THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES JOHN BULL'S CRIME OR ASSAULTS ON REPUBLICS BY WEBSTER DAVIS THE Mbbcy press PUBLISHERS 114 FIFTH AVENUE LONDON NEW YORK MONTREAL Copyright, 190 1, by THE in the United States and Great Britain. All Rights Reserved. ALLEN'S CI: ., J. ^?.r 412 C0NGBBS8 8T»g 1 INTRODUCTION ^ AFTER a hard campaign tour of six weeks in Ohio and oilier states during the months of September and Octo- ber, 1899, my physician in Washington, D. C, advised nie to take a long sea voyage, in order to get rest, as I was on the verge of nervous prostration. I immediately thought of a trip to Cape Town. South Africa, as my old friend and neigh- bor. Colonel J. G. Stowe. United States Consul General there, had been writing letters for two years urging me to visit him. 1 had been Assistant Secretary of the Interior for three years and had never taken a vacation, while the law entitled me to thirty days' leave of absence and thirty days' sick leave each year, therefore it seemed to me that I was entitled to a good, kng vacation. The President said I had certainly earned it and should take it. At that time T knew but little about the South African war. \\'hat little I had read was favorable to the British side. It was claimed by British sympathizers that the Boers were un- couth savages and that the war was waged against them for the purpose of civilizing them. It was. therefore, a war for hu- manity and ci\ilization. I did not then know, as I afterwards found out. that no news favorable to the poor Boers was per- mitted by the British censor to pass through the mails or over the cables, and that these avenues for news-getting were abso- on^n^R!^ Introduction lutely under the control oi the British officials. When I learned all the real facts, and the actual conditions prevailing in South Africa from actual observation, I became thoroughly convinced that no people had ever been so cruelly misrepresented as the Boers, and my sympathies went out to them in their suffering. It Ts not my purpose to heap abuse upon the people of the British Empire, individually or collectively, for the masses of them are not in entire sympathy with this war. Indeed, many of the most beautiful letters received congratulating me upon the course taken since my return to America are from men and women in England. What may be written will be directed not against the British people, but against the British government — against the treaty breakers, the empire builders, the republic haters, and the liberty crushers — whose avarice, selfishness and greed have been the cause of all the sorrow and suft'ering that have come to the homes of untold thousands not only in South Africa, but throughout the whole British Empire. That portion of the following pages devoted to an interview with Honorable F. W. Reitz, State Secretary of the South African Republic, is put in his own language, for the reason that the Boer side of the controversy jVlaced before the reader in the language of the ablest scholar in the Boer Republic is much stronger than I can put it. And as this presentation covers the whole ground of the dispute it is especially desirable that the reader may grasp it as easily as possible. The sole purpose of this book is to present the true conditions and real facts as I saw them, in the Land of the Boers, with the hope that it may be the means of doing some good in some way for the cause of liberty, justice and equality of rights, and aid in some manner in saving two little republics from entire de- Introduction struction, that they may live on and on to bless the posterity of as brave a band of men and women as ever appeared on the stage of the world's great theatre of action. Webster Davis. Kansas City, Mo., 1901. A TYPICAL BOER OF THE OLD SCHOOL. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. T T'7^ EBSTER DAVIS, in addition to being Anicrican- 1/1/ horn, 7^'os horn an American, that is, zAtli a heart ^ that pnlsatcs z^.'ith pure American hlood and quickens to the inspiration of American sentiment. An ad- herent of the doctrine tJiat all men are created equal and that no government is good enough to govern another without that other's consent, it z^'os natural that lie should lift his eloquent voice and pen in behalf of the mighty farmers of South Africa, zdio haz'e been making the same tight and against the same pozeer that our Revolutionary sires made for America a century and a quarter ago. Mr. Davis zvould have been, perhaps, more in pocket, and certainly more in political favor, after his Irip to South Africa, had he remained, zvith the administration ami his party leaders, in a state of inocuous desuetude on the Boer question. But being of that type of men z^'ho haz'c the courage of their convic- tions and do not surrender them for temporary profit and place, and Jiaving by personal investigation assured himself of the righteousness of the Boer side of the South African contro- versy, he freed himself of all embarrassing political entangle- ments and assiu'ialions in order that he might think, speak and act as his conscience dictated. In this he shozced himself to be an American in fact as zvell as in name — to the manner horn as zcell as native here. Biographical Note MR. DAVIS VIEWING BULLER'S AKM'i' t KOM Sl'IUN KOP. It r e - quires high moral cour- age to fol- loiv, as he did, dictates of con- science to the ex- t e n t of alienat- ing the good zvill of a grrat politi- cal organization in zvhich he had found much preferment and held the promise of a prosperous and honorable future. AlthougJi he gave up his place as First Assistant Secretary of the Interior and lost the eniolunieiits of that office, zve believe he thereby gained the respect and confidence of the American people, because in so doing he z^'us acting in accordance zvith his conz'ictions. Whatever the readers judgment may be regarding the con- clusions arrived at in tJiese pages, he must surely commend Mr. Daz'is's conscientious course and admit that he has nmde out a prima facie case for straightf orwardness that entitles his ivord to be taken as truth in the statement of facts con- tained in these pages. Concerning Mr. Dai'is's ability for the task in hand his pub- lishers would remind the public that, in addition to " having been on the ground," Mr. Davis is a self -nmde young man, an eminent example of ivhat energy, perseverance, native aptitude Biographical Note and indomitable character can do for one in our wholesome American environment even under the most perverse adversity. He has met zeifh nuiny trials in his half completed career, his pathzeay having been beset leith all the obstacles that befall the straggler after ideals and success, all of zvhich he has sur- mounted one by one, and still possesses the intellectual force and courage necessary for the battles yet to come. All this is due to his parentage, early life and education. He is a Pennsylvanian by birth — born at Ebensburg, Cambria County, less than forty years ago. IV hen a mere boy, IVebster (he zeas most tittingly named for the distinguished orator) zi'cnt to Missouri, zehere as fanner boy, clerk, shoemaker, and in other laborious capacities, he contributed to the support of his family and managed to partly educate himself, finally making Jiis leay to Lake Forest Uniz'crsity — paying his expenses zeJule in this institution by night zcork. After leaving Lake Forest, he chose the legal pro- fession as his z'oca- tion, taking up the studies thereof zcifh a laze firm. He afterzeards took a course at the Kan- sas State Uniz'cr- sity, zehich he sup- plemented by grad- uation from the MR. DAVIS AND ESCORT ON TOP OF spioN Kop. Iqi^j department of the Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, Biographical Note He then settled at Kansas City, Mo., heginning the practice of ills profession, in which Jiis ability, genial personality and sturdy intellectual force brought him into prominence and public favor. Having a genius, though, for oratory, and the legal profes- sion affording but a limited outlet for the same, he took to public speaking. His charming style, his cogent argument, his dramatic delivery, his telling clinui.res, liis brilliant and eloquent perorations, Jiis powerful though leell modulated and melodious voice and his splendid physique at once placed him in great demand : and to-day there is, perhaps, i)i this country, no more inspiring, convincing or pleasing orator than the Hon. Webster Daz'is. In i8q2 Mr. Davis zvas nominated for Congress by the Re- publicans in a hopelessly Democratic district, and although he was defeated he reduced the majority against his party by one- half. In i8()6 he came within three votes of receiving the Repub- lican nomination for Governor of Missouri. In i8()4 he was chosen by Jiis party as their candidate for Mayor of Kansas City and elected by a majorit\ of 1,000. While Mayor he established many reforms, among them being the reduction of gas from Si. 60 to $1 per 1,000 cubic feet, and by the encouragement of competition it fell shortly thereafter to ^o cents. When Mr. McKinley was nominated for the Presidencv in i8p6, he got no abler support than that giz'cn him bv Mr. Davis's orations througJiout the middle states, and in recogni- tion of his great serz'ices the President made him a monber of his official family. His efficiency and conscientious fulfilment of his duties as Assistant Secretary of the Interior are matters of zvide repute. Biographical Note As to his cs- trangemciit from the McKii ley ad- iiiiitisfratioii o ii account of tlicir attitude on the Boer question, and of Jiis forever renouncing f h e Republican Party and joining tJie Democratic Party, wJioever may have become his enemy therefor, none can consistently withhold from him commenda- tion for conscientious action. Certainly, the party he has left has every reason to envy the party he has nczcly joined, in which organisation he must prove a -valuable and useful factor as a democratic republican, a believer in goveriDnent by the consent and participation of the governed. Our advance orders on this work haz'c been so extensive as to zrrx nearly exhaust the first edition and make necessary the immediate preparation of a second, consequently the success and large sale of this publication is assured. THE PUBLISHERS. MR. DAVIS SEES UNBURIED BODIES OF BRITISH SOLDIERS ON SHION KOP. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGE Voyage to South Africa. Visit to England's metropolis. Impressions of British thought. America's seeming complicity in the Boer war on account of rumored Anglo-American alliance. Reception by British at Cape Town. Observations on their troops and military equipment. Boer prisoners of war take heart at meeting an American direct from America. Their parting word is, " May God spare you to return to America and tell the great people of the greatest republic in the world how we, the citizens of the two smallest republics in the world, are suffering for liberty and independence I CHAPTER H. Natal and its natives. Facts of interest concerning Durban. Arrival at Lorenzo ^Marquez. Courteously invited by the Secretary of State of the South African Republic to visit Pretoria in President Kruger's private car. Enthusiastically greeted as an American on crossing border line between the Portuguese and Boer territory, at Komatipoort — with a succession of ovations at stops en route and at Pretoria •••..... .15 CHAPTER HI. Interview with President Kruger. The Boer side of the controversy. England's policy of a century toward the Boers one of duplicity, greed and treachery. Secret continuous arming of the Kaffir races by the British, in violation of solemn treaties, and inciting them to attacks on the Boers in order to seemingly justify British in- terference, which was always a disguise for a territory grabbing intention ••••••.... 25 Contents CHAPTER IV. PAGE Pretoria — Its inhabitants, architecture, fortifications and defenses. Plan to surrender city and retreat to mountain fastnesses — thence to maintain guerilla warfare — contemplated from the date of the breaking out of hostilities. Boers slandered and their institutions misrepresented in order to excite sympathy for England's unspeak- able and inhuman assaults on the republics. Principal newspapers printed in English and English almost universally spoken among the Boers. British Uitlanders alone found fault with Transv^aal government — American, French, German and other Uitlanders be- ing well satisfied with Boers' laws and their administration of jus- tice. Their kind treatment of British soldiers — testimony of British officers and others as to this fact. Falsity of the charge that Boers had used gold to purchase sympathy of other countries, and that President Kruger has $15,000,000 stored away in Holland banks. Impossible to ship gold from Transvaal without British knowledge. 31 CHAPTER V. Boer case as set forth by Mr. F. W. Reitz, Secretary of State of the South African Republic. Struggle of a century against British territorial encroachments and violations of conventions. Britishers' boast of civilization in South Africa a mere cloak to hide their spirit of annexation and piracy. To wait until the Dutch have pene- trated the wildernesses, conquered the wild beasts and savages and established civilized government for themselves, and then to take advantage of their numerical weakness and rob them of the results of their toils and hardships and force them again and again into unexplored wilds to begin anew the work of republic building — this has been the brutal, thievish, cowardly policy of England. Incited savages to seditious movements repeatedly, en- couraging them to murder Boers and ravish their women. Forced Boers to accept igo.ooo in compensation for the seizure of diamond fields with a daily output greater in value than that sum. Treaties, annexations and suzerainty 42 Contents CHAPTER VI. PAGE British charge of incompetence of Boer government and laxity of its administration in gold fields disproven. Does not suffer by com- parison with other governments, and compared with its critics shows to advantage. Boers' innate sense of justice and amply- demonstrated capacity for self-government. Untrue that they were cruel toward natives. Spirit of capitalism as incarnate in free- booters of the Cecil Rhodes type alone responsible for difficulties. Ceaseless clash of the two policies in South Africa— that of the Boers, based on liberty and national sentiment, and that of the English, founded on financial interests and imperial jingoism. The suzerainty dispute. Just and moderate proposals of the Boers for arbitration. Chamberlain's insolent reply. His presumptuous claims and unreasonable demands, notwithstanding treaty stipula- tions. Lame and impotent pretence for grievance over the so- called Lombard, Edgar and Amphitheatre cases . . . .62 CHAPTER Vn. Legions of troops to " chastise a paltry 30,000 men and youths un- trained in the murderous art of modern militarism." England would be in better business endeavoring to administer more just government to her own people than in trying to reform other gov- ernments. Depends upon the charity of other nations to feed her starving millions, and her working class is ground down by blunted opportunities and despotic aristocracy . . . .108 CHAPTER VHL Zulus and Zululand. Topography, scenery, vegetation and animals. Zulu manner of speech and idiomatic peculiarities. Names sym- bolical of characteristics given to all strangers. Zulu nature; strange customs of tribes: their superstitions and religion; their morality, amiability and kindheartedness 113 Contents CHAPTER IX. PAGE Ihe battlefields. On the firing line and in the camp of the Boers. A meeting with General Joubert. Boer generals and troops an un- ostentatious band of mighty farmers. Their wholesome hospitality. Skillful handling of machine guns by Boer farmer boys. Buller at Tugela River gr,eatly harassed and nonplussed by the wonder- ful skill of the Boers in moving detachments quickly. Their tactics and the necessity therefor. Boer marksmanship. British soldiers handicapped in marksmanship on account of clearness of atmos- phere, so unlike that of England, and unable therefore to judge of distances. Some clever horse-stealing. The Boer bivouac . . 133 CHAPTER X. Johannesburg, the centre of the mining region of the Witwatersrand. Farewell to officials at Pretoria. Citizens of the little republics tearfully implore that the people of the United States be told the truth concerning their struggles against their oppressors. Macrum- Hay incident. A promise to do all possible to enlist American sympathy for the Boers. Return to America. Resignation of office 147 CHAPTER XI. Orations at Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Kansas City (be- fore National Democratic Convention), St. Louis, and Omaha . 152 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A Free State Commando at Ladysmith S6 A Typical Boer of the Old School xi Another Part of Spion Kop — Dead British Soldiers i66 Armed Boers and Officials of Pretoria and Funeral Parade of General Koch 158 Arrival of Red Cross Train at Pretoria with Boer Wounded 154 Boers and Nordenfeld-Maxim 56 Boers at Colenso 144 Boer Boys — Positions of the Firing Line 138 Boer Envoys : C. H. Wessels, Abraham Fisher, A. D. W.. Wolmarans, J. M. De Bruyn 2 Boer Father and Son — Noted Scouts xvii Boer Father and Two Sons — Scouts 151 Boer Fort at Mafeking 38 Boer Guns Ready to Leave Pretoria for the Front 100 Boers in Battle 140 Boers in Trenches at Mafeking 40 Boers in Trenches at Mafeking 146 Boer Laager near Mafeking i Boer Mountain Gun 214 Boers Preparing Supper 24 Boer Red Cross Car 22 Boer Red Cross Wagon 34 Boers Shipping Horses to the Front 68 Boer Squad in Charge of Cannon '. 18 Bodies of British Soldiers on Spion Cop 186 Body of General Joubert Being Received at Pretoria 222 British Armored Car 30 British Armored Train at Mafeking 8 British Prisoners from Nicholson Kop Arriving at Pretoria 142 British Prisoners in Barbed Wire Enclosure 60 British Prisoners Surrounded by Barbed Wire and Guarded 18S Captured British Cannon 174 Cannon Kop at Mafeking 14 Commandant Trichard and Staff and His Son, 12 Years of Atje 14 Crowding into Cattle Cars to Get Away from Johannesburg on First 128 War Scare 128 De Ammunitie Trein go Driegeslagten in den Corlog. (The three generations in armsi rgo List of Illustrations PAGE Fort Der Boeren , Mafeking io8 Funeral of Boer Soldiers at Pretoria 72 Funeral of General Joubert at Pretoria 152 Funeral of General Joubert — The Casket So Funeral of General Koch 178 Funeral of General Koch, Killed in Battle 150 Funeral of General Koch — The Flower Laden Casket 52 General Joubert and Staff at New Castle 136 General Lucas Meyer, Prominent Boer Commander 10 General Snyman, General Botha 112 Group of Zulus 124 Head of General Joubert's Funeral Procession 1 70 Hollander Corps at Pretoria 64 How England Annexes Gold and Diamond Fields 210 Howitzer in the Boer Fort 48 Irish Brigade of Boer Army — Mr. Davis Right of the Flag g6 " Long Tom," in Charge of Boers en route to Modder River 104 More British Prisoners Arriving at Pretoria 2i3 Mr. Davis and Escort Ascending Spion Kop After Battle 61 Mr. Davis Sees Unburied Bodies of British Soldiers on Spion Kop xiii Mr. Davis Viewing Buller's Army from Spion Kop xiv Mr. Davis and Escort on Top of Spion Kop xv Mr. Webster Davis Frontispiece Mrs. President Kruger 30 Native Woman Carrying Water 120 Officers of the Brave Irish Brigade, near Ladysmith 134 Oom Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic 30 Patriots at Colensc 92 President Kruger on the Porch of His Cottage 162 President Kruger's Carriage and Body-Guard 28 Pretoria Citizens Welcoming Train Bringing Boers Wounded at Spion Kop 202 Receiving British Prisoners at Pretoria 182 " Rabbit Hole," Hiding Place of Baden-Powell During Bombardment of Mafeking 12 Some of the Sieging Boers near Ladysmith 76 Some Who Do Not Share in the Profits of Conquest — Unburied Eight Days After Battle 194 Street-Car of Funchal, Capital of Madeira Island 6 The Famous " Long Tom," Mafeking 44 The Irish Brigade — Mr. Davis Directly Under Peak of Right-Hand Tent. 132 Tugela River Bridge 82 Tugela River Bridge After it was Destroyed by Boers 198 Unloading British Prisoners from Train at Pretoria 14S W^hat the Diamond and Gold Fields Cost — Britishers Unburied Eight Days After Battle of Spion Kop 146 Within the Boer Laager near Ladysmith xxiv Wounded Burghers in Pretoria Red Cross Hospital 206 Zulu Mother and Child 116 JOHN BULL'S CRIME CHAPTER I. Voyage to South Africa. Visit to England's metropolis. Impressions of British thought. America's seeming complicity in the Boer war on account of rumored Anglo-American alliance. Reception by British at Cape Town. Observations on their troops and military equipment. Boer prisoners of war take heart at meeting an American direct from America. Their parting word is, " May God spare you to return to America and tell the great people of the greatest republic in the world how we. the citizens of the two smallest republics in the world, are suffering for liberty and independence." OX December 6, 1899, I sailed from New York 011 the American Steamer St. Paul. After an uneventful voyage of eight days we landed at Southampton, England. As passage on an outgoing steamer for Cape Town could not be secured for several days, I visited London. In that great metropolis of England, at that time, the people gen- erally seemed very much excited over the news that the papers were publishing from South Africa, and reports issued daily by the war office were not at all satisfactory to them. In the clubs, in the hotel lobbies, on the streets, in fact, everywhere, could be heard a strong murmur of disappointment, dissatisfac- tion and distrust. Oftentimes such expressions of disapproval were heard as, " I wonder if our soldiers are going to let the 2 John Bull's Crime Boer savages whip them? " and "Is it possible that Buher is going to allow the heathen to eat him up blood raw?" and '■' I am afraid this is a terrible mess our government has got us into, and it looks as though we were in a very bad piece of business." These and many other similar expressions indi- cated that the British people, in the lesser walks of life espe- cially, were not entirely pleased with the way things were going. Another thing that was very noticeable was the seeming effort on the part of the London people to make it appear that they were counting much upon the friendship of the United States government in their war against the citizens of the two little South African republics. They seemed to be in great fear that some of the great powers of Europe w^ould intervene in behalf of the Boers, and to them it seemed that there was no place to look to for sympathy but the United States of America. The speeches that Mr. Joseph Chamberlain had made contained many references to the friendly relations existing between the British Government and the Government of the United States. Indeed, it had been asserted by Mr. Chamberlain that there was an understanding between the two governments. This, of course, made the people think that the people of the United States were their friends and supporters and sympathizers in their unholy war. They seemed not to expect any sympathy from any other country in the world, hence they looked upon all Americans with great favor. But, notwithstanding that feeling toward Americans, they were so egotistical and over- bearing that an American could not converse with them more than a few minutes at a time without being insulted by them, because of their domineering ways. Unconsciously they would refer to the United States and its people as inferior. In fact, you would think, in listening to their references to certain BUER EXVOYS. C. H. ^VESSELS. ABRAHAM FISHER. A. D. ir. irOLMARAXS. J. M. DE BRUYN. Voyage to South Africa 3 parts of our own country and to its people, that we were more or less in a savage state, and that we were scarcely superior to the Boers. The nig-ht before leaving London, at the request of some American friends, I visited the Empire Theatre, and there, between the acts, witnessed a most singular spectacle. An American actress, who seemed to be quite well known to the English nobility, was requested to recite " The Absent Minded Beggar." On the stage, standing immediately behind her, were two squads of soldiers, one in the American uniform, the other in the British uniform. At the head of one squad was the British flag, at the head of the other was the American flag. At the close of her recitation the actress stepped back behind the two flags and tied their corners into a knot, while the audi- ence arose to their feet and, led by the orchestra, sang with great enthusiasm " God Save the Queen " and " Rule Bri- tannia." To me that scene was not an inspiring one. For, when I remembere'd that my ancestors fought and died to make my flag the flag of the greatest republic in all the world, and fought against the same monarchy that endeavored to make that Union Jack, which appeared on this occasion tied to my flag, rule triumphantly over my republic as a British colony ; and when I remembered that this American flag, now joined with the British flag, the symbol of tyranny and oppression, had always been regarded heretofore as the emblem of freedom and as the banner of a " go\'ernment of the people, by the people and for the people." and that to liberty-loving people every- where its stars had always appeared as the morning stars of God and its stripes as beams of morning light, it seemed to me that it had a tendency to make it appear that the people of 4 John Bull's Crime our republic were in sympathy with a monarchy in its efforts to crush two Httle repubhcs modeled and patterned after our own republic, and which was endeavoring to rob and murder the men and women and children of those two little republics, who were making the same fight for liberty, for home, for jus- tice and for equality, and for republican form of government, as our fathers made in the time of the Revolution, when in 1776 they performed deeds of valor that wedded their names to glory and undying fame. Being exceedingly anxious to reach Cape Town at the ear- liest possible moment, I secured passage on the first steamer bound for Cape Town, which happened to be the British steamer Mexican. On the Mexican were several American passengers, some who had been for years in the employ of the British capitalists in South Africa and who were returning to their places of employment after a visit to their homes in Amer- ica. The rest of the passengers, with the exception of twO' Dutch families whose homes were in Cape Colony, were all Britishers. The Mexican proved to be the worst steamer on the Union Line of steamers plying between England and South Africa. The captain and his associate officers assured us, however, that, though she was \-ery old, she was seaworthy, that she had stood many storms in her time. Passing through the Bay of Biscay we encountered a very rough sea, which appeared for a time almost too much for this ancient vessel. The passengers were tossed about like lemons in a torrent, and all were very seasick. Among the British passengers were many sons of the British aristocracy who were going to South Africa to enlist in the various regiments and to seek commissions in the army. Voyage to South Africa 5 Among them was the son of an Enghsh baron whose chief dis- tinction was that he was the husband of Lily Langtry, the actress. He, too. was going to war. After a few days we approached the Madeira Islands. It was getting dark as the vessel passed the first islands of the group, which are known as the Desertas. and which are unin- habited. Passing by these, we came into one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, and approached Funchal, the chief city of the Madeiras. It presented, indeed, a rare and beautiful sight. The city seemed to appear as a magnificent semi-circular panorama, the houses apparently being one upon the other, reaching from the water's edge to the summit of the mountain that composed the backbone of the island. Thou- sands of lights sparkled here and there. We cast anchor and did not land until the next morning. The islands known as the Desertas appeared like huge rocks rising perpendicularly out of the w'ater. One of them had the appearance of a great table. In fact, it was as level on the top apparently as any table. These islands have no inhabitants on them with the exception of a rare species of mountain goat which are found there occasionally. The only islands of the group inhabited are iMadeira and Porto Santo. Madeira is the largest of the group, and is about thirteen miles wide and thirty miles long. Its highest mountain is six thousand and one hundred feet. The islands abound in beautiful scenery, and as you approach from the east the scenery seems to change continually like a wonderful panorama. The islands belong to Portugal, and they are said to contain about one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. Funchal, the capital, has a population of about thirty thousand. It is a very picturesque town, situated in a 6 John Bull's Crime spacious and vast amphitheatre of which the blue sea forms the floor. On the arrival of the vessel a great number of little boats plied by half naked boys came off from the shore to meet it, and for a shilling offered to carry us to the shore. Many of the little boats came alongside of the steamer loaded with all sorts of souvenirs manufactured in that city and for sale by the half naked natives. Among the articles offered for sale by these boys were embroidery, lace, jewelry and most beautiful wicker chairs, many of which were purchased by the passengers to use on deck of the vessel during the remainder of the voyage. Many naked little boys were in the boats, and for pennies or sixpences, which were thrown by the passengers into the sea, would dive for them, and amid the shouts of the passengers would in a few seconds return to the surface of the water holding up the coins in their hands. On the shore were many bazaars where various kinds of Portuguese manufactures were on sale. The most interesting object to visit in the city was the Church Nossa Senhora de Monte, to which the narrow railway leads from the water's edge. The church is situated near the top of the mountain, and the view from that point is extremely fine. The church is very old, and it is almost a work of an- tiquity. It was