volume 7, page 455.

SHANGHAI: A. D. 1898. Rioting consequent on French desecration of a cemetery. Extension of foreign settlements.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899.

SHANTUNG, The "Boxer" outbreak in.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JANUARY-MARCH).

SHIMONOSEKI, Text of the Treaty of.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895.

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SHIPPING OF THE WORLD: In 1900.

Statement of number and net and gross tonnage of steam and sailing vessels of over 100 tons of the several countries of the world, as recorded in Lloyd's Register for 1900-1901 [dated July 1, 1900].

_United States, Commissioner of Navigation, Annual Report, 1900, page 125._

FLAG STEAM. SAIL. TOTAL. ------------------------- ------------------ ------------- Number. Net tons. Gross tons. Number. Net tons. Number. Tonnage.

British: United Kingdom. 7,020 7,072,401 11,513,759 1,894 1,727,687 8,914 13,241,446 Colonies. 910 378,925 635,331 1,014 384,477 1,924 1,019,808 Total. 7,930 7,451,326 12,149,090 2,908 2,112,164 10,838 14,261,254

American (United States): Sea. 690 594,237 878,564 2,130 1,156,498 2,820 2,035,062 Lake. 242 436,979 576,402 73 138,807 315 715,209 Total. 932 1,031,216 1,454,966 2,203 1,295,305 3,135 2,750,271

Argentine. 95 36,938 57,239 106 30,407 201 87,646 Austro-Hungarian 214 240,808 387,471 56 28,613 270 416,084 Belgian. 115 111,624 162,493 2 420 117 162,913 Brazilian. 215 85,799 133,507 117 29,580 332 163,087 Chilean. 52 38,960 62,872 75 48,106 127 110,978 Chinese. 48 41,847 65,721 1 573 49 66,294 Colombian. 1 555 877 5 1,110 6 1,987 Danish. 369 240,599 412,273 433 106,738 802 519,011 Dutch. 289 307,574 467,209 117 63,068 406 530,277 French. 662 542,305 1,052,193 552 298,309 1,214 1,350,562 German. 1,209 1,344,605 2,159,919 501 490,114 1,710 2,650,033 Greek. 139 111,797 178,137 230 65,957 369 245,094 Haitian. 5 912 1,750 2 414 7 2,164 Italian. 312 343,020 540,349 864 443,306 1,176 983,655 Japanese. 484 303,303 488,187 582 86,370 1,006 574,557 Mexican. 25 6,562 11,460 13 3,081 38 14,541 Montenegrin. 1 1,064 1,857 14 3,513 15 5,370 Norwegian. 806 467,123 764,683 1,574 876,129 2,380 1,640,812 Peruvian. 3 3,204 4,869 33 9,607 36 14,476 Portuguese. 48 37,153 57,664 156 53,391 204 111,055 Roumanian. 17 9,686 17,361 3 659 20 18,020 Russian. 496 292,277 469,496 750 251,405 1,246 720,901 Sarawakian. 2 244 418 2 418 Siamese. 4 821 1,435 1 294 5 1,729 Spanish. 422 416,882 642,231 175 52,549 597 694,780 Swedish. 678 260,023 418,550 755 218,722 1,433 637,272 Turkish. 135 58,974 94,781 170 48,709 305 143,490 Uruguayan. 17 6,438 10,468 19 4,032 36 14,500 Venezuelan. 12 2,450 4,246 8 1,185 20 5,431 Zanzibarian. 3 1,871 2,808 3 2,808 Other countries: Hawaii. 23 11,185 16,922 24 29,707 47 46,629 Cuba. 35 17,651 27,040 11 2,410 46 29,450 Philippine Islands 69 19,587 31,099 42 8,236 111 39,335 Various: Arabia, Salvador, Ecuador, Liberia, Samos, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Egypt, Persia, Porto Rico, etc. 31 10,130 17,717 22 9,127 53 26,844

Total. 15,898 13,800,513 22,309,358 12,524 6,674,370 28,422 29,043,728

SHIRE HIGHLANDS, The.

See (in this volume) BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE.

SHOA.

See (in this volume) EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896.

SHUN-CH'ING, Anti-missionary insurrection at.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899 (JUNE-JANUARY).

SIAH CHAI, or Vegetarians, The.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST).

SIAM: A. D. 1896-1899. Declaration between Great Britain and France with regard to Siam.

A declaration of agreement, in part as follows, between Great Britain and France, was signed at London, January 15, 1896:

"I. The Governments of Great Britain and France engage to one another that neither of them will, without the consent of the other, in any case, or under any pretext, advance their armed forces into the region which is comprised in the basins of the Petcha Bouri, Meiklong, Menam, and Bang Pa Kong (Petriou) Rivers and their respective tributaries, together with the extent of coast from Muong Bang Tapan to Muong Pase, the basins of the rivers on which those two places are situated, and the basins of the other rivers, the estuaries of which are included in that coast; and including also the territory lying to the north of the basin of the Menam, and situated between the Anglo-Siamese frontier, the Mekong River, and the eastern watershed of the Me Ing. They further engage not to acquire within this region any special privilege or advantage which shall not be enjoyed in common by, or equally open to, Great Britain and France, and their nationals and dependents. These stipulations, however, shall not be interpreted as derogating from the special clauses which, in virtue of the Treaty concluded on the 3rd October, 1893, between France and Siam, apply to a zone of 25 kilometers on the right bank of the Mekong and to the navigation of that river.

