The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-07-05
GERMANY AND TRANSVAAL.
The Present Situation Viewed in the
Light of Their Past Friend
Iy Relations.

The relations of Germany with the
Transvaal have been the cause of
much discussion, and at the Jameson
raid were of considerable anxiety to
England. By most persons in Eng
land the German interest in the
Transvaal is regarded as beginning
with the emperor's message to Presi-
dent hruger at the time of the raid,
but it really existed, and in very SUBJ
stantial form, some time previous to
that. To understand the true inward
ness of these relations it is necessary
to go back to 1895. In November OF
that year Mr.. Joseph Chamberlain,
then, as now, secretary of state for
the colonies, was the principal guest
at banquet given by the agent gem
eral in London for Natal to celebrate
the completion of the railway extern
sion from Natal to Johannesburg
Among the other guests was the late
Mr.. Beelaerts Won Blokland, diplomat
ic representative in Europe of the
South African Republic. He was pres
ent and spoke in his official capacity,
no one taking exception or raising OBJ
jections, which proved the recognized
right of the republic to be represented
md have foreign policy, subject only
under the London convention to the
six months condition of approval or
veto by the British crown. On Mr..
Won Blokland's death he was succeed
ed by Dr. Leyds with identical powers.
The key to the political relations be-
tween Berlin and Pretoria is to be
found in the anti-German campaign
in certain part of the South African
press, inaugurated in 1890 when Mr.
Rhodes first became premier of Cape
Colony. From that day to the present
it has never ceased. In 1894, before
the raid, the Kimberley Advertiser
printed letter in which the German
position was exposed at considerable
length. 1t attracted much attention
at the time and one part of it seems
worth reproducing. 1t says:
Though the interests of Great
Britain in South Africa come first, the
interests of Germany undoubtedly
come second. Germany has already
obtained very substantial footing on
the west coast. German merchants
hold very important place in the
commercial community in Cape Town,
in Port Elizabeth and in Durham. A
German line of steamers has for some
time been trading between Europe
and South Africa, and there can be no
doubt whatever that this line of
steamers was established very largely
with a view to the trade which might
be expected to gravitate toward
Deiagoa bay on the opening of the
railway between that port and johann
nesburg. Hence Germany has most
real and legitimate interests in South
Africa in general, and in the relations
between the Transvaal and Delagoa
bay in particular"
With regard to German influence
the same letter points out that while
Germany was represented at Pretoria
by most tactful and able diplomat
list, Herr Won Herff, now German con-
sui general at Milan in Italy, where
he was met by the Transvaal dele
gates recently sent over to Europe
and this country, British interests
were intrusted to Sir j. de Wet, an
agent entirely devoid of tact and vio-
lently prejudiced against the govern
ment to which he was accredited. He
was generally regarded as the agent
of the Rhodes party and believed to
be bent on bringing about some act of
British intervention in Delagoa bay
hostile to the Transvaal and preju-
dicial to German interests. In 1891
it was conclusively shown that the
Chartered company had sought to stir
up native rebellion against the Por-
tuguese authorities with the object of
bringing about British intervention
and the seizure of the Delagoa bay
territory and railway with a view to
controlling the trade of the Transvaal
in the interest of Rhodesia and the
Cape Colony. The Transvaal govern
ment was in serious dilemma 1t
could not appeal with any advantage
to the British government, for it was
guided by the then high commission
er, Sir Henry Loeb, and he in turn
by Mr.. Rhodes. 1t was at this jung
ture that the German government
sent a cruiser to Delagoa bay and
made representations in London that
led to the formulating of an Anglo
German agreement for the mainten-
ance of the status quo at the Portu-
guese seaport.
Since then the relations between
Germany and the Transvaal have been
of the best In January, 1895, Presi-
dent Kruger expressed his gratitude
to Germany on the occasion of the en-
peror's birthday at a banquet given
by the German consul general; and on
the failure of the Jameson raid the
emperor cabled his congratulations to
the president. If in the interval the
German interest in the Transvaal has
slackened, and at Berlin its absorb
ton by England is looked on with
equanimity, it can only be because
Germany has received an equivalent in
some other direction. Should this be
the case it must come out in the set
Element made by the British govern