built by the Catholics. One of the most interesting modes of travel in Funchal is by a small sled with two seats, drawn by a couple of bullocks and driven by two small half clad native lads, one of whom whips the bullocks, the other standing on the rear part of the sled guiding it and also plying the brakes as it goes down the hillside over the roadway, over the streets, covered as they are with small cobble stones. It was, indeed, a unique w^ay of traveling. Voyage to South Africa 7 The marketplaces were filled with tropical and other fruits, and the public gardens were beautifully laid out. Madeira is known throughout the world as a great health resort, and many of the English aristocracy spend their winters there. One of the most obnoxious things encountered there was the large number of beggars. Old beggars, middle-aged beggars and young beggars, the lame and the halt and the blind, would fairly cling to one's clothing as they passed along the thorough- fares, following in great crowds and begging for alms. If a coin was thrown to one it seemed as though a thousand other beggars sprang into existence from the very cobblestones in the streets. The truth is that all visitors were so harassed by these unfortunate creatures that they were all glad to return to the Mexican. On the evening of the next day after our arrival at Funchal we proceeded on our way and touched no other point until we reached Cape Town. After a two weeks' voyage we entered Table Bay and anchored at Cape Town. I spent eight or nine days there visiting the city and suburbs, .and found them most delightful. It being the summer season, of course the weather was quite warm, and the heat in the city was almost unbearable, but in the suburbs, amid the groves, flowers, trees and shrubbery, it was very delightful. Table Bay, which is one of the most beautiful bays in the world, seemed almost covered with great English warships and transports, this being the port where nearly all the British sol- diers were landed. The first object of special attraction upon entering Table Bay is the famous Table Mountain. This moun- tain enables Cape Town to rank with Naples, Rio Janeiro and San Francisco in beauty and grandeur. It seems to furnish 8 John Bull's Crime a great background for the city, rising solitary and alone to the height of three thousand five hundred and eighty-two feet. Its sides are cut with ravines, while vegetation covers its entire surface. Many varieties of wild flowers, the most beautiful in Africa, grow upon its sides and summit. The head of the mountain greatly resembles the head of a majestic lion. It is therefore called Lion's Head, whilst the tail is known as Devil's Peak. One of the strangest phenomena ever witnessed is the tablecloth upon Table Mountain. This is caused by the clouds hovering upon the summit of the mountain and lapping over its crest in such a peculiar manner as to represent a great table- cloth spread carelessly over its top. Around its base are sev- eral beautiful drives of many miles in extent. The City of Cape Town is very much like many of our American cities of the same size, that is, fifty thousand. About one-half of the population are of European extraction. A large proportion of them are Malays and Negro natives. Of the suburbs of Cape Town probably the most interestmg is Stellenbosch, which is an ancient city of about six thousand inhabitants. With the exception of Cape Town this is the old- est settlement in South Africa. \^an der Stael settled there in 1681 and named it after himself and wife, whose maiden name was Bosch. The people who settled in that city were the pioneers of civilization in South Africa, and they waged a continuous warfare against Bushmen and Hottentots. It is a typical old Dutch settlement. In the center of the town there is a large common. The city is famous for its magnificent oak avenues. Majestic oak trees over two hundred years old line all the upper streets of the city. The houses are old-fash- ioned, in fact, quite ancient, with very small panes of glass in the windows. The roofs, many of them, are made of thatch. Voyage to South Africa 9 There are several colleges and institutions of learning located in this town. The city and community are noted for the splendid fruit produced thereabouts. It is especially famous for its production of strawberries. Another place that is especialh^ interesting in the vicinity of Cape Town is the suburb known as Rondesbosch. It has a population of about thirty-five hundred and is situated five miles from Cape Town. In this little city are to 1:)e found th.e most attractive villas and mansions found in South Africa. Numbered among them is Grooteschuur, the residence of Cecil J. Rhodes. It was originally an old Dutch farm house, which was purchased by Rhodes and remodeled after the old Dutch style. The extensive grounds are composed of parks, which are filled with all kinds of deer, elk, antelope, and in fact almost every variety of wild beast to be found in South Africa. It is a veritable menagerie or zoological garden. The great trees, hundreds of years of age, rise majestically, like sentinels stand- ing guard over this picturesque country place. Flowers and shrubbery of every variety known in South Africa grow about in great profusion, while gravel driveways and walks, spark- ling springs and shady nooks, with here and there a herd of cattle, make it one of the most picturesque homes in the world. Another place of interest near Cape Town is Robben Island, situated at the mouth of Tal)le Bay, which is famous because of its being the place where the great lighthouse is situated, and also because several of tlie great native chieftains in the past were kept here in cajjtivity. the most eminent of which was the chief known as Linksh, who was drowned while attempting to escape from the island. Of late years Ro])ben Island has been used as an asylum for lunatics and lepers. During mv lo John Bull's Crime visit there I saw over eight hundred lepers, most of them negroes. They are cared for by the Cape Colony government. Another interesting point near Cape Town is Simon's Town, some twenty-five miles from the Cape. It is the headquarters of the Cape and West Coast naval squadron. It has a large bay, and at the time of my visit was filled with British war- ships and transports. In company with the United States Consul General, I visited the British fleet at that town, and was entertained by Admiral Harris, who was in command. While there we visited some three or four hundred Boer Ijrisoners, who were imprisoned on the Transport Catelonia. These were the first prisoners captured by the British. Chief among them was Colonel Shiel. As these were the first Boers I had ever seen I noticed them carefully. ^Nlost of them were stalwart men, towering above six feet in height, broad shoul- dered, and without surplus flesh. They all wore heavy beards and were poorly clad in cheap farmers' garbs. They appeared to me like plain, honest, kind-hearted farmers, almost exactly like the farmers we see in the western part of our own country. They seemed very modest and rather timid in the presence of the British officers. Their eyes filled with tears and their faces lighted up with a hopeful expression when I was introduced to them as an American. And when I left the vessel I noticed that thev were crowded together in the old hulk very much as sardines are packed in a box, and their food was certainly not of the best. And when I looked upon these men who had been accustomed to the broad veldt and the pure air of the Transvaal and Orange Free State homes, their custom as it were to live in the pure air, in the open field, without knowing what it was to be crammed in close quarters, it seemed to me that it must be almost impossible for them to endure long their close captivity. GENERAL LUCAS MEYER, PROMIXEXT BOER COMMAXDER. Voyage to South Africa 1 1 And as I left the prison vessel to enter the steam launch to go to sliore, many a stalwart Boer grasped me by the hand and said : " Alay God spare you to return t(j America and tell the great people of the greatest republic in the world how we, the citizens of the two smallest republics in the world, are suffering for liberty and independence." And even after we had landed at the railway station and boarded the train to return to Cape Town, as we sped awav at a rapid rate, until our train dis- appeared out of the sight of the captive ship, we saw the hands of the Boer prisoners extended out of the port holes waving us a last farewell. In the Cape I was treated very cordially l)y the British offi- cials. I found Sir Alfred Milner, the British Governor of Cape Colony, a most able, affable, genial gentleman. He im- pressed me as being a man of great ability, and an exceedingly clever diplomat. His frankness was especially notable. I had the pleasure of being his guest at a public dinner and was s]K)wn every courtesy by him. He also honored me with an invitation to meet Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener, who ar- rived in Cape Town the day before I left it. The American residents of the city als) tendered me a public banquet at the City Club, at which Sir Alfred iMilner and the Lord iNIayor of Cape Town were guests, and publicly extended me a cordial welcome to the city. While there I also had an opportunity of seeing much of the British army. I met many of the distinguished commanders and many of the now famous troops. Among them a\ as a regi- ment of Uitlanders encamped near Stellenbosch under command of Colonel Seymour. Colonel Seymour invited Consul Stowe and myself to visit the camp, which we did and took dinner with them. \\'e found them a jolly lot of fellows, mo.stly 'poni ^ 12 Jol^r^ Bull's Crime British and a few x\mericans among them, most of them from Johannesburg. They were men who had been employed in the mines at Johannesburg, most of them as superintendents and high officers in the employ of British companies who owned the large mines there. These Americans were friendly to the British cause, for, in fact, they were in the employ of the British, some of them receiving large salaries. Colonel Sey- mour was reported to be receiving a salary of $50,000 a year to superintend the mines of a large British company. These Americans, of course, because of their being in the employ of Britishers, were ardent sympathizers of the British cause. They were drilling every day and preparing to go to the front. I understood they were to construct bridges for the troops to cross from Cape Colony into the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Colonel Seymour was a most affable gentleman, a typical American. A brother of his, of New York City, was once Commissioner of Patents at Washington. I felt very sorry to see this splendid American engaged in assisting the British in their unholy war. I am sorry to note that in the last few months the newspapers report that the Colonel was killed in a battle on Modder River. After a very interesting and pleasant sojourn in Cape Town, 1 took leave of Consul General Stowe and his family, who had been very kind to me during my visit, and took passage on the steamer Dunnottar Castle, the ship that a few days before had brought Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener to South Africa, and started for the Transvaal. I had been advised by the British officials and the American residents of Cape Town not to attempt to go to the Boer country. They said I would surely be killed if I made the attempt, for, said they, the Boers cannot speak the English Voyage to South Africa i 3 language and they will not let you cross the horder of their country, because when they find you can speak the English language they will not only refuse to let you cross the border, but they will probably kill you, because they are very savage. I concluded that I did not like to return to America without seeing something of the Boers, so I determined to endeavor to make them a visit. At this point I wish to say a word in behalf of Consul General Stowe. Before taking my departure I tele- graphed a request to the state department at Washington to permit General Stowe to accompany me to the Transvaal. I did this for the reason that the Consul General had informed me that he had not had a vacation since he had l)een in South Africa and under the laws was entitled to a vacation. He had been working hard and had been ill for several weeks before I landed there, and I feh that he was very much in need of a rest, and I concluded als.) that there could be no possible objec- tion to the government permitting him to accompany me on a visit to Pretoria. The ref|uest was promptly denied by the Secretary of State. In this connection I desire to sav that in my judgment our nation ought to be ashamed of its treatment of our consuls in South Africa. For instance, at Cape Town, the business of the United States ranks second to that of Great Britain, and our consul is compelled to work almost night and day in order to attend to that business, and in addition thereto he is besieged by throngs of Americans who are stranded in the country who come to him for aid. For all this work the consul general is paid but $3,000 per annum, and is not even furnished with a house to live in. And yet, notwithstanding the fact that the business trans- acted at the United States consulate ranks next to that of Great Britain, and while our consul receives but $3,000 per H John Bull's Crime annum without house rent, the consul of the little country of Belgium receives nearly twice as large a salary as our consul. And not only is this true of Belgium, but it is true of many of the other small countries. The same thing is true at Pre- toria and Lorenzo Marquez. "There the Belgian consul and the Italian consul and several other foreign representati\'es re- ceive twice as much salary as our own representatives, and are also furnished houses to live in, the rent being paid by their respective governments. r-^.V.VO.V KOP AT MA PEKING. CHAPTER II. Natal and its natives. Facts of interest concerning Durban. Arrival at Lorenzo ]\Iarqiiez. Courteously invited by the Secretary of State of the South African Republic to visit Pretoria in President Kruger's private car. Enthusiastically greeted as an American on crossing border line between the Portuguese and Boer territory, at Komatipoort — with a succession of ovations at stops en route and at Pretoria. THE first port reached on the eastern coast of Africa was Port Ehzabeth. At the landing- I was met by Mr. Chebord, United States A^ice Consul, and the mayor of the city, who conducted me to the City Ckib, where the chief business men of the cit}- had assembled to tender me a welcome to the city and also a dinner. After the dinner I w^as driven by the mayor and the vice consul o^•er the city and was shown many objects of interest, among them being the public build- ings, large mercantile establishments, beautiful parks, and the city museum, in which was a vast collection of very curious productions of South Africa. Possibly the most interesting place visited was that part of the city known as the native quar- ters, which consists of innumerable huts fashioned somewhat after the style of the wigwam of the American Indian. In these quarters was assembled a vast multitude of black men, women and chiklren, most of them being almost naked and living in filth and wretchedness. Port Elizabeth is a very attractive place and much business is carried on there. In 1896 the customs receipts were more than nine hundred and thirty-four thousand pounds sterling, ^5 1 6 John Bull's Crime and the imports amounted to almost nine million pounds ster- ling. I was told by the mayor that five or six thousand emi- grants were landed in the bay in 1820. The sandy shores and bleak hillocks at that time were covered only by a few huts built around the small block house, Fort Frederick. From that day the port has grown steadily, and by the energy and enter- prise of its inhal)itants has earned the title of the Liverpool of South Africa. After a very pleasant day spent here w^e went on to the Port of East London, where, after a few hours' stop, we sailed on to Durban. The firs' object of special interest on approaching Durban by sea is the expansive Itarbor w^orks, which were commenced in 1857 with a view to the removal of the bar which obstructs tlie entrance to the fort and of deepening the bay itself. The bar caused by the sandy bottom of this part of the coast is per- petually changing, and heavy seas have always a tendency to lessen the depth of the w^ater. The principal works are the Innes Breakwater and the North Pier. The former extends from the foot of the hhiti to a distance of 1800 feet into the sea exclusive of shore works, and overlaps the end of the Xorth Pier, which starts from the extremity of the Point. The total cost of all these works and buildings connected with the port up to the present time amounts to almost one million pounds ster- ling. That this ex]:ienditure was necessary is proven by the fact that during the year 1895 fo"r hundred and thirty-five steamers and eighty-three sailing vessels entered this harbor. The town of Durban and its suburbs is among the most pleasant of places to live in, the climate being very healthful, though at times the heat is intense. Yet in the Winter months the thermometer averages about seventy- four degrees. The Received by the Boers 17 streets of the city are well paved and well lighted. The resi- dence portion, situated upon the hills, was indeed exceedingly attractive. Almost every variety of fruit known to tropical climates is produced in this vicinity — the mango, rose apple, pineapple, banana, custard apple, soursop, pawpaw, guava, grenadilla, amatungula, loquat, shaddock and maartje. Ber- ries of every description are also produced. Pears and apricots grow in large quantities. There are many local industries, chief among them being the large institutions where jams and preserves are made, and they have won a great reputation for their excellence. The public buildings, museums, libraries, churches and schools are large and expensive. One of the chief objects of interest in Durban is the large number of Zulus called ricksha boys, each of whom takes a position like a horse in the shafts of a two-wheel cart called the jinricksha and carries a person all over town for a sixpence or a shilling. These boys are among the finest specimens of physi- cal manhood I have ever seen. Their forms are almost per- fect. They average about six feet in height, stand erect and straight as an arrow, and are natural athletes. They can travel almost as fast as an ordinary horse, and it is a strange sight to see them speeding along the streets in great numbers, with their heads covered with tassels, plumes, and ostrich feathers, with their brown bodies entirely naked with the exception of a small breech clout. As a number of passengers, together with myself, were rid- ing in the jinrickshas along the principal streets of Durban about five o'clock in the afternoon, we approached a large jam and preserve factory, and we noticed that the native laborers, who were all Zulus, were just quitting their work and were i8 John Bull's Crime emerging from the large building in great numbers. In a few moments some hundred or hundred and fifty of them stopped in the street close to the building from which they had emerged and suddenly began a Zulu war dance. They formed a ring, and while the majority of them began to sing a strange Zulu war song, one by one some dozen stalwart Zulus entered the circle and began to dance. It seemed like pandemonium turned loose as the swarthy black men swung around the circle with eves apparently on fire, red lips dripping foam and their white teeth gleaming like polished ivory, forcing their great bodies mto all sorts of contortions, finally falling prostrate upon their faces in the dust. Then others would take their places and go through the same ordeal, while all the time the sur- rounding Zulus were filhng the air with their strange song and clapping their hands. After witnessing this scene for some time, one of the English bvstanders threw a shilling high in the air. that it might fall in tlie midst of the Zulus. Then there was such a good natured rush for the shilling by the natives that for a time they were lost in a cloud of dust as they scrambled on the earth heedless whether or not they would crush each other to death as they struggled to possess the shilling. Finally a swarthy young fellow with a broad grin held his hand above the rest with the shilling tightly gripped between his thumb and finger, announc- ing to the bystanders that he was the \'ictor. Then other by- standers threw shillings, sixpences and pennies for some time, until becoming w^eary of the sport we turned away. After a short visit to the British colony of Xatal, I took pas- sage on the German steamer Hertzog, which a few days before had been oxerhauled by the British warships who were looking for guns and ammunition supposed to be carried by the Hertzog Received by the Boers 19 fof the Boers, and the following clay 1 arrived at Delagoa Bay. The bay was full of British warships, which were closely guarding the entrance to the harbor. The British officials seemed very alert and watchful, and it was impossible for any person to go into or out of the harbor with so much as a collar box without their knowing its contents. Lorenzo Marquez is a Portuguese possession, and is the home of the Portuguese Governor, and also at this time was the residence of the Gov- ernor General of the Portuguese territory in South Africa. It is noted chiefly as being one of the hottest places in South Africa, and one of the most unhealthful, because of the lack of drainage and the swampy territory surrounding, which cause malarial, typhoid and. in fact, all kinds of South African fevers to be epidemic during the Summer season, many deaths occur- ring daily. I received a hearty welcome by the Portuguese officials. Shortly after my arrival at the hotel. I was visited by the consul of the South African Republic located there and shown a telegram from Honorable F. \\'. Reitz. Secretary of State of tlie South x\frican Republic, dated at Pretoria, inviting me to become the guest of the government during my visit to the republic, and stating that if I accepted the invitation. President Kruger would send his private car to Lorenzo Marcjuez the next day to convey me to Pretoria. As I had already accepted the hospitality extended me by the British and Portuguese offi- cials, though it was distinctly understo(xl that I was not travel- ing as a Ll'nited States official, but simply as a private citizen in search of health and recreation. I concluded, therefore, that there could be nothing improper whatsoever in accepting this invitation. I accordingly told the consul that I would be ready to leave the next day. 20 John Bull's Crime At the appointed time I boarded the President's car at the railway station, and found it an elegant one. well stocked with provisions, and in charge of a stalwart Dutch porter, who ac- corded his only passenger the best of treatment (in the jour- ney. Passing through the Portuguese territory, the first town we reached in the land of the Boers was Komatipoort. which is situated on the border line between the Portuguese territory and the South African Re])ublic. As the train came to a stop, being seated on the observation part of the private car at the extreme rear end of the train, I looked ahead and saw a large crowd of people, men and women, standing on the platform and anxiously looking into the car windows of the coaches aliead of mine. Presently I saw them hastening to the President's car. The head man, a largfe farmer with heavy beard, said : " Are you Mr. I)a\-is from America? " " I am." I said. " I am the Field Cornet of this district," he said, " and these are the Boers and their families who are yet at home, and they have come to the station to bid you welcome to their countrv." Before he had spoken so kindly. I confess I was a little bit worried, for I noticed some of the men had rifles in their hands and some had rifles strap])ed on their backs. I remembered what the British officials had said in Cape Town, that the Boers were savage, and that, if T could speak English onlv. thev would probably kill me. When T saw these stalwart men. I began to fear my time had come. So that, when the Field Cor- net spoke to me in the language with which I was familiar. I was greatly astonished, nnd immed-ately inquired if he and his companions were real Boers. He laughed and said that they were, and immediatelv commenced to introduce me to the men Received by the Boers 21 and women who crowded up to shake hands with me and wel- come me to their country. Imagine my surprise when I found that they ah spoke my language as well as I did. They were not savages, as I had been led to believe they were, but they were simply plain, kind farmers, just like the farmers I had been accustomed to all my life. They said they were glad to see a man from America. They said they were passing through a terrible ordeal; that they had sent their loved ones to the front and many were soon to follow, to fight and die for their independence and for tlieir beloved repulDlic. They seemed very confident of success and were boasting that their young republic was going to imitate the great republic in America, and that some day the Republic of South Africa would be famous like the Republic of the United States of America. After a stop of some half hour or more, the train sped on its way, and at every station at which the train stopped during the day I was accorded the same reception by the men and women who had assembled to welcome me that I received at Komatipoort. It seemed that some one had sent the informa- tion from Pretoria to the people along the railway line that a citizen of America was on his way to visit their country, and the people seemed to so love the Republic of the United States of America and its people, because they knew that the people in America had gone through the same struggle the Boers are passing through now. and against the same British aristocracy, that they felt sure that any one coming from America was their friend and would sympathize with them in their struggle. About six o'clock in the evening, after an all day ride through the hot African sun, we neared the loftiest range of mountains in the Transvaal, about midway between Pretoria and Delagoa Bay. As there is no twilight in South Africa, 22 John Bull's Crime the darkness of night comes on there suddenly. Just as it was getting dark we approached a Httle village nestling at the foot of the mountain range. It was, indeed, a pretty spot. On one side, stretching far away toward Komatipoort, was the 1)road veldt with much the appearance of our expansive western prairies. Then came the majestic mountains rising almost abruptly like a great wall. And amid the trees and flowers blooming everywhere, and by the side of a mountain stream, almost at the foot of one of the most picturesque of water- falls in South Africa, was the little city called Watervalonda, meaning the city located at the foot of the falls. Here the train stopped for the night, as an order had been issued that no trains should travel during the night, because of the fear of bridges being destroyed by British agents. At this station I was met b}^ a large number of people and given a most kindly greeting. I was conducted to the hotel nearby, where a splen- did supper had been prepared for my especial benefit, the hotel keeper having received a telegram from Secretary Reitz re- questing him to entertain me. Here I met with a most agree- able surprise, for I found the hotel keeper a kind, jovial Amer- ican who had lived in the Transvaal for many years and was a most enthusiastic sympathizer and friend of the Boers. Early the next morning the train started for Pretoria. By many wonderful curves we succeeded in reaching the mountain top, passing through some of the most picturesque scenery that I had ever beheld, rivaling in beauty the marvelous scenery of our own Rockv Mountains. On the summit we came to another little city, called Watervalboven, meaning the city above the falls. Our course then lay through mountains, picturesque hills and fertile valleys, and then over the broad expanse of veldt, passing Received by the Boers 23 through many prosperous looking towns and cities, wherever the train stopped receiving the same welcome from the people, and at many places witnessing sad scenes which called to mind the awful suffering and hardships of war. I remember at one station I noticed especially an old farmer whose hair and beard were as white as snow, with eyes that seemed fierce looking. With a nervous step he w^alked to and fro on the long station platform with two bandoliers of cartridges thrown over his shoulders, and his trusty rifle in his hand. Noticing that his white slouch hat had a very wide band of new crape around it, I hailed him and said : " My friend, why do you wear the crape around your hat? " His eyes filled with tears, and he said : '* ]My dear son Jan was killed yesterday in battle on the Tugela River and I am going to take his place." Then he walked away. About four o'clock in the afternoon at the city of Middle- burg my car was boarded by a dozen gentlemen, the one in the lead introducing himself as Mr. W. J. Hollis, United States Consul at Lorenzo Marcjuez, but who was then acting consul at Pretoria instead of Consul Macrum. who had lately re- turned to America. Consul Hollis introduced me to his com- panions, who were all Americans from Pretoria and Johannes- burg, who had been appointed a committee to meet me and es- cort me to Pretoria. My delight knew no bounds at meeting these jovial Americans in the Transvaal, so many thousands of miles away from the land of their birth. I found that they had been in that country many years. Alost of them had prospered among the Boers, and every one of them was an enthusiastic outspoken cham]:)ion of the Boers. They seemed as glad to meet me as though I had been a member of their own family, 24 John Bull's Crime and I had been so lono: amono- the British, German, French, Italians and natives that my joy at meeting these typical Amer- icans was indeed very great. At Pretoria we were met by the officials of the government, and some twehe or fourteen hundred people, men and women, had assembled at the station to welcome us to the capital of the South African Republic. Secretarv Reitz and the other offi- cials had arranged to escort me to the hotel as their guest, but Consul HoUis and his charming wife insisted that, being an American, I must 1)e their guest at the consulate. The officials then accompanied me to the consulate, and after placing a car- riage at my disposal and making arrangements to meet me next morning, when I was to proceed to pay my respects to Presi- dent Kruger, we shook hands all around in the good old-fash- ioned American way and they took their departure. CHAPTER III. Interview with President Kruger. The Boer side of the controversy. England's poHcy of a century toward the Boers one of duplicity, greed and treachery. Secret continuous arming of the Kaffir races by the British, in violation of solemn treaties, and inciting them to attacks on the Boers in order to seemingly justify British interference, which was always a disguise for a territory grabbing intention. THE next day, in the company of Air. Groebler. