Evening Post. MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1902.

Evening Post, Volume LXIII, Issue 82, 7 April 1902, Page 4

Evening Post. MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1902.

A JUST SENTENCE. » The War Office statement, which we publish this evening, though it is, perhaps, somewhat tardy and less exhaustive than many might have desired, will at least aorvo to justify tho military authorities in the eyes of tho Empire and the outside world for dealing out condign punishment to those officers of thu Bush Veldt Carbineers who were guilty of murdering unarmed Boers. The official declaration that no doubt exists as to the guilt of the accused, and that tho plea of extenuating circumstances was not supported by the evidence, even without the corroboration contained in Lord Kitchener's cable message to the Governor-Gener-al of Australia, would have been suffi* cient to convince tho people that justice had beon duly meted out to the unfortunato men who had allowed their pasBions to bring disgrace upon themselves and the uniforms {Ley wove. The story, at its best, is a sordid ono, and the only redeeming featuro it possesses is the evenhanded severity of the punishments inflicted. The Bush Veldt Carbineers were apparently a scratch corps enlisted in SoutU Africa and set to wage guerilla warfare in a sort of Transvaal "Never-never Country." Their oflicers, it would seem, from the disclosures now made, lucked that self-restraint and chivalry which, in spite of all his faults, are distinguishing traits of the British "oifieer and gentleman." In the wild country of their operations these irregular auxiliaries indulged in ruthless atrocities that no provocation could have permitted us to aondone. For the fair fame of our forces, who havo, generally speaking, shown great forbearance, and for the credit of our Empire, which professes te hold aloft the torch of civilisation, eVon amid the dark horrors of a guerilla war, it was necessary that these militaiv crimes should be punished as impartially in the case of British officers — we hardly like to use the term for such men — as they would have been in tho case of Boers. Now that the operations in South | Africa have ceased to present the uharnc« teristics of regular warfare, there is moie i danger than ever of an outbreak of wild

passions leading to bitter mutual iequals, and it is, therefore, the moir> necihsaiy to stippi e.~,s nil fit iciiifils Id ipncil to the ciuel methods of iincicut 11 -liiio^. Kven supposing Ui.it thcic is no ..aiml.i(ion for the alleged ohuii;ih <il Iwni '.-'. or foi thu strong suspicions v! il"' i. indoring of a tJorman missioiiars ,' tin- );•'' .th.it the condemned "lUtei*. Mvt prisoners in cold blood upon prrtext* which thero wns no evidence U> .suppoit, is enough to wanant the hubs-oquent action of tho authorities. Tho mere fact that some of the offend- I ers wero Australians, either by bii(h or; ndoption, although naturally a ciuiko of regiet to these colonies, does not throw any responsibility upon them. As the IM. James's Gazette rightly says, Australia should not be held responsible for the misdeeds of irregulius. The record of the colonial contingents is clean • from nil wanton bloodthirstincsb, and the colonies must be judged by the troops they sent officially, not by men levied at haphazard in South Africa. Not only may Australians feel free from all responsibility for what occurred, but the crimes of tho unhappy delinquents cannot be held to cast n stain upon the conduct of the war, or tho behaviour of the army. This isolated series of offences with the retribution they drew upon the heads of their perpetrators, only serves to emphasise the general good conduct of our soldiers and the high ideals of the authorities. Lord Kitchener has, as the Daily Mail, a Liberal journal, says, proved himself a just and fearless commander, and, in the words of the St. James's Gazette, he "has vindicated the honour of the army." In the face of the War Oflice statement and Lord Kitchener's cablegram, there can be no two opinions' among thinking men and women about the justice and wisdom of the punishments inflicted, but, we agree with our London contemporary, The Times, that tho fullest available information touching the crimes committed should be made public. So many variant versions have appeared in the press that a complete oib'oiul account has become a necessity. Even if Continental Anglophobes and British. anti-Imperialists are disposed to dwell more particularly upon the crimes, tho punishments will ' servo as an allsufficient reply to any adverse inferences that may be drawn against our army or its officers. The incident does, however, suggest the need of exercising the utmost care in the selection of officers to be entrusted with military, authority in out-of-the-way districts. Men of trained moral qualities, capable of controlling their own passions, and of feeling the claims of chivalry, eveu in the heat of action, are needed just as much as hardriders and good shots. Unless this war is to further the cause of civilisation, its pain, its misery, its destruction, will have been in vain. As it has turned out, the commissions granted to these Carbineer officers were a ghastly error, but the military authorities have done their best to retrieve it, and the honour of the British Army must, we feel sure, remain untarnished, even in Boer eyes.