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The Transvaal WAR.

PREPARING TO ADVANCE. DULLER IN NATAL. ILL-TIMED CRITICISMS. Press Association—By Telegraph —Copyright. LONDON, April 21. The ‘ Daily News ’ states that nearly all the remounts have arrived, and that Lord Roberts is ready to advance. CAPE TOWN, April 20. The Wepener district is deluged with rain. Two hundred of the Boers’ cattle were captured and brought to Boshof. LONDON, April 20. It is reported that the Boers at Biggarsberg retired as a feint to draw General Buffer ' prematurely into attacking them.' Fifteen thousand Boers occupy a succession of ridges between Sunday River and Dundee. They expected the British to follow the line of railway along the Waschhank Valley. Their fortifications are so arranged as to enable them to gradually retreat under cover. Many Boers in Swaziland are preparing for a final resistance. The Swazis are reluctant to afford the slightest help.

A LIGHT PUNISHMENT,

LONDON, April 19. Two Germans in Cape Town hired horses and disappeared. They were fonnd 100 miles inland in possession of rifles and fc'oo cordite cartridges. They were arrested and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment.

UNWISE AND PREMATURE DISCLOSURES.

’ v 'p l ' LONDON, April 20. Lord Roberts’s criticisms on Spion Kop have caused consternation in military clubs. Many blame the Government for publishing damaging documents. Others are asking why General Lord Methuen has been shielded. ‘ The Times ’ declares that after Lord Roberts’s Censure the authority of Generals Bailer and Warren with the troops will be impaired.

. SUPERFLUOUS INFORMATION.

LONDON, April 20. Sir Henry Fowler, addressing his constituents at Wolverhampton, said that the first condition of peace was the establishment of British supremacy in South Africa, implying the safety of India and the right to hold, preserve, and protect our colonies.

ITEMS.

LONDON, April 19, Many army reservists are desirous of fettling in South Africa. An Officers’ Committee has been formed to help,the project. The Canadian Government have asked Lord Roberts to nominate twenty-four members of the Canadian Contingent in South Africa for Imperial army commissions.

’ WELLINGTON, April 20. The Premier has received a cablegram from Lord Roberta at Bloemfontein, in which he thanks the colony for the very valuable assistance rendered in sending both horses and men. From the Commander-in-Chief’s cable it is evident that the Fourth Contingent, under Major Francis, are to co to Beira.

DEALING WITH A SPY'.

One of our own men was shot the other night while in the very act of lamp-signalling our movements to the enemy. A change o'? sentries had just taken place, and the soldier fresh on duty is at the outset always more alert and suspicious than the tired-out sentinel he relieves. This man saw something suspicious on his front, so crept up, and having satisfied himself that a traitor was at work shot him through the shoulder. That the message reached the enemy there could be no doubt, for early next morning out outposts saw the Boers in thousands leaving an ambush from which they would ha ve had our troops at their mercy'had the Light Hors6, us was intended, tried to break through this pass to join General GTerv. The traitor turned out to be a Gape hoy named Ventor, who hud been attached as a mule driver to the Tenth Mountain Battery of Artillery. The significance of the connection at nnce excited suspicion. It was the mules of*the Tenth Battery which stampeded at Nicholson s Nek when Colonel Carieton's column was cut off and the Gloucester RcMment taken, and it is said that the half-caste was surprised into betraying the fact that he had something to do with it—-having first, no doubt, betrayed the movement of our men to the enemy, and so led to the concentration of the commandos which so effectually overpowered us. There is short shrift for a traitor in war time. By noon next <lav the gallows was building in the gaol yard, though it seemed almost a pity that the man could not have been hanged in olden fashion in the high streets as' a warning to the spies with which the town swarms.—‘Argus’ correspondent.

IN THE BOERS’ CLUTCHES.

The * Cape Times’ publishes the following from its correspondent, dated Pretoria Gaol, via Lorenzo Marquez, March 8 : — I am being Kept prisoner here in consequence of certau despatches for tbe ‘ Cape Times ’ and * Daily Mail ’ found in my possession, demonstrating various breaches of the Geneva Convention by the enemy during the siege of Mafehing. President Kruger was good enough to say I was “ dangerous,” so that my detention is another instance of the suppression of the liberty of the Press. Up to the end 'of January Pretoria had fceen visually jubilant, the newspapers conitantly parading the Boer victories and prophesying the early downfall of the British Umpire as the result of the Irish party’s