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, I called upon President Paul Kru- ger. As the President refrains from the use of the English language, Secretary Groebler acted as interpreter. After a pleasant greeting, the President said to me : " One hundred or so years ago the people of the United States Republic were compelled to fight the same British nation to secure their liberty that we are now fighting, hence your peo- ple ought to sympathize with this little sister re]mblic which has dared to fight a mighty power to maintain its own independ- ence. " The main question in dispute between this g-overnment and that of England was in regard to the franchise. I have always been willing to have this question and others settled by arbitra- tion, but England has always 'declined arbitration. At the very start we wanted the President of the United States of America to intervene as arbitrator. Nothing would please us better, and we would be perfectly satisfied to abide by his de- cision. The franchise law adopted by the legislature at the commencement of the present year would, according to the 25 26 John Bull's Crime existing lists of field cornets, give the vote to fifty thousand new electors; and, as there are only thirty thousand of the older inhahitants on the voters' lists, this would immediately have given a superiority in numbers to the new population. Instead of accepting this, the British nation has declined and forced us into war by bringing thousands of troops into South Africa and up to our borders with the avowed object of forcing us to do whatever it considers right. " During this century there are three stages which charac- terize the relations of the British government with our people. The first stage began in 1806 and lasted to the second half of the century. During this period British policy toward our people is marked by a simple contempt. ' The stupid and dirty Dutch ' was the simple idea then prevalent in the British mind respect- ing our little people. According to the hypocritical nature of British policy, however, this contempt was expressed in terms of the loftiest ideas then prevailing in the civilized world. A sentimental philanthropy then ruled in the civilized world and was used by the British government to represent the Boers to mankind as the oppressors of the poor, peaceful natives, so amenable to religion and civilization, and in every respect men and brothers. If it should appear inexplicable why the power that under the treaty of Utrecht stood forth as the unblushing champion of negro slavery distinguished itself in South Africa by a nauseous love for the native, then the explanation is that in this latter case it was not so much love for the native as hatred and contempt for the Boer which characterized its South African policy. As a result of that hatred toward the Boer, concealed under that simulated love for the native, the natives were used as police against us, were furnished with weapons of war .and ammunition, and incited to fight us and. Interview with President Kruger 27 where possible, rob and murder us. As a result of that hatred our people were obliged to bid farewell to Cape Colony with all that they loved and cherished, and to seek a refuge in the unknown wildernesses of the North, and as a result of that hatred our people had to continue their crusade of martyrdom over South Africa until every jjart of South Africa's soil was to be reddened with the blood, not so much of able-bodied men, as of murdered women and children. " The second stage lasted till 1881. During this period the basis of British policy toward us was not so much simple hatred of the Afrikander (history had already shown that that hatred was powerless to keep the Afrikander down) ; on the contrary it had contributed greatly toward dispersing the Afrikanders as the ruling race over the whole of South Africa. In a moment of apathy and thoughtless disinterestedness Eng- land had entered into treaties (1852. 1854) with the Boers by which they were placed in possession of certain wild and seem- ingly useless parts of the country. The basis of the policy of the second stage was a feeling of remorse over this mistake and a firm resolve to forestall the consequences thereof. The wild and useless parts assigned to the Boers proved to be very valu- able after these Boers had opened them up to civilization ; they ought therefore again to sparkle as pearls in Her ^^lajesty's crown in spite of the treaties entered into with the Boers. This was the disguised object. As to the means employed, innate hypocrisy caused these means to be partly disguised and partly open, and the one kind of means to differ essentially from the other. The disguised means was to arm the Kaffir races against us in an unprecedented manner, in spite of solemn trea- ties and promises, and to incite them to attack us. If this policy was successfully carried out. then England could conceal 28 John Bull's Crime her true object and means, and openly come forward for the preservation of peace and order and for the maintenance of civihzation in this part of the world, and could annex the re- publics on such false pretences. As regards the Orange Free State, this policy was a failure, as the above burghers of the neighboring republic, after great trouble, succeeded in defeating Moshesh, notwithstanding the unlawful stoppage of their arms and ammunition by the British government. England was in that case compelled to rest satisfied with the protection of her Basuto interests and the prevention of all the advantages which the Boers might have derived from their victory, and with the openly illegal annexation of the diamond fields. " As regards the South African Republic, her burghers were unfortunately not careful enough to guard against this in- sidious policy of the enemy. The Transvaal Boers had de- feated the mightiest Kaffir tribes, and therefore never for a moment dreamed that the small Kaffir wars, into which they were drawn by the English inciting the Kaffirs, and which were not immediately put down by every possible means, would be used as a pretext to annex their country to the British Empire. Thus the Magato war and the Secucuni war dragged on to the endless satisfaction of Sir Theophilus Shepstone and his prin- cipals. And thus the annexation came about with the ' exten- sion of Her Majesty's jurisdiction and protection over the South African Republic, by which means alone unity of pur- pose and action could be secured, and a beautiful prospect of peace and prosperity for the future could be opened up.' In these words of Shepstone's annexation proclamation we see in all its hideous nakedness the Hypocrisy which gave a secret fatal stab to the Boer Republic and then publicly came forward as the disinterested good Samaritan ! Interview with President Kruger 29 " The third stage in our history is characterized by the com- bination of the old well-known policy of fraud, with the new forces of capitalism, called into being by the mineral w^ealth of the South African Republic. Our existence as a people no less than as a state is at present threatened by this unparalleled combination of powers and forces. " But we shall continue the struggle against the overwhelm- ing British odds so long as a single Boer still lives to wield a gun." There can be no doubt but that President Kruger is the proper man for the present crisis. The week before I met him he was at the front in Natal praising the burghers for the great things they had done and exhorting them to still greater efforts in the future. After his visit to the burghers of the Transvaal in Natal he then visited the Imrghers of the Free State strong- holds, and inspired them with confidence wherever he went. His speeches gave the keynote to the presidential mood and presidential mind and left no room for mistaking the set pur- pose and the steadfast spirit that possessed the head of the state. On the 13th of October, 1899, the president put his hand to the plow and there is not to be any turning back. He started out to defend his country's independence. The vigor, determination and confidence of President Kruger was very impressive. Despite his seventy-six years of age. despite all the stress of stormy seasons of the past, with all his manifold re- sponsibilities, he appeared at that time buoyant and confident, and his strong patriotism and courage seemed to fire the im- agination even of his enemies, and inspired all the burghers to their best efforts. The effect of his visits to the laagers and to the Boers fighting in the trenches was that there was renewed federal activities, reinvigorated camps and a movement which 30 John Bull's Crime presaged fresh purposes. At Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, President Kruger received a magnificent ovation, though his visit occurred but a short time after the surrender of poor Cronje He is a man of few words, but they are ever weighty. In his speech at Bloemfontein on this occasion he expressed in half a dozen words his great deter- mination when he said: " This far and no farther." 1 T^--> l-tRITISH ARMORED CAR. OOM PAUL KRUGKR, PKFMWEXT OF THE ^iOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. MRS. PRESIDE.\T KRLT^ER. CHAPTER IV. Pretoria — Its inhabitants, architecture, fortifications and defenses. Plan to surrender city and retreat to mountain fastnesses — thence to main- tain guerilla warfare — contemplated from the date of the breaking out of hostilities. Boers slandered and their institutions misrepresented in order to excite sympathy for England's unspeakable and inhuman assaults on the republics. Principal newspapers printed in English and English almost universally spoken among the Boers. British Uitlanders alone found fault with Transvaal government — American, French, German and other Uitlanders being well satisfied with Boers' laws and their administration of justice. Their kind treatment of British soldiers — testimony of British officers and others as to this fact. Falsity of the charge that Boers had used gold to purchase sympathy of other countries, and that President Kruger has $15,000,000 storea away in Holland banks. Impossible to ship gold from Transvaal without British knowledge. I FOUND Pretoria one of the most attractive and interest- ing of cities, containing a population of about fifteen thousand. It was situated on the northern slope of the valley formed by the Aapies River, a small tributary of the Crocodile River, rising near the town. The city is beautifully laid out in parallelograms, the streets being of equal width throughout, and in many instances lined with magnificent wil- lows, which, planted originally as fencing posts, have thriven amazingly in the damp soil. Vegetation of all kinds was lux- uriant. Upon every hand could be seen the most delicious fruits and flowers, of almost every variety, filling the air with their sweet perfume. The climate is especially favorable to 31 32 John Bull's Crime fruits and flowers. The heat during the day was sometimes quite intense, but the nights were ahiiost always deHghtfuUy pleasant. Surrounding the city is a range of hills aiYording almost a natural fortification. On the summit of these hills at the four corners of the city were forts containing many modern guns and milHons of rounds of ammunition. It would seem that these forts would be absolute protection to the city against the assaults of an enemy however strong, for they commanded a view of the country for many miles around, the country being void of wood or shrubbery. Later, however, the Boers did not attempt to hold the city when the British army approached it. There is no doubt but that the Boers could have withstood a long siege, l)ut it was understood long before the British crossed the Modder River that in case they should reach Pre- toria the Boers would not attempt to hold the city, thereby giv- ing the British army a chance to hem them in it and thus cut off their escape or their chance of retreating to the mountains in the northern part of the Transvaal, for the Boers were shrewd enough to know th.at the British outnumbered them ten to one, and if they were cut off fn^m access to the mountains the result might be disastrous. They relied upon their ability to continue the struggle indefinitely whenexer it became necessary for them to flee to the mountains, for there a small handful of Boers, accustomed as they were to the rough countr}-. would be more than a match for the British legions. The public buildings of the capital are magnificent. The state house is an imposing structure, while the new court build- ing just nearing completion was indeed grand. It was built of native white granite and marble and cost about $2,000,000. It appeared very much like the new Congressional Library building at Washington, D. C. The churches and schools were Uitlander and Boer Policies 33 first class in every particular. The schools were public and private, and the churches were of all denominations. The hos- pitals and asylums were also up-to-date. In fact the whole ap- pearance of the city was ecjual to that of any city in the United States. The private residences were neat and comfortable, containing all the modern improvements. These, together with the electric lights, gas, water works, street cars, workshops, parks and marketplaces, and the general appearance of the people, made one feel as though he were in one of the prosperous cities of America. I found the Boers possessing the very characteristics which we most admire in our own people, namely, the good nature, the generous spirit, the kindheartedness, the affection for their families and their frank and manly independence. The British press, the British officials, the British sympathizers in our own country, have told and published innumerable lies about the Boers, and have done it purposely in the hope of creating public sentiment in America in favor of the course pursued by the British government against them. The intention has been to manufacture sympathy for the British cause in order that it may be known throughout the world that the people of the greatest republic in existence lend their moral support to Great Britain in its inhuman war against the Boers. These maligners and traducers have endeavored to make it appear that the laws in the two South African republics are oppressive, that the Boers have abused Englishmen in a shameful manner, that they have tried to prohibit the English language from being spoken within the borders of the two republics, that the Boers had jambokked many English residents to death before the begin- ning of the war. that they insulted women and that they treated ^4 John Bull's Crime their prisoners with barbarity. Those and many other atro- cious Hes were told about the burghers. From personal ex- perience and observation I know these charges to be absolutely untrue. During my travels throughout the two republics, meet- ing the people in the public places, in their offices, in the hotels, in their homes, in villages and cities, and on the farms, and mingling with the soldiers on the march, in the camp and on the battlefield, I met but few persons who could not speak the Eng- lish language. Almost all of those who did speak it spoke it quite as well as the citizens of our own country. I found them clean and neat in their appearance — their homes in as per- fect order, as clean and as comfortable and as convenient as the homes of Americans. Sitting at their tables, attending their little dinners in our honor, even private dinners as well as public dinners given by officials of the government, we found the men and women in evening dress, and when all the guests besides myself were Boers, yet I would not hear a single word but English spoken during the whole evening. I found many of them cultured and refined. Some of them were authors, some had written books, some had written poems, some had produced excellent paintings, many were artists, many were fine musi- cians, and it was indeed a very common thing to find in camp and on the battlefield many a stalwart Boer with long hair and long beard, apparently rough and uncouth, who surprised me by telling me that he was a graduate from one of the great English universities. Noticing their beards I asked them why so many of them wore whiskers, and one of them answered : " We do not have time to get our hair cut or to be shaved, for we are busy all the time fighting for our lives and our homes against the savage native or the still more savage Britons, fighting to save our country and to save our independence." And thus Uitlander and Boer Policies 35 frecinently among; these brave and chivalrous men of the moun- tain and veldt would I be surprised so agreeably. And yet these are the kind of men whom the British press and the American sympathizing press would have us believe are untutored savages. The two leading newspapers of the Transvaal, the Volksstem, at Pretoria, and The Standard and Diggers' News, at Johannesburg, are published in the greater part in English, and they are briglit and newsy papers, and to my mind much better papers than the papers of England. It appeared to me, while I was passing through London, that the English dailies, as compared -with the American newspapers, were very inferior publications. One had to wade through two or three pages of advertisements on the outside of the paper in order to get to the news, wdiich was hidden away in the middle of the paper. It was difficult to find anything of interest You could scarcely find a line of news about the United States. But when I went to the Transvaal and saw these two papers I have just mentioned. I fcmnd the arrangement of news in the papers much more attractive and much more pleasing than in the dailies of London, and the fact of the matter is that I could get. even during those times, when the British cables were keeping news out of that country that v;as of much importance, more news in those papers about my own country than I found in the English dailies. I must commend the Boer papers of the Transvaal for their energy and enterprise, and I do believe that the editorials that appeared in those papers will rank far above those of the London dailies and will compare very favorably with the editorials in the columns of the best American new^spapers. As to the general laws of the two republics, I can say they are most excellent and will compare favorably with the laws of our countrv, Thev certainlv guarantee to e\-erv citizen 36 John Bull's Crime freedom, justice and equality of rights, and this is all that any man or woman should want in any country. The truth of the matter is that any man who desired to obey the laws of those republics could get along quite as well as if he were a citizen of our own republic. The laws were only harsh toward those who violated them and did not want to treat their neighbors right, who did not want to live in a peaceable manner or who did not want to do unto others as they would be done by. The laws were conceived in a liberal spirit, the mining laws espec- ially so. The only complaint to be heard anywhere on the part of the people residing in the two republics as to the laws of those republics came from the British Uitlanders. They were the people who were causing all the trouble. Their mission there seemed to be to find fault with the laws, with the government, with the officials, in fact, with everything and everybody who were in that country besides themselves. We heard no com- plaint from German Uitlanders, French Uitlanders, or Ameri- can Uitlanders, and there were many such in that country. On the contrary, we found the German, French and American Uitlanders, and, in fact, Uitlanders from every country except Great Britain, in the ranks of the Boer army, fighting for the Boers, believing as they did in the justness and right of the Boer cause, and the Boer soldiers themselves were no better soldiers, no braver, no more sincere and no more valiant on the battlefield than these same Uitlanders, namely, the German, French and American Uitlanders. General Joubert himself said to me at Hoofdlaager, near Ladysmith, that among the best soldiers in his army were the Americans, the French, the Germans and other Uitlanders, who had entered his army for the purpose of fighting for the cause of the Boers. I also saw much of the Boers' treatment of British prisoners. Uitlander and Boer Policies 37 It was indeed a sad sight to witness the reception accorded to the British prisoners as they arrived train load after train load at Pretoria from the l)attlefields on the Tugela and Modder rivers. Whenever a train load of prisoners w^as expected to arrive at Pretoria, men, women and children who still remained in that city congregated at the railway station; and after the train arrived the doors of the cars were opened and the prison- ers emerged from them, the burghers removing their hats as the prisoners stepped upon the platform, and not a jeer, not a word of derision, was heard from one of them, — but perfect silence reigned, and many a tear rolled down the cheeks of men and women who stood upon the platform and saw the sons of British fathers and mothers marched up the street four abreast to be placed where they were to remain so long as they were prisoners of war. The conduct of the Boers was most humane, most unusual. At the place where the prisoners were confined they were given the kindest treatment. Those who were ill or wounded were given the best medical attention ; surgeons and nurses were ever ready to care for them. All the prisoners were given nice clean beds and fresh pure water. The food was nicely prepared, abundant and wholesome, and the quarters in which they were lodged were clean and healthful, affording them plenty of light, plenty of fresh air, all of which are verv essential in a South African climate. Books were furnished them in large numbers from the Boer librarv, and, stranee t(^ say, these books which were furnished by the Boers to the British prisoners were all English books, not Dutch books, and yet they came from the Boer library, where it would be sup- posed that all the books were printed in tlie Dutch language, since so many liars had said that the English language was not permitted to be spoken in the two South African republics. In 38 John Bull's Crime these prison quarters were grassy lawns and shade trees and Ijeautiful grounds whereon the British soldiers were permitted to play the games they had been accustomed to in England. And the British officers who w^re prisoners were made com- fortable in the largest public school building in Pretoria, which had been set apart for their comfort. They seemed, indeed, more like first-class boarders than like prisoners of war. One of these officers said to me himself, while inter\'iewing him, that he was perfectly satisfied to remain there until the end of the war. " For," said he. " this is good enough for me, much better than being hard at work in camp or on the battlefield, and to tell the truth, I am tired of this whole business. I do not like to be compelled to fight these kind-hearted, God-fearing people." ]\Iajor Nugent, who was one of the wounded English officers captured by the Boers at Dundee, wrote a letter to his wife from Pretoria, where he was in a hospital, among other things say- ing, " I must say. and I don't say it because the Boers may read it, that nothing in the world can exceed the kindness they have shown toward us. They have done everything they can do for us. We have been moved out of camp into the town of Dundee, into the houses. I have a little room to myself and a comfortable bed, sheets, etc. The Boer magistrate in charge of the town since they captured it has told the senior medical officer that anything they have will be provided for us as far as possible. We are all right." Again, Mr. Bennett Burleigh, an Englishman, writing to the London Daily Telegraph, November 29th, 1899, ^^ore testi- mony to the sympathy and charity of the Boers in the following language : " More than once Boer leaders and simple burghers have re- Uitlander and Boer Policies 39 spected not only the property of prisoners, but the adverse opin- ions of those opposed to them. With real deHcacy they Iiave striven to lessen the hardships incidental to military occupation and the stern demands of war. Homesteads have frequently been held secure. Even the liberty of private persons, non- combatants, has at times been left considerably intact. Again and again they have treated our wounded in the most generous manner, treating wounds on the principle of first come first treated, and furnishing those who fell into their hands with not only necessaries, but little luxuries, such as tobacco, etc. It is gratifying that e\-en what has almost degenerated into a racial war has not quite dammed the flood gates of human sympathy and charity for others. General Joubert has done many kindly acts, and whenever he or his doctors have been unable to treat our wounded they have sent them in to us, as they did after the action fought the other day near Beacon Hill." These testimonials fn)m British subjects ought to bring the blush of shame to the cheeks of those who wilfully and mali- ciously make false charges and accusations against the kind- hearted and Christianlike Boers. Another charge made against the Boers is that they have used vast amounts of gold for the purpose of buying the sym- pathy of people of other countries, and that President Kruger has fifteen million dollars in gold stored away in the banks of Holland to his credit. Every one knows, who was in position to learn anything about the true condition of things in that country, that only a few years ago there was but $3.75 in the treasury of the South African Republic. Every dollar that could be saved over and above the actual expenses of operating the government (and the officials, by the way, since the com- mencement of the war, have been w^orking on half pay, that is, 40 John Bull's Crime they declined to take from the government but half the salaries they are entitled to under the law) was invested in guns and ammunition. Large amounts of provisions and supplies were also purchased and stored in places of safety in the mountains, preparatory to the war which they momentarily expected since the Jameson raid, and which they knew was to come sooner or later. Prior to the discovery of gold the revenues of the re- public were very small. And since gold was discoverecj in 1886, all the mines were in the control of British capitalists and exclusively operated by them, as the Boers did not have the capital necessary to develop them; and since the beginning of the present war eight or ten great British warships have care- fully guarded Delagoa Bay, the only inlet and outlet to the two Boer republics. And the British officials have carefully ex- amined the baggage of every man who went into or came out of those republics. Of course, on the surface of things, it is made to appear that the Portuguese officials are in charge of the cus- tom house at Lorenzo Marquez, but every one knows that Eng- land has a mortgage on Portugal for more than it is worth, and British officials do just as they please at Delagoa Bay, and they know who and what goes into or comes out of the Orange Free State or the Transvaal. It would he an impossibility for any one to smuggle even an ounce of gold out of these republics. Who ever heard of any gold passing by an Englishman without its being discovered? Even President Kruger's baggage to the minutest detail w^as carefully inspected when he passed through Delagoa Bay on his way to Europe. President Kruger sat in his office in Pretoria day after day and gave money out of his own pocket to the widows and orphans of the burghers killed at the front, with which to purchase the necessaries of life; and he told me himself that at the rate the demands for help were Uitlander and Boer Policies 41 being made upon him then it wouhl be l)ut a few months until all his private means would be gone. These charges are cruel in the extreme. It would seem that the untold misery and suffering caused in countless homes — the tears shed by wives and muthers as they wept over loved ones slain in battle, the heartaches of multiplied thousands of men and women who followed the beloved Boer General Koch, who had been killed in battle. Uj his last resting place in Pre- toria, and the anguish of the bra\-e men who. though seriously wounded, lay in the hospitals prating for their speedy recovery in order that they might return to join their comrades ere the next battle — ought to be sufficient to satisfy the venomous horde of repul)lic haters withoui: resort'ng to the most shameful lying. That the war waged against the Boers is an unjust war will be conceded by any fair minded person who will read carefully and impartially the statement of the causes that gave rise to it in the next few chapters. CHAPTER V. Boer case as set forth by Mr. F. W. Reitz. Secretary of State of ihe South African Republic. Struggle of a century against British territorial encroachments and violations of conventions. Britishers' boast of civili- zation in South Africa a mere cloak to hide their spirit of annexation and piracy. To wait until the Dutch have penetrated the wildernesses, conquered the wild beasts and savages and established civilized gov- ernment for themselves, and then to take advantage of their numerical weakness and rob them of the results of their toils and hardships and force them again and again into unexplored wilds to begin anew the work of republic building — this has been the brutal, thievish, cowardly policy of England. Incited savages to seditious movements repeatedly, encouraging them to murder Boers and ravish their women. Forced Boers to accept £90,000 in compensation for the seizure of diamond fields with a daily output greater in value than that sum. Treaties, annexations and suzerainty. OF all the statesmen of the two Boer republics none is so well qualified to state the Boer side of the case in the South African controversy as Mr. F. W. Reitz, Secretary of State of the South African Reptiblic. and a former president of the Orange Free State. In an interview with him, he said to me : " The struggle which has now lasted almost a century, which began with the forcing of a foreign ruler upon the Dutch popu- lation of the Cape of Good Hope, is rapidly nearing its end; we have reached the last act in the great drama fraught with such tremendous issues for the whole of South Africa; we have arrived at that point at which it must be decided whether all the sacrifices which our fathers and ourselves have laid upon 42 What Secretary Reitz Says 43 the altar of liberty have been in vain, whether all the blood of our peoi)le l)y which, as it were. e\ery part of South Africa is consecrated has been shed in vain ; or whether, by God's grace, the copestone shall now be placed upon the building that our forefathers began with so much suffering and sorrow. The hour has come when it shall be decided whether, by vindicating her liberty. South Africa shall enter upon a new and grander period of her history, or v.