History for ready reference, Volume 6

by J. N. Larned

First steps in the creation of a public school system.
"The report of M. G. Brumbaugh, commissioner of education, on
education in Porto Rico, dated October 15, 1900, shows what
has been accomplished in the short time that elapsed after the
commissioner entered upon his duties on August 4, 1900. … The
people want schools … and the pupils will attend them. In
1899, 616 schools were opened in Porto Rico. In 1900 the
department will maintain at least 800 schools, an increase of
30 per cent, which will provide for nearly 9,000 additional
pupils.
"In 1899 there were 67 Americans in the teaching force of the
island. Since October 1, 1900, the number has increased to
100. The commissioner criticises one class of teachers who are
'seekers after novelty and new experiences, who imposed upon the
administration and the children, and who used the salary and
position of teacher solely to see a new country for a year and
then return. … The people of Porto Rico have patiently borne
with these adventurers, and quietly longed for their
departure.' This class of teachers is now gone and the newly
selected American teachers have some knowledge of Spanish and
are graduates of universities, colleges, and normal schools in
the States, and are for the most part young men and women of
ability and discretion. The salaries of American teachers were
fixed by law at $40 per month for nine months in cities of
less than 5,000 population. In cities of larger population the
salary was $50 per month for nine months and both are
inadequate, although at the time the salaries were fixed the
War Department provided free transportation from and to the
United States. This transportation may now be withdrawn at any
time, and the small inducement held out by the meager salary
offered to teachers is not calculated to invite the best class
of them to the island.
"The new normal and industrial school at Fajardo, which was to
have been established by the joint efforts of the local
municipality and the American Government, was only so far
advanced that the land had been purchased by the end of
September, 1900. The normal department was opened October 1,
in a rented building, while the industrial department cannot
be opened until suitable quarters are provided. The
commissioner recommends that the United States make this place
the site of an agricultural experiment station for which it is
pre-eminently fitted. On account of the industries of the
country—coffee, sugar, tobacco, and fruit—agriculture could be
well studied here, and free boarding, lodging, and tuition would
be given the students, who would be for the most part poor
boys and girls.
"As to the school accommodation, the commissioner states that
there are no public school buildings in Porto Rico. The
schools are conducted in rented houses or rooms which are
often unfit for the purpose, and the hygienic conditions are
bad. There is a wide field, or rather a demand, for
improvement in this direction, as well as in the school
equipment and material.
{418}
In 1899, $33,000 was expended for school-books, and in 1900,
$20,000 will be expended for books and supplies, which shall
be free. In the United States 'free books' means usually their
purchase by local boards and free use by the pupils. In Porto
Rico the books and supplies will be free to the pupils without
expense to the local boards. A pedagogical museum and library
has been established for the benefit of teachers and others.
About 300 volumes have been contributed to the library from
friends in the States, and the Department will make the number
up to 500 by purchase. A library of 5,000 volumes of standard
Spanish and American literature was found in a building in San
Juan, which has been installed in suitable rooms as a public
library.
"Many of the leading institutions of the United States have
responded cordially to the application of the Department of
Education on behalf of young Porto Ricans who wish to
prosecute their studies in colleges and universities. Some
have offered free tuition, some have added free lodging, while
others have offered even free living to all such students as
wish to avail themselves of their instruction. Many young
Porto Ricans have availed themselves of these generous offers.
"There are now 800 schools in Porto Rico, and 38,000 pupils
attending them, while there are 300,000 children of school age
for whom there are no accommodations. But the commissioner
expresses the hope that gradually the great illiteracy in
Porto Rico will be reduced, and the people prepared for the
duties of citizenship in a democracy by means of the schools
that shall be established. … The total expenditure for
education in Porto Rico from the 1st of May to the end of
September was $91,057.32."
United States, Secretary of the Interior,
Annual Report, November 28, 1900, page 116.
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1900 (November-December).
The first election under U. S. law.
Meeting of the Legislative Assembly.
The first election in the Island under the provisions of the
Act recited above occurred on the 6th of November
simultaneously with the elections in the United States. It
seems to have been almost entirely a one-sided vote. "About
two weeks before election day," says a despatch from San Juan,
November 7, "the Federal Party, which carried the island at
the election of less than a year ago by a majority of 6,500
votes, suddenly withdrew from the electoral contest. The
Federal leaders sent instruction to their followers not to
appear at the polls, but the Federal Election Judges were
instructed to appear and watch the proceedings until the
elections were concluded in order to gather evidence of any
unfairness in the registration and any irregularity in the
voting. The Federal Party intends to institute court
proceedings after the election in the hope of nullifying it,
claiming that gross irregularities in the registration and
voting will be shown, and alleging that the districting was
not done according to law." Only about 200 Federals voted, it
is stated, while some 60,000 votes were cast for the
candidates of the Republicans. Governor Allen cabled the
following announcement of the election to President McKinley:
"I am gratified and delighted. The outcome in Porto Rico is a
guarantee of the island's future. To bring people who had long
been under different rules and conditions to their first
general election, to have the election pass off as quietly and
orderly as in any State of the North conducted by the people
without let or hindrance, and without a soldier or armed force
of any sort, and to have nearly 60.000 men march to the polls
to deposit their first ballot for self-government in such a
manner, are good reasons for congratulation, not only to the
people of the island, but to the painstaking members of the
Administration, who had worked diligently and patiently to
this end. This overwhelming Republican victory also means
legislation for the good of the island in line with the
American Administration. It means stable government and the
protection of property interests, with which prospective
investors in Porto Rico are deeply concerned. It means
education, public works, and all the beneficent works which
follow legislation wisely and conscientiously undertaken. It
is an emphatic declaration of unqualified loyalty to the
United States."
The newly elected Legislative Assembly met and the House of
Delegates was organized December 3. A correspondent of the
"New York Tribune," writing a week later, said: "Already
nineteen bills have been introduced. To introduce nineteen
bills in six days after organizing, as well as forming the
regular committees, is not bad work when it is considered that
not one of the members had the slightest idea of parliamentary
procedure. During the session one of the members may be seen
making frequent trips to the Executive Mansion, where he
confers with Secretary Hunt in regard to some doubtful point.
It is said by some that in a short time the lower house will
be controlled entirely by the portfolio members of the
Council. It is known that the five Porto Rican members of the
Council, when considering the question of franchises, etc.,
often vote contrary to their own ideas in order that the
Council may continue harmonious. But it is not likely that the
heads of departments will be able to control the thirty-five
members of the House. The House, although regularly elected,
is not representative of the island; the Federals refraining
from voting kept over half the natives from the polls. The
Federal party, it is asserted, is made up of the richest and
best element of Porto Rico. The Republicans, though in power,
do not feel that they are able to run things alone, so the
majority is willing to be dictated to by the Council.
Nevertheless there is a certain element in the House which
will not be dictated to. So soon as any really important bill
comes up for debate it is predicted that the House will divide
against itself. And a little later, when the House passes some
pet bill and the Council rejects it, the House will probably
resign in a body. It is a natural trait of the people.'
After another fortnight had passed, the same correspondent
wrote very discouragingly of the disposition shown by a
majority of the members of the House of Delegates, and their
conduct of business, and stated: "The popular opinion among
the Americans, even among some of the higher officials, is
that if the House continues as it is Congress will abolish it
altogether, and govern the island through a Governor and
Cabinet. Such irregular procedure has been followed that it is
a question here whether any business has been legally done."
{419}
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1901 (January),
Close of the first session of the Legislative Assembly.
The first session of the first Legislative Assembly of the
island came to a close on the 31st of January, 1901, and the
following remarks on its work were made in a newspaper
despatch of that date from San Juan: "Over one hundred bills
have been introduced in the House of Delegates, and dozens
have been passed by both houses, and are awaiting the
Governor's approval. … Committees have a hard day's work if
they get together and agree to pass the bills on hand before
midnight to-night. Ever since the House of Delegates resumed
business after the new year, eight or nine members have been
continually absent. There are only thirty-five members
altogether, and the island is small, yet twenty-six has been
the average attendance. A full attendance for even one day is
not recorded. It was predicted that a number of the members
would resign; they did not. They simply remained away, like
truant schoolboys. A bill has been passed providing for the
education of certain young Porto Rican men and women in the
United States, about two hundred of them having petitioned the
House of Delegates to be sent north at the island's expense.
It is not known on what ground these petitions have been made.
The island expends about $400,000 yearly on education, and
excellent educational facilities are offered. But the people,
in a way, seem to discredit the value of the opportunities at
hand."
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1901 (April).
Distress of the workingmen of the Island.
Their appeal to the President of the United States.
The following petition, signed by 6,000 of the workingmen of
Porto Rico, was brought to the United States by a delegate
from the Federation of Labor in Porto Rico and presented to
President McKinley on the 15th of April:
"The undersigned, workers of Porto Rico, without distinction
of color, political or religious creed, have the honor to
bring to your attention the following facts: Misery, with all
its horrible consequences, is spreading in our homes with
wonderful rapidity. It has already reached such an extreme
that many workers are starving to death while others, that
have not the courage to see their mothers, wives, sisters and
children perish of hunger, commit suicide by drowning
themselves in the rivers or hanging themselves from branches
of trees. All this, honorable sir, is due to the scarcity of
work, which keeps us in enforced idleness, the mother of our
misery. Our beautiful estates are idle; our lands are not
being cultivated; our shops remain closed; and our Chambers do
absolutely nothing to prevent our misery on this once so rich
an island. The Government and municipality do not undertake
any public works to keep us out of idleness. The emigration of
workers, unknown in this island before, increases day by day,
in proportion as misery increases. Under these trying
conditions we are no longer a happy and contented people. We
therefore, beg of you, honorable sir, to interest yourself in
our cause, leading us, as the father of our country, in the
path that will bring us work, and with it the means of
subsistence. We want work; nothing but work. We want to earn
the means of subsistence by the sweat of our brows; and nobody
better than our Chief Magistrate can help us by lending ear to
our appeals. "
----------PORTO RICO: End--------
PORTUGAL: A. D. 1891-1900.
Delagoa Bay Arbitration.
See (in this volume)
DELAGOA BAY ARBITRATION.
PORTUGAL: A. D. 1898.
Alleged Treaty with Great Britain.
There is said to be knowledge in diplomatic circles of a
treaty between Great Britain and Portugal, concluded in 1898,
which has never been made public, but which is understood to
engage the former to assist the latter financially and to
protect the kingdom as against dangers both external and
internal. In return it is believed that England received the
right to embark and disembark troops, stores and ammunitions
at any point on Portuguese territory in Africa, to keep them
there, or to convey them across Portuguese territory to any
point she might see fit, irrespective as to whether she was at
war with any third Power. Circumstances have given some
support to this rumor, but it has no positive confirmation.
PORTUGAL: A. D. 1899.
Reciprocity Treaty with the United States.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1899-1901.
PORTUGAL: A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA: A. D. 1895-1896.
War with Gungunhana.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1895-1896 (PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA).
POSTAGE, British Imperial Penny.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1898 (DECEMBER).
POWERS, Concert of the.
See (in this volume)
CONCERT OF EUROPE.
POWERS, The four great.
See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: EXPANSION.
PRATT, Consul:
Interviews with Aguinaldo at Singapore.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY: PHILIPPINES).
"PREDOMINANT MEMBER," Remarks of Lord Rosebery on the.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1894-1895.
PREHISTORIC DISCOVERIES.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
PREMPEH, Overthrow of King.
See (in this volume)
ASHANTI.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES: Union in Scotland.
See (in this volume)
SCOTLAND: A. D. 1900.
PRESS, The:
Relaxation of restrictions in Poland.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897.
PRESS, The:
Prosecutions in Germany.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1900 (OCTOBER 9).
PRETORIA: A. D. 1894.
Demonstration of British residents.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1894.
PRETORIA: A. D. 1900.
Taken by the British forces.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1900 (MAY-JUNE).
PRIMARY ELECTION LAW.
See (in this volume)
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1898.
PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND.
See (in this volume)
CANADA.
{420}
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY:
Celebration of 250th anniversary.
Assumption of new name.
See (in this volume)
EDUCATION (UNITED STATES): A. D. 1896.
PRINSLOO, Commandant: Surrender.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1900 (JUNE-DECEMBER).
PROCTOR, Senator Redfield:
Account of the condition of the Cuban Reconcentrados.
See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1897-1898 (DECEMBER-MARCH).
PROGRESSISTS,
PROGRESSIVES.
See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897;
JAPAN: A. D. 1890-1898, and after;
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY): A. D. 1898,
and 1898 (MARCH-OCTOBER).
PROHIBITION PARTY, The.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER);
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
PROHIBITION PLEBISCITE, Canadian.
See (in this volume)
CANADA: A. D. 1898 (SEPTEMBER).
PROTECTIVE TARIFFS.
See (in this volume)
TARIFF LEGISLATION.
PROTOCOL, for suspension of Spanish-American War.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-DECEMBER).
PRUSSIA: Census, 1895.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1895 (JUNE-DECEMBER).
PRUSSIA: A. D. 1899-1901.
Canal projects.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1899 (AUGUST); and 1901 (JANUARY).
PRUSSIA: A. D. 1901.
Bicentenary celebration.
The bicentenary of the coronation of the first King of Prussia
was celebrated with much ceremony and festivity on the 18th of
January, 1901.
PULLMAN.
A decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois, rendered early in
1899, deprives the Pullman Car Company of the legal right to
own and conduct the affairs of the town of Pullman, Illinois.
The effect is understood to be that the town will be
incorporated with Chicago.
PUNJAB, Formation of a new province from districts of the.
See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY).
PUPIN, Dr. Michael I.:
Improvement in long-distance telephony.
See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: ELECTRICAL.
Q.
QUEBEC, Province.
See (in this volume)
CANADA.
QUEENS COUNTY:
Incorporation in Greater New York.
See (in this volume)
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1896-1897.
QUEENSLAND.
See (in this volume)
AUSTRALIA; and CONSTITUTION OF AUSTRALIA.
QUINCY, Josiah:
Progressive measures as Mayor of Boston.
See (in this volume)
BOSTON: A. D. 1895-1899.
R.
RACES, European, The expansion of.
See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: EXPANSION.
RAILWAY, The Anatolian.
Extension to the Persian Gulf.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899 (NOVEMBER).
RAILWAY, Cape to Cairo.
"A line now [1899] runs northward from Cape Town to Bulawayo,
in Rhodesia, a distance of 1,360 miles, and is being pushed
still farther northward. From Bulawayo to Lake Tanganyika is
about 1,000 miles; and this Mr. Rhodes hopes to reach by 1905.
Lake Tanganyika is 410 miles long; and it is likely that its
waters will be utilized for a time at least for transferring
northwardly the freights and passengers reaching its southern
end. Meantime the railroad from Cairo is being pushed
southwardly to meet the line which is coming from the Cape
northwardly. It has already been constructed to Atbara, where
American contractors have just finished the steel bridge in a
time which British bridge-builders considered impossible; and
the line is being pushed forward to Khartoum from that point.
Khartoum is 1,300 miles from Cairo; so that when work on the
section from Atbara to Khartoum is completed, as it will be
within a few months, the two gaps to be filled in will be from
Khartoum to the north end of Lake Tanganyika, a distance of
1,700 miles, and the 950 miles from the south end of Lake
Tanganyika to Bulawayo; i. e., 2,700 miles in all. Thus, of
the necessary land length, assuming that at least the 410
miles length of Lake Tanganyika will be at first utilized,
about one-half will be finished on the completion of the
section from Atbara to Khartoum, within the next few months.
The remaining 2,700 miles will, it is estimated, cost
$60,000,000; and Mr. Rhodes confidently predicts its
completion before the year 1910."
O. P. Austin,
Africa: Present and Future
(Forum, December, 1899).
See, also (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1899.
Of course, the plans and calculations of Mr. Cecil Rhodes have
been seriously interfered with by the South African War. He
may have anticipated the war, but not the length nor the
effects of it.
RAILWAY, Haifa to Damascus and Bagdad.
See (in this volume)
JEWS: A. D. 1899.
RAILWAY, The Intercontinental, or "Three Americas."
"One of the important results of the International American
Conference, held in Washington in 1889-90, was its
recommendation that an International Commission be created to
ascertain the feasibility, the cost, and the available
location for a railroad connecting the countries of South and
Central America with Mexico and the United States. This
recommendation was cordially indorsed by Secretary Blaine in
submitting the report to President Harrison, who transmitted
it to Congress, asking that an appropriation be made to
commence the surveys. In the same act which authorized the
establishment of the Bureau of the American Republics—the
Diplomatic and Consular Appropriation Act of July 14, 1890—the
Intercontinental Railway Commission was created.
{421}
In this act it was provided that three Commissioners on the
part of the United States should be appointed by the
President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who were
to act with representatives of the other American Republics to
devise plans for carrying out the objects recommended by the
International American Conference. The Commission organized
December 4, 1890, and at once set about the equipping of the
surveying parties to make the necessary topographical
examination. The United States representatives on the
Commission were practical railroad men—A. J. Cassatt, Henry G.
Davis, and R. C. Kerens, and eleven other Republics were
represented on the Commission. The report just issued [March,
1899] is in four volumes, with four sets of maps and profiles,
exhibiting the surveys and examination of the country that
were made from Mexico through Central America to Colombia,
Ecuador, and Peru, in South America. In addition to the
personal observations in South America, the officers making
the reports also gathered from the best obtainable sources
geographical, railroad, and other information relating to
Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and
Venezuela. The report gives the proposed distances as follows:
Central American division, from Ayutla, Guatemala, on the
Mexican border, to Rio Golfito, Colombia, 1,043 miles; from
Rio Golfito to Buenos Aires, Argentina, 5,446.76 miles;
through the United States from New York to Laredo, Texas,
2,094 miles; and from that point, through Mexico to Ayutla,
Guatemala, 1,644.3 miles; making a total of 10,228.06 miles,
including the lines already in operation in the different
countries. The extent of railway to be constructed is a little
over one-half the total, being 5,456.13 miles. An estimate is
given of the cost for grading, masonry, and bridges of that
portion of the line which must be constructed to complete the
connections, which amounts to $174,290,271.84."
Bureau of American Republics,
Bulletin, March, 1899.
As now surveyed, from New York City to Buenos Ayres, it will
be 10,221 miles long, and to finish and equip it will cost at
least $200,000,000. This length and cost will also be
increased when the line is extended through Patagonia to the
southern limits of South America. The complete surveys … prove
that a practicable route can be found and the road built
within a reasonable time. The route of this road can be traced
on the map, while the following table shows the distances, the
miles built, and the gaps to be filled:
Built. Proposed. Total.
United States. 2,094 … 2,094
Mexico 1,183 461 1,644
Total North America. 3,277 461 3,738
---------
Guatemala. 43 126 169
San Salvador. 64 166 230
Honduras. … 71 71
Nicaragua. 103 106 209
Costa Rica. … 360 360
Total Central America. 210 829 1,039
Colombia. … 1,354 1,354
Ecuador. … 658 658
Peru. 151 1,833 1,784
Bolivia. 195 392 587
Argentina. 936 125 1,061
Total South America. 1,282 4,769 5,444
Grand total. 4,769 5,452 10,221

"The demands of trade may compel early construction of this
railroad. It is doubtful if a remunerative commerce can be
built up between North and South America by ship. The
conformation of the eastern coast of South America compels a
long detour to the east, and brings a ship almost as near to
the ports of Europe as to the ports of the United States. The
exports of South America, being mainly agricultural, will find
a readier sale in Europe than in this country, and when they
are exchanged for the cheap manufactured goods of that
continent the conditions for trade are supplied. If, for these
reasons, this country can not build up a commerce with South
America by water, a quicker means of transit must be had, such
as the Pan-American Railway would provide. The obstacles to be
overcome are great. They surpass the difficulties in the way of
the Siberian or the 'Cape to Cairo' road, but the results will
be correspondingly greater.
"South America has greater undeveloped resources than any
other continent. Its agricultural possibilities are boundless.
It has the greatest rivers in the world; its soil can produce
any crop grown on the earth, and its mines of gold, silver,
and coal have been scarcely touched. A railroad which would
traverse the coffee lands of the Central American States, pass
through the mines of Peru, and penetrate the rich pampas of
Brazil and Argentina, must have great possibilities before it.
The products of the three great valleys of the Orinoco, the
Amazon, and the Paraguay rivers would find a market by means
of it, and the riches of the mines of the Incas be shown to
surpass those of California and South Africa."
Bureau of American Republics,
Bulletin, December, 1899.
RAILWAY, The Tehuantepec.
See (in this volume)
MEXICO: A. D. 1898-1900.
RAILWAY, The Three Americas.
See, above,
RAILWAY, INTERCONTINENTAL.
RAILWAY, Trans-Siberian.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1891-1900.
RAILWAY, The Uganda, or Mombasa-Victoria.
See (in this volume)
UGANDA RAILWAY.
RAILWAYS: in Africa.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1899.
RAILWAYS: American Inter-State.
Arbitration of industrial disputes.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JUNE).
RAILWAYS: Concessions in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895;
1897 (MAY-JUNE);
1897 (NOVEMBER);
1898 (FEBRUARY-DECEMBER);
1898 (MARCH);
1898 (APRIL-AUGUST);
1898 (MAY);
1899 (MARCH-APRIL).
RAILWAYS:
Russian projects in Persia.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1900.
{422}
RAILWAYS:
State purchase in Switzerland.
See (in this volume)
SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1894-1898.
RAINES LAW, The.
See (in this volume)
NEW YORK STATE: A. D. 1896-1897.
RAMAPO WATER CONTRACT, The.
See (in this volume)
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1899-1900.
RANAVALOMANJAKA, Queen.
See (in this volume)
MADAGASCAR.
RAND, Gold fields of the.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1885-1890.
RECIPROCITY:
Treaties under the Dingley Tariff Act.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1899-1901.
RECONCENTRADOS.
(See in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1896-1897;
and 1897-1898 (DECEMBER-MARCH).
RED CROSS SOCIETY, The:
Relief work in Armenia and Cuba.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1896 (JANUARY-MARCH);
and CUBA: A. D. 1896-1897.
REFERENDUM, The:
In Minnesota.
See (in this volume)
MINNESOTA: A. D. 1896.
REFERENDUM, The:
Introduction in South Dakota.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH DAKOTA: A. D. 1898.
REFERENDUM, The:
Its exercise in Switzerland.
See (in this volume)
SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1894-1898.
REID CONTRACT, The.
See (in this volume)
NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1897-1900; and 1899-1901.
REITFONTEIN, Battle of.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).
RELIGIOUS ORDERS, Bill to regulate, in France.
See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
REPRESENTATIVES:
Reapportionment in the Congress of the United States.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
REPUBLICAN PARTY, The,
in the U. S. Presidential elections, 1896 and 1900.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER);
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
RESERVOIRS, Nile.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1898-1901.
RHINE-ELBE CANAL PROJECT, The.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1899 (AUGUST);
and 1901 (JANUARY).
RHODE ISLAND: A. D. 1900.
Newport no longer a capital city.
At the election in November, 1900, a constitutional amendment
was adopted which makes Providence alone the capital city of
Rhode Island. Newport had been one of the capitals since the
colonies of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations were
united.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Founder of the British South Africa Company.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1884-1894.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Master spirit of the British South Africa Company.
His name given to its dominions.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1894-1895.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Participation in Uitlander revolutionary conspiracy at
Johannesburg, leading to Jameson Raid.
Resignation of Cape Colony premiership.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1895-1896.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Dealing with Matabele revolt.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (RHODESIA):
A. D. 1896 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).
RHODES, Cecil John:
Resignation from the Board of the British South Africa
Company.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA
(BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY): A. D. 1896 (JUNE).
RHODES, Cecil John:
Accused by the Cape Colony Assembly of complicity in the
Jameson Raid.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY): A. D. 1896 (JULY).
RHODES, Cecil John:
Testimony before British Parliamentary Committee on the
Jameson Raid.
The Committee's report.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL):
A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARY-JULY).
RHODES, Cecil John:
In Cape Colony politics.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY): A. D. 1898.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Projection of a Cape to Cairo Railway.
See (in this volume)
RAILWAY, CAPE TO CAIRO;
and AFRICA: A. D. 1899.
RHODES, Cecil John:
Beleaguered in Kimberley.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER).
RHODES, Cecil John:
Projection of a Cape to Cairo Telegraph.
See (in this volume)
TELEGRAPH, CAPE TO CAIRO.
RHODESIA: A. D. 1896 (March-September).
Revolt of the Matabeles.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (RHODESIA):
A. D. 1896 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).
RHODESIA: A. D. 1896 (July).
Parliamentary investigation of British South Africa Company.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1896 (JULY).
RHODESIA: A. D. 1897.
Report on compulsory native labor.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1897 (JANUARY).
RHODESIA: A. D. 1898.
Reorganized administration.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA
(RHODESIA AND THE BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1898 (FEBRUARY).
RHODESIA: A. D. 1900.
Protectorate proclaimed over Barotsiland.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (RHODESIA): A. D. 1900 (SEPTEMBER).
RIO PRIETO, Engagement at the.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST; PORTO RICO).
RIZAL, Dr. José.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1896-1898.
ROBERTS, Field Marshal, Lord (Sir Frederick Sleigh):
In the South African War.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1900 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY), and after.
ROBINSON, Sir Hercules:
British High Commissioner in South Africa.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL):
A. D. 1896 (JANUARY-APRIL).
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, The.
See PAPACY.
ROMAN CATHOLICS:
Protest of British Peers against the
Declaration required from the Sovereign.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY).
{423}
ROMAN CATHOLICS:
Victory in Belgium.
See (in this volume)
BELGIUM: A. D. 1894-1895.
ROMAN LAW:
Superseded in Germany.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1900 (JANUARY).
ROME:
The likeness of its early settlement shown by excavations
at Antemnæ.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: ITALY.
RÖNTGEN, Wilhelm Konrad:
Discovery of the X rays.
See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS.
ROOSEVELT, Theodore:
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Rough Riders.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY).
ROOSEVELT, Theodore:
Elected Vice President of the United States.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
ROSEBERY, Earl of:
Prime minister.
Remarks on the "predominant member."
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1894-1895.
ROSEBERY, Earl of:
Tribute to Mr. Gladstone.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1898 (MAY).
ROSEBERY, Earl of:
Tribute to Queen Victoria.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
ROUGH RIDERS, The.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY).
ROUGH RIDERS, The.
At Santiago.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
ROUMANIA.
See (in this volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES;
and TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901.
ROYAL NIGER COMPANY, The.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1882-1899.
ROYAL NIGER COMPANY, The.
Transfer of territories to the British crown.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1899.
RUDINI, Marquis di:
Resignation of Ministry.
See (in this volume)
ITALY: A. D. 1898 (MARCH-JUNE).
RUMANIA.
See (in this volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES;
and TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1895.
Agreement with Great Britain concerning the frontier of
Afghanistan and spheres of influence in the Pamir region.
See (in this volume)
AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1895.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1895.
Alliance with France.
See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1895.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1895.
Treaty with China giving railway and other privileges and
rights in Manchuria.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1896 (May-June).
Coronation of the Tzar.
The Tzar Nicholas II., who succeeded his father, Alexander
III., on the death of the latter, November 1, 1894, was not
formally crowned until May 26, 1896. The splendid festivities
of the occasion lasted from May 18 until June, and were
attended by a brilliant assembly of princes and high officials
from all parts of the world. They were saddened by a frightful
calamity on the 31st of May, when an attempt was made to
distribute gifts of food and drink to a vast multitude of
nearly half a million people, on Khodynskoye plain. Adequate
measures for controlling the pressure of the crowd had not
been taken, and nearly 3,000 were suffocated or trampled to
death.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897.
Relaxations of oppressive laws.
Several important relaxations of oppressive laws were
commanded by the Tzar in the course of the year. By one, sons
of the marriage of an orthodox Russian with one of another
creed were allowed to be brought up in the religion of the
father and daughters in that of the mother. By another, Jews
having an university education were allowed freedom of
residence in any part of the empire. By others, greater
freedom was given to the Polish press, formerly forbidden to
discuss political questions; local assemblies of Polish nobles
were organized; permission was given to restore Roman Catholic
churches in Poland, and certain special Polish taxes were
removed.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897 (February).
Census of the Empire.
"For the first time in the history of the Hyperborean Empire,
a general, and if I may use the expression, scientific, census
has been taken of the various tongues and tribes, religions
and sects, cultured races and nomadic hordes who acknowledge
the sway of the Tsar. It was a Herculean labour, without
precedent in history and without a formula in statistics. … On
June 5, 1895, the reigning Tsar gave his sanction to a scheme
which was both conformable to the exigencies of modern
statistics and suitable to the various conditions peculiar to
Russia. … The general plan of operations was simple, and
calculated as far as possible to impose a large portion of the
task upon officials of the Administration, and obviate the
necessity of paying for it. Thus there was a Committee in
every Government or Province of the Empire, presided over by
the actual Governor; and there were sub-committees in every
district under the direction of the Marshal of the Nobility. …
The task undertaken by the Central Committee was in the
highest degree formidable: rooted prejudices had to be
overcome, inarticulate suspicions removed—the half-civilised
nomads have an insuperable dislike to answer questions of the
'Tshinovniks'—the confidence of the people gained, languages
mastered, routes studied, badges prepared for the officials,
millions upon millions of census papers printed and
distributed over the length and breadth of the Empire, &c. &c.
…
"In order that the work might be finished as early as possible
at the same time, the cantonal sections were split up into
divisions, which had to be more or less equal. In country
places the division was not usually allowed to exceed 400
households, or say, 2,600 souls; in cities 150 flats, or about
750 souls. The registrars, who were answerable for the census
in these districts, were chosen from all classes of society,
the only condition being that they must be persons of some
education, and calculated to inspire the population with
confidence—a very important consideration in Russia. Thus,
there were priests, officers, school-teachers, students,
merchants, landowners, and in some cases peasants. The
remuneration fixed for the work, which was sometimes attended
with danger and in almost every case with very disagreeable
experiences, was 12 roubles, or about £1 4s. 6d., in rural
districts, and 7 roubles in towns.
{424}
Labour is still cheap in Russia, but even there this modest
sum was found insufficient to tempt the competent persons, who
in out-of-the-way districts were few and far between. When
this had become painfully evident, it was too late to set the
clumsy machinery in motion through which alone it might have
been possible to obtain a higher rate of remuneration. As the
registrars were, in many places, not to be had, it seemed
likely that the census would prove a lamentable failure. Then
the Tsar appeared as a 'deus ex machinâ,' and instituted a
special medal for all those who should agree to undertake the
work gratis. Like most Continental peoples, Russians have a
hankering after 'ribbons to stick in their coats,' and the
moment the medal was promised for gratuitous services there
was no lack of willing workmen. Thousands of volunteers
presented themselves, and the authorities selected the most
competent. … On January 28 [Old Style, being, N. S. February
9, 1897], … at break of day an army of 150,000 individuals
left their homes to count the number of people inhabiting an
empire which occupies one-sixth of the globe. …
"The first Russian census … may be considered to have proved a
brilliant success. The results may be summed up very briefly
as follows: The population of the Russian Empire and the Grand
Duchy of Finland numbers 129,211,114 souls, of whom
94,188,750 inhabit the 50 Governments of European Russia
9,442,500 inhabit the 10 Governments of Poland
9,723,553 inhabit the 11 Governments of the Caucasus
5,731,732 inhabit the 9 Governments of Siberia
3,415,174 inhabit the 5 Governments of the Steppe regions
4,175,101 inhabit the Provinces of Transcaspia and of Turkestan.
6,413 inhabit Khiva and Boukhara
2,527,801 inhabit Finland
----------
129,211,114 Total
"Compared with the figures of former years, as given by the
partial official returns and in the tables of the statistician
Köppen, we find that the population has increased since the
year 1851 by 96.2 per cent; since 1858 by 73.2 per cent; since
1885 by 18.1 per cent. The average density of the population
is 8.8 persons to the square verst [the verst equalling
1166.66 yards], but it naturally varies a good deal in the
different districts and Provinces. Thus, in the 10 Governments
of Poland it amounts to 84.6 to the sq. verst. In the 50
Governments of European Russia it amounts to 22.2 to the sq.
verst. In the Governments of the Caucasus it amounts to 23.6
to the sq. verst. In Siberia it amounts to 0.5 to the sq.
verst. In the Steppe region it amounts to 1.6 to the sq.
verst.
"Even in the different Governments of European Russia the
density varies considerably. …
"There are 19 cities in Russia, with a population of more than
100,000 souls each, and 35 which have from 50,000 to 100,000.
In fifteen cities the number of females exceeds that of the
males, whereas in all the others it is smaller. … The natural
increase of the population is kept down to a relatively low
figure by an abnormally large death-rate, which is mainly due
to avoidable causes. Infectious diseases and insufficiency of
medical help are among the most obvious. … In no country in
the world are infectious diseases so frequently mortal as in
Russia. Children especially suffer, and diphtheria, measles,
scarlatina, smallpox, &c., literally decimate villages and
country towns. It has been stated by the statistician Ekk,
with the help of official figures, that about 1,900,000
persons, chiefly children, die every year who might, with a
little care, be preserved to the Empire. The difference which
this loss makes to the population in fifty years is enormous."
E. J. Dillon,
The First Russian Census
(Contemporary Review, December, 1897).
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897 (November).
Treaty with the United States and Japan, to suspend pelagic
sealing.
See (in this volume)
BERING SEA QUESTIONS.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897 (December).
Adoption of the gold monetary standard.
See (in this volume)
MONETARY QUESTIONS: A. D. 1897 (DECEMBER).
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897-1898.
Contentions with Japan in Korea.
See (in this volume)
KOREA: A. D. 1895-1898.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898 (March).
Increase of naval armament.
On the 10th of March an imperial ukase ordered an addition of
90,000,000 roubles to the expenditure on war ships already
provided for, the extra disbursement to be spread over seven
years.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898 (March).
Lease of Port Arthur, Talienwan and the Liaotung Peninsula
from China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898 MARCH-JULY).
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898 (May-December).
In the Chinese "Battle of Concessions."
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (FEBRUARY-DECEMBER).
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898-1899.

The Tzar's proposal to check the increase of armaments.
The resulting Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898-1901.
The question of sugar bounties.
United States countervailing duties and Russian retaliation.
See (in this volume)
SUGAR BOUNTIES.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1898-1901.
The Russianizing of Finland.
Overthrow of the constitutional rights of the Finns.
See (in this volume)
FINLAND: A. D. 1898-1901.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899.
Famine.
A fearful famine in eastern Russia, within and beyond the
valley of the Volga, was caused in 1899 by an almost
unprecedented failure of crops. With the famine came typhus
fever, and the tale of suffering and death was one of the most
heart-rending of the century.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (February-June.)
Disorder among the students.
For some months, the universities and most of the higher
schools of Russia were in a state of disorder, and in conflict
with the police authorities. Many of the institutions were closed
and a great number of the students were under arrest. The
students complained of the statutes of the universities, and
of the general treatment to which they were subjected, and
were bitterly hostile to the police. The Tzar seems to have
given personal attention to their grievances, which he
appointed a commission to investigate. On the report of the
commission he issued an imperial order severely censuring the
administration of the universities, and also reproving the
police, while, at the same time, he addressed some serious
admonitions to the students.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (March-April).
Agreement with Great Britain concerning railway interests in
China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1899 (MARCH-APRIL).
{425}
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (May).
Steps toward the abolition of transportation to Siberia.
On the 18th of May, the Tzar issued the following order: "A
commission of the officers of the ministry of justice and
representatives of the respective departments under the
auspices of the minister of justice shall be formed. The
commission is to work out the following: To replace
transportation of criminals by punishment by courts; to
abolish or limit administrative transportation by peasant
boards; to reorganize penal servitude and the deportation
which follows; to better the condition of the convicts now in
Siberia; to improve prisons where criminals are confined
awaiting transportation and deportation; to establish
compulsory public labor and workhouses as penal measures; to
provide means for carrying out the measures necessary for the
reorganization of the transportation of criminals and of penal
establishments. The minister of justice is to ask direct, and
not through any department, for the imperial sanction of the
committee's recommendations." The British Commercial Agent in
Russia, reporting to the Foreign Office in June, 1900, stated
in allusion to the above order: "The State Council is reported
to have just decided, by a majority of votes, to introduce at
once the necessary changes, as the Central Prisons
Administration has declared that the gaol accommodation is
sufficient. The number of exiles to Siberia from 1823 to 1898
is given as 908,266, mostly to Eastern Siberia."
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (December).
Adhesion to the arrangement of an "open door" commercial
policy in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1899-1900 (SEPTEMBER-FEBRUARY).
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899-1901.
Attitude towards impending revolt in Macedonia.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901; and BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900.
Military and naval expenditure.
See (in this volume)
WAR BUDGETS.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900.
Naval strength.
See (in this volume)
NAVIES OF THE SEA POWERS.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900 (June-December).
Co-operation with the Powers in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900 (August).
Proposal to withdraw troops from Peking.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-DECEMBER.)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900-1901.
Student outbreaks.
Serious demonstrations of discontent.
Severe measures of repression.
Action of the Tzar.
A fresh outbreak of revolt among the students in the Russian
universities, more serious in its nature, apparently, than
that of 1899 (see above; A. D. 1899, FEBRUARY-JUNE), was
started at Kieff, in December, 1900, by a remonstrance on the
part of the students against the retention of a professor whom
they deemed incompetent. The rector of the university refused
to dismiss the objectionable professor; whereupon the
governor-general of the province intervened and forbade him to
lecture. The rector and the council of the university could
not resist the authority of the governor-general, but they are
said to have revenged themselves on the students by requiring
seven of the latter to choose between three days of
imprisonment and three years of expulsion from the university.
They chose the latter and were expelled. Then the students as
a body began to be troublesome, especially after the rector
had refused to meet them for a discussion of their grievances.
Finally the police and the military authorities were called
in; a large number of the students were arrested and brought
to trial before a special court which had been created for
dealing with the student troubles of the year before.
According to subsequent reports, more than two hundred of them
were condemned to be sent into the ranks of the army—which seems
to be a punishment newly devised for such cases, and not
likely to improve the loyal spirit of the army.
This hard treatment of the students at Kieff inflamed their
sympathetic fellows in all the universities of the empire, and
became the immediate cause of disorderly demonstrations, which
began, in January or early in February, to be made at St.
Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, and elsewhere; but there cannot be
a doubt that the disturbances since occurring represent an
instigation deeper, more revolutionary, more serious, than the
resentment of students misused by their teachers. The students
persisted resolutely in attempts to hold meetings which were
prohibited as seditious; to make appeals to the people; to
circulate forbidden literature; while the authorities struck
them, at every movement they made, with a relentless hand. As
usual, the oppressive violence of government provoked
desperate crime. On the 27th of February, the Minister of
Public Instruction, Privy Councillor Bogoliepoff, was shot by
an expelled student, who approached him, in his official
apartments, under pretense of presenting a petition. He died
of the wound on the 15th of March. Meantime, the conduct of
students, at St. Petersburg and Moscow especially, became more
and more riotous and revolutionary in spirit. There were
signs, too, of an understanding between them and the
discontented workingmen of the cities, which caused anxiety. A
Vienna journal claims to have knowledge that, after the
troubles at Kieff, a widespread movement of alliance between
secret associations of students and workmen was set on foot,
and that it threatened to be the most formidable revolutionary
organization that the government had yet faced.
That the sympathy of literary circles in Russia is with the
students appears to be proved by the following manifesto,
which was published in Paris on the 22d of March, signed, it
is said, by forty-five Russian men of letters:
"We, the undersigned Russian men of letters, deprived of the
possibility of freely expressing our ideas on the needs of our
poor Fatherland, prevented by the censorship from speaking of
what happens before our eyes or indicating an outlet from the
terrible situation of our country, and conscious of our duty
towards the people, resort to our foreign brethren for the
purpose of informing the civilized world of the atrocities now
being committed among us. On March 17, in the Kazan Square at
St. Petersburg, the police fell on an inoffensive and unarmed
crowd of several thousand persons, men, women, and children,
and without any provocation showed unexampled brutality and
ferocity. Cossacks, surrounding the crowd and preventing it
from dispersing, charged without warning the compact mass,
which had mostly been drawn together by curiosity.
{426}
The police seized at random the people who fell into their
hands, striking them without mercy with their fists or swords.
Those of the public, even officers in uniform, who begged for
a cessation of the carnage, were maltreated or even arrested.
Such are the facts of which several of us have been
eye-witnesses. Similar atrocities have recently been committed
in other Russian towns. Full of terror and anguish at the
future in store for our country, thus given up to the whips of
Cossacks and the swords of the police, convinced that our
indignation is shared by those of our Russian brethren whose
signatures we have not had time to obtain, by all the
intellectual society of Russia, and by all those from whom
feelings of self-respect and humanity have not yet been
eradicated, convinced also that our foreign brethren will not
remain indifferent to what passes among us, we appeal to the
Press of the world to give the utmost publicity to the
attestation of the lamentable facts of which we have been
witnesses." A despatch from St. Petersburg on the 26th
reported that the Mutual Aid Association of Russian writers
attached to the St. Petersburg Literary Society, from which
this protest emanated, had been suppressed, as the consequence
of its publication.
A more significant expression, and one from which a more
definite idea of the nature and causes of the discontent among
the students may be obtained, is the following petition,
addressed to the Tzar by a number of Russian professors and
Senators in March. The St. Petersburg correspondent of the
"London Times," who sent a translation of the paper to that
journal on the 18th of March, remarked that "it is very
doubtful if it will have any real effect, and its contents may
very possibly be regarded by the red-tape officials into whose
hands it may fall, if not by the Emperor himself, as implying
a request for something like a Constitution. Apart from that
consideration a collective petition in Russia is illegal." The
translation of the document is as follows:
"Your Imperial Majesty,—We, the undersigned loyal subjects,
consider it our patriotic duty to address you, Sire, with the
present humble petition on the subject of the recent agitation
among the students. We desire to express in this paper the
thoughts that have long been a matter of painful reflection to
every Russian conscious of the life which he is living. This
perturbation among the students, which has been of periodical
recurrence for the last 40 years, has ruined the careers of
thousands of young men and women animated by the most ardent
aspirations for the good and happiness of their native
country. It would undoubtedly be most unjust to lay all the
blame for these disorders on the students themselves. The
causes of this state of things lie much deeper. They are
connected with many of the general conditions of the life of
our State and society; they are to a great extent rooted in
the want of organization of academical centres. This want of
organization was explained by the special commission appointed
by your Majesty's command two years ago. But the labours of that
body failed to have the practical result which was apparently
expected of it; public opinion was not permitted to take part
in its deliberations, either by means of the Press or in any
other way. The matter was treated according to the usual
official routine, and in the Ministry of Public Instruction
the magnanimous intentions of your Majesty were not only
rendered colourless, but deprived of all their real
significance. Instead of properly carrying out your Majesty's
indications in regard to closer communion between the students
and professors of the higher educational establishments, the
Ministry dismissed those among the latter whose moral
qualities and devotion to duty were calculated to exercise the
most beneficial influence over their scholars.
"Those among the students who took part in the disturbances,
and who should have been worked upon by moral persuasion, were
expelled from the Universities, and the force of inspectors,
otherwise the University police, was increased for the purpose
of controlling those who remained. The temporary law of June
29, 1899, against further disorders threatened the agitators
with the punishment of being drafted into the ranks of the
army. This measure, which has now been enforced, will, of
course, put down the movement at least for a time; but it is
impossible to ignore its moral effect. It only represses, but
does not thoroughly convince. By this means the more
hot-headed among the students, inspired by the most
respectable aspirations and feelings, will be weeded out of
the scholastic ranks, and their parents will be suddenly
deprived of all hope and consolation in their children perhaps
for years; while on the rest this measure can only have the
effect which is always produced by terror and fear for the
future. It oppresses them, extinguishes their best impulses,
and tends to bring the weaker ones beneath the influence of
those petty egotistical motives which are already so powerful
in our daily life. To bring up an entire generation in such
conditions is to create and support an oppressive state of
things in the life of the nation which must finally lead to
downfall and decay.
"The oppressiveness of this environment is felt not only by
the young, but also by their elders. Is it normal that in an
autocratic State the voice of loyal subjects should be unable
to reach their Sovereign? And yet at the present moment many
persons regard the signature of this loyal petition as almost
an act of the greatest civil courage. In order to loyally and
honestly bring their wants and traditional desires to the
notice of their Monarch (Lord), the subjects of your Majesty
are obliged to act in the dark for fear that the police will
seize hold on the petition and intercept it before it can
reach your Majesty's hands. Many who fully agree with all that
is here expressed will certainly be deterred from signing the
petition because of the unpleasant consequences to themselves
which they fear may follow. In such conditions life becomes
intolerable. A deadening apathy spreads over everyone, all
interest in public activity is lost, and in all spheres of the
Government and society there is a decided feeling of the want
of men. Put an end, Sire, by your magnanimous initiative to
this oppressive situation! Show confidence in your faithful
subjects, and, while discontinuing repression, accord us the
possibility of freely expressing the voice of public opinion,
which is now stifled. The agitation among the students will
cease of itself, and the young men will quietly turn to their
studies as soon as their youthful minds are no longer excited
by the disagreeable conditions which surround them, when they
see the prospect on finishing their education of being allowed
to take a free and useful part in the affairs of their native
land."
{427}
An attempt on the life of a Minister far more important and
more obnoxious than Mr. Bogoliepoff was made on the 22d of
March. This was M. Pobiedonostzeff, Procurator of the Holy
Synod, who has long been credited with being the master-spirit
of evil influence in Russian councils,—a Torquemada of the
nineteenth century, responsible for all the mediævalism in
Russian policy for the past twenty years. Three shots were
fired at the Procurator from the street, through the windows
of his study, and he was missed by them all. The would-be
assassin, named Lagofsky, was promptly seized, and it is
claimed to have been found that he was chosen by lot to
execute an avenging decree. On the other hand, it is reported
that he was moved to the deed by the excommunication of Count
Tolstoi, which the Russian Church had lately pronounced.
If reports are to be credited, the Tzar, at length, took the
direction of measures relating to the disturbances into his own
hands, and began by putting a stop to the forcing of condemned
students into the army. He then appointed to the Ministry of
Public Education General Vannovsky, who had investigated the
student disorders of 1899 for him, and who seems to have
recognized that the disaffection of the students was not without
grounds. It is rumored that unlimited powers for two years have
been given to the new Minister, so that he cannot be interfered
with by the powerful reactionaries who evidently stand between
the best intentions of the Tzar and their execution. The obvious
difficulty of the autocrat is to learn the truth of things and
to know what is being done by those who ostensibly obey his
commands. Apparently he is striving to be served faithfully and
intelligently in this case, and it is to be hoped that he may
have success. He addressed a rescript to General Vannovsky, in
which he said:
"The regular organization of popular education has always
formed one of the chief cares of the Russian rulers, who have
striven, surely but gradually, to perfect it in accordance
with the fundamental principles of Russian life and the
requirements of the times. The experiences of recent years,
however, have shown the existence of defects so material in
our scholastic system that I think that the time has come to
undertake an immediate and thorough revision and improvement.
Highly valuing your experience as a statesman and your
enlightenment, I have chosen you to co-operate with me in the
work of renovating and reorganizing Russian schools; and, in
appointing you to the now specially important office of
Minister of Public Instruction, I am firmly convinced that you
will unswervingly endeavour to attain the goal indicated by me,
and that you will bring into the work of educating the Russian
youth your cordial sympathy and sagacity ripened by
experience. May God bless our work, and may parents and
families, who above all are bound to care for their children,
help us in our work, and then the time will soon come when I
with all my people shall see in the young generation, with
pride and encouragement, the firm and sure hope of the
Fatherland and its strong protection for the future."
The Russian "Official Messenger," St. Petersburg, announced on
the 14th of April that "in consequence of the recent student
disturbances many of the high schools were closed before the
Easter holidays, and the young men were compelled either to
lose a year of their studies or even to leave the college
altogether. In view of the serious consequences which this
measure involved for the career of the students, a special
conference of the principals of the higher colleges was called
to deliberate, under the presidency of the Minister of Public
Instruction, upon the situation thus created. The conference
decided that the following measures were indispensably
necessary for the re-establishment of the regular course of
study at the institutions concerned:
1. Lectures to be renewed in the higher colleges in the course
of April and intermediate examinations under the direction of
the scholastic authorities to be held under the usual
regulations at the customary intervals.