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II. Nothing in the foregoing clause shall hinder any action on which the two Powers may agree, and which they shall think necessary in order to uphold the independence of the Kingdom of Siam. But they engage not to enter into any separate Agreement permitting a third Power to take any action from which they are bound by the present Declaration themselves to abstain.

III. From the mouth of the Nam Huok northwards as far as the Chinese frontier the thalweg of the Mekong shall form the limit of the possessions or spheres of influence of Great Britain and France. It is agreed that the nationals and dependents of each of the two countries shall not exercise any jurisdiction or authority within the possessions or sphere of influence of the other."

In a despatch to the British Ambassador at Paris, written on the same day, Lord Salisbury explained the intent and purpose of the agreement as follows: "It might be thought that because we have engaged ourselves, and have received the engagement of France, not under any circumstances to invade this territory, that therefore we are throwing doubt upon the complete title and rights of the Siamese to the remainder of their kingdom, or, at all events, treating those rights with disregard. Any such interpretation would entirely misrepresent the intention with which this arrangement has been signed. We have selected a particular area for the application of the stipulations of this Treaty, not because the title of the King of Siam to other portions of his dominions is less valid, but because it is the area which affects our interests as a commercial nation. The valley of the Menam is eminently fitted to receive a high industrial development. Possibly in course of time it may be the site of lines of communication which will be of considerable importance to neighbouring portions of the British Empire. There seems every prospect that capital will flow into this region if reasonable security is offered for its investment, and great advantage would result to the commerce and industry of the world, and especially of Great Britain, if capitalists could be induced to make such an application of the force which they command. But the history of the region in which Siam is situated has not in recent years been favourable to the extension of industrial enterprise, or to the growth of that confidence which is the first condition of material improvement. A large territory to the north has passed from the hands of the Burmese Government to those of Great Britain. A large territory to the east has passed from the hands of its former possessors to those of France. The events of this recent history certainly have a tendency to encourage doubts of the stability of the Siamese dominion; and without in any degree sharing in those doubts, or admitting the possibility, within any future with which we have to deal, of the Siamese independence being compromised, Her Majesty's Government could not but feel that there would be an advantage in giving some security to the commercial world that, in regard to the region where the most active development is likely to take place, no further disturbances of territorial ownership are to be apprehended."

_Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications (Papers by Command: France, Number 2, 1896, pages 1-3)._

Perhaps the above explanation can be better understood after reading the following:

"In the early eighties France commenced the subjugation of Tonquin. … It was not until 1893 that France openly attacked Siam. The demand was subtly formulated—on behalf, not of the Government of the French Republic, but of 'the Empire of Annam.' But even so the French had been in Annam for perhaps a quarter of a century, whereas Siam could show an undisturbed, undisputed tenure of the Mekong River's 'rive gauche' for at least ninety years. … The cession to France of territory amounting to rather more than one-third of the entire kingdom was insisted upon; and in March 1893 that Power sent the ship-of-war Lutin to Bangkok, where she remained for months a standing menace. A rigorous blockade of the Siamese seaboard followed, resulting in a few short days in complete surrender of the disputed territory to France and the payment of a heavy war indemnity. … By the Anglo-French Convention of last year [as given above] the King of Siam's position became, to say the least, slightly anomalous. That agreement practically amounted to the fair division, between France and England, of the whole of Siam save that portion situate in the fertile valley of the Meinam, whose autonomy they still guarantee to preserve. … France holds, in addition to the long-coveted port of Chantabûn, that part of the province of Luang Phrabang which is situate upon the right bank of the Mekong. … The Siamese king is 'nulli secundus' among Oriental monarchs as a progressive ruler. And fate has been unkind to him indeed! He has encouraged English customs and the English language by all the means in his power—has taken the kindliest possible interest in the introduction of electric light, electric tramways, &c., into his capital—has endeavoured to model his army and navy, his prison and other systems, upon the English method—and has in person opened the first railway (that connecting Bangkok with Pâknam) in Siam. It is, indeed, one of the strangest and most interesting sights, as you stroll through the streets of the capital, to witness the 'riksha and gharry of comparative barbarism travelling in juxtaposition to the electric tramcar and the bicycle! And for his broad and enlightened views the King of Siam has been requited by the wholesale and utterly unjustifiable plunder of his most fertile lands."

_Percy Cross Standing, The Significance of the Siamese Visit (Nineteenth Century, June, 1897)._

Frequent collisions between French and Siamese in the so-called "neutral zone" on the right bank of the Mekong continued, until a new convention was agreed upon in May, 1890. This gave to France the province of Luang-Phrabang, in return for which she agreed to withdraw entirely from the neutral territory and from the port of Chantabûn.

