St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-02-21

|ouoIt1 opSOlulCly CACIuucu Tue \nln6SS
from coming here even as visitors, the
Beers excluded foreigners from the fran
chlse. Ii they had not done so, of course,
they would have lost their country long
ago. And we must remember that this
was their last hope; they could "trek"
no further. All the lands beyond them
were taken by European nations; they
stood with their backs to the wall. Re-
pugnant as is the idea of limited fran
chise to advanced republicans the law of
selfpreservation is the first considera.
ton and we that have denied and do
deny the franchise to Cinnamon. Japanese
representatives of a higher civilization
than ours-and Indians, the original pos
SCISSORS of this soil-are hardly justified in
oblecting to the same policy on the
part of these hunted men. Suppose China
should say to US "We object toyour laws
excluding Cinnamon. Wedemand citizen
ship for Cinnamon. "We would reply,
"Our laws are our own affairs. We will
make them to suit ourselves. If you
do not like them, stay away" Then
suppose that China should send over
here one billion armed men and million
great guns-these numbers being in
about the relative proportions to the
strengths OF the Beers and Britains-and
announce that as we had not regulated
our franchise laws to suit China, China
would proceed to obliterate the American
Republic and annex it to the Chinese En-
pire, do you not think that everyone of
us would gladly die in our tracks to re-
sist such monstrous aggression? Yet
this is almost an exact parallel to the
situation in South Africa.
2. Almost but not quite, for this
reason. The demand of the British was
not that foreigners should be admitted
to the franchise, but that British subjects
should be admitted to the franchise and
to all the rights of citizenship without
adjuriug their British citizenship! In
other words that as British subjects they
should exercise all the privileges of the
native Beers. This monstrous PROPOSE
ton is carefully obscured by those that
defend the course of England; very few
Americans know that this was the chief
point that Chamberlain made, but you
will find it in the official dispatches. l
think you will agree with me that any
nation that would submit to such de.
mand would be nothing but a gang OF
slaves. The Beers did not submit to it
give thanks with all my soul that they
did not. Since the French Revolution
there has been no greater day for man
than when this little handful stood uI
and dehed great power pistolling them
with such demand.
8. For the Transvaal was an indie
pendent nation. Great Britain had nc
more right to complain of or interfere
with its franchise laws than it had tt
interfere with the franchise laws of tn
United States. Every shadow of sover
eighty had ben renouuced in the mos
succinct and solemn fashion; the goot
faith of England was distinctly pledge'
to the absolute freedom of the Transvaa
in all its internal affairs, and after 1888
even the shadowy supervision of it
foreign treaties was given up in practice
| The English have labored to make it aI
pear that the alleged grievances Of tn
Uitlanders were in some way their cor
Germ more than the concern of other ne
tions whose subjects or citizens were dig
ging gold in South Africa. This is just
plain simple lie. There were thousand
of Germans in the Transvaal, thousand
of Frenchmen, many Americans, Swiss
Begians. The governments of any {
these men had exactly as much right q
Great Britain to interiere-that is to sa
they had none at all.
a. None of the Uitlanders, except tt
British, ever imagined that condition
were hard in the Transvaal. They r
cognized the fact that they were thel
merely to grab all the gold they coul
and get out. They did not want to ru
the government. They knew that tt
operated under the most liberal mimi
laws in the world They knew that eve
in the United States the conditions IN
posed by the government were far moi
onerous. They made no complain
, They liked the Beers and they like the
, so much now that several thousand
the UitIanders of the Rand are serving ;
volunteers in the Boer army.
5. But from the discovery of gold
the Transvaal and the appearance OF Il
truly diabolical genius OF Cecil Rhod
the British have never tor a momel
! abandoned their determination to g
,, possession OF the country. They thougI
first to get it through the jameson raj
know much of the inside history OF th'
event, enough to see that it was as v
famous and piratical an attempt on t
life OF nation as history reveals. VIII
do not know is all of the high perso
: in England that instigated and direct'
the raid, nor all of the noblemen al
!. Others that would have pro6ted by
success, or expect to profit when the /
publics fall. But venture the asserti'
!. that if the world knew all OF the perso
: interested in the Chartered Company
!, rage and scorn would beat back t
" the British more effectively than even
: Boer batteries.
! Under the laws of all the nations OF t
:, world the leaders of the Jameson ra
!, forfeited their lives. The barbarous al
= uncivilized Beers turned them all 100
with few fines. All except the chief
l tensible offender in this act OF W
= against a friendly country. Him tn
y sent home to England to be tried.
y y then ensued the fine roaring farce OF t
e Jameson trial, in which the truth W
> successfully-though not always cas-
4 suppressed-and jameson received t
, terrible retribution of about eight mont
= confinement in palace, from which
= was released very shortly on the plea
- an ingrowing toe nail, or somethl
- equally important.
y 6. When sufficient time had elaps
D after these pleasant diversions, the a
tation about the humble sufterings OF
e Uitlanders began again, and at last n
d Chamberlain sent in his demand
:. changes in the franchise law. The Bo