The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-08

The quarrel between the British and
the Beers has it's complications, but
even at this distance it is possible to
distinguish the main points of the con-
troversy.
1t Is not the whole truth to say that
this Is merely another case Of British
land grabbing. Neither is 1t entirely
fair to charge the blame wholly to
Boer stubbornness. There are two
sides to this as to every other ques-
tion. Before you give your sympathy
to either contestant there are a few
facts which ought to be considered
Here they are:
The Beers were the original settlers
Of the country now known as the
Transvaal republic If we leave out Of
question the savage African tribes
whom they subdued. Their ancestors
went to South Africa from Holland.
Boer Is Dutch for farmer. That is
what the word means and that Is what
they are.
The first Beers settled In Cape Colo
ny. Trouble with the English led
them to move farther inland and
farther north. They would build their
kraals in one place and stay there un-'
I'll the Entertainments of the English
made 1t necessary for them to fight
or trek. Sometimes they fought; some
times they trekked.
When they finally moved beyond the
Naal river, they thought they were
safe from the English. The country
was savage infested wilderness. But
somebody discovered gold and dia-
monds in the Boer territory. Then
the English moved in and began to
work the mines. The Beers are not
miners. The golden rocks of the Rand
would remain uncrushed forever if
they had their way. They wish only
to till their farms, raise their stock
and read their Bibles
But the glitter of gold and the CLINT
OF diamonds attracted more and more
sons OF Britain. Men of other coun-
tries came too. There were some Ger
mans and few Americans. The Beers
call them all uitlanders. or outlanders.
1t Is an expressive name.
Finally the uitlanders became more
numerous than the Beers. There are
now in the Transvaal about 245,OOO
whites. OF this number more than
100000 are English. Besides these.
there are 10000 Germans, 10000 Amer
leans and a few hundreds of almost
every other race on the globe. So the
Beers are actually in a minority in
their own land. The remainder of
their 100000 population is composed
of blacks, chiefly Kaffirs.
But this little handful of, say, 90
600 Beers has retained absolute sway
In the territory which was wrested
from the savages For all practical
purposes only native Beers have full
rights OF franchise. They make the
laws, levy the taxes and grip with
Jealous hards the reins of government.
Toward the uitlhnders the Boer at
titude has Deen aggressive. autocratic
and possibly oppressive. 1t depends
on the point of view. The British min
ers have had to pay handsomely for
the privilege of taking out the treas
ures which the Beers themselves neg
iected. They have been heavily taxed.
They have been bled by government
True, they have prospered and grown
enormously rich in spite of it all. But
so have the Beers, and 1t is the Eng
lish who hove done the work. Year
after year the taxes have become high
er In spite of the indignant protests
sent to England.
In the meantime the political rela.
tons of the two countries. the little re-
public and the great empire. have
swung through several interesting
stages.
The first time the Beers and the Eng
lish clashed was when both were set
tied in what Is now Cape Colony.
There came up the question of slavery.
The Beers claimed a right to enslaye