2. The lectures and examinations to be continued during the
summer vacation, should they not have been completed during
the preceding term.
3. All those who without sufficient reason did not attend the
examinations or failed to pass them to be liable to all the
legal consequences thereof.
4. In particularly important cases autumn and supplementary
examinations to be permitted in the higher schools
exceptionally this year."
According to a later despatch from St. Petersburg to the
Associated Press, April 23d, the students of the university at
the capital were informed that day by the rector that "General
Vannoffsky, the Russian Minister of Public Instruction, had
refused to defer the examinations until autumn or make further
concessions to the students. Although the popular professor,
M. Petrozicky, pleaded against an action which would make it
difficult for a liberal minister to carry through his
benevolent intentions, the students decided by a vote of 684
to 649 against participating in the examinations. They
resolved, however, not to create obstruction and the minority
agreed to submit to the will of the majority. The
electro-technical, the civil engineering, the women's medical
and the women's academic institutions also will decide against
taking the examinations. The sincere friends of the students
regret the step in this respect, believing the students should
allow the recall of the absentees to come as an act of grace
from the Government and should not attempt to force
concessions."
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900-1901.
Operations in Manchuria.
Practical possession of the country.
Refusal of Chinese government to sign a demanded treaty.
See (in this volume)
MANCHURIA: A. D. 1900-1901.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1900-1901.
Strategic importance of Korea.
Ground of Japanese jealousy.
See (in this volume)
KOREA: A. D. 1900.
RUSSIA: A. D. 1901 (April).
Expulsion of Count Tolstoi.
His reply to the decree of excommunication.
A reply by Count Tolstoi to the decree of excommunication
pronounced against him by the Russian Church, some weeks
before, written at Moscow on the 13th of April, was published
in Paris on the 30th. As reported to the Associated Press, he
states in his reply that, in consequence of the decree, he has
received letters from ignorant people menacing him with death.
{428}
"He characterizes the decree as illegal or intentionally
equivocal, arbitrary, unjustified and full of falsehoods.
Moreover, he says, it constitutes an instigation to evil
sentiments and deeds. Count Tolstoi denounces the practices of
the church, and says he is convinced that the teaching of the
church, theoretically astute, is injurious, is a lie in
practice and is a compound of vulgar superstitions and
sorcery, under which entirely disappears the sense of
Christian doctrine."
By Press despatch from Vienna, April 23, it was reported that
a decree expelling Count Tolstoi from Russia had been signed
by the Tzar, and carried into execution.
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1891-1900.
The Trans-Siberian Railway.
Resources of Siberia and the Amur country.
The following account was reported to the British Foreign
Office in June, 1900:
"For over 30 years the question of constructing this line had
been a theme of interminable discussions and reports. Finally,
the following unmistakeably emphatic note of its Imperial
founder, the Emperor Alexander III., appended to a report on
the general condition of Siberia, moved the whole project
definitely forward as a thing that was to be and at once: 'How
many of these reports of the Governors-General of Siberia have
I perused, and with sorrow and shame must own that the
Government has hitherto hardly done anything to satisfy the
demands of this rich but neglected region! It is time, indeed
time!' A further equally emphatic and still briefer note,
added to a report of the Minister of Ways with regard to the
projected Ussuri route, is to form the appropriate inscription
to the monument to be erected at Vladivostock, the terminus of
his great work, to his late Imperial Majesty: 'The
construction of this railway must be begun forthwith.' The
first stone was laid at Vladivostock on May 19, 1891, by the
then Grand Duke Nicholas, now the reigning Emperor. … A
Siberian railway committee was formed under the presidency of
the then Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich, whose duties were
(1) to construct the main and necessary feeding lines;
(2) to take measures for the general commercial and industrial
development of Siberia; and
(3) to direct and control the colonisation movement.
"Taking the direction of the route, not as it was to have
been, but as it is or will be, we see that with Moscow as the
European centre point, and the Moscow-Samara-Cheliabinsk line
as its principal feeder, the main road runs from Cheliabinsk,
whence it really starts eastward, direct through mid-Siberia
to Lake Baikal, and thence, viâ Chita, to Stretensk on the
Shilka, a navigable tributary of the Amur. At present, the
projected course of the railway viâ the Amur has been
arrested, owing on the one hand to various technical
difficulties, and on the other to the facilities, political
and otherwise, conceded by China, and another direction, in
the nature of a short cut through Manchuria, has been entered
upon. The well-known agreement with China [see, in this
volume, CHINA: A. D. 1895] and the formation of the Chinese
Eastern Railway Company, rendering the original continuation
of the line from Stretensk less urgent, it has been resolved,
instead, to construct two direct lines to the Chinese
frontiers, from Kaidalovo on the main Siberian route on the
one side, and from the Ussuri or Habarovsk-Vladivostock line
on the other. These two lines, traversing Manchuria from
opposite directions, are to meet at Khulan-Chan (Khaorbin),
thence running southwards to Dalni and Port Arthur. Thus, we
see the three lines, the main Siberian road, which, except for
the brief stoppage at Lake Baikal, will run in a practically
straight and uninterrupted course from Cheliabinsk to
Vladivostock; the Ussuri line running northward through
Russian territory from Vladivostock to Habarovsk; and the
branch section from Khulan-Chan (Khaorbin), on the main line,
striking out southward through Eastern China to Dalni and Port
Arthur.
"As far as Russia is concerned, it may be said that her
portion of the work is practically ready, though much
re-laying and reconstruction may at any time be necessary. The
main line is open for regular traffic from Cheliabinsk to Lake
Baikal, and for provisional traffic to Stretensk. According to
the latest telegrams, regular traffic from Lake Baikal to
Stretensk is to be commenced on July 1/14, 1900. Thus, there
is now a direct run (excepting only the lake crossing of 60
versts (about 40 miles), from Moscow, viâ Samara, Cheliabinsk,
Omsk, and Irkutch, to Kaidalovo (252 versts—168 miles—this
side of Stretensk), whence the rail will turn off to Nagodan
on the Chinese frontier. This latter stretch, a distance of
325 versts (216 miles), will complete the work as regards
Russia. The Ussuri line, from Habarovsk to Vladivostock, has
been open for traffic since 1897. The Circum-Baikal connecting
line, round the southern bend of the lake, a distance of 292
versts (195 miles), remains to be laid, the lake being crossed
at present by steam ferries or ice-breakers. A new
ice-breaker, built in England, is now on its way in pieces to
Lake Baikal. It is the Manchurian sections, therefore, that at
present retard the consummation of the complete overland track
to Vladivostock. Nor, from recent accounts, does it seem
likely that the Chinese engaged in the work will bring it to a
conclusion much before 1902, if then. Even now, however, goods
can make their way through Siberia to Stretensk by rail, and
thence down the Shilka and the Amur to Habarovsk, or further
on, by the Ussuri line, to Vladivostock. As regards the
railroad from Port Arthur northward, the latest news brings it
to Telin, north of Mukden, trains with workmen running this
distance, some 500 versts. The Chinese Eastern Railway Company
promise to join Port Arthur to Vladivostock by October next,
it is said, but, even on the route already temporarily in
rough working order, dwellings, stations and permanent bridges
have yet to be built. Thus, there is now direct communication
between Moscow and Stretensk by rail, a distance of 6,471
versts (4,214 miles), and from Stretensk to Habarovsk and
Nikolaieff by the Shilka and Amur rivers, a further distance
to Habarovsk of about 2,000 versts (1,332 miles), and to
Nikolaieff, the mouth of the Amur, of over 3,000 versts (2,000
miles). The Amur is navigable from May to September, but for
shallow-draft vessels only.
"Various important European feeding lines have been
constructed, and others, partaking more of the character of
huge main thoroughfares are projected. Cheliabinsk, the
starting-point eastwards, is connected with Moscow by the
Zlatoust-Samara-Moscow Railway, which, touching the Volga at
Samara, crosses it at Sisran.
{429}
Two northern branches, the Tiumen-Perm, and
Kotlass-Viatka-Perm, meeting at Ekaterinburg, the capital of
the rich Ural mineral district, run into the main Siberian
line at Cheliabinsk. From this latter point, too, a new route
has long been projected direct to St. Petersburg, via Viatka
and Vologda. So that, while the future will connect
Cheliabinsk, and with it the main Siberian railway, in a
direct line with the Baltic, not as now via Moscow, the
present joins it on the one side with that city, the business
centre of Russia, and on the other to the new northern through
route, which, via Kotlass and Archangel, is this year to bring
the cereals of Siberia to London."
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications
(Papers by Command: Miscellaneous Series No. 533,
1900, pages 5-7).
"It may be a wild idea, but Russian engineers are actually
talking of a railroad from Stryetensk to Bering Strait, over a
comparatively easy route that does not enter the Arctic
Circle. This imaginary line, they hope, would connect with the
American line which is now being built to Dawson City, the
distance from which to Stryetensk is about three thousand
miles. If this road ever is completed they figure that New
York will be placed in railroad connection with London,
Calcutta and Cape Town."
A. H. Ford,
The Warfare of Railways in Asia
(Century, March, 1900).
"Siberia and the Amur lands are rich beyond belief. … This
vast territory, long looked upon as a barren waste, is
destined to be one of the world's richest and most productive
sections. In northern France, wheat ripens in 137 days; in
Siberia, in 107. Even heavy night frosts do not injure the
young seed. Under such conditions, the possibilities of
agriculture are practically unlimited. I may add that oats
require, in Siberia and in the Amur country, only 96 days, and
in the regions of the Yenisei only 107. The frost period lasts
only 97 days in the Irkutsk country. Transbaikalia lies
entirely within the agricultural regions; so, too, almost the
entire territory traversed by the Amur as far north as it
runs. Efforts are being made to obtain along the Amur at least
300,000 square kilometers (115,835 square miles) for the
higher forms of northern agriculture. Climatically, the best
of northern Asia's territory, for planting purposes, is the
Usuri country, which, in spite of its vast tracts of wood and
grazing lands, has 195,000 square kilometers (75,292 square
miles) of arable ground. The building of the Trans-Siberian
Railroad has already added to the Empire's wheat product.
"The mineral resources of western Siberia are vast. Between
Tomsk and Kooznesk lie 60,000 square kilometers (23,167 square
miles) of coal lands which have never been touched. The coal
is said to be excellent. In eastern Siberia, with its 280,000
square kilometers (108,112 square miles) of fruitful soil,
there are 400 places yielding gold. Rich mineral
deposits—graphite, lapis lazuli; iron mines, particularly rich
in quality (as high as 60 per cent); hard and soft coals, i.
e., black and brown coals—await hands willing to work for
them. To-day, thousands of colonists are hurrying to these
promising lands. Russia's output in gold and silver is already
very large, and is constantly increasing.
"The industries of Siberia are in their infancy; still, they
are growing and are bound to grow, so rich are the rewards
promised. Chemical, sugar, and paper mills have been put up in
several places and are paying well. Even Manchuria, a province so
vast that it might make an empire, is looking to Russia for
its future development. The wealth of this province, like that
of Siberia and all eastern Russia, is ripe for harvesting. The
traffic in Siberia and eastern Russia is increasing faster
than even the advocates of the great Trans-Siberian road
anticipated. The Ob, one of the world's big rivers, emptying
through the Gulf of Ob into the Arctic Ocean, has 102 steamers
and 200 tugs running already. On the Yenisei, 10 steamers
carry the mails regularly. The mouths of both these rivers
were visited last summer by English and Russian ships. This
proves the practicability of connecting eastern and western
Siberia with Europe by water."
United States Consular Reports,
November, 1899, page 411.
An official publication of the year 1900 from St. Petersburg,
furnished to American journals by the Russian embassy at
Washington, is the source of the following statements relative
to the rapid development of the vast Siberian country along
the line of the great railway:
"When viewed with reference to colonization Siberia divides
itself naturally into two zones, extending east and west, and
differing essentially from one another. The first of these
embraces the region traversed by the new Siberian railway, the
more populous southern portion of Siberia, in which the
conditions of climate and soil are favorable to the
development of agriculture and colonization. The other zone
occupies the extensive, deserted northern region, the land of
tundras, or polar marshes, with a constantly frozen subsoil
and a severe climate, a dreary tract of land totally unfit for
agriculture. Between these two zones stretches a broad belt of
forests of tall trees, partly primeval pine and fir, partly
leafy trees. The wealth of these broad agricultural and timber
areas is, moreover, augmented by mineral deposits of every
conceivable nature, as abundant and diversified as those of
America, and into this whole region immigration is pouring in
volume unequalled except in the history of American
colonization. Ever since the serfs were emancipated in 1861
they have formed the bulk of the emigrants from the thickly
populated agricultural districts of European Russia, but the
great tide of settlers in the new territory is only now
assuming tremendous proportions. During the twenty years'
period of 1860 to 1880 about 110,000 persons emigrated to
Siberia, while for the thirteen years from 1880 to 1892 there
were over 440,000, and for the succeeding years since the
great railway has been building the number of immigrants of
both sexes has been as follows:
1893, 65,000;
1894, 76,000;
1895, 109,000;
1896, 203,000;
1897, 87,000;
1898, 206,000;
1899, 225,000.
Total, 971,000.
According to the census of 1897, the population of Siberia had
risen to 8,188,368 inhabitants, of which the Russian peasantry
formed over 25 per cent."
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1899 (May).
Steps toward the abolition of transportation.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899 (MAY).
{430}
RUSSIA IN ASIA: A. D. 1900.
Russian railway building and railway projects in
Persia and Afghanistan.
By several writers who seem to have knowledge of what is doing
in those parts of the eastern world, it was reported in the
spring of 1900 that an active projection, planning, and
building (to some extent) of railroads in Persia and
Afghanistan was on foot among the Russians. From Tiflis, it
was said, their plans contemplated a line of rail to Teheran;
thence to be extended by one branch, southward, via Ispahan,
to the Persian Gulf, and by another branch westward to Herat,
in Afghanistan. From their Central Asian acquisitions they had
advanced their railway to within 70 miles of Herat, and were
said to be confidently expecting to push it on, through
Kandahar and through Baluchistan, to the Arabian Sea. If these
extensive plans could be carried out, and if Russian influence
in Persia, said to be growing fast, should become actually
controlling, the Muscovite Power would have made an enormous
gain, by planting itself on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
How far Russia can continue to press forward in this line of
policy without collision with Great Britain and with
Germany—which seems to have aims in the same direction,
through Asiatic Turkey—is an interesting question for the
future.
The following is from a despatch to the "London Times" from
its correspondent at Vienna, February 24, 1901:
"According to trustworthy information from Teheran, Russia is
particularly active just now in Persia and the Persian Gulf. …
The road from Resht to Teheran, which has been built by a
Russian company, is of no value for European trade in the
absence of an agreement with Russia respecting the transit
traffic through that country. European commerce is dependent
upon the long and expensive caravan routes via Trebizond,
Bushire, Baghdad, Mochamera,&c. These occupy from four to six
months."
RUSSO-CHINESE BANK, Concessions to the.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (FEBRUARY-DECEMBER).
S.
SAGASTA, Señor Praxedes Mateo:
Resignation from Spanish Ministry.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1895-1896.
SAGASTA, Señor Praxedes Mateo:
Return to power.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1897 (AUGUST-OCTOBER).
SAGASTA, Señor Praxedes Mateo:
Resignation.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1899.
SAGHALIEN.
See (in this volume)
SAKHALIN.
SAHARA, The: French possessions.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1882-1899.
ST. KITTS: Industrial condition.
See (in this volume)
WEST INDIES, THE BRITISH: A. D. 1897.
ST. LOUIS: A. D. 1896.
Republican National Convention.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
ST. VINCENT, The British colony of.
See (in this volume)
WEST INDIES, THE BRITISH: A. D. 1897.
SAKHALIN.
"Of late years … its increasing importance as a place of exile
for Russian political and criminal offenders has invested
Sakhalin with a certain interest, derived, perhaps, more from
penal associations than physical resources, which latter may,
when fully developed, materially affect trade and commerce in
the far East. The island of Sakhalin is 584 miles in length,
its breadth varying from 18 to 94 miles. The southern
extremity is separated from the island of Yezo, twenty miles
distant, by the Straits of La Perouse, and its western coast
by the shallow Gulf of Tartary (at one point barely five miles
across) from the mainland of Siberia. Although Dutch explorers
are said to have landed here in 1643, the first reliable
survey of the island was probably obtained in the year 1787 by
La Perouse. Russian fur traders followed in the early part of
the present century, but it was only in 1853 that,
disturbances having occurred with the natives, a score or so
of Cossacks were stationed at Dui on the west coast. In 1867
negotiations were entered into by the Russian and Japanese
Governments for joint occupation of Sakhalin, but the
subsequent discovery of coal, and consequent influx of Russian
convicts, rendered this arrangement highly unsatisfactory.
Further negotiations, therefore, ensued, with the result that,
in 1875, the island was formally ceded to Russia, Japan
receiving, in exchange, the entire Kurile Archipelago.
"Sakhalin is by no means easy of access. Even during the open
season (from May to September) but very few vessels visit the
island, and, with the exception of the monthly arrival of
convict-ships from Europe, and a couple of small Russian trading
steamers, there is no fixed service with Vladivostok, which, with
the exception of Nikolaefsk, is the only Siberian port whence
Sakhalin may, in three days, be reached. During the winter months
the island is completely ice-bound and unapproachable by water.
Communication with the mainland is then maintained by means of
dog-sledges, and the mails for Europe are dispatched across
the frozen Gulf of Tartary—a journey, under favourable
circumstances, of about three months. …
"Sakhalin is, for administrative purposes, divided into three
districts, viz.: Korsakovsky-Post in the south, Tymovsk in the
north, and Alexandrovsky-Post on the western coast. The
latter, which is situated in the centre of the coal district,
is a picturesque, straggling town of about 7,000 inhabitants,
consisting almost entirely of officials and convicts. This is
the most important penal settlement on the island, contains
the largest prison, and is, moreover, the residence of the
Governor of Sakhalin, a subordinate of the Governor-General of
Eastern Siberia. Alexandrovsky is garrisoned by about 1,500
men, and contains large foundries and workshops for convict
labour, but most of the prisoners are employed in the adjacent
coal mines of Dui. … Korsakovsky-Post, on the south coast, is
the next largest settlement, containing about 5,000 convicts
who are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits. Although it
may seem a paradox, the remaining prisons in the interior of
the island, Derbynskaya, Rykovskaya, and Onor are not prisons
at all, but huge wooden barracks, innocent of bolts and bars.
Here, also, the work done is solely agricultural."
Harry de Windt,
The Island of Sakhalin
(Fortnightly Review, May, 1897).
SALISBURY, Lord Robert Cecil, Marquis of:
Third Ministry.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1894-1895.
{431}
SALISBURY, Lord Robert Cecil, Marquis of:
Correspondence with the Government of the United States
on the Venezuela boundary question.
See (in this volume)
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1895 (JULY) and (NOVEMBER).
SALISBURY, Lord Robert Cecil, Marquis of:
Fourth Ministry.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1900 (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER).
SALISBURY, Lord Robert Cecil, Marquis of:
Tribute to Queen Victoria.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).
SALISBURY PLAIN: Purchase by Government.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARY).
SALVADOR.
See (in this volume)
CENTRAL AMERICA.
SALVATION ARMY, The:
Secession of the American Volunteers.
Late account of the Army's work.
Much feeling in the American branch of the Salvation Army, and
among those who valued its work, was caused in January, 1896,
by an order from the London headquarters of the Army recalling
Mr. Ballington Booth, who had been its American Commander for
nine years. Commander Booth and Mrs. Booth had been remarkably
successful in their organization and direction of the
Salvation Army work, and had won a high place in the esteem,
not only of their own followers, but of the American public at
large. A wide and strong movement of protest against their
removal from the field failed to change the London order,
which was said to be made in obedience to a necessary rule of
the Army against long service in any one post. Miss Eva Booth,
representing her father, General Booth, with Colonel Nicol, from
London, and Commandant Herbert Booth, from Canada, came to New
York as mediators, endeavoring to heal a threatened breach in
the ranks; but their mission failed. Commander Ballington
Booth resigned his office, and withdrew from the Salvation
Army service, declining to return to London. After a time, he
and Mrs. Booth became the heads of a new organization called
the "Volunteers of America," for religious work, not in
rivalry with that of the Salvation Army, but directed more
towards the awakening of the interest of the working people,
Mr. Ballington Booth was succeeded as Commander in America by
a son-in-law of General Booth, Commissioner Frederick St.
Clair Tucker. —For an account of the origin and growth of the
Salvation Army see, under that heading, in the Supplement
(volume 5) of the original edition of this work, or in volume
4 of the revised edition.
Of results accomplished in that part of the work of the
Salvation Army known as the "Darkest England Scheme," General
Booth wrote, early in 1900, an extended account in the "Sunday
Strand." He stated that the public had subscribed altogether
for his scheme about $1,300,000. "It is a debated point," he
wrote, "with the intelligent admirers of the scheme and the
careful observers of its progress whether the benefits
bestowed on the wretched classes for whom it was originated
have been greater within than without our borders. The
copyists of our plan have been legion, both at home and
abroad, in church and state. The representatives of the
different governments specially charged with the
responsibility for the outcast classes have been gradually
coming to appreciate the principles and methods involved in
the scheme, and to show willingness to cooperate in giving it
a chance. They have done this in two ways:
(1) In attempting similar tasks themselves;
(2) in using and subsidizing the army for doing the work for
them.
Many governments make grants to our various institutions in
varying amounts toward the cost of dealing with different
classes of the submerged."
The following is a summary of the agencies which have been set
at work by the general: "We have now 158 shelters and food
depots for homeless men and women, 121 slum posts, each with
its own slum sisters, 37 labor bureaus, (10 labor factories
for the unemployed, 11 land colonies, 91 rescue homes for
women, 11 labor homes for ex-criminals, several nursing
institutions, 2 maternity hospitals for deserted women, an
institution with branches in forty-five countries and colonies
for finding lost and missing persons, together with a host of
allied and minor agencies which I am not able here to
enumerate. The total number of institutions named above is now
545, under the care of more than 2,000 trained officers and
others wholly employed, all working in harmony with the
principles I have laid down for helping the poorest and most
unfortunate of their fellows, and all more or less experts at
their work.
"Nearly 20,000 destitute men and women are in some way or
other touched by the operations of the scheme every day. No
less than 15,000 wretched and otherwise homeless people are
housed under our roofs every night, having their needs met, at
least in part, with sympathy and prayer and the opportunity
for friendly counsel. More than 300 ex-criminals are to-day in
our houses of reformation, having before them another chance
for this life, and in many cases the first they have ever had
for preparing for the life to come. More than 5,000 women
taken from lives of darkness and shame are safely sheltered in
our homes each year, on the way—as we have abundantly proved
in the case of others, in respect of a large proportion of
them—to a future of virtue, goodness, and religion. Over 1,000
men are employed on the land colonies. Many of them are working
out their own deliverance, and at the same time helping to
solve one of the most difficult problems of modern times, and
proving that many of the helpless loafers of the great cities
can be made useful producers on the soil. Over the gates of
every one of these homes, elevators, labor factories, and
colonies there might be written: 'No man or woman need starve,
or beg, or pauperize, or steal, or commit suicide. If willing
to work, apply within. Here there is hope for all.'" General
Booth adds that he has always 2,000 women in the rescue homes
of the army.
SAMOAN ISLANDS, The:
Ending of the joint control of the Islands by Germany,
England and the United States.
Partition between Germany and the United States.
Retirement of England.
Said President Cleveland, in his annual Message to the
Congress of the United States, December 4, 1893: "Led by a
desire to compose differences and contribute to the
restoration of order in Samoa, which for some years previous
had been the scene of conflicting foreign pretensions and
native strife, the United States, departing from its policy
consecrated by a century of observance, entered [in 1889] …
into the, treaty of Berlin [see, in volume 4, SAMOA], thereby
becoming jointly bound with England and Germany to establish
and maintain Malietoa Laupepa as King of Samoa.
{432}
The treaty provided for a foreign court of justice; a
municipal council for the district of Apia, with a foreign
president thereof, authorized to advise the King; a tribunal
for the settlement of native and foreign land titles, and a
revenue system for the Kingdom. It entailed upon the three
powers that part of the cost of the new Government not met by
the revenue of the islands. Early in the life of this triple
protectorate the native dissensions it was designed to quell
revived. Rivals defied the authority of the new King, refusing
to pay taxes and demanding the election of a ruler by native
suffrage. Mataafa, an aspirant to the throne, and a large
number of his native adherents were in open rebellion on one
of the islands. Quite lately, at the request of the other
powers and in fulfillment of its treaty obligation, this
Government agreed to unite in a joint military movement of
such dimensions as would probably secure the surrender of the
insurgents without bloodshed. The war ship Philadelphia was
accordingly put under orders for Samoa, but before she arrived
the threatened conflict was precipitated by King Malietoa's
attack upon the insurgent camp. Mataafa was defeated and a
number of his men killed. The British and German naval vessels
present subsequently secured the surrender of Mataafa and his
adherents. The defeated chief and ten of his principal
supporters were deported to a German island of the Marshall
group, where they are held as prisoners under the joint
responsibility and cost of the three powers. This incident and
the events leading up to it signally illustrate the impolicy
of entangling alliances with foreign powers."
United States, Message and Documents
(Abridgment), 1893-1894.
In his next annual Message, December 3, 1894, the President
thus summarized the later situation in the islands: "The
suppression of the Mataafa insurrection by the powers and the
subsequent banishment of the leader and eleven other chiefs,
as recited in my last message, did not bring lasting peace to
the islands. Formidable uprisings continued, and finally a
rebellion broke out in the capital island, Upolu, headed in
Aana, the western district, by the younger Tamasese, and in
Atua, the eastern district, by other leaders. The insurgents
ravaged the country and fought the Government's troops up to
the very doors of Apia. The King again appealed to the powers
for help, and the combined British and German naval forces
reduced the Atuans to apparent subjection, not, however,
without considerable loss to the natives. A few days later
Tamasese and his adherents, fearing the ships and the marines,
professed submission. Reports received from our agents at Apia
do not justify the belief that the peace thus brought about
will be of long duration. It is their conviction that the
natives are at heart hostile to the present Government, that
such of them as profess loyalty to it do so from fear of the
powers, and that it would speedily go to pieces if the war
ships were withdrawn. … The present Government has utterly
failed to correct, if indeed it has not aggravated, the very
evils it was intended to prevent. It has not stimulated our
commerce with the islands. Our participation in its
establishment against the wishes of the natives was in plain
defiance of the conservative teachings and warnings of the
wise and patriotic men who laid the foundations of our free
institutions, and I invite an expression of the judgment of
Congress on the propriety of steps being taken by this
Government looking to the withdrawal from its engagements with

the other powers on some reasonable terms not prejudicial to
any of our existing rights."
United States, Message and Documents
(Abridgment, 1894-1895).
In the Message of 1895 the subject was again pressed on the
attention of Congress without result.
In August, 1898, Malietoa Laupepa died. By the Berlin Treaty
of 1889 "it was provided that in case any question should
arise in Samoa, respecting the rightful election of King, or
of any other Chief claiming authority over the islands, or
respecting the validity of the powers which the King or any
Chief might claim in the exercise of his office, such question
should not lead to war, but should be presented for decision
to the Chief Justice of Samoa, who should decide it in
writing, conformably to the provisions of the Act, and to the
laws and customs of Samoa not in conflict therewith, and that
the Signatory Governments would accept and abide by such
decision. After the death of Malietoa an exchange of views
took place between the Powers, and it was agreed that there
should be no interference with the right of the Samoans to
elect a King, and that the election should proceed strictly in
accordance with the provisions of the Final Act. Some time
elapsed before any action was taken, pending the completion of
certain ceremonial usages customary in Samoa on the death of a
High Chief. … As soon as the funeral ceremonies were at an end,
deliberation and discussion among the Chiefs ensued. There
were in the first instance several candidates for the
succession. Their number was eventually reduced to two:
1. Malietoa Tanu, the son of the late King.
2. The High Chief Mataafa.
This Chief had been in rebellion against Malietoa Laupepa, but
had suffered defeat, and with other Chiefs had been deported,
by agreement between the three Powers, to the Marshall
Islands. On the recommendation of the Consular officers at
Apia, the Powers, in July 1898, consented to his return. … On
the 19th September, Mataafa and the other exiled Chiefs landed
in Samoa. It does not appear that he took any overt steps to
claim the vacant throne, but a section of the natives
pronounced in his favour and announced on the 12th November to
the Consuls and to the Chief Justice that he had been duly
elected King. On the 13th November the opposing faction
declared that the real election of a King had not taken place,
and on the following day announced that their choice had
fallen upon Malietoa Tanu. Both parties appealed to Mr.
Chambers, the Chief Justice, who considered himself then in a
position to take cognisance of the matter, according to the
provisions of the Final Act, a question having arisen 'in
Samoa respecting the rightful election or appointment of
King.'"
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications
(Papers by Command: Samoa, Number 1, 1899).
The decision of the Chief Justice was in favor of Malietoa
Tanu, and the adherents of Mataafa took up arms, defeating
those of the favored candidate and driving many of them to
take refuge on British and German ships of war. Subsequent
events were related by the President of the United States in
his Message to Congress, December 5, 1899, as follows: "In
this emergency a joint commission of representatives of the
United States, Germany, and Great Britain was sent to Samoa to
investigate the situation and provide a temporary remedy.
{433}
By its active efforts a peaceful solution was reached for the
time being, the kingship being abolished and a provisional
government established. Recommendations unanimously made by
the commission for a permanent adjustment of the Samoan
question were taken under consideration by the three powers
parties to the General Act. But the more they were examined
the more evident it became that a radical change was necessary
in the relations of the powers to Samoa. The inconveniences
and possible perils of the tripartite scheme of supervision
and control in the Samoan group by powers having little
interest in common in that quarter beyond commercial rivalry
had been once more emphasized by the recent events. The
suggested remedy of the Joint Commission, like the scheme it
aimed to replace, amounted to what has been styled a
'tridominium,' being the exercise of the functions of
sovereignty by an unanimous agreement of three powers. The
situation had become far more intricate and embarrassing from
every point of view than it was when my predecessor, in 1894,
summed up its perplexities and condemned the participation in
it of the United States. The arrangement under which Samoa was
administered had proved impracticable and unacceptable to all
the powers concerned. To withdraw from the agreement and
abandon the islands to Germany and Great Britain would not be
compatible with our interests in the archipelago. To
relinquish our rights in the harbor of Pago Pago, the best
anchorage in the Pacific, the occupancy of which had been
leased to the United States in 1878 by the first foreign
treaty ever concluded by Samoa, was not to be thought of
either as regards the needs of our Navy or the interests of
our growing commerce with the East. We could not have
considered any proposition for the abrogation of the
tripartite control which did not confirm us in all our rights
and safeguard all our national interests in the islands. Our
views commended themselves to the other powers. A satisfactory
arrangement was concluded between the Governments of Germany
and of England, by virtue of which England retired from Samoa
in view of compensations in other directions, and both powers
renounced in favor of the United States all their rights and
claims over and in respect to that portion of the group lying
to the east of the one hundred and seventy-first degree of
west longitude, embracing the islands of Tutuila, Ofoo,
Olosenga, and Manua."
United States, Message and Documents (Abridgment),
1899-1900, volume 1.
The compensations to England "in other directions" were given
by Germany, in the following provisions of a treaty signed at
London, November 14, 1899:
"ARTICLE II.
Germany renounces in favour of Great Britain all her rights
over the Tonga Islands, including Vavau, and over Savage
Island, including the right of establishing a naval station
and coaling station, and the right of extra-territoriality in
the said islands. … She recognizes as falling to Great Britain
those of the Solomon Islands, at present belonging to Germany,
which are situated to the east and southeast of the Island of
Bougainville, which latter shall continue to belong to
Germany, together with the Island of Buka, which forms part of
it. The western portion of the neutral zone in West Africa, as
defined in Article V of the present Convention, shall also
fall to the share of Great Britain. …
"ARTICLE IV.
The arrangement at present existing between Germany and Great
Britain and concerning the right of Germany to freely engage
labourers in the Solomon Islands belonging to Great Britain
shall be equally extended to those of the Solomon Islands
mentioned in Article II, which fall to the share of Great
Britain.
"ARTICLE V.
In the neutral zone the frontier between the German and
English territories shall be formed by the River Daka as far
as the point of its intersection with the 9th degree of north
latitude, thence the frontier shall continue to the north,
leaving Morozugu to Great Britain, and shall be fixed on the
spot by a Mixed Commission of the two Powers, in such manner
that Gambaga and all the territories of Mamprusi shall fall to
Great Britain, and that Yendi and all the territories of Chakosi
shall fall to Germany.
"ARTICLE VI.
Germany is prepared to take into consideration, as much and as
far as possible, the wishes which the Government of Great
Britain may express with regard to the development of the
reciprocal Tariffs in the territories of Togo and of the Gold
Coast.
"ARTICLE VII.
Germany renounces her rights of extra-territoriality in
Zanzibar, but it is at the same time understood that this
renunciation shall not effectively come into force till such
time as the rights of extra-territoriality enjoyed there by
other nations shall be abolished."
To the treaty was appended the following "Declaration":
"It is clearly understood that by Article II of the Convention
signed to-day, Germany consents that the whole group of the
Howe Islands, which forms part of the Solomon Islands, shall
fall to Great Britain. It is also understood that the
stipulations of the Declaration between the two Governments
signed at Berlin on the 10th April, 1886, respecting freedom
of commerce in the Western Pacific, apply to the islands
mentioned in the aforesaid Convention. It is similarly
understood that the arrangement at present in force as to the
engagement of labourers by Germans in the Solomon Islands
permits Germans to engage those labourers on the same
conditions as those which are or which shall be imposed on
British subjects nonresident in those islands."
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publication,
(Papers by Command: Treaty Series, Number 7, 1900).
Article III of the general treaty between the United States,
Germany and Great Britain stipulated: "It is understood and
agreed that each of the three signatory Powers shall continue
to enjoy, in respect to their commerce and commercial vessels,
in all the islands of the Samoan group, privileges and
conditions equal to those enjoyed by the sovereign Power, in
all ports which may be open to the commerce of either of
them."
United States, 56th Congress, 1st Session,
Senate Document Number 157.
{434}
On the 17th of April, 1900, an "instrument of cession" was
signed by the marks of twenty-two chiefs, conveying to the
United States the islands of the Samoan group lying east of
the 171st degree of west longitude, and the American flag was
raised over the naval station at Pago-Pago. From Pago-Pago,
March 27, 1901, a Press despatch announced: "The natives under
the United States Government number 5,800, according to a
census just taken, while the natives in the other islands
under German rule number 32,000. The population has increased
very slightly in the last thirty years, and the main cause of
this failure to increase is the infant mortality, due to the
violation of the simplest health principles in the care and
diet of children. … Reports from the six islands under United
States control show that the natives are improving in general
conditions, and that they show a desire to keep their houses
neat and to educate their children. Not a single native has
been arrested for drunkenness since the Americans assumed
control of Tutuila island."
SAMPSON, Rear-Admiral William T.:
Commanding North Atlantic Station.
Blockade of Cuban ports.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY: CUBA).
SAMPSON, Rear-Admiral William T.:
Operations at Santiago de Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-JUNE).
SAMPSON, Rear-Admiral William T.:
Destruction of Spanish squadron.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 3).
SAN DOMINGO.
See (in this volume)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
SAN FRANCISCO: A. D. 1898.
New city charter.
A city charter of a quite new and experimental character was
adopted by popular vote in May, to go into effect at the
beginning of the year 1900. Its main features were described
at the time by the "New York Tribune," as follows:
"The formation of this charter is an advanced example of the
exercise of municipal home rule. The constitution of
California gives the cities of the state the uncommon
privilege of framing their own charters subject simply to the
veto power of the legislature. Exercising that right, the
people, acting through fifteen free-holders, elected for that
purpose, have drawn up the new charter. … If the legislature
approves, it will become the local constitution. The charter
provides for its own amendment by the people without appeal to
the legislature. So the present provisions of that instrument
may be only a form to be entirely remodeled by the city at its
own pleasure until it has no resemblance to the laws to which the
state authorities gave approval. That is an extreme delegation
of powers, such as we think has never before been made in an
American state. The mayor has large powers of appointment and
removal. He can suspend all elected officers except the
supervisors—the city legislators—who may remove those whom he
suspends, and he may remove at any time for cause all
appointive officers. The elective list is large, for, though
there are only eighteen supervisors, the number of places
filled by election each year is thirty. This is a great
departure from the charter-making practice recently prevalent,
which has tended to the election of only a few administrative
officers who are responsible for the selection of agents in
different departments. Attempt is made to centre
responsibility in the mayor, but the supervisors and the
people both can pass ordinances likely to interfere with that
responsibility. So the charter is as far as possible from
inaugurating the one-man power, which has been much advocated
as the cure for the ills which spring from a municipal
administration animated by no uniform purpose or
intelligence."
SAN JUAN HILL, Battle of.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
SAND RIVER CONVENTION, The.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1884-1894.
SANTIAGO DE CUBA: A. D. 1898(May-June).
Blockade of Spanish squadron in the Bay.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-JUNE).
SANTIAGO DE CUBA: A. D. 1898 (June-July).
Attack and investment by American army.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
SANTIAGO DE CUBA: A. D. 1898 (July 3).
Destruction of Spanish fleet.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 3).
SANTIAGO DE CUBA: A. D. 1898 (July 4-17).
Surrender of the city and Spanish forces.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 4-17).
SANTIAGO DE CUBA: A. D. 1898 (August).
Sickness in the American army.
Withdrawal of troops.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST: CUBA).
SARGON OF AKKAD.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA: AMERICAN EXPLORATION.
SAYINGS OF OUR LORD, Discovery of a fragment of the.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: DISCOVERY OF A FRAGMENT.
SCHLEY, Admiral W. S.:
In operations at Santiago de Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-JUNE).
SCHLEY, Admiral W. S.:
Destruction of Spanish squadron.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 3).
SCHOOLS.
See EDUCATION.
SCHREINER, W. P.:
Resignation of the Premiership of Cape Colony.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY): A. D. 1900 (APRIL-JUNE).
SCHWAN, General:
Military operations in the Philippine Islands.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1899 (JANUARY-NOVEMBER).
{435}
----------SCIENCE, RECENT: Start--------
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS.
ARCHÆOLOGICAL DISCOVERY.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS:
Acetylene Gas.
Acetylene gas has been known since 1832, when it was
discovered by Edmund Davy; but it remained a mere laboratory
product until 1892, when two experimenters, in America and
France, stumbled accidentally on the production, in an
electric furnace, of calcium carbide, which water decomposes,
readily yielding the gas in question. The American discoverer
was Mr. Thomas Willson, a Canadian electrician, residing at
Spray, North Carolina; his French rival was Professor Henry
Moisson, of Paris. The priority of Mr. Willson in the
discovery, or in the announcement of it, is most generally
recognized, and he secured patents in the United States and
elsewhere. Electrical developments since 1892 have economized
the manufacture of calcium carbide, by electric heat acting on
a mixture of lime and coke, and it has become an important
commercial product, at Niagara Falls and other seats of
electric power, bringing acetylene gas into extensive use as
an illuminant. There have been dangers and difficulties in the
use, however, not easily overcome.
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS:
Discovery of Argon and Helium.
"After Lord Rayleigh, in 1892, had proved that nitrogen
obtained from chemical combinations was about one-half per
cent lighter than that obtained from the atmosphere, a
determination that was again verified in 1894, Lord Rayleigh
and Professor Ramsay separated from atmospheric nitrogen an
elementary gas of great density which, by reason of its
chemical indifference, they called argon. They proved that
this gas formed about 0.8 or 0.9 per cent of the volume of
nitrogen, from which it could be separated either by
incandescent magnesium or by the continued action of the
electric spark. It was established beyond doubt that Cavendish
produced this gas a hundred years ago by the use of the
electric spark. Argon, either alone or accompanied by helium,
has also been found in natural waters as well as in minerals.
Its discovery in a meteorite of Augusta County, Virginia,
United States of America, may perhaps lead us to ascribe to it
an extra-terrestrial origin.
"The physical properties of argon are very distinct, and its
characteristic spectrum enables us to at once distinguish it
with certainty from any other substance, but from a chemical
point of view this gas is most extraordinarily inactive, and
we have not yet succeeded in making it form combinations as
the other elements do. This peculiarity, and also the
impossibility of finding a place in the periodic system for a
simple body having the molecular weight of argon (39.88), have
given rise to all sorts of hypotheses relative to the nature
of this gas. …
"Another most interesting discovery was that of helium, made
by Professor Ramsay. In 1891 Hillebrand showed that uranium
ore and ores of the same family when dissolved in acids or
fused with alkaline carbonates, or even merely heated in a
vacuum, may give off as much as 3 per cent of nitrogen.
Professor Ramsay obtained this gas from cleveite and by means
of spectroscopic examination demonstrated the presence of
argon; and in the course of his experiments—in March, 1895—he
observed beside the spectrum of argon another bright, yellow
line that did not belong to that spectrum, and which Crookes
recognized as identical with the line D that Lockyer had
already observed in 1868 in the spectrum of the solar
chromosphere, and which he had attributed to an element as yet
unknown upon the earth—helium. The same line had also been
distinguished in the spectra of other fixed stars,
particularly in the spectrum of Orion, so that it may be
admitted that helium exists in large quantities
extra-terrestrially. … On our planet it appears, on the
contrary, to be very rare, and may be ranked among the rarest
of elements. … "Helium is the lightest of all the gases except
hydrogen; Stoney deduces from this fact an explanation of the
existence of these two elements in but very small quantities
in a free state upon the face of the earth, while they are
distributed in enormous masses throughout the universe. The
comparatively small force of the earth's gravitation does not
form a sufficient counterpoise to the velocity of their
molecules, which therefore escape from the terrestrial
atmosphere unless restrained by chemical combination. They
then proceed to reunite around great centres of attraction,
such as the fixed stars, in whose atmospheres these elements
exist in large quantities."
C. Winkler,
The Discovery of new Elements within the last
twenty-five years
(Annual Report of Smithsonian Institution, 1897,
page 237, translated from Revue Scientifique,
4th series, volume 8).
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS:
Liquefaction of Oxygen, Hydrogen and Air.
"The most remarkable recent work in refrigeration is that of
Professor James Dewar, of the Royal Institution in London. The
feat of liquefying oxygen by a succession of approaches to its
critical temperature has been thus described by him, in an
interview which appeared in 'McClure's Magazine,' November,
1893: 'The process of liquefying oxygen, briefly speaking, is
this: Into the outer chamber of that double compressor I
introduce, through a pipe, liquid nitrous oxide gas, under a
pressure of about 1,400 pounds to the square inch. I then
allow it to evaporate rapidly, and thus obtain a temperature
around the inner chamber of -90° C. Into this cooled inner
chamber I introduce liquid ethylene, which is a gas at
ordinary temperatures, under a pressure of 1,800 pounds to
the square inch. When the inner chamber is full of ethylene,
its rapid evaporation under exhaustion reduces the temperature
to -135° C. Running through this inner chamber is a tube
containing oxygen gas under a pressure of 750 pounds to the
square inch. The critical point of oxygen gas—that is, the
point above which no amount of pressure will reduce it to a
liquid—is—115° C., but this pressure, at the temperature of
-145° C., is amply sufficient to cause it to liquefy rapidly.'
{436}
"In May, 1898, Professor Dewar, by the use of liquid oxygen,
succeeded in liquefying hydrogen, producing a liquid having
but one-fourteenth the specific gravity of water; this exploit
brought him within 21° of the absolute zero of centigrade. He
afterward reduced the liquid to solid form, attaining a
temperature estimated at four to five degrees lower. Faraday
and other investigators of an earlier day surmised that
hydrogen, when solidified, would prove to be a metal; now that
the feat of solidification has been accomplished, hydrogen
astonishes the physicist by displaying itself as non-metallic.
…
"For some years the plan was to employ a series of chemical
compounds, each with a lower boiling-point than its
predecessor in the process, and all troublesome and hazardous
in manipulation. A better method has been developed by keeping
to simple air from first to last, as in the apparatus of Dr.
Linde, of Dr. Hampson, and of Mr. Charles E. Tripler.
"As the Tripler machine does its work on a bolder scale than
either of the others, let its operation be briefly outlined:
Air is first compressed to 65 pounds pressure to the square
inch; through a second pump this pressure is exalted to 400
pounds, and with a third pump the pressure is carried to 2,500
pounds. After each compression the air flows through jacketed
pipes, where it is cooled by a stream of water. At the third
condensation a valve, the secret of whose construction Mr.
Tripler keeps to himself, permits part of the compressed air
to flow into a pipe surrounding the tube through which the
remainder is flowing. This act of expansion severely chills
the imprisoned air, which at last discharges itself in liquid
form—much as water does from an ordinary city faucet."
G. Iles,
Flame, Electricity and the Camera,
chapter 6 (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.).
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS:
Smokeless Powders.
"In recent years smokeless powders have largely superseded all
others. These contain usually nitro-cellulose (gun cotton), or
nitro-glycerine, or both, made up into a plastic, coherent,
and homogeneous compound of a gluey nature, and fashioned into
horn-like sticks or rods by being forced under pressure,
through a die plate having small holes, through which the
plastic material is strained into strings like macaroni, or
else is molded into tablets, pellets, or grains of cubical
shape. Prominent among those who have contributed to this art
are the names of Turpin, Abel and Dewar, Nobel, Maxim, Munroe,
Du Pont, Bernadou and others. In the recent years of the
Nineteenth Century great activity has been manifest in this
field of invention. In the United States more than 600
different patents have been granted for explosives, the larger
portion of them being for nitro-compounds which partake in a
greater or less degree of the qualities of gun cotton or
nitro-glycerine."
E. W. Byrn,
Progress of Invention in the 19th Century,
page 419.
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS:
X Rays.
The Discovery of Professor Rontgen.
"Fresh proofs await us of the supreme rank of both electricity
and photography as resources of art and science as we observe
the transcendent powers evoked by their union. From this union
no issue is more extraordinary, more weighty with meaning and
promise, than the X-ray pictures due to Professor Wilhelm
Konrad Rontgen. In these pictures he has but crowned labours
which began when Sir John Herschel noticed that a peculiar
blue light was diffused from a perfectly colourless solution
of quinine sulphate. Professor (now Sir) George Stokes
explained the phenomenon by showing that this blue light
consists of vibrations originally too rapid to be visible,
which are slowed down within the limits of perceptibility as
they pass through the liquid. …
"One path of approach to the achievement of Professor Röntgen
was opened by Sir John Herschel; another, as important, was
blazed and broadened by Professor (now Sir) William Crookes.
In 1874 and 1875 he was engaged upon the researches which gave
the world the radiometer, the tiny mill whose vanes rotate
with rays of light or heat. The action of this mill depends
upon its being placed in a glass bulb almost vacuous. When
such a bulb incloses rubies, bits of phenakite, or other
suitable objects, and electrical discharges are directed upon
them, they glow with the most brilliant luminescence known to
art. Excited by a cathode ray, that is, a ray from the
negative pole of an electrical machine, a Crookes bulb itself
shines with a vivid golden green ray which reminds the
onlooker of the fluorescence of earlier experiments. … "Year
by year the list of substances excitable to luminosity in a
Crookes bulb has been lengthened, and in 1894 it was the good
fortune of Professor Philipp Lenard to discover a wonderful
power of such a bulb. Emerging from it was a cathode ray which
passed nearly as freely through a thin plate of aluminium as
common sunshine does through a pane of glass. Hertz had, a few
years previously, discovered that metals in very thin sheets
were virtually transparent (or, to use Mr. Hyndman's term,
transradiable) to his electric waves. This property was found
by Professor Lenard to extend to the cathode ray and in a much
higher degree. … The ultra-violet ray of ordinary light has
the singular power of causing the gases which it may traverse
to become conductors of electricity, with the effect of
discharging an electrified metallic plate; this property is
shared by cathode rays. Associated with them are the rays of
still more extraordinary powers, discovered by Professor
Röntgen. In his own words let his achievement be recounted, as
published in 'McClure's Magazine,' April, 1896.