-hether our people shall cease to exist, shall be extirpated in the struggle for that liberty which it has always valued above all earthly treasures, and South Africa shall in future be governed by soulless gold kings acting in the name and under the protection of an unjust and hated govern- ment 7,000 miles away. The allegations of humanity, civiliza- tion and equal rights, upon which the British government bases its actions, is nothing but a cloak for that hypocritical spirit of annexation and piracy which has always characterized her ac- tions in all her relations with our people. " After thirty years of English government it was conclu- sively proved that it brought no salvation, but rather oppression, for the Boer. His elementary rights were violated and without the least security; his situation was intolerable in the British colony, which had then as its northern boundary the Groot River. It was therefore decided to sacrifice home, property and the possessions that yet remained after the Kafifir devasta- tions and to quit the British jurisdiction. Lieut. Governor Stockenstrom was first consulted, but he said that there was no law to forbid his leaving the Colony and settling elsewhere, and if such a law existed it would be a tyrannical law which could not be put into force. " The Cape Attorney-General Oliphant. consulted by Lord Charles Somerset, gave the same advice, saying that the emi- 44 John Bull's Crime grants were apparently resolved to go to another land and not to consider themselves any longer as British subjects (as was taking place daily in the emigration from England to North America), that the government was powerless and could do nothing to stop the evil. " Now, outside the British jurisdiction lay the countries north of the Orange River and east of the Drakensbergen, and as far as was known at that time these countries were inhabited by barbarians. But rather than remain any longer under British rule our fathers resolved to risk the dangers of the wilderness and there purchase from the Kaffirs a stretch of land and estab- lish an independent society. '' After untold hardships and much suffering at the hands of the Zulus, the Republic of Natal was founded by our fathers. " But the history of this republic was destined to be a short one. The British Colonial office was on the trail of our peo- ple. At first the British government resolved to effect a mili- tary occupation of Natal, because, as Governor Napier wrote to Lord Russell, the Secretary of State, on June 22d. 1840, ' it was evidently the fixed determination of Her Majesty's government not to extend her possessions in Africa.' The mili- tary occupation was simply intended to oppress and harass the Boers, as Governor Napier declares with brutal frankness in his despatch to Lord Glenelg of January i6th, 1838. In other words, the intention was to prevent the Boers from obtaining ammunition and from establishing an independent republic. By this means he considered that the emigration would cease. " Again, on April loth, 1842. Lord Stanley instructs Gov- ernor Napier to cut off the Boers from all communication and to inform them that the British government would assist the barbarians against them and treat them as rebels. TJfx H<-Ji- What Secretary Reitz Says 45 " The military occupation was resisted by us and the Eng- lish troops were on two occasions beaten off. More of them, however, were drowned m their flight than perished from our bullets. " Later on Commissioner Cloete was despatched to annex the young republic, as a reward to the Boers for their services in reclaiming it for civilization. Not without powerful protest from our side did this annexation take place. On February 1st, 1842. the Volksraad of Maritzburg under the chairman- ship of Joachim Prinsloo, wrote to Governor Napier as. follows : We know that there is a God who is ruler of heaven and earth and who has the power and the will to protect the weak against their oppressors. To Him we entrust the righteous- ness of our cause. If it is His will that we. our wives and chil- dren shall be totally extirpated, we shall humbly submit to such a fate. We will not challenge the might of England, yet we cannot allow that might shall triumph over right, without hav- ing made every effort in our power to resist such might.' " \\'hen our noble leader Andries Pretorius, who had ridden on horseback to Grahamstown, hundreds of miles distant, in order to acquaint Governor Pottinger with the true state of affairs, and was sent back unheard, reached the Drakensberg-en, he found almost the entire population trekking away over the Drakensbergen — away from British authority. His own wife lay dying in her wagon ; his daughter was leading the oxen and had been painfully gored by them. And this was but one instance out of innumerable others. " Sir Henry Smith, who had succeeded Pottinger as Gov- ernor, described the condition of these trekking Boers as * a state of misery which he had not seen equalled except in Mas- 46 John Bull's Crime Sena's invasion of Portugal. The scene was truly heartrend- ing.' " Thus had we fared at the hands of the British government in connection with the founding of Natal. " We trekked away over the Drakensbergen to the Orange Free State, where some of us remained, while the others trekked northwards across the Vaal River." " After this compulsory emigration from Cape Colony, how long were the Boers permitted by the British government to rest in peace, without bemg further molested? " I asked of Sec- retary Reitz. " Only a short time," he answered, " for the British govern- ment soon appointed an official to preside over the Orange Free State known as a British Resident. '' Pretorius, however, gave him forty-eight hours to quit the republic. Thereupon Sir Harry Smith collected an army, con- sisting chiefly of colored troops, against us and fought a battle with us at Boomplaats on August 29th, 1848. After the battle, which was a very tough one, a Boer, called Thomas Dreijer, was caught by Smith's colored troops, and to the shame of the English name was butchered by the English Governor for no other crime than that, having been a British subject many years before, he now dared to fight against the Queen's flag. " Another murder and atrocity put to the account of Eng- land. " In the meantime Sir Harry Smith had also annexed the country under the name of the Orange River Sovereignty, on the ])retext that four-fifths of the inhabitants favored British rule and were only intimidated by the threats of Pretorius. '* Xot long after this, however, the British Resident involved What Secretary Reitz Says 47 himself in difficulties with Moshesh, the great and astute para- mount chief of the Basutos. The Resident invoked the assist- ance of the Boers, but, of the thousand called out only seventy- five responded. The English troops got the worst of it. As the Resident wrote to his government, the existence of the Orange River Sovereignty now depended on Andries Pretorius, the man on whose head Sir Harry Smith had put a price of two thousand pounds. Earl Grey censured Sir Harry Smith and the Resident Warden, and recalled the latter, saying in his de- spatch of December 15th, 1851, to the Governor, that the British government had annexed the land under the representa- tion that the general body of inhabitants were in favor of such a measure, that, if the inhabitants were unwilling to support the authority of the British government, which was established solely for their benefit, then there was no reason for the main- tenance of such authority. When the British government re- tired from the sovereignty it was, howex-er, to be clearly under- stood that no wars, however bloody, which might arise between the various native tribes and the white communities in a state of independence beyond the colonial boundaries would be con- sidered as constituting a ground for interference. " In other words, as Froude puts it, ' In 1852 we discovered that wars with nati\es and Dutch were expensive and useless, that sending troops out and killing thousands of natives was an odd w^ay of protecting them. We resolved to keep within our territories, not meddle beyond the Orange River, and leave natives and Dutch to settle their differences.' And again, ' Grown sick of enterprises which led neither to honor nor peace, we resolved to make the Orange River, in 1852, the boundary of British responsibilities. We made formal treaties with the two Dutch States, binding ourselves not to interfere 48 ]ohn Bull's Crime between them and the natives and leaving them either to become a barrier, or, as we considered most Hkely, to sink in an mi- eqiial struggle with warlike tribes by whom they were infinitely outnumbered.' " The administration of the Free State cost the British tax- payer too much. Besides, there was an idea that if the Boer were given rope enough he would hang himself. " A new Governor, Sir George Cathcart, was sent out with two special commissioners to carry out the new policy, and a treaty was entered into between England and the Free State by which complete independence was guaranteed to the Free State, and the British undertook not to interfere with native races north of the Great Orange River. " As Cathcart says in his letters, ' The sovereignty bubble is at an end,' and ' The foolish sovereignty farce is over.* " It must not be forgotten that as long as the Free State was English territory it included the tract of country now known as Kimberley and the diamond fields, that English mortgages tmder the Orange Free State Sovereignty had been issued for the ground in questi(Mi as belonging to the Sovereignty, and that the tract of country formed part of the jurisdiction of a Sovereignty magistrate, and that therefore this, at the retro- cession of the Free State, formed part of that territory. " The convention between England and the Free State was not fifteen years old before it was broken by the English. Though they had solemnly undertaken not to interfere in native affairs north of the Groot River, yet, when the Basutos had murdered and robbed the Free Staters, ravished their women and committed innumerable acts of violence, and the Free Staters had succeeded, after three years of warfare, in severely chastising them, the English interfered in favor of the Basutos What Secretary Reitz Says 49 in 1869. In the Aliwal convention, however, they again prom- ised not to interfere. " The ink of this treaty was scarcely dry before diamonds were discovered in that part of the Free State between the Groot and Vaal Rivers, to which reference has ah-eady been made. Instead of frankly confessing that it (the British gov- ernment) was the strongest, and therefore demanded the ground in which the richest diamond mine in the world was sittiated, the hypocritical allegation was resorted to, that the true cause for the seizure of this ground from the Free State was that it belonged to a native, notwithstanding the fact that this assertion was proved and adjudged to be false, even in the English law courts. " There was an idea, says Fronde, that the richest diamond mine in the world should not be lost to the British Empire. The ground was taken from the Boer, ' and since then the Boer in South Africa can rely on English promises less than ever before.' This business. Fronde, who died before the Jameson invasion, calls ' perhaps the most discreditable page in British colonial history.' " Afterward, when Brand went to England, the government pleaded guilty and paid a paltry ninety thousand pounds as compensation for seizing the richest diamond fields in the world, where almost daily diamonds in greater value than this sum are dug up. But in spite of the Free State convention, in spite of tlie repeated promises in the Aliwal convention, the Free State had yet to suffer a third scandalous breach of the convention from England. Tens of thousands of guns were imported through the colony to Kimberley. and there sold to the Kaffirs, who surrounded and threatened the two Dutch re- publics. General Sir Arthur Conynghame, the English com- 50 John Bull's Crime mancler in South Africa, says that under his rule four hundred thousand guns were in this way sold to the Kaffirs. Protests from the Transvaal and Free State w^ere of no avail, and when the Free State made use of its rights and stopped wagons loaded with guns on the way to the Free State, it was moreover forced to give compensation to the British government. " ' The Free State,' says the English historian Froude, ' paid the compensation under protest with an old fashioned appeal to the God of righteousness, whom, strange to say, they con- sidered a reality.' '* The history of the following decades was to give even greater point to this sarcasm." At this point the Secretary controlled his emotions with great difficulty, for he had once been honored with the highest office in the gift of the Boers of the Orange Free State, and his love for them and their republic was exceedingly strong. Three of his stalwart sons, one but sixteen years of age, Avere then fighting on the Modder River as members of a Free State commando. In response to my request to give me some facts as to the early settlement of the Transvaal or South African Republic, he said : " The Boers first found the Transvaal overrun with the war- riors of Moselikatze (the Matabele king, father of Lobengula). " When he heard of the approaching emigrant Boers he sent an impi to extirpate them. They murdered a few whites who had wandered away from the rest, but were defeated at Vecht- kop by a small laager under Sarel Celliers, where the Boer women also distinguished themselves by deeds of heroism. " Shortly afterwards the emigrant Boers crossed the Vaal river and. after two battles, succeeded in driving Moselikatze What Secretary Reitz Says 51 and his barbarians across the Limpopo River into Matabeleland. After the annexation of Natal Andries Pretorius had also come to the Transvaal and lived there peacefully as Commandant- General, notwithstanding- the price placed on his head by Sir Harry Smith. The British Resident in the Free State, which then still belonged to England, had however to confess to the English Governor that the fate of the Free State was in the hands of this same Pretorius, to whose influence it was due that Aloshesh had not extirpated the British soldiers. It had been determined in England, as Froude says, to leave the Afri- kanders and Kaffirs in peace beyond the borders in the hope that the Kaffirs would exterminate the Afrikanders. " The colonial office was therefore glad, says the English IMember of Parliament, INIolesworth, when the Governor, in 1 85 1, received a letter from Andries Pretorius, Commandant- General of the Transvaal Boers, in which he offered in the name of his people to enter into negotiations with the British gov- ernment with the object of forming a treaty of peace and friendship. The price on his head was at once cancelled, and when Harry Smith had been recalled in dishonor, Governor Cathcart was sent out by Earl Grey to recognize the independ- ence of the Boers. The Aberdeen ministry, which immediately followed, declared through its spokesman in the English House of Commons : * They regretted that they had ever crossed the Great Orange River. Lord Grey had done this for the sake of Sir Harry Smith, though the latter knew better and had also a different opinion, as the Boers were opposed to British rule.' This policy was confirmed by the almost unanimous voice of the British House of Commons. " Thereupon the proposal of Pretorius was accepted and the two assistant high commissioners, Hogge and Owen, sent out ^2 John Bull's Crime with Governor Cathcart, held a conference with the delegates of the Boers at Sand River in the Free State, which resn.ted in the signing of the Sand River convention hy both parties. In this convention, as later in the Free State convention, the Transvaal Boers were secnred in fnllest measure against inter- ference or intervention on the part of England, either with them or w-'th the natives north of the Great Ri\-er, while both sides bound themselves not to provide these natives with arms or ammunition. The British commissioners reported that the acknowledgment of the independence of the Trans- vaal Boers had several advantages, as it would secure their friendship, prevent their alliance with Aloshesh, and guar- antee that no slavery should exist and that criminals should be extradited. "On May 13th, 1852. Sir George Cathcart. the Governor, in a proclamation expressed his satisfaction that one of the first acts of his administration was the approval of this Sand River convention. In June. 1852. the British colonial secre- tary also approved of the convention. " But England's word could not be relied on even in a con- vention solemnly approved and signed by her. When the diamonds were discovered in the Free State, scarcely seventeen years after the signing of this convention, England claimed part of the Transvaal territory adjacent to that taken from the Free State. It was decided to have recourse to arbitration. The arbitrators differed and the umpire. Governor Keate of Natal, gave his award against the Transvaal. It then appeared that the British arbitrator had purchased 12,000 morgen from the Kaffir chief Waterboer for a mere song and that Governor Keate had already recei\'ed \\'atcrboer as a British subject, in direct opposition to the convention. Even Dr. MofTat, who What Secretary Reitz Says 53 was no friend of the Boers, protested against this in a letter to the London Times, because the territory in question had always belonged to the Transvaal. " But this was only one of the breaches of the convention. When the four hundred thousand guns were sold to Kaffirs at Kimberley, according to the account of Conynghame and Moodie. the Transvaal government protested strongly in 1872 to the Cape High Commissioner, but they had to content them- selves with an impudent answer from Sir Henry Barkly. " And to crown all the deeds of infamy committed by Eng- land, Shepstone, on April 12, 1877, annexed the Transvaal. Lord Carnarvon, to complete his South African confederation policy, sent Sir Bartle Frere as Governor to Cape Town. He also sent Shepstone to the Transvaal to annex the country, provided the consent of the Volksraad or of the majority of the inhabitants was obtained. The Volksraad protested against the annexation. The President protested. Out of a possible population of eight thousand burghers, six thousand and eight hundred protested, but all in vain. " Bishop Colenso declared that ' the sly, underhand way in which the Transvaal has been annexed appears to me to be un- worthy of the English name.' " The Free State expressed her heartfelt regret at the an- nexation. " Even Gladstone expressed his sorrow and acknowledged that in the Transvaal England was placed in the position of the free subjects of a kingdom coercing the free subjects of a re- public to accept a citizenship to which they w'ere averse. " But everything was of no avail. " Sir Garnet Wolseley declaTed : ' As long as the sun shines the Transvaal will remain British territory,' and again ' that the 54- Johri Bull's Crime Vaal River would sooner return to its source over the Drakens- bergen than England would give up the Transvaal.' " Shepstone's principal reasons for the annexation were that the Transvaal could not conquer Secucuni and that the Zulu nation threatened to overwhelm the Transvaal. As regards Secucuni he had a little earlier prayed for peace and had been made to pay a fine of two thousand head of cattle by the re- public. As regards the Zulu nation the menacing danger had never been felt by the Republic. Four hundred burghers had broken the Zulu power in 1838 and crowned Panda, the father of Ceteywayo, in 1840. Sir Bartle Frere, in a letter to Sir Rob- ert Herbert on January 12th. 1879. admits that it had appeared strange to him that the Zulus had so long left Natal unmo- lested, until he found that the Zulus had been time after time completely crushed by the Boers in the time of Dingaan. Shortly before the annexation a small patrol of Transvaal burghers had pursued the paramount chief Umbeline into the heart of Zululand. But Colenso shows what a treacherous stalkinghorse the Zulu trouble was. There was a dispute last- ing several years between the Transvaal and the Zulus con- cerning a strip of land on the border which had been in posses- sion of the Boers and had been inhabited by them since 1869. Before the annexation, when Shepstone was still in Natal, the matter had been referred to him and he had given his verdict in favor of the Zulus and against the Boers. There could thus be no reason for a Zulu attack upon the Transvaal. But Shep- stone was scarcely ruler in the Transvaal before he proclaimed it British territory, and he then found that the evidence in favor of the contention of the Boers was so strong that the Zulus had no claim to the land in question. The Governor of Natal, Bul- wer, appointed a border commission who decided in favor of the What Secretary Reitz Says 55 Zulus. l)Ut Shepstone was furious against this award and Sir Bartle Frere and the High Commissioner followed him blindly. In consequence of this. England sent an ultimatum to the Zulus, and the Zulu war followed, which has done incalculable harm to the English name in South Africa among the natives. '' We thus see that Shepstone's two principal motives were without foundation. " It was, of course, difficult for the Secretary of State to abide by his instructions, ' to annex, if the majority of the peo- ple were in favor of such a measure.' in face of the fact that six thousand eight hundred out of the eight thousand burghers had protested against it ; but without any semblance of reason both Shepstone and Carnarvon declared that the signatures to the protesting petition had been obtained by intimidation. The case was. however, exactly the reverse. \Mien the meeting was held at Pretoria to sign the petition, Shepstone had the cannons directed at the assembled multitude. And not content with this, he published a proclamation warning and threatening those who should sign the petition. '''\\'hen it was pointed out what a gross violation of the Sand River convention the annexation was. Sir Bartle Frere said in 1870 that if we wished to go back to the Sand River con^•ention we might as well go back to the creation ! " It must also not be forgotten that the ground which ac- cording to the Keate verdict in 1870 fell outside the republic was now incorporated with the Transvaal as belonging to the Transvaal. " There were also other things which had been wrong under the republican rule of the Transvaal, but which were perfectlv right under the Br'tish rule. In the Secucuni war against the republic the British High Commissioner had protested against ^6 John Bull's Crime the use by the republic of Swazies and volunteers against Secucuni's people. Under British rule the war was continued first with troops, but when they were beaten by the Kaffirs an army of Swazies and volunteers was levied. How great the number of Swazies thus employed must have been can be judged from the fact that five hundred Swazies were killed. The atrocities committed by the Swazie allies of the English at this time were horrible. " Colenso, who had the opportunity for judging, in dealing with the consequences of the annexation of the republic, says : ' The Zulu trouble, as well as the war with Secucuni, is the direct result of that unfortunate annexation of the Transvaal, which would have met us half way if we had not taken pos- session of the land as a lot of freebooters, partly by trickery and partly by bullying.' And in another place : ' And thus we an- nexed the Transvaal, and that deed brought in its train as its Nemesis the Zulu trouble.' " That it was always the intention of the British government to make use of the Zulus to crush the Transvaal at the proper moment is evident from a letter written by Sir Bartle Frere, the then High Commissioner, to General Ponsonby, in which he says : ' It is a fact that when the Boer republic was a rival and a half hostile power, it was a weakness in Natal to pat the Zulus as we pat a tame wolf which only devours our neighbor's sheep. It is true, we always said, " Don't," but now that both flocks belong to us we feel a bit perplexed when we must check them.' " And again in a letter to Sir Robert Herbert : ' The English were well inclined to help the Zulus against the Boers. It was a shock to us to find out how close to the wind the predecessors of the present Natal government had sailed in supporting the What Secretary Reitz Says 57 Zulus against the Boers. John Dunn declares that he fur- nished Zulus with guns with the knowledge of the government. [Thus here was also a breach of the Sand River convention.] It is undoubted that in Xatal sympathy was strongly in favor of tlie Zulus against the Boers, and what is still worse, it is so to-day.' " Under these circumstances the annexation took place. The English did not scruple to make use of Kaf^r allies against the Boers as they had done at Boomplaats. And in every way we tried to bring home t<» the British nation the gross injustice that was done here, but even the High Commissioner, while he heard the words uttered from our bleeding hearts, wished that he had brought artillery with him to disperse us, and misrepresented and slandered us w ithout ceasing. " We had hopefully said that our people believed that if the Queen of England and the English nation knew that a people was being oppressed in the Transvaal they would never per- mit it. " But now we were forced to say that we could no longer talk to England, as there was no one there who heard us. With confidence in the Almighty God of Right and Justice we girt our loins for a seemingly hopeless struggle, firmly convinced that whether we won or whether we perished, the sun of libertv would rise out of the morning clouds in South Africa. Bv the omnipotence of God we were victorious, and our liberty again seemed secure for a time. "At Bronkhorst Spruit, at Langsnek. at Ingogoand at Ama- juba God gave us the victory, though in all these battles the British troops were more numerous and better equipped thaii ourselves. After these victories had added new strength to our arguments, the British government decided, under the leader- 5 8 John Bull's Crime ship of the never-to-be-forgotten Gladstone, to nullify the an- nexation and reinstate us in the possession of our violated rights. " A simple minded person would think that the only proper way to effect this retrocession would have been for the British government in future to stick to the terms of the Sand River convention. If the annexation was in itself wrong, and not only because it had been followed by the Boer victories, then it ought to have been abolished with all its consequences and a restitutio in integrum of that republic should have taken place ; in other words, the Boers should have been placed in the same position they had occupied before the annexation. But what happened? With a magnanimity which the English press and orators never weary of holding before our eyes, they gave back our land, but the violation of the Sand River convention was not nullified. Instead of sovereign liberty, we were allowed in- ternal government with tlie reservation to Her Majesty of the suzerain power over the republic. This took place in the Pre- toria convention, the preamble of which gave self-government to the ' Transvaal State ' with the distinct reservation of the suzerainty, and the articles of which tried to establish a modus vivendi between that self-government and the suzerainty. Under this twofold administration the republic was for three years governed by two heterogeneous principles, that of repre- sentative self-government and that represented by the British Resident. This system of course could not work in practice. The settlement of iS8i also does not seem to have been intended as a final one. Above all, the suzerainty was a monstrosity that could not be reconciled with practical reality. With the ap- proval of the British government, therefore, a republican depu- tation repaired to London in order to get the status of the re- What Secretary Reitz Says 59 public altered and to obtain a new convention instead of that of Pretoria. They proposed to return to the position under the Sand River convention, and that would have been the onlv honest and statesmanlike settlement. The ministry, however, which (according to one of the witnesses on the British side, the Rev. D. P. Faure) stood In unwholesome awe of the British Par- liament, refused to accede to this and made a counter proposal, which was eventual!