The occupation of Pretoria and the surrender of Mr. Kruger
will probably kill out the Continental opinion that the war was unjust. That opinion was not based on any analysis of the reasons for the war, but on a hope that the Boers would give the British a decided "set back," and as they have failed to do so they are thrown over. The great Austrian paper actually publishes a eulogy on the British for their success in so immense an expedition, and the French are contrasting it with their own expedition to Madagascar. This worship of success, though it provokes many sad smiles, is not quite so base as it looks. The merits of a political struggle often depend on its result, which again frequently dissipates ideas that while they were believed to be true perverted judgment. When slavery disappeared with the Southern Confederation it was seen that the American Civil War had a great moral justification.
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