ALBRECHT THE GUNNER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 64, 16 March 1900, Page 2

ALBRECHT THE GUNNER.

"Anglo-Afrikander," who contributes to the "St. James' Gazette" an I interesting1 article on the free lances of the Avar on the Boer side gives the following- interesting- account of Albreeht: "Some four years past T met jin Berlin Captain Albrecht Steimatz, | I formerly of the German Artillery. I had met him previously in Bloemfontein, whero he commanded the permanent field artillery of the Orange Free State. lie had returned to (lie Fatherland as a member of a military commission, composed of four officers —three from the Transvaal—charged with the selection and purchase of war material. Upon the fact of this mission I base my conviction that a secret alliance, both offensive and defensive, between the South African Federals was in existence for some considerable period before it was known at Downing-st. I may also mention that Germany, at the moment I write of, had added to its floating population three foreign military commissions, all of which endeavoured to preserve an imperturbable secrecy as to the objects of their visit to Essen and elsewhere. One was the Chilian Commission under General Martinez; then there were the Argentine people, who wiped the eyes of their potential antagonists when they beat them in a race for the acquirement of Krupp quick firers, Mark I. And then there was 'Albrecht' —the patronymic under which ho now masquerades—and his confreres, one Austrian, one Hollander, and three fellow Germans, g-unners all. "Contracts were entered into in Germany in the year T write, of up to a, sum exceeding- a million of Oom Paul's sovereigns. Through German s<mrces at the front I would be inclined to estimate the foreign mercenaries now with the forces of the federals as not being- much under ten thousand. Of officers, Count Villebois de Mareuil is beyond all question the most important. He is the military adviser at Ladysmilh. Last midsummer he gave as Ms opinion that it would require three army corps to subjugate the Boers. We are getting- near that number now."