jubilation. The sympathy expressed for the Boers in the House of Commons was hailed with delight as a sure sign that public opinion was veering round to the Boer cause. In December extracts from ‘ Truth ’ and ‘ Reynolds’s ’ fed Boer egoism and encouraged them in their belief in the justice of their cause ; but oven this poor satisfaction has now apparently failed them. The relief of Kimberley has not yet been acknowledged in the Press, though the inva-ion of the Free State is hinted at. Ladvsmith and Mafeking are still supposed to "be closely beleaguered. Privately we know that much is being kept back from the burghers. lam certain the officials are grievously misleading them, as very great dissatisfaction exists among the burghers. ' The food supplies are very irregular, eapedally as regards coffee, and sugar, and as a consequence many burghers °are threatening to return to their farms. Deep depression now prevails in Pretoria. The afßcials of the gaol are utterly dejected, standing about in small groups and openly owning that all is over, while even the newspapers admit the critical state of affairs. Very few prisoners now arrive, though over 3,000 soldiers, representing sixty-four corps, are now at Waterval. They are in splendid spirits, and play cricket and football, hold camp fires, aad'siog ‘ God Save the Queen ’ with the same gusto as if they were ac Aldershot. The camp is very insanitary, and the water is questionable. The troops only get one pound of meat weekly. . With those exceptions there is nothing to'complain of. Typhoid fever is very prevalent owing to the had sanitation.

On February 21, after many efforts, vour correspondent succeeded in creeping from Watsrval, and made tracks for Gaberones through the bush veldt, accompanied by a Cape policeman. Eighty miles were covered, hut the Crocodile River being in flood a stop to further progress. Terrific rains falling put out of the question the idea of crossing, at any rate for a week. We sought shelter at a farm adjacent, expecting the farmer to be on commando, but he was at the house, and finding us without passes got several men together and took us prisoners, and sent us back to Pretoria. We were put back in gaol, where I was for the first thirteen days in December. About 100 colonials were in prison, taken in the Natal frontier and at Kuruman; they were undergoing scandalous treatment’ exactly as if they wore criminals, but without hard labor. They had no coffee nor tea, were locked in the cells at six o’clock in the evening, and were not allowed to see friends or relations ; were searched like felons every day. They took exercise in small squares, but free speech was npt permitted. Efforts to see the American Consul are always in vain, so there is absolutely no .opportunity to protest against it, it being considered a crime even to be a colonial, if of English birth. Our faith in tbs justice- of the British cause and in the might of British arms is as strong as ever; and though we feel no desire co see the Boers humbled, we hope to see the British troops arrive in Pretoria. The general feeling here is that any halfhearted compromise would affect the peace of South Africa in perpetuity. ST. ANDREW’S NIGHT IN LADY”SMITH. There was occasional mirth amid the gloom with the besieged at Ladysmith. How St. Andrew’s night (November 30) was observed is thus told by the ‘Argus’s’ special correspondent -.—Amid all our tribulations the Scottish portion of the besieged garrison did not forget St. Andrew’s night. At the Royal Hotel, temporarily reoconpied for "the occasion, there was “a braw Scotch nicht” of a unique, even au abnormal, character. It is probably the only great Scottish gathering recorded at which not a drop of whisky was obtainable. The toasts were drunk in brandy, in champage while it lasted, in Cape drachinstein, and in Ladysmith ginger beer, but in Scotia’s drink—not once. It was otherwise in the Gordons’ lines, where for auld lang syne the officers of the regiment, with Colonel Dick-Ounyng-ham in the chair, entertained their old colonel, Sir George White. The pipers marched round the table, played Highland airs, and there was much enthusiasm. The prevailing tone was that of the Scotch orator, who on a festive occasion began with “ The man who would attempt to talk sense at a tiige like this would be a fool.” A good many were surprised, though, at one assertion made by the commander-in-chief during the evening. “In spite of appearances,” said Sir George White, I do i na t believe that the enemy have deliberately fired a single gun at our hospital in the Town Hall.” “ I don’t agree with you, sir,” said Captain Lambton, of the Powerful, with the freedom of opinion which prevails at social gatherings on St. Andrew’s nights, and a storm of approval showed that very few acquiesced in the favorable view of the commanding officer. The evidence that the Boers deliberately.fired upon the one building which with its tower stands up so defiantly in the centre of the town is so strong that they must either admit the odium or confess themselves shockingly poor gunners. ODDMENTS. A notable instance of bravery is related by the war correspondent of the ‘ Natal Mercury’ in reference to the fighting round Hlangweni Hill, just prior to the crossing of the Tugela River. The person concerned in it was Captain Thnrbum, of the 7th I usiieers (the Royals), who, when fils’company were attacking down the western slope of Hlangweni, was shot through the abdomen, the bullet coming out of his thigh, and yet. in a heavy tire, his life slowly ebbing away, be directed his men until exhaustion from loss of blood caused him to fall back, where he was found dead on the following morning According to the ‘ Central News,’ a private telegram has been received by Mr William Macdonald, of Rootfield, near, Inverness, brother of General Hector Macdonald, de-‘ scribing the exact nature of the wound which the latter received at Paardeberg. The general was leading the‘Highland Brigade to the attack when he was struck below the cap of the knee by a Mauser bullet. The bullet went round behind the knee, and, travelling upwards, emerged just below the hip. Tlie bullet then penetrated the saddle and killed the general’s horse. Private Betts (Tasmania), writing on 26th lebrnary, said:—“We have been following the Boers up since Wednesday, arid are now on their left kank, driving them towards Colosberg. It is principally artillery firing. On .Saturday afternoon our fellows were in a rather hot corner. Some of them were firing from a watercourse, and got the order to retire. Hough was the last man to retire, and on foot. During the firing his horse had

bolted. Captain Cameron, seeing this, rode back and compelled Hough to mount his horse, while he stayed behind and took his chance of getting away.” Captain Cameron was wounded and cantured.

