Chapter 1

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VOL. 1 MARCH 25, 1897. NO. 20

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A Committee has been appointed by the English Parliament to inquire about the raid made by Dr. Jameson into the Transvaal in December, 1895.

All London is deeply interested in this matter, so much so that a number of the great English peers are present at the meetings, even the Prince of Wales having attended several of them.

These meetings are held in Westminster Hall, which is one of the most interesting buildings in London.

It was begun by King William Rufus, about 1090, and was used by the early English Kings as a banqueting hall.

All the Kings and Queens of England until the time of George IV. were crowned in Westminster Hall, and in this same building Charles I. was condemned to death, and Oliver Cromwell was declared Protector of England, and here the first Parliaments sat.

Westminster Hall after a while became part of the King's palace of Westminster, where the famous Henry VIII. lived. This palace was destroyed by fire except the grand old Hall, which was left standing alone until the new Houses of Parliament were built on the ground where the palace had once stood, and the Hall became a part of the Houses of Parliament.

This grand old building with its wonderful arched roof has seen many great assemblies in its 800 years of life, but this inquiry into the affairs of the Transvaal is by no means the least interesting of them.

If you take your map, you will see that the southern part of Africa is divided into several states and colonies.

Cape Colony, the most southerly of all, belongs to England. Then comes the Orange Free State, and then the South African Republic, or the Transvaal, as it is called. You will notice that the English possessions creep up the coast in front of the Transvaal, and also form its western or land boundary.

The Transvaal is a Republic originally settled by the Dutch. Its inhabitants are called Boers, and they are a race of sturdy farmers. It is from their employment that they get their name of Boer. In the Dutch language boer means a peasant, a farmer, or a tiller of the soil. It is the same word as the German _Bauer_, a peasant.

These Boers are governed by a clever old man named Paul Krüger,--Oom (or Uncle) Paul, as his people call him.

England, as you will see by your map, owns vast tracts of land in South Africa, and according to her regular practice she is trying to enlarge her possessions still further. Wherever England establishes a colony, she reaches out on either side of her, and takes, if possible, a little piece of land here, and another little scrap there, until by and by she has laid hold of the greater part of the land around her.

She has been following her usual custom in South Africa.

But the Boers are not fond of the English, and they have been trying with all their power to keep these neighbors of theirs as far away from them as possible. As the English have advanced, the Boers have retreated, even giving up the diamond mines of Kimberly in the process of moving.

One day, however, rich gold-fields were discovered on the Witwaters Rand. A Rand is the high land on either side of a river valley.

This settled matters for the Boers. From the moment gold-fields were discovered, Englishmen poured into the Transvaal.

The Boers, who, as we have said, are a quiet farming people, were not pleased with this invasion of foreigners. They christened them Uitlanders, which means outsiders, and they are decidedly not in love with them.

The capital of the Transvaal is a town called Pretoria. It is the seat of the government, and is a simple, unpretentious town, situated in the centre of the little Republic.

When the Uitlanders poured over the borders into the gold-fields, they desired to have a town somewhat nearer to the Rand and the gold-fields than Pretoria was, so they founded Johannesburg.

This town flourished amazingly, and soon far outstripped Pretoria in size and importance, just as the Uitlanders had outstripped the Boers in point of numbers and wealth.

The native population of the Transvaal is very scattered. They are a nation of farmers, and at the present time there are only about 15,000 Boer men in the whole territory, while of the English-speaking Uitlanders there are more than five times that number.

No sooner did Johannesburg grow to be a powerful city, than the Uitlanders, her citizens, demanded that they should have a voice in the government of the country.

They complained that they were hardly used by the Boers, and made to pay heavy taxes.

The taxes are certainly heavy, but they are levied upon the gold miners, who have come to the Transvaal for the sole purpose of making fortunes out of the gold deposits; these fortunes they wish to carry away with them to their own country.

The Boers, very naturally, think that some portion of these riches should be paid to the country which gave them, and they cannot see by what right these foreign gold-hunters expect to have a voice in the government.

One of the great grievances of the Uitlanders is that the Boers will not have English taught in the schools, and that their children are obliged to learn the language of the country if they go to the public schools.

