| OCR Text |
Show . Peace Proclaimed. THE news of peace being established ' j" In South " Africa gladdened the hearts of millions in all civilized countries. The numberless lives that have beenjost during . the .past three years, together with the millions of pounds expended show . that nations actuated by pride and greed are ready to make any sacrifice to retain prestige and enlarge their domairi. The Boer war, even In England; was not popular from the beginning. If we may judge the future from the past England's influence in-fluence in South "Africa' will militate against the peace and happiness of the simple minded farmers of the Transvaal. Trans-vaal. "When her conquest extended to India, that country was thickly inhabited, inhab-ited, and the lands cultivated. Cotton factories were operated, the poor people, peo-ple, who wrere thrifty, enjoyed all the material comfort theyy desired. But that ,has been long since changed. Its il-rio-Qtlnn evetsm Y.ao Alan if. .factories have been closed,.and its population pop-ulation periodically 'decimated by famines. fam-ines. Both in England and in. all its possessions more squallid poverty will be found than in any European country. coun-try. The' Englis haristocracy are wealthy, the gentry and middle classes are well to. do. but below these classes are several strata of humanity, who constitute the overwhelming majority and who seldom go above zero in material ma-terial progress. The working class can barely support themselves by their labor. la-bor. Exhausted by hard, work, they have no heart to aspire to mental cultivation culti-vation and are as low in scale of material ma-terial prosperity and mental culture as were their ancestors 300 years ago. There is still lower strata who consist of an army of disguised beggars, whose stock . in-trade is the sale of cheap wares. Add to this the "hundreds of thousands who are confined to poor houses or are living on outdoor relief, ; and it will be readily seen that the English government is the most heartless heart-less and fatal to human happiness of jail European governments, that is, ' when the great masses of the people are taken into consideration.. The North British Review, a few years ago, comparing com-paring England with European countries, coun-tries, said: "There may be continental states where there is more poverty than in England, but there is none where there is so much squallid wretchedness, so much hopeless, unmitigated un-mitigated misery." Will the Boers share in the fate of her other colonies? Will the peace proclamation bring them a renewal of their former peace and happiness? hap-piness? ' Or is it the beginning of that sad fate In which India and Ireland have shared since they "became appendages appen-dages to the British crown? . . Congratulations and good will come from all quarters to the brave and valiant vali-ant little republic that fought so bravely, brave-ly, so courageously for liberty. Their swords are now sheathed, and it is to be hopec'. that England will reverse her past policy and treat them not as vassals vas-sals or slaves, but as rightful possessors posses-sors of the soil and free men. ' |
