Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-09-21

IS publlc are SUN eAcnanglh9 hotes' pu
this appears to be more for the pur
pose of iustifying their respective pc
} sitions before the world and perhap
{ affording some time for preparation
: than with any hope of effecting {
peaceful settlement.
!, Some time ago we reviewed thu
t history ofthe South African Republic,
t commonly called the Transvaal, fol
Y the purpose of showing how closely
this history bore on the present crisis
] We sketched the progress of the Beers
as the founders of the republic are
: called, from the first settlements by
the Dutch in South Africa down to the
| present, telling how they have been con-
stantly encroached upon by the British ;
how they were first brought under the
British crown in the Cape Colony how
they would not yield, but journeyed
toward the interior, stopping in Natal
long enough to be pursued and again
conquered by their foe +; how they then
cut loose from civilization and en-
tered the wilds of Africa that lay
across the Naal river, some founding
the Orange Free State and Others the
Transvaal Republic; how they hoped
here to find an asylum from their an
taoonists. but how even here the viii
lain still pursued; how by various
wiles the Briton once more assumed
the supremacy, but how in the hour
of his supposed final triumph, the
Boer rebelled and by two crushing de-
feats, compelled Great Britain to take
her hands OFF and acknowledge the in
dependence Of her sturdy little foe
with some slight reservations as to the
Transvaals foreign relations and a
guarantee that British residents should
have the same rights that Beers have.
We also told how implacable fate
seemed to be toward the Beers; how
the discovery Of rich gold fields in
their supposed valueless tract had at
tracted flood OF immigration, prin-
cipally British; how these immigrants
have been dissatisfied with their civil
and political conditions and have con
stantly been at once a blessing and a
curse to the Boers-the former be-
cause they have taxed them to their
own enrichment. the latter because the
newcomers have brought with them
the seeds of discomfort that meant the
ultimate downfall of the little repub-
lie. how the Beers have seen that
Britain would have her revenge for
Majuba Hill and that her subjects in
the Transvaal gold fields would afford |
the cause how that England could |
easily accomplish by peaceful methods
what she failed to do at arms-secure |
control of the Transvaal by the alb
sorption of the native element under 4
civil forms how that in the end the /
Beers would again find themselves
subject to the hated British crown
how they have adopted all sorts Of
schemes to limit the power of the So
called Uitlanders and prevent them /
from participating in the government; |
how bitter is the animosity between 1
the two classes in the Transvaal and I
how apparent it is that the hour for
the final clash is at hand, which in all (
probability will mean the extinction of
the Dutch Republic.
At this time il is natural that people \
all over the world should be examin-
ing the question with a view of deter
mining "whose is the right and the .
wrong and taking sides accordingly I
No question ever presented better
chance for a diversity of opinion
among unprecedented men. No one
can honestly say that England is right
or that she is wrong-she is both and |
neither 1t is inconceivable to think F.
OF Boer who would not give his
blood to defend his country's position.
The situation Of the Uitlander must
make him a bitter foe of the Boer.
while England, as his protector, can
not turn a deaf ear to his calls for
help.
Whatever may be thought in any
quarter OF the Boer or his present CON
tention, the world pities him. His
long and sturdy struggle for independ-
ence against great odds has awakened I
the most general sympathy. He has
never been offensive and has only |
fought for those principles which all |
OF us hold dear. His nature Is simple 1
and his wants easily satisfied. All he
asks now is to be let alone to conduct 1
himself according to his time-honored /
ways. Having by blood and yalor
won his independence, who can blame
him for doing his utmost to preserve