A979-I1-1b-03-jpeg.pdf - Historical Papers

BSO>AN\ AND BE( HUANA GAZETTE, MATLHACO, S ELI MOT HO LA 20 1902 5
of the sentences of life-long icnns
M o re A n nexations. . -
of imprisonment to three and two
years, and that in a muni ter of , Ikjranitf okl «a„u to l«. anncird to
otses tlie prisoners I* released. the O.U.C., and so bce.uik* tin- Capitol
Only a few original sentences were of that Territory. Tlie Ea*t*;niProconfirmed.
“ Reuter”
vmce also desires u> n-vrr connection
If the Kingoonldextend his clemency
to his Dutch shbjocts there is no reason
why Hi* Majesty shonld riot in the
same manner be merciful to his Native
subjects, the political prisoners now
undergoing vanons terms of imprisonment
with hard labour.
There is the man Le Fleur of C.riqualand
East who was a ringleader in
wliai the “ Cape Times V would call n
>eries of riote. He was sentence 1 to
14 years with.bard labonr. (1 renter
things -have happened Riuce the trial of
lie Fleur and nrst class rebels have
l»een sentenced to short periods of imprisonment,
without hard labour, and
we were very pleased to note that the
So u t h Afbfoan S p k t t a t o h was endeavouring
to get the Government to re-
1ase this man and that oir conten p>niry
was hopeful of being successful.
Secondly there are tlie nnfortuuate
misguided men of Langeberg, who five
years ago were sentenced to various terms
uf imprisonment, on ehargcs of
High Treason. There is not the
least doubt that they have felt their
iMjsitions. They have lost all they had
in this world ; their catlc and lands are
confiscated and their families are indentured
and tlie King's clemency
extended to them w >uld never be
misplaced.
Thirdly there are the foolish misgnided
followers of Abraham Matnlm.
These men uevei intended to rebel
against the British Government nor did
they ever barm any white man. It was
indy a long standing family squabble
lietween them and ourselves which
made up a c»bs of treason.. They took
advantage, it is true, of the state of
the country and their ignorance blinded
them to the fact tliat so doing would be
t raitorous in the eyes of the law. There
is the further fact tliat they being
politically!Progressives ^nd not:Bondsmen,
no counsel was sent to represent
them as was the case with the Dutch
rebels. If such a contingency had
taken plaoe, oounsel would’have brought
to the notice of the Court in ex ten nation,
tlie fact that the prisoners were under
the legal jurisdiction of tlie Barolong Paramount
Chief, and that the Paramount
Chief acting in concert with the Military
Authorities had already dealt with them
according to Native Law. These and
other circumstances would have lieen
considered by tlie Court in mitigation
of sentence, and the long terms of
imprisonment with hard labour would
not, we think, have been pronounced
against them. -It is . too much to ex-
|)cct a prisoner to undergo a form of
puniBhmeut in a Lower Court, carrying
with it the confiscation of all property
and then be arraigned a g a in for tlie
tame offence in a Higher Court of the
same divisiou which exercises jurisdiction
over the lower tribunal. They
speut 18 mouths in the local gaol a-
waiting trial and have already served
1:5 months of their terms. Should
tlie Government feel pleased to remit
the remainder of their sentences it
would act as a very healthy stimulus to
the trust the Native Taces, iu this part
of the country, have for the Government.
liastly there is the case of Joel, tlie
llasuto chicftaiu who wap sentenced to 12
months besides a fine of £2,000 fCr
aiding the Boers. The fact is tliat this
man had some iutimate friends
rC!iraong8t the Boers, and his ignorauCe
the extent to which such intimacy
may be carried on when the States are
uiHler arras, caused him to overstep
his limit. Our people claim His Majesty’s
clemency on his behalf on the
^rength of tlie loyalty of the Basuto
nation as a whole aud the fact that the
f‘»ur instances here euumernted represent
the whole of Black South Africa's
Calendar of political offenders
for many years, is iu itself a sign that
we millions of His Majesty’s black
objects are a peaceable law-abiding
■!***; and if Mr. Chamberlain could
intercede with the Cape and Basutoland
Authorities on behalf of these
•“ea liis visit would deepen the love of
,lUr l**>ple, for the flag which waves
imllions of subjects and thousands
** tongues.
with tlie West, and have a Bond-ltfls
liMle parliament of her own. In diat
event East I»mlon, King Willtamfttown,
(irahaiustown. Port Elixahech
and probably Fitenhage, will each
cJaim tlie seat of Government, which
may result in the curly sus|tension of
tlieir future const it uti hi. It ispmpoeed
to lay the matter l«fore tbc Colonial
Secretary. I/.\vi L muvtc luw no
objection to the pr«>)Kisal previ.led Un-
Native Territories remain umlcr Cape
Town.