}- accepted by the deputation, and the terms of which are therefore to-day of the greatest importance. That draft law comprised the Pretoria convention with certain altera- tions which were intended to make it acceptable to the deputa- tion. The pream1)]e in which self-government, with the reser- vation of the suzerainty, was given to the republic was alto- gether struck out l)y Lord Derby, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in this way. as a matter of course, the suzerainty also fell away when the draft proposal was event- ually accepted. To mal Ksi_ -'jKr A s. EyUlMi sPIi >y K< IP A I-'TEi; HA TTLE. ^m^^ CHAPTER VI. British charge of incompetence of Boer government and laxity of its admin- istration in gold fields disproven. Does not suffer by comparison with other governments, and compared with its critics shows to advantage. Boers' innate sense of justice and amply-demonstrated capacity for self-government. Untrue that they were cruel toward natives. Spirit of capitalism as incarnate in freebooters of the Cecil Rhodes type alone responsible for difficulties. Ceaseless clash of the two policies in South Africa — that of the Boers, based on liberty and national senti- ment, and that of the English, founded on financial interests and imperial jingoism. The suzerainty in dispute. Just and moderate proposals of the Boers for arbitration. Chamberlain's insolent reply. His presumptuous claims and unreasonable demands, notwith.standing treaty stipulations. Lame and impotent pretence for grievance over the so called Lombard, Edgar and Amphitheatre cases. IT had been frequently alleged by those in sympathy with the British side in the South African struggle that the Boer government v.as very lax and weak in its adminis- tration of the territory in which the gold fields were located, that property and life were very insecure, that the mine owners were compelled to pay exorbitant taxes, that the black natives who worked in the mines were treated in an extremely cruel manner, in fact, that they were treated as slaves. These and many other charges have been made by those who were either absolutely ignorant of the true conditions or wilfully desired to malign and misrepresent the Boer government. We have all read of the great excitement that has prevailed in all localities when gold has been suddenly discovered. To California, in 1849, when gold was discovered, people flocked 62 British Misrepresentations 63 from all corners of the earth, and for a time no govern- ment whatsoever seemed to exist. So it was in Australia and in Alaska. In conversation with persons who mined in all these countries we found that every one of them who were in South Africa maintained stoutly that the gold fields of the Wit- watersrand. in the Transvaal, were the best administered mining- territory in the world. But it is exceedingly poor taste on the i)art of the Britishers to censure the Boer government, when it is a well known fact that the diamond fields of Griqualand West, which were directly administered by the British government, were one continuous scene of crime and anarcliy. With the discovery of gold in the Transvaal, the people of that republic entered upon a new stage of its history. From a condition of great poverty the South African Re- public was to become in a few years a rich and prosperous state, and a land in every respect adapted to rouse the avarice of the capitalist and speculator. In a few years the South African Republic occupied the first place in the ranks of the gold-pro- ducing countries of the world. The barren veldt of the past was covered with large cities, inhabited by a speculating and industrial population collected from all the corners of the earth. The Boers, who had hitherto been shepherds and hunters, were now called upon to take upon themselves one of the most diffi- cult tasks in the world, namely, the administration of govern- ment of the great mining population which had suddenly risen among them under the most unusual circumstances. And how have they fulfilled this task ? Olive Shreiner. who, in her bril- liant pamphlet recently published gives evidence of a deeper insight into the true state of afifairs in South Africa than any other writer on South Africa, says about this : 64 John Bull's Crime " ' We put it to all generous and just spirits, whether of statesmen or thinkers, whether the little republic does not de- serve our sympathy, the sympathy which wise minds give to all who have to deal with new and complex problems, where the past experience of humanity has not marked out a path — and whether, if we touch the subject at all, it is not nec- essary that it should be in that large, impartial, truth-seek- ing spirit in which humanity demands we should approach all great social difficulties and questions?' " We put it further to such intelligent minds as have im- partially watched the action and endeavors of the little republic in dealing with its great problems, whether, when all the many sides and complex conditions are considered, it has not man- fully and wonderfully endeavored to solve them? It is some- times said that when one stands looking down from the edge of this hill at the great mining camp of Johannesburg stretching beneath, with its heaps of white sand and debris mountain high, its mining chimneys belching forth smoke, with its 70,000 Kaffirs, with its 80,000 men and women, white or colored, of all nationalities, gathered here in the space of a few years, on the spot where fifteen years ago the Boer's son guided his sheep to the water and the Boer's wife sat alone at evening at the house door to watch the sunset, we are looking upon one of the most wonderful spectacles on earth. And it is wonderful; but, as we look at it, the thought always arises within us of something more wonderful yet — the marvelous manner in which a little nation of simple folk, living in peace in the land they loved, far from the rush of cities and the concourse of men, have risen to the difficulties of their condition; how they, with- out instruction in statecraft, or traditionary rules of policy, have risen to face their great difficulties, and have sincerely British Misrepresentations 65 endeavored to meet them in a large spirit, and have largely succeeded. Nothing but that curious and wonderful instinct for statecraft and the organization and arrangement of new social conditions which seem inherent as a gift of the blood to all those peoples wdio took their rise in the little deltas on the northeast of the continent of Europe, where the English and Dutch peoples alike took their rise, could have made it possible. We do not say that the Transvaal Republic has among its guides and rulers a Solon or a Lycurgus; but it has to-day among the men guiding its destiny, men of brave and earnest spirit who are seeking manfully and profoundly to deal with the great problems before them in a wide spirit of humanity and justice. And we do again repeat that the strong sympathy of all earnest and thoughtful minds, not only in Africa, but in England, should be with them." All who have investigated the matter declare that the taxes in the gold fields of South Africa are less than in the gold fields of any other country in the world. The charge that the black natives were cruelly treated by the Boers was absolutely without foundation. They were treated just like any member of the family. They were well fed and were paid a reasonable wage for their labor. If any of them were treated cruelly it must be that that treatment was received at the hands of British agents, for Britishers were operating the mines entirely. British capital and British agents were in entire control and employed all labor, hence the British were responsible for the treatment of all black natives who labored in their mines. Desiring to know the facts from the Boer standpoint as to the exact conditions prevailing in the gold fields that gave rise to the bitter controversy concerning them, I took occasion to 66 John Bull's Crime ask Secretary Reitz to give me a correct statement on this very important matter. He said that the whole cjuestion had already been discussed quite fully in a pamphlet recently published entitled " A Century of Wrong," and with which he had some- thing to do. but that he would gladly set forth the real facts again, which he proceeded to do as follows : " The natural inequality of mankind finds expression in the different kinds of influence which one man can possess and exert over another; this influence may be religious, moral, political or purely material. This last (material) sort of influ- ence usually takes the form of money — the monetary nexus as an English writer has expressed it. An unusual collection of this kind of influence leads to so-called capitalism, just as an unusual collection of political influence leads to tyranny and an unusual collection of religious influence to hierarchical despot- ism. This capitalism threatens to become as dangerous to mankind in our time as the political tyranny of the old Eastern world and the religious tyranny of the middle ages v.-ere in their respective times. " In a country full of rich mines, as in South Africa, capital- ism has as a matter of course a great natural function to fulfil. Unfortunately it has from the very commencement tried to exceed its natural limits, to obtain political influence and in this way to make all other forms of power and influence subservient to its designs. '' The spirit of South African capitalism has its incarnation in Mr. C. J. Rhodes, who succeeded in bringing about the amalgamation of the thousand and one conflicting interests of the diamond fields into one large corporation, of which he was himself the head. Though he had perhaps no unusual natural genius for politics, yet he was irresistibly drawn in that British Misrepresentations 67 direction, and by means of his financial influence, in addition to a double share of the elasticity of conscience common to his class, he succeeded in obtaining for himself the post of Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and the support of the Afrikander party in all its power and solidarity. The Afrikanders of the Cape Colony believed in him, because they were fully convinced of the great necessity of the co-operation and fusion of the white races in South Africa, and he, a loyal Englishman, pos- sessing the fullest confidence of the colonial Afrikanders, seemed to them the very person to realize their ideal. " A thoughtful spectator of this brotherhood of Afrikander- dom and capitalism could have foretold that a breach would occur sooner or later. For Afrikander policy is based on a deeply rooted and truly national sentiment, on a pure political conviction, which could never become subservient to financial interests. " On the other side was the so-called jingoism — a form of party politics without any solid or real faith, which busies itself in using big words and playing with high-sounding ideas and principles, a policy which always appeals to motives of self- interest, of illegal annexation of what belongs to others, a policy which springs from that spirit of brag so deeply rooted in human nature — a policy, in fact, in direct conflict with the true spirit of religion, with the aesthetic sentiment of mankind and with the sentiments of humility and moderation which form the natural basis of all morality. " Here then was an opportunity for establishing a lasting alliance, between capitalism with its tremendous material influ- ence, but without any exalted ideas or principles, on the one side and jingoism, poor, empty, soulless, but with a rich store of high-flown ideas and principles and selfish inclinations, on the 68 John Bull's Crime other side. The one was just suited to supplement the other, and thereby enter into a natural alliance, which is now becom- ing a menace throughout the world to the greatest and most lasting interests of mankind. That capitalistic jingoism is the tree from w^hich poor South Africa is at present plucking such bitter fruit. " Mr. Rhodes, with that treacherous duplicity which is the abiding characteristic of British policy in South Africa, worked openly in the fullest sympathy with the Colonial Afrikanders, while in secret he was plotting with jingoism against the Afrikanders and the South African republics. In the Cape Colony he had the Afrikanders in his power. He would now try to obtain the same influence — not so much for himself per- sonally as for capitalism, with which his own interests were identified — in the South African Republic with its rich gold mines. If he succeeded in doing this, he would have gained his personal object, and capital would be crowned absolute despot of South Africa. " With his eye fixed on this purpose, he and other capitalists began to set on foot a political agitation against the repul:)lic in Johannesburg in 1892. In a place like Johannesburg, where much liquor is consumed, where minds are always in a state of excitement, on account of the high altitude and the rush of business, and where there is just that measure of real grievances calculated to give the semblance of truth to imaginary griev- ances, it was easy enough to bring about a political fermenta- tion in a very short time by the lavish use of money. " Such was the beginning of the National Union movement, which began in Johannes1)urg in 1892, and whose followers almost exclusively consisted of creatures and instruments of the capitalists and a small number of honest blockheads and en- British Misrepresentations 69 thusiasts who, of course, do not think deep enough to penetrate the purpose and tendency of such movements and are generally found on the wrong side. The capitalists certainly kept them- selves altogether in the background so that the movement might appear to be a popular one. The capitalists of Johannesburg, however, were too theatrical, and their thirst for notoriety was too great to be suppressed forever. And thus it came about that in the course of a few years they took their natural place at the head of the opera-bouffe agitation. " They commenced by undermining the Boer policy through the lowest and dirtiest means, so that they might in this way obtain control of all the legislative and administrative power in reference to the mines. They had persuaded themselves and the world that the Boers were a corrupt lot and they therefore at once resorted to bribery to effect their object. " Thus Lionel Phillips wrote to Beit in London, on June 10, 1894: " ' I don't, of course, want to meddle in politics, and as to the franchise, do not think many people care a fig about it.' " And again, on the i6th of June, 1894 : " ' I may here say that, as you, of course, know, I have no desire for political rights, and believe as a whole the community is not ambitious in this respect. . . . " ' The bewaari:)laatsen question will, I think, be settled in our favor, but at a cost of twenty-five thousand pounds. . . . " ' It is proposed to spend a good deal of money in order to secure a better Raad, but it must be remembered that the spending of money on elections has by recent legislation been made a criminal offence, and the matter will have to be carefully handled.' " x^.nd again, on July 15th, 1894: /' John Bull's Crime " ' Our trump card is a fund of ten to fifteen thousand pounds to improve the Raad. Unfortunately the companies have no secret service fund. I must devise a way. We don't want to shell out ourselves.' " Here we get a peep behind the curtains and see how already in 1894 the capitalists tried to degrade and to destroy our public life by means which did not even stop at the criminal laws of the land, to say nothing of elementary morality. " And have they been successful ? Are the people and the Volksraad as corruptible as they thought and as they still wish to persuade the world? Their failure is the best and most convincing answer to this. " If bribery on a great scale was not able to secure the triumph of capitalism over society, then there yet remained the other trump card of political jingoism. The High Commis- sioner was sounded by Mr. Phillips. And what was the an- swer of Sir Henry Loch, Her Majesty's representative in South Africa ? In the same book of secret correspondence we find the following letter, dated July ist, 1894, to Wernher, another member of the gigantic firm of Wernher, Beit & Co. : " ' Sir Henry Loch (with whom I had two long private inter- views alone) asked me some very pointed cjuestions — such as: What arms we had in Johannesburg, whether the population could hold the place for six days until help could arrive, etc., etc. — and stated plainly that if there had been three thousand rifles and ammunition here, he would certainly have come over,' and so on in the same strain. Sir Henry Loch has corroborated these assertions by openly boasting of his plans to make an attack on the South African Republic two years later in the House of Lords. " And all this happened while he was the guest of our gov- British Misrepresentations 71 ernment and was engaged in friendly negotiations concerning the interests of British subjects. To such a low level British policy in South Africa had then already sunk ! Within two years, however, a yet deeper abyss was to reveal itself. " The secret conspiracy of capitalists and jingoes to over- throw the Republic now began to grow rapidly, for just at this critical period Mr. Chamberlain became Secretary of State for the Colonies. In the secret correspondence of the conspirators continual reference is made to the colonial office in Downing street in a way, which, taken in connection with later dis- closures and later suppression of the truth, has left the public over the whole world under the impression that the colonial office was cognizant of, if not accessory to, the mean attack on the South African Republic. " It is not necessary to go into the details of the Jameson invasion. The world has not yet forgotten how the adminis- trator of a British territory, in execution of the purpose of a conspiracy at whose head stood the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, entered the South African Republic with an armed body of troops in order to assist the capitalistic revolution of Johannesburg in overthrowing the Boer government ; how that invasion and that revolution were frustrated by the vigilance of the Boers; how Jameson and his band of robbers were handed over to the English government for trial, though the Boers had the power and the right to shoot them down as robbers; how the whole lot (^f Johannesburg capitalists pleaded guilty to high treason and sedition ; how, instead of confiscating all their pos- sessions according to the law, and in this way giving the final blow to capitalism in South Africa, the government of the South African Republic pardoned them (a magnanimity which they repaid three years afterward by setting on foot a still 72 John Bull's Crime more dangerous agitation against the republic) ; how at the instance of the Afrikander party in the Cape Colony an inquiry was held into the causes of the raid; how that inquiry degen- erated into a base attack on the government of the deeply injured South African Republic, and how finally when the truth was at the point of being revealed and the conspiracy traced to its source in the British cabinet, the commission suddenly de- cided not to publish the compromising documents. " Here we see to what a depth the grand old traditions of the British constitution had sunk, under the influence of the ever increasing and all-de\'ouring money spirit and in the hands of a sharp-tongued wholesale merchant, who, like Cleon of old, posed as a statesman ! . " Treachery and violence had not succeeded in attaining their object, and therefore, as Mr. Rhodes openly boasted before the above mentioned commission of inquiry, ' constitutional means ' would be employed to make capitalistic jingoism master of the situation in South Africa. " It was, therefore, only to be expected that such a treacher- ous attack on the republics would thoroughly rouse the colonial Afrikanders and bring new forces into the political arena. To show the character of the feeling roused by the Jameson raid, I wish here to quote a few sentences from an article which appeared a few months after the invasion in 0ns Land, the organ of the colonial Afrikander party, an article which un- doubtedly expressed the feeling of the Afrikanders : " ' Has Providence not overruled the painful circumstances of South Africa since the beginning of this year to a higher purpose? Who can doubt this? " ' The stab which was intended to paralyze Afrikanderdom in the republics once for all has sent an electric shock to the British Misrepresentations 73 national heart. Afrikanderdom has waked up with an earnest- ness and a consciousness which we had not observed since the glorious War of Independence, in 1881. From the Limpopo to Cape Town the second Majuba has sent a new inspiration into our people and awakened a new movement. Through the whole of South Africa a new feeling has gone throbbing through our people. The fanit and enervating imperialism, which was already beginning to make our national blood thin and meagre, is gradually disappearing in the fresh air which is now blowing about our people. Many who had become tired of the slow progress of the national idea and had surrendered themselves to imperialism have become converted and have asked themselves what imperialism has accomplished in South Africa. Bitterness and race hatred, indeed. Since the days of Sir Harry Smith and Theophilus Shepstone and Sir Bartle Frere until the days of Leander Jameson and Cecil Rhodes imperialism in South Africa has been accompanied by a policy of blood and deceit. Whatever the good fruits of imperialism may be elsewhere, in our country its constant tendency in all these years has been to force our national life and national character into foreign grooves, and to consummate that force with blood and tears. . . . Truly, Afrikanderdom over the whole of South Africa finds itself at present at the most critical m.oment of its existence. Now or never : now or never must the foundation of an all embracing nationalism be laid. The iron is glowing and the hour for striking has come. " ' The partition wall has disappeared. Let us now stand firmly together. The danger is not yet past ; on the contrary, Afrikanderdom has never been more in need of a policy of colonial and republican union. And now that the psy- chological moment has come, now that our people over the ALLEN'S C(RCf./lAT'%'G ireRWy <«2 COSGHCGS ?TP!TT. ' 74 John Bull's Crime whole of South Africa have awakened, now that a new flame lias been lit in our hearts, let us lay the cornerstone of a truly United South Africa on the foundation of a pure and all- embracing national sentiment.' " Language like this frightened the jingoes, not because it was disloyal, which it obviously was not, but because it was an indication that the Afrikanders had been awakened, and that this defeat of the jingoes has opened the way for still greater defeats in the future. A policy of annexation of the republics, for instance, would in future have to reckon also with the colonial Afrikanders. For some time the jingoes hoped that under an altered redistribution scheme they would secure the majority in the Cape Parliament. The general election of 1898. however, gave the Afrikander party a small majority, which was later on increased under a redistribution scheme which the jingo opposition had been strong enough to force on the government. " Instead of frankly recognizing that this Afrikander victory was a natural consequence of the Jameson raid, the jingoes, not only in South Africa, but also in England, began to scream that the authority and prestige of England was menaced in South Africa; that, unless a striking display of British power was soon made. South Africa would speedily be lost to Eng- land, and that this menace to British authority originated with the republican propaganda which they alleged the South Afri- can Republic had begun to spread in South Africa. As long as the South African Republic w^ould not bow before British au- thoritv, but with national pride carried its youthful head high, the other parts of South Africa would be tempted to follow this pernicious example, and there was thus no security for British supremacy on this sub-continent. The South African Repub- British Misrepresentations y^ lie must be humbled and bent in the dust ; thereby the Afrikan- ders in other parts of South Africa would, as a matter of course, relinquish their alleged hope of a greater republican South Africa. "But how cotild this humiliation be brought about? And how could it be brought about throug4i those ' constitutional means ' which the failure of the Jameson conspiracy had iiiade necessary ? " The new Governor of Cape Colony and High Commis- sioner for South Africa knew well enough how to devise ' con- stitutional means ' for humiliating the South African Republic. " For was there not the burning question over the suzerainty, to which the South African Republic itself had given rise, and in the following manner? " After the Jameson raid, and with a view to removing some of its causes, the Legislature of the South African Republic had passed certain laws — as, for instance, a law for the expulsion of dangerous persons, a law whereby persons without means, or suffering from diseases, could be prevented from entering the country — which the British government considered to be a breach of Article XIV. of the London convention. Article IV. of the London convention was similarly alleged to have been broken by the conclusion of several extradition and other treaties with foreign powers. On May 7, 1897, the gov- ernment of the South African Republic replied to these charges in a very important despatch which, after fully setting forth the reasons which induced that government to differ from Her Majesty's government, concluded with an appeal to arbi- tration as the fittest means of deciding the dispute. The words of the government of the South African Republic were as follows : 76 John Bull's Crime " ' While the government of the South African Republic respect the views of Her Majesty's government, they neverthe- less feel confident of the correctness of their own contentions, and therefore wish to propose to Her ]\Iajesty's government the principle of arbitration, with which the first Volksraad of the South African Republic also agrees, in the hope that the pro- posal will be accepted in the same spirit of conciliation in which it has been made. They feel all the more confidence in making this proposal because the arbitral principle has already been laid down in the London convention, in the only case in which, according to their opinion, a difference could at the time of its completion have been anticipated, namely, with reference to Article I. ; l^ecause, further, arbitration was proposed by Her Majesty's government and accq^ted by this government with regard to the dispute under Article XIV. of the convention over the so-called Coolie question which was settled by arbitra- tion; because the Right Honorable Secretary of State for the Colonies favors the same principle in his despatch of September 4th, 1895, to the High Commissioner in Cape Town, in which he says : '* After 1886 as time went on the manner in which this law was interpreted and worked gave rise to complaints on the part of the British government, and as it seemed impossible to come to an agreement by means of correspondence, the Marquis of Ri^xDU took what is the approved course in such a case — of proposing to the South African Republic that the dispute should be referred to arbitration. This was agreed to.' " ' And, finally, because the arbitral principle in cases like these appears to the government to be the most impartial, just and satisfactory way out of an existing dispute, and because one of the parties to a convention cannot, on any principle of fair- British Misrepresentations ']'] ness, expect that his interpretation shall be accepted by the other party as the only valid and correct one. *' ' And although this government is fully convinced that a just and impartial decision is perhaps more likely to be obtained in South Africa than elsewhere, yet considering the contradic- tory elements, interests and aspirations which are to-day assert- ing themselves in South Africa, and with a view to avoiding even the appearance of wishing to influence a decision favorable to itself, they wish to suggest that the President of the Swiss Republic, who can be considered as standing entirely outside the question and not to be animated by sympathy or antipathy for either party, be invited to appoint a competent jurist as arbitrator, as has often been done in the case of international disputes. This government would have no objection to the arbitrator being subjected to a time limit and wish to give the assurance in advance that they will with the greatest pleasure submit to any decision which might unexpectedly be given against them. " ' The government repeats the well-meant wish that this proposal may be acceptable to Her Majesty's government, and, as the allegations of breaches of the convention appear to be believed in South Africa and bring and keep the public mind in a state of tension, this government would be pleased if Her Majesty's government could come to a speedy decision on this matter.' " To this Her Majesty's government answered that under the convention of 1884, taken in connection with the preamble of the convention of 1881 (which it considered to be still existing), the South African Republic was under Her Alajesty's suzer- ainty, and that it was inconsistent with that subordinate posi- 78 John Bull's Crime tion of the South African Repubhc to submit to arljitration questions arising between the South African Republic and the suzerain power on the interpretation of the convention of 1884. " To prevent all misunderstandings as to this amazing an- swer I repeat the words of the British despatch : " ' Nineteenth — Finally, the government of the South Afri- can Republic propose that all points in dispute between her Majesty's government and themselves relating to the conven- tion should be referred to arbitration, the arbitrator to be nomi- nated by the President of the Swiss Republic. " ' Twentieth — In making this proposal the government of the South African Republic appear to have overlooked the dis- tinction between the conventions of 1881 and 1884 and an ordinary treaty between two independent powers, questions arising upon which may properly be the subject of arbitration. "'Twenty-first — By the Pretoria convention of 1881 Her Majesty, as sovereign of the