ENGLAND'S CRIME AGAINST THE BOERS AND BOBBING FOR SUCKERS

Cecil Rhodes.

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, April 29, 1896.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

England's Crime Against the Boers.

   Karl Blind lets much light into the Transvaal transaction of the beginning of this year, when Jameson and his raiders undertook the conquest of a free and independent republic. Blind, as he tells us in The North American Review, was a member of the Transvaal independence committee when the last treaty between the South African Republic and Great Britain was adopted. As such he had done much to arouse the British sentiment of fair play in favor of the valorous and independent Boers, a sentiment that seems to have been utterly blotted out after it was discovered that the republic contained the world's richest gold mines.

   The point to Blind's paper is that he denies in toto the right of British suzerainty over the Transvaal. He declares solemnly, and proves it, that in the treaty of 1884, the latest one, the suzerainty clause was struck out. The Boers would not have signed the treaty otherwise. They would have fought till they died and would have appealed to Europe to sustain them against England's claim. What the republic did concede was that it would conclude no treaty with any nation other than the Orange Free State "or with any native tribe to the eastward or westward of the republic without England's approval." "But this does not constitute suzerainty," says Blind, which indeed it does not.

   Blind concludes further that it would be as great a crime to blot Switzerland from the list of nations as for England to forcibly take the Transvaal. He blames Cecil Rhodes for the whole trouble.

   ◘ No more faith can be put in the word of Spain to grant home rule to Cuba than in the howling of a dog that bays the moon. Spain promised in the most solemn manner to grant home rule to Cuba at the end of the ten years' rebellion in 1878. She never gave the least fraction of home rule, but squeezed Cuba harder than ever. That was why the rebellion broke out again.

   ◘ It is to be hoped that in fixing the sum England is requested to pay in damages for the Jameson raid, Paul Kruger has added enough to afford compensation for the lacerated feelings of the Boers. England has large revenues from wine and beer this year and can afford to pay.

John Hays Hammond.

JOHN H. HAMMOND CASE.

Death Sentence Will Probably Be Commuted.

PLEAD GUILTY OF HIGH TREASON.

British Authorities Think the Boers Will Not Dare to Put to Death These

Prominent Men—Petition For Hammond's Pardon.

   LONDON, April 29.—The Chartered South Africa company has received a cable dispatch from Johannesburg giving further details of the judgment of the high court at Pretoria in the case of the members of the National Reform committee. This dispatch states that in addition to the sentence of death passed upon the leaders of the reform committee, 60 other members have been sentenced to two years' imprisonment, a fine of £2,000 ($10,000) and three years' subsequent banishment.

   The dispatch adds: "There is great excitement here (in Johannesburg) and unless the sentences are speedily commuted trouble is expected."

   There seems to be a misunderstanding as to the number of members of the reform committee who have been sentenced to death. Mr. Chamberlain said Rhodes, Philips, Farrar, Hammond and another whose name he had forgotten. When he was asked if it was Leonard, he replied "No," so it was presumed that it might be Fitzpatrick, another English member of the committee.

   But later in the day, the under secretary of the colonial office, the Earl of Selborne announced in the house of lords that a cable dispatch had been received from Sir Hercules Robinson, the governor of Cape Colony, confirming the announcement that the sentence of death had been imposed upon Rhodes, Phillips, Farrar and Hammond and making no mention of a fifth member of the committee as having been sentenced to death. Thus, it appears that Mr. Chamberlain was in error.

   While Mr. Chamberlain's announcement of the sentencing of the reformers caused a sensation inside and outside of parliament, and was eagerly discussed in the lobbies where it is thought to have increased the gravity of the situation in South Africa, there is an inner ring of politicians who are inclined to think that the whole matter is the result of a deal between the prisoners and the Boer authorities and that the former obtained the assurance that their sentences would be commuted, before they pleaded guilty to the charge of high treason.

   Of the condemned men John Hays Hammond, manager of the De Beers mines, is an American, but Mr. Chamberlain, when he was first arrested, assured the state department that his interests would be looked after by Great Britain as if he was a British subject.

   Colonel Francis W. Rhodes is a brother of Cecil Rhodes, formerly premier of Cape Colony, and an officer, official or unofficial, of the British Chartered South Africa company.

   Percy Farrar is a newspaper proprietor and owner of Country Life, published at Johannesburg.

   Lionel Philips is the president of the chamber of Mines of Johannesburg.

   Mr. Chamberlain's secretary, Mr. Wilson, was questioned by a representative of the press as to what steps would be taken by the British government to save the life of Mr. Hammond.

   Mr. Wilson said that no communication regarding Mr. Hammond had recently been received from Washington, nor had the colonial office been approached by the United States embassy. Therefore Mr. Wilson refused to make public the nature of the steps which would be taken in Mr. Hammond's behalf until Mr. Chamberlain had seen the United States ambassador, Mr. Bayard, on the subject.