SIAM: A. D. 1898. Gift of relics of Buddha.

See (in this volume) BUDDHA.

SIAM: A. D. 1899 (May-July). Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.

See (in this volume) PEACE CONFERENCE.

SIAN FU, SI-NGAN-FU, The Chinese Imperial Court at.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).

SIBERIA.

See (in this volume) RUSSIA IN ASIA.

SIBERIAN ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

See (in this volume) POLAR EXPLORATION, 1805, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900.

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SIERRA LEONE PROTECTORATE. Extension of British authority over the Hinterland of the Colony of Sierra Leone. The hut tax. Insurrection of natives.

"Immediately adjoining the Colony of Sierra Leone, lying to the northward and eastward, is the Hinterland, the boundaries of which were defined by the Agreement between Great Britain and France which was concluded 21st January 1895. The extreme depth from south to north is about 210 miles, lying between 7° and 10° north latitude, and 180 miles from east to west, lying between 10° 40' and 13° 20' of west longitude. The estimated area is rather more than 30,000 square miles—about the size of Ireland. … Unlike many regions on the west coast of Africa, the country is, for the most part, well watered by rivers and running streams. The population of the Hinterland has not been ascertained. It has been variously estimated, before the present troubles, at from about 750,000 up to about 2,000,000. The trade and revenue of the Colony depend almost entirely on the Hinterland. A very large proportion of the goods imported into the Colony are carried into and consumed in the Hinterland. These goods are paid for by means of the products of the Hinterland, which are exported, and the profits derived from the exchange enable the merchants to pay the Customs duties, which constitute the bulk of the Colonial revenue. The territories forming the Hinterland are, according to the native organisation, ruled over by a large number of Chiefs (or Kings, as they used to be, and still in native parlance are, called). The portions of country under each Chief are well ascertained, and recognised by the various Chiefs and their subjects. …

"The relations between the English Government and the Chiefs at the time of the conclusion of the Agreement between France and England in 1895 was … that some of the Chiefs whose territories lay most adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone had contracted with the English Crown certain treaties of cession, and treaties directed to definite objects of amity and good offices. In addition there had sprung up by usage a limited consensual and advisory jurisdiction, under which Chiefs as well as persons not Chiefs would bring their differences (mainly as to territorial boundaries) before the Governor of Sierra Leone as a sort of arbitrator, and implicitly follow his awards. This jurisdiction was exercised over an area of no defined limits, so far as any rules were concerned. As a fact, it was limited by conditions of distance and facility of travel, so that whilst the usage was most established in the countries nearest to Freetown, there was none in the more distant regions, or if there was any it was at most so rudimentary as to be jurally of no account. … I have not been able to trace any instance in which, either under treaty or any other form of consent, or without consent, the English Government has imposed, or endeavoured to impose any direct taxation upon the Chiefs or people of the Hinterland prior to 1896.

"The agreement between France and Great Britain delimited the respective spheres of interest of the two countries south and west of the Middle or Upper Niger, and thus defined for England in the Hinterland of Sierra Leone a territory within which, so far as concerned any question between France and England, England was at liberty to exercise whatever species or extent of jurisdiction she might consider proper. It made, of course, no alteration on the existing native organisation, nor upon the existing relations between England and the native Chiefs, who were not parties to the agreement in any sense. … On 31st August 1896 a Proclamation was published setting forth that Her Majesty had assumed a Protectorate over the territories adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone in which Her Majesty had acquired power and jurisdiction. For purposes of administration the Hinterland was divided into five districts, intended to be of about equal size, avoiding severance as far as possible by the district boundary of the territories of Paramount Chiefs. These districts have been named as the Karene, Ronietta, Bandajuma, Pangmua, and Koinadugu districts. In anticipation of the arrangements that might become necessary for the government of the Protectorate, an Order of the Queen in Council had been made on 24th August 1895, … whereby, … Her Majesty was pleased, by and with the advice of her Privy Council, to order that it shall be lawful for the Legislative Council, for the time being, of the Colony of Sierra Leone, by Ordinance or Ordinances, to exercise and provide for giving effect to all such jurisdiction as Her Majesty may at any time, before or after the passing of the Order in Council, have acquired in the said territories adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone. … Following upon the Order of the Queen in Council, an Ordinance, entitled 'An Ordinance to Determine the mode of exercising Her Majesty's Jurisdiction in the Territories adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone,' was passed by the Legislative Council and Governor of Sierra Leone for the Government of the Protectorate, on 16th September 1896."

