AN INTERVIEW WITH KRUGER.

Evening Post, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 7 October 1901, Page 5

AN INTERVIEW WITH KRUGER.

The Freeman's Journal has published an account of an interview between Mr. Kruger and Mr. William Redmond, the Nationalist member for East Clare. "My request," writes Mr. Redmond, "for an, interview with President Kruger having been courteously granted, I started for Holland, accompanied by Mr. Bolland, Jk.P. On our arrival we were met by Mr. Abram Fischer, who, it will be remembered, came about a year ago from South Africa, and Messrs. Wolmarans and Wessels, on a mission to Europe and America to rouse sympathy with the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Mr. Fischer, who for many years sat in the Free State Volksraad, kindly offered to act^as interpreter." After some preliminary descriptive matter Mr. Redmond's story proceeds as follows : — "I see," said the President, motioning us to a seat, " that you and others have been making strong speeches for our cause. I hope you have not found it necessary to escape from the English Go■vewiment in consequence?" Having reassured His Honour upon this point, I asked him if his attention had j been directed to. the fact that the great majority of the Irish people and .their representatives felt the deepest sympathy for his country, and that in Parliament we had from the commencement opposed the war. "I know it," replied the President; "'I look upon the Irish as brothers in oppression. I am well aware of their sympathy, and I thank them for being on the side of justice. I hope they will i continue to support us, and I feel that in J doing so that they are supporting the i side upon which God will ultimately show | himself to be. I could not but be grateful to the Irish people. I received the expression of sympathy about my wife. j Tell the Irish members that I am deeply grateful for their efforts. I hope they will continue them, as our cause is that of justice and truth." Asked as to the probable effect of Lord Kitchener's latest proclamation and Mr. Chamberlain's recent speech, the President said very emphatically, "My people are not to be frightened by such proclamations and speeches. These things can only encourage those who are fighting to continue" to do so: As to Mr. Chamberlain's reference to the natives, I «ay the English have armed natives against us from the beginning. Early in the war at Derdepoort, natives armed and led by Englishmen attacked our camps and murdered some women and children and carried others away. The Swaziland Kaffirs | did the same thing instigated by the I English We never," and here tie President spoke with great earnestness, "We never used armed Kaffirs. It has always been against our principles to use a black man against a white." ' " Was it true as stated," I asked, "that there was a great conspiracy to drive the English from South Africa?" " Nover," cried the President, striking the table ; " there was no such conspiracy," and here he became emphatic, repeating twice to me in familiar words, "total on waar." Resuming, he said, "if Salisbury, Chamberlain, Rhodes, and the rest of them would only ask their, own consciences as before God, they would be my best witnesses that there was no conspiracy. It is a lie to say there was, and they must know it. We only wanted to be left alone in our country. We made many concessions to avoid war. Even the seven years' franchise which, after the Bloemfontein Conference^, we agreed to give them at once, would have given the Outlanders at once 30,000 votes as against .our 20,000. 'I got these figures from returns furnished by my field cornets. I saw there was a risk to us j in this concession, but 1 did it to try and 1 avoid bloodshed. There were other points on which we could have agreed, but they did nob want it." In 'answer to a question which I asked in reference to the promises made by the Government as to the treatment of the Boers if they should surrender, the President made the following statement: — "I know England's promises. _YoiT in Ireland ought also to know them. They say they will lend us money to put things right. Then if it is not paid back our land would be taken. They ask us to allow a rope to be put round our necks and say we should then be free. The freedom to move his legs and arms, but with a rope round his neck — that is what they offer us. We should be slaves." Asked as to the future, the President continued: — "I have faith that God will in His own good time say 'thus far and no further,' and will give us deliverance. I pray every day that England's eyes may be opened, and that she may return to the ways of truth and justice. It would be for her own good. All we want is to enjoy our own. Even now if we got our independence We would still manage to rebuild our country, but to enable us to do so we want our full independence." Mr. Fischer here turned to me and said that he was desired to lay stress on the word "full.", f