"'I have been for a long time interested in the problem of the
cathode rays from a vacuum tube as studied by Hertz and
Lenard. I had followed their and other researches with great
interest, and determined, us soon as I had the time, to make
some researches of my own. This time I found at the close of
last October. I had been at work for some days when I
discovered something new.' 'What was the date?' 'The 8th of
November.' 'And what was the discovery?' 'I was working with a
Crookes tube covered by a shield of black cardboard. A piece
of barium platino-cyanide paper lay on the bench there. I had
been passing a current through the tube, and I noticed a
peculiar black line across the paper.' 'What of that?' 'The
effect was one which could only be produced, in ordinary
parlance, by the passage of light. No light could come from
the tube, because the shield which covered it was impervious
to any light known, even that of the electric arc.' 'And what
did you think?' 'I did not think; I investigated. I assumed
that the effect must have come from the tube, since its
character indicated that it could come from nowhere else. I
tested it. In a few minutes there was no doubt about it. Rays
were coming from the tube which had a luminescent effect upon
the paper.
{437}
I tried it successfully at greater and greater distances, even
at two metres. It seemed at first a new kind of invisible
light. It was clearly something new, something unrecorded.'
'Is it light?' 'No.' 'Is it electricity?' 'Not in any known
form.' 'What is it?' 'I don't know.' And the discoverer of the
X rays thus stated as calmly his ignorance of their essence as
has everybody else who has written on the phenomena thus far.
"'Having discovered the existence of a new kind of rays, I of
course began to investigate what they would do.' He took up a
series of cabinet-sized photographs. 'It soon appeared from
tests that the rays had penetrative power to a degree hitherto
unknown. They penetrated paper, wood, and cloth with ease; and
the thickness of the substance made no perceptible difference,
within reasonable limits.' He showed photographs of a box of
laboratory weights of platinum, aluminium, and brass, they and
the brass hinges all having been photographed from a closed
box, without any indication of the box. Also a photograph of a
coil of fine wire, wound on a wooden spool, the wire having
been photographed and the wood omitted.
"'The rays,' he continued, 'passed through all the metals
tested, with a facility varying, roughly speaking, with the
density of the metal. These phenomena I have discussed
carefully in my report to the Würzburg Society, and you will
find all the technical results therein stated.' He showed a
photograph of a small sheet of zinc. This was composed of
smaller plates soldered laterally with solders of different
metallic proportions. The differing lines of shadow caused by
the difference in the solders were visible evidence that a new
means of detecting flaws and chemical variations in metals had
been found. A photograph of a compass showed the needle and
dial taken through the closed brass cover. The markings of the
dial were in red metallic paint, and thus interfered with the
rays, and were reproduced. 'Since the rays had this great
penetrative power, it seemed natural that they should
penetrate flesh, and so it proved in photographing the hand,
as I showed you.'" …
"Provided with a Röntgen bulb, the photographer passes from
the exterior to the interior of an object, almost as if he
were a sorcerer with power to transmute all things to glass.
Equipped with a simple X-ray apparatus, dislocations and
fractures are detected by the surgeon, diseases of bones are
studied, and shot, needles, and bits of glass or corroding
wire within the muscles of a patient are located with
exactitude. Thanks to the work of Mr. Mackenzie Davidson, the
like detection of renal calculi can be looked forward to with
a fair degree of certainty. The same means of exploration
offers equal aid to medicine: it demonstrates the
calcification of arteries, and aneurysms of the heart or of
the first part of the aorta; with improved methods it may be
possible to study fatty degenerations of the arteries and
larger blood-vessels. Dr. C. M. Mouillin, addressing the
Röntgen Society of London as its president, states that the
fluorescent screen has now reached such a degree of perfection
that the minutest movement of the heart and lungs, and the
least change in the action of the diaphragm, can be watched
and studied at leisure in the living subject. He considers it
probable that the examination of a patient's chest with this
screen may become as much a matter of common routine as with
the stethoscope to-day. …
"Manifestly, the unseen universe which enfolds us is steadily
being brought to the light of day. The investigations of Hertz
established that the light-waves which affect the eye are but
one octave in a gamut which sweeps indefinitely far both above
and below them. In his hands, as in those of Joseph Henry long
before, electric waves found their way through the walls and
floors of a house; in the Marconi telegraph these waves pass
through the earth or a fog, a mist or a rain-storm, with
little or no hindrance. What does all this mean? Nothing less
than that, given its accordant ray, any substance whatever is
permeable, and that, therefore, to communicate between any two
places in the universe is simply a question of providing the
right means."
G. Iles,
Flame, Electricity and the Camera,
chapter 24 (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.).
In an article made public in the "New York Tribune" of January
6, 1901, Professor John Trowbridge, of Harvard University,
expressed his anticipations from the further improvement of
the use of the X rays, as follows: "At present all of the
great hospitals of the world examine injuries of the
extremities of the human body by means of these rays. In some
cases the thicker portions of the body can be studied by their
means. There is, however, much to be desired in the method,
for in general the rays exhibit only the shadows of the bones
of the extremities, or reveal at most the regions of greatest
density in the body. If the muscles and tendons or the veins
and arteries could be studied by means of these rays, an
immense aid to surgery would result. Some experiments I have
conducted with currents of great strength, lead me to believe
that much can be done in this direction, for I have in certain
cases obtained unmistakable traces of muscles and tendons, and
the direction in which to advance is becoming clearer. The use
of the X rays is not confined to the examination of the body.
Together with the ultra violet rays, the X rays are used to
cure cutaneous disorders. We are realizing that electricity is
an important factor in health and disease. The investigations
which have resulted from the discovery of these rays have
opened wide vistas in the molecular world."
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
Power.
Lighting.
Electro-chemical and Electro-metallurgical works.
The development at Niagara Falls.
"There were perhaps not more than twenty trolley cars in
actual service in 1887, and these were of doubtful success.
There were no regularly constituted electric railways worthy
of the name. The telephone and electric-lighting wires were
largely overhead, and frequently the construction was of the
most imperfect and temporary character. … Within the past
eight or ten years much has been done in the perfection of
thoroughly practical forms of meters and other instruments for
the measurement of electric forces and quantities. While such
work resembles in its delicacy that demanded by watch
mechanism, on the other hand the large station dynamos are
examples of the heaviest machine construction. … A few years
ago a dynamo was large if it demanded 100 or 200 horsepower to
drive it, while now such machines are diminutive when compared
with those of 2,000 horsepower commonly constructed.
{438}
Dynamos are in use at Niagara of 5,000 horsepower capacity. A
single one of these would supply more than 50,000 incandescent
lights such as are ordinarily used, or would give motion to
500 trolley cars. The period since 1887 has been marked by
great extension in electric lighting by both arc and
incandescent lamps. … One of the chief factors in this great
extension has been the application of alternating electric
currents, or currents of wave-like nature, reversing their
direction many times in each second. The direct or continuous
current had previously occupied the field alone. But the
alternating current possessed the advantage of readily
permitting the sending out over a long distance of a high
pressure current with but little loss and by means of
comparatively small and inexpensive lines. This current,
relatively dangerous, could then be exchanged for a safe
low-pressure current on the house mains for working the
lights. The device which makes the exchange is called a
transformer. It is in reality a modified induction coil—a
simple structure of copper wire, sheet-iron, and insulating
materials, with no moving parts to need attention or to get
out of order. The properties and use of the transformer in an
alternating-current system were comparatively unknown before
1887, but since that time it has played a part in electric
development the importance of which cannot easily [not?] be
overestimated. It has been, furthermore, brought to a high
degree of perfection by the persistent and painstaking effort
of numerous workers. In transforming a current of high
pressure to one of lower pressure, or the reverse, only a very
slight loss of power or energy is suffered. On a large scale,
this loss is barely 3 per cent of the energy of the
transformed current. The larger sizes of transformers now in
use have capacities equivalent to considerably over 1,000
horsepower. Some of these structures are employed at Niagara
and others at Buffalo. As in the case of the apparatus just
mentioned, the effort spent in the perfection of the huge
dynamo-electric generators used in lighting and power stations
has resulted in machines so perfect as to leave but little
chance of further increase of effectiveness. They waste only a
small percentage in converting mechanical power into
electrical energy, and run for years with but little attention
or need of repairs. Along with all this improvement has gone a
like betterment in the thousand and one details and minor
devices which go to make up an electric system. …
"Perhaps … no better example of the varied application of
electric energy exists than at Niagara. Certainly no grander
exemplification of the way in which electric forces may be
called into play, to replace other and unlike agencies, can be
cited. Here at Niagara we may forcibly realize the importance
of cheap and unfailing power developed from water in its fall.
We find the power of huge water wheels delivered to the
massive dynamos for giving out electric energy. This energy is
variously employed. The electric lighting of the city of
Niagara and surroundings and the electric railways naturally
depend upon the water power. Besides these, which may be
termed the ordinary applications of electricity, there are
clustered at Niagara a number of unique industrial
establishments, the importance of which will undoubtedly
increase rapidly. In the carborundum factory we find huge
furnaces heated by the passage of electric current, and
attaining temperatures far beyond those of the ordinary
combustion of fuel. These electric furnaces produce
carborundum, a new abrasive nearly as hard as the diamond,
which is a combination of carbon and silicon, unknown before
the electric furnace gave it birth. Sand and coke are the raw
substances for its production, and these are acted upon by the
excessively high heat necessary to form the new product,
already in extensive use for grinding hard materials. The
metal aluminum, which not many years ago cost $2 an ounce, is
now produced on a large scale at Niagara, and sold at a price
which makes it, bulk for bulk, cheaper than brass. Here,
again, electricity is the agent; but in this case its power of
electrolyzing or breaking up strong chemical unions is
employed. … Works for the production of metallic sodium and
other metals similarly depend upon the decompositions effected
by the electric current. Solutions of ordinary salt or brine
are electrolyzed on a large scale in extensive works
established for the purpose. … The very high temperature which
exists in an electric arc, or between the carbons of an arc lamp,
has in recent years found application in the manufacture of
another important compound, which was formerly but slightly
known as a chemical difficult to prepare. Carbide of calcium
is the compound referred to, and large works for its
production exist at Niagara. Here again, as in the carborundum
works, raw materials of the simplest and cheapest kind are
acted upon in what may be termed an electric-arc furnace.
Coke, or carbon, and lime are mixed and charged into a furnace
in which an enormous electric arc is kept going. … The
importance of carbide of calcium rests in the fact that, by
contact with water, it produces acetylene gas. The
illuminating power of this gas, when burned, is its remarkable
property.
"It will be seen that the metallurgical and chemical
developments at Niagara are the direct outgrowth of electrical
utilization of water power. With many water powers, however,
the outlet for the application of the electrical energy exists
many miles away from the place at which the water power is
found. Even at Niagara there is an example of the beginning of
long-distance transmission, by a high-pressure line extending to
Buffalo and delivering electric energy to an electric station
there. In this case 'step-up' transformers, as they are
called, are employed at the Niagara power plant to step up or
raise the electrical pressure or potential from that given by
the dynamos to that required for the transmission to Buffalo.
This transformation is from about 2,500 up to 10,000 volts. At
the Buffalo end the reverse process is carried on by 'step-down'
transformers, and the energy is delivered to the trolley lines
at about 500 volts. … The whole Niagara plant has grown into
existence within the past five years, and as a consequence of
the technical advances within the period of the past ten
years. There are, however, in active operation, besides the
Niagara power plant, several other water-power transmissions,
some of them far exceeding in distance that between Niagara
and Buffalo, and some in which the amount of power conveyed,
as well as the pressure of the current used upon the line, is
much greater than is yet to be found at Niagara. … No limit
can as yet be definitely set as to the distance which can be
covered in an electrical transmission. … It may be said that
at present the range of distances is between 30 and 100 miles.
…
{439}
"Electricity seems destined at no distant day to play an
important part in revolutionizing passenger traffic between
large centers of population. The facility with which electric
service may be superposed on ordinary steam roads will greatly
further this development. The work with the third-rail system,
undertaken by one of our prominent railway organizations, has
abundantly demonstrated the practicability of such
superposition. The future will witness the growing
substitution of either single motor cars or two or three
coupled cars for long, heavy trains drawn by locomotives, and
a more frequent service will result. There is an eventual
possibility of higher average speeds, since stops will not
consume much time, and the time required to recover the speed
after a stop will be much less than at present. … The heating
power of the electric current is now utilized in a variety of
ways. Electric welding machinery has been put into service
either for accomplishing results which were not possible to be
obtained before its development, or to improve the work and
lessen the cost."
Elihu Thomson,
Electrical Advance in Ten Years
(Forum, January, 1898).
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
Development of Power at Niagara Falls.
The following description of the engineering work by which
Niagara was harnessed to turbines and dynamos, for an enormous
development of electrical power, is taken from a paper read by
Mr. Thomas Commerford Martin, of New York, at a meeting of the
Royal Institution of Great Britain, June 19, 1896, and printed
in the Proceedings of the Institution, Volume 15; reprinted in
the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1896, page
223:
"Niagara is the point at which are discharged, through two
narrowing precipitous channels only 3,800 feet wide and 160
feet high, the contents of 6,000 cubic miles of water, with a
reservoir area of 90,000 square miles, draining 300,000 square
miles of territory. The ordinary overspill of this Atlantic
set on edge has been determined to be equal to about 75,000
cubic feet per second, and the quantity passing is estimated
as high as 100,000,000 tons of water per hour. The drifting of
a ship over the Horse Shoe Fall has proved it to have a
thickness at the center of the crescent of over 16 feet.
Between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario there is a total difference
of level of 300 feet, and the amount of power represented by
the water at the falls has been estimated on different bases
from 6,750,000 horsepower up to not less than 16,800,000
horsepower, the latter being a rough calculation of Sir
William Siemens, who, in 1877, was the first to suggest the
use of electricity as the modern and feasible agent of
converting into useful power some of this majestic but
squandered energy. …
"It was Mr. Thomas Evershed, an American civil engineer, who
unfolded the plan of diverting part of the stream at a
considerable distance above the falls, so that no natural
beauty would be interfered with, while an enormous amount of
power would be obtained with a very slight reduction in the
volume of the stream at the crest of the falls. Essentially
scientific and correct as the plan now shows itself to be, it
found prompt criticism and condemnation, but not less quickly
did it rally the able and influential support of Messrs. W. B.
Rankine, Francis Lynde Stetson, Edward A. Wickes, and Edward
D. Adams, who organized the corporate interests that, with an
expenditure of £1,000,000 in five years, have carried out the
present work. So many engineering problems arose early in the
enterprise that after the survey of the property in 1890 an
International Niagara Commission was established in London,
with power to investigate the best existing methods of power
development and transmission, and to select from among them,
as well as to award prizes of an aggregate of £4,400. This
body included men like Lord Kelvin, Mascart, Coleman Sellers,
Turrettini, and Dr. Unwin, and its work was of the utmost
value. Besides this the Niagara Company and the allied
Cataract Construction Company enjoyed the direct aid of other
experts, such as Prof. George Forbes, in a consultative
capacity; while it was a necessary consequence that the
manufacturers of the apparatus to be used threw upon their
work the highest inventive and constructive talent at their
command.
"The time-honored plan in water-power utilization has been to
string factories along a canal of considerable length, with
but a short tail race. At Niagara the plan now brought under
notice is that of a short canal with a very long tail race.
The use of electricity for distributing the power allows the
factories to be placed away from the canal, and in any
location that may appear specially desirable or advantageous.
The perfected and concentrated Evershed scheme comprises a
short surface canal 250 feet wide at its mouth, 1¼ miles above
the fans, far beyond the outlying Three Sisters Islands, with
an intake inclined obliquely to the Niagara River. This canal
extends inwardly 1,700 feet, and has an average depth of some
12 feet, thus holding water adequate to the development of
about 100,000 horsepower. The mouth of the canal is 600 feet
from the shore line proper, and considerable work was
necessary in its protection and excavation. The bed is now of
clay, and the side walls are of solid masonry 17 feet high, 8
feet at the base, and 3 feet at the top. The northeastern side
of the canal is occupied by a power house, and is pierced by
ten inlets guarded by sentinel gates, each being the separate
entrance to a wheel pit in the power house, where the water is
used and the power is secured. The water as quickly as used is
carried off by a tunnel to the Niagara River again. …
"The wheel pit, over which the power house is situated, is a
long, deep, cavernous slot at one side, under the floor, cut
in the rock, parallel with the canal outside. Here the water
gets a fall of about 140 feet before it smites the turbines.
The arrangement of the dynamos generating the current up in
the power house is such that each of them may be regarded as
the screw at the end of a long shaft, just as we might see it
if we stood an ocean steamer on its nose with its heel in the
air. At the lower end of the dynamo shaft is the turbine in
the wheel pit bottom, just as in the case of the steamer shaft
we find attached to it the big triple or quadruple expansion
marine steam engine. …
{440}
The wheel pit which contains the turbines is 178 feet in
depth, and connects by a lateral tunnel with the main tunnel
running at right angles. This main tunnel is no less than
7,000 feet in length, with an average hydraulic slope of 6
feet in 1,000. It has a maximum height of 21 feet, and a width
of 18 feet 10 inches, its net section being 386 square feet.
The water rushes through it and out of its mouth of stone and
iron at a velocity of 26½ feet per second, or nearly 20 miles
an hour. More than 1,000 men were employed continuously for
more than three years in the construction of this tunnel. …
"The American Company has also pre-empted the great
utilization of the Canadian share of Niagara's energy. The
plan for this work proposes the erection of two power houses
of a total ultimate capacity of 125,000 horsepower. … With
both the Canadian and American plants fully developed, no less
than 350,000 horsepower will be available."
"Within the last five years," said the "Electrical Review," in
a "historical number" issued at the beginning of 1901, "there
have been built in many parts of the world electrical
installations of great magnitude, transmitting the power of
cataracts for considerable distances. The longest of these, in
California, operates over a distance of 115 miles. Perhaps the
largest of them is that at Niagara, where 105,000 horse power
is developed, and much of it transmitted … to the city of
Buffalo"—20 miles.
The first transmission of power from Niagara Falls to Buffalo
was made at midnight, November 15-16, 1896, when 1,000
horsepower was sent over the wires to the power-house of the
Buffalo Railway Company. The important event was signalled to
the citizens by the firing of cannon, the ringing of bells and
sounding of steam whistles.
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
The rotary magnetic field.
Polyphased currents.
Nikola Tesla's inventions.
"At about the same time [1888], Galileo Ferraris, in Italy,
and Nikola Tesla, in the United States, brought out motors
operating by systems of alternating currents displaced from
one another in phase by definite amounts and producing what is
known as the rotating magnetic field. This invention seems
destined to be one of the most important that has been made in
the history of electricity. The result of the introduction of
polyphase systems has been the ability to transmit power
economically for considerable distances, and, as this directly
operated to make possible the utilization of water-power in
remote places and the distribution of power over large areas,
the immediate outcome of the polyphase system was power
transmission; and the outcome of power transmission almost
surely will be the gradual supersession of coal and the
harnessing of the waste forces of Nature to do useful work."
Electrical Review,
January 12, 1901.
The following description of Tesla's invention was given by N.
W. Perry in the "Engineering Magazine": "If the north and
south poles of a small horseshoe magnet be suspended over a
bar of soft iron free to revolve in a horizontal plane, or be
placed over an ordinary compass-needle, the latter will be
attracted at either end by the poles of the magnet and take up
a position parallel to a straight line drawn between the two
poles of the magnet. Now if the latter be revolved through any
angle the soft iron or needle will follow, being dragged
around by the magnet, and if the magnet be caused to revolve
regularly the iron will also revolve, being pulled around by
the full force of the magnet. It was not feasible, however, to
cause the magnet to revolve in this way, and Tesla's invention
consisted in obviating this trouble and, in fact, greatly
simplifying the problem. He conceived the idea that if he took
an iron ring and used two alternating currents, one of which had
its maximum value at the instant that the other had a zero
value—or, in other words, two currents whose periods were such
that one waned as the other increased—he could produce in that
iron ring by winding these circuits in alternate coils
surfaces that without any mechanical movement of the parts
would travel around that ring with a rapidity equal to the
number of changes of direction of the currents employed. He

thus had a ring, the north and south poles of which were
rapidly revolving just as would the poles of the horseshoe
magnet were it tied at its middle to a twisted string and
allowed to revolve. A piece of iron pivoted at its middle
placed concentric with this ring would therefore be dragged
around by the changing poles of the ring. He had thus
discovered what is somewhat awkwardly expressed by the
expression, 'the rotary magnetic field,' and also the use of
what have been termed 'polyphased currents'—the one referring
to the magnetism and the other to the combination of currents
by which this changing magnetism was produced. This discovery
is undoubtedly one of the most important that has ever been
made within the domain of alternating currents."
Engineering Magazine,
volume 7, page 780.
Another of Tesla's inventions or discoveries which excited
greater popular interest was that which produced what were
called "high frequency effects," first publicly shown in
connection with a lecture at Columbia College, in the spring
of 1890. "Mr. Tesla started with the idea of setting matter
into vibration at a rate approximating that of light (some two
and a half millions a second), with the expectation that
under such violent molecular agitation it would emit light. He
has not as yet succeeded in obtaining so high a rate, but a
much lower one produced some very surprising luminous effects.
… The dynamo method for getting very high frequencies was soon
abandoned as inadequate, and the oscillatory discharge of a
Leyden jar or plate condensers was substituted. … Perhaps the
most surprising of the new facts elicited from his
investigations is that the shock due to these very high
voltage and high frequency currents can be supported by a
person without any serious inconvenience. He passes a current
of two hundred thousand volts through his body with perfect
impunity."
F. J. Patten,
New Science Review,
volume 1, page 84.
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
Development of the Telephone System.
The annual report of the American Telephone and Telegraph
Company (by which the property and business of the American
Bell Telephone Company were taken over at the close of the
year 1899) for the year ending December 31, 1900, contains the
following brief review of the development and growth of the
telephone system, especially in the United States: "The year
just passed rounds out the quarter century, within which is
compassed the discovery and application of the art of
transmitting speech by telephone.
{441}
A brief review of the development and growth of this new
industry, which has become so important a factor in commercial
and social life, seems appropriate at this time. Twenty-five
years ago the wonderful invention of Professor Bell was made
known to the world. Twenty-three years ago the first telephone
exchange in the world was established in the United States, and
from that beginning has been built up the great system of
exchanges, and the network of connecting lines over which
conversation can be held between points over a thousand miles
apart. Twenty years ago there were 47,880 telephone
subscribers in the United States, and 29,714 miles of wire in
use for telephonic purposes. At the end of last year, there
were 800,880 exchange stations equipped with our instruments,
and 1,961,801 miles of wire were employed for exchange and
toll line service. The United States has, from the beginning,
held the leading place among nations in respect not only of
the extensive development of the business, but in the
employment of modern and improved appliances, tending to
greater efficiency of service.
"In connection with the record of development of telephone
service in this country, some comparison of the systems of
foreign countries is of interest. The latest reports that can
be obtained, part of which are for the year 1899, others to
the close of 1900, show the countries next in order to the
United States, as respects the development of telephone
service, to be the German Empire, having 229,391 stations;
Great Britain, 171,660; Sweden, 73,500; France, 59,927;
Switzerland, 38,864: Austria, 32,255; Russia, 31,376;
Norway, 29,446.
"As before stated, there were, at the close of last year, more
than 800,000 stations connected with the exchanges of our
licensee companies, which exceeds the aggregate number of
subscribers in all the countries of Continental Europe. In
addition to this, there were over 40,000 private line stations
equipped with our telephones. The number of exchange and toll
line connections in the United States now reaches almost two
thousand millions yearly."
More detailed and precise statistics of the telephone service
in the United States are given in the report as follows:
January 1, January 1,
1892. 1901.
Exchanges. 788 1,348
Branch offices. 509 1,427
Miles of wire on poles. 180,139 627,897
Miles of wire on buildings. 14,954 16,833
Miles of wire underground. 70,334 705,269
Miles of wire submarine. 1,029 4,203
Total miles of wire. 266,456 1,354,202
Total circuits. 186,462 508,262
Total employees. 8,376 32,837
Total stations. 216,017 800,880
The estimated number of exchange connections daily in the
United States, made up from actual count in most of the
exchanges, is 5,668,986. Or a total per year of about
1,825,000,000. The number of daily calls per station varies in
different exchanges from 1 to 15.9, the average throughout the
United States being 7.1. The average cost to the subscriber
varies according to the size of the exchange and character of
the service, from less than 1 to 9 cents per connection.
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
Dr. Pupin's revolutionary improvement
in long-distance Telephony.
The most important advance in telephonic science that has been
made since the invention of the Bell instrument was announced
at about the beginning of the new century, as the result of
studies pursued by Dr. Michael I. Pupin, of Columbia
University, New York. Mathematical and experimental
investigations which Dr. Pupin had been carrying on, for
several years, led him to a determination of the precise
intervals at which, if inductance coils are inserted in a long
conductor, an electric current in traversing it may be made to
travel far without much loss of force. He is said to have
taken a hint from seeing how waves of vibration in a cord are
strengthened by lightly "loading" it at certain exact points,
determined by the wave lengths. It is probably correct to
describe his invention as being a scientific ascertainment of
the points in a long telephonic circuit at which to load the
electric current in it, and the precise loading to be applied.
In a paper published in the "Western Electrician," describing
his investigations mathematically, Dr. Pupin wrote: "If an
increase in efficiency of wave transmission over a cord thus
loaded is to be obtained, it is evident that the load must be
properly subdivided and the fractional parts of the total load
must be placed at proper distances apart along the cord,
otherwise the detrimental effects due to reflections resulting
from the discontinuities thus introduced will more than
neutralize the beneficial effects derived from the increased
mass. … The insertion of inductance coils at periodically
recurring points along the wave conductor produces the same
effect upon electrical wave transmission as the distribution
of the small loads along the stretched cord … produces upon
mechanical wave transmission along the cord."
The result is said to be that conversation by telephone over a
distance of 3,000 miles is made not only practicable but easy,
and that it is believed to be as practicable through submarine
cables as through overland wires. If it does not make the
telephone a common instrument of communication from continent
to continent, it will, at least, improve oceanic telegraphy
beyond measure. According to newspaper report, Dr. Pupin's
invention has been sold to the Bell Telephone Company for a
very large sum.
ELECTRICAL SCIENCE:
Wireless Telegraphy.
"In 1864 Maxwell observed that electricity and light have the
same velocity, 186,400 miles a second, and he formulated the
theory that electricity propagates itself in waves which
differ from those of light only in being longer. This was
proved to be true by Hertz, in 1888, who showed that where
alternating currents of very high frequency were set up in an
open circuit, the energy might be conveyed entirely away from
the circuit into the surrounding space as electric waves. … He
demonstrated that electric waves move with the speed of light,
and that they can be reflected and refracted precisely as if
they formed a visible beam. At a certain intensity of strain
the air insulation broke down, and the air became a conductor.
This phenomenon of passing quite suddenly from a
non-conductive to a conductive state is … also to be noted
when air or other gases are exposed to the X ray.
{442}
"Now for the effect of electric waves such as Hertz produced,
when they impinge upon substances reduced to powder or
filings. Conductors, such as the metals, are of inestimable
service to the electrician; of equal value are non-conductors,
such as glass and gutta-percha, as they strictly
fence in an electric stream. A third and remarkable vista
opens to experiment when it deals with substances which, in
their normal state, are non-conductive, but which, agitated by
an electric wave, instantly become conductive in a high
degree. As long ago as 1866 Mr. S. A. Varley noticed that
black lead, reduced to a loose dust, effectually intercepted a
current from fifty Daniell cells, although the battery poles
were very near each other. When he increased the electric
tension fourfold to sixfold, the black-lead particles at once
compacted themselves so as to form a bridge of excellent
conductivity. On this principle he invented a
lightning-protector for electrical instruments, the incoming
flash causing a tiny heap of carbon dust to provide it with a
path through which it could safely pass to the earth.
Professor Temistocle Calzecchi Onesti of Fermo, in 1885, in an
independent series of researches, discovered that a mass of
powdered copper is a non-conductor until an electric wave
beats upon it; then, in an instant, the mass resolves itself
into a conductor almost as efficient as if it were a stout,
unbroken wire. Professor Edouard Branly of Paris, in 1891, on
this principle devised a coherer, which passed from resistance
to invitation when subjected to an electric impulse from afar.
He enhanced the value of his device by the vital discovery
that the conductivity bestowed upon filings by electric
discharges could be destroyed by simply shaking or tapping
them apart. …
"The coherer, as improved by Marconi, is a glass tube about 1½
inches long and about 1/12 of an inch in internal diameter.
The electrodes are inserted in this tube so as almost to
touch; between them is about 1/30 of an inch filled with a
pinch of the responsive mixture which forms the pivot of the
whole contrivance. This mixture is 90 per cent. nickel
filings, 10 per cent. hard silver filings, and a mere trace of
mercury; the tube is exhausted of air to within 1/10000 part.
… The coherer, when unexcited, forms a link which obstructs
the flow of a current eager to leap across. The instant that
an electric wave from the sending-station impinges upon the
coherer it becomes conductive; the current instantly glides
through it, and at the same time a current, by means of a
relay, is sent through [a] powerful voltaic battery, so as to
announce the signal through an ordinary telegraphic receiver.
"An electric impulse, almost too attenuated for computation,
is here able to effect such a change in a pinch of dust that
it becomes a free avenue instead of a barricade. Through that
avenue a powerful blow from a local store of energy makes
itself heard and felt. No device of the trigger class is
comparable with this in delicacy. An instant after a signal
has taken its way through the coherer a small hammer strikes
the tiny tube, jarring Hs particles asunder, so that they
resume their normal state of high resistance. We may well be
astonished at the sensitiveness of the metallic filings to an
electric wave originating many miles away, but let us remember
how clearly the eye can see a bright lamp at the same distance
as it sheds a sister beam. Thus far no substance has been
discovered with a mechanical responsiveness to so feeble a ray
of light; in the world of nature and art the coherer stands
alone. …
"An essential feature of this method of etheric telegraphy,
due to Marconi himself, is the suspension of a perpendicular
wire at each terminus, its length twenty feet for stations a
mile apart, forty feet for four miles, and so on, the
telegraphic distance increasing as the square of the length of
suspended wire. In the Kingstown regatta, July, 1898, Marconi
sent from a yacht under full steam a report to the shore
without the loss of a moment from start to finish. This feat
was repeated during the protracted contest between the
'Columbia' and the 'Shamrock' yachts in New York Bay, October,
1899. On March 28, 1899, Marconi signals put Wimereux, two
miles north of Boulogne, in communication with the South
Foreland Lighthouse, thirty-two miles off. In August, 1899,
during the manœuvres of the British navy, similar messages
were sent as far as eighty miles. …
"A weak point in the first Marconi apparatus was that anybody
within the working radius of the sending instrument could read
its message. To modify this objection secret codes were at
times employed, as in commerce and diplomacy. A complete
deliverance from this difficulty is promised in attuning a
transmitter and a receiver to the same note, so that one
receiver, and no other, shall respond to a particular
frequency of impulses. The experiments which indicate success
in this vital particular have been conducted by Professor
Lodge."
G. Iles,
Flame, Electricity and the Camera,
chapter 16 (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.).
"Shall we not," said Professor John Trowbridge, in an article
published in the "New York Tribune," January 6, 1901, "in the
next hundred years dispense with the limitations of wires and
speak boldly through space, reaching some expectant human ear
hundreds of miles away with the same ease that we now converse
in a room? It is already possible to send messages by dots and
dashes sixty to seventy miles without the use of wires. In the
early days of the telephone this was the practical limit of
that instrument, and we are all familiar with the immense
extension which has taken place. Shall we not see a similar
extension in the field of wireless telegraphy? Some late
experiments which I have made lead me to be optimistic in
regard to a possible great extension of the methods of
wireless telegraphy.
"In the first place, I believe that these experiments prove
that wireless telegraphy is not necessarily or merely
accomplished through the air, but, on the contrary, that the
earth plays the controlling part, and that the message flows,
so to speak, through the earth or over its surface rather than
through the air. The most striking experiment was as follows:
The poles of a storage battery of twenty thousand cells were
connected with the ground at the Jefferson Laboratory, and I
was enabled to receive the message in a room three quarters of
a mile from the laboratory without the use of masts or wires
of any sort. The earth was the medium of communication, and it
seems possible, by arranging the sending and receiving apparatus
suitably in connection with the electrical capacity of the
earth, that we may dispense with lofty masts and overcome in
this way the curvature of the earth."
{443}
Extensive experiments in wireless telegraphy are being
conducted by the United States Weather Bureau, of which the
following is a recent report: "Recognizing the advantage that
would result to commerce and navigation by the establishment
of wireless electrical communication between vessels at sea
and exposed points on our lake and sea coasts, and also
between islands along said coasts and the mainland, the
Weather Bureau was directed to systematically investigate the
various methods of electrical communication without wires. The
progress made is eminently satisfactory. New appliances have
been devised for the transmission of signals, and receivers
have been constructed that probably are more delicate than any
heretofore made. Messages already have been successfully
transmitted and received over 50 miles of land, which
presented a rough and irregular surface, conditions most
unfavorable for the transmission of electro-magnetic waves. It
is believed that the efficiency indicated by such transmission
overland is sufficient to operate successfully over several
hundred miles of water. The apparatus used is capable of
further improvement. I hope the time is near at hand when the
great number of craft employed in the coastwise commerce of
the United States and over its great inland seas will be
placed in instantaneous communication with the numerous
stations of our Weather Bureau, which are located at all
important ports. The matter is one of such great importance to
our commerce that I have authorized extensive experimentation,
which, from the success so far attending our efforts, will be
vigorously prosecuted."
United States, Annual Report of the
Secretary of Agriculture,
November 24, 1900, page 12.
On the 12th of March, 1901, the chief of the Weather Bureau,
Professor Moore, gave to the Press the following statement as
to experiments in progress along the Virginia and North
Carolina coast: "The most efficient method of long distance
transmission has been found to be from wire cylinders. The new
coast stations are being equipped with cylinders of sixteen
wires each and 140 feet in length. From these cylinders it is
expected to cover a magnetic field of not less than five
hundred miles. The stations now in operation are at Hatteras
and at Roanoke Island, in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina.
Workmen are beginning the construction of a station at Cape
Henry, which will be the third station. When this is finished
the two remote stations will be 127 miles apart."
MECHANICS:
Steam turbines.
"The latest form of steam-engine recalls the first. The
steam-turbines of De Laval and of Parsons turn on the same
principle as the æolipile of Hero. That simple contrivance was
a metallic globe mounted on axes, and furnished through one of
its trunnions with steam from a boiler near by. As steam rushed
out from two nozzles diametrically opposite to each other, and
at tangents to the globe, there resulted from the relieved
pressure a swift rotation which might have done useful work. …
Before the steam-turbine could be invented, metallurgists and
mechanics had to become skilful enough to provide machinery
which may with safety rotate 10,000 times in a minute; Watt
had to invent the separate condenser; means had to be devised
for the thorough expansion of high-pressure steam; and the
crude device of Hero had to be supplanted by wheels suggested
by the water-turbine.
"The feature which gives the Parsons steam-turbine its
distinction is the ingenious method by which its steam is used
expansively. In a piston-engine the cylinder is filled to
one-twelfth or one-fifteenth of its capacity with
high-pressure steam, when communication with the boiler is cut
off; during the remainder of its stroke the piston is urged
solely by the steam's elasticity. In the Parsons turbine, by
arranging what is practically a series of wheels on the same
shaft, the steam passes from one wheel to the next, and at
each wheel parts with only a fraction of its pressure and
velocity. …
"The 'Turbinia,' a torpedo-boat of 44½ tons displacement, 100
feet in length, and 9 feet in beam, driven by this turbine,
has consumed but 14½ pounds of steam an hour per indicated
horse-power. The 'Viper,' a torpedo-boat destroyer of 325
tons, and provided with a turbine capable of developing as
much as 12,000 horse-power, ran at the rate of 37 knots in a
rough sea during her trial trip in November, 1899."
G. Iles,
Flame, Electricity and the Camera,
chapter 5
(New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.).
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL:
The determination of germ diseases.
"Since 1880 it has been proved that anthrax, Asiatic cholera,
cerebro-spinal meningitis, diphtheria, one form of dysentery,
erysipelas, glanders, gonorrhœa, influenza, certain epidemics
of meat poisoning, pyæmia and suppuration in general,
pneumonia, tetanus, relapsing fever, tuberculosis, bubonic
plague, and typhoid fever are due to minute vegetable
organisms known as bacteria; that malarial fevers, Texas
cattle fever, and certain forms of dysentery are due to forms
of microscopic animal organisms known as microzoa; and for
most of these diseases the mode of development and means of
introduction of the micro-organism into the body are fairly
well understood. To the information thus obtained we owe the
triumphs of antiseptic and aseptic surgery, a great increase
of precision in diagnosis, the use of specific anti-toxins as
remedies and as preventives, and some of the best practical
work in public hygiene."
Dr. John S. Billings,
Progress of Medicine in the Nineteenth Century
(New York Evening Post, January 12, 1901).
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL:
Antitoxine.
Treatment of diphtheria.
"In the early study of germs and their relation to disease it
was supposed that the symptoms of the disease depended
directly upon the germs themselves. This, however, has been
proven to be false with reference to most of the infectious
diseases studied. Thus, in diphtheria, the bacilli were found,
as a rule, only in the throat or upper air passages, while the
effects of the disease were far-reaching, involving the heart,
the nerves, and other distant parts of the body. This, and
other like observations, led to the careful study of the
products produced by the growth of bacteria. As the result of
the work of Roux in Paris, and Brieger in Berlin, the exact
nature of the toxic products of the diphtheria bacillus was
discovered. It was found that this bacillus produces in its
growth a poison which is known as the diphtheria 'toxine.'
This was isolated and injected into animals with the
reproduction of all the symptoms of diphtheria excepting the
membrane in the throat. …
{444}
"In his early work upon splenic fever and chicken-cholera
Pasteur, having established the causes of these diseases, set
himself the task of discovering means of preventing them.
After very many experiments he found that animals inoculated
with the germs of splenic fever, when these germs had been
cultivated at a relatively high temperature, were protected
against the disease itself, while these inoculations
themselves were harmless. … These methods of producing
immunity have been extensively used in Europe for the past
twenty years and have been of immense practical value.
"With the discovery that it was not the bacteria themselves
which produced most of the symptoms, but their poisonous
products or toxines, new experiments in immunity were made by
injecting these toxines into animals. It was found that if the
quantity of the diphtheria toxine introduced was at first so
small as not to kill the animal, the dose could gradually be
increased until finally such a tolerance was established that
the animal could resist enormous doses of it. Many theories
were advanced as to the manner in which this tolerance was
established. The conclusion was finally reached that it was
due to the gradual production in the blood of larger and
larger quantities of some substance which neutralized the
toxine, i. e., an 'antitoxine.' … Later experiments showed
that if some of the blood of an animal, which in this way had
been made insusceptible to diphtheria, was injected into
another animal, the latter likewise became to a certain degree
and for a certain time insusceptible; that is to say, became
'immunized. …
"The present plan of producing antitoxine is somewhat as
follows. Large animals, such as the horse or cow, are usually
employed for purposes of injection. In the beginning as large
a quantity of the toxine of diphtheria is injected as the
animal will bear without danger to life. … It is found that
the dose of the toxine can gradually be increased with each
injection until enormous quantities can be tolerated. When
this point is reached at which the injection of large amounts
of the toxine produces no reaction, the animal is said to
possess a high degree of immunity. At this time the
blood-serum contains a very large amount of the antitoxine. A
long time is required for the production of this condition,
the period being from three to twelve months, according to the
size of the animal, its susceptibility, and many other
conditions. … The antitoxine is obtained from the blood of the
animal, generally by bleeding from the jugular vein. … After
standing for a few hours this blood separates into a clot and
a clear portion above which is known as the serum. The
anti-toxine is contained in the blood-serum."
L. E. Holt,
The Antitoxine Treatment of Diphtheria
(Forum, March, 1895).
See, also (in this volume),
PLAGUE.
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL:
Discovery of the secret of malaria.
Detection of the mosquito as a carrier of disease.
"Twenty-five years ago the best-informed physicians
entertained erroneous ideas with reference to the nature of
malaria and the etiology of the malarial fevers. Observation
had taught them that there was something in the air in the
vicinity of marshes in tropical regions, and during the summer
and autumn in semi-tropical and temperate regions, which gave
rise to periodic fevers in those exposed in such localities,
and the usual inference was that this something was of gaseous
form—that it was a special kind of bad air generated in
swampy localities under favorable meteorological conditions.
It was recognized at the same time that there are other kinds
of bad air, such as the offensive emanations from sewers and
the products of respiration of man and animals, but the term
malaria was reserved especially for the kind of bad air which
was supposed to give rise to the so-called malarial fevers. In
the light of our present knowledge it is evident that this
term is a misnomer. There is no good reason for believing that
the air of swamps is any more deleterious to those who breathe
it than the air of the sea coast or that in the vicinity of
inland lakes and ponds. Moreover, the stagnant pools, which
are covered with a 'green scum' and from which bubbles of gas
are given off, have lost all terrors for the well-informed
man, except in so far as they serve as breeding places for
mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The green scum is made up
of harmless algæ such as Spirogyra, Zygnema Protococcus,
Euglena, etc.; and the gas which is given off from the mud at
the bottom of such stagnant pools is for the most part a
well-known and comparatively harmless compound of hydrogen and
carbon-methane or 'marsh-gas.'
"In short, we now know that the air in the vicinity of marshes
is not deleterious because of any special kind of bad air
present in such localities, but because it contains mosquitoes
infected with a parasite known to be the specific cause of the
so-called malarial fevers. This parasite was discovered in the
blood of patients suffering from intermittent fevers by
Laveran, a surgeon in the French army, whose investigations
were conducted in Algiers. This famous discovery was made
toward the end of the year 1880; but it was several years
later before the profession generally began to attach much
importance to the alleged discovery."
G. M. Sternberg,
Malaria
(Popular Science Monthly, February, 1901).
"It was the French doctor Laveran who, after a stay in a
deadly malarial region of Algeria, discovered the malaria
parasite in 1880. True, that pigment-cells, which we should
now describe as malaria-parasites, were observed in human
blood as early as 1835, among others by Virchow; but their
relation to the disease was not known. In 1881, Laveran
embodied his researches in a book, but its importance was
overlooked. Bacteria attracted then general attention, and
Laveran's parasite, not being a bacterium, was little thought
of. He stuck, nevertheless, to his discovery, and was soon
joined in his researches by Golgi (the Italian professor to
whom we owe the method that led to the discovery of the
neurons), as also by Marchiafava, Celli, Councilman,
Sternberg, and the Viennese doctor Mannaberg who published in
1893 a full compendium of these researches. Dr. Mannaberg
proved in this book that the real cause of malaria is
Laveran's parasite, and he told its most interesting
life-history so far as it was then known.
"The parasite of malaria is not a bacterium. It is one of the
protozoa—namely, as it appeared later on, a coccidium, which,
like all other members of that family, undergoes in its
development a series of transformations. … Laveran saw that
some parasites ('corps à flagelles') would send out thin and
long flagella which soon parted company with the mother body,
and, owing to a proper helicoidal movement, disappeared in the
plasm of the blood. This never happened, however, in the body of
man, but only when a drop of his infected blood was drawn and
placed on the glass plate under the microscope.
{445}
Laveran noticed, moreover, minute 'crescent-shaped bodies'
which adhered to the red corpuscles and looked very much like
cysts, protected by a harder envelope. From fifteen to twenty
minutes after these bodies had been placed under the
microscope, they also gave origin to a great number of
'flagella'; and this evolution, too, he remarked, seemed to be
accomplished only when the cysts were taken out of the human
body.
"It was only natural to conclude from these observations that
the further development of the flagella may take place in the
body of some other animal than man, and this consideration
brought Laveran, in a book which he published in 1884, to the
idea that, taking into consideration the quantities of
mosquitoes in malarial countries, they may be the agents of
transition of malaria. This remark passed, however,
unperceived. Many had the suspicion that gnats may play some
part in the inoculation of malaria: the Italian peasants
always thought so, and in the medical literature an American
doctor, Mr. King, had advocated the same idea. But the
complete life-history of the malaria parasite being not yet
known fifteen years ago, the necessity of the mosquito or of
some other living being serving as a host for the completion
of the reproduction-cycle was not understood."
P. Kropotkin,
Recent Science
(Nineteenth Century Review, December, 1900).
Dr. Patrick Manson, of London, is credited with the final
formulation of the mosquito-malarial theory; but the proofs by
which it has been established have come from a number of
investigators, who have patiently traced the singular
life-history of the parasite, throughout its passage from man
to the mosquito and from the mosquito back to man, as a
vehicle of disease. Among the latter, prominence is given to
Major Ronald Ross, who lectured on the subject in London in
September, 1900, and was reported in "The Times" as follows:
"They first carried on their life in man—the intermediary
host—and later in the mosquito, the definitive host. These
Hæmamœbidæ began as spores which entered a blood corpuscle,
grew and became amœbæ. The nuclear matter divided, the
corpuscle containing it burst, the spores scattered, and each
spore then attached itself to a fresh corpuscle. The access of
the typical fever began with this scattering of the spores,
and thus the periodicity of the fever was accounted for.
Besides this neutral proliferation there was proliferation by
gametes. The blood of a fever patient exhibited the first
forms of the gametocytes. The spore grew inside the blood
corpuscle, and in that species which caused malignant fever it
grew until it had almost eaten the whole of the host. It was
then technically called a crescent. If this crescent were
examined under the microscope a wonderful development might be
observed to take place in a few moments. The crescent swelled
and became first oval, then spherical, and in about 15 minutes
after the drawing of the blood the microgametes made their escape
and were to be seen wriggling about in the 'liquor sanguinis.'
Ultimately they entered the macrogametocytes and produced
zygotes, which was nothing but a perfect example of the sperm
and the ovum process. "The whole process could be watched
under the microscope. The mosquito, having bitten a person in
whose blood these gametocytes were present, would take perhaps
100 of them into its own system, where the zygotes acquired a
power of movement, edging towards the wall of the mosquito's
stomach. About 12 hours afterwards they would be found
adhering to the walls of the stomach, through which they
passed and to which they finally attached themselves on the
outside. This process was accomplished in about 36 hours. The
zygotes then grew until they had increased to about eight
times their original diameter and were almost visible to the
naked eye. As the zygote increased it divided into meres
containing nuclear matter, which went to the surface. The
process here seemed to be closely similar to spermato-genesis,
and Professor Ray Lankester declared that the process was the
first known example of audrocratic parthenogenesis. When the
final development was reached the cells burst and the blasts
escaped and were immediately carried into all parts of the
insect. They made their way to the salivary gland, with the
evident purpose of seeking the blood of a fresh human host;
and the injection of the secretion of the mosquito's salivary
gland caused the bump which marked the mosquito's bite. A very
large series of experiments had shown conclusively that
malarial infection was caused by the bite of the mosquito.
"The parasites which infested human blood were carried only by
one genus of mosquito—'Anopheles'; the genus 'Culex' was
harmless. The two genera could be readily distinguished. For
example, 'Anopheles' rested on walls with their tails stuck
out perpendicular to the wall; 'Culex' attached themselves
with tails hanging downwards. 'Culex' bred in the water in
pots and tubs; 'Anopheles' in pools. The larvæ of 'Culex,' if
disturbed, sank to the bottom; the larvæ of 'Anopheles'
skimmed along the surface. It was doubtful whether the eggs of
'Anopheles' would live for more than a few days after
desiccation. The eggs were laid in an equilateral triangular
pattern; they were soon hatched, and the larvæ then began to
feed on the green scum in the water. A still evening, just
before or after rain, was the time most favourable for the
hatching out from the pupæ. As to the adults, he believed that
they could live for a year; at any rate, they had been kept
alive in tubes for more than a month; and it was certain that
in England and Italy they hibernated. The female of
'Anopheles' alone was the biter, and though the favourite
feeding time was at night, in West Africa the insects had been
found to bite all day. While 'Culex' could be detected by its
humming, 'Anopheles' was silent, and it was possible to be
bitten without knowing of it at the moment. He had found that
a blood diet was always necessary to the maturing of the eggs.
He had kept many thousands of mosquitoes under observation and
had never known one to lay eggs except after a meal of blood.
Malarial infection was derived chiefly from the native
children, who swarmed everywhere, and whose blood was full of
the infecting parasites."
An expedition sent out to West Africa by the Liverpool School
of Tropical Medicine, to pursue investigations there, reported
in December, 1900, that its observations confirm the
conclusion "that the blood parasite which gives rise to
malarial fever in man is carried by the mosquito from the
native to the European—and more especially from the native
children.
