PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2369, 27 July 1899, Page 59

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

BOER OR BRITON : REPUBLIC OR DEPENDENCY? We are all interested in South African affairs just now, and I have no jdoubt that my readers, like myself, will, follow, pretty Qloßely the course of events there. Some months ago our Dunedin Athenmon carried out -what I thm*k to be a capital idea. In addition to the already large number of dailies and weeklies their agent was ordered to supply papers regularly, as soon as possible, from Hongkong, Calcutta, Bombay, South Africa (two), "and Canada ; and when these come to hand subscribers will be able to keep themselves well up to date with the affairs of the Empire. Some of these have already arrived, and among them two from South Africa' — one from Capetown, the other from Johannesburg. In one of them Olive Schreiner has some 12 columns or so, written from an Afrikander's point of view. And she writes very strongly. But, before I go any further, let me give a line or two about the general characteristics of South Africa. Taken as a whole, ifc is arid and agriculturally barren. But its aridity and its rugged scenery make ifc an attractive country for those seeking a healthy resort. Rhodes himself, you will remember, went there as one consumptively inclined. The part already settled can grow only a limited supply of wheat, though it might produce fiiiits and heavy wines in larger quantities than at present. The rush to' South Africa, then, isn't on account of its agricultural or pastoral value, and it is this point the Boers emphasise. Now to return. Olive Schreiner, whom some of you will remember aa the author of "' An African Farm " and " Dreams,"' both typical of South African life, character, and thought, says that those wanting the franchise would not be in South Africa were it not for the gold* l-unning in veins through the- rocks and ridges, and for the mud beds heavy with jewels. This mineral wealth, she says, has passed into the hands of a small knot of speculators, and that which should build castles and colleges for the Afrikanders builds palaces in London, buys yachts in the Mediterranean, fib's the ba.:s of the croupiers at the gaming tables in Monte Carlo, and decks foreign women in jewels ; and she adds, "We South Africans are a curious folk — strong, brave, with a terrible intensity and perseverance ; but we are not a sharp people well versed in the speculative movements of the world. It is the thought of a great and noble destiuy which lies at the source of the patriotism and highest inspiration ot every Afrikander, so we have no room for those who view our country simply as a field for extracting wealth and fame." - In her long vindication of the rights of the Boer she institutes several comparisons to strengthen the' Afrikanders' case. When a few thousand Chinamen migrated to the United States they were refused citizenship, and_ others practically prohibited from landing. A few thousand Polish and Russian Jews migrated to London, and an outcry was raised, the influx being regarded as approaching a national calamity. The same holds gocd in Australia, and New Zealand. All over, Chinamen are almost inhibited, and one of Queensland's difficulties as a sugar-producing colony is ihe importation of Javanese, Japanese, Kanaka, and other coolie labour. It will be said that all through the British Empire equal rights are given to foreigner?, and so Afrikanders ought to give British equal rights. The reply is, the numbers coming into the parts of the Empire bear a small proportion to the whole, and cannot seriously influence the politics of the parts they settle in ; and the large number of electors in colonies and their patriotism prevent the power from being corrupted. In the Transvaal, however, and Johannesburg in particular, the franchise would result in the power being placed in the hands of an alien majority — comparatively few in numbers, and actuated by motives of almost purely personal gain. Again, but few intend to make South Africa their home. Can you blame the Boer in a way? There are 80,000 Kaffirs in and around Johannesburg, and only 8000 whites, the last including" Boers and Britons. TH£ FRANCHISE. ' But the franchise is granted, it might be said. So it is ; but under restrictions which are continually varying. Even this, however, might be overcome if the Afrikander didn't insist on Outlanders taking the oath of allegiance in such a way as to exclude the suzerainty of Great Britain, and it is on this point* that the British Government does not seem inclined to yield, and rightly, I think. ° AN OUTLINE. Just to refresh your memories, I'll run over a line or two of the Transvaal history. Previous to 1877, in Beaconsfield's time, the Boers, who had trekked across the- Vaal — hence the name of Transvaal — were in a bankrupt condition, and in daily fear of being wiped out by a Zulu invasion. The British, receiving from the Boers a promise that they would acknowledge the sovereignty of the Queen, prevented the invasion, and financially restored the country. Friction took place, however, between the British and the Boers, and in 1877 hostilities broke out. After Laing's Nek and Majuba Hill, in the latter of which General Colley lost his life, and in which the Boers are said tc have taken the lives of British Soldiers in cold blood, the Gladstone Government withdrew, but retaining, it is held, all suzerain rights, and the promise of the Boers to abolish slavery. This suzerainty the Boers now repudiate, and as it appears almost certain that the British Government insists on all or nothing, war seems almost inevitable, for the Boers, from their narrow-mindedness and isolation, can form no conception of what their stubbornness involves. It seems tc me that from then- own point of view, if they were able to take a sufficiently wide view of the question, they would surrender at discretion. Many of the Outlanders are not British, and if they had »£U»I political rights $he Boers .would

[ back them up. But the British Outlanders are a majority of the Outlanders, and if the British Government interferes and comes out of the contest victorious, then the Republic must be modelled as a British colony the same as Natal and Cape Colony. THE - CONFERENCE. The last days of May saw the commencement of the conference between his Excellency Sir Alfred Milner, her Majesty's High Commissioner, and his Honor Paul Kruger, at Bloemfontein. Hunting expeditions were ' organised, at which, however, the principals took no Dart. Special church services were held, and prayers offered for a peaceful solution of the questions at issue. The utmost secrecy, however, was observed as to what transpired. But it is known that the utmost difficulty was experienced more than once in preventing the conference coming to an abrupt termination. Column after column of the daily papers was filled with surmises, affirmations, and contradictions, I and the whole atmosphere seems to lnne I been filled with intense and suppressed exI citement. SIGNS OF THE TIMES. v On the part of the British portion of the I population of South Africa, the loyalty ex- | Minted during. May was 7 extremely - pro- ; noanced.' < Column after column of the I papers # was rilled with telegrams and reports ! of meetings held throughout South Africa ; reviews of British troops were held in all j centres ; and the fleet was mobilised in St. I Simon's Bay. • At Ladysmith the troops were all put under arms one morning at I daybreak. But all these displays, it was ' specially said, were not intended as a menace — that wasn't to be thought of. The Boers were equally active. All in fun, of course! Yet, burghers prayed publicly, for the day when the Afrikanders would shake off the foreign yoke ; and the Rev. Mr Voster, a Reformed minister, said that England's- threat was the talk of a man with an unloaded gun. She dared not make , war on the Transvaal, said he, for she would require 150,000 men, and, he added, 100 Tiansva-olers are equal to 1000 English. These expressions were received with wild j cheering. I Perhaps at no time during late years ' have circumstances been more in Britain's ' favour, notwithstanding the troubled political world. The Germans have been alien- , a-ted ; France has her Dreyfus affair ; there : is no English Liberal party to check Mr ! Chamberlain ; and English opinion is j against the Boers. i [This article should have appeared last j week, but owing to a fault of my own, my '. copy did not get in in time. The er : sis has" • passed ; but though the Boera ha.\e given way sufficiently to avoid war, it is just a question whethei a war now wouldn't be preferable to one later on. There will alj ways be friction, and, given the time, the ; Afrikanders might develop a sufficiently j strong public opinion seriously to endanger I the British supremacy in South Africa.]