SPEECH BY DE WET.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXV, Issue 85, 16 April 1901, Page 4

SPEECH BY DE WET.

HAS ARRANGED FOR A SUCCES-

SOR IF HE IS CAUGHT.

We have had a fairly full report of the impassioned speech which ex-President Steyn delivered at Klerksdorp at the end of November last year, but only a brief summary of the remarks of Commandant Christian De Wet, who was also one of the speakers.

The mail brings a full report of the raider's speech, and from the excerpts given below it will be seen that lie is as lively and as vigorous a speaker as lie is leader of lighting men. There was a great talk about him all over the world, said De Wet, but a great many heroic deeds attributed to him were quite untrue. Some papers stated that he had a European education, and learnt strategy in Europe, and many other things equally untrue ; the fact was that he was born and educated in the Free State, and that his, education had been a very meagre one. It was reported, in one paper that lie was known driving pigs to the market in Bloemfontein. but this was not correct, although he would not be ashamed of doing so if the pigs were his own property. The fact, however, was that he often did drive pigs to market, by his servant, but lie himself sold them. He would exhort his hearers to change their Christian belief to " Love your neighbours, but hate the English.'' He was teaching this to his children. ONLY KNEW ONE GOOD ENGLISHMAN, It was said that some good Englishmen were born, but they must all die, young, for lie did not know any. He only knew of one good Englishman, who was a friend of his. They need not be afraid of the ultimate result; they must and would conquer, and drive the English out of the country. The capitalists would come to these Republics, conquered or not; they were like pigs after pumpkins, and thus they would come after the gold to the Transvaal and after diamonds to the Free State. The English were after him 26,000 strong, and he only with 2QOO men, but they could not catch him, and would never succeed. It was reported that if he were caught the war would be at an end, but this was not so, as he had arranged for a successor. The enemy had tried all in his power to bribe his people to deliver him up, but all in vain. The campaign is not lost by any means. Should they be short of foodstuffs they would .just* go to th.c Colony- and get from their- friends and sympathisers what they wanted, '* and if they won't give, well, then we will take what we want, and give a receipt for it, to be paid after the war." He was now on his way to the Colony. " Thore i is no neutrality possible among the Afrikander nation; they must bo either with us or against us." He would not say anything about Uitlanders.