Petition For Hammond's Pardon.

   WASHINGTON, April 29.—When Senator Stewart, who is a personal friend of Mr. Hammond, heard of his conviction, he immediately set to work to prepare a petition in Mr. Hammond's behalf, which he circulated among senators and members of the house. The petition is addressed to President Kruger and is a plea for pardon. It sets forth the high character of the accused and states that his family and associations here were of the best, and while it is conceded by the petitioners that the crime to which he has pleaded guilty is a most serious one and directed against a government for which the signers have a high regard, they will ask, as an act of clemency, that the offense be condoned and the prisoner liberated. The petition was signed by all to whom it was presented.

   Hammond's case was referred to in cabinet meeting, and although the state department authorized no statement concerning his case further than making public the cablegram from Vice Consul Knight predicting a commutation of sentence, it cannot be doubted that the government will do all within its power to secure an amelioration of Hammond's sentence, inasmuch as he is regarded as rather the victim of circumstances than as a deliberate conspirator against the Boer government. It is believed, however, that even before the machinery of the department can be set in motion Hammond's sentence will have been commuted.

Commutation For Hammond.

   WASHINGTON, April 29.—United States Vice Consul Knight at Cape Town cabled Secretary Olney that it was understood here that Hammond's sentence will be commuted.

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

No More Wild West.

   The wild west is to exist no more, even in a show it seems, since Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody is soon to give up the colossal traveling colony of which he was the head. Fifty years from now gray haired men and women will tell their grandchildren how they saw the cowboys, the great bisons and the wild Cossack riders of the Don in Buffalo Bill's show, with Colonel Cody himself, looking as fine as a fabled centaur and knowing it full well, none better, riding around the ring at each performance with his gray broad brimmed cowboy hat in his hand, amid the ringing plaudits of the multitude.

   Many will be sorry that good old show is to quit. When it does so, the historical museums of this country will be remiss if they do not secure photographs of its cowboys, its bisons, its ancient stage coach, its pioneer cabin and its Indians. They represent a stage in civilization that is unique in the world's story.

   Meantime, good luck go with Colonel Cody, Buffalo Bill. May his model colony on the banks of the Shoshone river, 85 miles from Yellowstone park, be all that he hopes to make it. Good luck go with him, for he gave the boys and girls—yes, and the grown people of this country—a brave show, and genuinely American. May his colony be as great as his show was!

Cortland Normal School.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

Dr. F. J. Cheney Will Have a Month's Rest.

   Through the kindness of the local board and the department of public instruction Dr. F. J. Cheney has been granted a leave of absence from his duties at the Normal [School] and leaves for Cleveland, O., tonight. He will first attend the great Methodist convention in that city in the capacity of one of the two lay delegates from the Central New York conference. The honor thus conferred upon Dr. Cheney is a distinguished one and his election to this position upon the first ballot by a large majority is an indication of the esteem in which he is held by his church.

   This morning at chapel exercises he expressed his appreciation of the kindness of the students, their sympathy and consideration for him in his deep affliction [wife’s death]. All the students unite in wishing their honored principal a helpful and beneficial rest and safe return when his leave of absence expires.

MORE BURGLARS.

They Entered Stoker's Grocery Store Last Night.

   There is certainly a gang of sneak thieves located here in Cortland, as is evidenced at frequent intervals. Within a few months Robbins' cigar store, Felkel's meat market and Warren, Tanner & Co.'s dry goods store have been entered and goods and money stolen. Entrance in each case has been by the same means, breaking a pane of glass at the rear. Last night evidently this same gang of desperadoes entered the grocery store of C. W. Stoker in the same identical manner.

   They first broke a hole through a rear window and lifting the catch were able to raise the window. When inside they helped themselves to pickles and cigars and going into the office, appropriated the contents of the money drawers, between $10 and $15.

   The thievery must have taken place after midnight for Mr. Stoker was at the store until after the electric lights went out. The miscreants must be getting very adroit in their work or they would sooner or later get caught in the act when two policemen are patrolling Main-st. and the adjacent territory each night after 12 o'clock.

Another Hitchcock Decision.

   Decision was yesterday handed down in Albany in the appellate division, Third department of the supreme court, in the case of the Hitchcock Mfg. Co. In the matter of the application for the voluntary dissolution of the Hitchcock Mfg. Co. the motion for permission to appeal to the court of appeals was granted. This motion was argued before the court on April 14 by J. William Wilson of Syracuse for the receivers and by Dougherty & Miller for the Second National bank [of Cortland] and others.

A Hen Distinguishes Herself.

   We have heard of hens laying two eggs in the same day, but when a hen lays two joined together that certainly is a record breaker. Mr. T. T. Bates of 37 Maple-ave. has such a hen of the White Minorca species. Yesterday she laid two full-sized eggs which were connected by a tube about one inch long and one quarter inch in diameter of the same texture of the shells of both eggs which are soft.