Transvaal territory, accorded to the inhabitants of that territory complete self-government sub- ject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, upon certain terms and conditions, subject to certain reserva- tions and limitations set forth in thirty-three articles, and by the London convention of 1884, Her Majesty, while maintain- ing the preamble of the earlier instrument, directed and declared that certain other articles embodied therein should be substi- tuted for the articles embodied in the convention of 1881. The articles of the convention of 1881 w^ere accepted by the Volks- raad of the Transvaal State, and those of the convention of 1884 by the Volksraad of the South African Republic. ' ' Under these conditions, therefore, Her Majesty holds toward the South African Republic the relation of a suzerain who has accorded to the people of that republic self-govern- British Misrepresentations 79 ment upon certain conditions, and it would be incompatible with that position to submit to arbitration the construction of the conditions on which she accorded self-government to the re- public' " In its famous reply of April i6th, 1898, the Government of the South African Republic proved irrefutably that the pre- amble of the convention of 1881 had disappeared, that Lord Derby had himself substituted a draft convention in which the preamble of 1881 was struck out, and that by the final accept- ance of that proposal the suzerainty had for good ceased to ex- ist. Now that there was therefore no suzerain relation, for this as well as for other reasons, between the two countries, and the objection to arbitrate over mutual differences had disappeared, the South African Republic repeated its request to the British government for arbitration on mutual differences. " But that was, of course, just what Mr. Chamberlain did not want. He objected to arbitration because it would prob- ably lead to the defeat of the British and not of the republican government ; for, as we have already shown, the suzerainty question had been expressly brought forward by him for the purpose of being used as a ' constitutional means ' to humble the South African Republic. In his answer to the arguments of tlie South African Republic, Mr. Chamberlain could thus only persist in his assertion of suzerainty, though he made no at- tempt to refute the argument concerning Lord Derby's striking out of the preamble of the Pretoria convention. It was clearly his opinion that Lord Derby had sacrificed this suzerainty by his stupidity and thoughtlessness in 1884, even as Lord Grey had let the South African Republic go in 1852, and therefore it was now necessary for him, by a great show of power and immovable determination, like Shepstone in 1877, to attempt to 8o John Ball's Crime bluff the republic in order not to be deprived of this eminent ' constitutional means.' " His assertion in this despatch that both the suzerainty of Her Majesty and tlie right of the South African Republic to self-government depended on the preamble of the Pretoria convention, and that, if the preamble had disappeared, our right to self-government had likewise disappeared, was clearly also intended to bully the government of the South African Repub- lic; but in other respects, it was quite correct. Therefore the government of the South African Republic replied that they no longer claimed the right to self-government under that pre- amble nor by the convention of 1884 (since that said nothing about self-government), but simply by their right as a sov- ereign international state. In other words, according to their contention, it was a necessary implication of the convention of 1884 that the South African Republic was a sovereign state and should derive its right from that source, that it was there- fore considered unnecessary to say anything concerning its rights in the convention of 1884. In that answer, which is not only judicially and historically correct, but is moreover based on simple common sense, our High Commissioner was clever enough to find a ' defiance ' to Her Majesty's government, though even in that answer the government of the South African RepubHc submitted to the London convention, as they had done hundreds of times before this. " This is the whole history of the suzerainty dispute between the two governments. The South African Republic had asked for arbitration in certain disputes, and England, with Chamber- lain acting as spokesman, refused because a sovereign power cannot be expected to settle disputes with her vassal by arbitra- tion, and because, according to the new principles screwed into British Misrepresentations 8i international law at Birmingham, she must be judge in her own dispute with others. The position occupied by the South Afri- can Repu1)hc in this remarkable correspondence is supported by the actions of Lord Derby at the time of the negotiations concerning the conventions, and also later in a cablegram in which he summarized the contents of this convention to the High Commissioner for the information of the two republics, which were as follows : " ' High Commissioner, Cape Town, to British Resident, Pre- toria : " ' Twenty-eighth — Please inform Transvaal government that I have received the following from the Secretary of State : Begins, February 27th. Convention signed to-day. New South Western Boundary as proposed, following Trade road. British Protectorate country outside Transvaal established with delegates' consent. They promise to appoint Border Commissioner inside Transvaal co-operate with ours outside, Mackenzie British Resident. Debt reduced to quarter million. Same complete internal independence in Transvaal as in Or- ange Free State. Conduct and control diplomatic intercourse foreign government conceded. Queen's final approval trea- ties reserved. Delegates appear well satisfied and cordial feel- ing between two governments. You may make the above known.' " This contention is further also confirmed by the positive declarations of Lord Rosmead and the Rev. D. P. Faure, that it was distinctly understood when the London convention was made that suzerainty had disappeared, to say nothing of the evidence of the Transvaal deputation. " While the two governments were engaged with this ques- 82 John Bull's Crime tion, the capitalists of course were also busy keeping their fire burning. Rhodesia was not only an unexpected failure, but was in short richer in Kaffir wars than in paying mines. The capitalistic groups which had the greatest interest in the Wit- watersrand were also most interested in Rhodesia, and it very naturally seemed advisable to them that their Transvaal mines should be responsible for the obligations of their undertak- ings in Rhodesia — a settlement which could, however, only be carried out by a political fusion of the two countries. " To accomplish this object a constant agitation had to be kept up in Johannesburg, so that the English shareholders liv- ing at a distance might be prepared for the day on which the annexation of the Transvaal by ' constitutional means ' was to take place. '' The argument that was calculated to find easy credence among these European shareholders was that on account of the maladministration of the South African Republic a state of affairs existed on the gold fields which was very detrimental to the financial interests of the mining industry; in other words, considered from this point of view, the so-called ' Uit- lander grievances ' were an inexhaustibly rich and paying mine. " This agitation emanated, at first,, directly from the capi- talists and became in the course of 1897 so serious that the government resolved to appoint a commission of officials and mining magnates in order to institute a searching investiga- tion into the alleged financial grievances. As regards the gov- ernment, the principal findings of the commission were as fol- lows : " First, that the price of dynamite (85 shillings per case of 50 pounds) under the existing concession was too high and that British Misrepresentations 83 a reduction was desirable, either by means of cancelling the concession or by testing the validity thereof in a court of law. " Second, that the tariffs of the Netherlands South African Railway Company for the conveyance of coal and other arti- cles were too high, and that it was also desirable to expropriate the company. " Third, that the customs dues on necessaries of life were too high and that in consequence the workingman's expense of living at Johannesburg was too high. " Fourth, that strict measures ought to be adopted to pre- vent the theft of gold, and that the law on total prohibition of sale of liquor to native laborers had to be applied much more stringently, and that it was also necessary to apply the pasa law (whereby native labor is controlled) more carefully. " Fifth, with a view to carrying out the recommendations irr four the commission suggested that an advisory board be appointed for the Witwatersrand, to advise the government with regard to the application of the laws in question. " In how far have these recommendations been carried out? " First, as regards dynamite it appeared that the existing concession could not with any measure of success be challenged in a court of law, and neither government nor Volksraad was willing to cancel, without consent of the contracting partv, a contract solemnly entered into and under which enormous sums of money had been spent. The mining industry, as a matter of course, worked heart and soul for the cancellation, even with- out adequate compensation, but the public did not yet know, what has leaked out within the last few months, that the De Beers Corporation had itself formed the intention of erect- ing dynamite factories in South Africa, and that the agitation of the capitalists on this point was simply intended to obtain 84 ]^^^ Bull's Crime for themselves the control of this important source of income. Of Mr. Chamberlain's interest in the we'.l known ammunition and explosive firm of Kynoch, the public are very well aware, although one hesitates to assume that the South African pol- icy of the Secretary of State for Colonies is influenced by con- siderations of a private financial nature. " Both government and Legislature of the South African Republic have adopted the wiser course of lessening the price of dynamite to such an extent that it is at present about equal to European market price increased by a protective tariff of twenty shillings per case. " Here it may be noted that Mr. Chamberlain, knowing how unpopular the dynamite concession is in the South African Republic, has not hesitated to inform the government of the republic in a menacing tone that the concession is in conflict with the London convention. " The answer of this government was so crushing that this circumstance, in addition to the fact, which only became known later, that some of the most important English and European jurists had given it as their opinion that the concession was in no way in conflict with the convention, has prevented Mr. Chamberlain from returning to the subject. I mention this matter to show how everv trifle is resorted to in order to dis- cover a ground for humiliating the South African Republic. " Second, as regards the Netherlands South African Rail- way Company, the capitalists seem to have changed their opin- ion since the time of the industrial concession, and now think that the administration of the company is as reasonable as can be expected, and that expropriation has thus become unneces- sary. Perhaps, too, they think that, from their point of view, it would be better that they themselves should buy the shares, British Misrepresentations 85 and that tluis the minino^ iiKhistrv instead of the government should become masters of that source of income. " As regards the raih\ay tariffs these have been so far low- ered in accordance with the recommendation of the Industrial Commission that no complaints are any longer made, and there- fore we come to the conclusion that all cause for complaints has disappeared. " The lowering of these rates in addition to the removal of customs duties from almost all necessaries of life has brought about a change of about seven hundred thousand pounds in the state revenues of the last year, an enormous sum compared with the total of the state revenues in the South African Republic. " This is a proof of how eager the government of the South African Republic is to remove grievances as soon as they are clearly OMivinced that they really exist. " Third, as regards the administration of the liquor law, pass law and gold theft law, neither the government nor the Legislature has felt at liberty to recommend the formation of an advisory board on the Witwatersrand. They have pene- trated deeper to the root of the evil, and have made such changes in the administration of the laws that no signs of dis- satisfaction are any longer apparent. On the contrary, we no longer hear of gold thefts, and the representatives of the min- ing industry have repeatedly expressed their satisfaction with the "administration of the pass law, and more especially the liquor law. " In this liquor law we have a proof of a good administra- tion. The nature of the liquor law is such that it is one of the most difficult laws that a government can ever be called upon to carry out. and the measure of success attained by this government and its officials has proved irrefutably that the 86 John Bull's Crime accusations of incompetent administration so often brought against the government of the South African Repubhc are devoid of all truth, and are only intended to calumniate and injure it. Thus, for instance, a combined meeting of the Chamber of Mines, the Chamber of Commerce and the Aline Managers' Association, the three most powerful and most rep- resentative bodies on the Witwatersrand gold fields, passed the following two resolutions on August 17th last, which were: " First, ' This combined meeting, representing the Chamber of Mines, Chamber of Commerce and the Aline Alanagers' Association, again records its decided approval of the liquor law as it now stands, and is of opinion that prohibition is not only salutary for the natives in their own interests, but absolutely essential to the mining industry for the conservation of its labor.' '' Second, ' This meeting hereby places on record its appre- ciation of the efforts to put down the illicit liquor traffic, which has been made by the detective department of this state since that department was placed under the control of the State Attor- ney, and is of the opinion that the success which has thus far attended those efforts amply disproves the contention that the liquor law is unworkable.' " The first motion was carried by an overwhelming major- ity, and the second unanimously. " Compare this declaration of the representatives of the rhin- ing and commercial interests of the Witwatersrand with the assertion repeated by Mr. Chamberlain in his great grievances- despatch of May 15th last : ' Stringent application of the liquor law has not yet taken place and the law is simply evaded and liquor sold to the natives on the mines in unlimited quantities.' '' When Mr. Chamberlain wrote these words they were abso- W^k- .^'^'^ British Misrepresentations 87 lutely untrue, but almost all of his grievances are of this imag- inary stamp. " The result has thus fully shown that the government was correct in its opinion that it was better to change the adminis- tration of laws about wliich complaints were made than to introduce a principle of which no one was able to predict the consequences and final results. " The agitation in connection with the report of the Indus- trial Commission was followed by a great calm. If it were not that tlie Swazieland trouble gave cause for suspicion, we might readily have thought that there was no cloud on the hori- zon. The two governments were seemingly on very good and friendlv terms, and some of us had already begun to think that the period of brotherly co-operatioii between the two white races in South Africa had finally dawned, and that the cursed Raid and all its consecjuences of race hatred and discord were at an end. Certain circumstances, however, indicated that the calm was not peace, but that on the contrary the enemy was engaged in making a final attempt to bring affairs to a crisis. " The South African League, a political organization, which originated in the race hatred to which the Jameson raid had given birth, and at whose head, to place the capitalistic con- nection in its truest light, Mr. Rhodes himself stands, began to agitate against the government in an unheard of manner toward the end of last year. The Executive Committee for Johannesburg was such that at first no notice was taken of his movement. The chairman was a prizefighter, the secretary a former socialistic demagogue from London, etc.. etc. It soon became evident, however, that the movement was not alone aided by the capitalists and strongly supported by the mines, but was also in a mysterious way connected with London and 88 John Bull's Crime Cape Town, a connection which the events of the last months have made still clearer. Meetings were called, petitions full of grievances drawn up and sent to Her Majesty, and propa- ganda made in the press, which all went to prove that a well organized campaign was set on foot against the republic. *' As the government of the South African Republic has, in an official despatch, set forth the tendency of the agitation and the connection of the British government therewith, I wish to repeat their weighty words : " ' But this government wishes to go further. Even as re- gards those Uitlanders who are British subjects, they are a small minority who, under the pretext of imaginary grievances, have continued secret propaganda of race hatred and used this republic as a basis to set on foot a revolutionary movement against this government. Concerning this minority, ministers of Her Majesty have so forcibly set forth the true state of the case that this government, whose only object is to set things in their true light before Her Majesty's government and the world, and not to make groundless accusations, here wishes to repeat the words of these ministers — ministers of the Cape Col- ony, well acquainted with local circumstances and capable of judging : " ' " In the opinion of ministers, the persistent action, both beyond and within this colony, of the political body styling itself the South African League, in endeavoring to foment and excite not to soothe and allay, ill will between the two prin- cipal European races inhabiting South Africa, is well illus- trated by these resolutions, the exaggerated and aggravated terms of which disclose the spirit which informs and inspires them. " ' " His Excellencv's ministers are one in their earnest desire British Misrepresentations 89 to do all in their power to aid and further a poHcy of peaceful progress throughout South Africa, and they cannot but regard it as an unwise propaganda, hostile to the true interests of the empire, including this colony as an integral part, that every possible occasion should be seized by the League and its pro- moters for an attempt to magnify into great events minor inci- dents, when occurring in the South African Republic, with a prospect thereby of making racial antagonism more acute, or of rendering less smooth the relations between Her Majesty's government or the government of this colony and that repub- lic." " ' The cause of race hatred is not so strong in South Africa, however, that a body with this propaganda, striving toward a revolutionary goal, would be able to exert great influence in this sub-continent; and it is constantly being asked why a body so insignificant in itself and its principles and as regards its mem- bers can yet enjoy such a measure of success. The answer is that this body relies on the protection and support of Her Majesty's government in England and that both its members and its press organs openly boast of the influence which it exerts over the policy of Her Majesty's government. This govern- ment would pay no attention to such assertions, but when they see that the ideas of this body are constantly echoed in the addresses of members of Her ^Majesty's go\'ernment, when they see that bluebooks are compiled comprising to a great extent memoranda composed by members of the South African League, and the false articles and reports of the press organs of this body, which thereby acquire an official character, then this government can easily understand why so many of Her Majesty's right-minded subjects in this sub-continent come under the wrong impression that the policy followed by the 90 Jotin Bull's Crime South African League is approved by Her Majesty's govern- ment and is thus destined for the welfare and prosperity of the British Empire in general. " ' If this wrong impression can be removed and the fact become known that the South African League as far as the South African Republic is concerned, is an organization whose object is to cause bad blood and revolt and to undermine the independence of the country, then this body will soon lose its influence and the strained relations at present existing between the two governments will soon disappear. Then, too, the Afri- kander republics and the Afrikander population of this sub- continent will no longer fear that the interests of the British Empire necessarily mean the downfall of those republics and the extermination or enslavement of that population ; then, too, both parts of the white race in South Africa will return to that brotherly co-operation and fusion which had at least begun before the treacherous conspiracy at the end of 1895 again roused the passions on both sides.' " As a result of the continual agitation of the South African League three events took place in Johannesburg which Air. Chamberlain considered the climax of the Uitlander grievances. The three events were : The so-called ' Lombard case ' in con- nection with the alleged ill-treatment of colored British subjects in Johannesburg, the so-called ' Edgar case ' in connection with the shooting of a British subject by a policeman, and the so-called ' Amphitheatre Case ' in connection with a riotous meeting of the South African League. " As regards the Lombard case. Air. Chamberlain says : " ' As an instance of such arliitrary action, the recent mal- treatment of colored British subjects by Field Cornet Lombard may be cited. This official entered the houses of various col- British Misrepresentations 91 ored persons, without a warrant, at night, dragged them from their beds, and arrested them for being without a pass. The persons so arrested were treated with much cruelty, and it is even alleged that one woman was prematurely confined, and a child subsequently died from the consequences of the exposure. " ' Men were beaten and kicked by the orders of the Field Cornet, who appears to have exercised his authority with the most cowardly brutality. The government of the republic, being pressed to take action, suspended the Field Cornet, and an inquiry was held, at which he and the police denied most of the allegations of violence, but the other facts were not dis- puted, and no independent evidence was called for the defense. The government have since reinstated Lombard. Unfortu- nately this case is by no means unparalleled. Other British subjects, including several from St. Helena and jMauritius, have been arbitrarily arrested, and some of them have been fined, without having been heard in their own defense, under a law which does not e\'en profess to have any application to per- sons from those colonies. However long-suffering Her j\Iaj- esty's government may 1)e in their anxious desire to remain on friendly terms with the South African Republic, it must be evi- dent that a continuance of incidents of this kind followed bv no redress may well become intolerable.' " The answer of the Government of the South African Re- public to the accusations on this point was as follows : " ' As regards the Lombard case, this government wishes to point out that for a full month after the alleged ill-treatment of Cape colored persons had taken place no complaint was made to any one in authority in this republic, and that neither the government nor the public was acquainted with what had taken place. The whole affair was so insignificant that some 92 John Bull's Crime of the persons alleged to have been ill-treated afterwards declared on oath before the Court of Inquiry that they would never of their own accord have laid any complaints. But what happened ? About a month after the events the so-called South African League chanced to hear of them ; they sent some of their officials out to collect the evidence of the persons alleged to have been ill-treated, and with the assistance of Her Majesty's Vice Consul at Johannesburg, who always co-operated with the League in a striking manner, some sworn declarations were taken down. Even then no complaints against the officials con- cerned were made to the lawful powers of the country, but the case was handed over to the acting British agent at Pretoria. When the attention of this government was called to the alle- gations, they immediately appointed a commission of inquiry, consisting of three gentlemen — Landdrost Van den Berg, of Johannesburg; Mr. Andries Stockenstrom, barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple, head of the criminal department of the State's Attorney's office, and Mr. Van der Merwe, mine com- missioner at Johannesburg — gentlemen against whose ability and impartiality no trace of suspicion had ever existed among the Uitlander population of this republic, and with whose appointment the acting British agent also expressed him- self perfectly satisfied. These officials were charged to exam- ine the whole case thoroughly and to report the results of their investigations to the government, and they fulfilled tlieir man- date by listening to and carefully considering the evidence of both sides for several days. Every right-minded person will readily acknowledge that infinitely more weight should attach to the findings of this commission than to the declarations of the complaining parties, who contradicted themselves on almost all particulars and well nigh turned that whole inquiry into a com- British Misrepresentations 93 ecly. Of the so-called facts of ill-treatment nothing was left over in this report; the special cases of alleged ill-treatment were evi- dently imaginary. It was clearly proved and felt that the com- plainants had acted contrary to the law, and the commission only disapproved of the arrests and investigations having taken place at night and without a warrant. This government re- grets very deeply to see that Her Majesty's government bases its accusations on the ex parte, groundless, and in many respects false, declarations of complainants urged on by political hatred, and takes no notice of the report of the commission.' " The Edgar case is thus represented by Air. Chamberlain : But perhaps the most striking recent instance of arbitrary action by officials, and of the support of such action by the courts, is the well known Edgar case. The effect of the verdict of the jury, warmly endorsed by the judge, is that four police- men' breaking into a man's house at night without a warrant, on the mere statement of one person, which subsequently turned out to be untrue, that the man had committed a crime, are justi- fied in killing him there and then because, according to their own account, he hits one of them with a stick. If this is a justification, then almost any form of resistance to the police is justification for the immediate killing of the person resisting, who may be perfectly innocent of any offense. This would be an alarming doctrine anywhere. It is peculiarly alarming w hen applied to a city like Johannesburg, where a strong force of police armed with revolvers have to deal with a large alien unarmed population, whose language in many cases they do not understand. The emphatic affirmation of such a doctrine by judge and jury in the Edgar case cannot but increase the gen- eral feeling of insecurity amongst the Uitlander population and the sense of injustice under which they labor. It may be 94 John Bull's Crime pointed out that the allegation that Edgar assaulted the police was emphatically denied by his wife and others and that the trial was conducted in a way that would be considered quite irregular in this country, the witnesses for the defense being called by the prosecution and thereby escaping cross-examina- tion.' " The reply of the government of the South African Repub- lic was : " ' The Edgar case is then mentioned by your government ' as the most striking recent instance of arbitrary action by offi- cials and of the support of such action by the courts." That inci- dent is used as a conclusive test of the alleged legal maladminis- tration of this republic and it is thus important that we should pause a moment to consider it. What are the true facts? A certain Foster, an Englishman, was, without any lawful cause, attacked and knocked down by a certain Edgar, on the night of December i8th, 1898, so that he was picked up for dead and finally died in the hospital. Edgar then escaped into his room, and in answer to the cries of bystanders, some policemen came hurrying upon the scene. Policeman Jones, among others, saw the person attacked lying like a dead man, and then went to Edgar's room to arrest him as a criminal, for he had indeed committed manslaughter and apparently murder. As he had been caught red-handed, the policemen were justified according to the laws, not alone of this republic, but of the whole of South Africa and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- land, to enter the house by force in order to arrest the crim- inal. On their breaking into the room, Edgar gave Jones a tremendous blow with a formidable weapon, and in self-defense the latter fired at Edgar, in consequence of which he was killed. The question is not whether Jones was justified in taking this British Misrepresentations 95 extreme step ; the State Attorney of this republic by prosecuting him for manslaughter has ah^eacly shown that in his opinion this case was one for the jury to decide. The question is only whether any jury in any country in the world would find a per- son guilty of any crime under circumstances such as these, and whether, if they did not find him guilty, it would be stigmatized as a flagrant and striking