{446}
The examination of the blood of hundreds of native children
revealed the interesting fact that between 50 and 80 per cent.
of those under five years, between 20 and 30 per cent. of ages
between five and ten years, and a small percentage over ten
years contained malarial parasites, often in very large
numbers. The breeding places of the 'Anopheles' were found to
be chiefly the dug-out native canoes in the regions of the
mangrove swamps, claypits and puddles in the forested
district, and at Lokoja puddles and ditches on and alongside
the roads and footpaths. It was particularly noticed
everywhere how carelessness in the construction of roads and
footpaths, and more especially in the laying out of the areas
surrounding the factories of the European traders, was
accountable for the production of a large number of breeding
places for mosquitoes, which could easily have been avoided.
In fact, it is certain that in West Africa such conditions are
far more dangerous and more common than the proximity of a
marsh or swamp, which is often noted as a cause of fever. …
The two methods upon which alone any reliance can be placed as
measures for prevention are—(l) segregation of Europeans from
natives of all sorts, at a distance of about half a mile; and
(2) complete and efficient surface drainage of the whole
district in the immediate neighbourhood of European quarters."
The detection of the mosquito as a carrier of one disease drew
suspicion on the pestilent insect of other kindred crimes, and
strong evidence of its agency in propagating yellow fever has
been gathered already. A board of medical officers, which went
from the United States to Cuba in the summer of 1900 to study
the matter, reported in October that their investigations
tended quite positively to that conclusion. The board was
composed of Dr. Walter Reed, surgeon, United States Army, and
Dr. James Carroll, Dr. A. Agramonte, and Dr. Jesse W. Lazear,
all acting assistant surgeons of the United States Army. Two
months later, so much confirmation had been obtained that
Major-General Wood, Military-Governor of Cuba (himself a
medical man) was reported, on the 29th of December, to have
issued a general order directed to his post commanders,
"reciting that the chief surgeon of the Department of Cuba has
reported that it is now well-established that malaria, yellow
fever and filarial infection are transmitted by the bites of
mosquitoes. Therefore the troops are enjoined to observe
carefully two precautions: First—they are to use mosquito bars
in all barracks, hospitals and field service whenever
practicable. Second—They are to destroy the 'wigglers,' or
young mosquitoes, by the use of petroleum on the water where
they breed. Permanent pools or puddles are to be filled up. To
the others is to be applied one ounce of kerosene to each
fifteen square feet of water twice a month, which will destroy
not only the young but the old mosquitoes. This does not
injure drinking water if drawn from below and not dipped out.
Protection is thus secured, according to the order, because
the mosquito does not fly far, but seeks shelter when the wind
blows, and thus each community breeds its own mosquitoes."
This was followed in April, 1901, by an order from the chief
surgeon at Havana, approved by Surgeon-General Sternberg, U.
S. A., which says: "The recent experiments made in Havana by
the Medical Department of the Army having proved that yellow
fever, like malarial fever, is conveyed chiefly, and probably
exclusively, by the bite of infected mosquitoes, important
changes in the measures used for the prevention and treatment
of this disease have become necessary. So far as yellow fever
is concerned, infection of a room or building simply means
that it contains infected mosquitoes, that is mosquitoes which
have fed on yellow fever patients. Disinfection, therefore,
means the employment of measures aimed at the destruction of
these mosquitoes. The most effective of these measures is
fumigation, either with sulphur, formaldehydes or insect
powder. The fumes of sulphur are the quickest and the most
effective insecticide, but are otherwise objectionable.
Formaldehyde gas is quite effective if the infected rooms are
kept closed and sealed for two or three hours. The smoke of
insect powder has also been proved useful; it readily
stupefies mosquitoes, which drop to the floor and can then be
easily destroyed. The washing of walls, floors, ceilings and
furniture with disinfectants is unnecessary."
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL:
Recent advances in surgery.
"In no department of surgery has greater progress been made
than in the treatment of diseases of the abdominal organs. …
At the present time no abdominal organ is sacred from the
surgeon's knife. Bowels riddled with bullet-holes are
stitched up successfully; large pieces of gangrenous or
cancerous intestine are cut out, the ends of the severed tube
being brought into continuity by means of ingenious
appliances; the stomach is opened for the removal of a foreign
body, for the excision of a cancer, or for the administration
of nourishment to a patient unable to swallow; stones are
extracted from the substance of the kidneys, and these organs
when hopelessly diseased are extirpated; the spleen, when
enlarged or otherwise diseased, is removed bodily; gall-stones
are cutout, and even tumours of the liver are excised. The
kidney, the spleen, and the liver, when they cause trouble by
unnatural mobility, are anchored by stitches to the abdominal
wall; and the stomach has been dealt with successfully in the
same way for the cure of indigestion. Besides all this, many
cases of obstruction of the bowels, which in days not very
long gone by would have been doomed to inevitable death, are
now cured by a touch of the surgeon's knife. The perforation
of the intestine, which is one of the most formidable
complications of typhoid fever, has in a few cases been
successfully closed by operation; and inflammation of the
peritoneum, caused by the growth of tuberculous masses upon
it, has been apparently cured by opening the abdominal cavity.
Among the most useful advances of this department of surgery
must be accounted the treatment of the condition known as
'appendicitis,' which has been to a large extent rescued from
the physician, with his policy of 'laissez faire,' and placed
under the more resolute and more efficient government of the
surgeon. A New York surgeon not long ago reported a series of
100 cases of operation for appendicitis, with only two deaths.
…
{447}
"That surgery could ever deal with the abdominal organs in the
manner just described would have seemed to our predecessors in
the earlier part of the Queen's reign the baseless fabric of a
vision. But the modern surgeon, clad in antisepsis, as the Lady
in 'Comus' was 'clothed round with chastity,' defies the
'rabble rout' of microbes and dares things which only a short
time ago were looked upon as beyond the wildest dreams of
scientific enthusiasm. It is scarcely twenty years since the
late Sir John Erichsen declared in a public address that
operative surgery had nearly reached its furthest possible
limits of development. He pointed out that there were certain
regions of the body into which the surgeon's knife could never
penetrate, naming the brain, the heart, and the lung as the
most obvious examples of such inviolable sanctuaries of life.
Within the last fifteen years the surgeon has brought each of
these organs, which constitute what Bichat called the 'tripod
of life,' within his sphere of conquest. … It must, however,
be admitted that the results of brain surgery, though
brilliant from the operative point of view, have so far been
somewhat disappointing as regards the ultimate cure of the
disease. In certain forms of epilepsy, in particular, which at
first seemed to be curable by removal of the 'cortical
discharging centre' in the brain which is the source of the
mischief, the tendency to fits has been found to return after
a time, and the last state of the patient has been worse than
the first. Still, the mere fact that the brain has been proved
to be capable of being dealt with surgically with perfect safety
is in itself a very distinct progress. …
"Other parts of the nervous system have been brought within
the range of surgical art. The vertebral column has been
successfully trephined, and fragments of bone pressing on the
cord have been taken away in cases of fractured spine; tumours
have also been removed from the spinal cord by Mr. Horsley and
others. There is a steadily increasing record of cures of
intractable neuralgia, especially of the face, by division or
removal of the affected nerve trunks. … The ends of cut nerves
have also been re-united, and solutions of their continuity
have been filled up with portions of nerve taken from animals.
… The heart naturally cannot be made so free with, even by the
most enterprising surgeon, as the brain or the lung. Yet
within the past twelve months a Norwegian practitioner has
reported a case which encourages a hope that even wounds of
the heart may not be beyond surgical treatment. … Tuberculous
and inflammatory diseases of bones and joints, formerly
intractable except by the 'ultima ratio' of the amputating
knife, are now cured without mutilation. Deformities are
corrected by division of tendons, the excision of portions of
bone, and the physiological exercise of muscles, without
complicated apparatus. The healing of large wounds is assisted
by the grafting of healthy skin on the raw surface; wide gaps in
bones and tendons are filled up with portions of similar
structures obtained from animals." …
Malcolm Morris,
The Progress of Medicine during the Queen's Reign
(Nineteenth Century, May, 1897).
See, also, X RAYS, below.
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE:
International cataloguing.
On the 22d of March, 1894, the Secretaries of the Royal
Society of London addressed the following communication to
various institutions and societies: "The Royal Society of
London, as you are probably aware, has published nine quarto
volumes of 'The catalogue of scientific papers,' the first
volume of the decade 1874-1883 having been issued last year.
This catalogue is limited to periodical scientific literature,
i. e., to papers published in the transactions, etc., of
societies, and in journals; it takes no account whatever of
monographs and independent books, however important. The
titles, moreover, are arranged solely according to authors'
names; and though the Society has long had under consideration
the preparation of, and it is hoped may eventually issue, as a
key to the volumes already published, a list in which the
titles are arranged according to subject-matter, the catalogue
is still being prepared according to authors' names. Further,
though the Society has endeavored to include the titles of all
the scientific papers published in periodicals of acknowledged
standing, the catalogue is, even as regards periodical
literature, confessedly incomplete, owing to the omission of
the titles of papers published in periodicals of little
importance, or not easy of access.
"Owing to the great development of scientific literature, the
task of the Society in continuing the catalogue, even in its
present form, is rapidly increasing in difficulty. At the same
time it is clear that the progress of science would be greatly
helped by, indeed, almost demands, the compilation of a
catalogue which should aim at completeness, and should contain
the titles of scientific publications, whether appearing in
periodicals or independently. In such a catalogue the titles
should be arranged not only according to authors' names, but
also according to subject-matter, the text of each paper and
not the title only being consulted for the latter purpose. And
the value of the catalogue would be greatly enhanced by a
rapid periodical issue, and by publication in such a form that
the portion which pertains to any particular branch of science
might be obtained separately. It is needless to say that the
preparation and publication of such a complete catalogue is
far beyond the power and means of any single society.
"Led by the above considerations, the president and council of
the Royal Society have appointed a committee to inquire into
and report upon the feasibility of such a catalogue being
compiled through international co-operation."
Library Journal,
March, 1895.
The movement thus initiated received cordial support and led
to the convening of an International Conference in London, in
1896. The Conference was opened on Tuesday, July 14, at
Burlington House. "The 42 delegates, representing nearly all
the governments of civilized countries and most of the leading
scientific societies of the world, were welcomed by Sir John
Gorst, as provisional president. … It was decided that
English, German and French should be the official languages of
the conference. … The conference closed on Friday, July 17,
the need of an international catalogue having been fully
recognized, and a plan for its preparation mapped out. It was
decided 'That it is desirable to compile and publish by means
of some international organization a complete catalogue of
scientific literature, arranged according both to
subject-matter and to authors' names. That in preparing such a
catalogue regard shall, in the first instance, be had to the
requirements of scientific investigators, to the end that
these may, by means of the catalogue, find out most easily
what has been published concerning any particular subject of
inquiry.'
{448}
"The preparation of the catalogue is to be in charge of an
international council, to be appointed, and the final editing
and publication shall be conducted by a central international
bureau, under the direction of the international council. Any
country that is willing to do so shall be entrusted with the
task of collecting, provisionally classifying, and
transmitting to the central bureau, in accordance with rules
laid down by the international council, all the entries
belonging to the scientific literature of that country. 'In
indexing according to subject-matter regard shall be had, not
only to the title (of a paper or book), but also to the nature
of the contents.' The catalogue shall comprise all published
original contributions—periodical articles, pamphlets,
memoirs, etc.—to the mathematical, physical, or natural
sciences, … 'to the exclusion of what are sometimes called the
applied sciences—the limits of the several sciences to be
determined hereafter.' …
"The central bureau shall issue the catalogue in the form of
'slips' or 'cards,' the details of the cards to be hereafter
determined, and the issue to take place as promptly as
possible. … It was also decided that the central bureau shall
be located in London, and that the Royal Society appoint a
committee to study all undecided questions relating to the
catalogue and to report later. … No system of classification
was adopted and the subject was turned over for consideration
to the committee of organization, which should also suggest
'such details as will render the catalogue of the greatest
possible use to those unfamiliar with English.' January 1,
1900, is fixed as the date for the beginning of the
catalogue."
Library Journal,
August, 1896.
A second international conference, to consider further the
plans previously outlined, was held October 11-13, 1898, at
Burlington House, London. "The attendance was a representative
one, including delegates from Austria, Belgium, France,
Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States
(represented by Dr. Cyrus Adler), Cape Colony, India, Natal,
New Zealand, and Queensland. Russia, Spain and Italy were the
only large continental countries unrepresented. …
"Professor Forster having formally presented the report of the
Committee of the Royal Society, copies of which were forwarded
in April last to the several governments represented at the
conference, the discussion of the recommendations was opened,
and it was resolved: 'That the conference confirms the
principle that the catalog be published in the double form of
cards and books. That schedules of classification shall be
authorized for the several branches of science which it is
decided to include in the catalog. That geography be defined
as limited to mathematical and physical geography, and that
political and general geography be excluded. That anatomy be
entered on the list as a separate subject. That a separate
schedule be provided for each of the following branches of
science: Mathematics, Astronomy, Meteorology, Physics,
Crystallography, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Geology (including
Petrology), Geography, mathematical and physical,
Paleontology, Anatomy, Zoology, Botany, Physiology (including
Pharmacology and Experimental Pathology), Bacteriology,
Psychology, Anthropology. That each of the sciences for which
a separate schedule is provided shall be indicated by a
symbol.'" Resolutions were then adopted providing for the
regulations to be observed in the preparation of cards or
slips, and for the organization of the work through Regional
Bureaus.
"The following recommendations of the Royal Society providing
for international conventions in connection with the catalog
were adopted: 'Each region in which a Regional Bureau is
established, charged with the duty of preparing and
transmitting slips to the Central Bureau for the compilation
of the catalog, shall be called a constituent region. In 1905,
in 1910, and every tenth year afterwards, an international
convention shall be held in London (in July) to reconsider,
and, if necessary, revise the regulations for carrying out the
work of the catalog authorized by the international convention
of 1898. Such an international convention shall consist of
delegates appointed by the respective governments to represent

the constituent regions, but no region shall be represented by
more than three delegates. The rules of procedure of each
international convention shall be the same as those of the
international convention of 1898. The decisions of an
international convention shall remain in force until the next
convention meets.'
"The following recommendations of the Royal Society relating
to the constitution of an International Council, which shall
be the governing body of the catalog, were adopted: 'Each
Regional Bureau shall appoint one person to serve as a member
of a body to be called The International Council. The
International Council shall, within the regulations laid down
by the international convention, be the governing body of the
catalog. The International Council shall appoint its own
chairman and secretary. It shall meet in London once in three
years at least, and at such other times as the chairman, with
the concurrence of five other members, may specially appoint.
It shall, subject to the regulations laid down by the
convention, be the supreme authority for the consideration of
and decision concerning all matters belonging to the Central
Bureau. It shall make a report of its doings, and submit a
balance sheet, copies of which shall be distributed to the
several Regional Bureaus, and published in some recognized
periodical or periodicals in each of the constituent
regions.'"
Library Journal,
December, 1898.
The third international conference on a catalog of scientific
literature was held in London, June 12, 1900, under the
auspices of the Royal Society. "Unfortunately the United
States finds no place in the list [of delegates]. This was
owing to the failure to secure from Congress the necessary
appropriation enabling the United States to join in the
enterprise; and as the call to the conference required that
delegates be charged with full powers, it was impossible for
any representative of the United States to be in attendance. …
"The general results of the conference are reviewed by
Professor Henry E. Armstrong, in 'Nature,' as follows: 'There
can be little doubt that the ultimate execution of this
important enterprise is now assured. … Everyone was of opinion
that if a fair beginning can once be made, the importance of the
work is so great; it will be of such use to scientific workers
at large; that it will rapidly grow in favor and soon secure
that wide support which is not yet given to it simply because
its character and value are but imperfectly understood.
Therefore, all were anxious that a beginning should be made.
{449}
"'It has been estimated that if 300 sets or the equivalent are
sold the expenses of publication will be fully met. As the
purchase of more than half this number was guaranteed by
France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the United
Kingdom, the conference came to the conclusion that the number
likely to be taken by other countries would be such that the
subscriptions necessary to cover the cost of the catalog would
be obtained. The resolution arrived at after this opinion had
been formed, That the catalog include both an author's and a
subject index, according to the schemes of the Provisional
International Committee, must, in fact, be read as a
resolution to establish the catalog.
"'Of the countries represented at the various conferences,
excepting Belgium, not one has expressed any unwillingness
eventually to co-operate in the work. Unfortunately, neither
the United States nor Russia was officially represented on the
present occasion. The attempts that have been made to induce
the government in the United States to directly subsidise the
catalog have not been successful: but that the United States
will contribute its fair share, both of material and pecuniary
support, cannot be doubted. There as here private or corporate
enterprise must undertake much that is done under government
auspices in Europe. As to Russia, the organization of
scientific workers there has been so little developed that it
is very difficult to secure their attention, and probably our
Russian colleagues are as yet but very imperfectly aware of
what is proposed. … A Provisional International Committee has
been appointed, which will take the steps now necessary to
secure the adhesion and co-operation of countries not yet
pledged to support the scheme.
"'Originally it was proposed to issue a card as well as a book
catalog, but on account of the great additional expense this
would involve, and as the Americans in particular have not
expressed themselves in favor of a card issue, it is resolved
to publish the catalog, for the present, only in the form of
annual volumes.
"'From the outset great stress has been laid on the
preparation of subject indexes which go behind the titles of
papers and give fairly full information as to the nature of
their contents. Both at the first and the second International
Conference this view met with the fullest approval. Meanwhile,
the action of the German government has made it necessary to
somewhat modify the original plan. In Germany, a regional
bureau will be established, supported by a government
subvention, and it is intended that the whole German
scientific literature shall be cataloged in this office; no
assistance will be asked from authors or editors or corporate
bodies. In such an office it will for the present be
impossible to go behind titles; consequently, only the titles
of German papers will be quoted in the catalog. In the first
instance, some other countries may prefer to adopt this course
on the ground of economy. But in this country, at least, the
attempt will be made to deal fully with the literature, and
the co-operation of authors and editors will be specially
invited. …
"'The catalog is to be published annually in seventeen
distinct volumes. The collection of material is to commence
from January 1, 1901. As it will be impossible to print and
issue so many volumes at once, it is proposed to publish them
in sets of four or five at quarterly intervals.'"
Library Journal,
September, 1900.
The fourth Conference was held at London, December 12-13,
1900, when "all arrangements were completed for the definitive
commencement of the work on January 1. … The responsibility
for publication and for the initial expenditure is undertaken
by the Royal Society. … A comprehensive and elaborate system
of classification has been devised with the assent of all the
countries interested. This uniformity in a region where
diversity of a perplexing kind has hitherto ruled is in itself
a great boon to scientific workers everywhere. It may be
anticipated that the scheme will by degrees be adopted in all
collections of scientific works. As to the nothing aspects of
this important undertaking, larger more need be said at
present than that the scientific cataloguing of all scientific
work most appropriately celebrates the opening of the
twentieth century."
[Transcriber's note: In the previous sentence the words
"nothing" and "larger" appear interchanged.]
London Times,
December 14, 1900.
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE:
In the Nineteenth Century.
See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: DOMINANT LINES.
----------Scientific Literature: End--------
----------SCOTLAND: Start--------
SCOTLAND: A. D. 1900.
Union of the Free and United Presbyterian Churches.
"In the ecclesiastical world only one event of the first
importance has happened [in Scotland, in 1900], the
consummation of the union between the Free and United
Presbyterian Churches, which has been the subject of
negotiation for six years past. The May meetings of the
leading representative courts of the two denominations were
occupied almost exclusively with the final arrangements for
the formal act of union, which was fixed to take place on
October 31. An attempt by a number of lay office-bearers of
the Free Church to postpone the final step, on the ground that
the congregations had not been directly and fairly consulted,
failed of its object. On October 30 the General Assembly of
the Free Church and the Synod of the United Presbyterian
Church held their last meetings in Edinburgh as independent
bodies. On the following day they formally constituted
themselves the United Free Church of Scotland in the Waverley
Market, the largest public hall in Scotland, in presence of an
audience computed to number 6,000 persons. The union has, as
is the rule in Scotland, been accompanied by a 'disruption.'
The minority of the Free Church, which on October 30 resolved
to remain outside the United Free Church, is very small in
number and is financially weak, but it claims to be the true
Free Church of Scotland, it is asserting itself vigorously in
the Highlands and islands, where Free Church
'constitutionalism' has always been strongest, and it has
taken the first step in a process of litigation for the
purpose of discovering whether it or the United Free Church is
legally entitled to the property of the original Free Church
founded in 1843. But for this secession, the strength of which
is not accurately estimable, the new denomination would,
according to the latest official returns, have opposed about
1,680 congregations and about 530,000 members to the 1,450
congregations and 650,000 members of the Church of Scotland."
London Times,
December 27, 1900.
{450}
SEA POWER.
See (in this volume)
NAVIES OF THE SEA POWERS.
SEAL-KILLING DISPUTES.
See (in this volume)
BERING SEA QUESTIONS.
SEGAN FU,
SI-NGAN-FU,
The Chinese Imperial Court at.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).
SEMINOLES,
United States Agreement with the.
See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1893-1899.
SENEGAL; A. D. 1895.
Under a French Governor-General.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1895 (FRENCH WEST AFRICA).
SENOUSSI, The Sect of the.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1882-1899.
SERAPEION, Discovery of the.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT:
DISCOVERY OF THE SERAPEION.
SERVIA: A. D. 1894-1901.
Abolition of the constitution by royal proclamation.
Final exile and death of ex-King Milan.
See (in this volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES (SERVIA).
SERVIA: A. D. 1901 (April).
Promulgation of a new constitution.
A new constitution for Servia was promulgated by King
Alexander, at Belgrade, on the 19th of April, 1901. Of the
character of the instrument, the King had previously given
intimations in an interview conceded to the editor of the
"Revue d'Orient," the account of which, translated for the
"London Times," is partly as follows: "Our three Constitutions
of 1869, 1888, and 1901 differ from each other in important
matters of principle. That of 1869 practically amounted to
absolutism, if I may thus qualify any Constitution. It is true
that the executive power retained but few prerogatives, but
that was deceptive, as the rights of the Legislature were
surrounded by exceptions and restrictions which made it easy
to paralyse and annihilate them at any moment. The
Constitution of 1888 had the contrary defects. It subordinated
the executive power to that of the Legislature, only leaving to
the former an altogether insufficient sphere of action. It had
another great fault. It was excessively doctrinaire and
theoretical, affecting to foresee everything and to regulate
everything, so that the legislative power was bound hand and
foot and could not legislate freely. The Constitution which
will be promulgated on April 19, the anniversary of the day
when the fortress of Belgrade was finally evacuated by the
Turks in 1867, is a charter similar to those which organize
the public powers in several countries of Europe, as, for
instance, in England and in France. It settles the form of
government, the powers of the King and of the State, the
rights of subjects, the working of the national
representation, &c. But it leaves to the Legislature the
settlement of all details. What more particularly
distinguishes the Constitution of 1901 from that of 1869 is
that it prevents the use and abuse of ordinances by the
Executive, which will be obliged to frame special laws in
every case—that is to say, laws accepted and approved of by
the King, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies. Thus
legality will henceforth be the regulating wheel in the
machinery of government. The Chamber of Deputies will be much
better organized, as the enlightened classes will be much more
numerously represented. The Constitution of 1901 will also
present great advantages over that of 1888. The Legislature
will control the acts of the Government as far as can possibly
be desired. At the same time the constitutional regime as
established in the new Constitution will give the King all the
power that he ought to retain in a country that is still new,
like Servia, without diminishing any of the inviolable
liberties of the nation.
"I attach very great importance to the new political
institution with which I am going to endow Servia—namely, an
Upper Chamber. Considering that it already exists, not only in
monarchical countries, but also in most Republics, as, for
instance, in France and the United States, I cannot admit that
it should be regarded as involving the slightest aristocratic
tendency or idea. I know my country well enough to be sure
that I shall find a sufficient number of high-class
politicians to recruit the Senate, and that enough will remain
for the Chamber of Deputies. I am likewise fully persuaded
that the legislative task of the Parliament will be much
better performed when the Chamber of Deputies is conscious
that above it there exists a Senate whose business it is to
revise and improve the laws which it has elaborated, of course
for the greater benefit of the nation. Then, again, the Senate
will form a moderating element which was much wanting in our
Legislature. What Servia is suffering from is not any lack of
legislation, but from the circumstances that the existing laws
were hastily framed or were the outcome of party rancour. If
we had formerly had a Senate composed of men of experience and
good patriots, they would never have consented to the conclusion
of so many onerous loans, to the application of so many
iniquitous measures, nor to the convocation of the special
tribunal, 'le tribunal extraordinaire,' of 1899.
"At first the Radical party was not favourable to the
institution of an Upper Chamber, but it now recognizes the
great advantages it will offer, and has rallied to my project.
The Progressist party has always been favourable to it. The
majority of the Liberal party has also adhered to it. I
therefore believe that this new institution will be of the
greatest service to the country. All that is required, and
with a little good will it can be easily done, is that the
members of the two Chambers should endeavour honestly,
sincerely, and loyally to work for the good of the State and
of the nation. If I have not thought right to raise the
qualification for the suffrage, as desired by some people, it
is because I did not wish to disfranchise any of those who
have enjoyed the right of voting during the last 35 years. I
do not wish to restrict any of the rights of the nation.
{451}
"The application of the new Constitution will be the great
task of my Government, in which I have every confidence. The
Prime Minister, Dr. Vuitch, has the sympathy and support not
only of his own party but of all who would like to see the
country governed in a liberal spirit. His presence at the head
of the Ministry is a pledge for the active and sincere
co-operation of all elements of order and progress. … As soon
as the new Constitution has been promulgated, the Government
will invite the co-operation of all those which admit its
necessity and fitness. A large Conservative party will thus be
formed which will have the requisite power and authority for
all purposes of government, for the application of the
Constitution, and for the elaboration of financial and
economic laws necessary for the progress of the country.
"As regards the question of the succession to the Throne, I
wanted to settle it finally, as the members of the reigning
dynasty are not numerous unless the remote collateral lines be
included, which is not possible. Moreover, everybody wished me
to take in this matter such decisions as I might think proper
in view of securing the continuation of the Servian Monarchy.
The first thing to be done was to safeguard the rights of the
direct line without seeking to bind ourselves by the Salic
Law, which there is really no reason to apply in our country.
I should add here that there are no anti-dynastic elements in
Servia, with the exception, perhaps, of a few hare-brained
individuals who really do not enter into account. My people
are profoundly attached to the reigning dynasty, and never
lose an opportunity of showing me their loyalty. It is the
same with all the political parties.
"Before promulgating the Constitution I decided to consult the
most influential members of the parties in office. They agreed
with me, and promised me to assist harmoniously in the work. I
have also consulted the leading members of the Liberal party,
and with two or three exceptions they have given me the same
assurances. Such being the case, I may say that the
Constitution of 1901 is not a production of my will or of my
good pleasure, but that it is the result of an understanding
between the Sovereign and the leaders of the three political
parties. I consequently reckon upon their sincere and active
co-operation, and I trust they will not fail me. I am firmly
convinced that the new Constitution will act as a fresh and
vigorous stimulus to my country, and that it will bring it
that calm and stability which it sorely needs. I sincerely
regard it as a source of prosperity and welfare for Servia."
SEVERALTY ACT, The Indian.
See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1899-1900.
SEYMOUR, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward:
Expedition to relieve Peking.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE 10-26).
SEYYIDIEH, The province of.
See (in this volume)
BRITISH EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE: A. D. 1895-1897.
SHAFTER, General:
Commanding the expedition against Santiago de Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
SHAFTER, General:
Surrender of Spanish forces at Santiago and all eastern Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 4-17).
SHAFTER, General:
Report of sickness in army.
Removal of troops to Montauk Point.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST: CUBA).
SHANGHAI.
"Shanghai is the New York of China. It occupies a position on
the coast quite similar to that of New York on our own eastern
coast, and its percentage of importations into China is about
the same as that which New York enjoys in the United States.
The large share of the foreign trade of China which Shanghai
controls is due largely to its position at the mouth of the
great artery through which trade flows to and from China—the
Yangtze-Kiang. Transportation in bulk in China up to the
present time having been almost exclusively by water, and the
Yangtze being navigable by steamers and junks for more than
2,000 miles, thus reaching the most populous, productive, and
wealthy sections of the country, naturally a very large share
of the foreign commerce entering or leaving that country
passes through Shanghai, where foreign merchants, bankers,
trade representatives, trade facilities, and excellent docking
and steamship conveniences exist. The lines of no less than
eight great steamship companies center at Shanghai, where they
land freight and passengers from their fleets of vessels which
are counted by hundreds, while the smaller vessels, for river
and coastwise service, and the native junks are counted
literally by thousands. The Yangtze from Shanghai westward to
Hankow, a distance of 582 miles, is navigable for very large
steamships that are capable of coasting as well as river
service. Hankow, which with its suburbs has nearly a million
people, is the most important of the interior cities, being a
great distributing center for trade to all parts of central
and western China and thus the river trade between Shanghai
and Hankow is of itself enormous, while the coastwise trade
from Shanghai, both to the north and south, and that by the
Grand Canal to Tientsin, the most important city of northern
China, is also very large."
United States, Bureau of Statistics,
Monthly Summary, March, 1899, page 2191.
"When the English chose this position, in 1842, for their
mercantile settlement, it seemed difficult to believe that
they would ever succeed in making the place a rival of Canton
or of Amoy. It is true that Shanghai possessed important
commercial relations already, and the great geographical
advantage of commanding the entrance to the navigable river
which traverses the whole empire from west to east; but the
builders of the city there had to struggle with enormous
difficulties of soil and climate. They had to solidify and
drain the land, dig canals, dry up marshes, cleanse the air of
its miasms, besides incessantly dredging and clearing the
channel, to keep it open for their ships. The first European
merchants established at Shanghai were favored in fortune by
the national disasters of China. The Taiping war drove
fugitives in multitudes to the territory conceded to
foreigners, and when the town of Soutcheou was destroyed, in
1860, Shanghai succeeded it as the great city of the country."
É. Reclus,
Nouvelle géographie universelle,
volume 7, page 455.
SHANGHAI: A. D. 1898.
Rioting consequent on French desecration of a cemetery.
Extension of foreign settlements.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899.
SHANTUNG, The "Boxer" outbreak in.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JANUARY-MARCH).
SHIMONOSEKI, Text of the Treaty of.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895.
{452}
SHIPPING OF THE WORLD: In 1900.
Statement of number and net and gross tonnage of steam and
sailing vessels of over 100 tons of the several countries of
the world, as recorded in Lloyd's Register for 1900-1901
[dated July 1, 1900].
United States, Commissioner of Navigation,
Annual Report, 1900, page 125.FLAG STEAM. SAIL. TOTAL.
------------------------- ------------------ -------------
Number. Net tons. Gross tons. Number. Net tons. Number. Tonnage.
British:
United Kingdom. 7,020 7,072,401 11,513,759 1,894 1,727,687 8,914 13,241,446
Colonies. 910 378,925 635,331 1,014 384,477 1,924 1,019,808
Total. 7,930 7,451,326 12,149,090 2,908 2,112,164 10,838 14,261,254
American
(United States):
Sea. 690 594,237 878,564 2,130 1,156,498 2,820 2,035,062
Lake. 242 436,979 576,402 73 138,807 315 715,209
Total. 932 1,031,216 1,454,966 2,203 1,295,305 3,135 2,750,271
Argentine. 95 36,938 57,239 106 30,407 201 87,646
Austro-Hungarian 214 240,808 387,471 56 28,613 270 416,084
Belgian. 115 111,624 162,493 2 420 117 162,913
Brazilian. 215 85,799 133,507 117 29,580 332 163,087
Chilean. 52 38,960 62,872 75 48,106 127 110,978
Chinese. 48 41,847 65,721 1 573 49 66,294
Colombian. 1 555 877 5 1,110 6 1,987
Danish. 369 240,599 412,273 433 106,738 802 519,011
Dutch. 289 307,574 467,209 117 63,068 406 530,277
French. 662 542,305 1,052,193 552 298,309 1,214 1,350,562
German. 1,209 1,344,605 2,159,919 501 490,114 1,710 2,650,033
Greek. 139 111,797 178,137 230 65,957 369 245,094
Haitian. 5 912 1,750 2 414 7 2,164
Italian. 312 343,020 540,349 864 443,306 1,176 983,655
Japanese. 484 303,303 488,187 582 86,370 1,006 574,557
Mexican. 25 6,562 11,460 13 3,081 38 14,541
Montenegrin. 1 1,064 1,857 14 3,513 15 5,370
Norwegian. 806 467,123 764,683 1,574 876,129 2,380 1,640,812
Peruvian. 3 3,204 4,869 33 9,607 36 14,476
Portuguese. 48 37,153 57,664 156 53,391 204 111,055
Roumanian. 17 9,686 17,361 3 659 20 18,020
Russian. 496 292,277 469,496 750 251,405 1,246 720,901
Sarawakian. 2 244 418 2 418
Siamese. 4 821 1,435 1 294 5 1,729
Spanish. 422 416,882 642,231 175 52,549 597 694,780
Swedish. 678 260,023 418,550 755 218,722 1,433 637,272
Turkish. 135 58,974 94,781 170 48,709 305 143,490
Uruguayan. 17 6,438 10,468 19 4,032 36 14,500
Venezuelan. 12 2,450 4,246 8 1,185 20 5,431
Zanzibarian. 3 1,871 2,808 3 2,808
Other countries:
Hawaii. 23 11,185 16,922 24 29,707 47 46,629
Cuba. 35 17,651 27,040 11 2,410 46 29,450
Philippine Islands 69 19,587 31,099 42 8,236 111 39,335
Various:
Arabia,
Salvador,
Ecuador,
Liberia,
Samos,
Nicaragua,
Bulgaria,
Costa Rica,
Egypt,
Persia,
Porto Rico,
etc. 31 10,130 17,717 22 9,127 53 26,844
Total. 15,898 13,800,513 22,309,358 12,524 6,674,370 28,422 29,043,728
SHIRE HIGHLANDS, The.
See (in this volume)
BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE.
SHOA.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896.
SHUN-CH'ING, Anti-missionary insurrection at.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899 (JUNE-JANUARY).
SIAH CHAI, or Vegetarians, The.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST).
SIAM: A. D. 1896-1899.
Declaration between Great Britain and France
with regard to Siam.
A declaration of agreement, in part as follows, between Great
Britain and France, was signed at London, January 15, 1896:
"I.
The Governments of Great Britain and France engage to one
another that neither of them will, without the consent of the
other, in any case, or under any pretext, advance their armed
forces into the region which is comprised in the basins of the
Petcha Bouri, Meiklong, Menam, and Bang Pa Kong (Petriou)
Rivers and their respective tributaries, together with the
extent of coast from Muong Bang Tapan to Muong Pase, the
basins of the rivers on which those two places are situated,
and the basins of the other rivers, the estuaries of which are
included in that coast; and including also the territory lying
to the north of the basin of the Menam, and situated between
the Anglo-Siamese frontier, the Mekong River, and the eastern
watershed of the Me Ing. They further engage not to acquire
within this region any special privilege or advantage which
shall not be enjoyed in common by, or equally open to, Great
Britain and France, and their nationals and dependents. These
stipulations, however, shall not be interpreted as derogating
from the special clauses which, in virtue of the Treaty
concluded on the 3rd October, 1893, between France and Siam,
apply to a zone of 25 kilometers on the right bank of the
Mekong and to the navigation of that river.
{453}
II.
Nothing in the foregoing clause shall hinder any action on
which the two Powers may agree, and which they shall think
necessary in order to uphold the independence of the Kingdom
of Siam. But they engage not to enter into any separate
Agreement permitting a third Power to take any action from
which they are bound by the present Declaration themselves to
abstain.
III.
From the mouth of the Nam Huok northwards as far as the
Chinese frontier the thalweg of the Mekong shall form the
limit of the possessions or spheres of influence of Great
Britain and France. It is agreed that the nationals and
dependents of each of the two countries shall not exercise any
jurisdiction or authority within the possessions or sphere of
influence of the other."
In a despatch to the British Ambassador at Paris, written on
the same day, Lord Salisbury explained the intent and purpose
of the agreement as follows: "It might be thought that because
we have engaged ourselves, and have received the engagement of
France, not under any circumstances to invade this territory,
that therefore we are throwing doubt upon the complete title
and rights of the Siamese to the remainder of their kingdom,
or, at all events, treating those rights with disregard. Any
such interpretation would entirely misrepresent the intention
with which this arrangement has been signed. We have selected
a particular area for the application of the stipulations of
this Treaty, not because the title of the King of Siam to
other portions of his dominions is less valid, but because it
is the area which affects our interests as a commercial
nation. The valley of the Menam is eminently fitted to receive
a high industrial development. Possibly in course of time it
may be the site of lines of communication which will be of
considerable importance to neighbouring portions of the
British Empire. There seems every prospect that capital will
flow into this region if reasonable security is offered for
its investment, and great advantage would result to the
commerce and industry of the world, and especially of Great
Britain, if capitalists could be induced to make such an
application of the force which they command. But the history
of the region in which Siam is situated has not in recent
years been favourable to the extension of industrial
enterprise, or to the growth of that confidence which is the
first condition of material improvement. A large territory to
the north has passed from the hands of the Burmese Government
to those of Great Britain. A large territory to the east has
passed from the hands of its former possessors to those of
France. The events of this recent history certainly have a
tendency to encourage doubts of the stability of the Siamese
dominion; and without in any degree sharing in those doubts,
or admitting the possibility, within any future with which we
have to deal, of the Siamese independence being compromised,
Her Majesty's Government could not but feel that there would
be an advantage in giving some security to the commercial
world that, in regard to the region where the most active
development is likely to take place, no further disturbances
of territorial ownership are to be apprehended."
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications
(Papers by Command: France, Number 2, 1896, pages 1-3).
Perhaps the above explanation can be better understood after
reading the following:
"In the early eighties France commenced the subjugation of
Tonquin. … It was not until 1893 that France openly attacked
Siam. The demand was subtly formulated—on behalf, not of the
Government of the French Republic, but of 'the Empire of
Annam.' But even so the French had been in Annam for perhaps a
quarter of a century, whereas Siam could show an undisturbed,
undisputed tenure of the Mekong River's 'rive gauche' for at
least ninety years. … The cession to France of territory
amounting to rather more than one-third of the entire kingdom
was insisted upon; and in March 1893 that Power sent the
ship-of-war Lutin to Bangkok, where she remained for months a
standing menace. A rigorous blockade of the Siamese seaboard
followed, resulting in a few short days in complete surrender
of the disputed territory to France and the payment of a heavy
war indemnity. … By the Anglo-French Convention of last year
[as given above] the King of Siam's position became, to say
the least, slightly anomalous. That agreement practically
amounted to the fair division, between France and England, of
the whole of Siam save that portion situate in the fertile
valley of the Meinam, whose autonomy they still guarantee to
preserve. … France holds, in addition to the long-coveted port
of Chantabûn, that part of the province of Luang Phrabang
which is situate upon the right bank of the Mekong. … The
Siamese king is 'nulli secundus' among Oriental monarchs as a
progressive ruler. And fate has been unkind to him indeed! He
has encouraged English customs and the English language by all
the means in his power—has taken the kindliest possible
interest in the introduction of electric light, electric
tramways, &c., into his capital—has endeavoured to model his
army and navy, his prison and other systems, upon the English
method—and has in person opened the first railway (that
connecting Bangkok with Pâknam) in Siam. It is, indeed, one of
the strangest and most interesting sights, as you stroll
through the streets of the capital, to witness the 'riksha and
gharry of comparative barbarism travelling in juxtaposition to
the electric tramcar and the bicycle! And for his broad and
enlightened views the King of Siam has been requited by the
wholesale and utterly unjustifiable plunder of his most
fertile lands."
Percy Cross Standing,
The Significance of the Siamese Visit
(Nineteenth Century, June, 1897).
Frequent collisions between French and Siamese in the
so-called "neutral zone" on the right bank of the Mekong
continued, until a new convention was agreed upon in May,
1890. This gave to France the province of Luang-Phrabang, in
return for which she agreed to withdraw entirely from the
neutral territory and from the port of Chantabûn.
SIAM: A. D. 1898.
Gift of relics of Buddha.
See (in this volume)
BUDDHA.
SIAM: A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.
See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.
SIAN FU,
SI-NGAN-FU,
The Chinese Imperial Court at.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).
SIBERIA.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA IN ASIA.
SIBERIAN ARCTIC EXPLORATION.
See (in this volume)
POLAR EXPLORATION, 1805, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900.
{454}
SIERRA LEONE PROTECTORATE.
Extension of British authority over the Hinterland of the
Colony of Sierra Leone.
The hut tax.
Insurrection of natives.
"Immediately adjoining the Colony of Sierra Leone, lying to
the northward and eastward, is the Hinterland, the boundaries
of which were defined by the Agreement between Great Britain
and France which was concluded 21st January 1895. The extreme
depth from south to north is about 210 miles, lying between 7°
and 10° north latitude, and 180 miles from east to west, lying
between 10° 40' and 13° 20' of west longitude. The estimated area
is rather more than 30,000 square miles—about the size of
Ireland. … Unlike many regions on the west coast of Africa,
the country is, for the most part, well watered by rivers and
running streams. The population of the Hinterland has not been
ascertained. It has been variously estimated, before the
present troubles, at from about 750,000 up to about 2,000,000.
The trade and revenue of the Colony depend almost entirely on
the Hinterland. A very large proportion of the goods imported
into the Colony are carried into and consumed in the
Hinterland. These goods are paid for by means of the products
of the Hinterland, which are exported, and the profits derived
from the exchange enable the merchants to pay the Customs
duties, which constitute the bulk of the Colonial revenue. The
territories forming the Hinterland are, according to the
native organisation, ruled over by a large number of Chiefs
(or Kings, as they used to be, and still in native parlance
are, called). The portions of country under each Chief are
well ascertained, and recognised by the various Chiefs and
their subjects. …
"The relations between the English Government and the Chiefs
at the time of the conclusion of the Agreement between France
and England in 1895 was … that some of the Chiefs whose
territories lay most adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone
had contracted with the English Crown certain treaties of
cession, and treaties directed to definite objects of amity
and good offices. In addition there had sprung up by usage a
limited consensual and advisory jurisdiction, under which
Chiefs as well as persons not Chiefs would bring their
differences (mainly as to territorial boundaries) before the
Governor of Sierra Leone as a sort of arbitrator, and
implicitly follow his awards. This jurisdiction was exercised
over an area of no defined limits, so far as any rules were
concerned. As a fact, it was limited by conditions of distance
and facility of travel, so that whilst the usage was most
established in the countries nearest to Freetown, there was
none in the more distant regions, or if there was any it was
at most so rudimentary as to be jurally of no account. … I
have not been able to trace any instance in which, either
under treaty or any other form of consent, or without consent,
the English Government has imposed, or endeavoured to impose
any direct taxation upon the Chiefs or people of the
Hinterland prior to 1896.
"The agreement between France and Great Britain delimited the
respective spheres of interest of the two countries south and
west of the Middle or Upper Niger, and thus defined for
England in the Hinterland of Sierra Leone a territory within
which, so far as concerned any question between France and
England, England was at liberty to exercise whatever species
or extent of jurisdiction she might consider proper. It made,
of course, no alteration on the existing native organisation,
nor upon the existing relations between England and the native
Chiefs, who were not parties to the agreement in any sense. …
On 31st August 1896 a Proclamation was published setting forth
that Her Majesty had assumed a Protectorate over the
territories adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone in which
Her Majesty had acquired power and jurisdiction. For purposes
of administration the Hinterland was divided into five
districts, intended to be of about equal size, avoiding
severance as far as possible by the district boundary of the
territories of Paramount Chiefs. These districts have been
named as the Karene, Ronietta, Bandajuma, Pangmua, and
Koinadugu districts. In anticipation of the arrangements that
might become necessary for the government of the Protectorate,
an Order of the Queen in Council had been made on 24th August
1895, … whereby, … Her Majesty was pleased, by and with the
advice of her Privy Council, to order that it shall be lawful
for the Legislative Council, for the time being, of the Colony
of Sierra Leone, by Ordinance or Ordinances, to exercise and
provide for giving effect to all such jurisdiction as Her
Majesty may at any time, before or after the passing of the
Order in Council, have acquired in the said territories
adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone. … Following upon the
Order of the Queen in Council, an Ordinance, entitled 'An
Ordinance to Determine the mode of exercising Her Majesty's
Jurisdiction in the Territories adjacent to the Colony of
Sierra Leone,' was passed by the Legislative Council and
Governor of Sierra Leone for the Government of the
Protectorate, on 16th September 1896."
Great Britain,
Report and Correspondence on Insurrection in
the Sierra Leone Protectorate
(Parliamentary Publications:
Papers by Command, 1899, C. 9388, pages 10-17).
The Ordinance above mentioned, which was reenacted, with some
changes, in September, 1897, provided, among other things, for
the imposition of a house tax, or hut tax, upon the natives,
and this proved to be the main cause of a serious native
revolt in the Protectorate. "By way of asserting the Crown's
ownership of all lands, whether in use and occupation or
not—and also of attempting to make the people defray the cost
of governing them by methods they resent—the Protectorate
Ordinance imposes a 'house tax' of five shillings a year, and,
in the case of 'houses with four rooms or more,' of ten
shillings a year, on every 'householder'; the same to be paid
in 'sterling coin' on or after the 1st January in each year,
or, in default of payment on demand, to be distrained for with
so much addition as will defray the cost of removing the
property and disposing of it for 'the price current at the
nearest market.' The absurdity of thus importing the mechanism
of civilisation into 'house tax' levying among these ignorant
savages matches the injustice of the tax itself. The mud
hovels to be taxed are rarely worth more than the equivalent
of two or three shillings apiece, and shillings or other
'sterling coin' are rarely seen or handled by the natives,
such wages as they earn being generally paid in kind, and such
trade as they carry on being nearly always in the way of barter.
{455}
Few who are not chiefs or headmen own property worth as much
as five shillings, and property for which five shillings could
be obtained 'at the nearest market' might be worth the
equivalent of five pounds to them. There was no attempt to
raise the proposed house or hut tax before last January
[1898], and perhaps none of the natives have even yet any
understanding of the clauses of the Protectorate Ordinance
providing them with new-fangled 'courts of Justice,' and
taking from them all proprietary rights in their land. But as
soon as a proclamation was issued on 21st August, 1896,
notifying the contemplated changes, all who heard of them were
reasonably alarmed, and wherever the news spread seeds of fresh
discontent were sown. …
"There were burning of huts, buffeting of chiefs, and so
forth, in the south and east, as well as in the north, where,
owing to the alleged recalcitrancy of Bai Bureh and the zeal
of Captain Sharpe, the District Commissioner, the havoc was
greatest. Early in February several chiefs and headmen were
brought to Freetown from Port Lokko in manacles, to be tried,
or punished without trial, on a charge of 'refusing to comply
with the provisions of the Protectorate Ordinance, and
inciting their subjects to resist the law.' 'The most
affecting part of the matter,' says the newspaper report, 'is
that the natives all loudly affirm their unswerving loyalty to
the Government, and say that they do not refuse to pay the hut
tax because they do not wish to, but because they really
cannot pay.' Their apologies were not listened to. Instead, a
detachment of the West India Regiment was sent up to assist
Captain Sharpe in the little war on which he had already
embarked. A futile attempt to arrest Bai Bureh on 18th
February led to a general uprising, and the first battle was
fought on 3rd March, when the town of Karina was recovered
from the 'insurgents' who had occupied it, and over sixty of
them were killed. Another fight occurred at Port Lokko, on 5th
March, when the 'insurgents' lost about forty more. These
victories being insufficient, fresh troops were sent up in
batches, until the entire force of conquerors numbered 800 or
upwards. They found it easier to cow than to conquer the
people, and the unequal struggle went on for three months. At
the end of May operations had to be suspended during the rainy
season, and before they can be renewed it may be hoped that
peace will be patched up. Already, indeed, the 'rebellion'
appears to be practically crushed, and with it all the
civilisation and all the commerce that had been planted in the
Karina district. Hundreds of natives have been shot down, many
more hundreds have died of starvation. Nearly all the huts
that it was proposed to tax have been destroyed, either by the
owners themselves, or by the policemen and soldiers."
