The Irish standard., 1905-05-13
Likes the United State. and Especially Cali
fornia But Finds Our Lands Al
ready Picked Over.
Argentine Confederation Has Offered Coed
il Land and Thlther the Trek Has 30
Alreadys Commenced.

Orange Free State, especially in eli
matte conditions, but we will be free
of the question of drought, of the
constant need Of irrigation and above
all of the great pest of the South
African farmer, the-well. we used to
call them red Jackets perhaps you
can guess why, but they are COM
monty spoken of as locusts.
"The Argentine government has Of
fered our people free transportation.
and if you look on the map you will
see that the distance from South
Africa to that place is not so far as
it sounds, for we take the short cut
across the ocean. In addition to these
advantages, we are exempt from mil
itary service, we are free to teach
our own language in the schools, free
to worship as we please, free, in a
word, as we must be, in all respects.
"We expect to raise beef and wool
for export; in fact the Argentine beef
is known the world over, and one Of
the largest beef extract firms in the
world is established there.
"The Boer woman is brave, hand
some, accustomed to outdoor life and
with the health and physique that
comes with it. Many of the women
who are coming to this new world
to take part in the strenuous life of
the pioneer are of this kind and char
acter. They do not seem at all
afraid of the rough experiences, for
the war has been training to them,
too.
MANY of these Dutch women have
French blood in their veins, for If
you remember history you will recall
that the French Huguenots followed
the Dutch into South Africa, and
many of the Dutch names, my own
for example, show the mixed parent
!, age, as in the character many of the
f, French traits crop out. Perhaps one
| of them is our undoubted cheerful
, ness under all circumstances. We
have none of the morbid, melancholy
traits. Even the terrible misfortunes
that have befallen us have not been
/, able to kill the natural gaiety.
1T is not surprising that we Beers
, are we'll adapted to become the maxi
ers of new colony. Take my own
experience. I learned to ride and
shoot when was z and accompanied
my father on hunting trips at 10. At
IL my father used to send me out
with his own rifle, Snider, and two
,, rounds of ammunition, with severe
admonition to bring back either the
ammunition or the game-and l took
care to bring back the game.
This became my military training,
and at the same time I learned the
country and became expert in judg-
| ing distances, the lack of which
knowledge handicapped the scientific
! officers as much as it did the COM
mon soldiers of the British army"
Asked concerning Cecil Rhodes,
Barney Barnato and other men whose
names are so closely associated with
the development of South Africa,
Gen. Joubert became grimly indig-
nant.
There is nothing to be accom-
plished by talking after he is dead
, of the good or i'll a man has done,
and the slate is wiped off," he said.
But l never can help feeling of
+, indignation when l hear that title,
empire builder applied to Rhodes.
Rhodes did more harm to South
Africa than he did good. Whatever
commercial and other improvement
South Africa underwent during his
life was the natural evolution of a
country SO richly endowed. The
changes would have come anyway.
| They were bound to.
"The Cape to Cairo railroad was a
necessity. II Rhodes had never been
born it would have had to be built,
and so with lots of other schemes for
which he got the credit. It is said
that he drank himself slowly to death
through remorse. I don't know. It is