The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-01-30
FRESH FROM SEAT OF
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR
ROBERT JACKSON Is A VISITOR
IN THIS CITY.
Forced to Leave the Transvaal
Shortly After Hostilitios Were Be-
gun Tells of the Causes Leading
Up to the Present Struggle Says
That the Uitlanders, Who Paid
Three-quarters Of the Taxes, Had
No Voice Whatever in the Govern
ment- Expects to Go Back.

Robert Jackson and wife, Of johann
nesburg. South Africa, who left the
Transvaal since hostilitlGs began. IS
, at present visiting his hrother-n-law.
Dr. James Stein, of i0l wyoming ave.
nue.
Mr.. jackson was born IN South AZ
| rca and has lived there all his life.
lie left Durham on the east coast on
October IS. Just a little over two weeks
| afte: actual hostilites had commenced.
| At that time the troops were just be-
! ginning to arrive, and on their way
to England the ship on which Mr.. ard
! Mrs. jackson We're travelling passed
no less than eleven troop ships out
| ward bound
| Mr.. jackson was a commission mer-
chant in johannesburg and was forced
to leave the country when the war
broke out. His long residence in the
| Transvaal and the fact that he speaks
Dutch as fluently as he does English
makes what he says regarding the
| country carry much weight. and he
talks most interestingly. In the course
of a conversation with a Tribune man
yesterday he said in part.
DISSATISFIED WITH BOER RULE
"You first want TO know. I suppose,
what the foreigners. or ritlanders, as
| they are called. think Of Oonl Paul's
way of governing them. These Uit-
| landcrs, 1t must be understood at the
| outset. are not all Enclishmen. All
nationalities are represented, but prin-
cipally the English. American, Irish
l H. II
at the latter, but there are a number
Of Germans ir the Transvaal who don't
stand in very well with the Hoers. Tho
Citlander is however. primarily speak
ing. an English speaking person.
almost all of them have been dis
satisfied for years with the Boer rule.
The fundamental reason for this dis
satisfaction lies in the simple fact that
they have no voice in the government.
1t can be proven by statistics that
they pay nearly three-uuarters of the
total taxes. and they are more heavily
taxed than any others. yet they have
absolutely no voice in the distribution
of this revenue.
"If this revenue We're properly cX-
pended there might not perhaps he
such q decided opposition to the gov
ernment. 1t has been used in late
years for constructing immense forti-
ficat;ons at Pretoria and Johannes.
burg. which the Uitlander population
considered extravagant. When asked
their reasons for constructing thest
fortifications the Beers would reply
that they reeded them to prevent as
sault from the black tribes, while w
knew that they had sufficient mean!
at hand to cope with all the blacl
tribes in South Africa.
"Those forts We're built to terroriz,
the people. though Johannesburg l!
rroba bly, the most law-nbidirg minin:
Camr on the face of the earth. W.
can see now however. that they build
ed better than we knew as these for
tfcations may now ba used to ware
off the attacks of the British.
DENY THEM FRANCHISE.
ITO prove conclusively that the Boer
have never desired the Uitlanders {
have any voice in their government
the fact might be mentioned that lon
years ago, when foreigners first bega
to settle in the country, they coul
become citizens after n residence O
z twelve months. This was raised frc
to two years, then to five years an
finally to fourteen years. Even now
uitlander seldom becomes citize
after fourteen years. as charges of i'm
l moral conduct or something else ar
! generally trumped up against ther
when they apply for naturali2atio
papers.
} Memorials without number hav
been presented to the Boer parliamen
or Vol,lsraad, requesting that the Uit
landers be allowed more privileges, bu
they are invariably laughed at, an
finally pigeon-holed forever. The las
petition of this sort presented cor
u tained over 81 900 signatures.
"The most noticeable trait of til
Boer character is their suspicion. The
are exceedingly suspicious Of anyor
speaking the English language. an
y there Is always a strained feeling be
I tween them and an English-speakin
i person. Generally speaking, the farm
u crs are ignorant, but there are man
Beers who are we'll educated, culture
and as far advanced in modern though
as manv people of continental Europ
"The inciviity of the Boer to all fo
d eigners is another marked trait. c
1 into a postoltice and ask an attendai
y for any information, for instance, ar
e you would be nicely snubbed for yol
Il pains Another point, and one tn,
g shows the igh-handedness with whiC
r things are run in that country, is TIL
l. all burghers. or Beers, may carry arm
e in the streets, whereas If a ITitland
G carries even a revolver he is liable
4 arrest.
GET NO PRIVILEGES.
II notice that there has been col
siderable discussion in this country
. to whether the Jews and Roman Cath
lies are granted any privileges in Il
country. ] desire to state that fro
my observation / can say that tn,
are not.
'The Beers are probably more Ell
bittered against Roman Catholics
7" particular than any other people
k the globe. If there is the slightest su
picion that a man belongs to that fai
he cannot attain to even the meane
position under the government
Mr.. jackson is not very we'll a
quainted with the country now bell
fought in. having only had a birds-e
int Ic nj, han