The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-10
SLAVERY IN THE TRANsvAAL.

ury, that Will not occur.
SLAVERY IN THE TRANSvAAL.
While the Boer commissioners were at
st. Paul DR.. Fischer was interviewed re-
garding some phases of the situation in the
Transvaal country. He was highly in
dignant," says the report, lat the stories
that have been circulated about the Beers
buying and selling slaves. Said he: If
single slave can be found in our country We
will lay down our arms and end the war
at once" AS to the buying and selling of
slaves we do not remember to have seen
any statement to that effect. That. how
ever, is not an essential nor invariable
feature of slavery During the existence
of slavery in the United States there were
many owners and holders of slaves who
never bought or sold one in their lives, and
who were conscientiously opposed to that
feature Of the system. But that a system
of practical slavery does exist in the Trans
vaal republic, or did while the government
existed. is undoubtedly true. Evidence on
this point is abundant and conclusive. 1t
has been stated by many historians that
one of the main reasons for the Beers twice
trekking or migrating from British terri
not hold the natives as slaves. 1t has never
been asserted that they bought their slaves.
They did not have to. They made forays
into the native country, killed the men and
captured the women and children and made
slaves of them. The slavery question has
beer a point of contention between the
British government and the Beers from the
beginning In 1888 Parliament passed law
abolishing slavery in all British colonies
and appropriating sl00,OOO,O0O as compensa-
rican colonies and the West Indies. OF this
amount $6,OOO,00O went to the Dutch slave
holders in Cape Colony. Many protested
that they were robbed of their slaves and
migrated beyond the vaal, where one of
their first acts. after proclaiming their in
dependence, was a great slave hunt by 400
armed Beers against the Bechuans. This
practice of slave-hunting continued until
comparatively recent years. DIR. Living
stone, the celebrated African traveller and
missionary, says in one of his books:
The Beers steal domestic servants from
the more hostile tribes in the most cow
ardly. cold-blooded way imaginable.
1t was long before could give credit to the
tales of bloodshed told by native witnesses.
but when i found the Beers themselves
glorying in the bloody scenes in which they
had been themselves the actors was COM
PEELED to admit the validity Of the testi-
mony.
DR.. Livingstone says that during his resi-
dence in South Africa the Beers made no
less than nine raids among the natives TO
capture women and children for slaves,
sand on no occasion was drop of Boer' 9
blood she'd" Following is an extract from
an article in the New York Independent Of
last Feb. 15 written by an American resi-
dent of johannesburg:
Under the Transvaal laws no black man
does or can own a foot of land. 1t Is in
wrought into the constitution of the state
| that black man cannot be treated on an
| equality with the white man in any respect:
/ 1t is not simply that he cannot be equal
socially or politically, but that he is and
| must be kept mental. 1t is only since
| last year that black man could be legally
| married In the TransvaaL
| To the same effect is the testimony of
Bishop Hartzell of the Methodist Episcopal
| Church. who has spent several years in
| South Africa. In an address before the re-
| cent General Conference at Chicago he
said:
The Boer believes that the natives are
the children of Ham and are intended by
| Providence for slavery. If slavery cannot
| be in that form. then the relation must
| by law be fixed so that equality of privilege
| is not permitted between the BOer and the
| native. no matter what may be the intel
| iigence or character of the latter. The con.
stitution provides that there shall be nc
| equality between white and colored persons
| in church or state: no black man can walk
| on the sidewalk in town or city. This in.
| cludes not only native teachers and preach
ers trained by foreign missionary societies
but also black or mulatto people who come
| from Cape Colony or elsewhere. About tive
| years ago, when this law was enforced fol
the first time in johannesburg, there were
| many foggings of natives for several day:
| before they came to understand what the
law meant. No black man can own land II
| the Transvaal. No black man can become
1 trader of any kind. no matter what hi:
intelligence or how good his character. VI
TO two years ago there could be no lega
| marriage of any black person No blacl
man has a standing in court in the Trans
vaal: he cannot sue the government or ;
! white man.
This shows that the Boer constitution ant
laws were framed with a view of keeping il
permanent subsection the descendants o
the natives originally captured. stolen am
enslaved by the Beers. A people who ar
kept in state of servitude and deprived o
all natural, political and civil rights ar
slaves. whether they are bought and sol
| or not.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CURIOS.