case of maladministration of justice. This government feels convinced that the English administra- tion of justice is also full of cases of which the facts are as strong as the facts of this case, and cannot understand why an incident which might occur in any country in the world should specially be used as an accusation against them. " ' This government does not wish to consider the blame cast by Her Majesty's government on the state prosecutor at Johan- nesburg, by whom the prosecution of this case was conducted. The fact that he is of pure English descent, that he received his legal education in London, that he is universally respected by the Uitlander population on account of his ability, his impar- tiality and his character, will of course not counterbalance, m the opinion of Her Majesty's government, his monstrous behav- ior in the calling up of witnesses for the prosecution who had been destined for the defense, and the consequent frustration of an imaginary cross-examination. This government only wishes to point out that the fact that the Edgar incident is the strong- est that Her Majesty's government has been able to bring against the administration of justice in this republic is the strongest and most striking proof possible that, taken as a whole, the administration of justice on the gold fields of this republic compares most favorably with that of other similar gold fields even of old and long established countries. The untrue representations made in the press concerning this inci- 96 John Bull's Crime dent prove sufficiently that the newspapers of the Witwaters- rand, whose propaganda forms part of the organized campaign against this republic and its government, are obhged to exer- cise their false criticism on imaginary cases of maladministra- tion which are often altogether unfounded. When the press must resort to such means, the real grievances must be insig- nificant.' " Concerning the so-called Amphitheatre case, Mr. Chamber- lain says : " ' Some light upon the extent to which the police can be trusted to perform their delicate duties with fairness and dis- cretion is thrown by the events referred to by the petitioners, which took place at a meeting called by British subjects for the purpose of discussing their grievances, and held on January 14th in the Amphitheatre of Johannesburg. The government were previously apprised of the objects of the meeting and their assent obtained, though this was not legally necessary for a meeting in an inclosed place. The organizers of the meeting state that they were informed by the State Secretary and the State Attorney that any one who committed acts of violence or used seditious language would be held responsible, and in proof of the peaceful objects of the meeting, those who attended went entirely unarmed, by which it is understood that they did not even carry sticks. So little was any disturbance apprehended that ladies were invited to attend and did attend. Yet in the result, sworn affidavits from many witnesses of different nation- alities agree in the statement that the meeting was broken up almost immediately after its opening, and many of the persons attending it were violently assaulted by organized bands of hos- tile demonstrators acting under the instigation and guidance of persons in government employ, without any attempt at inter- Jf^ ■ it ;2Slj/^«>-y« 4 r1' ^1 *«-*>:_-■■ British Misrepresentations 97 ference on the part of the pohce, and even in some cases with their assistance or loudl}' expressed sympathy. The govern- ment of the South African RepubHc has been asked to institute an inquiry into these disgraceful proceedings, but the recpiest has been met with a flat refusal.' " To this accusation the following reply was made : " ' The Amphitheatre case is used by Her Majesty's govern- ment to pr(n-e how inca])al3le the police on the W^itwatersrand are to fulfil their duties and maintain order. The League meet- ing was held in the so-called Amphitheatre in Johannesburg with the knowledge of the State Secretary and State Attorney and the accusation now is that in spite of that fact the tumult that took place at the meeting was not put down by the police. " * The true facts of the case are these : Mr. Weyburgh and another, both in the pay of the South African League, informed the State Secretary and State Attorney that they intended call- ing this meeting in the Amphitheatre, and they asked permission to do this. They were told that it was not necessary to receive the permission of the authorities, and that as long as the meet- ing did not cause disorder and disturbance of the peace they would be acting completely within their rights. Their atten- tion was then directed to the fact that, on account of the behav- ior and propaganda of the South African League, this body was very unpopular among a considerable section of the population of Johannesburg, and that in all probability a disturbance would take place unless there was a sufficient number of the police present to maintain order. To this the gentlemen replied that since the Edgar incident the police were in bad repute, that the meeting would be very orderly and that the presence of police would contribute or gi\-e rise to disorder and that on these 98 John Bull's Crime grounds they would rather not have any poHce. The State Sec- retary and State Attorney thereupon communicated with the chief of poHce in Johannesburg, witli the resuU that he also was of the opinion that it would be better not to have an unusual number of police at the meeting. The government, acting on the advice of the ofhcials of the League as well as their own police officials, gave instructions that the police should keep away from the meeting; they did this in good faith and with the object of letting the League have its say unhindered. " ' The proposed meeting was, however, advertised far and wide, and as the feeling among a certain section of the Wit- watersrand population was very bitter against the League, a considerable number of its opponents was also present. The few policemen present were powerless to sto]) the disorderly proceedings, and when the police came upon the scene a few minutes after the commencement of the uproar the meeting had broken up. " ' Taken by itself this incident would not be of much con- sequence, for it is an isolated case as regards the gold fields of this republic, and even in the best organized and controlled societv, disorders like this sometimes take place. What makes the case serious, however, is the unjust accusation of Her Majesty's government that the meeting was broken up by offi- cials of this republic and that this government flatly refused to inquire into the matter. " ' This government would not have refused to institute an inquiry if any complaints had been laid with them or with the local courts, and they said so in reply to Her Majesty's request for an inquiry. This government objects to the systematic habit of ignoring the local authorities and constantly complain- ing to Her Majesty's representatives about matters which ought British Misrepresentations 99 to be decided by the courts of this repubhc. Instead, however, of complaining- to Her ^Majesty's government only when all other reasonable means of redress have been tried in vain, Her ]\Iajesty's subjects are in the habit of ignoring and disregarding the local courts and authorities and of bringing forward all trivial and ex parte complaints in the first instance before Her Majesty's representatives, and thus also Her Majesty's gov- ernment is constantly placed in the ambiguous and unenviable position of interfering in the internal affairs of this republic in conflict with the London convention. If a complaint had been laid with this governmeni or the competent officials or courts, then the facts of the case could ver}^ easily have been inves- tigated, and then, too. it would have been proved that a few officials who were present at the meeting as part of the public had done their best to stop the disorderly proceedings and that some of them were even wounded in their attempts to main- tain peace. " ' Instead of showing their disapproval of such complaints and directing the complainants to the local courts, Her Majesty's government receives the complaints and then imparts an official character to them by sending them on to this government for notice, and publishing them in due course in bluebooks for the information of the world. Her Majesty's government will readily admit that no state in the world, no matter how weak and small, that possesses any sense of honor can look on such tilings calmly, and if the relations between the two govern- ments have become strained, then the true cause is to be found in the actions of Her Majesty's subjects which are not cen- sured by Her jNIajesty's government, and not in imaginary and trivial grievances.' " Is there the least semblance of right and justice in assert- loo John Bull's Crime ing that those grievances form a cause for intervention? What crimes have been perpetrated against humanit}' or the law of nations? Are the grievances and abuses brought up not equalled by events which take place almost daily in the most highly civilized countries in the world? We can with reason apply to the case in question the words with which the Rus- sian government stamped the unlawful intervention of the Brit- ish government in the internal affairs of Naples : '' ' We could understand that as a consequence of friendly forethought one government should give advice to another in a benevolent spirit, that such advice might even assume the character of exhortation; but we believe that to be the farthest limit allowable. Less than ever can it now be allowed in Europe to forget that it is not the extent of territory, but the sacred character of rights of each state, which regulates the relations that exist between them. To endeavor to obtain from the government of the South African Republic concessions as concern the internal government of the republic by threats, or by a menacing demonstration, is a violent usurpation of its authority, an attempt to go\'ern in its stead ; it is an open declaration of the right of the strong over the weak.' *' Notwithstanding all her hypocritical accusations the Brit- ish government is very well acquainted with the fact that the administration of the South African Republic is on a sound basis, in spite of the almost unequalled difficulties with which the government and legislature have had to contend, and will stand comparison with that of other countries under similar cir- cumstances; that the grievances bv which, in the shape of blue- books, the humane feeling of the British public is worked upon are to a great extent imaginary, and even if they were per- fectly true, they yet offer no ground for interference in the British Misrepresentations loi internal affairs of the rej^ublic. It has thus become necessary to find some other ' constitutional means.' " The third and last ' constitutional means ' which Yir. Chamberlain used as a pretext for interfering forcibly in the internal affairs of the South African Republic was the claim for ecjual political rights for all inhabitants of the South Afri- can Republic. In demanding this he also followed the inspira- tion of ]\Ir. Rhodes. For after the Jameson raid Mr. Rhodes had laid down, as a new programme for the progressive policy of South Africa the formula : Equal rights for all white men south of the Zambesi. But with a view to the colored vote of the Cape Colony. Air. Rhodes afterwards changed that cry to : Equal rights for all civilized men south of the Zambesi. And in due time the echo came from Downing Street : Equal political rights for all persons in the South African Republic. " As a political aspiration that ma}- be as desirable or unde- sirable in South Africa as in England, where Mr. Chamberlain is now one of the leaders of the party which has always been opposed to all ' manhood suffrage.' " Mr. Chamberlain does not. however, confine himself to giv- ing friendly advice, but demands the franchise for all Uitland- ers. The South African Republic has already a franchise law by which every person who has already been, or shall vet be, seven years in this repuljlic is entitled to the full franchise. On what grounds does he base his claim ? " He appealed to the discussions which preceded the conven- tion of 1881. In the discussions, however, mention is onlv made of civil rights, with regard to which all possible equalitv has always existed since the Sand River convention. For the maintenance of the equality of these civil "rights as distin- I02 John Bull's Crime giiished from political rights. Article XII. of the Pretoria convention stipulates : " * All such persons (loyal to Her Majesty) will have full liberty to reside in the country with enjoyment of all civil rights and protection for their persons and property.' " In 1882 the franchise was altered from one year's to five years' residence, without any protest from Her Majesty's gov- ernment. And in 1884 in the new convention of that year it was stipulated in the most emphatic and unequivocal manner: " ' Article XIV. — That all persons, other than natives, con- forming themselves to the laws of the South African Republic v/ill have full libertv with their families to enter, travel or reside in any part of the South African Republic ; they will be entitled to hire or possess houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises ; they may carry on their commerce either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit to employ ; they will not be subject, in respect of their person or property, or in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those which are or maj^ be imposed upon citizens of the said republic' " Here, therefore, certain rights were guaranteed specifically to all white inhabitants — the rights of moving about as they wished, of possessing movable and fixed property, of trading and of equal taxation with the burghers. There is no ques- tion here of political rights and there was no question of those rights before this year 1899. The government of the South African Republic would thus be acting altogether within the limits of the convention if they informed Mr. Chamberlain that questions with regard to the franchise fell solely within their competence, it being a purely internal matter, and more- British Misrepresentations 103 over that by claiming the rights under this convention to force a franchise law upon the government, Mr. Chamberlain is the party guilty of breaking the convention. " The government of the South African Republic have, how- ever, taken up a much more exalted position. The President himself went to Bloemfontein to discuss even mternal matters in a friendly .spirit with the High Commissioner and among other things also the franchise, as his only desire was to main- tain and promote the peace of South Africa and the welfare of its inhabitants. Sir Alfred Milner had there said that ' if that question could be settled on a satisfactory and permanent basis the tension would be lessened and everything w-ould come right in time. Lately he has done his best to prove that he never said or meant such a thing, that the franchise law was only one of the burning internal questions in which Her Maj- esty's government was so deeply interested and that the favora- ble solution of the franchise difficulty by no means carried with it the agreement of the parties concerning the other points of difference. The attitude of Sir Alfred Milner on this and other points is of such a nature, however, that I would rather say nothing more about his conduct, but leave him to the judg- ment of public opinion and history. " As no agreement was possible between the parties President Kruger left Bloemfontein and improved the franchise law to such an extent that the Orange Free State, the Afrikanders of the Cape Colony and even Mr. Schreiner, premier of the Cape Colony, openly expressed their satisfaction with the improve- ments made. " Mr. Chamberlain, however, now began to write to the gov- ernment of the South African Republic in a menacing tone and 104 John Bull's Crime no longer in the friendly tone he had formerly used, and he finally proposed that a joint commission should inquire into the question and see whether the new law was satisfactory. " In the meantime informal conversations between the State Attorney of the South African Republic and the British agent had given rise to the prospect of a speedy and a satisfactory solution of the matter. Thereupon the British government was sounded by the British agent and said that, if the franchise was Ijrought to five years without any complicated conditions, and if the gold fields could elect one-fourth of the members of the Volksraad, it was prepared to consider on their merits the con- ditions attached, namely, that the claim to the suzerainty should be dropped, that no future intervention would take place and that differences would l)e settled by arbitration. \\'hen this proposal was formally made, however, the British government refused to accept the condition with regard to the dropping of the suzerainty claim, though the High Commissioner had already in a formal despatch declared that the suzerainty ques- tion appeared to him to be an etymological and not a political question. Soon afterwards the British government came for- ward with the same proposal, but with the omission of the con- dition concerning the dropping of the suzerainty claim. As the government of the South African Republic considered this condition of the greatest importance for the maintenance of its international status, it refused to accept the proposal in this form. It, however, accepted the invitation to the joint inquiry, but the British government replied that it was too late and that it now withdrew its invitation. " Here we thus see in its clearest light : " First, that, though the High Commissioner had said that the suzerainty was only of etymological importance, and though British Misrepresentations 105 the British government has never been able to refute the argu- ments of the South African Repul^hc concerning the dropping of the suzerainty in 1884, the British government is neverthe- less unwilHng to sacrifice its present claim thereto and is ready on that ground to begin a war in South Africa. " Second, that the British government invites the South Afri- can Republic to a joint inquiry, and when that invitation has been accepted without it having been withdrawn, that accept- ance is declined with every mark of contempt. " Is there any example in the history of civilized diplomacy of such base deceit and hypocritical trifling with the most im- portant interests of South Africa ? " And is it to be w^ondered at that South Africa has lost faith in British statesmanship? " Truly, of all the disgraceful acts which have sullied the British name in this sub-continent I know none baser and more contemptible than this. " And the consec|uences of this deceit will be written with the blood and the tears of thousands of innocent persons. '* I have now gone over the facts marking our oppression and persecution during this century. The statements made by me are not imaginary, but are taken from the mouth of the most credible historical witnesses, almost all of British nationality; they are facts which have been declared to be indisputable before the bar of history. As regards the more recent events since 1898, I have been personally acquainted with all the nego- tiations and differences hereinbefore set forth, and can onlv affirm that I have confined myself to the facts, which will here- after appear even more clearly when the curtain is raised, and the occurrences of the last two years in this deeply agitated sub- continent are revealed. io6 John Bull's Crime " Hitherto our people have remained silent; the enemy has spat upon, slandered, beaten and treated us with every possi- ble power of contempt and hatred. But with a dignity which reminds the world of a yet more tragic and exalted passion, our people have borne in silence the insults and contempt of the enemy, and under the sense of duty which inspired them have thought it better to remove the errors and abuses which had crept into our administration in moments of less thoughtfulness and care. Even this was accounted to us as weakness and fear. On hundreds of platforms in Great Britain, and by the most influential statesmen, our people have been called incompetent, uncivilized, dishonorable, faithless, corrupt, bloodthirsty, treacherous, etc., etc., until not only the British public, but almost the whole world, has begun to believe that we stand on a level with the wild beast. Amid all this insult and con- tumely we have remained silent. From formal bluebooks of Her jNIajesty's government, from despatches of Her Majesty's High Commissioner in South Africa, we have had to learn that our unprincipled system of government and our unjust, chaotic and immoral administration have been a constantly festering sore by which, as by a contaminating pestilence, the moral and polit- ical atmosphere of South Africa has been poisoned. In num- berless newspapers we have been accused of every crime against civilization and humanity, and offenses are imputed to us the mere mention of which causes one's hair to stand on end. If the reading public believed only a hundredth part of all the atrocities of which our people and government are accused, then it must necessarilv have been forced to the conclusion that this republic was a den of robbers and murderers, a people whose mere existence was a blot on humanity and a nuisance to mankind. To such a depth, according to these accounts, had British Misrepresentations 107 the descendants of the moral aristocracy of Europe sunk ! Of the enormous sums which we are said to spend out of the secret service funds to secure for ourselves the support of the public opinion of the world, there was hardly any practical effect or trace: but the contumely rag'ed on like an all devouring hurri- cane. But our people remained silent, partly from stolidity, partly from a feeling of hopeless helplessness, partly because we as a simple agricultural people read no new^spapers and were, therefore, not acquainted with the way in which the feeling of the whole world was being worked up against us with malicious fury. The practical effect was that our case went by default before the bar of public opinion. " Naboth's title deed to his vineyard had to be destroyed, and according to the hypocritical British diplomacy the short- est way to that end was to prove that he w^as a criminal and Ahab an angel." CHAPTER VII. Legions of troops to " chastise a paltry 30.000 men and youths untrained in the murderous art of modern militarism." England would be in better business endeavoring to administer more just government to her own people than in trying to reform other governments. Depends upon the charity of other nations to feed her starving millions, and her working class is ground down by blunted opportunities and des- potic aristocracy. SUCH, in brief, is the whole story of the trouble in South Africa between the Briton and the Boer — a story of suffering, injustice and wrong without a parallel in the world's history. A careful perusal of all the books written about South Africa, and of all the records extant, will bear out Secretary Reitz in all of his statements, and will furnish unquestionable proof of his principal assertions. The fraud and avarice and cruelty of the British forces of capitalism are responsible for it. Doubtless many of the people of Great Bri- tain lament this condition of affairs and have no sympathy with their government in its outrageous conduct, in its resorting to the forces of robbery and spoliation against a small band of liberty-loving patriots, consisting mainly of farmers, whose only crime is that they love freedom, and settled, unfortunately for themselves, in two little republics whose laps were filled with gold and diamonds. To crush these people and their republics is a crime, and it will eventually bring the punishment upon the British nation which such sins inevitably entail. When the British nation 108 British Government Incompetent 109 realizes, as it surely will, how the inhuman partnership of Chamberlain. Rhodes and plutocrat journals has drenched the African veldt in the blood of gallant British soldiers and brave Boers, when they learn how Britain's sons were left unJDuried ui)on the battlefields of South .Vfrica as food for vultures and wild beasts, when they further realize the awful expense, already estimated at $900,000,000, to say nothing of the large number of li\-es lost, of the awful sorrow and suffering in many a British home, they will then realize how foolish their government has been and how unnecessary it was to wage war against a small handful of brave defenders of the two little republics. " Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just," says England's poet, and stripped of all extraneous arguments introduced by special pleaders, the broad issue of the differences referred to the arbit- rament of force is that British politicians, never having seen Africa, much less the Transvaal, wish to govern that country, while the men born in it, whose only home and grave it can be, proclaim their birthright inalienable. That determination would have evoked the praise of England had the now united republics been Switzerland or Servia, Italy or Greece. Thus is a great nation humbled in its own self-respect and sees itself isolated from the sympathy of the world; for round the globe has echoed the wrong done in the name of justice and civilization. England's hereditary foes in Europe jeer at fifth and sixth and seventh and eighth army divisions being called out to chastise a paltry thirty thousand men and youths, untrained in the luurderiuis art of modern militarism. It is a crime against civilization, a crime against humanity, a crime against the peaceable progress of the human race. During the past hundred years, many great British states- men, in reviewing the insane action of George III. which no Johri Bull's Crime brought about the severance of America from the British Em- pire, have themselves frequently avowed that never again would England make the mistake of endeavoring to force sub- jection upon an unwilling people. And, notwithstanding these assertions made by England's greatest men, it remains now for scheming men to lead the British nation into the great mistake of violating the pledges heretofore made by their greatest states- men ; and departing from the lofty ideals and the noble princi- ples whicli the nation loved and followed and cherished during the days of the immortal Gladstone, they have thus permitted the spirit of liberty and justice to be stifled and prostituted to the commission of crimes unheard of heretofore in the annals of nations. And when they sent their sons to kneel side by side in the trenches, or shoulder to shoulder to march in solid phalanx up the hillsides and through the valleys to certain death, they were not simply committing a crime against the brave and chivalrous Boer alone, but, by command of their government, under the superior power that ordered Ihem on, they committed a crime against mankind and outraged freedom throughout the world. If the aristocracy that rule England and hold the destiny and fate of that empire in their selfish clutches, and who boast of their civilization and humanity, and w^ho pretend to be the greatest civilizers in the world would devote a little more of their time and attention to the welfare and happiness of the unfortunate and suffering subjects of the British Empire instead of wasting so much time and so much treasure in their efifort to destroy the two South African republics — in other words, if these selfsame haughty, blood-stained aristocracy were to take some of their millions of gold that is being spent now to crush liberty and destroy republics in South Africa, and carry bread British Government Incompetent 1 1 i to the starving millions of their own subjects in India, instead of depending upon the benevolence and charity of other coun- tries — I should think they would be doing a much greater work for civilization and humanity. Moreover, this English aris- tocracy must take some steps soon toward alleviating the suf- fering of the millions of working people of England, whose lives are filled with gloom and despair and hardship, and are being crushed to death under the iron heel of British despotism, who are in reality slaves to the wealthy aristocracy, who are but as dogs licking up the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table — helpless, sad-hearted, illiterate, living in the dark vale of wretchedness and squalor, while the different grades of society above them are filled with the noxious fumes of tyranny and oppression, while on the hill tops they see this selfsame aris- tocracy, their hard taskmasters, fat and sleek, with faces wreathed in happy smiles, as adown the mountain side into the shadov\-y vale they look and laugh at their misery and hopeless- ness. Instead of destroying the liberties of patriots in distant climes, it would be well for themselves and their posterity to take heed of this. Indeed, there is no spectacle in all the world so appalling as that which strikes the stranger when for the first time he walks the streets of London, especially in the famous East End. and there looks upon the millions of working people on the verge of starvation, and yet in the midst of plenty, eating roots and herbs, as it were, in the unproductive vale of misery and wretchedness, while just across the way are the fields smil- ing with plenty — but within the guarded walls of the selfish, greedy, avaricious English aristocracy. These millions toil and weep, and weep and toil, watching and waiting for the dawn of a brighter day, looking for an opportunity to go to a freeman's land across the sea to build homes for themselves and little ones. 112 John Bull's Crime But, alas, that is impossible on their meagre wages; hence with hearts sad, with eyes bedimmed with tears, they plod on and on with seemingly the workhouse for their goal. Capital among the aristocracy grows stronger and stronger, vice and luxury are rampant upon every hand, notwithstanding these sufferers at their very doors are eating crusts moistened with their own tears; but yet they have not time to care for these, but can waste untold millions of their treasure to crush liberty, to