The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] TUESDAY JUNE 10. 1902. PEACE WITH HONOUR.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10666, 10 June 1902, Page 2

The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISH ED DAILY. ] TUESDAY JUNE 10. 1902. PEACE WITH HONOUR.

Now that peaoe h» bnn proclaimed and the Boers have promised allegiance to the British Grown, it ill subject for congratulation ana t'nahsfulness that onfe «! Vn« bitterest struggles the ISvftkW Country has been engaged in Wa ended, like most of her previous attempts to defend her own subjects and territory,- in victory. To some extent the Boer war w»1 luce that of the American .W*r of Independence, ,With ' «M| .tfiiportant difference,' viz., that in the 'former the malcontents declared war against Britain, to whom they merely, owed suzerain fealty, whereas. in the latter it was Britain who "de^ clared warworn hm' American Subjects, beoaun they would B6t pay t axel which did lot entitle them td representation ill the British BttuH ot Commons. The Boert trtflAeJ tilfe 6u'tlander» in a similar **?-, «.hd went to war with Britain **Wter 'than jgrani^ those .who paid -the bulk o£ the Transvaal and' Orange Free States 'Customs cfuVfts eftner legislative representation 8r the franchise. The AWfa&ans were successful in their "reTolt, and Britain loot at =TWfc territory and the allegiance of what has now grown into the richest and most progressive people on earth. But she has not lost their friendship, for blood is thicker than water, and there is an unwritten boni & fraternal affection betwtftn line members of the Anglo-Saxon race tnat nothing can eradicate. Between tho British and the Boeis there is no such bond, as they are not members' of the same human family and do not speak the af>m% language,, and furthermore n"ave little in common, pplitit&tty, commercially, or socially. No one can for a moment deny that the Boers fought both courageously and well Sot their patrimony against overwhelming odds; they did so long after nothing short of a miracle could save them from utter defeat and the loss of everything they Valued, and never gave in until even men like Steyn, De Wet, and De La Rey saw that further resilience was 'hopeless. Not till their ammunition and food supplies were all but exhausted would these plucky bnt misguided belligerents acknowledge themselves beaten and unconditionally surrender. Hiving done co, it is cheering to learn that they are now willing to act as loyal British subjects, and to live in peace and amity with their Anglo-Saxon feliow colonists. If they do so for a ttouple of generation's the old ftuA will have died out and be elmfcst forgotten in .the new era of peaceful prosperity and fusion of blood, for it is certain that .inter-marriage between the Afrikanders' and the British settlers in South Africa, which had been increasing greatly up to the outbreak of the late Boer war, will in the future become even more frequent, with the natural result that the lines of demarcation now existing between Boer and Briton will become fainter as the years roll bye. Having made peace with the Boers, it is now most important that Britain should treat her beaten enemy magnanimously, but firmly, and should, as far as possible, give those of her antagonists' who have .'fought fairly a chance to reinstate themselves in their old homes. This, we are told, the British Government is willing to do, but declines to recognise .those who have broken their oaths* of allegiance, after surrender, or done anything antagonistic to the rules of civilised warfare. This is only just, «s it would never do to treat treacherous surrenderer», who broke their oaths and abused the white flag in order to kill or maim their too-merciful antagonists, as magnanimously as those who fought fairly though stubbornly, and treated the British wounded and prisoners as considerately as possible under the. circumstances. Our cablegrams state that the Boers' will be loyal to the . British throne. Let us hope they will, as it is certain that if they are not they will suffer still worse than they have done in the late war, seeing that they, can never in the near future start another war with Britain on the same advantageous conditions as 'those which obtained when Paul Eruger issued his now historical ultimatum. We notice that John Morley stated at Edinburgh that unless representative institutions were promptly granted* to the Boers there would be a repetition of the troubles in South Africa.' Surely Mr Morley has been strangely blind to the course of events in that country during the past two and a half years? If he has not been oblivious to the utter failure of the Boers to 'defy British rule there, he is rodclpsg of ct.-i foment and an utterly unreliable leader of British public opinion; and still more ignorant of Boer sentiment, seeing that the Boers themselves are satisfied that their conquerors have accorded them terms of peace which they are more than willing to accept. Tho Boers have been utterly routed, and are in no position to resume their political ascendancy. It is therefore utter nonsense for Mr John Morley to make the statement that if they are not granted immediate representative privileges they will start another war against British rule. When men like Christian De Wet bring in surrenderors ,who cheer King Edward and declare that the Boers henceforward will be loyal to the British Crown, Mr Morley's statements to the contrary carry no weight, and prove that the speaker was .talking without knowledge. It is men- like Mr Morley, Sir Henry Campbell-Banner-, man, and others of, the same party, who have prolonged'the Boer war, and it ill-becomes them now to belittle the successful efforts of their country to uphold its supremacy in South Africa, seeing that' the Boers, were encouraged by such anti-British speeches to keep the field long after they had ceased to have any chances of ultimate success. The Boers might well exclaim "Save us from our friends !", for it is certain that it is largely to these so-called "friends" they owe their loss of independence and everything eke.