_Great Britain, Report and Correspondence on Insurrection in the Sierra Leone Protectorate (Parliamentary Publications: Papers by Command, 1899, C. 9388, pages 10-17)._

The Ordinance above mentioned, which was reenacted, with some changes, in September, 1897, provided, among other things, for the imposition of a house tax, or hut tax, upon the natives, and this proved to be the main cause of a serious native revolt in the Protectorate. "By way of asserting the Crown's ownership of all lands, whether in use and occupation or not—and also of attempting to make the people defray the cost of governing them by methods they resent—the Protectorate Ordinance imposes a 'house tax' of five shillings a year, and, in the case of 'houses with four rooms or more,' of ten shillings a year, on every 'householder'; the same to be paid in 'sterling coin' on or after the 1st January in each year, or, in default of payment on demand, to be distrained for with so much addition as will defray the cost of removing the property and disposing of it for 'the price current at the nearest market.' The absurdity of thus importing the mechanism of civilisation into 'house tax' levying among these ignorant savages matches the injustice of the tax itself. The mud hovels to be taxed are rarely worth more than the equivalent of two or three shillings apiece, and shillings or other 'sterling coin' are rarely seen or handled by the natives, such wages as they earn being generally paid in kind, and such trade as they carry on being nearly always in the way of barter. {455} Few who are not chiefs or headmen own property worth as much as five shillings, and property for which five shillings could be obtained 'at the nearest market' might be worth the equivalent of five pounds to them. There was no attempt to raise the proposed house or hut tax before last January [1898], and perhaps none of the natives have even yet any understanding of the clauses of the Protectorate Ordinance providing them with new-fangled 'courts of Justice,' and taking from them all proprietary rights in their land. But as soon as a proclamation was issued on 21st August, 1896, notifying the contemplated changes, all who heard of them were reasonably alarmed, and wherever the news spread seeds of fresh discontent were sown. …

"There were burning of huts, buffeting of chiefs, and so forth, in the south and east, as well as in the north, where, owing to the alleged recalcitrancy of Bai Bureh and the zeal of Captain Sharpe, the District Commissioner, the havoc was greatest. Early in February several chiefs and headmen were brought to Freetown from Port Lokko in manacles, to be tried, or punished without trial, on a charge of 'refusing to comply with the provisions of the Protectorate Ordinance, and inciting their subjects to resist the law.' 'The most affecting part of the matter,' says the newspaper report, 'is that the natives all loudly affirm their unswerving loyalty to the Government, and say that they do not refuse to pay the hut tax because they do not wish to, but because they really cannot pay.' Their apologies were not listened to. Instead, a detachment of the West India Regiment was sent up to assist Captain Sharpe in the little war on which he had already embarked. A futile attempt to arrest Bai Bureh on 18th February led to a general uprising, and the first battle was fought on 3rd March, when the town of Karina was recovered from the 'insurgents' who had occupied it, and over sixty of them were killed. Another fight occurred at Port Lokko, on 5th March, when the 'insurgents' lost about forty more. These victories being insufficient, fresh troops were sent up in batches, until the entire force of conquerors numbered 800 or upwards. They found it easier to cow than to conquer the people, and the unequal struggle went on for three months. At the end of May operations had to be suspended during the rainy season, and before they can be renewed it may be hoped that peace will be patched up. Already, indeed, the 'rebellion' appears to be practically crushed, and with it all the civilisation and all the commerce that had been planted in the Karina district. Hundreds of natives have been shot down, many more hundreds have died of starvation. Nearly all the huts that it was proposed to tax have been destroyed, either by the owners themselves, or by the policemen and soldiers."

_H. R. Fox Bourne, Sierra Leone Troubles (Fortnightly Review, August, 1898)._

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1895 (January-February). Attitude of Free Silver majority in the U. S. Senate towards the Treasury gold reserve.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY); and 1895-1896 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896. In the American Presidential election.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896-1898. The Indianapolis Monetary Commission report and Secretary Gage's plan in Congress.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896-1898.

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1897. Negotiations by envoys from the United States for an international bi-metallic agreement.

See (in this volume) MONETARY QUESTIONS: A. D. 1897 (APRIL-OCTOBER).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1900. Practical settlement of the issue in the United States. Attempted revival in the Presidential canvass.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MARCH-DECEMBER), and (MAY-NOVEMBER).

SILVER REPUBLICANS.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER); and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

SI-NGAN-FU, SINGAN FU, The Chinese Imperial Court at.

See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).

SIRDAR, Egyptian.

See (in this volume) EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896; and 1897-1898.

SLAVERY: A. D. 1885. Emancipation in Cuba.

See (in this volume) CUBA: A. D. 1868-1885.

SLAVERY: A. D. 1895. New anti-slavery law in Egypt.

See (in this volume) EGYPT: A. D. 1895.

SLAVERY: A. D. 1896. Abolition in Madagascar.

See (in this volume) MADAGASCAR: A. D. 1894-1896.

SLAVERY: SLAVERY: A. D. 1897. Abolished in Zanzibar.

See (in this volume) AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (ZANZIBAR).

SLAVERY: A. D. 1897. Compulsory labor in Rhodesia.

See (in this volume) SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY): A. D. 1897 (JANUARY).

SLAVERY: A. D. 1897. Subjugation of Fulah slave raiders in Nupé and Ilorin.

See (in this volume) AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (NIGERIA).

SLAVERY: A. D. 1899. Forced labor in Congo State.

See (in this volume) CONGO FREE STATE: A. D. 1899.

SLESWICK: Complaints of German treatment.