H. R. Fox Bourne,
Sierra Leone Troubles
(Fortnightly Review, August, 1898).
SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1895 (January-February).
Attitude of Free Silver majority in the U. S. Senate
towards the Treasury gold reserve.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1895 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY);
and 1895-1896 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY).
SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896.
In the American Presidential election.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896-1898.
The Indianapolis Monetary Commission report and
Secretary Gage's plan in Congress.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896-1898.
SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1897.
Negotiations by envoys from the United States for an
international bi-metallic agreement.
See (in this volume)
MONETARY QUESTIONS: A. D. 1897 (APRIL-OCTOBER).
SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1900.
Practical settlement of the issue in the United States.
Attempted revival in the Presidential canvass.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1900 (MARCH-DECEMBER), and (MAY-NOVEMBER).
SILVER REPUBLICANS.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER); and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
SI-NGAN-FU,
SINGAN FU, The Chinese Imperial Court at.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).
SIRDAR, Egyptian.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896; and 1897-1898.
SLAVERY: A. D. 1885.
Emancipation in Cuba.
See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1868-1885.
SLAVERY: A. D. 1895.
New anti-slavery law in Egypt.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1895.
SLAVERY: A. D. 1896.
Abolition in Madagascar.
See (in this volume)
MADAGASCAR: A. D. 1894-1896.
SLAVERY: SLAVERY: A. D. 1897.
Abolished in Zanzibar.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (ZANZIBAR).
SLAVERY: A. D. 1897.
Compulsory labor in Rhodesia.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY):
A. D. 1897 (JANUARY).
SLAVERY: A. D. 1897.
Subjugation of Fulah slave raiders in Nupé and Ilorin.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (NIGERIA).
SLAVERY: A. D. 1899.
Forced labor in Congo State.
See (in this volume)
CONGO FREE STATE: A. D. 1899.
SLESWICK:
Complaints of German treatment.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1899.
SMOKELESS POWDERS, Invention of.
See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS.
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII. on.
See (in this volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1901.
SOCIALIST PARTIES.
See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897, and after;
BELGIUM: A. D. 1894-1895;
FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (APRIL-MAY), and 1900 (JANUARY);
GERMANY: A. D. 1894-1895, and 1897 (JULY);
ITALY: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-MAY);
SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1894-1898;
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER),
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).
SOKOTO.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1882-1899.
SOLOMON ISLANDS, The:
Definite division between Great Britain and Germany.
See (in this volume)
SAMOAN ISLANDS.
SOMALIS, Rising of, in Jubaland.
See (in this volume)
BRITISH EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE: A. D. 1900.
SOUDAN.
See (in this volume)
SUDAN.
"SOUND MONEY" DEMOCRATS.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
{456}
----------SOUTH AFRICA: Start--------
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony: A. D. 1881-1888.
Organization of the "Afrikander Bund."
The "Afrikander Bund" or National Party was formed in Cape
Colony in 1881, but held its first Congress, or convention, in
1888, at which meeting the following platform, or formal
statement of objects, was adopted:
"1. The Afrikander National party acknowledge the guidance of
Providence in the affairs both of lands and peoples.
2. They include, under the guidance of Providence, the
formation of a pure nationality and the preparation of our
people for the establishment of a 'United South Africa.'
3. To this they consider belong:
(a) The establishment of a firm union between all the
different European nationalities in South Africa, and
(b) The promotion of South Africa's independence.
4. They consider that the union mentioned in Article 3 (a)
depends upon the clear and plain understanding of each other's
general interest in politics, agriculture, stock-breeding,
trade, and industry, and the acknowledgment of everyone's
special rights in the matter of religion, education, and
language; so that all national jealousy between the different
elements of the people may be removed, and room be made for an
unmistakable South African national sentiment.
5. To the advancement of the independence mentioned in
Article 3 (b) belong:
(a) That the sentiment of national self-respect and of
patriotism toward South Africa should above all be
developed and exhibited in schools, and in families, and in
the public press.
(b) That a system of voting should be applied which not
only acknowledges the right of numbers, but also that of
ownership and the development of intelligence, and that is
opposed, as far as possible, to bribery and compulsion at
the poll.
(c) That our agriculture, stock-breeding, commerce, and
industries should be supported in every lawful manner, such
as by a conclusive law as regards masters and servants, and
also by the appointment of a prudent and advantageous
system of Protection.
(d) That the South African Colonies and States, either each
for itself or in conjunction with one another, shall
regulate their own native affairs, employing thereto the

forces of the land by means of a satisfactory burgher law;
and
(e) That outside interference with the domestic concerns of
South Africa shall be opposed.
6. While they acknowledge the existing Governments holding
rule in South Africa, and intend faithfully to fulfil their
obligations in regard to the same, they consider that the duty
rests upon those Governments to advance the interests of South
Africa in the spirit of the foregoing articles; and whilst, on
the one side, they watch against any unnecessary or frivolous
interference with the domestic or other private matters of the
burgher, against any direct meddling with the spiritual
development of the nation, and against laws which might hinder
the free influence of the Gospel upon the national life, on
the other hand they should accomplish all the positive duties
of a good Government, among which must be reckoned:
(a) In all their actions to take account of the Christian
character of the people.
(b) The maintenance of freedom of religion for everyone, so
long as the public order and honor are not injured thereby.
(c) The acknowledgment and expression of religious, social,
and bodily needs of the people, in the observance of the
present weekly day of rest.
(d) The application of an equal and judicious system of
taxation.
(e) The bringing into practice of an impartial and, as far
as possible, economical administration of justice.
(f) The watching over the public honor, and against the
adulteration of the necessaries of life, and the defiling
of ground, water, or air, as well as against the spreading
of infectious diseases.
7. In order to secure the influence of these principles, they
stand forward as an independent party, and accept the
cooperation of other parties only if the same can be obtained
with the uninjured maintenance of these principles.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1884-1894.
The restored independence of the Boers and their
dissatisfaction with its terms.
Frustration of their desire for extended territory.
The London Convention of 1884.
After the British-Boer War of 1880-81
(see, in volume 4, SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1806-1881),
which had been caused by an arbitrary annexation of the
Transvaal State to the dominions of the British crown, the
sense of justice in Mr. Gladstone led him to restore to the
Transvaal Boers (by the Convention or Treaty of Pretoria,
1881) their right of internal self-government, with a
reservation of "the suzerainty of Her Majesty," supposably
relative to nothing but foreign affairs. The Boers were not
satisfied with that concession, and began at once to strive
for the complete independence they had previously possessed,
under a Convention agreed upon and signed at Sand River, 1852,
which guaranteed (quoting its precise terms) "in the fullest
manner, on the part of the British Government, to the emigrant
farmers (boers) beyond the Vaal River, the right to manage
their own affairs and to govern themselves, without any
interference on the part of Her Majesty the Queen's
Government." To regain that status of complete independence
became the first object of the Boers. They went far towards
success in this endeavor, as early as 1884, when the British
Colonial Secretary, Lord Derby, was induced to agree to a new
Convention with the South African Republic (as it was then
styled) which superseded the Convention of 1881. The terms of
the later instrument are given below. The second aim of the
Boers appears to have been the widening of their territory, by
advances, in the first instance, southward into Zululand and
westward into Bechuanaland. In the former movement they had
success; in the latter they were thwarted. English
missionaries complained of their treatment of the natives, and
stirred up the British government to take the Bechuana tribes
under its protection. Their eastern frontier they succeeded,
after long controversies with Great Britain, in stretching
beyond Swaziland, but they were not allowed to push it to the
sea. Northward, they would provably have gone far, had it not
been for the appearance, at this time, of Mr. Cecil Rhodes,
who came upon the scene of South African politics with
imperial ambitions, with great energies and capabilities, with
few apparent hesitations, and with a vast fortune acquired in the
Kimberley diamond mines. He organized the British South Africa
Company, under a royal charter, got some settlers into the
country north of the Limpopo and set up a government there, in
1890, just in time, it appears, to forestall the Boers
See, in volume 4,
SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1885-1893.
{457}
Of the effect of the two conventions, of 1881 and 1884, on the
relations of the British government to the South African
Republic, the following is an English view, by a well-known
publicist: "In the Treaty of Pretoria, bearing date the 5th of
April, 1881, it is stated that Great Britain guarantees
'complete self-government, subject to the Suzerainty of Her
Majesty, to the inhabitants of the Transvaal.' … Article 15
declares that 'the Resident will report to the High
Commissioner, as representative of the Suzerain, as to the
working and observance of the provisions of this Convention.'
… On the 31st of March, 1881, Lord Kimberley, who was then
Secretary of State for the Colonies, used these words in the
House of Lords with reference to the terms of the Convention,
upon which the Treaty of Pretoria was afterwards based: 'I
believe the word Suzerainty expresses very correctly the
relation which we intend to exist between this country and the
Transvaal. Our intention is that the Transvaal shall have
independent power as regards its internal government; and we
shall only reserve certain powers to be exercised by the
Queen. … With respect to our control over the relations of the
Transvaal with foreign Powers, … it is quite clear there ought
to be, as regards foreign relations, only one Government in
South Africa; that there ought to be no communication with
foreign Powers upon any subject except through the
representatives of the Queen.'
"On the 25th of June, 1881, Mr. Gladstone, while defending in
the House of Commons an assertion he had made during the
Midlothian Campaign about the blood-guiltiness of the war with
the Transvaal, referred to our Suzerainty in the following
words; 'I apprehend that the term which has been adopted, the
Suzerainty of the Queen, is intended to signify that certain
portions of Sovereignty are reserved. … What are these
portions of Sovereignty? The portions of Sovereignty we desire
to reserve are, first, the relations between the Transvaal
community and foreign governments, the whole care of the
foreign relations of the Boers. The whole of these relations
will remain in the hands of the Queen.'
"From these quotations it is obvious that when we agreed to
restore the independence of the Transvaal, the British public
were led to believe, both by the then Premier and the then
Colonial Minister, that this restoration left the control of
all relations between the Transvaal and foreign Powers
absolutely and entirely in the hands of Her Majesty's
Government. … It is possible, or even probable, that at the
time the Treaty of Pretoria was concluded, Mr. Gladstone, or
at any rate several of his colleagues, imagined that our
Suzerainty would really be made effective. But, when once the
treaty had been signed and sealed, and the South African
Republic had been granted absolute internal independence, it
became evident that our Suzerainty could only be rendered
efficacious, as against the sullen resistance of the Boers, by
the exercise of force—that is, by the threat of war in the
event of Boer non-compliance with the demands of the Suzerain
Power. …
"For the first two years which succeeded our surrender the
Boers were too much occupied in the reorganisation of the
Republic to trouble themselves greatly about their relations
to the Suzerain Power. … Disputes were mainly connected with
the treatment of the native chiefs, residing either within, or
on the borders of, the territory of the Republic, who
asserted, with or without reason, that they were the objects
of Boer hostility on account of the support they had given to
the British authorities during the period of British rule.
"In May 1883 Mr. Gladstone stated in Parliament, in answer to
certain protests about the proceedings of the Boers, that the
British Government had decided to send a Commissioner to the
Transvaal to investigate the working of the Convention
concluded at Pretoria in 1881. This intention, however, was
not carried out owing to the opposition of the South African
Republic. In lieu of the despatch of a British Commissioner to
the Transvaal, it was suggested at Pretoria that a Boer
deputation should be sent to London. The suggestion, as usual,
was accepted; and thereupon the Africander Bond in the Cape
Colony forwarded a petition to the Queen, praying Her Majesty
to entertain favourably the proposals of the Boer delegates
for the modification of the Treaty of Pretoria. The
deputation, consisting of President Kruger and Messieurs Du
Toit and Smit, arrived in London in October, and submitted to
the late Lord Derby, who had succeeded Lord Kimberley as
Minister for the Colonies, a statement of the modifications
they were instructed to demand. The memorandum in question
distinctly declared that the alleged impracticability of the
Treaty of Pretoria related, amongst other matters, 'to the
extent of the Suzerain rights reserved to Her Majesty by
Articles 2 and 18 of the Treaty of Pretoria, and to the vague
and indefinite terms in which the powers reserved to Her
Majesty's Government by the Convention are indicated.'
"To this memorandum Lord Derby replied, on the 20th of
November, 1883, admitting that 'expediency of substituting a
new agreement for that of 1881 might be matter for discussion,
but asking for information, in what sense it is wished that in
such new agreement some connection with England should be
maintained, and, if it is the desire of the Transvaal people
that their State should hereafter stand in any special
relation to this country, what is the form of connection which
is proposed?' In reply to this request the Boer delegates
answered as follows in the somewhat evasive fashion: 'In the
new agreement any connection by which we are now bound to
England should not be broken; but that the relation of a
dependency "publici juris" in which our country now stands to
the British Crown be replaced by that of two contractive
Powers.'
"The above documents were submitted to the Governor of Cape
Colony, the then Sir Hercules Robinson. Characteristically
enough, Sir Hercules recommended the surrender of our
Suzerainty on the ground that 'The Transvaal burghers
obviously do not intend to observe any condition in it (the
Convention of 1881) distasteful to themselves, which Her
Majesty's Government are not prepared to insist on, if
necessary, by the employment of force. Her Majesty's
Government, I understand, do not feel justified in proceeding
to this extremity; and no provision, therefore, of the
Convention which is not agreeable to the Transvaal will be
carried out.'
{458}
"A few days later the delegates submitted a draft treaty, in
which the following clause stands first: 'It is agreed that
Her Britannic Majesty recognises and guarantees by this treaty
the full independence of the South African Republic, with the
right to manage its own affairs according to its own laws,
without any interference on the part of the British
Government; it being understood that this system of
non-interference is binding on both parties.' To the letter
enclosing this draft treaty Lord Derby replied that the
proposed treaty was 'neither in form nor in substance such as
Her Majesty's Government could adopt.' Meanwhile the
discussion between the British Government and the Boer
delegates seems to have turned mainly upon the extension of
the territories of the Transvaal and the relations between the
Republic and the native chiefs, subjects which had only an
indirect bearing on the question of Suzerainty. It was only on
the 25th of January, 1884, that the Colonial Office wrote to
the delegates stating that if a certain compromise with regard
to the frontier line were accepted, the British Government
would be prepared 'to proceed at once with the consideration
of the other proposals for the modification of the Treaty of
Pretoria.' The delegates replied on the next day virtually
accepting the proposed frontier compromise, and requested the
British Government to proceed at once with the substitution of
a new Convention. … The draft treaty was signed on the 27th of
February, 1884. …
"The Convention of London did not repeat the preamble of the
original Convention in which the words 'subject to the
Suzerainty of Her Majesty' are to be found. Nor is the word
Suzerainty mentioned in the Convention of 1884, which declares
that the articles contained therein, if endorsed by the
Volksraad, 'shall be substituted for those of the Convention
of 1881.' No formal withdrawal, however, of the Queen's
Suzerainty is to be found in the Convention of 1884. On the
contrary, it is distinctly affirmed in Article 4 of the
modified Convention that 'the South African Republic will
conclude no treaty or engagement with any State or nation,
other than the Orange Free State, until the same has been
approved by Her Majesty the Queen.'"
Edward Dicey,
British Suzerainty in the Transvaal
(Nineteenth Century, October, 1897).
In its preamble, the Convention of 1884 recites that—"Whereas
the Government of the Transvaal State, through its Delegates,
consisting of [Kruger, Du Toit and Smit], have represented
that the Convention signed at Pretoria on the 3rd day of
August, 1881, and ratified by the Volksraad of the said State
on the 25th of October, 1881, contains certain provisions
which are inconvenient, and imposes burdens and obligations
from which the said State is desirous to be relieved, and that
the south-western boundaries fixed by the said Convention
should be amended with a view to promote the peace and good
order of the said State, … now, therefore, Her Majesty has
been pleased to direct," &c.—substituting the articles of a
new Convention for those signed and ratified in 1881.
Article I. of the new Convention describes the lines of
boundary as amended. Article II. binds the two governments,
respectively, to guard said boundaries against all
trespassing. Article III. provides for the reception and
protection, at Pretoria, of a resident British officer, "to
discharge functions analogous to those of a consular officer."
Article IV. reads as follows: "The South African Republic will
conclude no Treaty or engagement with any State or nation
other than the Orange Free State, nor with any native tribe to
the eastward or westward of the Republic, until the same has been
approved by Her Majesty the Queen. Such approval shall be
considered to have been granted if Her Majesty's Government
shall not, within six months after receiving a copy of such
Treaty (which shall be delivered to them immediately upon its
completion), have notified that the conclusion of such Treaty
is in conflict with the interests of Great Britain, or of any
of Her Majesty's possessions in South Africa."
Articles V. and VI. relate to public debts. Article VII.
guarantees the non-molestation of persons in the South African
Republic who "remained loyal to Her Majesty during the late
hostilities." Article VIII. is a declaration against slavery
in the Republic. Article IX. is in language as follows: "There
will continue to be complete freedom of religion and
protection from molestation for all denominations, provided
the same be not inconsistent with morality and good order; and
no disability shall attach to any person in regard to rights
of property by reason of the religious opinions which he
holds." Article X. relates to graves of British soldiers; XI.
to former grants of land which the present arrangement of
boundary places outside of the Republic; XII. to the
independence of the Swazis; XIII. to non-discrimination in
import duties on both sides.
Articles XIV. and XV. read thus: Article XIV. "All persons,
other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the
South African Republic, (a) will have full liberty, with their
families, to enter, travel or reside in any part of the South
African Republic; (b) they will be entitled to hire or possess
houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises; (c)
they may carry on their commerce either in person or by any
agents whom they may think fit to employ; (d) they will not be
subject, in respect of their persons or property, or in
respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes, whether
general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed
upon citizens of the said Republic." Article XV. "All persons,
other than natives, who establish their domicile in the
Transvaal between the 12th day of April, 1877, and the 8th day
of August, 1881, and who within twelve months after such last
mentioned date have had their names registered by the British
resident, shall be exempt from all compulsory military service
whatever." Article XVI. provides for a future extradition
treaty; XVII. for the payment of debts in the same currency in
which they were contracted; XVIII. establishes the validity of
certain land grants; XIX. secures certain rights to the
natives; XX. nullifies the Convention if not ratified by the
Volksraad within six months from the date of its
signature—February 27, 1884.
{459}
With considerable reluctance, the Convention was ratified by
the Volksraad of the South African Republic in the following
terms: "The Volksraad having considered the new Convention
concluded between its deputation and the British Government at
London on 27th February 1884, as likewise the negotiations
between the contracting parties, which resulted in the said
Convention, approves of the standpoint taken by its deputation
that a settlement based upon the principle of the Sand River
Convention can alone fully satisfy the burghers of the
Republic. It also shares the objections set forth by the
deputation against the Convention of Pretoria, as likewise
their objections against the Convention of London on the
following points:
1st.
The settlement of the boundary, especially on the western
border of the Republic, in which the deputation eventually
acquiesced only under the express conditions with which the
Raad agree.
2nd.
The right of veto reserved to the British Crown upon treaties
to be concluded by the Republic with foreign powers; and
3rd.
The settlement of the debt.
Seeing, however, that in the said Convention of London
considerable advantages are secured to the Republic,
especially in the restoration of the country's independence,
Resolves, With acknowledgment of the generosity of Her
Britannic Majesty, to ratify, as it hereby does, the said
Convention of London."
Selected Official Documents of the South African
Republic and Great Britain
(Supplement to the Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science, July, 1900).
Also in:
State Papers, British and Foreign, volume 75.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1885-1890.
The gold discoveries on the Rand and the influx
of Uitlanders (Outlanders or Foreigners).
"It was not until 1884 that England heard of the presence of
gold in South Africa. A man named Fred Stuben, who had spent
several years in the country, spread such marvellous reports
of the underground wealth of the Transvaal that only a short
time elapsed before hundreds of prospectors and miners left
England for South Africa. When the first prospectors
discovered auriferous veins of wonderful quality on a farm
called Sterkfontein, the gold boom had its birth. It required
the lapse of only a short time for the news to reach Europe,
America, and Australia, and immediately thereafter that vast
and widely scattered army of men and women which constantly
awaits the announcement of new discoveries of gold was set in
motion toward the Randt [the Witwatersrand or
Whitewatersridge]. … In December, 1885, the first stamp mill
was erected for the purpose of crushing the gneiss rock in
which the gold lay hidden. This enterprise marks the real
beginning of the gold fields of the Randt, which now yield one
third of the world's total product of the precious metal. The
advent of thousands of foreigners was a boon to the Boers, who
owned the large farms on which the auriferous veins were
located. Options on farms that were of little value a short
time before were sold at incredible figures, and the prices
paid for small claims would have purchased farms of thousands
of acres two years before. In July, 1886, the Government
opened nine farms to the miners, and all have since become the
best properties on the Randt. … On the Randt the California
scenes of '49 were being re-enacted. Tents and houses of sheet
iron were erected with picturesque lack of beauty and
uniformity, and during the latter part of 1886 the community
had reached such proportions that the Government marked off a
township and called it Johannesburg. The Government, which
owned the greater part of the land, held three sales of
building lots, or 'stands,' as they are called in the
Transvaal, and realized more than $300,000 from the sales. …
Millions were secured in England and Europe for the
development of the mines, and the individual miner sold his
claims to companies with unlimited capital. The incredibly
large dividends that were realized by some of the investors
led to too heavy investments in the Stock Exchange in 1889,
and a panic resulted. Investors lost thousands of pounds, and
for several months the future of the gold fields appeared to
be most gloomy. The opening of the railway to Johannesburg and
the re-establishment of stock values caused a renewal of
confidence, and the growth and development of the Randt was
imbued with renewed vigour. Owing to the Boers' lack of
training and consequent inability to share in the development
of the gold fields, the new industry remained almost entirely
in the hands of the newcomers, the Uitlanders [so called in
the language of the Boers], and two totally different
communities were created in the republic. The Uitlanders, who,
in 1890, numbered about 100,000, lived almost exclusively in
Johannesburg and the suburbs along the Randt. The Boers,
having disposed of their farms and lands on the Randt, were
obliged to occupy the other parts of the republic, where they
could follow their pastoral and agricultural pursuits. The
natural contempt which the Englishmen, who composed the
majority of the Uitlander population, always have for persons
and races not their intellectual or social equals, soon
created a gulf between the Boers and the newcomers."
H. C. Hillegas,
Oom Paul's People,
chapter 3
(with permission of D. Appleton & Co., copyright, 1899).
As the influx of newcomers increased and advanced, "the Boers
realized that the world and civilisation were once more upon
them. In spite of all the opposition that patriarchal
prejudice could muster, railways usurped the place of the slow
moving ox-waggon, and in the heart of their solitude a city
had arisen; while to the north and to the east between them
and the sea were drawn the thin red lines of British boundary.
… A primitive pastoral people, they found themselves isolated,
surrounded—'shut in a kraal for ever,' as Kruger is reported
to have said,—while the stranger was growing in wealth and
numbers within their gates. Expansion of territory, once the
dream of the Transvaal Boers, as their incursions into
Bechuanaland, into Zululand, and the attempted trek into
Rhodesia, all testify, was becoming daily less practicable.
One thing remained,—to accept their isolation and strengthen
it. Wealth, population, a position among the new States of the
world had been brought to them, almost in spite of themselves,
by the newcomer, the stranger, the Uitlander. What was to be
the attitude towards him politically? Materially he had made
the State—he developed its resources, paid nine-tenths of its
revenue. Would he be a strength or a weakness as a citizen—as
a member of the body politic? Let us consider this new element
in a new State—how was it constituted, what were its component
parts? Was it the right material for a new State to
assimilate?
{460}
Cosmopolitan to a degree—recruited from all the corners of the
earth—there was in it a strong South African element,
consisting of young colonists from the Cape Colony and
Natal—members of families well known in South Africa—and many
of them old schoolfellows or in some other way known to each
other. Then the British contingent, self-reliant, full of
enterprise and energy—Americans, for the most part skilled
engineers, miners and mechanics—French, Germans, and
Hollanders. A band of emigrants, of adventurers, and
constituted, as I think all emigrants are, of two great
classes—the one who, lacking neither ability nor courage, are
filled with an ambition, characteristic particularly of the
British race, to raise their status in the world, who find the
conditions of their native environment too arduous, the
competition too keen, to offer them much prospect, and who
seek a new and more rapidly developing country elsewhere; and
another, a smaller class who sometimes through misfortune,
sometimes through their own fault, or perhaps through both,
have failed elsewhere.
"Adventurers all, one must admit; but it is the adventurers of
the world who have founded States and Kingdoms. Such a class
as this has been assimilated by the United States and absorbed
into their huge fabric, of which to-day they form a huge and
substantial portion. What should the Transvaal Boers have done
with this new element so full of enterprise and vigour? This
had been for the last ten years the great question for them to
solve. … Enfranchisement, participation in the political life
of the State by the Uitlander,—this means, they said, a
transference of all political power from our hands to those of
men whom we do not trust. 'I have taken a man into my coach,'
said President Kruger, 'and as a passenger he is welcome; but
now he says, Give me the reins; and that I cannot do, for I
know not where he will drive me.' To the Boer it is all or
nothing; he knows no mean, no compromise. Yet in that very
mean lies the vital spirit of republicanism. What is the
position of the Boers in the Cape Colony? Are they without
their share, their influence, their Africander bond in the
political affairs of the country? And so it is throughout the
world today,—in the United States, in England, in France, in
the British Colonies, wherever the individual thrives and the
State is prosperous—the compromise of divided political power
among all classes, all factions, is the great guarantee of
their well being. … That the enfranchisement of the Uitlander
would mean a complete transference of political power into his
hands involves two assumptions: the first is that the
Uitlanders would form a united body in politics; the second is
that their representatives would dominate the Volksraad. The
most superficial acquaintance with the action of the
inhabitants of the Witwatersrand district on any public matter
will serve to refute the first of these. … The second of these
assumptions—though it is continually put forward—almost
answers itself. The number of representatives from the
Uitlander districts under any scheme of redistribution of
seats which the Boer could reasonably be expected to make
would fall considerably short of those returned from the Boer
constituencies. Such was the attitude of the Boers on this
vital question which led to the Reform Movement of 1895; and I
have stated what I believe to be the injustice of it as
regards the Uitlanders and the unwisdom of it in the true
interests of the Boers."
A. P. Hillier,
Raid and Reform,
pages 24-29 (London: Macmillan & Co.).
SOUTH AFRICA:
Portuguese Possessions: A. D. 1891.
Delagoa Bay Railway question.
See (in this volume)
DELAGOA BAY ARBITRATION.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The Transvaal: A. D. 1894.
Estimated population.
In October, 1894, the British agent at Pretoria, J. A. de Wet,
estimated the population of the Transvaal (on the basis of a
census taken in 1890) as follows:
"Transvaalers and Orange Free Staters, 70,861:
British subjects, 62,509:
other foreigners, 15,558;"
total, 148,928.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The Transvaal: A. D. 1894.
The "Commandeering" question.
Visit of the British High Commissioner to Pretoria.
Demonstration of British residents.
The first question which came to a sharp issue between the
government of the South African Republic and the British
subjects resident in the gold fields related to the claim
which the former made on the latter for military service in
the wars of the Republic with neighboring native tribes. The
demand for such service was made, in each case, by what was
called a "commando," the commando being defined in the
military law of the Boers as follows: "By commando is
understood a number of armed burghers and subjects of the
state called together to suppress rebellion amongst the
natives, or disturbances amongst the white population."
British residents protested against the requirement of this
service from them; and the British Government, in 1894, opened
negotiations with that of the Boer Republic to obtain their
exemption from it. It was acknowledged that there is "nothing
contrary to international comity in the application of such a
law as the commando law to a foreigner"; but, said the British
Colonial Secretary, in a despatch (June 8, 1894) giving
instructions to the British High Commissioner in South Africa,
"Her Majesty's Government consider that a special reason for
now claiming exemption for our people is afforded by the fact
that treaties have been concluded by the South African
Republic under which, as they understand, the subjects of no
less than seven Powers—Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Germany,
France, Italy, and Switzerland—are now exempt from this
liability; and they consider that they can hardly be expected
to acquiesce in a state of things under which Her Majesty's
subjects, whose interests in the South African Republic are
greater and more intimate than those of any other Power,
should remain in a position of such marked disadvantage. I
have therefore to instruct you to address, in moderate and
courteous terms, a friendly representation to the Government
of the South African Republic on the subject."
Negotiations on the subject were then opened, which led to a
visit to the Boer capital by the British High Commissioner,
Sir H. B. Loch, on invitation from President Kruger. His
arrival at Pretoria (June 25) gave occasion for a
demonstration on the part of British residents which showed
the state of feeling existing more plainly, no doubt, than it
had appeared before. The circumstances were reported a few
days later by the High Commissioner, as follows: "When I
entered the carriage with President Kruger, two men got on to
the box with a Union Jack, and the crowd, notwithstanding the
President's remonstrances, took the horses out and dragged the
carriage to the hotel, a distance of nearly a mile, singing all
the way 'God save the Queen,' and 'Rule Britannia.'
{461}
On arrival at the hotel, the address was presented, to which I
briefly replied, and then called for three cheers for the
President, which were heartily given. He was then dragged in
his carriage to the Government Office. I am satisfied that no
personal insult was intended, by this demonstration, to the
President, and any annoyance with which he viewed the
occurrence seemed to be caused from the fact of the
arrangements for keeping order having been so defective. The
political atmosphere, however, was charged with such an amount
of electricity that every moment an explosion was imminent.
The Legislative and Executive enactments which press heavily
on the great industry which contributes upwards of £1,000,000
annually out of a total revenue of little more than a million
and a quarter, without the population that produces this
wealth possessing any franchise rights, or voice in the
government of the country, has created a deep-seated feeling
of dissatisfaction, shared alike by the English, American,
German, and other foreign residents in the country. The
compulsory commandeering was the last straw that broke down
the patience they had hitherto exhibited. … The Transvaal
Government were, before my arrival, seriously alarmed at the
state of feeling at Johannesburg, but when they came to
consider the real meaning of the demonstration on my arrival
at Pretoria, which showed to them how general the
dissatisfaction was amongst all classes of British subjects,
who formed the majority of the whole population of the
Republic, they, for the first time, realised the imminent
danger of the situation, and told me of their dread of a
collision that at any moment might occur between the Boer
burghers, who were in considerable numbers in the town, and
the English and foreign residents."
To avoid any further excitement of feeling, the Commissioner
declined to visit Johannesburg, which he had intended to do.
During his stay at Pretoria, he submitted to President Kruger
the draft of a Convention stipulating that "the subjects of
Her Majesty the Queen whilst residing within the limits of the
South African Republic, and the citizens of the South African
Republic whilst residing within the dominions of Her Majesty
the Queen, shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as the
subjects of the most favoured nation with regard to military
service and all obligations of a like nature"; and he received
from President Kruger a counter proposition, for the
negotiation of a new agreement, to take the place of the
London Convention of 1884, embodying the desired provision
concerning military service, along with other amendments of
the old Convention. To this proposal, President Kruger added:
"In order, however, to meet the request of Her Majesty's
Government, the Government will, in the meantime,
provisionally, no more commandeer British subjects for
personal military service." Practically, this assurance
disposed of the commandeering grievance; but no Convention on
the subject was attained.
Great Britain, Parliamentary Publication.
(Papers by Command, C. 8159).
"A great mass meeting was held at Johannesburg (July 14) for
the purpose of demanding that the franchise should be extended
to all aliens, and insisting that the Constitution should be
amended and made more genuinely democratic. In consequence of
this meeting the Volksraad passed at one sitting two readings
of a bill restricting severely the right of public meeting. No
outdoor meetings or addresses were to be allowed, and an
assemblage of six persons would be considered a public
meeting. The police were given power by this bill to order
those present to disperse, and everyone attending was made
liable to imprisonment for two years, while the callers of any
meeting that the police might consider to be against the
public peace might be fined £500 or sentenced to two years
hard labour. … On the return of the 'commandeered' men from
the war [with the rebellious chief Malaboch] President Kruger
welcomed them, and said that no doubt the Volksraad would
bestow on them the rights of full citizenship. The effect of
the Franchise Act passed in June, however, was in general to
prevent any citizen from obtaining the franchise unless his
father was born in the State or had been naturalized. The
formation of committees by aliens for the support of political
candidates was rendered penal. … The Volksraad postponed for
one year the consideration of the Government proposal to grant
the franchise to the foreign residents who had recently served
in the various 'commandos' against the Kaffir rebels."
Annual Register, 1894, page 369.
SOUTH AFRICA:
British South Africa Company: A. D. 1894-1895.
Extended charter and enlarged powers of the Company.
Its master spirit, Mr. Cecil J. Rhodes.
Attitude towards the South African Republic.
The British South Africa Company, royally chartered in 1889
for the promotion of "trade, commerce, civilization and good
government" in "the region of South Africa lying immediately
to the north of British Bechuanaland, and to the north and
west of the South African Republic, and to the west of the
Portuguese dominions," was now in full possession, both
politically and commercially, not only of the great domain of
the Matabeles and the Mashonas, stretching to the Zambesi
River, but likewise of a vast territory beyond that stream.
Its charter had been extended in 1891, to cover the whole
sphere of British influence north of the Zambesi, except the
strip of country called Nyassaland, which borders the western
shore of Nyassa Lake. It had subjugated the Matabeles,
extinguished their kingdom, driven its native sovereign, Lo
Bengula, to exile and death.
See in volume 4,
SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1885-1893.
By a new agreement with the British Government, signed on the
23d of May, 1894, it had received political authority over
this imperial domain, in addition to the powers and privileges
which its broad charter gave.
The administration of the government of the region was to be
conducted by the Company, under an Administrator and a Council
of four members composed of a Judge and three other members.
The Administrator to be appointed by the Company, with the
approval of the Colonial Secretary, and to be removed either
by the Secretary or by the Company, with the approval of the
Secretary. The Judge, appointed by the Company, with the
approval of the Colonial Secretary, and removable only by the
Secretary, was to be a member of the Council ex officio.
{462}
The members of the Council, other than the Judge, to be
appointed by the Company, with the approval of the Secretary,
and to be removable by the Company. … The Administrator
should, as representative of the Company, administer the
government, but must take the advice of his Council on all
questions of importance. In cases of emergency, when he found
it impracticable to assemble a quorum, the Administrator might
take action alone, but must report such action to the Council
at its next meeting. Moreover, he might overrule the Council,
but must, in that case, report the matter forthwith to the
Company, with the reasons for his action; and the Company
might rescind the decision of the Administrator, whether made
with, or without, or against, the advice of the Council. With
the concurrence of at least two members of the Council, and
with the approval of the British High Commissioner for South
Africa, the Administrator was empowered to frame and issue
regulations, which should have the force of law; but the
Colonial Secretary or the Company could veto any such
regulation at any time within twelve months of the date of
approval by the High Commissioner. This power of making
ordinances included the power to impose such taxes as might be
necessary, and the right to impose and to collect customs
duties. The armed forces of the Company were expressly
forbidden to act outside the defined limits of its territory
without the permission of Her Majesty's Government.
The master spirit of the Company which exercised these
imperial powers of government over so great a dominion in
Africa was Mr. Cecil J. Rhodes, Premier of Cape Colony,
organizer and chief of the De Beers Consolidated Mining Co. in
the diamond fields,—millionaire projector and manager of
everything stupendous in the enterprises of the African world.
He seemed, in fact, to be more than a master spirit in the
Company. Apparently he had created it as an instrument of his
ambitions, and it moved in his shadow throughout. Its
Administrator, Dr. Leander S. Jameson, was his closely
confidential friend. Presently it stamped his name on the
broad empire which bore already the stamp of his personality
and will, by proclaiming (May 1, 1895): "The territories now
or hereafter placed under the control of the British South
Africa Company shall be named collectively Rhodesia. The
provinces at the present time included in the territory of
Rhodesia are Mashonaland, Matabeleland, and Northern
Zambesia." Great ambitions—imperial ambitions—had thus come
to be powerfully embodied in a corporation which practically
served the will of one remarkably able man. They were
ambitions which had been in conflict from the beginning with
the interests as well as the ambitions of the Boers of the
South African Republic, and the conflict was not to be ended
by the triumph which the Rhodesians had won. Naturally the
Boer was jealous and distrustful of the energetic men who had
seized lands which he desired and hemmed his republic in.
Naturally, too, the bold adventurers of Rhodesia, arrogant in
their success and as little scrupulous as "empire-builders"
are apt to be, looked with contempt and impatience at the
plodding Boer, as an obstacle to their booming development in
Africa of a civilization "up to date." Between the two
incongruous neighbors rose the cry of the angry Uitlanders at
Johannesburg, threatening the one and appealing to the
sympathy of the other. The consequences soon appeared.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The Transvaal: A. D. 1895 (July).
Opening of Delagoa Bay Railway.-
The opening of the railway to Delagoa Bay was celebrated with
much ceremony at Pretoria on the 8th of July.
SOUTH AFRICA:
The Transvaal: A. D. 1895 (September-December).
Closing of Vaal River "drifts" (fords) as ports of entry.
Anger in Cape Colony.
A threatening situation.
In September, the government of the South African Republic
adopted a measure, for the benefit of its new railway,
connecting Delagoa Bay with Pretoria, and for the development
of foreign trade via Delagoa Bay rather than through Cape
Colony, which raised a storm of indignation at the Cape,
giving birth to a grievance there which became for a time more
threatening than the grievances of the Uitlanders of the Rand.
The measure in question was one that closed the "drifts" or
fords of the Vaal River, between Cape Colony and the
Transvaal, as ports of entry for the importation of over-sea
goods. As stated by the British High Commissioner, in a
despatch (October 7) to Mr. Chamberlain, the British Colonial
Secretary, the history of the case is as follows:
"In the year 1891 the Cape Government came to an agreement
with the Transvaal Government and the Netherlands Railway
Company to advance the latter £600,000 towards the
construction of the railway from the Vaal river to
Johannesburg, receiving in exchange for such advance
Netherlands Railway Company 4 per cent. bonds at £93,
guaranteed by the Transvaal Government. It was stipulated in
the agreement that the Cape Government might fix the traffic
rates on the Transvaal extension until the close of 1894, or
until the completion of the railway from Delagoa Bay to
Pretoria, if such completion should take place before that
date. The railway extension from the Vaal river so provided
for was opened in September, 1892, and the Cape Government
secured thereby, during the continuance of the agreement,
practically the monopoly of the Johannesburg traffic. The
agreement terminated on the 31st December, 1894, the Delagoa
Bay to Pretoria Railway having shortly before been completed
and commenced working. Up to the close of the agreement the
through-traffic rates from the coast to Johannesburg had been
fixed by the Cape at the average rate of about 2.4d. per ton
per mile. After the close of the agreement the Netherlands
Railway Company raised the rates on its 52 miles of railway,
from the Vaal river to Johannesburg, to an average of nearly
8d. per ton per mile. Upon this importers began to remove a
portion of their goods from the railway at the Vaal river, and
to send them on by road and bullock-waggon to their
destination in the Transvaal, instead of by the Netherlands
Railway to Johannesburg and elsewhere as before. This move has
recently been met by the Transvaal Government issuing a
Proclamation closing the drifts on the Vaal river alongside
the railway as ports of entry for over-sea goods, leaving them
open for other goods, the produce of South Africa. Importers of
over-sea goods have thus only the choice between making use of
the Netherlands line from the Vaal to Johannesburg at the
enhanced traffic rates imposed on that line, or of importing
via Delagoa Bay or Durban."
{463}
Vigorous remonstrances against this measure were made
instantly by the government of Cape Colony, not only on the
ground of its unfriendliness to the Colony, but also as being
an infraction of the 13th article of the London Convention of
1884 (see above: A. D. 1884-1894), and the British government
was appealed to for its interference. To this appeal the
British Colonial Secretary replied with much caution, on the
1st of November, in a communication cabled to the High
Commissioner, as follows: "Subject to the conditions stated
further on, I am prepared to authorize you to send to the
Government of the South African Republic a message to the
following effect.:—'I am advised by the Law Officers of the
Crown (who, it is hardly necessary to state, have examined the
question from a purely legal standpoint) that the recent
action of the South African Republic is a breach of Article
XIII. of the London Convention. I am further advised that the
Government of the South African Republic cannot now set itself
right by making general the prohibition of entry by the
drifts, so as to include Colonial goods, if and when they
reissue their Proclamation, which, I am surprised to observe,
they appear to have some intention of doing. Her Majesty's
Government accept the legal advice which they have received;
but independently of their Conventional rights they are of
opinion that the closing of the drifts, and especially the
extension of that measure to Colonial goods, is so unfriendly
an action as to call for the gravest remonstrance on their
part. While anxious for an amicable settlement of the
question, they must therefore protest against what they regard
as an attempt to force the hand of the Cape Government in
Conference by a proceeding which almost partakes of the nature
of an act of hostility.' You will communicate this message
confidentially to your Ministers in writing, pointing out that
when once it is sent Her Majesty's Government cannot allow the
matter to drop until they have obtained a compliance with
their demands, even if it should be necessary to undertake an
expedition for that purpose. Her Majesty's Government do not
intend that such au expedition should, like most previous
Colonial wars, be conducted at the entire cost of this
country; and you should explain to your Ministers that you are
therefore instructed to require from them a most explicit
undertaking in writing that, if it becomes necessary to send
an expedition, the Cape Parliament will bear half the gross
expense, and that the Local Government will furnish a fair
contingent of the fighting force, so far as its resources in
men may suffice, besides giving the full and free use of its
railways and rolling stock for military purposes. If your
Ministers cannot give you such assurances you will report
fully by telegraph, and defer action pending further
instructions from me; but if you obtain these assurances in
writing, explicitly and without qualification, you may send
the above message to the Government of the South African
Republic."
This was followed by a further cautionary message, November 3,
in these words: "Referring to my telegrams of the 1st
November, although willing to support your Ministers on the
conditions already stated, I should think it would be well, in
their own interests, and those of South African commerce
generally, if they will be as moderate as they can find it
consistent with their duty to be in their demands as to their
share of railway business. I have no doubt that you have
availed yourself of any chances you may have had of impressing
such a view on them and if you think it expedient you may tell
them, confidentially, that such is my view." On the 4th, Sir
Hercules Robinson replied: "My Ministers, including Schreiner
and Faure, the two Dutch Members, were unanimous in their
decision to accept your conditions. I am assured by Mr. Rhodes
that he can count on the support of the majority in the Cape
Parliament, and there are no facts before me which would lead
me to a different view; but I do not think that the question
will arise, as the Government of the South African Republic
will not hold out against the united action of the Cape and
Her Majesty's Government." On the same day he transmitted to
President Kruger the message contained (as above) in Secretary
Chamberlain's despatch of November 1. On the 21st of November
the reply of the Transvaal Government was given, as follows:
"This Government most deeply regrets that the Cape Colony has
by its own acts created a condition of things, in consequence
of which it afterwards found itself compelled to invoke the
intervention of the British Government, and it still more
deeply regrets that Her Majesty's Government, on the 'ex
parte' representations of the Cape Colony, felt itself
constrained to telegraph to this Government in the terms of
the communication of the 3rd instant. From the reply of this
Government, it will be evident to your Excellency that it
wishes to contribute in every possible way to preserve the
good understanding in South Africa, and it therefore considers
a passage such as occurs in your Excellency's telegram of the 3rd
instant, 'An attempt to force the hand of the Cape Government
at the Conference by a measure which almost resembles the
nature of a hostile act,' not justified as regards this
Republic. This Government adheres to its opinion and view that
it has an undoubted right to regulate the ports of entrance on
the borders of the Republic, and if Her Majesty's Government
calls this an unfriendly act, this Government can only say
that it was the consequence of an unfriendly act of the Cape
Colony. In order not to be the cause of disturbance in South
Africa, this Government is prepared to submit the regulating
of the ports of entrance on the borders to arbitration, it
being convinced of the justice of its assertion that the
regulating of the ports of entrance on its borders by it is no
infringement of Article 13 of the Convention of London."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: 1897, C. 8474, pages 11-21.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1895 (November).
The state of discontent among the Uitlanders, and its causes.
The franchise question.
Growth of British Imperialistic designs.
The suspension of commandeering went a very little way towards
removing the grievances of the British residents in the
Transvaal. Underlying that and all other causes of discontent
was the evident determination of the Boer inhabitants of the
Republic to keep in their own hands the whole power of
government, both state and municipal, and to deal with the
increasing multitude of incomers from the outside world (whom
they called Uitlanders, or Outlanders) permanently as aliens,
excluded from citizenship by as many bars as a jealous
legislature could raise.
{464}
Until 1882, a foreigner, settling in the Transvaal, could
become a citizen and a voter after a residence of two years.
The required residence was then raised to five years, and in
1887 it was carried up to fifteen. By this time the immigrant
population was growing numerous, and its complaints of
disfranchisement and non representation in the Volksraad, or
Legislature, soon took on angry tones. In 1890 a nominal
concession was made to the discontented Uitlanders, by the
creation of a Second Volksraad (see, in this volume,
CONSTITUTION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC—the bracketed
amendments or added articles following Article 29), to which
they could elect representatives. The suffrage in elections to
this new chamber was given after two years residence, on the
taking of an oath of allegiance to the Republic, and
qualification for sitting in it was acquired after a residence
of four years. But the Second Volksraad had no independent
power. It could act only on certain specified subjects,
taxation not included, and all that it did was subject to
overruling by the First Volksraad, while the enactments of the
latter were entirely valid without its consent. The Second
Volksraad, in fact, was no actual branch of the national
legislature, but a powerless appendage to it, where an
appearance of representation in the government could be given
to the Uitlander population without the reality.
Naturally, this aggravated rather than pacified the discontent
of the new comers. They were a rapidly increasing multitude,
congregated, for the most part, in one district, where it was
easy for them to feel and act in combination. By 1895 there
was said to be 100,000 of them in the 'Witwatersrand, and some
60,000 natives were working in their mines. They were being
heavily taxed, and they complained that they could get nothing
adequate in return for the taxation,—neither an efficient
police, nor decent sanitary regulations, nor a proper water
supply, nor a safe restraint upon the sale of liquors to their
native work people. At the same time it was charged that
corruption prevailed in the omnipotent First Volksraad, and
among public officials, and that, on the whole, the Republic
was in bad as well as in ignorant hands. This was not alone
the view of the complaining foreign residents, but was shared
more or less by unprejudiced visitors to the country,
including Mr. James Bryce, who travelled in the Transvaal in
1895, and who wrote of the grievances of the Uitlanders in
quite a sympathetic vein.
Until the gold-seekers came into it, the Republic had been
poor and its revenues small. Their coming gave it a full

treasury. They were the principal consumers of the imported
goods on which its tariff was laid. Their large use of
dynamite and other explosives in mining gave the government an
opportunity to make a highly profitable monopoly of the
manufacture, afterwards exchanged for an equally profitable
concession to a monopolistic company. Their mines were the
proper subject of a tax which yielded large returns. In fact,
the Republic was taking much to itself from the Uitlanders,—no
more, perhaps, than it had a fair right to take,—but,
according to what seems to be trustworthy testimony, it was
giving them far less in return for it than they had a just
right to demand, and it was offering them no prospect of
anything better in time to come.
It seems to be certain that responsibility for whatever was
hostile and unjust in the treatment of the foreign population
rested largely upon the President of the Republic, Mr. Paul
Kruger, who had been at the head of the government for many
years. He exercised an influence and authority that had
scarcely any limit. The Volksraad was obedient to his will,
and most of its legislation was understood to emanate from him
and from those whose council he took. There can be little
doubt that he practically shaped the whole policy of the Boer
Republic in its dealing with the Uitlanders, and that it
expressed the attitude of his mind toward foreigners in
general and Englishmen in particular. He distrusted even the
Dutch of Cape Colony, and sought Hollanders for the public
service when he needed qualifications which his own people did
not possess.
"While within the Transvaal there was growing discontent,
matters were so shaping themselves without as to still further
complicate the situation. The idea of a Confederation of
British South Africa and the extension of the British sphere
to the Zambesi, had long been the dream of imperialists, and
the ruling classes at the Cape had persistently urged this
upon the home government. … After the consolidation of the
diamond companies. Mr. Cecil Rhodes became the imperialist
leader in South Africa and marshaled behind him all the
corporate interests and combined influence of his many
associates. The Boer Republics stood in the way of the success
of imperialistic enterprise. Then too the 'scramble for
Africa,' which began with the efforts of the King of Belgium
to consolidate the native tribes of central Africa under
Belgian rule and which resulted in the carving out of the
Congo Free State, the assertion of German protection over
Damaraland and Namaqueland, and the joint effort of European
powers to check the British sphere, all lent zest to ambition
and brought the English popular mind into temper for concerted
action. Under such circumstances the 'little England' party
lost its standing and an imperial policy gained fullest
support. With such an atmosphere surrounding the Transvaal the
grievances of the 'aliens' within could not long be
disregarded without serious trouble."
