Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-10-23
America and the TransyaaI.

the sympathies of the 10000 Americans
in the Transvaal are in the present
contest between the Beers ana EnS
land. Accustomed to the privileges OF
n truly representative government
whore immigrants are welcomed, and
under liberal conditions invested win
all the rights of citizenship, where the
right of men who pay taxes to have a
voice in their expenditure, is every
where recognized. they have never
taken kindly TO the arrogant assump-
tion of the Divine right to rule on the
rart of the Boer oligarchy which, up to
the present time. has retained control
IF the South African Republic.
An American resident in Johannes
berg. writing to The Independent sums
up the views of himself and fellow
countrymen in the Transvaal in the
following succinct manner:
Three and one-half years ago oc-
CURED the Jameson raid. That was
only an incident in the reform move
ment,' as it was called. The latter
movement was strong in the inherent
Justice of its claims. The writer was
present in Johannesburg at the time,
md the feeling was that the Pretoria
government was ready to grant sub
Srantial reforms; but then came the
Jameson raid, which was like an cleo
trio shock reaching to every Dutchman
in South Africa. All hope of the sue
cess of the movement persisted when
Jameson crossed the border. That was
President Kruger's chance. His pres
tige was enormously increased. If he
had been a statesman he might have
united the larger part of the people in
to one loyal nation. Instead of that he
adopted the policy of sitting on the
Safety-ValVe. One act followed an
other for the repression of the Uitland-
ers. The Aliens Expulsion act gives
the executive council power to eXpel
from the country any foreigner that
the president thinks dangerous to the
republic. The Public Meetings act
fOrbids any public meeting out of doors
without the special permission of the
government. Another law gives the
president the power to suppress any
newspaper that he thinks is dangerous,
and under this law two of the Uitland-
or newspapers We're suppressed, but re-
appeared Immediately under new
name. The climax was reached when
the subservient' Rad passed a law at
the request of President Kruger which
practically made the high court tie
puppet of the Rad.
"One may have a great deal of SYM
pathy for the Beers and yet see that
they are hopelessly in the wrong. One
cannot ltaG General JouLeit's pathetic
appeal to the Queen. One-sided as it
certainly is. without feeling that the
Beers have suffered much at the
hands of the English in the past. And
yet We repeat in the present contest
they are hopelessly in the WRONG.
The situation from the Beers side is
something like this: We fled from
British rule ifiFthe Cape Colony. and
YOU followed us to the Free State, and
to Natal. and we trekked away into the
wilderness and founded this state. We
wished to be free, we wished to govern
ourselves in our own way. You have
followed us here. You outnumber US
two to one. Your hated English gov
eminent has crcpt up past us on the
west and north and east of us. We are
shut in a kraal. There is nowhere else
we can now go. If give you rights
with ourselves. you will Outvote us,
and thus we shall be ruled by English
men. We cannot do it, We may as
well fight and die.
"On the ITitlander side the situation
is this: Yes, we grant you We're
pioneers-the white pioneers. for the
blacks were before you. You con-
quered them and took their land, just
as we have all been doing. You called
the land yours. but it was yours only
Mn trust for thu, lword. We came by
your invitation, but we should have
come if you had not invited us. We
had a right to come. The land was
open. a large part of it unused, I'M
occupied. undeyeloped We came with
our wealth, with our intelligence. our
skill. and have made the land what it
is. from one of the poorest to be one
of the richest. We have bought and
paid for In hard cash more than one
half of the land in this country. 1t is
ours as well as yours. We have
right to a voice in its government.
The Boer; replies: You came here to
make money You have made it. you
are making it. You have taken from
our gold mines many millions of
money Month after month the gold
output increases. What more do you
want?
THE JTitlander: We want decent
governmayE. We want fair play. We
want to b&sraHad as freemen, not as
s asat u, xsJ&sss2sss.F equals and you
An American looking on with SYM
pathies naturally in favor of the re-
public. cannot live long in the country
without having those sympathies total
ly alienated by what he sees going on.
1t is not simply what has been done,
or what is being done by the govern
ment. but it is the conviction forced
upon one that we do not know what
VIII be done next, and that the govern
ho