Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 March 1902 — CECIL RHODES DEAD. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CECIL RHODES DEAD.

COLOSSUS OF SOUTH AFRICA PASSES AWAY. Story of Hia Career Reads Like a Ro-mance-Gained Fame and Wealth as One of the Greatest of the English Empire Builders.

Cecil Rhodes, the colossus of South Africa, died at Cape Town Wednesday evening after a serious illness for several weeks. As long ago as last June the cables from Cape Town brought information of Rhodes’ bad health and his general breaking down within a short time was predicted. Rhodes lived at Groat Schur, a beautiful country seat near Cape Town. His sister Alice presided over his home for him. Ho never married, and had the reputation of beiug a woman hater. He is supposed to have been immensely wealthy, but he was always a man who had little to say about his wealth and his affairs and estimates of his fortune have varied widely. A native of England, a minister's son, of college education, a spirit of adventure took Rhodes to Africa, where lie engaged in diamond-mining. Born apparently with Midas touch, everything he undertook added to his fortune. The

sobriquet of “diamond king” has been his for twenty years. In 1890 he became premier in the Cape cabinet. His political opinions favored self - government throughout the British empire until within very recent years, when financial ambition swerved him back into imperialism. While a home ruler he gave a subscription of $50,()00 to the nationalists of Ireland. As chairman of the British Sonth Africa Company his political conduct and monetary power were combined in the promotion of imperialism, but for a time on federal principles. He predicted a new political community to be called “United South Africa,” of which he expected to be president or king. In combination with Dr. Jamieson he organized a reactionary party in South Africa, whose purpose was to absorb the wealth of the country for the carpet baggers who preferred to refuse citizenship in the local governments, which by the use of capital and cunning they expected to merge absolutely in the British empire. This design culminated in the difficulties which led to the treaty of 1884 between the Transvaal Republic and the British government, of which Mr. Gladstone was then the head. The treaty guaranteed the independence of the Transvaal on condition that it should enter into no treaty with zuy other foreign power without the consent of the government of Great Britain. British patriots like John Morley, Sir William Vernon Harcourt and James Bryce have repeatedly asked, but in vain, for evidence that the obligatiqn assumed by the Transvaal had ever been violated. The South African raid directed by Mr. Rhodes and led by Dr. Jameson was only the preliminary skirmish opening up the prolonged war whose end is not yet in sight. Its object was to secure possession of the diamond mines by force and depend upon diplomacy at to make the seizure a political sovereignty. Cecil Rhodes has always been looked upon in his native country as a British patriot and statesman. Oxford University publicly conferred upon him the degree of doctor of civil law in 1899. The amount of his fortune is beyond computation. Cecil Rhodes was 49 years of age.

-CECIL-J-RHODES-