Ciunula’s . second contingent of troops, raised hy the munificence of Lord Stmthconu, are composed of some of the most picturesque fighters in the world, and in many respects resemble the celebrated Rough Rider Regiment. They are composed in large part of North-western mounted police, picked scouts, cowboys, and plainsmen, all at home in the saddle, good marksmen, -accustomed to danger, and inured to hardship. A more remarkable combination of veteran fighters could not ho gathered together by the British Empire. Accompanying the, mounted men is a battery of light, guns-, in charge of an American who took part in the North-west Rebellion of 1885 as an artillery officer. The contingent have been more carefully selected than the first Canadian regiment were, and that body have already made a splendid record. At a meeting on March 5 held in New York in commemoration of Robert Emmett’s birthday, Mrßourke Cochran denounced the attitude of the Washington Administration towards Great Britain in South African affairs, and almost advocated retaliation on the part of the United States. He declared that America surrendered her foreign policy into the hands of the Forign Office, and arraigned Great Britain’s methods of so-oalled civilising influence. Poor Mr Cochran ! There are soma parts of the world where the functions of the Press appear to be taken less seriously than others. What on earth would the British public do if the newspaper officers were all closed and the announcement made that the editors were off to the war ? The cynic might suggest that the British public would be all the better for the change, and, of course, Mr Balfour would not be inconsolable. But there is no indication that the man in the armchair is tired of reading his newspaper, or would find compensation for the loss of war news in the knowledge that the editor he has been accustomed to sit under had taken khaki. But in Alaska it is different. The editor of- the ‘ Yukon Sun ’ has “given up his duties, and is raising a contingent of British and Canadian miners for South Africa ” More power to ‘the Yukon Sun,’ and an increased circulation when Mr E litor returns, as we hope he may, with the Victoria Cross and a whole skin. It is a far cry from YTikon to the Transvaal, but they are gold-producing rivals, and in this fact probably our suspicious and -inventive Radical friends-will find food for suspicion. Is the editor of the ‘Yukon Sun’ a “bloated capitalist”? Exchange. Mr Winston Churchill wires to the ‘ Morning Post’ from Durban protesting against the ceremonious treatment of General Cronje. He adds ; “ The stern decision not to exchange prisoners will undoubtedly accelerate the end of the war, but it will prove very hard, and perhaps even dangerous, for the British prisoners in Pretoria. There is abundant evidence that the Boers are becoming more cruel, and that the war will enter a darker phase. I have visited the dam which the Boers began on Klip River, below Ladysmith. If it had been completed it would have submerged Incombi Camp, where there were 2,000 sick.”

Private letters to Berlin from the Transvaal state that the number of special identification cards issued by the Intelligence Departments of the two Republics to their men at the front amounted to 46,000 on January 15.—According to Mr M'Coll, an old resident of Johannesburg, whence he has been expelled, it is impossible to obtain any trustworthy information regarding the number of burghers in the field, bub it is roughly estimated at 50,000. Lady White, wife of Sir George White, has published the following message ;—" All the world is in sympathy with me, and to-day I am in sympathy with all the world. I am most happy to make public my cordial, my warmest thanks to the multitude if sympathisers with me during the trying period of Ladysmith’s long siege ; and i miy add that to-day I am delighted—supremely delighted—at the joyful news of the relief of the beleaguered garrison, and the happy intelligence that my husband is well and safe at last. As a wife I can say no more. What happy wife could say more’’’ KITCHENER’S ENERGY.

The transport arrangements for the supply of General Roberts’s army during the long march from the railway base have been excellent, and the principal cause of the delay is_ the condition of the horses. General Kitchener’s work as an organiser is apparent in the mobility which the British army has suddenly acquired. Officers in their letters to friends in England have explained this mystery. General Kitchener, during his first month in South Africa, went and down the lines, inspecting every detail of the system -of supplies, visiting Methuen’s, French’s, and Gatacre’s headquarters, imk'ng changes at De Aar, Belmont, and other points, and transforming the entire transport service. Every square peg in a round hole came out, and efficient men were put in the place of dawdlers and blunderers. The energy of this remarkable man was shown in every branch of the service. He had notleea in Cape Town forty-eight hours before all officers idling about the clubs and hotels under the pretence of sick leave were sent on their way to rejoin their commands. General Kitchener went everywhere and saw everything, and when General Roberta was ready to start for the front viatory was already organised.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19000421.2.18

Bibliographic details

Evening Star, Volume 11221, Issue 11221, 21 April 1900, Page 3

Word Count
2,851

The Transvaal WAR. Evening Star, Volume 11221, Issue 11221, 21 April 1900, Page 3

The Transvaal WAR. Evening Star, Volume 11221, Issue 11221, 21 April 1900, Page 3

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