These demands of the Uitlanders will seem all the more absurd when it is understood that they do not ask for a voice in the government as citizens of the country. None of these English-speaking people have so much as offered to become citizens of the Transvaal. They are not even willing to be. They wish to keep their right of citizenship in their own country, that they may have the protection of England, and be able to return there as soon as they have made their fortunes.

However, while they are in the Transvaal, digging their gold out of its soil, they want to be able to govern the country in their own way, and are loud in their outcries against the Boers for preventing them from doing so.

Under the laws of the Transvaal it is very easy to become a citizen.

A man has only to live there two years before he can become a citizen, and have all the share in the government that he is entitled to.

But this the Uitlanders are not willing to do. They want everything for nothing.

Does not their request seem outrageous?

The Uitlanders kept up their demands for a share in the government, and the Boers steadily refused them.

Then the population of Johannesburg began to arm itself, and the Boers quietly watched them.

At last, word was sent to Dr. Jameson from the leading Uitlanders in Johannesburg that the Boers were up in arms, and that the people of Johannesburg were in danger of their lives.

They begged Dr. Jameson to come to their aid, in the name of humanity.

Dr. Jameson did not send this appeal on to his superiors, and wait for orders, as he should have done, but thinking that he was doing a glorious deed, he gathered a little force of eight hundred men together, and cutting down the telegraph wires behind him, so that no orders could reach him and stop him, he dashed into the Transvaal to the relief of Johannesburg.

Almost within sight of Johannesburg he was met by the Boers, under their leader, General Joubert.

Here a dastardly thing happened.

The Uitlanders, who had sent for this brave but foolish man, did not raise a finger to help him, but stayed like cowards within the walls of their city, while the little body of men, worn out with their long march, were cut to pieces by their enemy.

At last, when all hope was at an end, and but a hundred and fifty were left of his party, Dr. Jameson surrendered, and he and the remnant of his men were taken prisoner and conveyed to Pretoria.

Great excitement was felt in both Cape Colony and England. Nobody wanted to take the blame for the raid, but every one felt that if Dr. Jameson had succeeded instead of having failed, England would have added the Transvaal to her possessions, and said as little about it as possible.

Dr. Jameson having failed, matters were very different.

President Krüger demanded to know why England had allowed an armed force to enter the territory of a country with which she was at peace, and wished to know by whose authority the raid was made.

England at once declared that she had had no hand in the matter, and asked that Dr. Jameson and the rest of the prisoners might be sent to her, to be dealt with according to her laws.

After some delay President Krüger agreed to do this, and the remnant of the famous raiders was shipped to England.

On their arrival they were tried for breaking the laws, and the officers and Dr. Jameson were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, varying from five to fifteen months.

This ended the matter as far as Dr. Jameson was concerned--but not for the Government.

The Boers presented a claim to the British Government for damages sustained by them from the raid. Their claim is for $8,000,000.

They ask three millions for material damage, which means the cost of the men and arms they used to defeat the raiders, and five millions for "moral and intellectual damage," which means wounded feelings and general annoyance.

There was much amusement in the British Parliament when the claim was made, and the members laughed heartily at the idea of moral and intellectual damage.

In the same way that we manage these matters in our Senate, the affair was referred to a committee.

This committee has to inquire into the matter, see if the claim is a just one, and whether England ought really to pay money to the South African Republic.

It is this committee which is sitting in Westminster Hall.

All London was interested when Mr. Cecil Rhodes was called before it and put on the stand as a witness. Mr. Rhodes was the Prime Minister of Cape Colony, and resigned his position when the trouble came about the Raid.

He is perhaps the most important man in all South Africa. It is his desire to bring the whole of this territory under English rule, and it is thought that this ambition was at the root of the Jameson Raid, and that Cecil Rhodes is really the person who is responsible for it.

It is also whispered that the English Government looks favorably upon his plans, and that the Raid was only a part of a deep-laid scheme to overthrow the Boer Government, and seize the Transvaal for England.

The Boers evidently believe this side of the story, for at the opening of their Parliament the other day, Oom Paul, the valiant old President, stated that it was the object of the enemy to destroy the Republic, but that the Boers must rely upon the help of God. He closed his speech with the solemn words:

"The Lord will not forsake His people!"

