New-York tribune., 1900-01-19
THE BOER BACK DOOR.
HOW ENGLAND OvERREACHED HER
sELF-A NUT FOR KNIcKERBOCKERs
TO CRACK-RRUEGER's GOOD
LUCK AND SALIsBURY's
VEXATIONS.
London. January q

VEXATIONS,
London January 8
Mr. Gibson Bowles has been writing SONS
pointed and interesting letters for The Daily
Mali on the evil results Of the Declaration of
Paris as illustrated In the war in South Africa.
He is an old-fashioned Conservative who be-
Iieves that the doctrine that "the neutral hag
covers enemy's merchandise. except contra
band OF war; is a pernicious one. and that Mr.
Pitt and Lord Nelson were right when they
maintained that England should resist IL TO
her last man, her last shilling and her last droD
of blood" He contends that If the Declaration
OF Paris had not been sanctioned after the wa-
In the Crimea, British cruisers could now capt
ure under the laws OF nations not only the in
ports OF arms and ammunition, but all ner-
chandise destined 70 the Transvaal and all
property belonging to the enemy. including thu
gold transmitted by the Beers in payment OF
supplies Under the Declaration Of Paris all
enemy's property transported under a neutral
flag from the TransvaaI and ali supplies FOR
the Beers except contrabaEd OF war are exempt
from seizure Mr.. Bowles strongly favors repu-
diation Of the Declaration Of Paris because il
enables neutrals to carry on for a beIligerent
who has no coast line a trade which otherwise
would be impossible and makes them enemies
in disguise and participators in the war. with
a selfish interest in securing its indefinite pro-
longation.
The irrepresslbIe Captain Bowles. who finds
it impossible to retire from public gaze even
when Parliament is not in session. neglects TO
mention one fact which lies at the bottom OF
all the difficulties over neutral rights and con-
traband of war. The back door leading into the
TransvaaI has been deliberately left in the pos
session of the Portuguese by a singular miscal-
culation on the part of the British Government.
President Kruger was most anxious TO purchase
Delagoa Bay in order to have port Of entry
for the TransvaaI, but the British Government
thwarted his ambition, and in the end over
reached itself. Ministers in their easerness to
cripple the energies and 10 retard the progress
of an inland commonwealth cut il or from the
coast because they considered it dangerous and
mpOlitic TO convert il into a maritime state
with resources for making foreign alliances. II
they had allowed the TransvaaI Government 10
purchase Delagoa Bay the present difficulties
over neutral rights would have disappeared. a
naval blockade of the eneny's coast would have
been established. LourencO Marques lombard
ed by a British fleet and the back door leading
into the TransvaaI securely closed The British
Government by its own short sighted policy has
armed neutrals with the power Of prolonging the
present war and greatly increased the Dutch
resources.
Entirely apart from the munitions OF war and
military supplies which have been smuggled
into the Transvaal through Portuguese terri
tory, the Beers have been enabled TO ship gold
from this natural zone to Europe. 70 pay for
their purchases in war time, and to maintain
their troops in the field For years before ths
outbreak of hostilities the TransvaaI Govern
ment was squeezing money out of the mine own
ers of the Rand. overtaxing all the industries
there and loading up" for a great campaign
for the Dutch conquest of South Africa: and -As
mining milliOnajres and foreign investors wers
paying for the Krupps. the CreusOts. the rifles
and the she'll At the outbreak OF the war the
British residents were expelled from Johannes
burg. and the mines with their costly machin-
cry and plants which had been provided by for
eign enterprise and capital were 'comman-
deered" for the benefit Of the Boer Government
German miners have swarmed in through Della
goa Bay, and the best mines have been kept in
operation for meeting the expenses or the war;
and the gold gC1s out neutral ships and the
credit of the Dutch republics is maintained un-
der the Declaration of Paris. The investors IN
Kafhr stocks paid in taxes for the secret arma-
ments. which were provided before the uIti-
matum of October was issued; and they ara
paying in treasure taken from their mines for
the current war expenses of the two republics.
There are more things in South Africa than
dreamt of in the philosophy either OF Cap
tain BowIes OF of some OF the Knickerbocker
SympdthlZerS with the BOeTS whose naive letters
occasionally see in the columns OF The Trib-
une. I observe that they are in the habit OF
drawing parallels between this Dutch war OF
independence and the American Revolution; but
I apprehend that they fail TO do justice to the
extraordinary shrewdness of the Beers in
financing the war at the expense OF foreign
investors. The patriots Of the American RevO-
luton fought 4 good fight. but they were duh
and overscrupulOus in comparison with the
Dutch allies in South Africa. They did not have
the wit and craft 10 saddle the financial bur-
dens of their arrnaments and current
penses upon their enemies From Lexington TO
Yorktown they paid for their own rifles. powder
and shot and went 1oundering through the
Revolution with disordered currency and finance
and with an empty treasury. The Beers do not
carry on their war for independence in that dull
and hopeless way. The foreign investors. mainly
English, pay the freight" The Beers not only
fight behind the rocks Of the kopjes. but they
conduct all their financial operations behind the
deep levels of the gold powdered Rand
If the fine old Knickerbockers writing plain
tive letters of protest against the mercenary
and wicked English do injustice in their parallels
to the business talent and practical shrewdness
Of the Beers in financing the war. do not
wish to be equally unfair in my estimate OF the
American patriots of tAe Revolution. Compared
with President KRUGER and State Secretary
Reitz, Morris and the inanCiers of the American
Revolution were dull and possibly stupid; but
they were honest in an old fashioned way. re-
spected the Eighth Commandment and did not
loot and eOnhscate private property on large
scale in order TO pay the current expenses OF