Henry T. Dana, M. D.

Hospital Medical Staff

   At a meeting of the board of managers of the hospital held on Monday the final arrangements were completed for the organization of a medical staff for the hospital and the following physicians were appointed to serve for the year beginning May 1:

   Consulting Physicians—H. O. Jewett, M. D.; E. B. Nash, M. D.

   Surgical Staff—H. T. Dana, M. D.; F. W. Higgins, M. D.; F. D. Reese, M. D.; S. J. Sornberger, M. D.

   Medical Staff—E. A. Didama, M. D.; A. G. Henry, M. D.; W. J. Moore, M. D.; Philip Neary, M. D.

   Homeopathic Staff—H. P. Johnson, M. D.; E. M. Santee, M. D.; Julia H. Spaulding, M. D.

   Hygenic Staff—Lydia M. Strowbridge, M. D.

   These physicians will give gratuitous service to ward patients unable to pay for private rooms and will take their turn in alphabetical order. Ward patients will be treated by the staff only, but will be allowed a choice in schools of practice. Private patients can select their own physician and are not limited in their selection to members of the staff.

   "My husband had two cancers taken from his face, and another was coming on his lip. He took two bottles of Burdock Blood Bitters and it disappeared. He is completely well." Mrs. Wm. Kirby, Akron, Erie Co., N. Y. [Paid ad.]

Black Diamond Express.

BREVITIES.

   —Mrs. H. H. Pomeroy began moving into the Dowd building this morning.

   —Ladles' Aid society of the Baptist church will give a supper in the church parlors to-night from 6 to 7:30.

   —The Mysto or Moorish palace, which has been on exhibition for several days in the Garrison building, has gone to Utica.

   —Work has just been begun upon the erection of a new house on the lot at the head of Main-st. owned by Mr. A. H. Winchell.

   —Mr. George E. Ingraham, local agent of the National Express Co., to-day began moving into his new quarters in the Democrat building,

   —The C. A. A. hold their first club run of the season to-night to Little York. The start will be made from the club house at 7:30 o'clock.

   —The pastors and directors of the Y. M. C. A. will this evening at 8 o'clock meet State Secretary George A. Hall at the association parlor.

   —The Syracuse Standard of this morning said that the S. A. A. racing men would probably be entered for the C. A. A.'s race meet at the fair grounds in Cortland on May 27.

   —The Ladies' Guild and Young People's society of Grace church will hold a social at the Cortland House to-morrow evening. A musical and literary program will be rendered.

   —The name for the new Lehigh flyer has been announced as to be "The Black Diamond Express." About 30,000 names were sent in in the recent contest and fifteen persons suggested the one adopted.

   — Miss Daisy Samson, an employee at the Palace laundry got her apron strings caught between two rollers yesterday drawing them in the whole length. The machinery was soon stopped and the young lady was uninjured, but was considerably frightened.

   —The funeral of Robert J. Barnard, who was killed at Marathon by a horse

Sunday, was held at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Marathon. He was a member of John L. Lewis lodge, I. O. O. F., of Cortland and the funeral services were in charge of the Marathon lodge, the following from Cortland acting as pall bearers: G. E. Butler, A. D. McMahon, A. B. Filzinger, F. A. Morse, F. M. Ingersoll and C. H. Benton.

   —H. W. Vail has completed a novel kind of a business directory of Cortland for the benefit of the Y. M. C. A. rooms. It consists of a well bound scrap book and on the right hand pages are the names of advertisers with their advertisement prepared with pen and ink in fancy designs. The left hand page contains selected half views of scenes over the world. The idea is to make it an interesting volume for examination to pick up from the Y. M. C. A. parlor table.

"That Cuban Filibustering Expedition."

   There appeared in last evening's STANDARD under the head of Corset City items an article referring to a Cuban expedition in which the "foxy" correspondent of the evening STANDARD conveyed the idea that a party of innocent fishermen from Cortland had passed through McGrawville enroute for Cuba bent on the destruction of Spanish forces. Even if this had been so, it would go to show that the so-called filibusters had more patriotism and were more wide awake than the sleepy correspondent who advertises meals at all hours, and opens his restaurant at 10 A. M. One of the party of innocent fishermen, upon going to the door of the restaurant and finding it closed was informed by a popular resident that if he wanted to get a lunch at that place he would have little time for fishing that forenoon.

   As to why the correspondent heard nothing farther from the fishing party we would say that had he not been so busily engaged in his favorite pastime of bobbing for suckers in a stagnant pool below McGrawville, he would have noticed the fishermen in question as they passed by him in the electric car on their return to Cortland. We tender our sympathy to the unfortunate correspondent as we are informed that he is slightly demented on the subject of suckers.

   ONE OF THE FILIBUSTERERS.