Mr. Cecil Rhodes has been asked by the Committee of Inquiry to explain the trouble in South Africa, and he has done so at great length.

His explanation is, however, a trifle funny to fair-minded persons who believe that the old maxim, "What is mine is mine, and what is thine is thine," should be strictly obeyed.

Mr. Rhodes has made a long complaint against the Boers for not allowing strangers and foreigners to help them govern their own country. He has pictured the woes of the Uitlanders because they are not allowed to govern, and because their children are not taught English in the schools, and moreover, because they are made to pay heavy taxes for the gold they mine and carry away. They have still another grievance. Any favor that the Boers show at all is shown to Germans, and not to Englishmen. The Boers will not allow any of the products of Cape Colony within their borders, but prefer to do their trading with Germany. A dreadful offence truly, that they choose their own markets!

The Commission has heard Mr. Rhodes with great seriousness and a good deal of sympathy.

So far, strange to say, it does not seem to have occurred to any member of the august assembly which is making the inquiry, that the Uitlanders are mere squatters in the Transvaal, and that if they don't like the ways of the country they are visiting, there is nothing to prevent them from packing up their traps, and going back whence they came.

Mr. Cecil Rhodes has not attempted to hide the fact that he did his best to stir up the uneasy feeling in Johannesburg that led to the Jameson Raid.

He admits that he sent Dr. Jameson to the borders of the Transvaal with orders to hold himself in readiness for an emergency.

He does not allow that he is responsible for the actual raid itself, because Dr. Jameson acted without orders when making it.

He does not deny, however, that he hoped to overthrow the Boer Government, and President Krüger.

One of the members of the committee asked him if he meant to make himself President in the place of Oom Paul, but he denied that he had any such idea.

He gave, as a final reason why the cause of the Uitlanders was a just cause, that "no body of Englishmen will ever remain in any place for any period, without insisting on their civil rights."

There is quite a sprinkling of Americans among the Uitlanders, but it is to be hoped that they understand the duties of citizenship too well to be among the discontents who demand its privileges without being willing to undertake its penalties.

The Boer Parliament has, since the sitting of the committee in London, refused the Uitlanders' last appeal for a voice in the government, and it is thought that England will refuse to pay the money damages claimed by the Republic.

It is thought that the result of the matter will be a war with the Boers, in which England will struggle to overthrow the other South African governments, and secure the control of the whole of that vast territory for herself.

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Matters in Greece are growing more serious. Much has happened within the last few days.

On further consideration of the offers of the Powers, Greece refused home rule for Crete, and declared her intention of carrying out her plan of reunion with the island.

She boldly defied the Powers, and declared that she would yield only to superior force.

In replying to the note from the Powers ordering her to withdraw her troops from Crete, her Prime Minister, Delyannis, said that while Greece would not leave Crete, there should be no fighting with the Turks unless an attempt was made by them to carry the war into Greece itself. Unless the Turks invade Greece, the Greek army would only remain in Crete to protect the Christians there. If, however, the Powers made matters too difficult for Greece in Crete, she would of course have to protect herself.

This reply put Europe in a very difficult quandary. Greece says she is ready to fight the whole of Europe rather than leave her brothers in Crete in the power of the Turks.

The Powers, having threatened to make her obey if she refused to comply with their wishes, are now aghast at the prospect of having to fight with the heathen Turks against the Christian Greeks, or else steam back to their respective countries, snubbed and ridiculous.

They have long been conferring together to prevent any further misrule in Turkey, and to efface this monarchy, which is a disgrace to Europe, and they find that, by their too hasty interference, they have put themselves in the position of having to uphold the Turkish misrule against their own convictions.

The Turks are so convinced that Europe is going to stand by them, that large bodies of them are parading the streets of Canea, crying for the blood of the Christian "dogs," as they call them, and apparently expecting that the Powers are going to help them in a general massacre of the Greeks.

This state of affairs is particularly dreadful, because, at the time of the massacre of the Armenians by the Turks, not one of the European Powers fired a shot to prevent it. All that was done was accomplished by talks and conferences with the Ambassadors.

