van Riebeck- and