F. A. Cleveland,
The South African Conflict
(The American Academy of Political and Social Science,
Number 265), pages 19-22.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1895-1896.
Revolutionary conspiracy of disaffected Uitlanders
at Johannesburg with Rhodesians.
The Jameson Raid and its results.
In the fall of 1895, certain of the disaffected Uitlanders at
Johannesburg, leaders of an organization called the Transvaal
National Union, abandoned attempts to obtain what they sought
from the President and the Volksraad by petition and
agitation, and either invited or accepted proposals of
assistance from the armed forces of the British South Africa
Company, with a view to some kind of a revolutionary
undertaking. The story of the plot has been told with great
frankness by one of the actors in it, Mr. Alfred P. Hillier,
who writes:
{465}
"Mr. Cecil Rhodes, … accustomed as he was to success, quick
movement and rapid developments, in his great career, had …
watched with impatient eyes the setting back of the clock
within the South African Republic. His chief lieutenant, Dr.
Jameson, who had shared with him the labour of reclaiming from
barbarism and developing Rhodesia, and whose ambition was no
less than his superior's, discussed with him the desirability
of some active outside pressure; and between them was evolved
what is known as the Jameson plan. Mr. Beit, the capitalist
most largely interested in the mines of the Rand, an old
financial colleague of Mr. Rhodes, both in the De Beers
amalgamation and in the establishment of the Chartered
Company, promised both his influence and his purse in support
of the plan. Overtures were then made to Mr. Lionel Phillips,
who was at the head of the Chamber of Mines, and Mr. Charles
Leonard, the Chairman of the National Union. … The plan at
this early stage was presented in a very attractive form. A
force under Dr. Jameson was to be quietly gathered on the
border. The Johannesburg agitation, reinforced with capitalist
support, was to be steadily pushed forward. Rifles and
ammunition were to be smuggled into Johannesburg. Both the
High Commissioner and the Colonial Office might be counted on,
it was said, to support a vigorous forward movement for
reform. Mr. Phillips and Mr. Leonard, sick and weary of the
hopelessness of unsupported constitutional action, and of the
continual set back in Boer politics, already casting round in
their minds for some new departure, accepted and from that
time forth co-operated with Mr. Rhodes and Dr. Jameson in the
development of the Jameson plan.
"In October, 1895, a meeting took place at Groote Schuur, Mr.
Rhodes' residence near Cape Town, at which were present, in
addition to Mr. Cecil Rhodes, Mr. Lionel Phillips, Mr.
Hammond, Mr. Charles Leonard, and Colonel Frank Rhodes. At
this meeting the plan was more fully discussed and matured;
and in November, 1895, when Dr. Jameson visited Johannesburg,
the details were finally settled. The letter of invitation was
written, signed and handed to Dr.Jameson, and the date of
combined action provisionally fixed for the end of December.
Dr. Jameson's force was to be about 1,000 strong, and the
start to be made when finally summoned by the signatories of
the letter. In the meantime the Johannesburg leaders were to
have sent in to them 4,500 rifles and 1,000,000 rounds of
ammunition, and were, if possible, to arrange for an attack on
the Pretoria Arsenal simultaneously with the move from
outside. With regard to the letter of invitation which was
subsequently used by Dr. Jameson as a justification for his
start, … Mr. Leonard, Colonel Rhodes, and Mr. Phillips have
all distinctly stated that this letter was never intended as
an authority to Dr. Jameson to enter the Transvaal, unless and
until he received a further summons from them. Such was in
brief the history of the Jameson plan as far as concerned
Johannesburg. And it is necessary here to refer to the
position with regard to it of the bulk of the men who
subsequently constituted the Reform Committee. They at this
time, with the exception of a few of their number, of which I
personally was one, were entirely ignorant of what was going
on. … The Johannesburg leaders, relying on the general
sentiment of the community, assumed the responsibility of
arranging a basis of operations. So that the plan when it was
gradually revealed to various men had either to be accepted by
them in its entirety or rejected. … Men demanded and received
assurance that the movement was to be a republican one, and in
no way to be an attempt on the independence of the country. A
sufficient number of rifles were also to be forthcoming, and
the High Commissioner was to be on the spot to expedite the
adjustment of matters immediately disturbances arose."
A. P. Hillier,
Raid and Reform,
pages 47-53.
The practical working of the conspiracy proved less easy than
the planning of it. Arms and ammunition were smuggled into
Johannesburg, but not in sufficient quantities. The time of
action had been fixed for the 28th of December. When it came
near there were found to be only 2,500 rifles at hand, instead
of the 10,000 that were wanted. A scheme for the surprising of
the Boer arsenal at Pretoria was pronounced at the last moment
impracticable. Still more disconcerting to many was a report
which came from Cape Town, that Jameson would require the
rising to be made under and in favor of the British flag. "The
movement within the Transvaal," says Mr. Hillier, "had from
its outset been one in favour, not of a British Colony, but of
a sound Republic. … Many Americans and South Africans had
accorded their support only on this understanding." Until a
clearer arrangement with the Rhodesians on this point could be
reached, the leaders in Johannesburg determined not to act.
Accordingly, on the 26th of December, two days before the
appointed date of insurrection, they telegraphed to Jameson,
in covert language which he understood, that it was
"absolutely necessary to postpone the flotation." On the
following day they issued a lengthy manifesto, setting forth
all their grievances, and deferring until the 6th of January a
general meeting of the National Union which had been called
for the 27th of December—the eve of the intended rising. The
manifesto concluded as follows:
"We have now only two questions to consider:
(a) What do we want?
(b) how shall we get it?
I have stated plainly what our grievances are, and I shall
answer with equal directness the question, 'What do we want?'
We want:
(1) the establishment of this Republic as a true republic:
(2) a Grondwet or Constitution which shall be framed by
competent persons selected by representatives of the whole
people and framed on lines laid down by them—a constitution
which shall be safeguarded against hasty alteration;
(3) an equitable franchise law, and fair representation;
(4) equality of the Dutch and English languages;
(5) responsibility of the Legislature to the heads of the
great departments;
(6) removal of religious disabilities;
(7) independence of the courts of justice, with adequate and
secured remuneration of the judges;
(8) liberal and comprehensive education;
(9) efficient civil service, with adequate provision for pay
and pension;
(10) free trade in South African products.
That is what we want. There now remains the question which is
to be put before you at the meeting of the 6th January. viz.,
How shall we get it?"
Great Britain: Papers by Command, 1896, C.—7933.
{466}
Acting, as appears, on his own responsibility, Dr. Jameson
refused to be stopped by the postponement at Johannesburg,
and, on the evening of December 29, he entered the Transvaal
territory, from Pitsani-Pitlogo, in Bechuanaland, with a force
of about 500 men. His movement created consternation in all the
circles of the conspiracy, and received no effectual support.
It was promptly disavowed and condemned by the British
authorities, and by the home officials of the British South
Africa Company. Cecil Rhodes could do nothing but tacitly
acknowledge his responsibility for what his lieutenant had
done (though the precipitation of the raid was evidently a
surprise and a trouble to him) by resigning the premiership of
Cape Colony. Meantime, the invaders had learned that the Boers
were not to be ridden over in the easy fashion they supposed.
Hasty levies had intercepted their march, had repulsed them at
Krugersdorp, with a heavy loss in killed and wounded,
surrounded them at Doornkop, and forced them to surrender on
New Year's day. A few days later, the Uitlanders at
Johannesburg, some of whom had made a confused and ineffectual
attempt to take arms, proclaiming a provisional government,
and around whose town the excited Boers had gathered in large
force, were persuaded by the British High Commissioner to
submit to the Transvaal authorities, and more than fifty of
the leaders were placed under arrest.
"With great difficulty, President Kruger overcame the desire
of his people that Jameson and his officers should be brought
to trial and punished in the country they had outraged by
their invasion, and they were handed over to the British
government for removal to England and trial by an English
court. The trial took place in July (20-28), before the Lord
Chief Justice (Lord Russell of Killowen), Baron Pollock, and
Justice Hawkins, with a special jury. The charge on which the
prisoners were tried was that of having fitted out a warlike
expedition against a friendly state, in violation of the
Foreign Enlistment Act. The charge of the Lord Chief Justice
gave the following questions to the jury: Were preparations
for a raid made by the defendants? Did they aid, abet,
counsel, or procure such preparation? Were they employed in
the actual expedition? Did the Queen exercise dominion and
sovereignty in Pitsani-Pitlogo? The jury returned affirmative
answers, which were held to constitute a verdict of "guilty,"
and sentence was pronounced,—fifteen months of imprisonment
for Dr. Jameson, and terms varying from five to ten months for
his four subordinate officers. During the trial and after
there were many demonstrations of popular sympathy with the
prisoners. Meantime, in April, the Transvaal authorities had
brought the imprisoned leaders of the Johannesburg "reform
committee" to trial at Pretoria on charges of treason and had
convicted them all. Four, namely, Colonel Rhodes (brother of
Cecil), Lionel Phillips, George Farrar, and John Hays Hammond
(an American), were sentenced to death; the remainder to a
payment of heavy fines. The death sentences were soon
commuted, first to imprisonment for fifteen years, and
subsequently to fines of $125,000 on each of four prisoners.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1896 (January).
Message of the German Emperor to President Kruger,
relative to the Jameson Raid.
The critical situation of affairs produced by the Jameson raid
was dangerously complicated at the beginning by the
publication of the following telegram, sent to President
Kruger, on the 3d of January, by the German Emperor: "I
express my sincere congratulations that, supported by your
people and without appealing for help to friendly powers, you
have succeeded by your own energetic action against the armed
bands which invaded your country as disturbers of the peace,
and have thus been enabled to restore peace, and safeguard the
independence of your country against attacks from without."
President Kruger replied: "I testify to Your Majesty my very
deep and heartfelt thanks for Your Majesty's sincere
congratulations. With God's help we hope to do everything
further that is possible for the holding of our dearly bought
independence and the stability of our beloved republic." This
kindled a white heat of indignation in England. It was
supposed to signify a disposition on the part of the German
Emperor to recognize the absolute independence which the South
African Republic claimed, and to threaten interference as
between Great Britain and the Boers. A powerful "flying
squadron" was instantly put in commission, and several ships
were ordered to Delagoa Bay. For some time the relations
between Great Britain and Germany were seriously strained; but
various influences gradually cooled the excited feeling in
England, though not a little distrust of German intentions has
remained.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1896 (January-April).
Urgency of the British Colonial Secretary for redress of
Uitlander grievances.
Invitation to President Kruger to visit England.
His requirement that Article IV. of the London Convention
shall be discussed.
Deadlock of the parties.
The complaints of the Uitlanders, effectually silenced for the
time being at Johannesburg by the vigorous action of the
Boers, were now taken up by the British Secretary of State for
the Colonies, Mr. Chamberlain, and pressed in strenuous
despatches to the High Commissioner in South Africa, Sir
Hercules Robinson. On the 4th of January, 1896, four days
after the surrender of Jameson and four days before the
insurgent Uitlanders at Johannesburg had laid down their arms,
a long despatch was cabled by Mr. Chamberlain to the High
Commissioner, instructing him to make "friendly
representations" to President Kruger on the subject of those
complaints. "I am aware," wrote the Colonial Secretary, "that
victory of Transvaal Government over Administrator of
Mashonaland may possibly find them not willing to make any
concessions. If this is the attitude they adopt, they will, in
my opinion, make a great mistake; for danger from which they
have just escaped was real, and one which, if the causes which
led up to it are not removed, may recur, although in a
different form. I have done everything in my power to undo and
to minimise the evil caused by late unwarrantable raid by
British subjects into the territory of the South African
Republic, and it is not likely that such action will be ever
repeated; but the state of things of which complaint has been
made cannot continue forever. If those who are now a majority
of inhabitants of the Transvaal, but are excluded from all
participation in its government, were, of their own
initiative, and without any interference from without, to
attempt to reverse that state of things, they would, without
doubt, attract much sympathy from all civilised communities
who themselves live under a free Government, and I cannot
regard the present state of things in the South African
Republic as free from danger to the stability of its
institutions.
{467}
The Government of the South African Republic cannot be
indifferent to these considerations, and President of South
African Republic himself has on more than one occasion,
expressed his willingness to inquire into and to deal with
just reasons for discontent; and the Volksraad have now the
opportunity to show magnanimity in the hour of their success
and to settle all differences by moderate concessions. They
must fully admit the entire loyalty of yourself and of Her
Majesty's Government to the terms of London Convention, as
shown by their recent intervention, and they must recognise
that their authority in crisis through which they have passed
could not have been so promptly and effectively asserted
without that intervention. If they will recognise this by
making concessions in accordance with our friendly advice, no
one will be able to suggest that they are acting under
pressure, and their voluntary moderation will produce best
effect among all who are interested in well-being of the
Transvaal and in future of South Africa."
On the 13th of January the Colonial Secretary pursued the
subject in another despatch to Sir Hercules Robinson, as
follows: "Now that Her Majesty's Government have fulfilled
their obligations to the South African Republic, and have
engaged to bring the leaders in the recent invasion to trial,
they are anxious that the negotiations which are being
conducted by you should result in a permanent settlement by
which the possibility of further internal troubles will be
prevented. The majority of the population is composed of
Uitlanders, and their complete exclusion from any share in the
government of the country is an admitted grievance which is
publicly recognised as such by the friends of the Republic as
well as by the opinion of civilised Europe. There will always
be a danger of internal disturbance so long as this grievance
exists, and I desire that you will earnestly impress on
President Kruger the wisdom of making concessions in the
interests alike of the South African Republic and of South
Africa as a whole. There is a possibility that the President
might be induced to rely on the support of some foreign Power
in resisting the grant of reforms or in making demands upon
Her Majesty's Government; and in view of this I think it well
to inform you that Great Britain will resist at all costs the
interference of any foreign Power in the affairs of the South
African Republic. The suggestion that such interference was
contemplated by Germany was met in this country by an
unprecedented and unanimous outburst of public feeling. In
order to be prepared for all eventualities, it has been
thought desirable by Her Majesty's Government to commission a
Flying Squadron of powerful men-of-war, with twelve
torpedo-ships; and many other vessels are held in reserve. Her
Majesty's Government have no reason, at the present moment, to
anticipate any conflict of interest with foreign Powers; but I
think it right for you to know that Great Britain will not
tolerate any change in her relations with the Republic, and
that, while loyally respecting its internal independence,
subject to the Conventions, she will maintain her position as
the Paramount Power in South Africa, and especially the
provisions of Article IV. of the Convention of 1884. It is my
sincere hope that President Kruger, who has hitherto shown so
much wisdom in dealing with the situation, will now take the
opportunity afforded to him of making of his own free will
such reasonable concessions to the Uitlanders as will remove
the last excuse for disloyalty, and will establish the free
institutions of the Republic on a firm and lasting basis."
To this Sir Hercules replied with a remonstrance, saying:
"Your telegram 13 January No.1 only reached me last night
after I had left Pretoria. I could, if you consider it
desirable, communicate purport to President of South African
Republic by letter, but I myself think such action would be
inopportune. … Nearly all leading Johannesburg men are now in
gaol, charged with treason against the State, and it is
rumoured that Government has written evidence of a
long-standing and wide-spread conspiracy to seize Government
of country on the plea of denial of political privileges, and
to incorporate the country with that of British South Africa
Company. The truth of these reports will be tested in the
trials to take place shortly in the High Court, and meanwhile
to urge claim for extended political privileges for the very
men so charged would be ineffectual and impolitic. President
of South African Republic has already promised municipal
government to Johannesburg, and has stated in a Proclamation
that all grievances advanced in a constitutional manner will
be carefully considered and brought before the Volksraad
without loss of time; but until result of trials is known
nothing, of course, will now be done." Mr. Chamberlain saw
force in the High Commissioner's objections, and assented to a
momentary suspension of pressure on the Transvaal President,
but not for long. "I recognise," he telegraphed on the 15th,
"that the actual moment is not opportune for a settlement of
the Uitlanders' grievances, and that the position of the
President of the South African Republic may be an embarrassing
one, but I do not consider that the arrest of a few score
individuals out of a population of 70,000 or more, or the
supposed existence of a plot among that small minority, is a
reason for denying to the overwhelming majority of innocent
persons reforms which are just in themselves and expedient in
the interests of the Republic. Whatever may be said about the
conduct of a few individuals, nothing can be plainer than that
the sober and industrious majority refused to countenance any
resort to violence, and proved their readiness to obey the law
and your authority. I hope, therefore, to hear at an early
date that you propose to resume the discussion with President
of South African Republic on lines laid down in my previous
telegrams. I do not see that the matter need wait until the
conclusion of the trial of the supposed plotters."
On the 28th of January the High Commissioner, under
instructions from London, addressed to President Kruger the
following invitation: "I am directed by Her Majesty's
Government to tender to your Honour a cordial invitation to
visit England, with a view to discussing with them all those
questions which relate to the security of the South African
Republic and the general welfare of South Africa. I am to add
that, although Her Majesty's Government cannot consent to
modify Article 4 of the London Convention [see above; A. D.
1884-1894], other matters are open to friendly discussion.
{468}
Her Majesty's Government hope that your Honour will come as
the guest of the British Government." While this invitation
was being considered, and before a reply to it had been made,
the British Colonial Secretary reopened his own discussion of
the questions at issue, February 4, in a despatch of great
length, reviewing the whole history of the relations of the
Uitlanders to the government of the South African Republic,
and of the recent occurrences which had been consequent upon
their discontent. It praised "the spirit of wisdom and
moderation" shown by President Kruger, who "kept within bounds
the natural exasperation of his burghers," and it gave
especial attention to a proclamation which President Kruger
had addressed to the inhabitants of Johannesburg, on the 10th
of January, in which he had said: "It is my intention to
submit a draft Law at the first ordinary session of the
Volksraad, whereby a Municipality with a Mayor at its head
will be appointed for Johannesburg, to whom the whole
municipal government of this town will be entrusted."
On this the Secretary made the following suggestions: "Basing
myself upon the expressed desire of President Kruger to grant
municipal government to Johannesburg, I suggest, for his
consideration, as one way of meeting the difficulty, that the
whole of the Rand district, from end to end, should be erected
into something more than a municipality as that word is
ordinarily understood; that, in fact, it should have a
modified local autonomy, with powers of legislation on purely
local questions, and subject to the veto of the President and
Executive Council; and that this power of legislation should
include the power of assessing and levying its own taxation,
subject to the payment to the Republican Government of an
annual tribute of an amount to be fixed at once and revised at
intervals, so as to meet the case of a diminution or increase
in the mining industry. As regards judicial matters in such a
scheme, the Rand, like the Eastern Provinces and the Kimberley
District of the Cape Colony, might have a superior court of
its own. It would, of course, be a feature of this scheme that
the autonomous body should have the control of its civil
police, its public education, its mine management, and all
other matters affecting its internal economy and well-being.
The central Government would be entitled to maintain all
reasonable safeguards against the fomenting of a revolutionary
movement, or the storage of arms for treasonable purposes
within the district. Those living in, and there enjoying a
share in the government of, the autonomous district, would
not, in my view, be entitled to a voice in the general
Legislature or the Central Executive, or the presidential
election. The burghers would thus be relieved of what is
evidently a haunting fear to many of them—although I believe
an unfounded one—that the first use which the enfranchised
newcomers would make of their privileges would be to upset the
republican form of government. Relieved of this apprehension,
I should suppose that there would not be many of them who
would refuse to deal with the grievances of the comparatively
few Uitlanders outside the Rand on those liberal principles
which characterized the earlier legislation of the Republic.
The President may rest assured that in making the above
suggestions I am only actuated by friendly feeling towards
himself and the South African Republic. They are not offered
in derogation of his authority, but as the sincere and
friendly contribution of Her Majesty's Government towards the
settlement of a question which continues to threaten the
tranquillity of the Republic and the welfare and progress of
the whole of South Africa. A proper settlement of the
questions at issue involves so many matters of detail which
could be more easily and satisfactorily settled by personal
conference, that I should be glad to have the opportunity of
discussing the subject with the President, if it suited his
convenience, and were agreeable to him, to come to this
country for the purpose. Should this be impracticable, I rely
upon you to make my views known to him and to carry on the
negotiations."
This despatch, as soon as it had been forwarded from the
Colonial Office, was published in the "London Gazette," so
that a telegraphed summary of its contents reached President
Kruger before it came to him officially,—which naturally added
something to the irritations existing at Pretoria. However,
the President, on the 8th of February, by telegram to the High
Commissioner, and more fully on the 25th by letter, responded
to the invitation to visit England. In his telegram he said:
"In order to give me the liberty to let the Honourable
Volksraad judge whether permission and power to act will be
given me to go out of the country, an understanding must, of
course, first be come to as to what points will he discussed
or not, so that I may lay those points before the Volksraad
for deliberation and resolution." In his letter he wrote:
"At the commencement, I wish to observe that the object of
this letter is to pave the way for a friendly discussion of
the matters herein mentioned, in order to arrive at a
satisfactory solution, and further that, although as yet I
desire no positive and direct assent to the desires expressed
herein, I would, nevertheless, to prevent a misunderstanding,
desire to have an assurance that they will be taken into the
most mature consideration with the earnest endeavour and the
sincere desire to comply with my wishes. The desire to receive
this assurance will be respected by your Excellency and Her
Majesty's Government as reasonable, when I say that,
considering especially my advanced age and the unavoidable
delay, owing to my absence, in the transaction of matters
affecting the highest State interests, I would, with
difficulty, be able to make the sacrifice in going only to
discuss matters without arriving at the desired result, and it
is evident that if the assurance referred to by me cannot be
given by Her Majesty's Government, in all probability the
Honourable Volksraad would not grant its consent and
commission. … Although, as already said, the Government could
tolerate no interference in its internal relations and the
official discussion of affairs with the object of requiring
changes therein will have to be avoided, on the other hand I
wish it to be understood that private hints given by statesmen
of experience in the true interest of the country and its
independence will always be warmly appreciated by me, from
whatever side they may come.
{469}
"Going over to a summing up of the points which, in my
opinion, should be brought under discussion, I wish to mention
in the first place:—
1. The superseding of the Convention of London with the eye,
amongst others, on the violation of the territory of the South
African Republic: because in several respects it has already
virtually ceased to exist; because in other respects it has no
more cause for existence; because it is injurious to the
dignity of an independent Republic; because the very name and
the continual arguments on the question of suzerainty, which
since the conclusion of this Convention no longer exists, are
used as a pretext, especially by a libellous press, for
wilfully inciting both white and coloured people against the
lawful authority of the Republic; for intentionally bringing
about misunderstanding and false relations between England and
the Republic, whereby in this manner the interests of both
countries and of their citizens and subjects are prejudiced
and the peaceful development of the Republic is opposed. In
the discussion of the withdrawal of the Convention as a whole,
Article IV. should naturally not be kept back. I have reason
to believe that the British Government has come to the
decision to make no alteration in this on account of false
representations made to it and lying reports spread by the
press and otherwise with a certain object, to the effect that
the Government of the Republic has called in, or sought, the
protection of other Powers. While I thankfully acknowledge and
will ever acknowledge the sympathy of other Powers or their
subjects, and the conduct of the last named has, in the light
of the trials recently passed through, on the whole offered a
favourable contrast to that of British subjects, there is
nevertheless nothing further from my thoughts than to strive
for the protection of a foreign power, which I will never even
seek. Neither I nor the people of the Republic will tolerate an
interference with the internal relations from any power
whatever, and I am prepared, if the course proposed by me be
adopted, to give the necessary assurances for this, in order
that Her British Majesty's Government need have no fear that
Her interests in South Africa should be injured.
2. Further should be discussed the superseding of the
Convention by a treaty of peace, commerce and friendship, by
which the existing privileges of England in the dominion of
commerce and intercourse and the interests of British subjects
in the Republic will be satisfactorily guaranteed on the
footing of the most-favoured nation, and herein I would be
prepared to go to the utmost of what can reasonably be asked.
3. Then the necessary guarantees will have to be given against
a repetition of the violation of territory out of the
territory of the Chartered Company or the Cape Colony, and of
disturbing military operations and unlawful military or police
or even private movements on the borders of the Republic.
4. Further should be discussed the compensation for direct and
indirect injury to be given or caused to be given by England
for and by reason of the incursion that recently took place.
The reasons for this are evident and need no argument. The
amount to be demanded it is impossible as yet to determine,
but, if required, it can still be given before my departure to
England.
5. I would, although in the following respects I would not
insist beforehand on an assurance such as that intended with
regard to the above-mentioned points, nevertheless wish to
request the earnest consideration of a final settlement of the
Swaziland question, in this sense, that that country shall
henceforth become a part of the Republic. …
6. Further, I would very much like to have discussed the
revocation of the charter of the Chartered Company, which, if
this does not take place, will continue to be a threatening
danger to the quiet and peace of the Republic and thereby also
to the whole South Africa. I am of opinion that all the above
desires are fair and just. … I will be pleased to receive the
views of Her Majesty's Government on the points herein brought
forward, in order that I may be enabled to bring the matter
for decision before the Honourable Volksraad."
Mr. Chamberlain's reply to this communication was, in part, as
follows: "Her Majesty's Government regret that President has
given no definite reply to invitation to visit England which
was sent to him on 28th January. This invitation was the
result of private information conveyed to Her Majesty's
Government that the President was desirous of arranging with
them a settlement of all differences, and of placing on a
permanent and friendly basis the relations between the United
Kingdom and the South African Republic. Before forwarding the
invitation, Her Majesty's Government knew that his Honour was
in full possession of their opinion, that no arrangement can
be satisfactory or complete which does not include a fair
settlement of those grievances of the Uitlander population
which have been recognized by the general public opinion of
South Africa, and which have been the cause of discontent and
agitation in the past, and are likely—unless remedied—to lead
to further disturbances in future, Her Majesty's Government
also took care to satisfy themselves that the President had
been made aware that they were not prepared to modify in any
way the provisions of Article IV. of the Convention of 1884,
and this was again made clear in the formal invitation to
visit England. Under these circumstances, it was with great
surprise that Her Majesty's Government learnt from the
Despatch of the President of 25th February that his Honour
objected to discuss the question of the reforms asked for by
the Uitlanders, and that he desired to propose withdrawal of
Article IV. of the Convention, and Her Majesty's Government
regret that they were not informed of his Honour's views on
the subject at an earlier date, as they would not have felt
justified in inviting the President to encounter the fatigue
of a journey to this country if they had not been led to
believe that he was in agreement with them as to the general
object of such a visit.
"In their view, Her Majesty's Government were able to offer a
complete guarantee in the future to the South African Republic
against any attack upon its independence, either from within
any part of Her Majesty's dominions or from the territory of a
foreign Power. In return, they assumed that the President
would make known to them the measures which he proposed to
take to remedy the acknowledged grievances of the Uitlanders,
and to consider any suggestions which Her Majesty's Government
might wish to offer as to the adequacy of these measures for
the removal of all cause of internal disturbances. … Such a
discussion as they contemplate would not involve any
acknowledgment on the part of the President of a right of
interference in the internal concerns of the Republic, but
would only at the most amount to a recognition of the friendly
interest of Her Majesty's Government in its security, and in
the general welfare of South Africa.
{470}
The President would be, of course, at liberty to accept or to
reject any advice that might be tendered to him by Her
Majesty's Government, but in the latter case the
responsibility for the result would naturally rest wholly with
him. Her Majesty's Government have already expressed a
willingness to give full consideration to any representations
which his Honour may wish to make on the other points named in
his letter, although some of them are matters wholly in
jurisdiction of Her Majesty's Government. But unless the
President is satisfied with the explanations I have now given,
Her Majesty's Government are reluctantly obliged to come to
the conclusion that no good purpose can be served by the
proposed visit."
In return to this despatch, President Kruger, on 17th of
March, expressed his "deep disappointment" at its contents, by
reason of which, he said, "it is not possible for me to
proceed to convene a special session of the Volksraad at once"
for the purpose of action upon the invitation of the British
Government. Thereupon (April 27), the Colonial Secretary
cabled to the High Commissioner in South Africa: "Her
Majesty's Government have no alternative but to withdraw the
invitation, which it appears from the President's message was
given under a misapprehension of the facts." Thus the two
parties were at a deadlock.
Great Britain, Papers by Command: 1896,
C. 7933, pages 19-91; and C. 8063, pages 11-17.
SOUTH AFRICA: Rhodesia: A. D. 1896 (March-September).
Matabele revolt.
Taking advantage of the confusion in affairs which followed
the Jameson raid, and its removal of part of the police force
from the country, the Matabele rose in revolt. The main
provocation of the rising appears to have been from severe
measures that were adopted for stamping out rinderpest in the
country. Many whites were killed in the regions of scattered
settlement, and Buluwayo and Gwelo, where considerable numbers
had taken refuge, were in much danger for a time. But prompt
and vigorous measures were taken by the colonial and imperial
authorities, as well as by the officers of the South Africa
Company. Troops were sent from Cape Colony, Natal, and
England, and Major-General Sir Frederick Carrington was
ordered from Gibraltar to take command. Cecil Rhodes hastened
to Salisbury on the first news of the outbreak and organized a
force of volunteers for the relief of the beleaguered towns. The
Transvaal government offered help. By June, when General
Carrington arrived, and Lord Grey had succeeded Dr. Jameson as
Administrator, the insurgent natives had been put on the
defensive and had nearly ceased their attacks. They were
driven into the Matoppo hills, where their position was
formidably strong. At length, in August, Mr. Rhodes opened
negotiations with some of the chiefs, and went, with three
companions, unarmed, into their stronghold. He there made an
agreement with them, which the British military authorities
and many of the Matabele warriors refused to be bound by. But
the revolt had been practically broken and soon came to an
end.
SOUTH AFRICA: British South Africa Company: A. D. 1896 (June).
Resignation of Mr. Rhodes.
On the 26th of June the resignations of Cecil J. Rhodes and
Mr. Beit from the Board of Directors of the British South
Africa Company, and of Mr. Rutherford Harris as its Secretary,
were accepted by the Board.
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony: A. D. 1896 (July).
Investigation of the Jameson Raid.
Responsibility of Cecil J. Rhodes.
On the 17th of July a Select Committee of the Cape Colony
House of Assembly, appointed in the previous May "to inquire
into the circumstances, as affecting this colony, in connexion
with the preparations for and carrying out of the recent armed
inroad into the territory of the South African Republic," made
its report, rehearsing at length the facts ascertained, with
evidence in full, and submitting a number of "conclusions,"
among them the following: "Your Committee are of opinion that
no member of the then Colonial Government with the exception
of the then Prime Minister [Mr. Cecil J. Rhodes], had any
knowledge whatever or suspicion of the intention to send an
armed force across the border of the South African Republic. …
Your Committee is convinced that the stores and workshops of
the De Beers Consolidated Mines were for some time previous to
the inroad used for the storage and for the unlawful
exportation of arms destined for the South African Republic,
in connexion with this inroad, and also that 11 men were sent
from De Beers to Johannesburg, who were afterwards allowed to
resume their positions. The evidence is clear, and leaves no
room for doubt on this point. The local directors give an
emphatic denial to any guilty knowledge on their part, and
your Committee must acquit them of anything beyond negligence,
which, looking to the magnitude of the transactions and the
length of time over which they extended, must have been very
marked. It is not conceivable that such proceedings could have
been permitted without the knowledge and approval of the
Chairman and Life Governor, Mr. C. J. Rhodes. With regard to
the Chartered Company, your Committee find that the principal
officials in Cape Town either knew, or were in a position to
have known, the existence of this plot. Two at least of the
directors, Mr. Beit and the Right Honorable C. J. Rhodes,
were, together with the Administrator, Dr. Jameson, and Dr.
Harris, the South African Secretary of the Company, active as
promoters and moving spirits throughout, and they were from
time to time kept informed of the preparations. … The whole
movement was largely financed and engineered from outside, and
in both cases certain directors and officials of the Chartered
Company of British South Africa were active throughout. As
regards the Right Honorable C. J. Rhodes, your Committee can
come to no other conclusion than that he was thoroughly
acquainted with the preparations that led to the inroad. That
in his capacity as controller of the three great joint-stock
companies, the British South Africa Company, the De Beers
Consolidated Mines, and the Gold Fields of South Africa, he
directed and controlled the combination which rendered such a
proceeding as the Jameson raid possible. … It would appear
that Mr. Rhodes did not direct or approve of Dr. Jameson's
entering the territory of the South African Republic at the
precise time when he did do so, but your Committee cannot find
that that fact relieves Mr. Rhodes from responsibility for the
unfortunate occurrences which took place. Even if Dr. Jameson
be primarily responsible for the last fatal step, Mr. Rhodes
cannot escape the responsibility of a movement which had been
arranged, with his concurrence, to take place at the precise
time it did, if circumstances had been favourable at
Johannesburg."
Great Britain, Papers by Command: 1897,
C. 8380, pages 7-9.
{471}
SOUTH AFRICA: British South Africa Company: A. D. 1896 (July).
Parliamentary movement to investigate its administration.
In the British House of Commons, on the 30th of July, Mr.
Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, made a
motion for the appointment of a select committee of fifteen to
conduct an inquiry into the administration of the British
South Africa Company, and the motion was adopted.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1896-1897 (May-April).
Continued controversies between the British Colonial
Secretary, Mr. Chamberlain, and the Government of the
South African Republic.
Complaints and counter complaints.
Aliens Immigration Law, etc.
For a time after the abandonment of the proposed visit of
President Kruger to England, the older questions at issue
between Great Britain and the Transvaal fell into the
background; but new ones were constantly rising. Each party
watched the other with suspicious and critical eyes, sharply
questioning things that would hardly have been noticed in
ordinary times. The Boer authorities, on their side, were
naturally disturbed and made inquisitive by every movement of
troops or arms in the surrounding British territory, both of
which movements were being somewhat increased by the revolt of
the Matabeles. They were impatient, too, for some action on
the part of the British government against the chief authors
of the recent invasion,—the officials of the British South
Africa Company,—and against the Company itself. On the 11th of
May, 1896, the State Secretary of the Transvaal government
telegraphed to the British High Commissioner as follows: "The
newspapers of the last few days state that Her Majesty's
Government still continue to take the part of the Directors of
British South Africa Company, especially Mr. Rhodes. This
Government will not believe the accuracy of these reports, but
it is of opinion that the Chartered Company as administering
the Government up to now is a source of danger to whole of
South Africa. The inroad into this Republic was made by
officers, troops, and arms of that Chartered Company, and even
the explicit prohibition of Her Majesty's Government was
unable to restrain them, notwithstanding the Chartered Company
had taken upon itself the international obligations of Great
Britain. The behaviour of the persons who knew of the scheme
of the inroad beforehand and supported it is, as we see,
defended by saying that they acted thus in the interests of
and for the extension of Imperialism in South Africa. This
Government does not believe that the end justifies the means,
and is convinced that Her Majesty's Government does not wish
to be served by misdeed."
When this had been communicated to the British Colonial
Secretary, Mr. Chamberlain, he replied (May 13) that the
President of the South African Republic "has been misinformed
if he supposes that Her Majesty's Government have taken the
part of any of British South Africa Company Directors,
including Mr. Rhodes, with regard to any connexion which they
may be hereafter proved to have had with the recent raid. … On
the contrary, while appreciating Mr. Rhodes's services in the
past, Her Majesty's Government have condemned the raid, and
the conduct of all the parties implicated by the telegrams
recently published. Her Majesty's Government have promised a
full Parliamentary inquiry, as soon as legal proceedings
against Dr. Jameson and his officers have been concluded, to
examine the Charter granted to British South Africa Company
and the operation of its provisions, and to consider whether
any improvements in it are desirable. Such an inquiry will go
into the whole subject, not only of recent events, but of the
whole administration. Her Majesty's Government cannot be
expected to announce any decision as to the future of the
Company until the Parliamentary Committee has made its
recommendations."
On the 15th President Kruger replied: "This Government is very
pleased at receiving the assurance that a searching inquiry is
being instituted against British South Africa Company and its
Directors, and will follow its course with interest." But the
following month found the authorities at Pretoria still
unsatisfied as to the intention of the British government to
bring Mr. Rhodes and the South Africa Company to account for
what they had done. On the 19th of June, the then Acting High
Commissioner (Sir Hercules Robinson having gone to England on
leave) transmitted to Mr. Chamberlain two telegrams just
received by him from the government of the South African
Republic. The first was as follows: "Acting under
instructions, I have the honour to acquaint your Excellency,
for the information of Her Majesty's Government, that, with a
view to the welfare and peace of South Africa, this Government
is convinced that the proofs in the possession and at the
disposal of Her Majesty's Government now completely justify
and compel the bringing to trial of Messrs. Cecil Rhodes,
Alfred Beit, and Doctor Rutherford Harris, as has already been
done with Doctor Jameson and his accomplices. In the interests
of all South Africa, this Government feels itself obliged to
press the taking of this step upon Her Majesty's Government. I
have also the honour to request your Excellency to communicate
this despatch by cable to Her Majesty's Government in London."
The second was in this language: "This Government regards with
great regret the delay in the matter of the inquiry with
respect to the complicity and responsibility of British South
Africa Company in connexion with the raid of Doctor Jameson
and his band within the territory of this Republic. This
Government considers it its right and duty to press for the
speedy holding of the inquiry, not merely because it is the
injured party but also because of its interest and share in
the well-being of South Africa, whose interests, as repeatedly
intimated, are also dear to Her Majesty the Queen. This
Government is also convinced that it is urgently necessary
that the entire control and administration, as well civil as
military, be taken out of hands of British South Africa
Company and transferred to Her Majesty's Government, and I am
instructed to press this point on behalf of this Government. I
have further the honour to request your Excellency to cable
this despatch to Her Majesty's Government in London."
{472}
To these communications Mr. Chamberlain made a somewhat
haughty response. "Inform the Government of the South African
Republic," he cabled on the 25th of June, "that Her Majesty's
Government have received their telegrams of the 19th June,
which were published in London almost simultaneously with
their receipt by me. Her Majesty's Government do not require
to be reminded of their duty in regard to the recent invasion
of the South African Republic, and they cannot admit the claim
of the Government of the Republic to dictate the time and
manner in which they shall fulfil their obligations. I am
unable to understand the reasons which have suddenly
influenced the Government of the South African Republic to
make representations which are inconsistent with their
previous statements. On 18th April and on 15th May the
Government of the Republic appeared to be satisfied with the
assurances given them by Her Majesty's Government, from which
there has never been any intention of departing. It would not
be in accordance with English ideas of justice to condemn the
British South Africa Company and deal with its powers as
proposed in the telegrams before an enquiry had been made, and
before the Company had been heard in its own defence. With
regard to the demand of the Government of the South African
Republic that the three gentlemen specifically named shall now
be placed on their trial, you will remind them that Her
Majesty's Government can only act in this matter upon the
advice of the Law Officers of the Crown, and in accordance
with the principles of English law."
But Mr. Secretary Chamberlain, on his side, was
equally—perhaps more than equally—watchful and critical of the
doings and omissions of the government of the South African
Republic. He kept an eye upon them that was especially alert
for the detection of infractions of the London Convention of
1884 (see above: A. D. 1884-1894), with its provisions very
strictly construed. He found treaties negotiated with foreign
powers in contravention of Article IV. of that Convention, and
laws passed which he deemed an infringement of its Article
XIV. He arraigned the government of the Republic upon each as
it came to his knowledge, and then, on the 6th of March, 1897,
went back over the record of his complaints and summed them
up, as follows: "It will be convenient if I recapitulate
briefly the occasions for such complaint, beginning with the
cases relating to Article IV. of the Convention. …
"1.—Netherlands Treaty.
On the 9th November 1895, an Extradition Treaty between the
South African Republic and the Netherlands was signed at the
Hague, and the ratifications were exchanged on the 19th June
last, without the Treaty being submitted for the approval of
Her Majesty. The case was therefore one of a clear infraction
of the Convention, inasmuch as the Treaty had not been
submitted to Her Majesty's Government on its completion, and
had been concluded by the exchange of ratifications without
obtaining the previous approval of the Queen. The Government
of the South African Republic, on their attention being called
to the infraction, did not deny that there had been a
departure from the general practice, but urged that they had
made no publication of the Treaty in anticipation of the
approval of Her Majesty. The Treaty had, however, been
published in the 'Netherlands Gazette' of the 3rd July, and I
observed that when the Treaty was published in the 'Staats
Courant' of the South African Republic after Her Majesty's

approval had been given, the official notice merely stated
that the Treaty was signed and ratified on certain dates, no
reference being made to that approval.
"2.-The Accession of the South African Republic to the
Geneva Convention.
After Dr. Jameson's raid, owing to a report made by the St.
John's Ambulance Association, Her Majesty's Government
determined to invite the South African Republic to accede to
the Geneva Convention, and the necessary instructions were
sent to Sir J. de Wet, who, however, omitted to carry them
out. The South African Republic, on the 30th September,
formally communicated to the Swiss Government, through their
Representative at the Hague, their act of accession to the
Geneva Convention. Her Majesty's Government, in the
circumstances, did not hesitate to convey the Queen's
approval, but the action of the Government of the Republic
none the less constituted a breach of the London Convention.
"3.—Portuguese Treaty.
An Extradition Treaty between the South African Republic and
Portugal was signed on the 3rd November 1893, but, contrary to
the usual practice, has not yet been submitted for the Queen's
approval, although two years have elapsed since Lord Ripon, in
his Despatch of the 25th February 1895, requested your
predecessor to call the attention of the President to the
omission to communicate this Convention to Her Majesty's
Government under the provisions of Article IV. of the London
Convention. … I now pass to the consideration of some of the
recent legislation of the Volksraad in its relation to Article
XIV. It will be found that it involves in more than one case
actual or possible breaches of the Convention. Article XIV.
runs as follows:—'All persons, other than natives, conforming
themselves to the laws of the South African Republic
(a) will have full liberty, with their families, to enter,
travel, or reside in any part of the South African
Republic;
(b) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses,
manufactories, warehouses, shops, and premises;
(c) they may carry on their commerce either in person or by
any agents whom they may think fit to employ;
(d) they will not be subject, in respect of their persons
or property, or in respect of their commerce or industry,
to any taxes, whether general or local, other than those
which are or may be imposed upon citizens of the said
Republic.'
"4.—The Aliens Immigration Law.
This law imposes upon aliens conditions of a new and
burthensome character in excess of the simple requirement that
they must conform themselves to the laws of the Republic. … 2.
The Aliens Expulsion Law. This law empowers the President,
with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, after
consulting the State Attorney, to expel, without an appeal to
the Court, any foreigner who, by word or writing, excites to
disobedience or transgression of the law, or takes any steps
dangerous to public peace and order. … Her Majesty's
Government … do not admit that the Government of the Republic
have a right to expel foreigners who are not shown to have
failed to conform to the laws of the Republic, and they
reserve the right to object to proceedings under the Act which
may amount to a breach of the Convention.
{473}
3. The Press Law. This law empowers the State President, on
the advice and with the consent of the Executive, to prohibit
entirely or for a time the circulation of printed or published
matter the contents of which are, in his judgment, contrary to
good morals or a danger to the peace and order in the
Republic. The suppression of the 'Critic' newspaper, the
property of a British subject, under this law, is a matter
which may raise a serious question as to whether the action of
the Government of the Republic has been consistent with the
Convention, but as Her Majesty's Government have not yet
received the explanation of the Government of the Republic in
that case, it is only necessary for me to make a passing
allusion to it in this Despatch.
"In several of the cases above cited, the strict letter of the
Convention could apparently have been observed without any
difficulty, while in others the objects which the Government
of the South African Republic had in view could have been
attained without any infringement of the Convention by a
previous understanding with Her Majesty's Government. Her
Majesty's Government therefore cannot conceal from themselves
that the Government of the South African Republic have in
these cases failed to give effect in practice to the
intention, so frequently expressed in public and official
utterances, of upholding the Convention on the part of the
Republic, and of maintaining that good understanding with Her
Majesty's Government which is so necessary in the interests of
South Africa."
Of the laws complained of by Mr. Chamberlain, that relating to
immigrant aliens had raised the most protest, because of its
requirement that all such aliens who were permitted to enter
and remain in the country must carry "travelling and
residential passes," to be shown on demand. The Transvaal
Government had met Mr. Chamberlain's first remonstrance on
this subject, in January, by saying: "It is an evident fact
that, especially during the last time, the immigration of
aliens of the lowest class and without any means of
subsistence has been increasing in a disquieting manner. These
persons are dangerous to the peace of the inhabitants and of
the State itself, and, in the opinion of this Government, no
country whatever can be obliged to admit such undesirable
persons. The regulation of unrestricted entry, as it at
present takes place, is thus, from the point of view of police
requirement, not only necessary but also entirely justified
and constitutes no infringement of Article 14 of the
Convention. This Government does not desire as yet to express
any opinion on the suggestion that under the circumstances
mentioned it should have approached Her Britannic Majesty's
Government with a view to arriving at an understanding. In
case, however, the Government of Her Britannic Majesty has
another practical measure to propose whereby its
above-mentioned subjects, whose presence here is not desired
for the reasons stated, can be prevented from seeking an
outlet on the soil of the South African Republic, and that
measure can be found to be applicable to the subjects of other
Powers as well (since the law makes no distinction in that
respect) it will be ready, with gratitude, to give its full
consideration to such measure."
Great Britain, Papers by Command: 1897, C. 8423.
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony and Natal: A. D. 1897.
Conference of colonial premiers with
the British Colonial] Secretary.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1897 (JUNE-JULY).
SOUTH AFRICA: British South Africa Company: A. D. 1897 (January).
Compulsory labor in Rhodesia.
In January, 1897, the Deputy Commissioner of the British
government in Rhodesia made a report to the High Commissioner
on several subjects pertaining to the native administration of
the British South Africa Company which he had been instructed to
investigate. One question to be answered was "whether there
exists a law or practice whereby compulsory labor is exacted
from natives, either by the government of the British South
Africa Company, or by private persons with consent of the
government, or by both?" From his lengthy report on this
subject the High Commissioner deduced the following summary of
conclusions, which he communicated to the colonial secretary:
"(1.) That compulsory labour did undoubtedly exist in
Matabeleland, if not in Mashonaland.
(2.) That labour was procured by the various Native
Commissioners for the various requirements of the Government,
mining companies, and private persons.
(3.) That the Native Commissioners, in the first instance,
endeavoured to obtain labour through the indunas, but, failing
in this, they procured it by force."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: 1897, C.—8547.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (January-March).
Conflict of the Judiciary with the Executive and the Volksraad.
The case of R. E. Brown.
In January, 1897, a decision was rendered by the High Court of
the Republic which brought it into conflict with President
Kruger and the Volksraad. This decision was given in
connection with a suit brought against the government of the
South African Republic by an American engineer, Mr. R. E.
Brown, and the claim of Mr. Brown had arisen out of
circumstances which were subsequently related by a speaker in
the United States Senate, as follows: Mr. R. E. Brown, a young
American mining engineer, living and operating in the Cœur
d'Alene district, in the State of Idaho, about eight years
ago, at the invitation of English capitalists, left this
country to go to the South African Republic for the purpose of
assisting in the development of the gold mines of that
country. It was about that time that Hammond, Clements, and
other American engineers went there, and it is not too much to
say that the genius and the energy of those young Americans
more than anything else made that country a great gold
producer and its mines the most valuable of any in the world.
At that time most of the mines were held by English companies
or Germans. The laws were very simple, but in some respects
appear to have been drawn in the interest of the wealthy
syndicates. Upon the discovery of new mines the President of
the Republic by proclamation opened them to mining locations,
fixing a day and hour at which they would be opened to such
location. Thereafter persons desiring to stake out mines had
to go to the office of the responsible clerk of the district
in which the mines were located to make application for
licenses to locate the mines, and thereafter they were
authorized, either in person or by deputy, to go on the ground
and make mining locations.
