Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1901-05-23
HOPES OF THE Beers.
Facts of the Case as Stated by
Montagu White.
HAVE NO IDEA OF sURRENDERING.

lea Says They Will Fight on to the
End Unless Their Independence In
Recognized Great Chance For
Peace Lost at Paardeberg.
Montagu White, who Is now in the
United States and is acting as the rep
resentative Of the Beers, describes
their hopes in a letter to the editor Of
the New York Sun as follows. He
says:
In view Of the persistently false re-
ports sent out from British press
sources in South Africa with the sole
object of misleading public opinion and
discouraging the friends and sympa-
thizers of the Beers it seems to me that
It is necessary that 1 should state what
1 know to be the facts of the case.
/ have just returned from Europe,
where I met a number of persons, a
few from, the Boer fighting camps,
which they have quilted for legitimate
reasons as recently as the n Of Jam
uary, and others from Johannesburg
and Pretoria, from which places they
have been deported by the British au-
thorities. They n and all tell the
same story. The Beers in the field,
without exception, are determined to
fight on to the enc unless their indie
pendence is recognized. Even the vic
tins of the reconcentrado system, who
are huddled in camps and who are fed
upon weevily corn and damaged sugar
(see the London Daily News Of April
1O), share the optimism of those in the
fold OC To ultimate fTiTJTnnh 0f fhpi~
cause. The poorest of the burghers Is
resolved to continue the struggle until
forced to surrender, and it is a crafty
ing fact to record that very few of the
officials have accepted service under
the British government. However des-
perate their JUS may be to onlookers
at a distance, there are nc grounds for
the pessimistic views of some of the
friends of the Beers as far as the feel
ings of Beers themselves are con-
cerned.
1t seems incredible that respectable
Journals should persist in publishing
deliberate and circumstantial reports
about i'll treatment of uitlanders and
peace ENJOYS. They have all, first and
last, proved to be lies. Several men
like Lanham, DR.. Walker and others
who were reported to have been mur-
dered in cold blood at the beginning OF
the war are still alive, and Andreas
Vessels, peace envoy, reported to have
been shot by order Of General De Wet,
is now known to be alive and well. The
reports as to General De Vets mad
ness and other stupid stories as to
President Steyn counseling surrender
are all part of the same campaign Of
falsehood and caIumny against the
Beers.
The obstacles to peace have been
raised by the British themselves. The
great opportunity was lost after the
surrender of General Cronje at Paar-
deberg. This disaster for a time so dis
heartened the Beers that had Lord
Roberts, instead of insisting on uncon-
dftional surrender, offered anything
like generous terms it is certain that
peace would have been established
long since. What prolonged the war
was the demand for unconditional sur
render and the issue Of Lord Roberts
p~roclamations, with the burning Of
homesteads, the destruction Of crops
and gardens, the carrying off Of cattle
and, above all, the marrying of the wo-
men. The greatest Indignation, but no
dismay, has been caused among the
Beers by the policy of feeding those
women and children who had relatives
at the front on half rations. This has
been admitted by Mr.. Brodrick, the
secretary of state for war. These acts,
instead Of cowing the spirit Of the
Beers, have had precisely the opposite
effect and have rendered nugatory the
Paardeberg victory. The policy Of
thorough" which was justified as a
merciful necessity in order to establish
firmly imperial prestige and to bring
the war to a speedy end, has proved as
stupid and futile as it undoubtedly was
wicked.
AS to their means Of carrying on the
war, the Beers have enough ammuni-
ton to last with care for a long time,
and the winter season now coming on
tells more against the British than
against the burghers. The policy Of
the "rake' may be effective on the high
veldt, but it is absolutely powerless in
the more mountainous districts Of the
northeast. In fact, the Beers have no
object in giving up the struggle, but
much to gain in continuing it until an
equitable settlement is in sight. The
burghers have lost everything they
had, their ~farmhouses have been de-
stroyed, and the measure Of destruc-
ton is hardly credible. The very fruit
trees and orange orchards, raised with
so much care and expense, have in
some districts been cut down apparent
ly in a spirit of vindictive vandalism.
AS to the British position, it is too
apparent and well known to call for
treatment in detail. The war is caus-
Eng prejudice to British interests all
Dver the world, from China to Europe
and the United States Of America.
How momentous the effects OF this war
d ~ md mill ho IN Ahn RriAirh 3cInc