THE TRANSVAAL. THE CAUSE OF THE PRESENT TROUBLE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 26, 29 June 1899, Page 19

THE TRANSVAAL. THE CAUSE OF THE PRESENT TROUBLE.

Now that the Dreyfus case has been Fettled for a time the situation in the Transvaal is occupying a very prominent place iv the cable news received in these colonies. A few particulars regarding the Transvaal and is quaint people (the Boers) may be of interest to readers of the N.Z. Tablkt.

The historic lite ot the Transvaal may be said to have begun with the ■ great Trek ' or general exodus of the Cape Colony farmers of Dutch descent, who were dissatisfied with their treatment by the British authorities, and removed northwards in large numbers between the years 183:5 and 1837. By 1830 some thousands had crossed the Orange river, and had reached a country which was then under the sway of a powerful refugee Zulu chief, named Mozeleketze. From this chief and his warriors the pioneers met with considerable opposition, but they eventually defeated him iv a fierce engagement m 1837. Their next trouble was with the great Zulu chief Dingaan, who was then paramount in that part of South Africa now known as Natal. In their conflicts with this powerful r uler they met with several severe reverses, and would have been completely annihilated were it not for the bravery and generalship of Andries Pretorius, who eventually succeeded in defeating the Zulus. The republic of Natal was soon after proclaimed, but it had not a lengthened existence, as we find the British occupying this part of South Africa in 1843, and again the Boers found it necessary to make another move. This time they settled on what is now known as the Orange Free State. Here they remained practically undisturbed for some years, until, in consequence of further encroachments by British colonists, numbers of them made another ' trek ' northwards, under the lead of Pretorius, and finally settled down in their present territory. In 1852 the British Government acknowledged their independence. During the following quarter of a century the Boers had the 'greatest difficulty in maintaining their position, being harassed on all sides by powerful native chiefs. In 1M77 the British assumed the sovereignty of the South African Republic, for which the Boers were very thankful, as they had been exhausted by continuous wars with the natives. After a few years the Boers became dissatisfied with British rule, and in 1880 revolted, under the leadership of Paul Kruger, General Joubert being Military Commandant. Practically the whole male population of a fighting age, numbering about 12,000. took up arms, and in the war that ensued, inflicted several defeats on the British forces. Their success in this struggle was mainly due to their great bravery, military tacucs. and especially their markmanship. Their be»t known victory was that of the storming of Majuba Hill. The result of this war was that a treaty of peace was signed between them and the British Government in 1881. By this it was laid down that, although the Republic was to be independent with regard toits internal aff.urs. it should conclude no treaty or engagement with any state or nation, except the Orange Free State, nor with any native tribe lying to the east or west, without the approval of the British Government. THE DISCOVERY OP GOLD. About two years after this arrangement had been effected very valuable mines were discovered in the country. The discovery eaust d a ru<h t o set in, at first from the neighbouring- colonies, and after a tune, it may be said, from all parts of the world. The Boeis who are a primitive anc^ pastoral people, did not appreciate this addition to their population. Its composition was not such as would recommend it to the Puritanical, phlegmatic Boer, especially as the majority of the newcomers were British subjects. In fact the new arrivals were regarded in much the same light by the Boers as were the pioneer diggers by the early settlers of Otago. Johannesburg became the centre of the operations, and in a few years thi-. had risen from being a email village to the position of great commercial activity. In IS% Johannesburg had a population of over loo.diiu, about half of which was white. In 1896 the white population of the Republic was estimated at 140,000, whilst the native element had been roughly set down at three-quarters of a million. THE UITLANDERS' GRIEVANCES. Matters went on smoothly enough after the discovery of gold, but in time the foreigners, or Uitlanders, who had become a power in the land, as far as numbers went, became dissatisfied with their position, for, whilst they were the largest contributors to the revenue, they were debarred from taking part in making the laws. Tho Boers, w ho had made great sacrifices to maintain their independence, declined to grant the franchise to the new colonists, as they knew that by doing so they would be simply transferring- the ruling of the country to the Uitlanders. In 1895 a petition signed by over ."0 <><><> Uitlanders was presented to the Volksraad, setting forth their grievances, and claiming- an equitable franchise and fair representation for all residents in the Transvaal, with other administrative reforms. At that time the Uitlauders constituted the majority of the State, owning more than half the land and ninetenths of the property, whilst at the same time in all matters affect* ing their lives, liberties and properties they had absolutely no voice. As the great bulk of the Uitlanders were British subjects it is unnecessary to point out that such a state of affairs was very galling to thtir feelings, especially as it was imposed by a people whom they regarded as an inferior race. On the other hand they had come into the Transvaal uninvited ; they were unwelcome visitors and if they chose to remain they were free to do so on the terms which tho inhabitants of the country imposed. The Boers, rightly or wrongly, had no love for the British, whom they regarded as their oppressors in the past, and from whose rule they had voluntarily gone out, and against which they had later on revolted. The Boers had sacrificed everything for the sake of independence ; they

