A.M.S. Methuen - Peace or War in South Africa

1902 paperback with 123 pages in good antiquarian condition. The cover has been coved with sticky plastic. Anglo-Boer War. Anglo-Boereoorlog.

'Mr. Methuen asserts that he is a pro-Boer if the term implies "a man who admits the splendid patriotism of the Boers, and who believes that the war was unneccessary," but if it denotes "a man who wishes to see his country beaten and humiliated, and who is infected by the virus of unpatriotism . . . I am not one of them." He considers there is a parallel between the war with the American colonies in 1775-83 and the South African War, and maintains that "the history of South Africa is, in the main, the history of the antagonism of the English and the Dutch, and of the dealings of the two races with the natives." Mr. Methuen allows that the Boer limitation of the franchise "was an unfortunate policy," but maintains that it was "in no way a contravention of the articles of the Convention." It is admitted that "the Boer Ultimatum made escape from war impossible," but the admission is qualified by the statement that the terms of the Note were not unreasonable, and it is asserted that "any other state in the civilised world, similarly placed, would have taken the same step." With regard to the conduct of the war, it is said that it involved three stages - "devastation, deportation, and imprisonment . . . a novel method for a civilised country." ' - Mendelssohn Vol.II, pages 5-6