The St. Johns herald., 1901-01-19
BRITISHER AND BOER
England's First Dealings with the
 Dutch in the Transvaal.
Establishment Of the Orange Free state and the Colonization of NataI-ORIGfn of the Trouble
 CausAng Present War.

The relations of the English with the Dutch in South Africa are touched upon in an article in St. Nicholas by Klyda R. Steege. The Cape settlement re-
 mained in possession of the Dutch until 1795, when, the French revolu- tionists occupying Holland, the colon ists hoisted flag of independence, and appealed to Great Britain for protec- tion. The British accordingly took pos session in the name of the prince ot
 Orange, who was at that time refu- gee in London. You must freshep your memory of European history of that
 period, in case you have forgotten it, to understand how matters stood be tween the different countries. Then you will see how it was that when peace was restored after the Napoleonic wars, and Holland had been annexed by France, the latter country ceded to England the "Batavian Republic" !" which included, among other territory, the Cape Colony.
 Under English rule matters improved for the eolonists, and the administra- tion was, on the whole, satisfactory, until the government ordered the slaves to be freed. The Boers, indignant at the loss of property" for which they did not consider themselves sufficient ly compensated, resolved to go beyond the reach of law and government, and what you hear spoken of as the great trek" took place in the year 1895. Trek comes from the Dutch verb trekken, to draw or drag, and this journey was so termed because the people who left the colony to seek another home far ther inland travelled in huge ox-carts or wagons.
 The first 200 who left wandered on until they came to a country far from the sea, where, after many fights with the Matabele tribes, they held their own sufficiently to found the Orange Free State
 The second trekking party, among whom was the present President Kru- ger, then ten years of age, went over into the colony of Natal. There they failed in finding a resting place, be- cause they attempted to take land al ready in British possession. They, too, had their struggles with natives and many hardships to encounter, but finally they crossed the Vaal river, and soon after all the different settlers united themselves, for mutual protec- tion, into republic, under a man named Pretorius as president, and with Paul Kruger as commandant general of the army.
 It was not long before they found themselves unable to prevent trouble with the natives, and they appealed to for protection. They were also heavily burdened with a debt, which they saw no chance of repaying. So Great Britain took them in charge, kept off the natives, and paid their debts, and at last, at the request of many of the settlerA the country was declared to be the possession of the British empire.
 It pro bably would not interest you 10 hear all the political changes and which have taken place IT. the country. It is enough to say that the Boers were not satisfied to be un- Ter English administration, and finally against it, with the result that, after short war, their country was given back to them on certain condi- ions. These conditions not having | oeen adhered to as England expected, ! he present war broke out.