THE BOER MANIFESTO.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12932, 27 September 1902, Page 6

THE BOER MANIFESTO.

Whateveb may be said of the matter of the manifesto which the Boer Generals have icsued,. its tone is at least unfortunate. The object of the mission to Europe was professedly and primarily to raise funds for the assistance of Boers pauperised by the war, especially of widows and orphans, and that aspect of the mission has always been) insisted upon. No one could have blamed these fighting captains'if they had displayed! bitter antipathy to Britain and the British. Their hearts must have been full of sorrow and disappointment, aud their speeches at Cape Town.' and Stellenbosch revealed the! depth of their race sentiment. Yet they had schooled themselves well. Little in their speeches could be construed into sedition. At Cape Town they urged the Afrikanders to abide by the decision of the war, to preserve their traditions and their pride of race as far as they could under the new' conditions, but before all things to be loyal to the British Government. In London their hearing was courteous, and even friendly. Practically their only comment on the war was an expression of their appreciation of Lord Kitchener’s humanity and conciliatory spirit. When they arrived in Holland, we are told, they were most) careful to avoid arousing anti-British manifestations. There is no doubt that the disposition of General Botha and his colleagues to accept the new order an South. Africa was bitterly disappointing to Mr Kruger and his clique on the Continent. Mr Steyn, whose name has not been prominently before the public of late, was more of his old ally’s way of thinking, and Mr F. W. Reitz made no secret of his bitter hostility to Britain. Dr Leyds’s attitude, of course, needs no comment. The conciliators were thrown at once into contact with the menl who were primarily responsible for the) South African trouble, and whose lying promises and vicious interference cost the lives of thousands of men long after the rent issue had been decided. The nature of the interviews at The Hague has not been revealed, but in the! course of time, the Generals, presumably yielding to pressure, addressed to Mr Chamberlain a note of demands and requisitions intended, obviously, to re-open the whole question of settlement. Mr Chamberlain’s answer was a firm and courteous refusal to consider the points mentioned. Rebuffed thus, Mr Reitz and Dr Leyds have attempted to influence European opinion by a manifesto addressed to all nations. There is no need to assume that General Botha and his colleagues are innocently allowing themselves to b? made use of for , a purpo.se of which they disapprove. Of their own motion, doubtless, they would never have issued this manifesto, which, in the guise of an appeal for help for the Boers, makes another bitter attack upon the British conduct of the campaign. But, under the mnuC~~ the

irreconcilable exiles, they are naturally assuming the old) tone of hostility. There is abundant evidence, however, that Continental peoples are tired, of sneering at British! humanity and attacking British honour., Tire funds available for bribing the Continental Press must be running low, and: Dr Ley da will find it difficult to revive the old agitation. The Germans may not be brought) to believe that the Boer war was the most! humane ever Waged, bub in official circles,, at any rate, they recognise that the terms offered by the British were generous ini thfl extreme. There should be no need' to discuss those questions again, but it is worthremarking on the tactlessness of the Boer leaders’ policy in alienating British sympathy when British sympathy is practically! all they can count on for help. The Continent will give them, little assistance now,, though the people who egged them onl sh ould at least hind their wounds when they are beaten, and we confess that, to our mind, pity, and not anger, is the sentiment that should: be roused in Britain by the manifesto.