Now, when Greece tries to free her Christian brothers from the grasp of the Turks, these same Powers train their guns on the Greeks, and lend the Turks their aid to force the Christians back under the control of the murdering Turks!

It is a monstrous situation, and one that makes every honest man hate the diplomacy and politics of nations that make such things possible and necessary.

When Greece sent her defiant answer to the Powers, they had a long conference, and after much talk, decided to send their Ultimatum to Greece.

An Ultimatum means a final condition, which, if refused, will break off all attempts at settling matters peaceably.

The Ultimatum of the Powers was written in two separate letters.

The first requested Greece to withdraw her ships and soldiers within six days.

This has been presented.

In case Greece refuses to withdraw, the second note will be given her. This states that the Powers will immediately use force to make her do as they desire. This of course means that war will be declared.

It is said that the Greeks are not likely to obey the wishes of the Powers, and that the King of Greece intends to refuse, and then to take his own course.

It is said that King George has declared himself quite ready for a war with Turkey, and that he does not intend to allow the Powers to tell him what he is to do.

Greece is making preparations for war, has called out her army reserves, and is massing her troops all along the Turkish frontier, expecting that the war will be on the mainland, and not on the island of Crete. Greece expects that should war be declared Turkey will at once try to cross her borders and conquer her. If Turkey does not attempt this, Greece will cross into Turkish territory, and endeavor to reconquer the various ancient Greek provinces which are now under the rule of Turkey. The Servians, Bulgarians, and Montenegrins are also arming and rising, and will side with Greece in case the war breaks out.

If you look these little countries up on the map, you will find that they lie on the Northern side of European Turkey, while Greece is on the Southern side. If these countries do really come to the aid of Greece, Turkey will find herself between two enemies, and will have a difficult war to fight.

It is not true that Russia is at the bottom of this Cretan trouble.

She has evidently been acting sincerely this time. She has warned Greece to stop her quarrel with Turkey, has sent word to her that she very much disapproves of the way she is behaving, and as Greece has not listened to her protests, she has finally broken off all diplomatic relations with her. This, you remember as in the case of Venezuela, means that Russia and Greece are no longer on speaking terms.

Russia is very angry with Greece for refusing her advice, and Greece feels very bitterly toward Russia for helping in the bombardment of the Greeks at Akrotiri.

So deep is the feeling between them, that when the Russian court sent the appointment of Honorary Admiral of the Russian Navy, as a compliment, to Queen Olga of Greece, she returned it indignantly, saying she could not hold any rank in a navy that had fired upon Greeks and Cretans.

Europe is still looking around for some one on whom to cast the blame for the Cretan muddle. The present idea is that England is the guilty party. This last report may not have any more truth in it than that about Russia, but it is now, said that England is bent upon conquering the Transvaal, and securing South Africa for herself, and that she has stirred up all this Cretan mischief, so that Germany and the other European Powers may be too busy at home to look after her abroad.

Whoever is to blame, the Greeks are going steadily ahead. Fighting continues, the Greek arms being mainly successful.

Turkey has tried to send fresh troops to Crete, but has been prevented by the Powers.

The ports of Crete are closely blockaded, and the island is running short of food.

There is a story that when the Greek fleet was ordered to leave Cretan waters by the Powers, its commander, Commodore Reinecke, replied that he would only obey the orders of his own government, and that, though the Powers sank his ship, he would not move until he had his country's orders to do so.

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Good has come out of evil.

The cruel death of the unfortunate Dr. Ruiz in Cuba has aroused and alarmed the government into looking more closely after our citizens there.

For one reason or another, Mr. Olney chose to disbelieve the stories from Cuba, and tried to throw discredit on General Lee, declaring that his action in the Ruiz matter had been hasty and unwarranted, and that things were not so bad in Cuba as he stated them to be.

Mr. Cleveland and the Senate refused to be satisfied with this statement, and demanded that all the papers relating to our citizens who are imprisoned in Cuba should be laid before them.

At the same time, Senator Morgan offered a joint resolution, demanding the immediate release of General Julio Sanguily.

General Sanguily, who was a famous Cuban general in the previous war against Spain, has been many months in Cuban prisons, and was at one time condemned to penal servitude at the Spanish settlement in South Africa.