{474}
Under this system most of the valuable mines of the country
had been absorbed, as I said, by English and German
syndicates. The mode in which they operated to absorb the
mines was to place their men upon the newly opened ground and
at the earliest possible moment apply for licenses to locate
the mines, and then by means of couriers with swift horses, or
by signals from mountain to mountain where that was possible, to
convey information to their men and cause the mines to be
located before their rivals could get on the ground. Mr. Brown
had not been in the country very long before he learned of this
antiquated system, and he determined on the next opening of
mines to apply to their location some of the snap and go of
American methods.
"In June, 1895, President Kruger by proclamation opened the
mines on the Witfontein farm, district of Potchefstroom, the
responsible clerk for which resided at Doornkop, in that
district. Mr. Brown determined that he would acquire some of
these mines, at least, and as large a number of them as
possible. Witfontein was only 30 miles from Doornkop. The
mines were known to be very valuable, because they had been
prospected on each side and it was found that valuable
gold-bearing reefs ran through them from end to end.
Accordingly he purchased heliographic instruments and employed
expert heliographic operators, and without the knowledge of his
rivals established heliographic communication between Doornkop
and Witfontein. Then he placed his men upon the ground, and on
the 19th day of July, 1895, the earliest period at which he
was permitted to do so, he appeared at the office of the
responsible clerk and sought licenses to locate 1,200 mines
upon this ground. However, on the day before the opening of
the mines his rivals had found out about the heliographic
communication, but they were beaten in the race. In that
extremity they communicated with President Kruger by wire and
induced him on the night of the 18th to issue a second
proclamation, withdrawing the mines of Witfontein from the
privilege of mining locations, and when Mr. Brown appeared at
the office of the responsible clerk and tendered his money he
was met with the information of this action on the part of the
President of the South African Republic, and his application
was refused. But nothing daunted he caused his agents on the
ground to locate the mines the same as if the licenses had
been granted to him, and then he brought suit before the high
court of justice of the South African Republic against the
Republic, alleging the facts substantially as I have stated
them and praying that the authorities be compelled to issue to
him licenses for the mines located, or in lieu thereof that
compensation be made to him in the sum of £372,400, amounting
to about $1,850,000. While this suit was pending it was sought
to re-enforce the action of the President in withdrawing these
lands, and the Volksraad [passed a resolution approving the
withdrawal and declaring that no person should be entitled to
compensation on account of it]."
United States Congressional Record,
January 21, 1901, page 1370.
On Mr. Brown's suit, the High Court of the Republic decided
that the claimant's right to the land was good, and could not
be set aside by ex post facto measures of the Executive or the
Legislature. The President and the Volksraad refused to submit to
this decision, and passed a law to overrule it, on the ground
that, under the Grondwet (constitution), the Volksraad is the
highest power in the state. In a subsequent public statement
of the matter, Justice Kotze, the Chief Justice, explained the
issue that was thus raised between his court and the
President, and also related the circumstances of a compromise
by which it was settled temporarily, as follows:
"This so-called Law Number 1 of 1897 seeks to deprive the
judges of the testing right, authorizes the President to put a
certain question to the members of the bench that they would
not arrogate to themselves the so-called testing power, and
empowers him to instantly dismiss the judge or judges from
whom he receives no answer, or, in his opinion, an
unsatisfactory answer. The judges for the future are also
subjected to a humiliating form of oath. This measure, it
seems almost superfluous to observe, is no law. It alters the
constitution of the country without any previous reference to
the people, and for the reasons given in the Brown case it is
devoid of all legal validity. The five judges, on March 1,
1897, unanimously issued a declaration, stating that by this
so-called Law Number 1 of 1897 a vital violation of the
independence of the bench had taken place, and that the judges
were exposed in future to the suspicion of bribery. In fact,
the nature and tendency of this measure are so immoral that
one of the judges openly said that no honorable man can occupy
a seat on the bench while Law Number 1 of 1897 remains on the
statute book.
"The question above referred to was duly put by the President
to the judges, who had unanimously signed a letter to the
effect that they did not feel themselves at liberty to give
any answer, when the chief justice of the Cape Colony arrived
in Pretoria, and through his mediation a written understanding
was proposed by the judges on March 19, and accepted without
any qualification by the President on March 22, 1897. By the
terms of this compact the judges undertook not to test laws
and resolutions of the Volksraad on the distinct understanding
that the President would as soon as possible submit a draft
Grondwet to the Volksraad providing how alone the Grondwet can
be altered by special legislation in a manner analogous to the
provisions contained in the constitution of the Orange Free
State on the subject, and incorporating the guaranties for the
independence of the judiciary. By these means the judges
intended to protect both the constitution and the bench
against sudden surprises and attacks, such as, for instance,
the oft-quoted measure known as Law Number 1, of 1897. They
did this to avert a crisis, and, in order to help the
Government and Volksraad out of a difficulty of their own
creation, placed themselves under a temporary obligation upon
the faith of the President as speedily as possible complying
with his portion of the understanding."
United States, 56th Congress, 1st Session,
House Document Number 618.
The promised amendment of the Grondwet was not made, and the
issue concerning it was brought to a crisis in the next year.
See below: A. D. 1898 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).
SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (February):
Appointment of Sir Alfred Milner.
In February, Sir Alfred Milner was appointed High Commissioner
for South Africa and Governor of Cape Colony, to succeed Sir
Hercules Robinson, retired, and raised to the peerage as Lord
Rosmead.
{475}
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (February).
The franchise.
The government of the Transvaal extended the full franchise to
862 Uitlanders who supported it at the time of the Jameson
raid.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (February.)
Indemnity claimed by the South African Republic for
the Jameson Raid.
On the 16th of February, 1877, the State Secretary of the
South African Republic, Dr. W. J. Leyds, presented to the
British High Commissioner the following "specification of the
compensation to which the Government of the South African
Republic lays claim for and in connexion with the incursion
into the Territory of the South African Republic by Dr.
Jameson and the Troops of the Chartered Company at the end of
December 1895 and the beginning of January 1896.
1. Expenditure for military and commando
services In connexion with the incursion,
the sum of. £136,733 s.4 d.3
2. Compensation to the Netherlands South
African Railway Company for making use,
in accordance with the concession granted
to that Company, of the railway worked by
it during the commando on account of the
incursion of Dr. Jameson. £9,500 s.0 d.0
3. Disbursements to surviving relatives
of slain and wounded. £234 s.19 d.6
4. For annuities, pensions, and disbursements
to widows and children of slain burghers and
to relatives of unmarried slain burghers, as
also to wounded burghers, a total sum of. £28,243 s.0 d.0
5. Expenses of the telegraph department,
for more overtime, more telegrams on service
in South African communication, more
cablegrams, &c. £4,692 s.11 d.9
6. Hospital expenses for the care of the
wounded and sick men, &c. of Dr. Jameson. £225 s.0 d.0
7. For support of members of the families of
commandeered burghers during the commando. £177 s.8 d.8
8. Compensation to be paid to the and the
commandeered burghers for their services
troubles and cares brought upon them. £62,120 s.0 d.0
9. Account of expenses of the Orange
Free State. £36,011 s.19 d.1
Total £677,936 s.3 d.3
"Moral or intellectual compensation to which the Government of
the South African Republic lays claim for and in connexion
with the incursion into the Territory of the South African
Republic by Dr. Jameson and the Troops of the Chartered
Company at the end of December 1895 and the beginning of
January 1896. One million pounds sterling (£1,000,000)."
To this claim the British colonial secretary, Mr. Chamberlain,
replied on the 10th of April, saying, with reference to the
specification under the second head, "for moral or
intellectual damage," that "Her Majesty's Government … regret
that they do not feel justified in presenting it to the
British South Africa Company"; and adding: "Her Majesty's
Government fear that they may be compelled to take similar
exception to certain of the items composing the first head,
especially in view of the very short period which elapsed
between the crossing of the frontier by Dr. Jameson's force
and its surrender; but as it is apparent from the nature of
the figures that the Government of the South African Republic
have proceeded on very precise data in arriving at the various
sums to which they lay claim, Her Majesty's Government, before
offering any observations on this part of the claim, would ask
his Honour to be so good as to furnish them with full
particulars of the way in which the different items comprised
in the first head have been arrived at."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: C.—8404, 1897; and C.—8721, 1898.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (February-July).
British parliamentary investigation of the Jameson Raid.
A Committee of the British House of Commons, appointed "to
inquire into the origin and circumstances of the incursion
into the South African Republic by an armed force, and into
the administration of the British South Africa Company," began
its sittings on the 16th of February, 1897. Among the members
of the Committee were the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the
Attorney-General, Mr. Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for
the Colonies, Sir William Harcourt, Sir John Lubbock, Sir H.
Campbell-Bannerman, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. John Ellis, Mr.
Buxton, Mr. Blake, and others. Mr. Rhodes, who was first
examined by the Committee, read a statement of the
circumstances leading up to the raid, in which he said that,
as one largely interested in the Transvaal, he felt that the
unfriendly attitude of the Boer Government was the great
obstacle to common action among the various states in South
Africa, and that, therefore, he had assisted the movement in
Johannesburg with his purse and influence. "Further," he said,
"acting within my rights, in the autumn of 1895 I placed a
body of troops under Dr. Jameson, prepared to act in the
Transvaal in certain eventualities." Subsequently Mr. Rhodes
declared: "With reference to the Jameson raid, I may state
that Dr. Jameson went in without my authority." He concluded
his statement by declaring that in what he did he was greatly
influenced by his belief that the policy of the Boer
Government was to "introduce the influence of another foreign
Power into the already complicated system of South Africa."
Mr. Rhodes was kept under examination before the Committee for
four days, and then "almost the next thing heard of him was
that he had started for South Africa on his way back to
Rhodesia." Another witness examined was Sir Graham Bower,
Secretary to the High Commissioner at the Cape. "His evidence
was certainly most startling, and at the same time of great
importance. He stated that late in October, 1895, Mr. Rhodes
came into his office and said: 'I want you to give me your
word of honour that you will not say a word to anyone about
what I am going to tell you.' Sir Graham Bower—who, as he
said, had a great many Cape secrets in his possession—pledged
his word, and soon found he was in possession of a secret
which it was his official duty to disclose to the High
Commissioner and his private duty not to disclose. Mr. Rhodes
then said that he was negotiating about the Protectorate, that
there was going to be a rising in Johannesburg, and that he
wished to have a police force on the border. He added in
substance: 'If trouble comes I am not going to sit still. You
fellows are infernally slow.' It further transpired that on
the fateful Sunday (December 28) Mr. Rhodes had told him that
Jameson had gone in, but that he hoped that the message he had
sent would stop him."
{476}
When Dr. Jameson was examined he fully acknowledged his
conspiracy with the Johannesburg revolutionists, and stated
that he had given information of it to Mr. Rhodes, adding; "He
agreed, and we arranged that when the rising took place he
should go to Johannesburg or Pretoria with the High
Commissioner and Mr. Hofmeyr to mediate between the Transvaal
Government and the Uitlanders. With these matters settled, I
left Cape Town and joined my camp at Pitsani. I required no
orders or authority from Mr. Rhodes, and desired neither to
receive nor to send any messages from or to Cape Town."
In the course of the inquiry, Mr. Chamberlain, the Colonial
Secretary, desired to give testimony, and related that Dr.
Harris, the Secretary in South Africa to the British South
Africa Company, said to him, "I could tell you something in
confidence," or "I could give you some confidential
information"; but that he (Chamberlain) stopped him at once,
saying, "I do not want to hear any confidential information. I
am here in an official capacity, and I can only hear
information of which I can make official use"; and adding: "I
have Sir Hercules Robinson in South Africa. I have entire
confidence in him, and I am quite convinced he will keep me
informed of everything I ought to know." In concluding his
testimony, Mr. Chamberlain said: "I desire to say, in the most
explicit manner, that I did not then have, and that I never
had, any knowledge or—until, I think it was, the day before
the raid took place—the slightest suspicion of anything in the
nature of a hostile or armed invasion of the Transvaal." The
Committee having called upon Mr. Rhodes' solicitor, a Mr.
Hawksley, to produce telegrams which had passed between Mr.
Rhodes and himself, refused to do so.
"The proceedings which ensued were not to the credit of the
Committee, for instead of reporting the matter to the House at
once in a special report, they decided to refer to it in the
interim report on the raid. Mr. Labouchere and Mr. Blake alone
opposed this course, which was either a confession of
unwillingness to reach the bottom of the business, or the
suggestion that somebody was to be shielded. … Having devoted
two days to hearing counsel on behalf of Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Beit
and Dr. Harris, the Committee adjourned to consider its
report. The general feeling was that the proceedings had been
conducted with singular laxity or want of skill. Those
interested in keeping secret the true history of the raid were
entirely successful, and it was generally by the merest chance
that any fact of importance was elicited from the witnesses.
The representatives of the Opposition, Sir William Harcourt,
Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman and Mr. Buxton, were, after Mr.
Rhodes had been unaccountably permitted to quit England,
willing to allow the breakdown of the proceedings; and what
was even more surprising in so strict a parliamentarian as Sir
William Harcourt, a witness was allowed to treat the Committee
with defiance, and to pass unchecked. To a very great extent the
inquiry had been obviously factitious, but in whose interest
concealment was considered necessary remained undivulged. It
was surmised that reasons of State had been found which
outweighed party considerations, and that the leaders of the
Opposition had been privately convinced that the alleged
grounds were sufficient for the course adopted."
The report of the majority of the Committee, signed by all of
its members except Mr. Labouchere and Mr. Blake (the former of
whom submitted a minority report), was made public on the 13th
of July. The results of its inquiry were summed up under the
following heads:
I. "Great discontent had, for some time previous to the
incursion, existed in Johannesburg, arising from the
grievances of the Uitlanders.
II. Mr. Rhodes occupied a great position in South Africa; he
was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, and, beyond all other
persons, should have been careful to abstain from such a
course of action as that which he adopted. As managing
director of the British South Africa Company, as director of
the De Beers Consolidated Mines and the Gold Fields of South
Africa, Mr. Rhodes controlled a great combination of
interests; he used his position and those interests to promote
and assist his policy. Whatever justification there might have
been for action on the part of the people of Johannesburg, there
was none for the conduct of a person in Mr. Rhodes' position
in subsidising, organising, and stimulating an armed
insurrection against the Government of the South African
Republic, and employing the forces and resources of the
Chartered Company to support such a revolution. He seriously
embarrassed both the Imperial and Colonial Governments, and
his proceedings resulted in the invasion of the territory of a
State which was in friendly relations with her Majesty, in
breach of the obligation to respect the right to
self-government of the South African Republic under the
conventions between her Majesty and that State. Although Dr.
Jameson 'went in' without Mr. Rhodes' authority, it was always
part of the plan that these forces should be used in the
Transvaal in support of an insurrection. Nothing could justify
such a use of such a force, and Mr. Rhodes' heavy
responsibility remains, although Dr. Jameson at the last
moment invaded the Transvaal without his direct sanction.
III. Such a policy once embarked upon inevitably involved Mr.
Rhodes in grave breaches of duty to those to whom he owed
allegiance. He deceived the High Commissioner representing the
Imperial Government, he concealed his views from his
colleagues in the Colonial Ministry and from the board of the
British South Africa Company, and led his subordinates to
believe that his plans were approved by his superiors.
IV. Your committee have heard the evidence of all the
directors of the British South Africa Company, with the
exception of Lord Grey. Of those who were examined, Mr. Beit
and Mr. Maguire alone had cognisance of Mr. Rhodes' plans. Mr.
Beit played a prominent part in the negotiations with the
Reform Union; he contributed large sums of money to the
revolutionary movement, and must share full responsibility for
the consequences.
V. There is not the slightest evidence that the late High
Commissioner in South Africa, Lord Rosmead, was made
acquainted with Mr. Rhodes' plans. The evidence, on the
contrary, shows that there was a conspiracy to keep all
information on the subject from him. The committee must,
however, express a strong opinion upon the conduct of Sir
Graham Bower, who was guilty of a grave dereliction of duty in
not communicating to the High Commissioner the information
which had come to his knowledge. Mr. Newton failed in his duty
in a like manner.
VI. Neither the Secretary of State for the Colonies nor any of
the officials of the Colonial Office received any information
which made them, or should have made them or any of them,
aware of the plot during its development.
{477}
VII. Finally, your committee desire to put on record an
absolute and unqualified condemnation of the raid and of the
plans which made it possible."
"The result caused for the time being grave injury to British
influence in South Africa. Public confidence was shaken, race
feeling embittered, and serious difficulties were created with
neighbouring States. The course of action subsequently taken by
the Government increased the suspicions which were aroused by
such an emasculated report. Two days after its publication
(July 15), Mr. Balfour was asked to set apart a day for the
formal discussion of so important a matter. To this request
Mr. Balfour, with the tacit concurrence of the front
Opposition bench, replied that he saw no useful purpose to be
served by such a debate."
Those who were known as the "Forward Radicals," or "Forwards,"
in the House, were not to be silenced in this manner, and
debate was forced upon a motion expressing regret at "the
inconclusive action and report of the select committee on
British South Africa," and summoning Mr. Hawksley to the bar
of the House, to produce "then and there," the telegrams which
he had refused to the committee. In the course of the
discussion which followed, Mr.Chamberlain expressed his
conviction that, "while the fault of Mr. Rhodes was about as
great a fault as a politician or statesman could commit, there
existed nothing which affected his personal character as a man
of honour." When Sir Elliott Lees, a supporter of the
government, rose to protest against such a doctrine, he was
met by cries which silenced his speech. The House then
divided, and the resolution was defeated by 304 to 77. "It was
an open secret that throughout the debate one member,
unconnected with either front bench, sat with the famous
telegrams in his pocket, and with them certain correspondence
relating thereto which he had been instructed to read in the
event of Mr. Rhodes' character being aspersed."
Annual Register, 1897.
"The position … stands thus. The Colonial Office conceals its
own documents. From none of its officials have we had any
detailed or frank statement as to their relations to South
African affairs during the critical period. The High
Commissioner himself has not been examined. Mr. Rhodes has
been allowed to go without any serious inquiry into this
branch of the case. The most important cables are refused by
Mr. Rhodes's order, and the Committee decline to exercise
their power to compel the production of them. The story, in
fact, so far as it concerns this question of the truth or
falsity of the allegation that Mr. Chamberlain was 'in it,' is
being smothered up, with an audacious disregard of the
principles which guide all ordinary tribunals. The last steps
in this proceeding have been taken with the direct assent of
the leader of the Opposition. Everybody, therefore, is
inquiring what reason can have induced Sir William Harcourt to
execute this startling change of front. There is only one
reason that can, with any probability, be assigned-that is,
that some member of the Government has made a 'Front Bench
communication' to the leader of the Opposition, indicating to
him explicitly that there are 'reasons of State' for stopping
the disclosures. There can be little doubt that this is what
has happened, and conjecture, not only in this country but
elsewhere, will naturally be keen to know what the nature of
this momentous disclosure was.
"If Mr. Chamberlain was as absolutely free from knowledge of
the Jameson plan as he has professed to be, it is hard to see
how full disclosure could do any damage to the Empire, or
could do anything but good to the Colonial Secretary himself.
Mr. Chamberlain, of course, professes in words his private
desire that everything should come out. He has not, however,
assisted in the attainment of that result. The consequence is
that a national and international question of very grave
importance has arisen. It is said in circles usually well
informed, that when the Raid occurred, it became necessary to
give assurances to foreign Governments, and in particular to
Germany, that the Queen's Government was in no way
compromised. These assurances, it is said, were given. It is
even said that they were given expressly in the name of the
Queen. Something of this kind may well have happened; but it
is hard to see how, if it did happen, and if the Colonial
Office was as innocent as it claims to be, the disclosure of
the facts can do anything but confirm the Queen's word. That
documents exist which are supposed to be compromising, and
which the very authors of them allege to be compromising, is a
fact past hiding. It casts, unless it is cleared up, a damning
doubt. Therefore it would appear to be the duty of all honest
men, and, above all, of the Parliament of Great Britain, to
see that an immediate end is put to a policy which may be
aptly described as 'thimble-rigging,' and that the truth,
whether it suits Mr. Rhodes or Mr. Chamberlain, or neither of
them, must be told at fist."
Contemporary Review,
July, 1897.
SOUTH AFRICA: Orange Free State and Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (April).
Treaty of alliance.
In April, the two republics entered into a treaty for mutual
support and defense against attacks on the independence of
either, each opening its political franchises to the citizens
of the other on the taking of an oath of allegiance.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (April).
Military expenditure by British and Boer Governments.
The budget of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer,
submitted to the House of Commons in April, contained an item
of '£200,000 for increased military expenditure in South
Africa. This was promptly attacked by the opposition, who
accused the government of pursuing a war policy in its
dealings with the Transvaal. Sir William Harcourt declared
that Mr. Chamberlain had, "in every utterance of his during
the last few months, been endeavouring to exasperate sentiment
in South Africa, and to produce what, thank God! he had failed
in producing—a racial war." Mr. Chamberlain retorted that Sir
William Harcourt's attitude was unpatriotic and injurious to
the cause of peace. He denied aggressiveness in the policy of
the government, asserting that the South African Republic had
been spending millions on armaments imported from abroad, in
view of which the strengthening of the British garrison at the
Cape by an additional regiment and three batteries was no
unreasonable measure. Mr. Balfour, also, begged the House and
the country to believe that the troops were sent only as a
measure of precaution, to maintain admitted rights.
{478}
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1897 (May-October).
The British assertion of suzerainty and declination of
proposal to arbitrate disagreements.
On the 7th of May, 1897, the Acting State Secretary of the
South African Republic addressed to the British Agent at
Pretoria a communication of great length, reviewing the
positions taken by Mr. Chamberlain in his several arraignments
of the government of the Republic for alleged violation of the
London Convention of 1884, and proposing an arbitration of the
questions involved. "The complaint," he wrote, "which Her
British Majesty's Government has advanced in an unmistakably
pronounced manner over an actual or possible breach of the
Convention has deeply grieved this Government, as it thinks
that it has fulfilled its obligations. It sees in the
fulfilment of the mutual obligations under the Convention one
of the best guarantees for the maintenance of a mutual good
understanding and for the promotion of reciprocal confidence.
To this good understanding and that confidence, however,
severe shocks have been given by events which cannot be
lightly forgotten. And if it were not that this Government
wishes to guard itself against adopting a recriminating tone,
it might put the question whether, for example, the incursion
of Dr. Jameson, whether considered as a breach of the
Convention or a grievance, is not of immeasurably greater
importance than the various matters adduced by Her British
Majesty's Government would be, even if the contention that
they constitute breaches of the Convention could be accepted.
There should, in the view of this Government, be a strong
mutual endeavour to restore the shocked confidence and to calm
the excited spirit which this Government with sincere regret
sees reigning throughout almost the whole of South Africa.
This Government is anxious to co-operate for this end, for the
desire of the Republic, with the maintenance of its
independence and rights, is for peace, and where for the
reasons given it has been unable to entertain the proposal of
Her British Majesty's Government in the matter of the Aliens
Law,—and it appears very difficult to arrive at a solution of
the question by means of correspondence,—it wishes to come to
a permanent good understanding along a peaceful course, not
only with respect to its undisturbed right to make an alien
law, but also with regard to all points touching the
Convention which are referred to in the two Despatches under
reply by Her British Majesty's Government. While it respects
the opinion of Her British Majesty's Government, it takes the
liberty, with full confidence in the correctness of its own
views, to propose to Her British Majesty's Government the
principle of arbitration with which the honourable the First
Volksraad agrees, in the hope that it will be taken in the
conciliatory spirit in which it is made. …
"Although this Government is firmly convinced that a just and
impartial decision might be obtained even better in South
Africa than anywhere else, it wishes, in view of the
conflicting elements, interests, and aspirations, which are
now apparent in South Africa, and in order to avoid even the
appearance that it would be able or desire to exercise
influence in order to obtain a decision favourable to it, to
propose that the President of the Swiss Bondstate, who may be
reckoned upon as standing altogether outside the question, and
to feel sympathy or antipathy neither for the one party nor
for the other, be requested to point out a competent jurist,
as has already oftener been done in respect of international
disputes. The Government would have no objection that the
arbitrator be subject to a limitation of time, and gives the
assurance now already that it will willingly subject itself to
any decision if such should, contrary to its expectation, be
given against it. The Government repeats the well-meant wish
that this proposal may find favour with Her British Majesty's
Government, and inasmuch as the allegations of breaches of the
Convention find entrance now even in South Africa, and bring
and keep the feelings more and more in a state of suspense,
this Government will be pleased if it can learn the decision
of Her Majesty's Government as soon as possible."
Mr. Chamberlain's reply to this proposal was not written until
the 16th of the following October, when he, in turn, reviewed,
point by point, the matters dealt with, in the despatch of Mr.
Van Boeschoten. With reference to the Jameson raid he said: "Her
Majesty's Government note with satisfaction that the
Government of the South African Republic see in the fulfilment
of the mutual obligations under the London Convention one of
the best guarantees for the maintenance of a mutual
understanding and for the promotion of reciprocal confidence.
Her Majesty's Government have uniformly fulfilled these
obligations on their part, and they must strongly protest
against what appears to be an implication in the Note under
consideration that the incursion of Dr. Jameson can be
considered as either a breach of the Convention by Her
Majesty's Government or a grievance against them. That
incursion was the act of private individuals unauthorised by
Her Majesty's Government, and was repudiated by them
immediately it became known. The immense importance to the
Government of the South African Republic of that repudiation,
and of the proclamation issued by the High Commissioner under
instructions from Her Majesty's Government, is recognised
throughout South Africa. Her Majesty's Government maintain
strongly that since the Convention of 1881 there has never
been any breach or even any allegation of a breach on their
part of that or the subsequent Convention, and, as the subject
has been raised by the implied accusation contained in the
Note under consideration, Her Majesty's Government feel
constrained to contrast their loyal action in the case of the
Jameson raid with the cases in which they have had cause to
complain that the Government of the South African Republic
failed to interfere with, if they did not countenance,
invasions of the adjacent territories by its burghers in
violation of the Convention, and they feel bound to remind the
Government of the Republic that in one of these cases Her
Majesty's Government were compelled to maintain their rights
by an armed expedition at the cost of about one million
sterling, for which no compensation has ever been received by
them."
Concerning the proposal of arbitration, the reply of the
British colonial secretary was as follows: "In making this
proposal the Government of the South African Republic appears
to have overlooked the distinction 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.
{479}
By the Pretoria Convention of 1881 Her Majesty, as Sovereign
of the Transvaal Territory, accorded to the inhabitants of
that territory complete self-government subject to the
suzerainty of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, upon
certain terms and conditions and subject to certain
reservations and limitations set forth in 33 articles, and by
the London Convention of 1884 Her Majesty, while maintaining
the preamble of the earlier instrument, directed and declared
that certain other articles embodied therein should be
substituted for the articles embodied in the Convention of
1881. The articles of the Convention of 1881 were accepted by
the Volksraad of the Transvaal State, and those of the
Convention of 1884 by the Volksraad of the South African
Republic. Under these Conventions, therefore, Her Majesty
holds towards the South African Republic the relation of a
suzerain who has accorded to the people of that Republic
self-government 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 Republic. One of the main objects which
Her Majesty's Government had in view was the prevention of the
interference of any foreign Power between Her Majesty and the
South African Republic, a matter which they then held, and
which Her Majesty's present Government hold, to be essential
to British interests, and this object would be defeated by the
course now proposed. The clear intention of Her Majesty's
Government at the time of the London Convention, that
questions in relation to it should not be submitted to
arbitration, is shown by the fact that when the delegates of
the South African Republic, in the negotiations which preceded
that Convention, submitted to Her Majesty's Government in the
first instance (in a letter of the 26th of November, 1883,
which will be found on page 9 of the Parliamentary Paper C.
3947 of 1884) the draft of a treaty or convention containing
an arbitration clause, they were informed by the Earl of Derby
that it was neither in form nor in substance such as Her
Majesty's Government could adopt."
Great Britain, Papers by Command.
C.—8721, 1898.
SOUTH AFRICA: Natal: A. D. 1897 (December).
Annexation of Zululand.
See (in this volume)
AFRICA: A. D. 1897 (ZULULAND).
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony: A. D. 1898.
The position of political parties.
The Progressives and the Afrikander Bund.
"The present position of parties at the Cape is as unfortunate
and as unwarranted as any that the severest critic of
Parliamentary institutions could have conjured up. … The Cape
has always had the curse of race prejudice to contend with.
Time might have done much to soften, if not to expunge it, if
home-made stupidities had not always been forthcoming to goad
to fresh rancour. The facts are too well known to need
repetition. It is true not only of the Transvaalers that 'the
trek has eaten into their souls,' and up to the time of
emancipation and since, every conceivable mistake has been
committed by those in authority. Thus, when the breach was, to
all appearances, partly healed, the fatal winter of 1895 put
back the hands of the clock to the old point of departure. As
Englishmen, our sympathies are naturally with the party that
is prevalently English, and against the party that is
prevalently Dutch; but to find a real line of political
difference between them other than national sentiment requires
fine drawing. … According to our lines of cleavage both
Bondsmen [Afrikander Bund] and Progressives are Conservatives
of a decided type. Practically they are agreed in advocating
protective duties on sea-borne trade, although in degree they
differ, for whilst the Bond would have imposts as they are,
the Progressives wish to reduce the duties on food stuffs to
meet the grievance of the urban constituencies, and might be
induced to accord preferential treatment to British goods. On
the native question neither party adopts what would in England
be considered an 'advanced' programme, for education is not
made a cardinal point, and they would equally like, if
possible, to extend the application of the Glen Grey Act,
which, by levying a tax on the young Kaffirs who have not a
labour certificate, forces them to do some service to the
community before exercising their right of 'putting the
spoon,' as the phrase is, 'into the family pot.' Neither party
wishes to interfere with the rights of property or the
absolute tenure of land under the Roman-Dutch law. A tax on
the output of diamonds at Kimberley has been advocated by some
members of the Bond as a financial expedient, but it is
understood to have been put forward rather as a threat against
Mr. Rhodes personally than as a measure of practical politics.
Questions of franchise are tacitly left as they are, for no
responsible politicians wish to go back upon the enactment
which restricted the Kaffir vote to safe and inconsiderable
limits. The redistribution of seats was the subject of a Bill
upon which the last House was dissolved, after the rebuff that
the Ministry received upon a crucial division, but it has been
dealt with rather for practical than theoretical reasons. Two
schemes of redistribution have been formulated, and each has
been proposed and opposed with arguments directed to show the
party advantage to be derived. For political reform, in the
abstract, with or without an extension of the suffrage, there
is no sort of enthusiasm in any quarter. Railway
administration furnishes, no doubt, an occasional battle-field
for the two sides of the House. Roughly, the Progressives
favour the northern extension, and are willing to make
concessions in rates and charges to help on the new trade with
Rhodesia; whilst the Bond declare themselves against special
treatment of the new interests, and would spend all the money
that could be devoted to railway construction in the farming
districts of the colony itself. Mr. Rhodes, however, has
warned the Cape that any hostile action will be counteracted
by a diversion of traffic to the East, and it is unlikely that
any line of policy will be pursued that is likely to injure
the carrying trade of the southern ports. Between the
followers of Mr. Rhodes and the followers of Mr. Hofmeyr there
is no wide divergence of principle on public affairs of the
near future, so far as they have been or are to be the subject
of legislation; where the difference comes in is in the
attitude they severally assume towards the two republics and
the territories of the north, but when talk has to yield to
action it is improbable that there will be much in their
disagreement."
N. L. W. Lawson,
Cape Politics and Colonial Policy
(Fortnightly Review, November 1898).
{480}
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1898 (January-February).
Re-election of President Kruger.
Renewed conflict of the Executive with the Judiciary.
Dismissal of Chief-Justice Kotze.
The Presidential election in the South African Republic was
held in January and February, the polls being open from the 3d
of the former month until the 4th of the latter. President
Kruger was re-elected for a fourth term of five years, by
nearly 13,000 votes against less than 6,000 divided between
Mr. Schalk Burger and General Joubert, who were opposing
candidates. Soon afterwards, the conflict of 1897 between the
Judiciary and the Executive (see above: A. D. 1897,
JANUARY-MARCH), was reopened by a communication in which
Chief-Justice Kotze, of the High Court, called the attention
of the President to the fact that nothing had been done in
fulfilment of the agreement that the independence of the Court
and the stability of the Grondwet should both be protected by
law against arbitrary interference, and giving notice that he
considered the compromise then arranged to be ended. Thereupon
(February 16) President Kruger removed the judge from his
office and placed the State Attorney in his seat. Justice
Kotze denied the legality of the removal, and adjourned his
court sine die. In a speech at Johannesburg, some weeks
afterwards, he denounced the action of President Kruger with
great severity, saying: "I charge the President, as head of
the State, with having violated both the constitution and the
ordinary laws of the land; with having interfered with the
independence of the High Court; and invaded and imperilled the
rights and liberties of everyone in the country. The
guarantees provided by the constitution for the protection of
real and personal rights have disappeared, and these are now
dependent on the 'arbitrium' of President Kruger."
SOUTH AFRICA: Rhodesia and the British South Africa Company:
A. D. 1898 (February).
Reorganization.
In February, the British government announced the adoption of
plans for a reorganization of the British South Africa Company
and of the administration of its territories. The Company,
already deprived of military powers, was to give up, in great
part, but not wholly, its political functions. It was still to
appoint an Administrator for Rhodesia south of the Zambesi,
and to name the majority of members in a council assisting
him, so long as it remained responsible for the expenses of
administration; but, by the side of the Administrator was to
be placed a Resident Commissioner, appointed by the Crown, and
over both was the authority of the High Commissioner for South
Africa, to whom the Resident Commissioner made reports. At
home the status of the Board of Directors was to be
considerably altered. The life directorships were to be
abolished, and the whole Board of Directors in future to be
elected by the shareholders,—any official or director removed
by the Secretary of State not being eligible without his
consent. The Board of Directors was to communicate all
minutes, etc., to the Secretary of State, and he to have the
power of veto or suspension. Finally, the Secretary of State
was to have full powers to inspect and examine all documents;

Colonial Office officials named by him were, in effect, to
exercise powers like those of the old Indian Board of Control.
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Colony: A. D. 1898 (March-October).
Election in favor of the Afrikander Bund.
Change in the government.
Elections to the Upper House of the Cape Parliament, in March,
gave the party called the Progressives, headed by Mr. Rhodes, a
small majority over the Afrikander Bund—more commonly called
the Bond. The Parliament opened in May, and the Progressive
Ministry, under Sir Gordon Sprigg, was defeated in the Lower
House in the following month, on a bill to create new
electoral divisions. The Ministry dissolved Parliament and
appealed to the constituencies, with the result of a defeat on
that appeal. The Bond party won in the elections by a majority
of two, which barely enabled it to carry a resolution of want
of confidence in the government when Parliament was
reassembled, in October. The Ministry of Sir Gordon Sprigg
resigned, and a new one was formed with Mr. Schreiner at its
head.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1898-1899.
Continued dispute with the British Government
concerning Suzerainty.
During 1898 and half of 1899, a new dispute, raised by Mr.
Chamberlain's emphatic assertion of the suzerainty of Great
Britain over the South African Republic, went on between the
British Colonial Office and the government at Pretoria.
Essentially, the question at issue seemed to lie between a
word and a fact and the difference between the disputants was
the difference between the meanings they had severally drawn
from the omission of the word "suzerainty" from the London
Convention of 1884. On one side could be quoted the report
which the Transvaal deputation to London, in 1884, had made to
their Volksraad, when they brought the treaty back, and
recommended that it be approved. The treaty, they reported,
"is entirely bilateral [meaning that there were two sides in
the making of it] whereby your representatives were not placed
in the humiliating position of merely having to accept from a
Suzerain Government a one-sided document as rule and
regulation, but whereby they were recognized as a free
contracting party. It makes, then, also an end of the British
suzerainty, and, with the official recognition of her name,
also restores her full self-government to the South African
Republic, excepting one single limitation regarding the
conclusion of treaties with foreign powers (Article 4). With
the suzerainty the various provisions and limitations of the
Pretoria Convention which Her Majesty's Government as suzerain
had retained have also, of course, lapsed."
On the other side, Mr. Chamberlain could quote with effect
from a speech which Lord Derby, then the British Colonial
Secretary, who negotiated the Convention of 1884 with the Boer
envoys, made on the 17th of March, that year, in the House of
Lords. As reported in Hansard, Lord Derby had then dealt with
the very question of suzerainty, as involved in the new
convention, and had set forth his own understanding of the
effect of the latter in the following words: "Then the noble
Earl (Earl Cadogan) said that the object of the Convention had
been to abolish the suzerainty of the British Crown. The word
'suzerainty' is a very vague word, and I do not think it is
capable of any precise legal definition.
{481}
Whatever we may understand by it, I think it is not very easy
to define. But I apprehend, whether you call it a
protectorate, or a suzerainty, or the recognition of England
as a paramount Power, the fact is that a certain controlling
power is retained when the State which exercises this
suzerainty has a right to veto any negotiations into which the
dependent State may enter with foreign Powers. Whatever
suzerainty meant in the Convention of Pretoria, the condition
of things which it implied still remains; although the word is
not actually employed, we have kept the substance. We have
abstained from using the word because it was not capable of
legal definition, and because it seemed to be a word which was
likely to lead to misconception and misunderstanding."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: C. 9507, 1899, pages 24 and 34.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1899 (March).
Petition of British subjects to the Queen.
A fresh excitement of discontent in the Rand, due especially
to the shooting of an Englishman by a Boer policeman, whom the
Boer authorities seemed disposed to punish lightly or not at
all, led to the preparation of a petition to the British
Queen, from her subjects in the South African Republic,
purporting to be signed in the first instance by 21,684, and
finally by 23,000. The genuineness of many of the signatures
was disputed by the Boers, but strenuously affirmed by those
who conducted the circulation of the petition. It set forth
the grievances of the memorialists at length, and prayed Her
Majesty to cause them to be investigated, and to direct her
representative in South Africa to take measures for securing
from the South African Republic a recognition of their rights.
The petition was forwarded to the Colonial Office on the 28th
of March.
Great Britain, Papers by Command: 1899, C. 9345.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1899 (May-June).
The Bloemfontein Conference between President Kruger and
the British High Commissioner, Sir Alfred Milner.
There seems to be no mode in which the questions at issue
between the British and the Boers, and the attitude of the two
parties, respectively, in their contention with each other,
can be represented more accurately than by quoting essential
parts of the official report of a formal conference between
President Kruger and the British High Commissioner in South
Africa, Sir Alfred Milner, which was held at Bloemfontein, the
capital of the Orange Free State, during five days, May
31-June 5, 1899. The meeting was arranged by President Steyn,
of the Orange Free State, with a view to bringing about an
adjustment of differences by a free and full discussion of
them, face to face. In the official report of the
conversations that occurred, from which we shall quote, the
remarks of President Kruger are given as being made by the
"President," and those of the High Commissioner as by "His
Excellency." The latter, invited by the President to speak
first, said:
"There are a considerable number of open questions between Her
Majesty's Government and the Government of the South African
Republic on which there is at present no sign of agreement. On
the contrary, disagreements seem to increase as time goes on.
… In my personal opinion the cause of many of the points of
difference, and the most serious ones, arises out of the
policy pursued by the Government of the South African Republic
towards the Uitlander population of that Republic among whom
many thousands are British subjects. This policy, the bitter
feeling it engenders between the Government and a section of
Uitlanders, and the effect of the resulting tension in South
Africa, and the feeling of sympathy in Great Britain, and even
throughout the British Empire generally, with the Uitlander
population, creates an irritated state of public opinion on
both sides, which renders it much more difficult for the two
Governments to settle their differences amicably. It is my
strong conviction that if the Government of the South African
Republic could now, before things get worse, of its own motion
change its policy towards the Uitlanders, and take measures
calculated to content the reasonable people among them, who,
after all, are a great majority, such a course would not only
strengthen the independence of the Republic but it would make
such a better state of feeling all round that it would become
far easier to settle outstanding questions between the two
Governments. … The President, in coming here, has made a
reservation as to the independence of the Republic. I cannot
see that it is in any way impairing the independence of the
Republic for Her Majesty's Government to support the cause of
the Uitlanders as far as it is reasonable. A vast number of
them are British subjects. If we had an equal number of
British subjects and equally large interests in any part of
the world, even in a country which was not under any
conventional obligations to Her Majesty's Government we should
be bound to make representations to the Government in the
interests of Her Majesty's subjects, and to point out that the
intense discontent of those subjects stood in the way of the
cordial relations which we desire to exist between us. I know
that the citizens of the South African Republic are intensely
jealous of British interference in their internal affairs.
What I want to impress upon the President is that if the
Government of the South African Republic of its own accord,
from its own sense of policy and justice, would afford a more
liberal treatment to the Uitlander population, this would not
increase British interference, but enormously diminish it. If
the Uitlanders were in a position to help themselves they
would not always be appealing to us under the Convention. …
"President.—I shall be brief. I have come with my commission,
in the trust that Your Excellency is a man capable of
conviction, to go into all points of difference. … I should
like His Excellency to go point by point in this discussion,
so that we can discuss each point that he thinks requires
attention, not with a view to at once coming to a decision,
but to hear each side, and we can go back on any point if
necessary, and see if we can arrive at an understanding. I
would like to give concessions as far as is possible and
practicable, but I want to speak openly, so that His
Excellency may be able to understand. I should like to say
that the memorials placed before Her Majesty's Government came
from those who do not speak the truth. I mean to convey that
we do give concessions wherever we think it practicable to do
so, and after we have discussed it in a friendly way Your
Excellency will be able to judge whether I or the memorialists
are right. I have said that if there are any mistakes on our
side, we are willing to discuss them. Even in any matter
concerning internal affairs I would be willing to listen to
his advice if he said it could be removed in this way or that
way. But when I show him that by the point we may be
discussing our independence may be touched, I trust he will be
open to conviction on that subject. …
{482}
"His Excellency.—I think the point which it would be best to
take first, if the President agrees, … would be the Franchise.
… There are a number of questions more or less resting upon
that. … I should like to know a little more about the
President's views. I want to know more because if I were to
begin and say I want this, that, and the other, I know I
should be told this was dictation. I do not want to formulate
a scheme of my own, but I can, if necessary.
"President.—As long as I understand that it is meant in a
friendly manner, and you mean to give hints, I won't take it
that they are commands. It has already been arranged that you
give me friendly hints and advice, and I will not take it as
dictation, even though it should be on points on which I
should consider you have no right to interfere. … I would like
you to bear one point in view, namely, that all kinds of
nations and languages, of nearly all powers, have rushed in at
the point where the gold is to be found. In other countries …
there are millions of old burghers, and the few that come in
cannot out-vote the old burghers, but with us, those who
rushed in to the gold fields are in large numbers and of all
kinds, and the number of old burghers is still insignificant;
therefore we are compelled to make the franchise so that they
cannot all rush into it at once, and as soon as we can assure
ourselves by a gradual increase of our burghers that we can
safely do it, our plan was to reduce the time for anyone there
to take up the franchise, and that is also my plan. … As His
Excellency doubtless knows, I have proposed to the Volksraad
that the time should be reduced by five years, and gradually
as more trusted burghers join our numbers, we can, perhaps, go
further. There are a number who really do not want the
franchise, but they use it as pretext to egg on people with
Her Majesty. … You must remember, also, on this subject, that
the burghers in our Republic are our soldiers, who must
protect the land, and that we have told these men to come and
fight when we have had difficulties with the Kaffirs. They
wanted the vote, but they would not come and fight. Those who
were willing to help obtained the franchise, but it appears
that many do not want to have it.
"His Excellency.—They did not want to take the obligations
without the rights of citizenship, and in that I sympathize
with them. If they should obtain that right, then naturally
they would have to take those burdens upon them.
"President.—Those who want the franchise should bear the
burdens.
"His Excellency.—Yes. Immediately they get the franchise they
take upon themselves the obligations connected therewith."
[From this the talk wandered to the subject of commandeering,
until the High Commissioner brought it back to the franchise
question.]
"His Excellency.—If I made a proposal to admit strangers under
such conditions as to swamp the old burghers it would be
unreasonable. But the newcomers have, at present, no influence
on the legislation of the Republic, which makes an enormous
difference. They haven't got a single representative. The
First Volksraad consists of 28 members, and not one member
represents the feelings of the large Uitlander population.
"President.—Men from any country could after two years vote
for the Second Volksraad, and after two years more sit in the
Second Raad. There are Englishmen who have obtained the full
franchise in that way, and are eligible for the Volksraad. And
now I have proposed to shorten the last ten years of the
period required for the full franchise and make it five years.
"His Excellency.—There are a great many objections of the
gravest kind to the process by which men may now obtain
burgher rights. First of all, before he can begin the process
of gradually securing burgher rights—which will be completed
in 14 years at present, and in 9 years according to the
President—he has to forswear his own allegiance. Take the case
of a British subject, which interests me most. He takes the
oath, and ceases to be a British subject by the mere fact of
taking that oath; he loses all the rights of a British
subject, and he would still have to wait for 12 years, and
under the new plan 7 years, before he can become a full
citizen of the Republic. British subjects are discouraged by
such a law from attempting to get the franchise. Even if they
wanted to become citizens, they would not give up their
British citizenship on the chance of becoming in 12 years
citizens of the Republic.
"President.—The people are the cause of that themselves. In
1870 anyone being in the land for one year had the full
franchise.
"His Excellency.—That was very liberal.
"President.—In 1881, after the war of independence, some of
our officials and even members of our Raad then said that they
were still British subjects, although they had taken the oath
of allegiance, and I had to pay back, out of the £250,000,
what I had commandeered from them. That was the reason the
oath had to be altered. …
"His Excellency.—In 1882, after all this had happened, there
was a franchise law in the Transvaal, which demanded five
years' residence, but it did not require the oath that is now
taken. It required a simple declaration of allegiance to the
State, though all this that the President refers to happened
before. Why was not it necessary to introduce this alteration
then?
"President.—The people who, before the annexation, had taken
that oath, but had not forsworn their nationality, 1887, sent
a lying memorial, as they are sending lying memorials now, to
say that everybody was satisfied, as they now say that
everybody is dissatisfied.
"His Excellency.—I think I must just explain a little more
clearly my views on the point we are now discussing. … I think
it is unreasonable to ask a man to forswear one citizenship
unless in the very act of giving up one he gets another, and I
think it is also unnecessary to ask him to do more than take
an oath of fealty to the new State, of willingness to obey its
laws and to defend its independence, when it is known and
certain that the taking of that oath deprives him of his
existing citizenship. I think the oath should be a simple oath
of allegiance, and that it should not be required of a man
until the moment he can get full rights in a new State. Now
that was the position under the law of 1882, and all these
reasons which the President has been giving are based on what
happened before that.
{483}
Why were they not considered and acted upon when the law of
1882 was made? … As for the period required to qualify for the
full franchise, I do not see why the length of time should be
longer in the South African Republic than in any other South
African State. They are all new countries. In the new country
which is springing up in the north, and which is getting a new
Constitution this year, the period is one year. The people who
have conquered that country for the white race may find that
the newcomers are more numerous than they are. But I do not
expect that anything like that will be done in the South
African Republic; something far short of that would be
reasonable. What I do think and desire, and that is the object
of my suggestion, is this: that the numerous foreign population
engaged in commerce and industry—to which the country, after
all, owes its present great position in wealth and influence—
should have a real share in the government of the Republic,
not to over-rule the old burghers—not at all—but to share the
work of Government with them, to give them the benefit of
their knowledge and experience, which is in many cases greater
than that of the old burghers, so that through their gradual
co-operation a time may come when, instead of being divided
into two separate communities they will all be burghers of the
same State. It is not enough that a few people should be let
in. It is obvious, however, that you could not let in the
whole crowd, without character or anything—I do not ask
it—but you want such a substantial measure that in elections
of members of the Volksraad the desires of the new industrial
population should have reasonable consideration. They have not
got it now, and when the questions that interest them come
before the Volksraad it is too evident that they are discussed
from an outside point of view. The industrial population are
regarded as strangers. … I do not want to swamp the old
population, but it is perfectly possible to give the new
population an immediate voice in the legislation, and yet to
leave the old burghers in such a position that they cannot
possibly be swamped.
