The Irish standard., 1900-03-03
queen, who was given in addition to
all her other titles that of Empress of
all the Indies"
ONE AND INsEPARABLE.
The Two Republics will Stand or Fall
Together.

SoSseASAs
Mr.. Geo. w. Van Siclen, American
treasurer of the Fund for the Widows
and Orphans of the Beers, has just re-
celved the following official letter:
The Hague, Jan. 81, 1900.
Mr.. Geo. w. Van Siclen, New York.
Sir:-I have no objection to reply to
your question whether there is any
truth in the. rumors spread in England,
pretending that the Free Staters are
abandoning the Transvaalers and are
giving up fighting or intend to do so.
These rumors are altogether false.
On the contrary! The Jameson raid
had already brought the two republics
together, as it had shown the designs
OF the present British administration as
regards the independence OF the two
South African republics. And now this
war is making one nation of the two
states and brothers of their burghers,
who before were treating each other as
cousins.
The Free State has done its very
utmost to avert war, by its inward pol
icy, by its policy towards Great Britain
now and in the past, and by its policy
with regard to our sister republic. We
have not made war nor even taken I'D
a spitcful attitude after the Basutos had
been armed against us in spite of the
treaties, nor after the British took their
country when we at last after fourteen
years of struggle against their never
ceasing raids, had subdued them; no
more after the appropriation by Eng
land of Our diamond fields, nor when
arbitration about the rightful ownership
of them was refused by England; nor
on account of any of our bitter griev-
ances against England so clearly ex-
planned by Our chief justice, de Villiers,
in the Nineteenth Century of March,
1897. For we desired peace. We desired
to cooperate with the English to the
benefit of South Africa.
But it has all proved OF no avail.
independence has been forced upon us,
When the Basutos proved too powerful
for the British colonial government,
who first had made them strong, and
now that we have made out of will
derness hourishing civilized progress
ing state, Our independence is at stake
For our republican treaties are only be-
ing considered of any value, as far as
they give rights to England, and new
institution of international law is being
invented, that of paramountcy, which,
applied to Europe, would make Russia
paramount over Great Britain.
The policy of the present British ad-
ministration has exasperated my peo-
pie, the most peaceful in the world.
There was and is no choice; my people
have to fight or to die For our indie
pendence is dearer to us than our life.
How could we separate from our
Transvaal brothers now that all told,
men, women and children, both states
together have not more souls than a
small British town, who now have been
forced to war by the largest empire the
world has ever seen?
We could not separate and we do not
want to. God would not continue His
visible protection of Our just cause.
The Transvaal people are our brothers
and kinsmen, not only figuratively
speaking but also in reality. And we
have availed ourselves of the expert
ence OF past months and put right
whatever was not in perfect shape at
the beginning of the war.
This war is doing just the reverse of
what the English intended it to attain;
instead of crushing the Afrikanders, it
is building up out of two states one
federated Transvaal Free State or
Orange Republic, strong by its unity
and strong by the common suffering so
terrible and so undeserved
1 am, sir, yours faithfully, the envoy
extraordinary OF the Orange Free
State, D. HENDRIX MULLER.
nrIp TIE unpTuMEcT