Hector Macdonald.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 94, 21 April 1903, Page 3

Hector Macdonald.

PULL ACCOUNT OF THE TRAGEDY.

INSANITY ALLEGED

SAN FRANCISCO, April 1

Brief accounts of the death and burial of Major-General Sir Hector Maedonald have been published in this country, but no definite statement as to the charges which he had been called upon to answer/ It has evidently been the desire of the officials to shield, so far as possible, the memory of the dead officer. The following particulars have been published:— THE CHARGES. COLOMBO (CEYLON), March 24. Charges of the most serious nature have been brought against Major-Gen-eral Sir Hector Maedonald, commanding the British forces in Ceylon, in consequence of which the Governor of tha_ island, Sir Joseph Dodge' Westridgeway, has been authorised to convene a courtmartial to try him. Maedonald, when the charges were filed, some time ago, went to England to confer with his friends and superior officers, and now it is understood he will return and face the charges, which, it is alleged, are based on immoral acts. , ( LONDON, March 24. The announcement from Colombo that Major-G-eneral Maedonald is to be tried by court-martial on most serious charges of immoral conduct undoubtedly will prove to be the greatest sensation in British military circles since the case of Colonel Valentine Baker, who was sentenced August 2, 1875, to pay a' fine of $255 and .to undergo twelve months' imprisonment for having attacked a woman in a railway carriage. While the army officials and many of his brother officers were aware that charges were pending against General Maedonald, no intimation of their na,ture leaked out until the dinner of the officers of a Highland regiment on March

21, at which Maedonald was not present. Lord Roberts, the commander-in-chief, paid tribute in a speech on that occasion to the Highland officers who had served with distinction, but he did not mention Maedonald. This attracted* considerable notice, and the sensation was increased when another speaker, who was not aware of the facts in the case, lauded Maedonald as a typical Highland soldier, and found that his remarks were received in cold silence by the majority of the officers present. Maedonald,, it is said, left England for the Continent some days ago, and it is said he is returning to Ceylon upon the advice of Lord Roberts. THE SUICIDE. PARIS, March 25. Major-General Hector Maedonald, against whom charges based on immoral acts Avere filed some time ago, committed suicide to-day at the Regina here. The General was alone in his small chamber at the time of the tragedy. One of the female attendants heard the pistol shot, and opening the door saw the General's figure stretched out on the floor, with blood gushing from a bullet wound in the head. She rushed screaming to the balcony overlooking the lobby of the hotel where many guests, including a number of ladies, were assembled. The proprietor of the hotel was the first to reach the expiring man. Medical help was immediately summoned* but was found to be useless, death ensuing quickly. The Connnissaiy of Police was notified, and, accompanied by a doctor, proceeded to a preliminary investigation. No money or papers of any kind were found in Sir Hector's baggage. Two notes written in English were found lying on a tabic in his room, and these were taken possession of by the authorities, but it is understood that theit contents have no bearing on the suicide. Ir. the General's coat, lying on the bed, were found some photographs. The British Embassy and Consulate were notified later, and ConsulGeneral Inglis visited the hotel and took charge of the body. The door was then locked, the Consul-General taking the key. The French officials took possession of the revolver, whicn was apparently new.

Sir/Hector Maedonald arrived in Paris last friday evening from London, on his way back to Ceylon, where it was understood that an immediate court martial would be held to clear up the charges made against him. On reaching the hotel at eleven o'clock at night he was told "that only a small and indifferent room was available. He replied that that was quite sufficient. He was not accompanied by any aide-de-camp or valet. He said he intended to stay only a day or two in Paris. Little was seen of him after' his arrival. He was, however, in the lobby this morning about noon, and it is believed that a newspaper printed in English, containing a resume of the grave charges brought against him and embellished with the General's portrait in full uniform, came under his attention. He left the lobby, going to his room, and the pistol shot followed soon after. Those about the hotel who had con-' versed'with Sir Hector recently say he showed no signs of excitement or mental worry. In contrast to the sad circumstances surrounding the death of General Maedonald was the gayety of the scene tonight neiir. his death chamber. Owing to precautions taken to conceal the death, few people in the hotel were aware of it, and the corridors and lobbies in the hotel were filled with joyous parties of guests going to and returning from the theatre and opera. The body lay in an adjoining chamber. There are no watchers by the side of the corpse. NEW YORK, March 26. The London correspondent of the "New York Herald" cables: —"I hftve learned from an authoritative source that the statement published in the newspapers that the King received Maedonald in special audience early this month is wholly untrue. Maedonald saw no one in London —where he remained but twenty-four hours—beyond the heads of military departments. He was at the army headquarters last Thursday, and was ordered by the war authorities to return at once to Ceylon to be tried by court martial. This at first he begged to be allowed not to do, and a somewhat painful interview, during which 'Fighting Mac' burst into tears, resulted in his promising that he would go to France to think the matter over. He left London last Friday with a knowledge that, so far as the military auth-

I orities were concerned, there could be !no end to the charges brought against him, except the verdict of a court martial, for holding whicH* he knew arrangements even then were practically completed. On such a large scale was tbe contemplated trial that arrangements had been made to call no fewer than 70 witnesses. There is no doubt that Maedonald hesitated to go to Ceylon, and, as he lingered in Paris, it became evident he was hoping the War Office would, out of regard for his long and brilliant service, ,afford him some solution which would spare him in retirement his rank and pension. This led to a letter being sent to Maedonald on Tuesday from, the war authorities, instructing him to return to Ceylon without another moment's delay. He should have received this letter yesterday, morning. It is assumed that this, ' coupled with the publication of the Governor of Ceylon's statement, decided him as to the course which he took. I was informed to-night by a gentleman who has a nephew in one of the regiments stationed in Ceylon that he received a letter from his relative recently, stating that reports reflecting Macdonald's private life had been current for some months; that the principal accuser was the vicar of an English church out there, and that when the Governor of Ceylon bade Maedonald good-bye he said to him, 'The best thing you can do is to disappear during the voyage' At the War Office the theory generally held is that Maedonald has been insane for some time."

According to Macdonald's friends dysentery and the sun had left their well-known mark upon him, and although robust in appearance his nervous ailments were intensified in the veldt and completed the breaking down of his health, which commenced in the foetid camps of the Egyptian Soudan. Latterly the General was not the sound, physical man of the old days, nor had he that brain which saved Omdurman at the eleventh hour. After the touch of sunstroke which he contracted at Paardeberg Major-General Maedonald was always more or less ailing and despondent. In* Ceylon General Macdonald's health grew iiiueh worse, and depression marked him for its' own.