The Boer delegates are not making much of their visit
to Washington. Mr. Hay, the Secretary of State, has asked them to luncheon as "distinguished strangers "; but when they were received by the President they made no mention of their credentials, and he, as the Pall Mall Gazette has very appropriately noted, like the immortal carpenter, only asked them "if they admired the view" over the Potomac. They at last managed to say that as they understood from the Secretary the United States could not interfere in the war, and President McKinley politely confirmed this, to them, disheartening impression. They propose, therefore, to visit twelve principal cities in the States and explain their views, which, if they are truly Envoys, is undiplomatic; but if they are only private gentlemen with a strong interest in the Transvaal, is a most sensible design. What could be pleasanter than such a trip, with all Democratic doors open to them, and plenty of unpaid experts to show them all the sights ? They are not eloquent, it is true, nor very wise, but they need not be in the least shamefaced at their failure, for, though they probably never heard of him, they are only doing what M. Thiers did before them with the same result.
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