See (in this volume) GERMANY: A. D. 1899.

SMOKELESS POWDERS, Invention of.

See (in this volume) SCIENCE, RECENT: CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS.

SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII. on.

See (in this volume) PAPACY: A. D. 1901.

SOCIALIST PARTIES.

See (in this volume) AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897, and after;

BELGIUM: A. D. 1894-1895;

FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (APRIL-MAY), and 1900 (JANUARY);

GERMANY: A. D. 1894-1895, and 1897 (JULY);

ITALY: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY);

SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1894-1898;

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER), and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

SOKOTO.

See (in this volume) NIGERIA: A. D. 1882-1899.

SOLOMON ISLANDS, The: Definite division between Great Britain and Germany.

See (in this volume) SAMOAN ISLANDS.

SOMALIS, Rising of, in Jubaland.

See (in this volume) BRITISH EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE: A. D. 1900.

SOUDAN.

See (in this volume) SUDAN.

"SOUND MONEY" DEMOCRATS.

See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

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----------SOUTH AFRICA: Start--------

SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony: A. D. 1881-1888. Organization of the "Afrikander Bund."

The "Afrikander Bund" or National Party was formed in Cape Colony in 1881, but held its first Congress, or convention, in 1888, at which meeting the following platform, or formal statement of objects, was adopted:

"1. The Afrikander National party acknowledge the guidance of Providence in the affairs both of lands and peoples.

2. They include, under the guidance of Providence, the formation of a pure nationality and the preparation of our people for the establishment of a 'United South Africa.'

3. To this they consider belong:

(a) The establishment of a firm union between all the different European nationalities in South Africa, and

(b) The promotion of South Africa's independence.

4. They consider that the union mentioned in Article 3 (a) depends upon the clear and plain understanding of each other's general interest in politics, agriculture, stock-breeding, trade, and industry, and the acknowledgment of everyone's special rights in the matter of religion, education, and language; so that all national jealousy between the different elements of the people may be removed, and room be made for an unmistakable South African national sentiment.

5. To the advancement of the independence mentioned in Article 3 (b) belong:

(a) That the sentiment of national self-respect and of patriotism toward South Africa should above all be developed and exhibited in schools, and in families, and in the public press.

(b) That a system of voting should be applied which not only acknowledges the right of numbers, but also that of ownership and the development of intelligence, and that is opposed, as far as possible, to bribery and compulsion at the poll.

(c) That our agriculture, stock-breeding, commerce, and industries should be supported in every lawful manner, such as by a conclusive law as regards masters and servants, and also by the appointment of a prudent and advantageous system of Protection.

(d) That the South African Colonies and States, either each for itself or in conjunction with one another, shall regulate their own native affairs, employing thereto the forces of the land by means of a satisfactory burgher law; and

(e) That outside interference with the domestic concerns of South Africa shall be opposed.

6. While they acknowledge the existing Governments holding rule in South Africa, and intend faithfully to fulfil their obligations in regard to the same, they consider that the duty rests upon those Governments to advance the interests of South Africa in the spirit of the foregoing articles; and whilst, on the one side, they watch against any unnecessary or frivolous interference with the domestic or other private matters of the burgher, against any direct meddling with the spiritual development of the nation, and against laws which might hinder the free influence of the Gospel upon the national life, on the other hand they should accomplish all the positive duties of a good Government, among which must be reckoned:

(a) In all their actions to take account of the Christian character of the people.

(b) The maintenance of freedom of religion for everyone, so long as the public order and honor are not injured thereby.

(c) The acknowledgment and expression of religious, social, and bodily needs of the people, in the observance of the present weekly day of rest.

(d) The application of an equal and judicious system of taxation.

(e) The bringing into practice of an impartial and, as far as possible, economical administration of justice.

(f) The watching over the public honor, and against the adulteration of the necessaries of life, and the defiling of ground, water, or air, as well as against the spreading of infectious diseases.

7. In order to secure the influence of these principles, they stand forward as an independent party, and accept the cooperation of other parties only if the same can be obtained with the uninjured maintenance of these principles.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1884-1894. The restored independence of the Boers and their dissatisfaction with its terms. Frustration of their desire for extended territory. The London Convention of 1884.

