The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-05
A STATEMENT THAT Anglers BRI-

TONS.
! The statement Of Olive Schreiner that
the war in the Transvaal war was start ed
! by capitalists for the purpose of getting
! possession Of the Transvaal gold mines IS
| the subject Of great zeal Of comment
/ in the British newspapers. The statement
I is denied with considerable show Of an
ger, and facts and arguments are pre-
scented to prove that It Is not true.
The British people feel that it is
calculated to do their cause in the
/ Transvaal considerable harm. partic-
| ularly in this country. where olive
/ schreiner IS well and favorab.y known
| through her book. "A Story OF an African
Farm" They are particularly bitter to-
wards her because she is British sub
ject.
There is quite general belief that there
is much foundation for Olive schreiners
statement. II is certain that there was
no prospect Of trouble between the British
and the Beers until the Kimberley dia-
mond mines and the Transvaal gold mines
attracted to the country many thousands
of people who were wholly out of touch
yri.h the Beers. On the surface the cause
Of the war appears TO be the differences
between these immigrants and the Beers.
But. as a matter OF fact. are they the
real cause? Is it not probable that II
there had not been something else-some-
thing Of far more importance in the est-
nation of the British government-war
would have been avoided? There are rea-
sons for thinking it would
Great Britain saw that the time was fast
approaching when she would have TO as
=ert a certain amount of authority ia the
Transvaal or prepare TO get out of South
Africa. 1t is probable that she had salts
factory reasons for believing that plans
were being matured for establishing a
South African federation. There are am
bilious men among the Beers who have
been looking forward to the time when all
OF the states of South Africa would be
free from British control, and be united
under one, indepeud- mt governmental
least 1t Is the understanding that there are
such men, and if Great Britain had not
attempted to enforce her right of suzerain-
ty in the Transvaal, she would in the
opinion of some of her ablest statesmen,
have so weakened her position in South
Africa that she would have had ultimately
to abandon it. That this view has some
foundation Is shown by the action of her
Boer subjects in Cape Colony and Natal.
In both of those states they have rebelled
against her, showing at least that they
were ready for any movement that might
he inaugurated for the expulsion of the
British from South Africa.
Some time ago we called attention to the
fact that Great Britain regards the pos
session of a least a portion of South At
RIGA as necessary to the continuance of
her rule in India. If for any cause the
Suez canal should be closed, her route to
Good Hope, and she would have to have
station in South Africa. 1t is apparent
therefore, assuming that this view of the
situation is correct, that If Great Britain
had yielded to the Beers and avoided war,
she would have taken a step toward her
own downfall. That is the opinion that
is he'd by some of her ab,est writers and
most trusted public men. There doubtless is
something in the statement so frequently
made, that Cecil Rhodes and other Eng
llshmen have for years plotted to bring
the whole of South Africa under British
dominion, but the government of Great
Britain would hardly have lent them
helping hand if 1t had not felt that the
permanence of the empire was in a meas
ure dependent upon the possession of
South Africa.