The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-12-16
q |[j|.,i 1}j|{(|1lt1|1il1
The War I'm South Africa.

The War I'm South Africa.
OF all the books which have thus far
been written about the war in South Afri-
ca. THE Great Boer War;" by Conan
Doyle. is the best and most complete.
The work which DR.. Doyle has done IS a
novelist is well known. but perhaps few
Of his readers suspected that he cold
write history SO good as this. He is
both accurate and picturesque, and the
combination is rather rare one.
1t is particularly difficult thing to
write a thoroughly reliable history of an
event so recent as hardly to be out of he
newspapers. and if ones Information has
been gathered at first hand. in ire ,ress
and struggle Of field campaign. the task
is doubly perplexing. The achievem mt
of DR.. Doyle is the more remarkable for
this reason. He served for several
months as a surgeor-in South Africa. and
1t may be fairly said that while his jlds-
ment is on the side of the British, his
sympathies are broad enough to extend
both ways.
This is an important point in such a
book as this history. 1t is safe TO say that
the first thing the American public wants
to know about any book on the South AZ
rican war is. (which side does the writer
take?" There is as yet no absolute Ger
tainty, In the minds of most Americans, as
to the right and wrong Of this contest, and
the stories Of the Boer sympathizers on
the one hand, and those of the British on
the other. are so contradictory that the
American is somewhat puzzled to know
which is right The Americans In the
Transvaal are. 1t must be noted, on the
side of the British; the Americans on this
side OF the water have had to make up
their minds, slowly and by degrees, which
side they wished to take.
In such a situation as this book like
that Of Or. Doyle is an immense help. He
faces the conditions squarely, and does
injustice to nobody. His general attitude
is we'll expressed In q passage to be found
In the earlier part Of the book, in which
Re says:
The situation was an extraordinary one. ]
have already attempted to bring the problem
home to an American by suggesting that the
Dutch OF New York bad trekked west and founded
To carry out the analogy We will now suppose
that that State was California, that the gold o!
shat State attracted large thrush Of American
citizens, who came to outnumber the original in
habitants, that these citizens were heavily taxed
and badly used, and that they deaiened Washing
ton with their outcry about their injuries. That
would be fair parallel to the relations between
the Tansvaal, the Uitlanders, and the British
Government.
That these Uitlanders had very real and pressing
grievances no one could possibly deny To re-
count them al would be a formidable task, for
their whole lives were darkened by injustice.
There was not q wrong which had driven the Bocr
from Cape Colony which he did not now practice
himself upon others-and q wrong may be ex-
cusable In 1885 which il nonstrors in 1895 The
primitive virtus which characterized the farm
en- broke down In the face Of temptation. The
country Beers were little Affected some OF them
not At all, but the Pretoria Government became
most corrupt oliearchy, venal and incompetent
to the last degree. Officials and imported Holland
from the mines. while the unfortunate Uitlander.
who paid nine-tenths Of the taxation, was feeced
q every turn. and mst with laughter and taunts
when be sn6eavored to win the franchise by which
he might peaceably set right the wrongs from
which he suffered. He was not an unreasonable
person. On the contrary, he was patient to the
verge Of meekness, as ca aital Il likely to be
when 1t Il surrounded hy rifles.
The author then recounts the grievances
OF which the Uitlander complained. His
account Of them agrees with those already
published, and the list IL too well known
to need repetition. He then goes On to
say:
A. the mines increased in importance and the
mfners in number, It was found that these po-
htical disabilities affected some Of that cosmo-
politan crowd far more than Others, in proper.
zion to the amount Of freedom to which their
home institutions had made them accustomed.
The Continental Uitlandeu were more patient
Of that which was unendIsable to the American
and the Briton. The Americana, however, were
tn 50 great Z minority that It was upon the Brit
IAN that the brunt Of the struggle for freedom
fell. Apart from the fact that the British were
more numerous than ali the other uitlanders COM
bined, there were special reasons why they should
fsel their hun,ilisting position more than the
members OF any other race. In the first place.
many Of the British were British South Africans
Who knew that in the neighboring countries which
gave them birth the most liberal possible institu
lions had been given to the kinsmen Of these
very Boers who were refusing them the manage
Hent Of their own drains and water supply. And,
again, every Briton knew that Great Britain
claimed to be the paramount power In South
Africa, and SO he felt a. il his own land, to
which he might have looked for protection, was
ccnniving at md Hcquescing in his Ill treat
meDt. As citizens Of the paramount power, 1t
Nss peculiarly CALLING that they should be held
In political slbiection. The British, therefore,
were the most persistent and energetic OF the
agitators.
But il 10 a poor cause which canI.ot bear fairly
TO state and honestly consider the cause OF its
opponents The Beers had made, has been
briefly shown. great efforts to establish q coun-
try OF their own. They had Travelled far worked
hard. and fought bravely. After all their efforts
they were fated TO see influx of strangers into
their country, some Of them Of questionable
character. who outnumbered the original irlhabit-
ante. II the franchise granted to these, there
could be no doubt that though at first the Beers
might control q majority OF the votes. il was
only question Of time before the newcomers
would dominate the Raa6 and elect their own
President, who might adopt policy ahhoTent
bocrs TO lose by the ballot box the victory which
they had won By their rifesf Was II fair to ex-
pect fly These newcomers came for gold. They
rot their gold. Their companies paid hundred
per cent Was not that enough TO satisfy themf
Il they did not Ike the country why did they not
leave it, No one compelled them to stay there.
But II they STAYED, let them be thankful that they
were tolerated at all ;ind not presume TO inter
fere with the laws Of those by whose courtesy
they were allowed to come Into the country.
That is a fair statement Of the Boer position,
md at first sight impartial man might say
that there was Q good deal 20 say for 1t: but a
closer examination would show that, though it
might be tenable In theory, 1t Ia unjust and i'm
possible in practice.
IN the present crowded state OF the world q
policy OF ihibet may be carried out In some OBJ
scure corner. but il cannot be done in a great
lIsct of country which lies riEht across the main
line Of industrial progress. The position is too
absolutely artificial handful Of people by the
right Of conquest take possession Of enormous
country over which they are dotted at such in
tervals that II Is their boast that one farm house
cannot the smoke Of another. and yet though
their numbers are disproportionate 10 the area
which they cover, they refuse to admit any other
people upon equal terms but claim TO be a
privileged class which shall dominate the new
corners completely. They outnumbcred in
thor own land by immigrants who far more
highly educated and progressive. and yet they
hold them down in q way which exists nowhere
else on earth What is their rghtf The right
Of conquest Then the same right may be justly
Invoked to reverse 20 intolerabe a situation. This
lh~v u,o,,ld Themselves acknowledge Come on