ISSUE OF A BLUE BOOK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6513, 16 June 1899, Page 1

ISSUE OF A BLUE BOOK.

OUTSPOKEN DESPATCHES. A VEILED ULTIMATUM. LONDON, June 15. A Blue Book on the Transvaal "difficulty has been issued. Sir Alfred Milner, in a despatch, dated May 5, said that the case for intervention was overwhelming. The Uitlanders' position had tremendously changed for the worse since the Jameson xaid. The spectacle of thousands of Britons permanently in the position of helots was' undermining British influence, and encouraging Dutch disaffection. There was no cure for the situation, except by a striking proof of Great Briton's intention not to be ousted from South Africa. A. 1 fair measure of Uitlander representation was the true remedy for extinguishing political unrest and race feuds. ■;,:•.;■. •- Mr ChainberiainV in -^despatch, said that Great -Britain -was reluctant to depart from her attitude of reserve and expectancy. He hoped that the Transvaal would remove the standing danger, to peace, thus removing any pretext for British interference. The publication of the despatch is regarded as a veiled ultimatium. The " Daily Telegraph " states that the Dutch Ministry cautioned President Kruger that his policy would prove disastrous. • CAPETOWN, June 15. •Enormous quantities of forage have been sent to the cavalry depots at Natal. .. PRETORIA, June 15. The Johannesburg conspirators have been committed for trial.

five years. .These Burghers take every opportunity of slighting anj'thing English. Only two days ago, in Johannesburg, during a lecture given by the State Secretary, these men took great umbrage at " God Save the Queen," which was played on a violin by a well-known lady as an encore. Her reply when asked why she did it was, " Because I did," and with that answer they had to be satisfied; Extending the franchise to Uitlanders is the vital question, and one which everyone is agreed upon. The mine employees want the Transvaal to remain a republic, but say that they must, and will, have a voice in its affairs. It may not be generally known that there are two distinct cliques in the Transvaal, viz., the Hollanders and tie Dutch under President Kruger, and that they hate one another, and are veiy jealous. Most of the principal .offices are filled with young men straight out from Holland, and these have a habit of; looking down upon and snubbing the worthy sons of the soil, as the Boers delight to call themselves, at every opportunity. Everything tends to show that something is impending, for the Dutch papers acknowledge that Burghers on the Natal 'border and in the Orange Free State have again been warned to hold themselves in readiness, and on no account to leave their homes for the next few months, also that secret agents are sending in regular reports td Pretoria from both Cape Colony and. Natal. The forts, tco, at Johannesburg and Pretoria are being strengthened, and the gamsons largely increased, and our old friend Lieutenant Eloff has again been appointed commandant. This is the officer, you will remember, who, in a bar, made insulting remarks about, the Queen, and was suspended for a time. It is known, too, that in consequence of the political situation, Britons are sending their -wives and away to Natal and Cape Colony. In fact, in the former colony the principal hotels are already over-crowded, and from private sources -I hel that, in certain districts, the Burghers are openly talking of the coming war, and are drawing enormous supplies of arms and ammunition from the Government magazines Then, again, the recent grant of £20 000 by the Imperial Government for fluence wer! to win in the Transvaal, then the" eierise of the. Uitlanders.,. p™ ; $£c article brightens up, and- finishes r But England will only P^f****^ £, firm, for she cannot and dare -not fight us, tono blessing can, rest on a war called forth in the interests of foreign gold speculators, who have made their money m the Transvaal." . . ■ . ; . , . An extraordinary story is just to hand of a Boer who visited. a big military station in Natal as a spy. It appears that he managed to get into one of the canteens, and "stood" all the soldiers unlimited beer, in return' for which he had many questions to ask concerning the number of men, stores, ordnance and other matters relating to camp and soldiers. The privates supplied him with an overwhelming variety of information, all calculated to be to his liking. This went on until the. evening, when he mentioned that he was present at the battle of Majuba. This was more. than one of his listeners could stand, so he proceeded to literally " wipe the floor " with him, and the last seen of the stranger was when a police patrol picked him up the next morning minus money and other things. Really it is time that some reforms were granted in the' Transvaal. This is the latest concession scandal: The Town Council m Johannesburg proposes to hand over the monopoly of icattje sales and slaughterhouses within eight miles of the centre of the town to a private individualfor no consideration at all. A company is to be formed to exploit this monopoly, and the chairman is to decide all disputed points. The maximum rate which can be charged for killing an ox is 21s, and Is lOd for a sheep ; the present charges are 2s and 2d respectively. Of course, if this monopoly is established, it will make the price of meat prohibitive to the poorer classes. Here is another scandal. During the past few weeks many very serious* assaults have been made on. people after dark in Johannesburg. Some of these have ended, fatally, and as the police seem powerless to catch the offenders, a Vigilance Committee has been formed, with the object of protecting foot passengers in the streets after nightfall. | Subscription lists have already been opened to raise funds to provide detectives, and it is intended to take this matter up irrespective of the police or detective departments. The latest victim was a lady, who died yesterday, and who was the wife of tne most popular man up there. It is probable that; the " Star,'" the bading English paper in Johannesburg, will be again suppressed. It is far too outspoken ho suit the Transvaalers. A few days ago two Dutchmen walked into the office of the editnT of this paper, and knocked him about very considerably for publishing an article which they considered would do the State harm. Their contention, when" the case came beforn a magistrate, was "that they were Burghers, and so were perfectly justified in doing what they did." The magistrate, did not agree with them, and fined them £20.