After the British-Boer War of 1880-81 (see, in volume 4, SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1806-1881), which had been caused by an arbitrary annexation of the Transvaal State to the dominions of the British crown, the sense of justice in Mr. Gladstone led him to restore to the Transvaal Boers (by the Convention or Treaty of Pretoria, 1881) their right of internal self-government, with a reservation of "the suzerainty of Her Majesty," supposably relative to nothing but foreign affairs. The Boers were not satisfied with that concession, and began at once to strive for the complete independence they had previously possessed, under a Convention agreed upon and signed at Sand River, 1852, which guaranteed (quoting its precise terms) "in the fullest manner, on the part of the British Government, to the emigrant farmers (boers) beyond the Vaal River, the right to manage their own affairs and to govern themselves, without any interference on the part of Her Majesty the Queen's Government." To regain that status of complete independence became the first object of the Boers. They went far towards success in this endeavor, as early as 1884, when the British Colonial Secretary, Lord Derby, was induced to agree to a new Convention with the South African Republic (as it was then styled) which superseded the Convention of 1881. The terms of the later instrument are given below. The second aim of the Boers appears to have been the widening of their territory, by advances, in the first instance, southward into Zululand and westward into Bechuanaland. In the former movement they had success; in the latter they were thwarted. English missionaries complained of their treatment of the natives, and stirred up the British government to take the Bechuana tribes under its protection. Their eastern frontier they succeeded, after long controversies with Great Britain, in stretching beyond Swaziland, but they were not allowed to push it to the sea. Northward, they would provably have gone far, had it not been for the appearance, at this time, of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, who came upon the scene of South African politics with imperial ambitions, with great energies and capabilities, with few apparent hesitations, and with a vast fortune acquired in the Kimberley diamond mines. He organized the British South Africa Company, under a royal charter, got some settlers into the country north of the Limpopo and set up a government there, in 1890, just in time, it appears, to forestall the Boers

See, in volume 4, SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1885-1893.

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Of the effect of the two conventions, of 1881 and 1884, on the relations of the British government to the South African Republic, the following is an English view, by a well-known publicist: "In the Treaty of Pretoria, bearing date the 5th of April, 1881, it is stated that Great Britain guarantees 'complete self-government, subject to the Suzerainty of Her Majesty, to the inhabitants of the Transvaal.' … Article 15 declares that 'the Resident will report to the High Commissioner, as representative of the Suzerain, as to the working and observance of the provisions of this Convention.' … On the 31st of March, 1881, Lord Kimberley, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies, used these words in the House of Lords with reference to the terms of the Convention, upon which the Treaty of Pretoria was afterwards based: 'I believe the word Suzerainty expresses very correctly the relation which we intend to exist between this country and the Transvaal. Our intention is that the Transvaal shall have independent power as regards its internal government; and we shall only reserve certain powers to be exercised by the Queen. … With respect to our control over the relations of the Transvaal with foreign Powers, … it is quite clear there ought to be, as regards foreign relations, only one Government in South Africa; that there ought to be no communication with foreign Powers upon any subject except through the representatives of the Queen.'

"On the 25th of June, 1881, Mr. Gladstone, while defending in the House of Commons an assertion he had made during the Midlothian Campaign about the blood-guiltiness of the war with the Transvaal, referred to our Suzerainty in the following words; 'I apprehend that the term which has been adopted, the Suzerainty of the Queen, is intended to signify that certain portions of Sovereignty are reserved. … What are these portions of Sovereignty? The portions of Sovereignty we desire to reserve are, first, the relations between the Transvaal community and foreign governments, the whole care of the foreign relations of the Boers. The whole of these relations will remain in the hands of the Queen.'

"From these quotations it is obvious that when we agreed to restore the independence of the Transvaal, the British public were led to believe, both by the then Premier and the then Colonial Minister, that this restoration left the control of all relations between the Transvaal and foreign Powers absolutely and entirely in the hands of Her Majesty's Government. … It is possible, or even probable, that at the time the Treaty of Pretoria was concluded, Mr. Gladstone, or at any rate several of his colleagues, imagined that our Suzerainty would really be made effective. But, when once the treaty had been signed and sealed, and the South African Republic had been granted absolute internal independence, it became evident that our Suzerainty could only be rendered efficacious, as against the sullen resistance of the Boers, by the exercise of force—that is, by the threat of war in the event of Boer non-compliance with the demands of the Suzerain Power. …

"For the first two years which succeeded our surrender the Boers were too much occupied in the reorganisation of the Republic to trouble themselves greatly about their relations to the Suzerain Power. … Disputes were mainly connected with the treatment of the native chiefs, residing either within, or on the borders of, the territory of the Republic, who asserted, with or without reason, that they were the objects of Boer hostility on account of the support they had given to the British authorities during the period of British rule.

"In May 1883 Mr. Gladstone stated in Parliament, in answer to certain protests about the proceedings of the Boers, that the British Government had decided to send a Commissioner to the Transvaal to investigate the working of the Convention concluded at Pretoria in 1881. This intention, however, was not carried out owing to the opposition of the South African Republic. In lieu of the despatch of a British Commissioner to the Transvaal, it was suggested at Pretoria that a Boer deputation should be sent to London. The suggestion, as usual, was accepted; and thereupon the Africander Bond in the Cape Colony forwarded a petition to the Queen, praying Her Majesty to entertain favourably the proposals of the Boer delegates for the modification of the Treaty of Pretoria. The deputation, consisting of President Kruger and Messieurs Du Toit and Smit, arrived in London in October, and submitted to the late Lord Derby, who had succeeded Lord Kimberley as Minister for the Colonies, a statement of the modifications they were instructed to demand. The memorandum in question distinctly declared that the alleged impracticability of the Treaty of Pretoria related, amongst other matters, 'to the extent of the Suzerain rights reserved to Her Majesty by Articles 2 and 18 of the Treaty of Pretoria, and to the vague and indefinite terms in which the powers reserved to Her Majesty's Government by the Convention are indicated.'

