DEATH OF SIR W. BUTLER.

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 20, 23 July 1910, Page 10

DEATH OF SIR W. BUTLER.

BOER. WAR. CONTROVERSY RECALLED. The death occurred on 7th June, at Bansha Castle, County Tipperary, of General Sir William FranciE Butler. Born in 1838 of a well-known Irish family, Sir William entered the .British Army at thti age of twenty. A. commanding man, with a strong Irish character, he speedily made his mark, and the early yeaTs of his life were- a long record of distinguished service in almost every part of the globe. At 'the very outset- liis ability attracted the vigilant attention of Lord Wolseley then Sir Garnet Wolseley — with whom ho was intimately associated in the minor wars of the 'seventies and 1 'eighties of last century. It was in the. Red River expedition to what is now Winnipeg that this association began ; and he was with Lord Wolseley in the Ashanti campaign, and on his staff in Natal in 1875. On the last-named occasion he was despatched on a confidential' mission to Bloemfontein, which he discharged with admirable success. During the Zulu war of 1879-80 he was kept at the base and was deprived of all opportunity of winning glory in the field. But His value was. such that Lord Wolseley selected him for his staff in the Egyptian war of 1882, and for the Nik campaign of 1884 for Gordon's relief. He commanded with great distinction the mounted troops in the river column. FRICTION WITH LORDMILNER, After some years of service at Home, where he held various commands, always with credit, General Butler was appointed to command at the Cape an 1898, on the eve of the Boer war. The appointment was the subject of much, criticism at the time, as he had made no secret of his sympathies with, the Boers, and he is said to have been most reluctant to undertake the work. In consequence of friction which arose between him and Lord Milner he resigned his command in August,' 1899. Tihe question whether ihe warned the Home Government of the danger irom the Boers was the subject of acute controversy after his return, and on. it lie gave evidence before the War Commission of 1902-3. It would appear fiom the evidence given by himself and other officers that in his private conversation he said that the war would prove a very grave one, but that he gave no warning, except in vague and general terms, to tie authorities at Home, and he made no strong representations as to the need for heavy reinforcements. But the fault was not entirely on his side. On his return to England the War Office took no steps to consult him. BRILLIANT AUTHOR.. All through the war he remained' in command in the A-lderehot District, and so took no part in its operations. In 1905, however, the Unionist Government appointed him as chairman of the Departmental Committee which enquired into th© South African contracts, and he was regarded as the author of the very vigorously- worded report which that committee returned. He was a Privy Councillor and received the 6.C.8. in 1906. As an author he was as brilliant as a, soldier. His Lives of Gordon and Sir Gec-Tge Colley., the defeated general of Majuba, strike a noble note and will ever remain military classics in our language. But these were only two of a host of books in their own day almost equally famous. Sir William was a Roman Catholic and a strong Home Rnler. In 1877 he married" Miss Elizabeth" Thompson, ,fche iam* pusi painter of battle scenes and sister of the well-known writer, Mrs. Meynell. Her "Roll Call," exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1874, was the picture of the year, and few works of the painter's art have ever awakened greater enthusiasm and more passionate emotion. His marriage was a romance. He was lying ill at HaslaT, when his friends -told him of the wonderful picture. Regarding their praise as uncritical, he went to see it for himselt, and was so filled with admiration that he did not rest till he had obtained an introduction, to the artist from the Duchess of St. Albans. His engagement followed in a few weeks.