A CHARTERED COMPANY'S OFFICER.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10480, 19 October 1899, Page 6

A CHARTERED COMPANY'S OFFICER.

INTERVIEW WI!TH CAPTAIN MARQUAND.

Captain Marqnand, late of the South African Chartered Company's forces, who vu through the llatabele campaign, and jb well acquainted with the country which ii now the seat of war in South Africa, waa interviewed last night by a representative of J.ne Press," and gave the following information as to the present ■Ute of affaire aa outlined oy recent cable messages, and of the conditions of warTHE SITUATION IN RHODESIA. "Colonel Baden Powell," said Capt. Marquand, "came Ho Rnodesia with Sir Frederick Currington in 1896, when, on account of the Jameson raid, the Imperial authoritiea took over the defence forces of Rhodesia. With Colonel Plumer, Colonel Baden Powell was sent out to arrange for the defence of Rhodesia and of the boundary between the Transvaal and Rhodesia. This he has apparently successfully carried out, •t least as far as the Matabeles are concerned, as they are now cooped up in the Matappo hills. Forts have been built at intervals all round these ranges, and •re well mounted. At present there are between two and three thousand Uriteh soldiers in Rbodttua, besides the standing army, aod tbwe troops will be able to took after the northern border. The question of food supphes for the men in Rhodesia thas been well thougfrfc out both by storekeepers and merchants, and there is no doubt that they will kst for a lengthy period. Though both railway and tekgraphic communication with toe south has been cut off, they will be able to communicate both by rail and telegraph by the fine tunning through Portuguese temtory, and which ie completed almost to Salisbury. fVom Salisbury to Buaaweiyo goods wiM have to be transported about four hundred miles. This line being all in Portuguese and British territory, is) not likely to be interfered wkh. COLONEL BADEN POWELL AT MAFEiUJNU. "Alter seeing to the defences of Buluwayo and of the border, Colonel Baden Powell was then sent to Mafeking, wbidh is about twenty miles from the Tnasvaal frontier. It is situated in the midst of open or slightly undulating country, and tbe town itself cannot be considered of nrook importance. Waft the exception of the Standard Beak—whack I expect has sent «H it* gold oat of the country—two or three hotels, Government buildings, the •tores erf the Beohuanatand Trading Company, and of Julio* Weils and tbe railway atatton, there is not much to loot When I mi at Mafeking, about a year ago, it was totally -without defences. There was no such tbiijg as a garrieon, redoubts or fort*, but Colonel Baden Powell has evidently mode things as secure m possible by throwing up redoubt*. He is a man, feoworer, who will tuid the position at any price. In my opinion be m completely out off from any au•xtance now that tin railway has been mniMshed, and it is only a question of how long he can hold out t£B men and supplies arrive. He is also badly off for water; indeed the question of water is one of the utmost importance in that country. It \a possible that the section of the line from Mafekinj; to Machudi Siding, & distance of about 130 miles, is in the hands of the Boers, but from Machudi siding to Palapye the line will be protected by the chief Khama •who m known to be very friendly to the Jfogtudi, end wil in every possible way . guard the railways. In view of the recent trouble we thave had with the Bechuanas, urifem we ere careful to avoid serious reverses, we Jthall (have t&em rising against u»i and possibly also a general Kaffir rising. Tbe Katftra, could they only co-operate, would direct their energies to driving not only the English but also the Bcera from South Africa." Questioned as to the possibility of Colonel Baden Powell beuu; eMmsted from Bulawayo, Captain Marquand said that Mafeking was •bout six hundred miles from Butuwayo, and before help could arrive lie and his force ■right be annihilated. Apart from tihis tbe troop* at Bulnwayo had their work cut out to protect the Transvaal frontier and keep the MaUbeles in check. j THE SOUTH AFRICAN CLIMATE. "The effect of £be South, African climate in those not acclimatised," remarked Captain Marquand, "is very aerxtwr, esneciaHy sjb this time of the year, when the wet season ssjte in after the long drought. The valleys and flats are Hooded from 15ft to 20ft. The troops will have to go through all this territory, and it will be terrible work, because of the water. It rains incessantly day after d»y, and usually thtre are two or three thunderstorms daily. It generally start* about midday and goes on till daybreak. Tie men will have to lie about and march through all this. The vegetation is so rank thai malarial f«vw becomes prevalent, and the water, on account of the decayed vegetable matter in it, ia undrinkable, or if taken produces typhoid fever. The temperahire fat the low country reaches 105 to 115 degrees. All this has a tendency to weaken the system, sjMn get totally unable to eat, their blood getm poor, and they get thoroughly enervated, and totally incapable of duty. A Christchurch nor'-wester is simply nowhere as compared with summer weather in South Africa." "SAI/TED ,, HORSES. "Hones are also affected by tbe same levers and diseases whicu affect the men, and • 'salted' horse is one which has gone through the sickly season and becomes inoculated, and consequently its ralue is considerably enhanced. But the poor brutes after going through the sickness—you can only call then frames on four legs! It is a* much m they can do to carry themselves, ■46 alone tfae man on their backs. At least that £a« my experience of 'Baited , horses m the Matabele campaign. The lovely chargers which are leaving Ntw Zealand, if they come WKaeain—and we all hope they will—will JJok atoUdly differ** das. of animal." THE COLONIAL CONTINGENTS. -What is likdyto ****£*%?»£" mm lgamate th^ whole ,1 the AustraLsiao Contingent*, and will

give tbem duty somewhere on the coast or in the border towns, because of vhe privations they would Oβ subjected tcr on aocoudt of not bern£ acclimatised. They will be town deferjders, and the Afrikander troops and acclimatised men will be eeot to the front. After several morUdis, when they wifl have become acclimatieed, they wilL as necessity arises, be drafted to the front." A PROTRACTED WAB. "I t&rink the war will last for twelve months, at least," remarked Captain Jiarquand. "The ocoapatkox of Pretoria aad Bloemfontein and the territory of the two States by the British will nut end hostilities. The Boer knows that nothing but tea complete cessation of the Boer government will satisfy the English. To their ideas they have been driven to war because they knew that the dsnxinds respecting the franchise and the other concessions meant m the long run that they would lose tkeir country. The younger generation of Beers are very anxious to fight m order to Show that they are as good men as their fathers were. As regards their artillery ,1 have seen the State Artillery, and all tits defences, aad they ore excellent : but with the excejD&oa of the State Artillery the majority of the Boers are totally ignorant oi mrjioeuvring and the usage of guns. It is possible that exhilarated with new ideas they may foreake the old-time guerilla warfare, m<l fight in the open, but after finding once or twice that they have a more formidable enemy to contend against than they at first imagined, they will resort to the "old-time methods again. Intriguing between the Dutch in Cape Colony and the Boers has been very active, and of this both Mr Chamberlain and Mr Rhodes have been cognisant. . Blood is thicker than water—we all understand that —and a Bond Ministry being in power at the Cape indicates that the country constituencies, who are cither Dutch or of Dutch antecedents, have the voting power in tneir hands. All this has been properly gauged by Sir Alfred Milner, who, in view of the troubl" in the Transvaal, appears prepared to declare martial law all over Cape Colony, should that be necessary."