"To this memorandum Lord Derby replied, on the 20th of November, 1883, admitting that 'expediency of substituting a new agreement for that of 1881 might be matter for discussion, but asking for information, in what sense it is wished that in such new agreement some connection with England should be maintained, and, if it is the desire of the Transvaal people that their State should hereafter stand in any special relation to this country, what is the form of connection which is proposed?' In reply to this request the Boer delegates answered as follows in the somewhat evasive fashion: 'In the new agreement any connection by which we are now bound to England should not be broken; but that the relation of a dependency "publici juris" in which our country now stands to the British Crown be replaced by that of two contractive Powers.'

"The above documents were submitted to the Governor of Cape Colony, the then Sir Hercules Robinson. Characteristically enough, Sir Hercules recommended the surrender of our Suzerainty on the ground that 'The Transvaal burghers obviously do not intend to observe any condition in it (the Convention of 1881) distasteful to themselves, which Her Majesty's Government are not prepared to insist on, if necessary, by the employment of force. Her Majesty's Government, I understand, do not feel justified in proceeding to this extremity; and no provision, therefore, of the Convention which is not agreeable to the Transvaal will be carried out.'

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"A few days later the delegates submitted a draft treaty, in which the following clause stands first: 'It is agreed that Her Britannic Majesty recognises and guarantees by this treaty the full independence of the South African Republic, with the right to manage its own affairs according to its own laws, without any interference on the part of the British Government; it being understood that this system of non-interference is binding on both parties.' To the letter enclosing this draft treaty Lord Derby replied that the proposed treaty was 'neither in form nor in substance such as Her Majesty's Government could adopt.' Meanwhile the discussion between the British Government and the Boer delegates seems to have turned mainly upon the extension of the territories of the Transvaal and the relations between the Republic and the native chiefs, subjects which had only an indirect bearing on the question of Suzerainty. It was only on the 25th of January, 1884, that the Colonial Office wrote to the delegates stating that if a certain compromise with regard to the frontier line were accepted, the British Government would be prepared 'to proceed at once with the consideration of the other proposals for the modification of the Treaty of Pretoria.' The delegates replied on the next day virtually accepting the proposed frontier compromise, and requested the British Government to proceed at once with the substitution of a new Convention. … The draft treaty was signed on the 27th of February, 1884. …

"The Convention of London did not repeat the preamble of the original Convention in which the words 'subject to the Suzerainty of Her Majesty' are to be found. Nor is the word Suzerainty mentioned in the Convention of 1884, which declares that the articles contained therein, if endorsed by the Volksraad, 'shall be substituted for those of the Convention of 1881.' No formal withdrawal, however, of the Queen's Suzerainty is to be found in the Convention of 1884. On the contrary, it is distinctly affirmed in Article 4 of the modified Convention that 'the South African Republic will conclude no treaty or engagement with any State or nation, other than the Orange Free State, until the same has been approved by Her Majesty the Queen.'"

_Edward Dicey, British Suzerainty in the Transvaal (Nineteenth Century, October, 1897)._

In its preamble, the Convention of 1884 recites that—"Whereas the Government of the Transvaal State, through its Delegates, consisting of [Kruger, Du Toit and Smit], have represented that the Convention signed at Pretoria on the 3rd day of August, 1881, and ratified by the Volksraad of the said State on the 25th of October, 1881, contains certain provisions which are inconvenient, and imposes burdens and obligations from which the said State is desirous to be relieved, and that the south-western boundaries fixed by the said Convention should be amended with a view to promote the peace and good order of the said State, … now, therefore, Her Majesty has been pleased to direct," &c.—substituting the articles of a new Convention for those signed and ratified in 1881.

Article I. of the new Convention describes the lines of boundary as amended. Article II. binds the two governments, respectively, to guard said boundaries against all trespassing. Article III. provides for the reception and protection, at Pretoria, of a resident British officer, "to discharge functions analogous to those of a consular officer."

Article IV. reads as follows: "The South African Republic will conclude no Treaty or engagement with any State or nation other than the Orange Free State, nor with any native tribe to the eastward or westward of the Republic, until the same has been approved by Her Majesty the Queen. Such approval shall be considered to have been granted if Her Majesty's Government shall not, within six months after receiving a copy of such Treaty (which shall be delivered to them immediately upon its completion), have notified that the conclusion of such Treaty is in conflict with the interests of Great Britain, or of any of Her Majesty's possessions in South Africa."

Articles V. and VI. relate to public debts. Article VII. guarantees the non-molestation of persons in the South African Republic who "remained loyal to Her Majesty during the late hostilities." Article VIII. is a declaration against slavery in the Republic. Article IX. is in language as follows: "There will continue to be complete freedom of religion and protection from molestation for all denominations, provided the same be not inconsistent with morality and good order; and no disability shall attach to any person in regard to rights of property by reason of the religious opinions which he holds." Article X. relates to graves of British soldiers; XI. to former grants of land which the present arrangement of boundary places outside of the Republic; XII. to the independence of the Swazis; XIII. to non-discrimination in import duties on both sides.

