| Show ENVOYS ARE WELCOMED Representatives of Kruger j Greeted in New York I RECEIVED AT CITY HALL Mayor Declares the Duty of ExtendIng Extend-ing Welcome to the Delegates from the Transvaal the Most Pleasant One He Has DischargedEach of the Comminsioners Replies One ot Them Speaking in DutchCrowds Outside the CIly Building Cheer the Hen When They Appear New York May 17The principal event In connection with the visit to this city of the Boer delegates occurred oc-curred today when they were received re-ceived at the city hall by tho Mayor and In accordance with the iMTolutlon passed by the Municipal Assembly ofll I daIly welcomed to the city The Mayor said I am delighted to welcome you to this city of New York and to assure you that In America you will receive a cordial welcome from the liberty loving people of this country I desire de-sire to Inform you that thc representa i lives of the city of Now York have I asked me lo extend you a welcome and I welcome you on behalf of the people of the city Never since I have been In the Mayors ollice hns a more plea snnt duty been discharged by me thun this one to welcome you on behalf of a free people I want to assure you that wherever you will go you will find a welcome from the ptople and 1 hope that when your mlHslon Is ended and I you are returning to your own country coun-try you will again call on us so that we may have the pleasure of giving you another welcome Delegate Fischer said This is to us an occasion of pleasure and of pride We are not so conceited as to lake to ourselves the honor shown us but we wish to show that we do not represent an unworthy people Wo be ll < ve that no people can understand what It Is to struggle for freedom except ex-cept a people which has gained Its freedom by such a struggle We have been told to avoid the pitfalls of party cliClues and we r > n n cn Hinl w n 10 I ignorant of party cliques as when we I arrived The reception that has been given to us comes from all I classes of i people We cannot think that the mission mis-sion to seek peace for out country peace with honorwilt be unsuccess ful We hope wo shall attain the ob jects of our mission and we are en couraged In our hope by the splendid reception we are given everywhere I You Mr Mayor would not receive us as you do If you thought us unworthy This reception by you Is an honor I which we will remember Tho small llbertylbvlnfir people I will think the bet tar of their big brother We think we will come well out of the struggle tte have been told that 00 per cent of the people of America sympathSxt with us II We want to convert the other 10 percent per-cent by simply telling the truth We I hope that a free people will not have appealed to you free people in vain I Alderman Kennedy then read an ad dress prepared on behalf of the Municipal I Muni-cipal Assembly welcoming the delegates dele-gates Then Delegate Wcssels was in I I troclucod and said Each member of this committee has I a part to perform The part assigned to Mr Fischer Is speechmaking We have other duties which we will not mention now We have come to tell the frecc people of America that we mean to win and to retain out free dom if not today tomorrow If not to morrow we will keep on fighting for It for thc next ono hundred years We have had lo light for our liberty We did not want to fight but we had to We ought to bo worth some considera tion to the United States because we are ono free people appealing to an other We do not ask you to tight for UK but we ask you to say to England Stop and we think that if America I said the word the war would be stopped Wo are doing our own tight Ing but you can hardly call It a uar It Is like a little boy trying to defend himself when attacked L If we are beaten America will probably be ashamed In future years of the quos lion should be asked What has hap pened to vnur little sister I Delegate WolmarenF who spoke In Dutch gave a history of the Trans vaal trouble from the beginning He said We never sought the war It was thrust upon us We were robbed of our independence in 1877 and re gained It in 1SS1 By the cooperation of a small but uclldlspoaod pnity In England of which Gladstone was the head we got the convention of 18S1 which gave us our Independence with out suzerainty The question was not disputed until after the Jameson raid We have tried to have all of our dis putes arbitrated This has been re fused bv Mr Chamberlain and Sir Al fred Mllner We are gratified 1 at the way America has subscribed for the widows and orphans of the Boers We I want to prevent the making of more widows and orphans by dumdum html lets or otherwise Before you leave said Mr Van Wyck I want to express to you my I sincere sorrow at the death of Gen Jouberl I knew him when he visited this country and he told me all about tho previous trouble I hope you will convey to his widow rny deep sorrow Again I wish you godspeed May you bii successful In your mission The members of the Municipal As sembly who were present were each In turn introduced to the delegates Then a group of women were Introduced and Mr FIscher said he rolled on the women of America to help along that I I sympathy for the struggling Boers which was now so sorely needed An the envoys left the city hall they were shaken by the hands of persons on nil sides un making their I reappearance the crowd set up a cheer nnd Mr 1 Fischer standing on the steps of the city hall delivered a brief address in which ho said the people I nf the I Transvaal and the Orango Free State worn struggling for their liberty and wanted the sym path of the people of America DENIES OCONNOR STORY Boer Envoy Declares the Statements are False New York May 17 Abram F Fischer one of tho Boor envoys was shown today the published statement in which the envoys were reported ns having made Indiscreet admlcnlona on the steamship to an employee of a London newspaper Mr Fischer said tho story was false in every material particular i met an IrishAmerican on the steamer said Mr Fischer and his I name was OConnor He Introduced himself to me and expressed great sympathy for our people Whatever I I said to him I have no hesitation In repeating to the American people I I dont think the fellow talked with Mr Wcesels or Mr Wolmarens As for him talking to us together It Is utter ly J false I never expressed tho sentl mentH attributed to me hot did my colleagues nor do we hold thorn 1 Regarding the appeal from the I Americans Capetown askinG thc peo pin here to Ignore the envoys Mr Fischer said I have read thou up pwil and It is I obviously a falno one Not a name Is given not even the name of the chairman of their alleged mass meeting There are few Amrl canH In Capetown in the first place and I they are largely In sympathy with us |
