The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-03
The BRITISH TERMS


The terms of peace offered by the Brit
tsh government to the Beers and accept
ed by them at Vereeniging are more lib
eral with respect to financial aid TOT
the Beers than those rejected on March
16, 1901, by General Botha, at Middle
burg, but otherwise the Beers might
have had the reasonably satisfactory
terms of surrender last year. which after
two months discussion they now accept
The MIDI leburg terms offered by
Kitchener provided for suffrage franchise
for the Beers after the introduction of
representative government, so limited as
to secure the proper predominance Of the
white races. The <Vereeniging terms
make no specifications about the suffrage,
leaving the matter for discussion after
representative government is conferred.
The disposition of the Cape Colony and
Natal rebels differs; the former are to
be disfranchised and the latter are to be
dealt with by the laws of the colony. It.
would have been better to include all the
active participants on the Boer side in
the same conditions. The British govern
ment will be more successful in its work
of reconstruction if it can reduce the
soreness to the minimum. If all the
evils predicted for the government in
the near future are verified, it is useless
to talk of the withdrawal of the British
army from South Africa. A, great up
rising of the Kafirs and other natives is
foreshadowed, together with revival Of
the Boer resistance in new Boer settle
ment in northeastern Transvaal whittier
thousands of Beers are said to have gone
in anticipation of the surrender.
Confirmation Of these reports is neces-
sary, If course. There is hardly any
probability of confederation of the ma
tive races Of South Africa against Great
Britain, and there Is certainly little ba-
sis for report that the Beers will try
another uprising. Even Mr.. Steyn, the
late president Of the Orange Free State,
who proclaimed himself "last ditch"
man some time ago, has given up the
fight. He and Delarey led the minority
at Vereeniging during the discussion,
clinging to the idea that they could, at
least, for the Orange Free State or the
Orange River Colony, as it is now called,
receive independent existence.
Steyn is man to be pitied. He and
his people went into the war sympathet-
ieally and sacrificed all they had, and
Steyn comes out physically disabled and
impoverished. He is a hero of the first
class, which Paul Kruger is not. Steyn
stood by his country and people and suf-
fered and bed with them. Kruger fed to
Holland with staff of select burghers
and all the gold he could find in Pretoria
and has known nothing of the hardships
Of war. He has not been considered in
the conduct of negotiations and was
not consulted by Steyn, De Wet, Betha
Delarey, John Brand, Schalkburger and
Boer deputation, who had no use for a
leader who would run away from the
storm and stress of war at a critical
period DR.. Leyds, the right hand mar
OF Kruger in Europe, did not know whai
was going on at Vereeniging, and was
surprised to read of the agreement ii
the Paris newspapers.
AS Transyaal agent in Europe, Leyds
has been intensely active. but he did no
succeed in his chief object, i. e., secur.
ing the Intervention of some European
power or powers in behalf of the Beers
as against England The reason of THU
failure was that, while in Germany ant
France there has been large amount o
pro- Boer talk and professed sympathy
and while Holland las been the seat o
the pro-Boer propaganda, and the younl
; Queen herself has been a picturesau,
pleader for the Boer cause. no European
government cared to take step which