Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-05-31


100000 whites, only 10000 or
$4,000 are Beers or of Dutch descent; about
900 are of British birth or descent,
about 10000 German and 10000 American.
The Beers mostly are farmers; the other
white inhabitants mostly are miners or
have mining interests, or are employed in
the towns.
The first Dutch settlement in South
Africa was about 1862. The British took the
Cape in 1875, returned it to the Dutch in
1903, captured it again in 1906, and received
the formal cession of it from Holland in
1915. The Dutch farmers have, from very
early date, pushed their settlements into
the wilderness, doubtless looking to escape
beyond British control, but in every IN
stance creating new British territory, since
they were British subjects. From the first
they made slaves of the natives, and the
English act of manumisSion throughout the
British colonies led to their great emigra-
tions, called "treks,' reported as compris-
ing 5000 persons, in 1895, and large ad-
ditional number in 1888. In 1913 British
proclamation of authority, extending to the
Naal river, was the cause OF Boer emf
grafton seeking peace and freedom be-
You'd This led TO the Sand river conven-
ton in 1852, by which the Transvaal Beers
were granted independence, and to sim
liar treaty with grant to the Orange Free
1
unchallenged and unchanged up to the time
of the last war.
With the Transvaal, the British govern
ment has had successive disturbances. In
the act of manumissIOn, approprlatlng $780,
OOO. 600 in payment for the slaves in all the
colonies, more than S6,OOO.OOO was assigned
TO the slave owners in South Africa. The
Beers in Cape Colony protested against the
act for various reasons, but especially as
II Il
they had migrated beyond the Naal, one of
their first acts after proclaiming their new
independence Is recorded to have been
great slave-hunt by 400 Beers against the
Berhuans. 1t was about 60 years ago, and
it Is not at all to be presumed that the
cruelties practiced then could be allowed
among them now; but the records may show
that 1t is not wonderful that the British
government should have repeated difficult
ties with them and should have incurred
their hereditary dislike.
In 1877 the Beers of the Transvaal found
themselves in serious difficulties in
dependent nation. Their government was
in financial straits and in general confusion.
\ powerful chief of the warlike katfirs with
in their own territory was harassing them,
while they were also menaced by an in
vasion OF the Zulus. Their condition was
deemed by the British to involve peril to
all the south african cOlOnieSs anu uHueT
a show of British force, and partly for pro-
lection, they assented to the annexation of
their territory to the British empire. But
the English governor was either ill-chosen
or unfortunate in his methods, and in 1850
they rose in a courageous and weL-directed
revolt, which was ended by grant to
them. in the London convention OF 1881, of
self-government subject to the suzerainty
of her majesty" The revolt above referred
to soon ended in the crushing defeat at
Majuba Hill, where a force OF a few hun
bred British troops was almost annihilated
by large Boer force of expert marksmen,
firing mostly from behind rocks or other
cover This made known the Transvaal
rifemen as most dangerous foes. 1t was
near the beginning OF the revolt; and when
the British reenforcements arrived the
Boers, as military authorities agree, could
have met only defeat, at which point the
British government, then led by Mr.. Glad
stone as head of liberal ministry, granted
conference, whose final issue was, as above
noted the self-government of the republic
under British suzerainty.
With this as one step out of the imme
date difficulty, the Boer was quoted. But