The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-07

 now had the blacks in our service had such bullets. As a matter of fact, Punk kett and his men only succumbed after they had fired their last shot. and it would seem that they killed 2.OOO of their assailants. The bullets used, therefore, were not in fault
 had an interesting talk the other day with a friend of mine just home from South Africa. He was anxious to sound a note of warning to the people who are fiocling there with a more or less hazy idea that South Africa Is an El Dorado for anybody possessing-or fancying that he ability and enterprise. My friend is naturally of sanguine temper ament, but he gives a decidedly gloomy account of the situation so far as the average emigrant is concerned. By every steamer men--and women. too of all sorts and conditions are going out to the Cape in the hope of finding some lucrative employment, or, if they possess a little capital, of starting some profitable business. In nineteen cases out of twen- ty they are bitterly disappointed. If they do not return home-which those who can pay their passage back are usually glad to do-they have to make the best of bad job by struggling along in state of poverty, which represents melancholy contrast to the expecta- tions they had formed.
 
 To my mind. there is something mean and contemptible In European state agreeing to forbid the natives of Afica procuring any muskets, and then shoot ing them with either explosive or non explosive bullets. What strange idea must these Africans have of European civilization and European religion. We arm a certain number of then to fight against their own compatrlots, not on equal terms, but under such conditions that, for every one of our blacks who is killed above a hundred of the patriot blacks must inevitably perish It re- minds me of the age of chvalry, when a gallant knight. arrayed in armor- proof could slay without danger to himself any number of unsrmored foot-sodiers. The valor of these ruffians has been ceebrat- ed in prose and verse, though where the valor came in any more than a butcher cutting the throats of pigs l never per ceived. Still. at least, 1t may be said of them that they did their own contempti- ble work, and did not hire men 10 do 1t for them.
 The Bulgarians are, In the main, Slavs, although there are a considerable num- Der of Turks in Bulgaria. The Macedon- ians are mainly Slavs. At Salonca and along the adjacent coast. line there are some Creeks and the Turkish population Is numerically inferior to that of the Slave, although numerous. The last Trucco- Russian war took place owing to the atrocities committed by the Turks on the Bulgarian Slavs. The Russian armies reached the vicinity of Constantinople, and were in occupation both of Bulgaria and of Macedonia. Russia concluded a treaty which would have freed both Bul- garia and Macedonia from Turkish mis- rule. What followed? We intervened and forced Russia to restore Macedonia to the Turks as the alternative of fight ing us Had 1t not been that MT. Glad stone had partially aroused the con science of the nation, we should have probably gone the length of aiding the Sultan to maintain his rule in Bulgaria. In return for our service in restoring Macedonia to the Sultan. and for cer- tain empty promises of reforms in Ar menia, which we have allowed him to disregard we took Cypress for our selves, and this arrangement on the sug- gestion of Lord Beaconsfield we styled Peace with Honor"
 Since then the Sultan has worked his wicked will in Macedonia. Can we be surprised that the Macedonian Slavs should be determined to stop at no means In order to drive out the wretches who have converted their country Into a hell on earth? Can we be surprised that the Bulgarians should, to the best or their ability, aid their kith. kin, and core ligionists? We interferred in the Trans vaal to secure votes for the Uitlanders, and to prevent them being taxed too heavily by the wicked Boers. It is ter rlble to think of MT. Belt and his friends not having been allowed representation