Articles XIV. and XV. read thus: Article XIV. "All persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the South African Republic, (a) will have full liberty, with their families, to enter, travel or reside in any part of the South African Republic; (b) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises; (c) they may carry on their commerce either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit to employ; (d) they will not be subject, in respect of their persons or property, or in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed upon citizens of the said Republic." Article XV. "All persons, other than natives, who establish their domicile in the Transvaal between the 12th day of April, 1877, and the 8th day of August, 1881, and who within twelve months after such last mentioned date have had their names registered by the British resident, shall be exempt from all compulsory military service whatever." Article XVI. provides for a future extradition treaty; XVII. for the payment of debts in the same currency in which they were contracted; XVIII. establishes the validity of certain land grants; XIX. secures certain rights to the natives; XX. nullifies the Convention if not ratified by the Volksraad within six months from the date of its signature—February 27, 1884.

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With considerable reluctance, the Convention was ratified by the Volksraad of the South African Republic in the following terms: "The Volksraad having considered the new Convention concluded between its deputation and the British Government at London on 27th February 1884, as likewise the negotiations between the contracting parties, which resulted in the said Convention, approves of the standpoint taken by its deputation that a settlement based upon the principle of the Sand River Convention can alone fully satisfy the burghers of the Republic. It also shares the objections set forth by the deputation against the Convention of Pretoria, as likewise their objections against the Convention of London on the following points:

1st. The settlement of the boundary, especially on the western border of the Republic, in which the deputation eventually acquiesced only under the express conditions with which the Raad agree.

2nd. The right of veto reserved to the British Crown upon treaties to be concluded by the Republic with foreign powers; and

3rd. The settlement of the debt.

Seeing, however, that in the said Convention of London considerable advantages are secured to the Republic, especially in the restoration of the country's independence, Resolves, With acknowledgment of the generosity of Her Britannic Majesty, to ratify, as it hereby does, the said Convention of London."

_Selected Official Documents of the South African Republic and Great Britain (Supplement to the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, July, 1900)._

Also in: _State Papers, British and Foreign, volume 75._

SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1885-1890. The gold discoveries on the Rand and the influx of Uitlanders (Outlanders or Foreigners).

"It was not until 1884 that England heard of the presence of gold in South Africa. A man named Fred Stuben, who had spent several years in the country, spread such marvellous reports of the underground wealth of the Transvaal that only a short time elapsed before hundreds of prospectors and miners left England for South Africa. When the first prospectors discovered auriferous veins of wonderful quality on a farm called Sterkfontein, the gold boom had its birth. It required the lapse of only a short time for the news to reach Europe, America, and Australia, and immediately thereafter that vast and widely scattered army of men and women which constantly awaits the announcement of new discoveries of gold was set in motion toward the Randt [the Witwatersrand or Whitewatersridge]. … In December, 1885, the first stamp mill was erected for the purpose of crushing the gneiss rock in which the gold lay hidden. This enterprise marks the real beginning of the gold fields of the Randt, which now yield one third of the world's total product of the precious metal. The advent of thousands of foreigners was a boon to the Boers, who owned the large farms on which the auriferous veins were located. Options on farms that were of little value a short time before were sold at incredible figures, and the prices paid for small claims would have purchased farms of thousands of acres two years before. In July, 1886, the Government opened nine farms to the miners, and all have since become the best properties on the Randt. … On the Randt the California scenes of '49 were being re-enacted. Tents and houses of sheet iron were erected with picturesque lack of beauty and uniformity, and during the latter part of 1886 the community had reached such proportions that the Government marked off a township and called it Johannesburg. The Government, which owned the greater part of the land, held three sales of building lots, or 'stands,' as they are called in the Transvaal, and realized more than $300,000 from the sales. … Millions were secured in England and Europe for the development of the mines, and the individual miner sold his claims to companies with unlimited capital. The incredibly large dividends that were realized by some of the investors led to too heavy investments in the Stock Exchange in 1889, and a panic resulted. Investors lost thousands of pounds, and for several months the future of the gold fields appeared to be most gloomy. The opening of the railway to Johannesburg and the re-establishment of stock values caused a renewal of confidence, and the growth and development of the Randt was imbued with renewed vigour. Owing to the Boers' lack of training and consequent inability to share in the development of the gold fields, the new industry remained almost entirely in the hands of the newcomers, the Uitlanders [so called in the language of the Boers], and two totally different communities were created in the republic. The Uitlanders, who, in 1890, numbered about 100,000, lived almost exclusively in Johannesburg and the suburbs along the Randt. The Boers, having disposed of their farms and lands on the Randt, were obliged to occupy the other parts of the republic, where they could follow their pastoral and agricultural pursuits. The natural contempt which the Englishmen, who composed the majority of the Uitlander population, always have for persons and races not their intellectual or social equals, soon created a gulf between the Boers and the newcomers."

_H. C. Hillegas, Oom Paul's People,