The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-06-01
The Beers In ST. Helena

tudc of the whole Boer nation may be
had through Mrs. Jno. Richard Green's
interviews with the prisoners in st.
Helena, as published in the Nineteenth
Century, says the Chicago Tribune.
Mrs. Green was in ST. Helena month
and talked freely with the prisoners of
every class She found them simple,
frank, earnest, determined men, domi-
mated by a stern puritanism that pre-
vents them from joining in any Of the
harmless gayetics themselves. Some
were sinking daily into Il deeper gloom
and mclancholia. General Cronic's
wife is haunted With the deltlsion that
the English want to burn her and her
husband. In some of the men the pre-
vailing depression has developed into
acute and violent mania. The temper
of the Beers is Illustrated by strange
scene on the ship that brought them
from Natal. There was Il storm in
which they expected to sink and at
every wave that flung the ship down
the prisoners shouted Il great hurral
The English captain sent to ask what
it meant. He did not know that shout
of welcome to death.
One of the most significant features
of Mrs. Green's article is the over
whclming evidence showing that the
TranSvaal war would never have been
fought but for the Jameson raid. Tho
prisoners all said the same thing. Un-
til the Jameson raid they had respect
cd the English The race feeling was
dying and would soon have become
extinct. The lawlcss raid bnnslcd all
tons OF the English. The Beers were
and are convinced that the English
government and army officers knew OF
the raid before it occurred. From the
moment of the raid they distruStcd
England as they never had before.
Dntchmcn who had adopted the Eng
Men who had gone at their pleasure
either to the Dutch or the English
church have never gone to the English
church since the raid
The Beers who We're called out to
defend Johannesburg against Jane
sons filibustcrcrs discovered for the
first time that they were unarmed.
One man said that in his district only
scvcnty-fivc out of 1000 came armed
at the first call. In all directions the
lack of arms and ammunition was felt
That experience left an abiding i'm
preston upon the Beers. From that
time forth they began to arm them
sclvcs-not before as so many English
writer's have asserted.
The monster petition for the out
lander franchise, got up at Johannes
burg, was referred to again and again
by the prisoners with intense indigna-
ton. They say names were bought ut
SO much q hundred. CanvasScrs
brought around typcwrttcn papers
processing to he for or against the
franchise and the signatures were put
on separate pieces of paper pinned to
these. Many who signed the opposing
petition found their signatures trans
fcrrcd to the other side. They will
never forget the English acceptance of
that shameless imposturc. On this
subject they feel rs they do about the
failure to punish the raiders. The only
criticism Mrs. Green heard against
Kruger was: eff he had shot all the
raiders there would have been no war
now" But they appreciated his rea-
son: 1--WE thought the English would
punish the raiders"
Commandant Wolmarnns told with
strong agitation of some news that had
just reached him. The English had
raidcd his farm after he was q prison
en- had burned his house. and had fog
god his boy for trying to save the cat
tie. TO the father the house burning
did not matter in comparison with the
flogging of his son. II once thought"
t''i ''i'Sh'HShb plIoOHCL IluL cV-
cry Englshman was gentleman. l
have changed my mind"
The one fixed idea Of the Beers is
independence. They feel that they
have been the victims Of intolerable in
justice Most Of the prisoners say If
they had it to do over again they would
fight as before, even though they knew
their cause to be hopeless. When Mrs.
Green asked group of men what
they would do If England made a
crown colony of their country most of
them said they would go to America
and leave their friends and property
rather than live under British rule.
There were seven against submission
and three for it. That little group of
downcast prisoners may be taken as
fairly representative of the whole
I'oer people. England's task will be
only fairly begun when it attempts to
set up n civil government in the Trans
vaal.