"President.—I hope you will be open to conviction on that
point. I would like to convince you on the subject, and to
show you that it would be virtually to give up the
independence of my burghers. In the Republic the majority of
the enfranchised burghers consider they are the masters. Our
enfranchised burghers are probably about 30,000, and the
newcomers may be from 60,000 to 70,000, and if we give them
the franchise to-morrow we may as well give up the Republic. I
hope you will clearly see that I shall not get it through with
my people. We can still consult about the form of oath, but we
cannot make the time too short, because we would never get it
through with the people—they have had bitter experience. I
hope His Excellency will think about what I have said, and
weigh it well.
"His Excellency.—I see your point, and want to meet it.
"President.—I will think over what has been said, and will try
and meet every difficulty.
At the opening of the Conference on the second day the
President spoke of reports of an increase of British forces in
South Africa, which the High Commissioner assured him were
untrue. The latter in turn referred to accounts that had
appeared of an extensive purchase of arms in the Transvaal;
and was assured by the President that the armament of the
burghers was only for their proper preparation to deal with
the surrounding natives. The President then produced a
memorial purporting to be signed by 21,000 Uitlanders,
contradictory of the representations contained in the memorial
sent to the Queen in March (see above). After discussion upon
this, the conversation returned to the question of the
franchise.
"His Excellency.—What makes this whole discussion so difficult
is the intense prejudice on the side of the present burghers,
and their intense suspicion of us. They think Her Majesty's
Government wants to get their country back in one way or
another. Her Majesty's Government does not; but what it does
desire is that it should have such a state of rest in the
country as will remove causes of friction and difficulty
between the Republic and Her Majesty's possessions in South
Africa, and the whole of the British Empire, and my
suggestions here are directed to that end. I do not want to
say it over and over again, I say it once for all. …
"President.—I should like to make a slight explanation to His
Excellency. His Excellency yesterday mentioned that in some
States those going in from outside speedily got burgher
rights, but he must not forget, as I said before, they are
glad of the people who come in. But, here we have all nations
and all kinds, and if they were to get burgher rights quickly
then that would be the end of our independence, and then they
could send us away where they liked. I would like His
Excellency to bear that in mind.
"His Excellency.—I do not see how the old burghers can have it
both ways. They cannot have a very large population streaming
in to develop the resources of the country, and giving it a
much higher position in the world than it would otherwise
have, and at the same time exclude these people from
participation in the Government of the country.
"President.—Your Excellency must bear this in mind. There is
no Gold Law in the world that is so liberal as that of the
Republic."
The President then recurred to the right which the Uitlanders
might obtain, of voting for the Second Volksraad after two
years, and becoming eligible to seats in it after four years,
and said that it was in the Second Volksraad that their own
interests were dealt with—not in the First. The High
Commissioner asked if the Second Raad could act without
consent of the First. The President acknowledged that the
latter could alter any law which "appears to be against the
general welfare," but contended that it had no wish to go into
gold field matters, though it has the power, and that it had
interfered with action of the Second Rand in but three or four
instances. The High Commissioner remarked that Uitlanders who
abandoned their own nationality to wait years for full
citizenship in the Republic might have the latter prospect
taken away from them at any moment by a single resolution of
the First Raad. The President replied: "They haven't done it
yet. The legislatures of all the world have the same power."
To which the High Commissioner made answer: "This power
existing, the new comers cannot be expected—I should not
recommend one of them—to give up his present citizenship for
the mere chance of becoming a citizen of the new country."
{484}
"His Excellency.—If the President thinks we are asking too
much … I must report to Her Majesty's Government that the
President rejects our friendly suggestions.
"The President.—I would be misleading you if I should tell you
that I can give all the strangers the franchise in a very
short time. I would consider that our independence was
sacrificed thereby: but I say this, let His Excellency keep
impartially in view my points of difficulty, and let him make
his proposals and submit them to us, so that we can consider
them and judge about them. … I have already said that perhaps
means may be found to alter the form of oath. … I would now
like His Excellency to propose a scheme.
"His Excellency.— … What I suggest is this: That every
foreigner who can prove satisfactorily that he has been
resident in the country for five years, and that he desires to
make it his permanent place of residence, that he is prepared
to take the oath to obey the laws, to undertake all the
obligations of citizenship, and to defend the independence of
the country, should be allowed to become a citizen on taking
that oath. This should be confined to persons possessing a
certain amount of property, or a certain amount of yearly
wages, and who have good characters. In order to make that
proposal of any real use for the new citizens who mostly live
in one district in the Republic, and a district which only
returns one member in 28 to the First Raad, and one in 28 to
the Second Raad, I propose that there should be a certain
number of new constituencies created, the number of which is a
detail upon the discussion of which I will not now enter. But
what is vital from my point of view is that the number of
these districts should not be so small as to leave the
representatives of the new population in a contemptible
minority.
"President.—With us the majority of the enfranchised burghers
constitutes the ruling voice, and must be listened to in the
Volksraad. If the 60,000 came in immediately, they would swamp
the 30,000. … I mean this: that if they are all enfranchised then
they would at once form the majority of the whole population,
and the majority of enfranchised burghers, according to our
law, must be listened to by the Volksraad; since in a Republic
we cannot leave the sovereign voice out of account.
"His Excellency.—This is pure theory, that the Volksraad have
to do what the majority of the people desire. The Volksraad
does what it considers right in its own eyes; it is elected by
the people, and does what it thinks right, and the President has
made it quite clear during the last year or two that anything
the Volksraad does is law."
At an afternoon meeting on the same day, there was a long
discussion of the dynamite grievance of the Uitlanders, and
the President wished to bring up other points; but the High
Commissioner objected:
"His Excellency.—I think the discussion will be of
interminable length if we are to proceed in this way, and if
we cannot approach one another on the point on which I have
made my suggestions, and which lies outside all the pending
questions between the two Governments, these other
controversies may as well be allowed to go on in the usual
course. If the President to-morrow will give me an answer on
the first subject I raised, and then wishes to bring forward
his grievances, I will consider them to-morrow. I do not want
to go on with a long list of my own until I understand what is
the basis on which I stand in regard to what I consider the
most important question of all.
"President.—I think it would be as well if we returned in a
little while to discuss our points, but I would like to give
His Excellency some things to think over. The first point I
would like to mention is my wish that Swaziland should now be
handed over to me as a portion of my land. … Secondly, the
demand made with regard to the damages for the Jameson Raid,
Mr. Chamberlain said he was against paying the million, but he
is not against paying the expenses incurred. Thirdly, that
differences such as those now existing between us, should be
settled by arbitration, and then no war or quarrel could arise
between us. … These are some of the questions I wish His
Excellency to think about."
At the opening of the Conference on the third day, the
President sought to commit the High Commissioner to an
"understanding," that "if we came," he said, "to some
agreement on the franchise Her Majesty's Government then would
engage not in any way to concern itself with internal affairs in
the Republic any longer, and that in future questions that
then may arise, whether out of the Convention or otherwise,
Her Majesty would agree to have such questions referred to
arbitration." The High Commissioner declined to deal with the
subject of the franchise as a matter of "bargain." It was a
subject of grievances and discontent, dangerous to the
Republic and dangerous to the relations between the Republic
and Great Britain, which ought to be dealt with on its merits
alone. Nevertheless, after some controversy, he said:
"His Excellency.— … As far as the Jameson Indemnity is
concerned I know that a despatch is on the way to me at this
present moment, which forwards a statement from the British
South Africa Company examining the details of the claim which
has been sent in, and asking that the question of the amount
payable in respect of the Raid may be submitted to
arbitration. I have received a telegram that that despatch is
coming. The position is this—the British Government have
admitted in principle that the Company must pay what is fairly
due on account of that raid; but the question of the amount is
still under discussion, and I hope that this proposal will lead
to a settlement. As to the question of arbitration, which I
think is the matter that interests the President most, I am in
so far entirely with him that I want if possible to have in
future as few questions to discuss with the Government of the
South African Republic, as I now have with the Government of
the Orange Free State. I feel that the President will need, if
he accepts my scheme of franchise, or any other similar
proposal, to have some assurance that there shall not be
perpetual controversies between him and England, and that if
there are controversies, some regular way of dealing with them
should be devised.
{485}
The President once proposed that some question, or a number of
questions, should be submitted to the President of the Swiss
Republic. The British Government refused that on the general
principle—from which I am sure they will not depart—that they
will not have any foreign Government, or any foreign
interference at all, between them and the South African
Republic. But if some other method can be devised of
submitting to an impartial tribunal questions that may in
future arise between us, and perhaps even some questions which
exist at present—but in any case to provide for the future—if
such a plan can be devised and suggested to me, I will lay it
before Her Majesty's Government and do what I can personally
to assist in a satisfactory solution of the matter. The
President must understand that I cannot pledge Her Majesty's
Government in any way on this subject. The question has taken
me by surprise; I didn't come here contemplating a discussion
on it, but I must say if it could be satisfactorily arranged
while excluding the interference of the foreigner, it would
seem to me to open a way out of many difficulties. But all the
same, I adhere firmly to my proposal that we should first try
and settle on the scheme which the President would accept as
regards the matter which I put forward."
At the close of the morning interview, both parties expressed
hopelessness of agreement. On meeting again in the afternoon,
the President submitted in writing the following proposals
concerning the franchise: "As the purpose I had in view at
this Conference principally consists in the removal of
existing grounds of disagreement and further to provide for
the friendly regulation of the way of settling future disputes
by means of arbitration, the following proposals with regard to
the franchise must be considered as conditional and dependent
on the satisfactory settlement of the first mentioned points,
and on the request that my request to incorporate Swaziland in
the South African Republic shall be submitted by the High
Commissioner to Her Majesty's Government. Subject to the
foregoing I undertake to submit without delay to the approval
of the Volksraad and the people the following proposals about
the franchise:
"I. Every person who fixes his residence in the South African
Republic has to get himself registered on the Field-cornets'
books within fourteen days after his arrival according to the
existing law; will be able after complying with the conditions
mentioned under 'A.,' and after the lapse of two years to get
himself naturalised; and will five years after naturalisation,
on complying with the conditions mentioned under 'B.,' obtain
the full franchise.
"A.—
1. Six months' notice of intention to apply for naturalisation;
2. Two years' continued registration;
3. Residence in the South African Republic during that period;
4. No dishonouring sentence;
5. Proof of obedience to the laws; no act against Government
or independence;
6. Proof of full State citizenship and franchise or title
thereto in former country;
7. Possession of unmortgaged fixed property to the value of
£150 approximately, or occupation of house to the rental of
£50 per annum, or yearly income of at least £200. Nothing,
however, shall prevent the Government from granting
naturalisation to persons who have not satisfied this
condition;
8. Taking of an oath similar to that of the Orange
Free State.
"B.—
1. Continuous registration five years after naturalisation;
2. Continuous residence during that period;
3. No dishonouring sentence;
4. Proof of obedience to the laws, &c.;
5. Proof that applicant still complies with the condition A(7).
"II. Furthermore, the full franchise shall be obtained in the
following manner:—
(a.)
Those who have fixed their residence in the South African
Republic before the taking effect of Act 4, 1890, and who get
themselves naturalised within six months after the taking
effect of this Act on complying with the conditions under 1A,
shall obtain the full franchise two years after such
naturalisation on proof of compliance with the conditions
mentioned under 1B (altering the five into two years). Those
who do not get themselves naturalised within six months under
Article 1,
(b.)
Those who have been resident in the South African Republic for
two years or more can get themselves immediately naturalised
on compliance with the conditions under 1A., and shall five
years after naturalisation obtain the full franchise on
compliance with the conditions under 1B.
(c.)
Those who have been already naturalised shall five years after
naturalisation obtain the full franchise on compliance with
the conditions under 1B."
At the meeting next day, the High Commissioner presented to
the President a written memorandum in reply to the proposals
of the latter. He admitted that "the scheme proposed is a
considerable advance upon the existing provisions as to
franchise," but said that he could not recommend its
acceptance as adequate to the needs of the case. "Under this
plan," he continued, "no man who is not already naturalised,
even if he has been in the country 13 or 14 years, will get a
vote for the First Volksraad in less than 2½ years from the
passing of the new law. There will be no considerable number
of people obtaining that vote in less than five years, that is
if they come in and naturalise. But I fear the majority of
them will not come in, because the scheme retains that
unfortunate provision, first introduced in 1890, by which,
owing to the two stages—first, naturalisation with a partial
franchise, and then, after five years, full franchise—a man
has to abandon his old citizenship before he becomes a
full-fledged citizen of his new country. My plan avoided this.
My doctrine is that, however long a period of residence you
fix before a man becomes a citizen of your State, you should
admit him, once for all, to full rights on taking the oath of
allegiance. And this is especially important in the South
African Republic, because, owing to the facility and frequency
with which laws—even fundamental laws—are altered, the man who
takes the oath and thereby loses his old country will never
feel quite sure that something may not happen in the interval,
when he is only half a citizen, to prevent his becoming a whole
one. The vote for the First Volksraad is the essential point.
According to the present constitution of the Transvaal, the
First Volksraad and the President really are the State. But
under this scheme it will be a considerable time before any
number of Uitlanders worth mentioning can vote for the First
Volksraad, and even then they will only command one or two
seats. My point was to give them at once a few
representatives. They might be a minority, even a small
minority.
{486}
I have said over and over again I do not want to swamp the old
burghers. But as long as the representatives of the new comers
are entirely excluded from the supreme legislative council,
they will, as a body, remain an inferior caste. The
co-operation and gradual blending of the two sections of the
population will not take place. The old separation and
hostility will continue. I see no prospect here of that
concord to which I had looked both to bring about a more
progressive system of government, and to remove causes of
friction between the Government of the South African Republic
and Great Britain. For these reasons I regret to say the
scheme seems to me so inadequate that I think it would be
wasting the time of the Conference to discuss its details."
The President rejoined in another memorandum, which added one
more to his former proposals, namely this: "I am ready to
propose and to recommend to the First Volksraad to increase
the number of members of the First Volksraad, whereby the Gold
Fields will be represented by five, instead of as now by two,
members."
The response to this by the High Commissioner was a review, at
length, of all that had been proposed, leading to the
conclusion which he expressed as follows:
"If I am asked whether I think they will satisfy the Uitlander
community, and are calculated to relieve the British
Government from further solicitude on the score of its
Uitlander subjects, I cannot answer in the affirmative. Still
less can I encourage the idea that the British Government can
be asked to give something in exchange for such legislation
as the President proposes. My own proposal was put forward in
no bargaining spirit. I asked myself, in advancing it, what is
the smallest measure of reform that will really be of any use,
that is to say, which will allay the present unrest and enable
the Uitlanders to exercise within a reasonable time an
appreciable influence on the Government of the country. It was
in that spirit that I suggested the outline of a scheme,
intentionally not working it out in detail (for I was ready to
listen as to details), but indicating a certain minimum from
which I am not prepared to depart. … When I came here I came
in the hope that I might be able to report to Her Majesty's
Government that measures were about to be adopted which would
lead to such an improvement in the situation as to relieve Her
Majesty's Government from pressing for the redress of
particular grievances on the ground that the most serious
causes of complaint would now gradually be removed from
within. I do not feel that what His Honour has seen his way to
propose in the matter of franchise or what he indicates as the
extreme length to which he might, at some future time, be
willing to go in the extension of local government is
sufficient to justify me in reporting in that sense."
The Conference was ended by a last memorandum from the
President, in which he said: "As it is my earnest wish that
this Conference should not be fruitless, I wish to make the
following proposal to His Excellency, viz.:—As according to
his own admission my proposal about franchise is an important
step in the right direction, I shall be prepared to lay my
proposal before the Volksraad and to recommend it, even though
His Excellency does not fully agree with it. From his side I
shall then expect that His Excellency will lay before and
recommend to Her Majesty's Government my request about
arbitration on future matters of difference under the
Convention. His Excellency will, however, readily understand
that if Her Majesty's Government should not meet me so far, so
as to grant my acknowledged fair request for arbitration, it
could be with difficulty expected that the people of the South
African Republic would approve of my comprehensive proposal
with regard to franchise."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: 1899, C. 9404.
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1899 (May-August).
Advice to President Kruger from Cape Afrikanders, and
from Holland and Germany.
Several private letters written at the time of these
occurrences by Sir J. E. De Villiers, a leading Afrikander,
Chief Justice of Cape Colony, and one of the Commissioners who
negotiated the Convention of 1881, addressed to persons who
might have influence with President Kruger, were made public a
year later. In the first of these letters, written to
President Steyn of the Orange Free State, on the 21st of May,
1899, Justice De Villiers used strong expressions, as follows:
"On my recent visit to Pretoria I did not visit the President
as I considered it hopeless to think of making any impression
on him, but I saw Reitz, Smuts, and Schalk Burger, who, I
thought, would be amenable to argument, but I fear that either
my advice had no effect on them, or else their opinion had no
weight with the President. I urged upon them to advise the
President to open the Volksraad with promises of a liberal
franchise and drastic reforms. It would have been so much
better if these had come voluntarily from the Government
instead of being gradually forced from them. In the former
case they would rally the greater number of the malcontents
around them, in the latter case no gratitude will be felt to
the Republic for any concessions made by it. Besides, there
can be no doubt that as the alien population increases, as it
undoubtedly will, their demands will increase with their
discontent, and ultimately a great deal more will have to be
conceded than will now satisfy them. The franchise proposal
made by the President seems to be simply ridiculous. I am
quite certain that if in 1881 it had been known to my fellow
Commissioners that the President would adopt his retrogressive
policy, neither President Brand nor I would ever have induced
them to consent to sign the Convention. They would have
advised the Secretary of State to let matters revert to the
condition in which they were before peace was concluded; in
other words, to recommence the war. … If I had any influence
with the President I would advise him no longer to sit on the
boiler to prevent it from bursting. Some safety-valves are
required for the activities of the new population. In their
irritation they abuse the Government, often unjustly, in the
press, and send petitions to the Queen; but that was only to
be expected. Let the Transvaal Legislature give them a liberal
franchise and allow them local self-government for their
towns, and some portion of the discontent will be allayed. The
enemies of the Transvaal will not be satisfied; on the
contrary, the worst service that can be done to them is the
redress of the grievance, but it is the friends of the country
who should be considered."
{487}
On the 31st of July, the Justice wrote still more urgently and
impatiently to a Mr. Fischer, who was in close relations with
the Transvaal President: "I do not think that President Kruger
and his friends realize the gravity of the situation. Even now
the State Secretary is doing things which would be almost
farcical if the times were not so serious. Some time ago I
begged of him to drop the censorship of telegrams because it
serves no useful purpose and only delays the publication of
lies by a few days. His answer was that the Government should
not disseminate lies by its own wires. He might as well have
said Government should not disseminate lies by its own
post-office. To crown all, I see that he has now gone so far
as to stop a private telegram (which had been paid for)
because it contained a lie. I really do not know where he is
going to stop or whether he intends to guarantee that all
telegrams allowed to pass contain the truth and nothing but
the truth. Could you not induce him to stop such childish
nonsense? The Transvaal will soon not have a single friend
left among the cultivated classes. Then there is the Franchise
Bill, which is so obscure that the State Attorney had to issue an
explanatory memorandum to remove the obscurities. But surely a
law should be clear enough to speak for itself, and no
Government or Court of Law will be bound by the State
Attorney's explanations. I do not know what those explanations
are, but the very fact that they are required condemns the
Bill. That Bill certainly does not seem quite to carry out the
promises made to you, Mr. Hofmeyr, and Mr. Herholdt. The time
really has come when the friends of the Transvaal must induce
President Kruger to become perfectly frank and take the
newcomers into his confidence. It may be a bitter pill to have
to swallow in yielding to further demands, but it is quite
clear to the world that he would not have done as much as he
has done if pressure had not been applied. What one fears is
that he will do things in such a way as to take away all grace
from his concessions. Try to induce him to meet Mr.
Chamberlain in a friendly manner and at once remove all the
causes of unrest which have disturbed this unhappy country for
so many years. As one who signed the Convention in 1881, I can
assure you that my fellow Commissioners would not have signed
it if they had not been led to believe that President Kruger's
policy towards the Uitlanders would have been very different
from what it has been."
Three confidential despatches sent to President Kruger, in the
same period, by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the
Netherlands government were laid before the States General at
The Hague, October 25, 1900, and made public through Reuter's
press agency, as follows:
"In the first despatch, which is dated May 13, 1899, the
Minister states that news received from different capitals
leads him to believe in the imminence of the danger of a
violent solution of the problem in South Africa. As a faithful
friend he counsels Mr. Kruger in the true interests of the
Republic to show himself as conciliatory and moderate as
possible, and adds that he learns from a trustworthy source
that the German Government fully shares that opinion. Mr.
Kruger replied that he had always been conciliatory and did
not desire war, but that he could not sacrifice the
independence of the Republic. He was willing enough to grant
the suffrage, but he could not tolerate Englishmen remaining
subjects of the Queen while receiving at the same time the
right to vote in the Republic. In the second despatch, dated
August 4, 1899, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs
advised President Kruger, in the interests of the country, not
to refuse peremptorily the British proposal for an
international commission. Mr. Kruger replied that the
commission would not be international, but an Anglo-Transvaal
commission. He intended to ask for further information from
Great Britain as to the scope and composition of the
commission, and did not mean to give a decided refusal.
Finally, the Netherlands Minister, in a telegram dated August
15, 1899, stated that the German Government entirely shared
his opinion as to the inadvisability of declining the English
proposal, adding that the German Government, like himself, was
convinced that any request to one of the Great Powers at such
a critical moment would be barren of result and highly
dangerous to the Republic. To this Mr. Kruger replied that the
British proposal would result in very direct interference by
the English in the internal affairs of the Republic. He added
that he had no intention of appealing to a Great Power."
Speaking in the German Reichsrath, on the 10th of December,
1900, the Imperial Chancellor, Count von Bülow, referred to
the above publications by the Dutch government, and confirmed
them, saying that it was in accordance with the views of the
German Government that the Dutch Foreign Minister "strongly
advised Mr. Kruger to maintain a moderate attitude. In June,
1899, Mr. Kruger was advised by Germany through the Dutch
Government to invite mediation, but Dr. Leyds informed the
Dutch Minister in Paris that Mr. Kruger did not consider 'that
the moment had yet come for applying for the mediation of
America.' Some time afterwards Mr. Kruger made the attempt to
obtain arbitration, but 'feeling had become too heated,' and
in August Mr. Kruger complained to the Dutch Government that
arbitration could not be arranged. The answer to this
complaint is given in the Dutch Yellow-book under the date of
August 15, 1899, and points out that the German Government
would at that date have regarded any appeal to a Great Power
as hopeless and as very dangerous for the Republics. The
German Government also shared the Dutch view that Mr. Kruger
ought not to reject the English proposal then before him."
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal: A. D. 1899 (July-September)
Amendment of the Franchise Law.
After much discussion and many changes, an amended Franchise
Law was adopted by the First Volksraad of the Republic and
published on the 26th of July. It conceded to foreigners who
had already been resident in the Republic for seven years a
possibility of obtaining full burgher rights simultaneously
with the taking of the oath of allegiance, but subjected the
proceeding to conditions which would make it, in Uitlander
opinion, of service to very few. The judgment of Sir Alfred
Milner, the High Commissioner, as expressed to Secretary
Chamberlain, was to the effect that "the bill, as it stands,
leaves it practically in the hands of the Government of the
South African Republic to enfranchise or not enfranchise the
Uitlanders as it chooses. If worked in a liberal spirit, its
clumsy and unreasonable provisions may be got over.
{488}
But if it is to be enforced rigidly, there will be practically
unlimited opportunities of excluding persons whom the
Government may consider undesirable, nor does the tone of the
debate in the Raad leave much doubt as to the spirit in which
some at least of the authors of the Bill would like to see it
worked." His criticism applied especially to the certificate
required from every applicant. "The certificate," he said,
"which every applicant must obtain from three different
officials, as to (a) continuous registration and domicile, (b)
obedience to the laws, (c) committing no crime against the
independence of the country, is one which these officials,
even if well disposed, would be able in hardly any case to
give. None of them can have any such knowledge of the
Uitlander population as would enable them to give this
comprehensive certificate; it is acknowledged that some of the
Johannesburg lists have been lost; and the Field-cornet has, I
believe, held his present office for less than four years."
Moreover, a requirement of "continuous" registration "may
mean," said the High Commissioner, "(and I cannot understand
what else it could mean) registration for seven years in one
ward and district; so that a person having resided and been
registered in one district and subsequently removed to another
would forfeit the benefit of his first period of residence. Even
if this were not so, he would doubtless have to get a double
set of certificates."
Simultaneously with the publication of the new Franchise Law
it was announced that the Executive Council had decided to
give the Witwatersrand Gold Fields a representation of five
members (out of 31) in the First Volksraad, as well as
representation by the same number in the Second Volksraad. To
the British Agent at Pretoria, Mr. Conyngham Greene, this
seemed to be "so wholly inadequate as not to be worthy of
serious consideration."
In view of the complexities and uncertainties involved in the
new Franchise Law, the High Commissioner addressed the
following communication to the government of the South African
Republic, August 1:
"Her Majesty's Government authorize me to invite President
South African Republic to appoint delegates to discuss with
delegates to be appointed by me on behalf of Her Majesty's
Government, whether Uitlander population will be given
immediate and substantial representation by franchise law
recently passed by Volksraad, together with other measures
connected with it, such as increase of seats, and, if not,
what additions or alterations may be necessary to secure that
result. In this discussion it should be understood that the
delegates of Her Majesty's Government would be free to make
any suggestions calculated to improve measures in question and
secure their attaining the end desired."
The reply to this proposal was given by the Boer government to
the British Agent at Pretoria in two notes, the first, dated
August 19, as follows: "With reference to your proposal for a
joint enquiry contained in your despatches of the 2nd and 3rd
August, Government of South African Republic have the honour
to suggest the following alternative proposal for
consideration of Her Majesty's Government, which this
Government trusts may lead to a final settlement.
(1.) The Government are willing to recommend to the Volksraad
and the people a 5 years' retrospective franchise, as proposed
by His Excellency the High Commissioner on the 1st June, 1899.
(2.) The Government are further willing to recommend to the
Volksraad that 8 new seats in the First Volksraad, and, if
necessary, also in the Second Volksraad, be given to the
population of the Witwatersrand, thus with the 2 sitting
members for the Goldfields giving to the population thereof 10
representatives in a Raad of 36, and in future the
representation of the Goldfields of this Republic shall not
fall below the proportion of one-fourth of the total.
(3.) The new Burghers shall equally with the old Burghers be

entitled to vote at the election for State President and
Commandant-General.
(4.) This Government will always be prepared to take into
consideration such friendly suggestions regarding the details
of the Franchise Law as Her Majesty's Government, through the
British Agent, may wish to convey to it.
(5.) In putting forward the above proposals Government of
South African Republic assumes:
(a) That Her Majesty's Government will agree that the
present intervention shall not form a precedent for future
similar action and that in the future no interference in
the internal affairs of the Republic will take place.
(b) That Her Majesty's Government will not further insist
on the assertion of the suzerainty, the controversy on the
subject being allowed tacitly to drop.
(c) That arbitration (from which foreign element other than
Orange Free State is to be excluded) will be conceded as
soon as the franchise scheme has become law.
(6.) Immediately on Her Majesty's Government accepting this
proposal for a settlement, the Government will ask the
Volksraad to adjourn for the purpose of consulting the people
about it, and the whole scheme might become law say within a
few weeks.
(7.) In the meantime the form and scope of the proposed
Tribunal are also to be discussed and provisionally agreed
upon, while the franchise scheme is being referred to the
people, so that no time may be lost in putting an end to the
present state of affairs. The Government trust that Her
Majesty's Government will clearly understand that in the
opinion of this Government the existing Franchise Law of this
Republic is both fair and liberal to the new population, and
that the consideration that induces them to go further, as
they do in the above proposals, is their strong desire to get
the controversies between the two Governments settled, and
further to put an end to present strained relations between
the two Governments and the incalculable harm and loss it has
already occasioned in South Africa, and to prevent a racial
war from the effects of which South Africa may not recover for
many generations, perhaps never at all, and therefore this
Government, having regard to all these circumstances would
highly appreciate it if Her Majesty's Government, seeing the
necessity of preventing the present crisis from developing
still further and the urgency of an early termination of the
present state of affairs, would expedite the acceptance or
refusal of the settlement here offered.
(Signed) F. W. REITZ."
The second note, which followed on the 21st of August, was
in these terms:
{489}
"In continuation of my despatch of the 19th instant and with
reference to the communication to you of the State Attorney
this morning, I wish to forward to you the following in
explanation thereof, with the request that the same may be
telegraphed to His Excellency the High Commissioner for South
Africa, as forming part of the proposals of this Government
embodied in the above-named despatch.
(1.) The proposals of this Government regarding question of
franchise and representation contained in that despatch must
be regarded as expressly conditional on Her Majesty's
Government consenting to the points set forth in paragraph 5
of the despatch, viz.:
(a) In future not to interfere in internal affairs of the
South African Republic.
(b) Not to insist further on its assertion of existence of
suzerainty.
(c) To agree to arbitration.
(2.) Referring to paragraph 6 of the despatch, this Government
trusts that it is clear to Her Majesty's Government that this
Government has not consulted the Volksraad as to this question
and will only do so when an affirmative reply to its proposals
has been received from Her Majesty's Government.
(Signed) F. W. REITZ."
The above notes were repeated by cable, in full, to the
Colonial Secretary, at London, and, on the 28th of August, he
returned by the same medium his reply, as follows:
"Her Majesty's Government have considered the proposals which
the South African Republic Government in their notes to the
British Agent of 19th and 21st August have put forward as an
alternative to those contained in my telegram of 31st July.
Her Majesty's Government assume that the adoption in principle
of the franchise proposals made by you at Bloemfontein will
not be hampered by any conditions which would impair their
effect, and that by proposed increase of seats for the
Goldfields and by other provisions the South African Republic
Government intend to grant immediate and substantial
representation of the Uitlanders. That being so, Her Majesty's
Government are unable to appreciate the objections entertained
by the Government of the South African Republic to a Joint
Commission of Inquiry into the complicated details and
technical questions upon which the practical effect of the
proposals depends. Her Majesty's Government, however, will be
ready to agree that the British Agent, assisted by such other
persons as you may appoint, shall make the investigation
necessary to satisfy them that the result desired will be
achieved and, failing this, to enable them to make those
suggestions which the Government of the South African Republic
state that they will be prepared to take into consideration.
Her Majesty's Government assume that every facility will be
given to the British Agent by the Government of the South
African Republic, and they would point out that the inquiry
will be both easier and shorter if the Government of the South
African Republic will omit in any future Law the complicated
conditions of registration, qualification and behaviour which
accompanied previous proposals, and would have entirely
nullified their beneficial effect. Her Majesty's Government
hope that the Government of the South African Republic will
wait to receive their suggestions founded on the report of the
British Agent's investigation before submitting a new
Franchise Law to the Volksraad and the Burghers. With regard
to the conditions of the Government of the South African
Republic: First, as regards intervention; Her Majesty's
Government hope that the fulfilment of the promises made and
the just treatment of the Uitlanders in future will render
unnecessary any further intervention on their behalf, but Her
Majesty's Government cannot of course debar themselves from
their rights under the Conventions nor divest themselves of
the ordinary obligations of a civilized Power to protect its
subjects in a foreign country from injustice. Secondly, with
regard to suzerainty Her Majesty's Government would refer the
Government of the South African Republic to the second
paragraph of my despatch of 13th July. Thirdly, Her Majesty's
Government agree to a discussion of the form and scope of a
Tribunal of Arbitration from which foreigners and foreign
influence are excluded. Such a discussion, which will be of
the highest importance to the future relations of the two
countries, should be carried on between the President and
yourself, and for this purpose it appears to be necessary that
a further Conference, which Her Majesty's Government suggest
should be held at Cape Town, should be at once arranged. Her
Majesty's Government also desire to remind the Government of
the South African Republic that there are other matters of
difference between the two Governments which will not be
settled by the grant of political representation to the
Uitlanders, and which are not proper subjects for reference to
arbitration. It is necessary that these should be settled
concurrently with the questions now under discussion, and they
will form, with the question of arbitration, proper subjects
for consideration at the proposed Conference."
On the 2d of September the Boer government replied to this at
length, stating that it considered the proposal made in its
note of August 19 to have lapsed; again objecting to a joint
inquiry relative to the practical working of the Franchise
Law, but adding: "If they [the Government] can be of
assistance to Her Majesty's Government with any information or
explanation they are always ready to furnish this; though it
appears to it that the findings of a unilateral Commission,
especially when arrived at before the working of the law has
been duly tested, would be premature and thus probably of
little value."
Meantime, on the 31st of August, Sir Alfred Milner had
telegraphed to Mr. Chamberlain: "I am receiving
representations from many quarters to urge Her Majesty's
Government to terminate the state of suspense. Hitherto I have
hesitated to address you on the subject, lest Her Majesty's
Government should think me impatient. But I feel bound to let
you know that I am satisfied, from inquiries made in various
reliable quarters that the distress is now really serious. The
most severe suffering is at Johannesburg. Business there is at
a standstill; many traders have become insolvent; and others
are only kept on their legs by the leniency of their
creditors. Even the mines, which have been less affected
hitherto, are now suffering owing to the withdrawal of
workmen, both European and native. The crisis also affects the
trading centres in the Colony. In spite of this, the purport
of all the representations made to me is to urge prompt and
decided action; not to deprecate further interference on the
part of Her Majesty's Government. British South Africa is
prepared for extreme measures, and is ready to suffer much in
order to see the vindication of British authority. It is
prolongation of the negotiations, endless and indecisive of
result, that is dreaded."
{490}
On the 8th of September, the High Commissioner was instructed
by Mr. Chamberlain to communicate the following to the
government of the Transvaal:
"Her Majesty's Government are still prepared to accept the
offer made in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of the note of the 19th
August taken by themselves, provided that the inquiry which
Her Majesty's Government have proposed, whether joint—as Her
Majesty's Government originally suggested—or unilateral, shows
that the new scheme of representation will not be encumbered
by conditions which will nullify the intention to give
substantial and immediate representation to the Uitlanders. In
this connection Her Majesty's Government assume that, as
stated to the British Agent, the new members of the Raad will
be permitted to use their own language. The acceptance of
these terms by the Government of the South African Republic
would at once remove the tension between the two Governments,
and would in all probability render unnecessary any further
intervention on the part of Her Majesty's Government to secure
the redress of grievances which the Uitlanders would
themselves be able to bring to the notice of the Executive and
the Raad."
In a lengthy response to this by State Secretary Reitz,
September 16, the following are the essential paragraphs:
"However earnestly this Government also desires to find an
immediate and satisfactory course by which existing tension
should be brought to an end, it feels itself quite unable, as
desired, to recommend or propose to South African Republic
Volksraad and people the part of its proposal contained in
paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of its note 19th August, omitting the
conditions on the acceptance of which alone the offer was
based, but declares itself always still prepared to abide by
its acceptance of the invitation [of] Her Majesty's Government
to get a Joint Commission composed as intimated in its note of
2nd September. It considers that if conditions are contained
in the existing franchise law which has been passed, and in
the scheme of representation, which might tend to frustrate
object contemplated, that it will attract the attention of the
Commission, and thus be brought to the knowledge of this
Government. This Government has noticed with surprise the
assertion that it had intimated to British Agent that the new
members to be chosen for South African Republic Volksraad
should be allowed to use their own language. If it is thereby
intended that this Government would have agreed that any other
than the language of the country would have been used in the
deliberations of the Volksraad, it wishes to deny same in the
strongest manner."
Practically the discussion was ended by a despatch from the
British Colonial Secretary, September 22d, in which he said;
"Her Majesty's Government have on more than one occasion
repeated their assurances that they have no desire to
interfere in any way with independence of South African
Republic, provided that the conditions on which it was granted
are honourably observed in the spirit and in the letter, and
they have offered as part of a general settlement to give a
complete guarantee against any attack upon that independence,
either from within any part of the British dominions or from
the territory of a foreign State. They have not asserted any
rights of interference in the internal affairs of the Republic
other than those which are derived from the Conventions
between the two countries or which belong to every
neighbouring Government (and especially to one which has a
largely predominant interest in the adjacent territories) for
the protection of its subjects and of its adjoining
possessions." Referring to his despatch of September 8, the
Secretary concluded: "The refusal of the Government of the
South African Republic to entertain the offer thus made,
coming as it does at the end of nearly four months of
protracted negotiations, themselves the climax of an agitation
extending over a period of more than five years, makes it
useless to further pursue a discussion on the lines hitherto
followed, and Her Majesty's Government are now compelled to
consider the situation afresh, and to formulate their own
proposals for a final settlement of the issues which have been
created in South Africa by the policy constantly followed for
many years by the Government of the South African Republic.
They will communicate to you the result of their deliberations
in a later despatch."
Great Britain, Papers by Command:
1899, C. 9518, 9521, 9530.
SOUTH AFRICA: Orange Free State: A. D. 1899 (September-October).
The Free State makes common cause with
the South African Republic.
On the 27th of September, President Steyn communicated to the
British High Commissioner a resolution adopted that day by the
Orange Free State Volksraad, instructing the government to
continue efforts for peaceful settlement of differences
between the South African Republic and Great Britain, but
concluding with the declaration that "if a war is now begun or
occasioned by Her Majesty's Government against South African
Republic, this would morally be a war against the whole of
white population of South Africa and would in its results be
calamitous and criminal, and further, that Orange Free State
will honestly and faithfully observe its obligations towards
South African Republic arising out of the political alliance
between the two Republics whatever may happen."
On the 11th of October, the High Commissioner communicated to
President Steyn the ultimatum that he received from the South
African Republic, and asked: "In view of Resolution of
Volksraad of Orange Free State communicated to me in Your
Honour's telegram of 27th September I have the honour to
request that I may be informed at Your Honour's earliest
possible convenience whether this action on the part of the
South African Republic has Your Honour's concurrence and
support." The reply of the Orange Free State President was as
follows:
"The high handed and unjustifiable policy and conduct of Her
Majesty's Government in interfering in and dictating in the
purely internal affairs of South African Republic,
constituting a flagrant breach of the Convention of London,
1884, accompanied at first by preparations, and latterly
followed by active commencement of hostilities against that
Republic, which no friendly and well-intentioned efforts on
our part could induce Her Majesty's Government to abandon,
constitute such an undoubted and unjust attack on the
independence of the South African Republic that no other
course is left to this State than honourably to abide by its
Conventional Agreements entered into with that Republic. On
behalf of this Government, therefore, I beg to notify that,
compelled thereto by the action of Her Majesty's Government,
they intend to carry out the instructions of the Volksraad as
set forth in the last part of the Resolution referred to by
Your Excellency."
Great Britain, Papers by Command:
1899, C.—9530, pages 38 and 67.
{491}
SOUTH AFRICA: The Transvaal and Orange Free State:
A. D. 1899 (September-October).
Preparations for war.
Troops massed on both sides of the frontiers.
Remonstrances of Orange Free State.
The Boer Ultimatum.
Before the controversy between Boer and Briton had reached the
stage represented above, both sides were facing the prospect
of war, both were bringing forces to the frontier, and each
was declaring that the other had been first to take that
threatening step. Which of them did first begin movements that
bore a look of menace seems difficult to learn from official
reports. On the 19th of September, the British High
Commissioner gave notice to the President of the Orange Free
State that "it has been deemed advisable by the Imperial
military authorities to send detachments of the troops
ordinarily stationed at Cape Town to assist in securing the
line of communication between the Colony and the British
territories lying to the north of it"; and "as this force, or
a portion of it, may be stationed near the borders of the
Orange Free State," he wished the burghers of that State to
understand that the movement was in no way directed against
them. Eight days later, President Steyn, of the Orange Free
State, addressed a long despatch to the High Commissioner,
remonstrating against the whole procedure of the British
government in its dealing with the South African Republic, and
alluding to the "enormous and ever increasing military
preparations of the British government." On the 2d of October
he announced to the Commissioner that he had "deemed it
advisable, in order to allay the intense excitement and unrest
amongst our burghers, arising from the totally undefended state
of our border, in the presence of a continued increase and
movement of troops on two sides of this State, to call up our
burghers, to satisfy them that due precaution had been taken."
The High Commissioner replied on the 3d: "Your Honour must be
perfectly well aware that all the movements of British troops
which have taken place in this country since the beginning of
present troubles, which have been necessitated by the natural
alarm of the inhabitants in exposed districts, are not
comparable in magnitude with the massing of armed forces by
government of South African Republic on the borders of Natal."
Some days previous to this, on the 29th of September,
Secretary Chamberlain had cabled from London to Sir Alfred
Milner: "Inform President of Orange Free State that what he
describes as the enormous and ever-increasing military
preparations of Great Britain have been forced upon Her
Majesty's Government by the policy of the South African
Republic, which has transformed the Transvaal into a permanent
armed camp, threatening the peace of the whole of South Africa
and the position of Great Britain as the paramount State."
On the 9th of October the High Commissioner received another
telegram from the President of the Orange Free State, of which
he cabled the substance to London as follows: "He demurs to
statement that military preparations of Her Majesty's
Government have been necessitated by conversion of South
African Republic into an armed camp. Her Majesty's Government
must be entirely misinformed and it would be regrettable if,
through such misunderstanding, present state of extreme
tension were allowed to continue. Though Her Majesty's
Government may regard precautions taken by South African
Republic after Jameson Raid as excessive, Government of South
African Republic cannot be blamed for adopting them, in view
of large Uitlander population constantly being stirred up,
through hostile press, to treason and rebellion by persons and
organizations financially or politically interested in
overthrowing the Government. Arming of Burghers not intended
for any purpose of aggression against Her Majesty's dominions.
People of South African Republic have, since shortly after
Jameson Raid, been practically as fully armed as now, yet have
never committed any act of aggression. It was not till Her
Majesty's Government, with evident intention of enforcing
their views on South African Republic in purely internal
matters, had greatly augmented their forces and moved them
nearer to borders that a single Burgher was called up for the
purpose, as be firmly believed, of defending country and
independence. If this natural assumption erroneous, not too
late to rectify misunderstanding by mutual agreement to
withdraw forces on both sides and undertaking by Her Majesty's
Government to stop further increase of troops."
But, in reality, it was already too late; for, on the same day
on which the above message was telegraphed from Bloemfontein,
the government of the South African Republic had presented to
the British Agent at Pretoria a note which ended the
possibility of peace. After reviewing the issue between the
two governments, the note concluded with a peremptory
ultimatum, as follows: "Her Majesty's unlawful intervention in
the internal affairs of this Republic in conflict with the
Convention of London, 1884, caused by the extraordinary
strengthening of troops in the neighbourhood of the borders of
this Republic, has thus caused an intolerable condition of
things to arise whereto this Government feels itself obliged,
in the interest not only of this Republic but also [?] of all
South Africa, to make an end as soon as possible, and feels
itself called upon and obliged to press earnestly and with
emphasis for an immediate termination of this state of things
and to request Her Majesty's Government to give it the
assurance
(a) That all points of mutual difference shall be regulated by
the friendly course of arbitration or by whatever amicable way
may be agreed upon by this Government with Her Majesty's
Government.
(b) That the troops on the borders of this Republic shall be
instantly withdrawn.
(c) That all reinforcements of troops which have arrived in
South Africa since the 1st June, 1899, shall be removed from
South Africa within a reasonable time, to be agreed upon with
this Government, and with a mutual assurance and guarantee on
the part of this Government that no attack upon or hostilities
against any portion of the possessions of the British Government
shall be made by the Republic during further negotiations
within a period of time to be subsequently agreed upon between
the Governments, and this Government will, on compliance
therewith, be prepared to withdraw the armed Burghers of this
Republic from the borders.
{492}
(d) That Her Majesty's troops which are now on the high seas
shall not be landed in any port of South Africa. This
Government must press for an immediate and affirmative answer
to these four questions, and earnestly requests Her Majesty's
Government to return such an answer before or upon Wednesday
the 11th October, 1899, not later than 5 o'clock p. m., and it
desires further to add that in the event of unexpectedly no
satisfactory answer being received by it within that interval
[it] will with great regret be compelled to regard the action
of Her Majesty's Government as a formal declaration of war,
and will not hold itself responsible for the consequences
thereof, and that in the event of any further movements of
troops taking place within the above-mentioned time in the
nearer directions of our borders this Government will be
compelled to regard that also as a formal declaration of war."
To this ultimatum the British government gave its reply, in a
despatch from Mr. Chamberlain to Sir Alfred Milner, October
10, as follows: "Her Majesty's Government have received with
great regret the peremptory demands of the Government of the
South African Republic conveyed in your telegram of 9th
October, Number 3. You will inform the Government of the South
African Republic, in reply, that the conditions demanded by
the Government of the South African Republic are such as Her
Majesty's Government deem it impossible to discuss."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: 1899, C.—9530.
Efforts which were being made at the time in Holland to assist
the Boer Republic in pacific negotiations with Great Britain
were suddenly frustrated by this action. A year later (in
November, 1900) it was stated in the States General at The
Hague that "in the autumn of 1899 the Netherlands Government
offered in London its good offices for the resumption of
negotiations with the Transvaal, but these efforts had no
result in consequence of the sudden ultimatum of the Transvaal
and the commencement of hostilities by the armies of the
Republics, actions which surprised the Netherlands Government.
When once the war had broken out any effort in the direction of
intervention would have been useless, as was shown by the
peremptory refusal given by Great Britain to the offer of the
United States."
An Englishman who was in the country at the time gives the
following account of the Boer preparation for war: "In the
towns the feeling was strongly against war; in the country
districts war was popular, as the farmers had not the
slightest doubt they would be able to carry out their threat
of 'driving the English into the sea.' … Skilled artillerymen
were finding their way into the country towards the end of
August last [1899]. The Boers themselves did not put much
faith in their artillery, but they were reassured by the
officers who told them that they would yet learn to respect
its usefulness and efficiency—a prophecy which to our cost has
been more than fulfilled. … General Joubert was always ready
and willing, at any time, to inspect and test new guns or
military necessaries, and no expense was spared to make the
Transvaal burgher army a first-class fighting-machine. …
Surprise has been expressed at the inaccurate statements made
by colonials as to the fighting strength of the Boers. They
had not allowed for the enormous increase of population. From
an absolutely reliable source the writer ascertained in
September last that they could put in the field between 50 and
60 thousand men, made up as follows: Transvaal burghers,
22,000; resident foreigners, etc., 10,000; Free Staters,
16,000; colonists who would cross the border and join, 6,000;
total, 54,000. … As soon as war seemed likely, no time was
lost in perfecting the military arrangements. Before Great
Britain had thought of mobilizing a soldier, the Boer
emissaries were again scouring the colonies of Natal and the
Cape, sounding the farmers as to what part they were prepared
to take in the coming conflict. … While people at home were
wondering what the next move would be, the Boers were ready to
answer the question. Towards the middle of September all
preparations were completed, the Government had laid in large
quantities of supplies (mainly of flour, Boer meal, and tinned
foods), which they anticipated would tide them over twelve to
eighteen months, and by that time, if they had not beaten the
British, they relied on foreign intervention. They had also
received large sums of money from Europe, and some additional
supplies of arms and ammunition. Ammunition was distributed in
large quantities throughout the country, each burgher
receiving a sealed packet in addition to his ordinary supply.
The last batch of the Mauser rides was distributed, and the
mobilization scheme finally arranged, by which, on a given
word being telegraphed to the different centres, the first
Republican army corps would be mobilized within twenty-four
hours. This actually took place. … The British Government
could hardly fail to be aware of the fact that the Transvaal
was in earnest this time. A visit to the country districts
towards the end of August, about the time when the Boer
Executive themselves sounded the country through their private
agencies, would have revealed the fact that the people were
not only perfectly willing to go to war, but that they
absolutely wished for it. As one Boer put it to the writer:
'We look on fighting the English as a picnic. In some of the
Kaffir wars we had a little trouble, but in the Vryheids
Oorlog (the Boer War of 1881) we simply potted the Rooineks as
they streamed across the veld in their red jackets, without
the slightest danger to ourselves.' They had the utmost
contempt for Tommy Atkins and his leaders, many of them
bragging that the only thing that deterred them from
advocating war instanter was the thought that they would have
to kill so many of the soldiers, with whom individually they
said there was no quarrel. With such a state of things, which
should have been perfectly clear to the Intelligence
Department (and through it to the War Office) in
London—because no resident with eyes to see could be deceived
in the matter—we allowed the present war to find us
unprepared!"
J. Scoble and H. H. Abercrombie,
The Rise and Fall of Krugerism,
chapter 16 (New York: F. A. Stokes Co.).