Imperial Valley press., 1914-10-30
REDMOND STOCK IN THE BISHOPS CARRIAGE ArrHEArRE
MONDAY NIGHT

been called out for service; the defense ,
act is so drawn that this force can
be utilized to invade the German ter I
ritory after the enemy has been
driven off British soil.
The demand of the natives to be
allowed to fight for England is partly
explained by the fact that the Ger
man government was employing some
5000 colored Cape boys, and dismissed
them all before war was declared with
England without paying them their
wages, or rather paying them in Ger
man paper money, which was worth
less in South Africa.
There are two ports, Luderitzbrecht,
near the diamond fields, and Swakop-
mund, whence the rail runs from the
coast to WindKhuk, the capital An
excellent railway system has been
built at the expense of the German
taxpayer, and the budget of the
colony usually shows substantial de-
! ficit, which reached 100000 pounds IN
1910. The diamond industry, however,
| is now proving lucrative.
The story of the German occupa-
tion Of this colony is not without in
terestt. In 1884, Bismarck advised the
Emperor William /. to make proc
| lamation taking under his protection
"the territory Belonging to M. A.
Luderitz." How the said Luderitz
came by the territory is not stated
a discreet silence indeed. A ship was
sent, German flag hoisted, and the
captain called on all present to give
three cheers for the Kaiser. Whether
the local Hottentots responded is not
recorded.
| Next month treaty was signed be-
tween Germany and Boer mission
station called Bethany, by which the
colonists recognized a German pro-
tectorate; but the terms of this
"treaty" are not published, though at
the present moment they might be of
special interest. In the following
year a sort of German chartered
company was founded, which entered
into number of nebulous 'treaties"
with local native chiefs who were in
duced to accept German protection.
The validity of these treaties has
never been Investigated, and the best
opinion is that the chiefs had no
lEower to hand over any rights be-
longing to their tribes-but probably
they placed their marks against docu-
Iments without understanding the sig
nificance of their acts.
| Great Britain always reserved her
rights to Walfsh Bay, and the trading
rights of her subjects, but otherwise
did not intervene till the famous He'll
Igoland agreement in 1890, when Lord
Salisbury recognized this colony as
la German sphere of innuence-but
Istill reserving Walfsh Bay. 1t would
lappear that Lord Salisbury omitted to
do full justice to the natives Of this
TERRITORY when he made the Heligo-
land agreement The fact is that
many of them had rights as British
Isubjects which should have been pro-
tected when the transfer was effected.
| The natives of Namaqualand are
Hottentots, who in 1900 trekked from
Cape Colony. Their chief was an
outlaw named Africaner, and the
great Dutch missionary, DR.. Wander
kemp, scent two assistants named
Albrech to convert him to Christian
itp. At first they failed, and he be-
came the terror of the local farmers.
He killed and plundered, and even
| destroyed the mission station of
Warm Bath (now the terminus of the
German railway. But when DR.. Mof-
fat followed the Albrechts, Africancr
was completely converted, and be-
came an exemplary Christian. He ac-
companied DIR. Moffat to Cape Town,
made his peace with Lord Charles
Somerset, the governor, accepted a
valuable present from the government
and a passport home SO that his form
er rights as a British subject revived,
and by arrangements with DR.. Moffat
he placed his followers under the
spiritual guidance of the Weslsyans,
Africaner died in 1928, and his sons
carried on his civilizing influence. 1t
seems, therefore, very difficult to
Justify the German contention thpt
his tribe became German subjects in
1890.