destroy republics, and tluis cast a shadow over Eng- land's history and make the name of English aristocracy a stench in the nostrils of God-fearing, liberty-loving, justice- seeking people everywhere. England is a country dying at the top. Her public halls once rang with the cheers of patriotic Britons, as they welcomed home the chivalrous knights of old, but they are now filled with the noise of drunkenness and rev- elry. \\diere justice sat enthroned and wielded her majestic sceptre, now vice like a hideous monster grins and laughs at tears and sorrow. Her archives are being filled with faded ban- ners once the proud symbol of the fame and renown of rising- republics and with the skulls and bones of countless thousands of men and women and even children who died for liberty and equality. The land that was once the pride of the poet who filled the world with his songs of chivalry is now the home of the millionaire, whose heartless chuckle rings throughout the kingdom, as he weighs his hoarded gold and clips his coupons. GENERAL SXYMAN. GENERAL BOTHA. CHAPTER VIII. Zulus and Zululand. Topography, ecenery, vegetation and animals. Zulu manner of speech and idiomatic peculiarities. Names symbolical of characteristics given toall strangers. Zulu natui'e ; strange customs of tribes: their superstitions and religion; their morality, amiability and kindheartedness. AMONG the people whom I met in South Africa none was more interesting than Rev. R. Shemeld and his estima- ble wife, Americans who had been laboring for many years as missionaries among the Zulus. They were very intelli- gent people and aided me greatly in obtaining information con- cerning the customs of the Zulus during my visit with them. These missionaries, after many years of experience with the Zulus and the Boers, were ardent friends of both. Notwith- standing the charge frequently made that the Boers are intol- erable and will not permit the people of the republic to attend any church but their church, that is. the Dutch Reformed church, I found churches of many other denominations even in Pre- toria, the capital, and I think the most enthusiastic svmpathizers with the Boers outside of their own people that I met in South Africa were the Rev. Mr. Shemeld and the Rev. Air. Lloyd, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Johannesburg — • the largest congregation, by the way, in the republic — himself a native of Pennsylvania, and a Catholic priest who was in charge of a flourishing Catholic church in Pretoria. Tliese Americans were all ready to fight on the side of the Boers, and were very bitter in their denunciation of the British govern- 113 114 J^^^ Bull's Crime ment. and pronounced the war waged l^y that government against the Boers as a most outrageous and unholy war. Rev. Mr. Shemeld and his wife were very popular among the Zulus. They had spent so many years preaching and teaching among them that in consequence they were greatly beloved by the men, women and children of Zululand. ' The home of the Zulus, known as Zululand, lies just north of Natal and adjacent to the South African Republic. It is an undulating country covered with mimosa bush, in some parts ver}' densely, alternating with wild and fantastically broken scenerv and thickly wooded precipices and ravines. There are many grass clad hills and several large forests in the country. While the mineral resources are yet undeveloped, there are manv indications of mineral in various parts of the country. Gold in small cjuantities has already been found there. The rivers are rapid streams of small volume running over rocky beds. The climate is exceedingly healthful. Among the various tribes of natives in Africa the Zulus are decidedly the best. They are superior physically, intellectually and morally to all the rest of the natives. They cultivate their ground very superficially, planting maize, various kinds of gourds, and also a peculiar grain from which they make their beer. Many herds of fat cattle are seen grazing in Zululand, and flocks of sheep and Angora goats of the most beautiful variety are found upon every hand. The milk of the sheep and goats is used by the natives, and they seem to thrive and grow fat on it. Some horses are owned by them, and as a rule they belong to the chiefs. Much game is found there, such as antelopes and boks and a peculiar animal called the koodoo. Hippopotami are quite numerous in rome of the rivers, but crocodiles and alligators are seldom found. There are a few Zulus and Zululand 115 lions, and now and then a leopard is seen. Apes and monkeys are very numerous. Travelers are often amazed by these crea- tures, who in large numbers stand on the sides and tops of the hills and throw sticks and rocks at the passerby, all the while filling the air with their most humanlike chatter. \\'ild flowers and fruits of every variety abound in great profusion. Zulu is one of the most commonly spoken languages in South Africa, and is said to be very beautiful. One peculiarity about it is that all w'ords end in a vowel, but the most marked feature of the language is its so-called alliterative concord, which has been compared by them to the gender concordance of Aryan and the progressive vow-el harmony of Ural-Altaic. Another remarkable feature of this language is the singular de- ■velopment of verbal inflexion, which is both final and intitial. One of the many interesting customs of the Zulus is that of giving white people a descriptive name. Some travelers have called these names nicknames, but a little consideration will show that the Zulus are to a large extent compelled by force of circumstances to give to white people a name which is descrip- tive of some trait of their character which appears prominent or some striking habit or appearance, so that in speaking of a white person to others in their tribe they will convey somewhat of an idea of the kind of person he or she may be or appear to be. The Zulus base their opinion of white people from what they see of them, and are usually correct. For instance, the name of a white person such as Smith, Jones or Brown does not indicate an}^ trait of character nor describe anything in particular to the kraal Zulu ; therefore he cannot see why they have them and looks upon them as unpractical people. They cannot easily pronounce the names so that they can be readily ii6 John Bull's Crime discerned, and as their friends cannot tell from the name Smith anything of Smith's traits it is necessary that Smith receive a new name, a local name, a descriptive name. Some white settlers have insisted that their Zuhi servants should speak of them only by their English names, and many a time the settler who threatened to whip the servant who gave him a new name has exhibited some latent propensity of his nature that has secured for him an undesirable name. I can mention an in- stance. James Smith had moved into Natal with a herd of cattle. In riding upon his new-bought farm he met a Zulu man who was the owner of a large herd of cattle which was grazing on the farm. Some dispute arose, when James Smith, who spoke the Cape Colony Kaffir language quite fluently, said, " I am a stranger to you, but I am one who divides justly, I split down the center of the marrow in the spine, and will cut you into- pieces if you vex me." The Zulu raised his hand in salutation, and on reaching home told his people that " Backsplitter " had bought the farm, but if carefully treated would be just. The descriptive names of white men are of immense benefit in sending messages to wliite neighbors, or in making inquiries in a neighborhood, as the Zulu message bearer may perhaps meet some one whose face plainly could be that of a " back- splitter," and by showing him the letter he has for Mr. James Smith is told that he has found the desired person and can nov/ return home. For instance, a boy is called to go fourteen miles with several letters in the hope of his finding the persons in the ordinary manner, but the messenger is told to deliver one to " Wet Hen," another to " Sun Down," another to " Jumping Plea," and the fourth to the " Bird with Heavy Tail," etc., etc. The boy treads on singing out the various names of the persons he is to find, and as he is approaching the village he takes a ZULU MOTHER AND CHILD. Zulus and Zululand i 17 pinch of snuff, as his eyes rove over an open space near a black- smith shop where an elderly man is -standing. For a few seconds the boy's eyes are riveted on this man, who now starts walking toward the village market square with a peculiar stiff gait, head thrown back, round shouldered, and stooping when walking, which causes his coat tails to project. To a Zulu this man's name is evidenced in his walk, and with a twinkle in his eye the Zulu boy sings aloud, " I have found him. It is he. I need ask no one. It is the ' Wet Hen.' Yes, his name must be Inkuku i Netile. See his head. Behold his walk." And running along, he politely salutes the white man (inkosi), and then hands him the letter addressed to Air. Brown. Being sure that Mr. Brown is the rightful owner, he goes into the vil- lage and finds " Sun Down " (Jones) scolding his boys, telling them they must finish their work by sundown. He is speak- ing with some other boys, when several white men approach the square engaged in earnest discussion. Two of them step on stones in the water furrow to cross it, but the third one clears it with a bound, and walks with an elasticity of step, which causes the Zulu boy to exclaim, " Surely that must be the ' Jumping Flea.' " He is not mistaken. It is Mr. Smith, who is pleased to receive the letter. Having succeeded thus far, he sits down with some friends to have a social chat and some snuff and is told that Mr. Blank, the " Bird with a Heavy Tail," is not in the village yet, but may come. A little later a young man with the dignity of a monarch comes striding dow^n the path as though he owned half of the universe and would not object to the remainder. The messenger makes an imposing salutation to this would-be important personage, ad- dressing him as the '' Heart of the Inner Circle." and, with the greatest humiliation, kindly asking him to whom he can go to ii8 John Bull's Crime find the gentleman to whom the letter is addressed, and is pleased to learn he is speaking to Mr. Blank. This raw Zulu boy, fresh from his kraal, has experienced no difficulty in find- ing these white men, simply because his master told him their local names and he recognized the correctness of the descrip- tion. Some persons may imagine that the boy could remember Smith and Jones and inquire for them, but it must be remem- bered that names in Zulu have the letter u as a prefix and a vowel at the close; therefore, in inquiring for Mr. Smith, a Zulu would naturally pronounce it U-Samiti, and would get lit- tle information — it not being known that he was in quest of Mr. Smith. I need not raise any argument to prove the utility of this custom of giving descriptive names. Its benefits are nu- merous, as sometimes a messenger is sent off in haste a long distance to bear a message, say to a missionary, that a certain person is dangerously ill. The sender hands the message to a sw'ift-footed boy, giving him the minister's descriptive name, with all particulars, wdiile he, the sender, runs home to be of service at the bedside. As the boy runs over the country he sees a horseman riding at right angles from, his path and decides to intercept him. After the usual salutation, the boy asks whether the white man met six black goats of a peculiar description, and he words his inquiry in language that leads the rider to consider all the herds he has met that day. While considering the matter he has changed the reins to his right hand and grips his beard in his left hand in his meditation. That is the sign the Zulu boy wanted, and this is the man he v.-as seeking many miles further on. " He wdio grips his beard and looks down as he meditates. Then he must be U-Sihetye, and this letter is for him." Sometimes these names are acquired in childhood. At other Zulus and Zululand 119 times a single act of a man or woman secures for him or her a name which clearly portrays for either a prominent trait of character. A lady once told her native servants not to turn the oxen too short or they might break their legs in the chains, and in such a case her husband might ask payment for damage done. The boys immediately set a name, " A woman who is admitted to the council of her husband, sees the end from the beginning and is able to judge and inflict a penalty." And from that day the boys said the boss was never absent from that home and none could shirk duty, for had he not left his eyes and mouth at home in the person of his wife? It is almost needless to add that these descriptive names have led people to be careful of their conduct lest they should re- cei\'e names which they could not with pride mention when asked by friends the common cjuestion, " What is your Zulu name? " The customs and laws of the Zulus are most peculiar. As soon as a male succeeds in accumulating enough money from his labors to purchase a certain number of cattle he at once visits some powerful chief at his kraal and bargains for the pur- chase of a wife, for the chief has power to sell him one, and af- ter the man is married the wife usually is supposed to work hard for him, and then when he has made enough money to buy an- other wife he does so, and thus he continues to purchase wives as his fortune increases until he has a sufficient number of wives to support him and his large family, for they are very prolific. He then takes his ease and refuses to work, for the wives are supposed to do all the work. And the poor creatures seem to be perfectly satisfied to do so. They seldom ever display any jealousy, luit seem to be proud of a powerful man, for they think the more numerous his wives the greater the man must be. I20 John Bull's Crime They are a very moral race of people. Indeed, they seem to be unsurpassed in this respect. If an unmarried man or woman is guilty of immoral conduct he or she is ordered out of the kraal by the chief and either punished or put to death. If a married man or woman is guilty of adultery he or she is invariably put to death. The personal property of the Zulu consists chiefly of cattle, and the laws covering the same are very complex. The kraal is under the rule of the head man. and the chief of the tribe rules over all the kraals in his jurisdiction. Many of the customs of the Zulus very much resemble the customs of the Jews. For instance, the feast of the first fruits observed at the time the corn is ripe, is similar to the old Jew- ish custom. On this occasion the whole tribe will gather at the king's kraal to celebrate the event. One of the most revolting customs or practices of these peo- ple is that of hunting out evil-doers by aid of witches. It is called the smelling-out process. For this purpose the people gather together in a large concourse, and some one among them is supposed to have committed some serious offense against the people ; and the witch doctor, if he happens to have a spite against some one, will go through many awkward an- tics and finally smell out the evil-doer, who is at once brought to punishment. It is a shameful and most inhuman prac- tice. To the average traveler the Zulu kraal is merely a few coni- cal-shaped huts, each one occupied by one of the several wives of the heathen head man. The cattle yard in the centre of the inclosure formed by the huts is often looked upon as simply a cattle yard. The limited time at the disposal of the ordinary traveler does not admit of an extensive inquiry into the beliefs, NATIVE WOMAN CARRYING WATER. Zulus and Zululand 121 customs and superstitions of the Zulu people, but those who have done so have found the subject full of interest and have declared themselves well repaid for the pains they have taken. The cattle yard, the huts, the charms on the roofs of the huts, tlie ornaments and charms worn on the bodies of the people, each forms subject of interest to those who are successful in ob- taining reliable information about them. For some years Chris- tian people have been deeply interested in the resemblance of some Zulu customs to certain customs mentioned in the Bible, more especially in the Old Testament. One gentleman in South Africa assured me that although he had loved his Bible for years, it had become still more interesting since he had read it alternately through " English and Zulu spectacles." On one occasion he returned from a journey and was told by his wife that her Zulu servant boy had brought dirty water from the spring and refused to answer any questions put to him by her or her Zulu servant girl. They could not learn from him whether some one had been bathing in the spring, or where the cows and oxen w^ere, nor would he look into their faces for the past two days. The boy admitted to his master the correct- ness of the charge, but assured him it was through no disre- spect or dislike of his mistress, who was as a mother to him. As there was an air of mystery about the whole affair, this Christian man inquired of a native evangelist as to the cause of this singular conduct of his servant. After listening care- fully to the recital of all the facts the evangelist calmly re- plied, " Sir, that boy is afraid to speak to any female just at present lest every tooth in his mouth should turn yellow. I admit, sir, it is foolish, but think it is a remnant of the Mosaic ceremonial law mentioned in the Book of Leviticus. You will not find any mention of yellow teeth in the Bible, but you can 122 John Bull's Crime see the resemblance between the passage in Leviticus and our Zuki customs as practiced by the heathen portion of our peo- ple." If this thing had occurred with some employers, perhaps this boy might have been sent to the court and punished. A few hours later a Zulu girl is seen a hundred yards away, and this moping boy brightens up, looks in that direction, and calls out in Zulu, " Ho, you amiable maiden ! To you I open my mouth. To you I call this day." After this salutation the girl is said to be a fortunate person, in having been honored by such an event as being the first person to be addressed after these tliree days of silence. This boy. say fifteen years old, now chats freely with all, regardless of sex. This experience was an incentive to the employer to pursue his studies of native customs as observed by the people gener- ations before the arrival of the white man. It is remarkable, too, that the word Zulu means also the heavens, that is, the sky. The Zulus speak of the Creator of tlie world by three names, one meaning, " He who was before all things," one meaning " He who created the world," and one meaning " The Great, Great One," the latter name being the most common. In their supplications the Zulus sometimes call upon the " Spirit of Spirits,' the head of all ancestral spirits, as the word " Idhlozi " means an ancestral spirit. They believe the spirits of their departed friends watch over them in the form of a snake, which is treated kindly lest the departed one should l)e grieved and some evil result there- from. A lizard which is fond of inhabiting the camel-thorn trees in some localities is accused of having brought death into the world by carrying a message too swiftly, while the chame- leon is accused of the same crime by being too late with its mes- Zulus and Zululand 123 sage of mercy, because it halted to taste the berries of a bush and fell asleep. Having been forbidden to do this, and death having entered the world through the disobedience of the cha- meleon and the action of the lizard the Zulus consider them both deserving of death. The various laws pertaining to uncleanness mentioned in the Books of ]\Ioses, are observed to a consideraljle extent by all the Zulu tribes, some being more strict than others. They readily understand the missionary when he speaks of sacrifices, vows, thank offerings and first fruits. For many generations they have killed their cattle, leaving the carcasses for a time for the spirits to take the first meal. In their supplications for ti:ie removal of a calamity mention is made of the blood that was shed, because without the shedding of blood they would not dare ask for mercy. Blood is considered necessary to atone for the past, and to avert calamity in the future. Sometimes a father having sons absent from home sacrifices an ani- mal, saying, in the language of Job, '* Perhaps my sons have sinned." Two boys traveled with a w^agon for some months, and on their return manifested their gratitude by an offering of a few ears of mealies (corn) to their supposed protectors for watching over them till their safe return. Sometimes months may pass before these thank oft'erings can be made. Before entering upon an important journey an offering is made to se- cure the aid of the protecting spirits. The custom of the mar- riageable girls going annually to a high hill to weep reminds one of the daughters of Israel who " went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah." In watching a Zulu messenger cross a stream one notices that he does not stop at the edge and kneel down to drink, but as he walks through the stream he pitches the water into his 124 Jo^^ Bull's Crime mouth, lapping it in quick succession like a dog. This reminds one of Gideon's devoted band of three hundred men, who " lapped water like a dog," " putting their hands to their mouths." A messenger is passing some friends, but does not salute them, nor does he return their salutation until he has delivered his message, then he turns toward them and salutes them with the words, " Sa ni bona," which means '* we saw you." A cer- tain gentleman who noticed this custom said that it reminded him of the instructions given to the disciples to " salute no man by the way." Also the command of Elisha to his servant to *' Salute no one, and if any salute thee, answer him not again." A Zulu woman, who was not renowned for her industry, used to pluck handfuls of thatch from the roof of her hut and light her fire with it instead of going out to gather wood. For several weeks she saw the other women cut thatch grass to repair their huts, but she cut none. When the rainy season commenced the other huts were in good order, while hers leaked badly. A certain lady who knew of the case opened her Bible and pointing to Proverbs, chapter xiv. ist verse, read, " Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish pluck- eth it down with her hands." In spite of the heathen Zulu's objection to the gospel, be- cause it strikes at the root of certain debasing practices, a mis- sionary Avho has some knowledge of native customs and tra- ditions is able to interest and enlighten the people far more readily than one ignorant of their views. Such a missionary arrives at a kraal in hopes of being able to deliver a gospel message. A glance at one member of the kraal shows him that their " days of mourning are not yet ended," therefore he does not sing. Seated on the ground, he proceeds for ex- Zulus and Zululand 125 ample to assist one of the little boys in the tribe to extract a thorn that may have entered his foot, and turning to the head man of the tribe, who may be sitting near, the missionary asks whether he ever heard what the wisest man of the world said about thorns. Turning to Ecclesiastes, seventh chapter, sixth verse, he reads aloud, " As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool," and proceeds to remind them that the unseasoned thorn makes a great noise in the fire, perhaps ending with a loud pop or a miserable sizzle. A few words as to who is really a fool, what he laughs at and how much his laugh is worth, ending perhaps by saying, " His laugh is pop, crack and sizzle without heat." The same wise man speaks of thorns in the hand and another speaks of a road " be- ing hedged up with thorns." " You can see that even a person who cannot read can under- stand the teachings of the Bible, for its teachings are so plain, and the Great, Great One who instructed His servants to write this Book knew all things, and as these servants w^ere familiar with the customs of the people, they have related some of them. One speaks of his people praying to the ' Queen of Heaven ' and making their offerings so that iheir gardens might yield abundantly. This servant was named Jeremiah and spoke to his people, exhorting them to obtain the favor of the Great, Great One, but they answered him in just the same words that a na- tive woman answered me yesterday, when I spoke of the folly of putting beer in pots in her garden for the Queen of Heaven to drink. Jeremiah felt so sad that he was unable to weep enough to satisfy his grief, for he knew that the laughter of his people crackled like thorns under a pot. Thev observed the feasts of the new moon and full moon, they danced with the tinkling anklets, they vowed and sacrificed, but one thing they 1 26 John Bull's Crime neglected, and that was to get the favor of Him who made the heavens, who holdeth the rain in His hand ready for those to whom He chooses to give it. It is He who can protect, for He createth us, our cattle and our land. You know you need pro- tection, and during a calamity you kill an animal, and with its gall you sprinkle each member of your family and the sides and top of your door; then you sprinkle your cattle kraal (oni certain occasions). You call upon the ' Spirit of Spirits ' and the spirits of your ancestors to protect you. Your women may rot enter your cattle yard, for it is a ' Holy of Holies,' so she sends a child in. When I come again I will perhaps read you what the Bible says of sprinkling of blood and the customs of an ancient people. Now, before I go, I think we should thank the ' Great, Great One ' that we have been spared and pray that we may be enlightened by Him, so that we choose only the good. Let us pray Him to forgive all the past and to change our desires and aims if they do not please Him, also to grant us His powerful aid at all times, and when He sees we are on a dangerous path, to be willing to have Him hedge it up with thorns. The prayer is in substance an acknowledgment of the right of the Creator over the created." From the foregoing it will be seen that the study of Zulu customs is one of deep interest to the student of the Bible, for the daily habits of the Zulu people often throw light on some passage of scripture which the student had not paid much at- tention to and which many learned commentators had passed by without comment. It must not be thought possible for a total stranger to rush in post haste to a Zulu kraal with a cam- era and notebook to obtain a volume of information in an hour, for the stranger may not be able to discern between Zulu tradition pure and simple and the mixture of theories arising Zulus and Zululand 127 from intercourse with the white man. Interpreters are not always rehable and persons in search of truth must be exceed- ingly careful not to jump at conclusions. Zulus are very sus- picious and superstitious, but when approached wisely (from their standpoint) they are courteous and communicative. No one seems to know much about the size of the popula- tion of Zululand. It is however known that the Zulu army numbered at one time more than forty thousand well trained warriors. Zulus differ from other natives in the superior neatness in their method of preparing their food, and are much more cleanly in their persons. They are in the habit of bathing every morn- ing, apparently as an act of devotion. Their chief pride seems to be to keep their hair in order. The women are watched strictly and carefully guarded by the men. For many years the Zulus waged war against the Boer set- tlers in Natal and in the Transvaal. During the reign of their most bloodthirsty king, Dingaan the Great, a brave little com- pany of Boers under the command of Piet Retief, fleeing from British tyranny and oppression in Cape Colony, came to Natal, then known as a part of the Zulu country, and bought some land from Dingaan. It is said that Dingaan was induced by some English residents of Natal who hated the Boers bitterly to ambush Piet Retief and his brave little band, and Dingaan did so, and the whole party, consisting of seventy of the leading Boers, were massacred. Two unsuccessful attempts were made to avenge the death of the emigrant Boers. A Dutch commando under Piet Uis invaded the Zulu country, but was compelled to retreat, leaving their leader behind them. The Zulu army under Dingaan was afterwards defeated by the Boers w^ith great slaughter. 128 yohn Bull's Crime While the Ziikis are recognized as the greatest warriors of the black race in Africa, yet they are not equal to the Boers. While visiting the battlefields near Ladysmith, on the Tiigela River, we came to a native kraal. In our party were three Boers and three Kaffir boys, the latter in charge of the mules and camping outfit. The Boers suggested that we enter the kraal and buy a few chickens for our dinner, as we had no meat with us with the exception of a little biltong. The kraal was the home of Nyangi, one of the oldest chiefs, and it was one of the neatest and most attractive kraals in that part of the coun- try. It consisted of some thirty to forty cone-shaped huts of all sizes arranged in a circle around the main hut of the chief located in the center. The huts were made of sticks and mud with thatched roofs. The entrance to each hut was a small opening, so small and low that one could hardly enter upon his hands and knees. The interior was black with smoke, and rows of dried corn, gourds, beans, feathers and dried meat hung suspended from the roof, while upon the earthen floor were some crude cooking utensils and a stone like a druggist's mor- tar, in which the corn was beaten into meal, and a vessel, sup- posed to be some sort of a kettle, in which the meal was cooked into mush, called by them mealie pap. which they eat cold, with milk obtained from the cows and goats. Then in addition to tliese was the cooking stove, which in reality was only two forked sticks of wood driven into the ground with a large stick stretched across from one to the other, from which was sus- pended over the fire the kettle, and here and there a bunch of dried grass or leaves on which the inmates together with their cats and dogs made their beds. The kraal was located in a little valley by the side of a moun- tain stream of pure cold water that came from a spring in the ALIEN'S CffiCtlATf!^" UP'^'-