The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 1899.

Waikato Argus, Volume VI, Issue 447, 13 June 1899, Page 2

The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 1899.

The conference between Sir A. Milner and Presideat Kruger has proved of ao avail, the only result being that the British Government rauit be convinced that no settlement will be arrived at by diplomacy, except that the diplomat is prepared to offer an ultimatum, demanding justice to the Uitlanders' or as war. Mr Chamberlain in the House of Commons slated that the reply to the Uitlanders petition was in the hand of Sir A. Milner, but had been temporarily withheld pending the conclusion of the conference between the President and High Commissioner. This reply will either promise or refuse redress of the wrongs of British subjects, suffered in a eountry ovetr which Britain claims suzerainty. It is hardly necessary to speculate as to the answer. We take it that the reply to the Uitlanders will practically be an ultimatum to Kruger.

The London Convention with the Transvaal was made in 1884. At that time it was not anticipated that the constitution of the TrausTaal was to change. It was then extremely liberal. Aliens had the right to enter and leave the Transvaal, they could carry on business and acquire property, they were taxed equally with the Boer, they were entitled to tht franchise after two years' residence in the country. We do not believe that Kruger would risk war. In 1897 war was very imminent indeed over the Aliens Exclusion Question. Mr Green then went to Kruger with an ultimatum in his pocket. This the President at first ignored. Mr Green remarked that the fleet had gone to Delagoa Bay. In half-an-hour the President and the Government bad given way. When the ultimatum is offered to Kruger a force will have to be ready to strike. A French paper, La Gazette floloniale, puts the position as follows: "French capital to the value of £60,000,000 is embarked in the goldfields of the Transvaal. We ventured our savings there because we believed that owing to the London Convention we could do so with perfect security. Under the convention signed by Englaud and the Transvaal England should be a shelter from every kind of injustice, and is bound to defend our interests. But what is the actual state of affairs ? The Transvaal Government resorts to the most illegal expedients and England does nothing to prevent her. If England is incapable of exercising her

suzerainty, let her abandon it. Either she is suzerain or she is not. If she is suzerain, Jet her prove it by obtaining justice for us there. If she is not, let her abandon pretensions which do nothing but block the way to reform." This is a perfectly logical deduction. It is only natural, however, that the British Government should try every possible means of securing justice for the Queen's subjects before entering upon a war. All the means known to diplomacy have now been employed, the last beiug the unsatisfactory interview between Sir A. Milner and the President. A cablegram in Saturday's issue giving an extract from an article in the London Standard no doubt explains the position and echoes the opinion of the nation. It says :—" The suzerainty of Britain over the Transvaal is not to be bartered away. If stronger measures are required to make President Kruger realise that the paramountcy of Britain is a reality, the stronger measures must be taken."