were in their own estimation the choßen people, the Israelites of Africa, the Orange River was their Red Sea, and the British were the Egyptians. Providence had been so far on the side of the oppressed , they had come through fierce wars with native tribes, and had successfully withstood the troops of one of the Greit Powers of Europe. This was manifestly a sign that they were a favoured people, and was it 'hen like'y th.it they were to place the power of subjection in t he band« of their former enemies by a voluntary act, to sell their birthright without even the equivalent of ' a mesa of pottage ' ? The foreigner-) were more numerous than the Boers ; they had wealth on their side ; they were only «ojourners in the land until the gold mines were exhausted ; they had not the interest of the country at heart : had they political power it would be used to further their immediate ends. In a word, the Boers were in the position of the host, who, through force ot circumstances, was obliged to entertain unwelcome guests. These outstayed their time, and in the end asked that they should be {riven a share in the management of the establishment. From a certain standpoint the grievances of the Uitlanders were undoubtedly genuine, for it is a generally accepted axiom of political economists that where there is taxation there ought to bo representation. They had no voice in the imposition of taxes although it was admitted the financial burden fell mainly on them. Other grievances were also alleged, some of them undoubtedly well-grounded, but as the detailed list of these came through the British Press, whose sympathies were with the Uitlanders, we have no conclusive grounds for assuming they were in any or every case genuine. The great capitalists and mining companies had the ear of the Press, whilst the Boer side of the story was practically unrepresented. JAMESON'S INVASION. One result of the Uitlanders' agitation was the ill-starred invasion of the Transvaal by Dr. Jameson and his force of 700 men in December. 189(5, and the surrender of these in the early part of the following January. The punishment meted out to the invaders, altogether inadequate to the gravity of the crime, was in direct contrast to that imposed by the British Government on offenders against ita rule in Ireland. Evidently circumstances alter ease* for a patriot in one instance, is a felon in another. The lenity of the sentences showed that the Imperial authorities were secretly in sympathy wi(h Dr. Jameson and his party, and that had success crowned their efforts they would be looked upon as heroes. It is needles to retVr to the events which have occurred since then, the Fitlaudtrs are almost in the same position now as they were in iv.n. Their grievances have not been redressed, and as the Transvaal authorities seem determined to re-ist any attempt of the English Government to meddle with, or influence their domestic legislation, it is evident that in the lone run the Boers will have to go under. \\ hfther they voluntarily allow the foreign element all the privihges of the franchise, or force the British Government to si c that justice ii 1 * given to its subjects in the Republic the end will lie the — the absorption of the Transvual as a colony of the British Einpne. THE BOKUS AND 'I HEIR PRESIDENT. It will be interesting to persons at a distance to watch the course of events in the Transvaal. The Boer is an anachronism ; he is a conservative of a Puritanical type, preserving all the simplicity, obstinacy, and natural shrewdness- of his forefathers of :M0 years ago. in the mMst of the progress of the nineteenth century He is a relic of the past. He imagine* that lie is specially f ivonred by Providence. On the other hand many people believe that Knghuul is, also, a nation with a special mission from Prov'i'lenco and the question then is which of the^e will prevail. Will it be an < spociil mark of Divine favour that the n ition wi r h the grrat. st nuinWr oi men, and the most powerful armaments shall Vie the victor ' It is easy to foresee that this will be the end. an 1 the Boer will be obliged to construct a new religious theory to account for his defeat. Kruger is a live specimen of the militant religious Puritan of a pa-.f age who saw the tru'din? hand of Providence m all he did. lAs? (.'rmnwell he finds some Bible text to support all hi> act-,. lie believes in liberty of conscience and worship, but had he the power it should be according to the approved Boer standard. As an illustration of how he understands the principles of religious liberty it may be mentioned tha f . only those professing the Protestant rdigion are eligible to bp members of the legislature : in fact. Catholics and Jews, are excluded from all Government positions-. Every Boer is a religious enthusiast who takes the nation il standard us the framework for his belief, but arranges the minor details to suit his own particular case. He is strongly convinced that Providence is on his side in all things, although he does not di-daiii occasionally the use of material assistance, such as the best of arms and ammunition. AREA AXU UEs-OURCE^'. The area of the Transvaal is about 120,001) square miles, or an eighth larger than New Zealand. The latest sritistic-> give the white population as :>4G,000 and the native 75(>.u00. Pretoria, the seat of government, has a white population of lu.ooo, and Johannesburg 50,000. The Catholic population of the Tr:uis\aal i«» about 5000, whilst the Jews are double that number. The British subjects now outnumber the Boers. Tin- principal wealth ot th<> country consists in its goldfields. During the p.i-<t year the tot il value of the gold won was £I<;.2l<).<>,SO, being n.n increase of £4,586,905 on the figures for 18 ( .»7. Up to the end of 1 v.i.s the total value of gold produced was £70228.<!<)3 since the opening of the fields. The return for 1898 places the Republic, by a large amount ' beyond any other gold-producing country in the world, and represents 28£ tier cent, of the gold production of the world. The other ! exports of the country are wool, hides, cattle, grain, butter, ostrich 1 feathers, etc. The outward trade in '95 was five and a half millions sterling. The country is ruh d by a president (Mr. Kruger) i lected for five years, with a council of five members There are two representative Chambers, called the first and second Voik-raad, consisting of 21 members each. All Bills passed by the second Chamber must be ratified by the first before becoming law. The members of the

first Chamber are elected by first class burghers, that is all male whites resident in the Republic before 76, or who fought in the war of independence in '81. and their children from the age of sixteen. The members of the second are elected by first and second class burghers, the latter being composed of naturalised alien males. Aliens can become naturalised as second class voters after a residence of two years, and these in turn can become first class burghers afb-r a residence of twelve y< ars. So that, after all, the safeguards adopted by the Republic to prevent its legislature being flooded by the representatives of adventurers is not excessively harsh, and com4 pares very tavourably with our New Zealand laws in regard to Asiatics, and t-\t_a Kuiopuan^ a- for instance our treatment of Austrian subjects a few months ago.