The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-11-07
STEYN ISSUES
PROCLAMAT ION
Appeal Of the Orange Free State
President
SUPPORT FOR TRANSVAAL
England viii Not Fulfill Prom
iSeS She Makes.
NO REDRESS FOR INJUSTICES
Great Britain's Greediness is Pointed
Out by the Chief Executive. Who
Refers to Pretexts for Their
Law Breaking.
NO REDRESS FOR INJUsTICEs

| New York, November 6.-The consul gen.
eral of the Orange Free State in this city
| gave out today the full text of President
| Steyn's proclamation calling on the Orange
Free State Beers to support the Transvaal.
| The proclamation reads as follows:
"Burghers of the Orange Free State: The
| time which we had so much desired to
| avoid, the moment when we, as nation,
are compelled with arms to oppose injus-
tice and shameless violence, is at hand. Our
sister republic to the north of the Vaal
river is about to be attacked by an unscrup-
ulous enemy, Who for many years has pre-
| pared himself and sought pretexts for the
violence of which he is now guilty, whose
purpose it is to destroy the existence ct
the Afrikander race.
| Bound by treaty
"With our sister republic we are not only
| bound by ties of blood. of sympathy and
| of common interests, but also by formal
/ treaty. which has been necesstated by cir
/ cumstances. This treaty demands of
/ that we assist her if She should be unjust
/ ly attacked which we unfortunately for
/ long time have had too much reason to ex-
pect. We therefore cannot passively look
/ on while injustice is done her, and while
| also our own dearly bought freedom is en-
| dangered, but are called men to resist,
| trusting the Almighty, firmly believeing
1 that He will never permit injustice and I'M
righteousness to triumph
| Now that we thus resist a powerful
enemy with whom it has always been our
highest desire to live in friendship. not
/ withstanding injustice and wrong done by
| him to us in the past, we solemnly declare
| in the presence of the Almighty God. that
we are compelled thereto by the injustice
done to our kinsmen and by the conscious
ness that the end of their independence will
make our existence an independent state
| of no significance, and that their fate,
should they be obliged to bend under
overwhelming power. will also soon after be
! our fate.
Solemn treaties have not protected our
sister republic against annexation, against
conspiracy, against the claim of abolish
| ed suzerainty, against continuous oppres-
| sion and interference, and now against a
1 renewed attack which aims only at her
| downfall.
| Can't Rely Promises
! "Our own unfortunate experiences in the
| past have also made it sufficiently clear to
| us that we cannot rely on the most solemn
/ promises and agreements of Great Britain
| when she has at her helm a government
| prepared to trample on treaties, to look for
| fesgned pretexts for every violation of good
| faith by her committed This is proved
among other things by the unjust and I'M
|
| frontier and where diamonds have been
discovered exciting the cupidity of these
| Britishers.
| with regard to the South African re-
| public Great Britain has moreover refused
| until the present to allow her to regain her
| original position in respect to foreign af-
fairs The original intention of the con-
4 ventions ito which the republic had con-
| scented under pressure and circumstances
has been perverted and continually been
used by the present British administration
| as a means for the practice of tyranny
and of injustice, and among other things
for the support of a revolutionary propa-
| gansa within the republic in favor of Great
BritsIa.
| "And while no redress has been offered,
| as Justice demands, for injustice done to
the South Afrkander on the part of the
British government and while no gratitude
is exhibited for the magnanimity shown
i at the request of the British government
4 to the British subjects who had forfeited.
! under the laws of the republic, their lives
and property, yet no feeling of shame has
| prevented the British government now that
| gold mines of immense value have been
] discovered in the country. to make claims
] of the republic, the consequence of which,
4 if allowed, will be that those whose fore
4 fathers have saved the country from bar
I barism and have won it for civilization
j with their blood and their tears will lose
4 their control over the interests of the coun-
a try to which they are justly entitled. ac-
Il cording to divine and human laws. The
| consequence of these claims would be.
moreover, that the greater part of the pow
er will be placed in the hands of those who,
foreigners by birth. enjoy the privilege Of
deriving the country of it's chief treasure.
while they have never shown any loyalty
to a foreign government.
Besides, the inevitible consequence Of
| the acceptance of these claims would be
! that the independence of the country a
| self-governing, independent sovereign re-
| public would be irrepe.ably lost For, We ars
| past the British troops in great numbers
have been placed on the frontiers of our
! sister republic in order to compel her by
fear to accede to the demands which would
| be pressed upon her and in order to en-
courage revolutionary disturbances, and the
cunning plans of those whose greed for