The Washington herald., 1915-09-19

q
held for some five or six years Later he
was elected to the Volksraad.
While he was serving in the legislature
an application came from concern ask
ing for the privilege Of making dynamite.
When the application was first voted on
It was defeated, Botha being one Of those
who cast his vote against it. A second
application was made. however. and
granted. This time Botha voted for 1t,
and It was charged that Botha had
changed his vote because he had been
bribed. The charge was never proved
and the consensus Of opinion at the time
was that 1t was jealousy that had prompt
cd the charge.
Botha was still a member Of the Raad
when England set out on her campaign to
subjugate the Beers in 1899. He Joined
his old Vrijheid commando among his
comrades and under his old general.
Lukas Meyer. He was engaged In the
first fight at Talana and distinguished
himself by bravery in rescuing several
wounded Beers and carrying them be-
hind the lines.
For this deed and by his clever
handling of a squad Of men whose ohicers
had all been killed or wounded he was
promoted to the rank Of assistant lighting
general, which was equivalent to the
rank Of colonel.
He was in the long trek from Dundee
to 'Ladysmith and took part in the fa-
nous siege of Ladysmith. When General
Jouhert was mortally wounded outside
Ladysmith he expressed the wish that
Louis Botha. who had distinguished
himself on several occasions by his dar-
ing and good generalship should succeed
him as general Of the Transvaa1 forces.
It was at a meeting held in q wood
shed on the Natal border on the eve OF
the war that both Joubert and Botha
strongly advised the Beers not to Cross
the border. There were too many Boef
jingoes present, however. and the good
advice was not needed.
For this reason there were some peo.
pie who opposed Botha's elevation to the
rank Of commandant general The major.
fly Of the leaders, however. felt that
there was no other man for the position
and he was overwhelmingly elected to
the place
1t was Botha who led the Beers az
thev cut their way through the forces
Of Butler, who had surrounded them He
personally was in charge Of the force
which w1thstood the Dublin fusileers az
they tried to cross the river and out
flank the Boer army 1t was a terrible
dav for both Beers and English. Botha
wce continually on the move. Riding q
white horse, he made a conspicuous OBJ
1ect as he directed the men in their
moves and in their building of earth
works. and almost by a miracle he came
through the battle unscratched.
After the brave fight that the HANDFUL
of Beers made against the unlimited
thousands OF English troops it was Botha
who negotiated the peace terms. He
proved as capable statesman as a waS-
rior. He, the ex-shepherd, succeeded in
tho hoa KifchopoR
and the old diplomat Miner extraordi-
narily easy terms.
Botha signed the treaty and he has re-
ligiously lived up to the terms. When
England went to war with Germany
Botha was premier Of the Boer republic
which England had conquered. And as
premier he felt 1t his duty to take the
field against his brother Beers who had
seized the opportunity to rebel against
been severely criticized for this, but
whether he did right or wrong Is a ques-
tion for history to decide.
Later he moved against the Germans
in their colony in Southwest Africa and
conquered their territory. 1t was then
that his old foe, Lord Kitchener, sent
him a message of congratulations. To
everybody's surprise he invited the victo-
rious Boer general to come to England
10 Netp tHe bTltlSH HkHt inc UctmouS IL
Europe. Botha's reply was no less as
tonishing in that he accepted the invita-
tion with the most pronounced display Of
warmth he has ever shown.
The territory that Botha captured
from the Germans in Africa has been
named Bothaland in his honor. 1t is be-
ing whispered about in England that he
has been offered rank and title. The Eng
lish think that It is due the man
who. more than any other, has attempted
to bring about an understanding between
the English and the conquered but still
proud Beers.
VIII Botha accept rank and title from
the English? He is plain man Of the
people and has been brought up among .
people who despise all ranks and titles.
All his training has been antimonarchical,
but his detractors say that il title is Of
fered TO him he will accept 1t, as he has
accepted every other lucrative position
the English have yet offered him.