The Irish standard., 1900-02-24
HYPOCRISY OF ENGLAND
Held Up to the Scorn Of the Civilized
World


The following extract is taken from
an article in the February number of
the Forum, on THE Relation of Eng
land to the Transvaal:
Great Britain, thou with colony like
British India, where, Notwithstanding
thy enlightened government, the pesti-
lcnce reigns year after year, and where
thousands perish by famine, how darest
thou complain OF the government in the
Transvaal and OF the lot of the Out
landers, who have so little to complain
OF that 10000 OF them signed, bonafde,
an address in which they declared
themselves contented with the govern
ment OF the republic? Even the
Times" the lingo paper par excel
lence, mentioning the arrival OF the
Arundel Castle in Plymouth with 600
cmigrants from the Transvaal-most of
whom were Cornwall miners who had
worked in the Rand-was obliged to
acknowledge that these people declared
they had no reason for complaint, and
that they were perfectly we'll satisfied
with the high wages they had received
Thou, who treatest British India in
such a way, that, at a conference OF
Indians resident in the United King
dom, convened by the London Indian
Society, June 90, 1893, resolution was
passed saying:
That the introduction of the gold
standard will simply add more to the
existing grievous burdens of the tax
payers; that the real cause of the ter
rible evils of poverty, famine, plague,
false currency, ETC., is what Lord Sails
bury truly calls the bleeding of India
Qor, as he says, >India must be bled)
and the bleeding is further increased
by the fall in exchange or rise in gold;
that until this most deplorable bleed
ing of India is stopped there is little
chance, if any, OF saving India and the
British empire from serious disasters
or destruction: and, lastly, that the
constitution OF the present Currency
Committee is utterly unsatisfactory, as
the suffering Indian taxpayer is not at
all represented
How canst thou then say to thy
brother: Brother, let me cast out the
mote that is in thine eye, when thou
tfyself beholdest not the beam that is
in thine own eye? Cast out first the
beam that is in thine own eye, and then
shalt thou see clearly to cast out the
mote that is i'll thy brothers eye.
Not about suzerainty thou goest to
war. Thou knowest well enough that
in the last convention no suzerainty is
mentioned.
Do not say: 'We only want equal
ity of rights for all men, for all races;
for this is not the reason either why
thou art going to war. This is only a
pretext; thou wantest something more,
something quite different
If the Transvaal were poor country
the rights of its inhabitants would
leave thee quite Indifferent; but now
that diamond fields and gold mines
have been found there-considering
that riches give power and that power
surpasses right-thou sendest a hun
dred ships and more, with soldiers, to
fight as in the time of the ancients, for
the possession of the golden fleece.
Thou dreadest the force of the once
by thee so deeply disdained and
wronged African Dutch race, which,
like the European Dutch race, though
naturally averse to war, never fears it
when liberty and justice demand it.
Since thou knowest that thou hast
forfeited their trust, thou art afraid OF
being treated as thou hast treated
them; and thou art resolved to subdue
these Afrikanders. Thou wishest to be
the sole commander in South Africa,
even by trcading upon all rights, by
robbing all free states of their freedom.
The whole map of South Africa-nnst
be colorcd in thy scarlet color, be it
even with the blood of the Beers. This
horrible, unjust war is, to use Mr..
Stead's words, IAN outrage upon Chris
tianity and humanity"
Nemesis will not tarry. This war
thou maycst win or lose; but in any
event it will carry with it the conse-
quences OF its iniquity. Thy credit and
thy reputation are gone; public opinion
throughout Europe is against thee;
South Africa hast thou made an ire
concilablc enemy, and there thou shalt
spill thy best blood. 1t is the beginning
OF thy decay, the beginning OF the end.
Binder Irvine.
Saltwater, Mimi, Feb. 7, 1000.
Dear SIR
At meeting OF the Board OF Man