The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-03-15

British will be triumphant, The sus-
gestion Is made. therefore, that they
should be magnanimous In their treat
,nent OF the Beers. and II is intlmated
that the Beers would be glad to consid-
er peace on the basis Of entire inde-
rendence Of their two republics, That
Is to say, they would like to be made
better OIL than they were before they
began the war. It is altogether
probable that they will be made better
off. but 1t will not be through the
granting OF independence.
The British governmen; has not yet
indicated the form OF settlement It viii
impose upon the Beers. There is no
doubt that it will act with generosity
and kindness, as Lord Roberts Is do
ing at the present moment. But neith-
er is there any doubt that 1t will es-
tablish. once and for all time, its SOW
ereign authority over the whole OF
South Africa. The government Will
not be more lenient toward the Beers
than Lord Rosebery would. and Lord
ltosebery has said emphatically that
there can be no repetition Of the Ma
iuba surrender. The terms Of peace
viii be dictated by the victor, not by
the vanQuished. That Is the common
rule Of war. and there seems to be no
reason for departing from 1t in this
case.
Nor will the Beers have cause to
muImur. They themselves have set the
example for such settlement Many
V veeks ago, when the tide OF war was
flowing strongly in their favor, they
suggested peace on their own terms.
They would not be satisfied. ,hey said.
with a mere return to the status quo
ante. but must have some material
gains as fruits Of victory--full inde-
pendence for the Transvaal, and a sea-
port, and the annexation Of some
counties II Natal and the Cape. Such
were the terms they demanded, and
they emphasized their earnestness in
demanding them by formally annex
ing" large tracts of British territory.
They thus have debarred themselves
from effective protest against a sim
liar course on the part of Great Brit
ain. If they would not be content
with a return to the status quo ante,
why should the British be? II they de-
such independence as they had
not had before, who should not the
British require them to surrender even
that which they have? II they we're
justified in annexing British territory,
why may not the British annex Boer
But all these questions viii be for
the British government to settle when
Lord Roberts gets to Pretoria. They
are no business Of the outside world.
There are only a few points Of settle
nent which concern the world at
large, even in an academic sense. One
Is that the settlement shall be final,
and there shall be no loophole left for
Of the wretched controversy
that has vexed the land for the last
quarter Of century. Another Is that
there shall be no race prescription, but
-'Siy laSH1ly SHail We OlsIeu IOF
growth Of amity and good fellowship
between BOer and Briton. And third
IS that South Africa shall be nut and
kept in line and in touch with civillza-
lion and progress and enlightened free
government. If these things are assur-
ed, tie war will not have been in vain.
If they are not assured, it will have
been in vain, and there is no war more
leplCrable and more detestable than
me which Is in vain.