^ou Foolish Native who signed a
petition in favour of Annexation to
tlie Transvaal!
But is it all genuine! Can it l«
true, and is it at all likely ? The freuueney
of these casts is sshocking
tliat one cannot help suspecting the
ncwsjwjier rejoins as representing nothing
lait a Ruodtsian humbug, ostensi­
Hear here. Hear h e r e ! *,
You are not directed to any particular
District, nor are you supposed to
bly manufac ured to iuccum* the mind
of tlie British Public against the
interview any panimlar individual.
Natives. »
You may on ms the Transvaal
To say tliat tlie jnmrv win* try tlu*e
b»rd_T
anywhere lietween Fourteen Streams
otses, are fair-minded, w«mld lie telling
and the Linqiopo, and tlie first, Native
a deliberate lie. Ami in one caw, at
you meet mi the other side will tell you
how stupid yon were to affix your mark
to that •locument : -and he will give
you sufficient reasons why you slxadd
instead sign a |*etition agaittsl A iiu w x h -
tion.
Offensive to e a rs Polite.
A Eurojtean reailer resents onr verbatim
reproduce ion of Dr. Owen's
irickly suggestion, on tlie grounds that
f•is lady friends (hitherto accustomed
to wliolesome parliamentary literature,
in the columns of our “ (iaxette ”)
** frowned and others nearly swooned ’*
at the idea. But by far the gentlest
way of doing it would be for tlie susceptible
ladies to direct their solemn
protests to the extreme source, whenoe
the vulgar suggestion originated. Our
object iu reproducing the same was not
necessarily to shock tlie fair ladies, but
merely to enlighten the {xiblie, here
and in England, on tfte contemn of an
accredited sheepskin.
C. 0 . H . Bell E sq., C .M .G ,
The (•.('. and R.M. of Uitenhage,
(«>f Mafeking during the Siege)
[>aid ns a brief visit, during the
week, arriving here on Satun ay. He
has lieen a inemU-r of tho Communion
for tlie disfranchisement of aecond
class rebels, and on this duty he siient
the last two months in Griquaiaiid
aud Kumman. He addressed a large
assembly of Iiarohmgs in a lengthy,
interesting speeoh, on Sunday afternoon,
iu Montsioa*'a'*, whither he
drove with the Resident Magistrate
Mr. E. G. Green suid the Acting
District Surgeon I>r. Hayes. There
was going to lie a remilar display of
oratorical abilities : but the dust-storm
set iu and tlie assemblage had to shake
hands and race for shelter. After
seeing his many friends, Mr. Ik-11 left
on Tuesday evening for Cape Town,
whence he proceeds, to Cradock, Bed-
fonl and Fort Ikaufort the same
business, returning to his stotiou in
about 3 mouths’ time.
Rhodesian
A Pretoria lady was recently assailed
bv her native servant. A terrible
struggle took piacc. and the lady .i»
not experted to live. The doctor
would not allow a deposition to be
tafevn. The miscreant has been arrested.
This, is one of the results ot
the equality rot in the Transvaa!.
• Kntm tiii.% the “ RIkkImU Hera] i’b "
way of reasoning. ,,UK would infer tliat
“ tiiu euiulitj rut" is napm ibk for tlie
painful frequency with «rljkrh the*ois»
ire rciKirtt-d in Kbodeaa. ItiitUiis,a«
even' tuqirejndictxl South Afnaui if
aware, is tlie veriest nonsense, for in no
civil Heed country are human-beiugs
more unequal than they are in Rhodesia*.
Peace Preservation.
The.ChieHk** of mosita writes>that
since tlie enforcement of the Peacj
PreservaLiou Act, wild dugs come a«I
dUTTV • ’« • / p J0 t» I* ” 1* ,r T
knuds anJ «■ iJ>«0 - uiiJtr ^
very noecs of tbe owner*." This vermin
prevkaislv shied the habitatious of uien,
as then they were fired npou. Having
now discovered Uiat st«ck-owiiets are
diwrme*!, they play havoc with thvir
st