The Irish standard., 1900-01-27
AN ELOQUENT PLEA FOR THE BoERs
Speaker Apologies for Casting
Pearls Before Swine.
SCATHING ARRAIGNMENT OF BRITAIN
Bobbed Them of Diamond Fields
and Broke Treaties.

Justice Woodward, of the Appellate
Division Of the Supreme Court of New
York, recently responded to the toast
The Dutch in America and South
Africa at a banquet given by the
Albany Society, and was interrupted by
the pro-British Doors who had invited
him. So great was the Kissing that he
was unable to proceed. He cast his
manuscript aside and said: Il want to
apologize to you for accepting your in
vtation to speak here tonight. 1t was
understood that was to be your guest
and to speak on the subject l have
talked on and to read my address.
seem to have given you offense, and
sincerely apologize to you" Then,
drawing himself to his full height, he
thundcred: ''In closing l want to pro-
pose toast to that grand old states
man, William the Silent OF South
Africa, one OF the most impressive per-
sonalities alvc-old Dom Paul
Kruger!' Justice Woodward left the
hall soon afterward, and the Anglo
maniacs listened to other speeches in
which no reference was made to Boer
or Rriton.
The fine speech which Judge Wood
ward attempted to deliver before the
Albany Society degencrates is in part
as follows:
II personally believe that the qucs-
ton now to be settled by the sword
strikes deeper than the superficial sub
terfugc that has asked for its solution
would lead us to believe. Let us, how
ever consider this subject dispassion-
atcly-frec from prejudice and partial
ity. Let not the fact OF our descent
cause us to look at either side with ia
vor; let not the identity OF blood, nor
the similarity of language and OF insti-
tutions blind lis to the true points at
issue here. 1t is not race, it is not
credit is not the tongue that shall
determine our attitudc-it is justice.
"We have not the time here to go
into the early history OF the Republic
We know that its full independence
was granted in 1852-that in 1877 this
independence was unjustly taken away,
and that in the treaty Of 1881 claim
OF British suzcrainty was set up, whicl,
had its apparent justification in the de-
fenseless condition of the infant repub-
lie. This treaty was never ratified by
the Volksraad, and was very unpopular
with the Bocrs. Kruger and two other
demand the repeal Of the offensive ar
ticle containing the word suzerainty
And by the London convention OF 1884
this fossilized principle OF the middle
ages was pronounced dead by both
parties. And now this corpse. this
dead word suzcrainty, has been revived
to justify the designs OF monster con-
spiracy-to ovcrturn the whole fabri:
OF the Bocr rcpublic-to secure the
control OF its valuable gold mines and
to annex its territory, by the grace o
God, to the British crown.
an the view OF the thousand and ono
incidents that are the links OF palpa
bic conspiracy, recently made manifest
by the broad admissions Of several OF
the most important conspirators-in
view OF practices SO grossly dislonor-
able as the suppression by English en-
voys OF important passages in docu-
mcnts containing Bocr concessions-1
repeat, in view Of all these evidences OF
bad faith on the part OF the British rep
rcscntativcs can the Bocrs be blamed
for n,aniicsting so much caution and
distrust? Can they be ccnsurcd for
choosing the only alternative left them
war? What else was there to do
when the mcrcenarics OF imperialism
were speeding toward them-to COM
pass their dcstruction-whcn regiment
after regiment was passing on their
ironticr-whcn menace shonc in every
English soldiers face and when the
foremost English statesman had pub
licly doomed them to political dissolu-
tion-and all this because they dis
owned suzcrainty that even if it cx-
listed had been rendered null and void
by the neglcctful and threatening policy
OF their prcsuming suzerain?
"But the ministers of Her Majesty
government were we'll aware of the
weakness of their claim-and, therefore
that they might hide its imperfections