The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-07-06

itarium to recover his equilibrium. It
is the rankest absurdity for Lord Sails
bury to accuse the Beers Of land grab
'bing. They certainly invaded Cape
Colony and Natal after Kruger's ulti.
matum was issued. but everyone knows
that this was strategic and defensive
move to keep the British from entering
the Orange Free State and the Trans
vaal.
The Beers crossed into British terri.
tory to defend their own republics from
invasion. 1t was a military necessity,
and it was so understood by military
men throughout the world. Even Lord
Salisbury himself, dull as he appears
to be now, must have understood the
Boer tactics at the time. The British
were advancing as invaders, and the
Beers met them before they crossed the
borders. That is all there is to it.
For months before the declaration of
war; the British had been making prep
arations to destroy the Dutch republics.
At the time that Sir Alfred Miner was
negotiating for settlement the Sails
bury government was concentrating
troops in South Africa and moving
them to the Transvaal frontier. WHAT
was the object and purpose of this
military demonstration? It was to sub
jugate the Beers and deprive them Of
freedom.
The Americans before the Revolution
were confronted by armed Britishers in
the same way. Patrick Henry realized
the situation when he exclaimed in i'm
pressive words in the Virginia house Of
burgesses:
"Ask yourselves how this gracious
reception of our petition COMFORTS with
those warlike preparations which. cover
our waters and darken our land. Are
fleets and armies necessary to a work
of love and reconciliation? Have we
shown ourselves so unwilling to- be rec
onciled that force must be called in
to win back our love? Let us not de-
ceive ourselves. These are the nipple
ments of war and slbjugation; the last
arguments to which kings resort.
There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free-if we mean to
preserve inviolate those inestimable
privileges for which we have been so
long contending-if we mean not basely
to abandon the noble struggle in which
We have been so long engaged, and
which we have pledged ourselves never
to abandon until the glorious object of
our contest shall be obtained-we must
fight! l repeat it, sir, we must fight.
An appeal to arms and to the God of
Hosts is all that is left us! There is
no retreat but in submission and slay-
cry! Our chains are forged! Their
clanking may be heard on the plains of
Boston! The war is inevitable-and let
it cOme!''
So thought Paul Kruger and his
brave burghers, and hence instead of
waiting for the British soldiers to en-
ter their republics they advanced to
meet tire invaders OH British territory.
In July, 1899. writer in the West
minister Review made the positive
statement that one of the ambassadors
in London said to him:
'The English cabinet has recently
resolved upon taking possession of the
two South African republics as soon
as possible. 1t is question of life and
death. If England does not crush the
Beers now, she herself will be crushed
by them later on That was three
months before the beginning of HOSTILE
ties.
The prime minister of England was
fully Informed of the purpose of the
government. He knew what Chamber
lain, Cecil Rhodes and Alfred Miner
were doing to bring on the war; He
believed there would be no difficulty in
vanquishing handful of farmers, and
therefore he acquiesced in the plotting
of the British conspirators. His fool
ish talk last week puts him in an en-
barrassing attitude before the world.
His brain is either giving away or he
has no regard for veracity.