THE TRANSVAAL WAR.

Evening Star, Issue 11680, 12 February 1902, Page 4

THE TRANSVAAL WAR.

THE YEOMANRY. In drill and in general soldierliness the Ayrshire Squadron of the Scottish Yeomanry is the smartest irregular squadron I have seen, during the campaign. Seventy per cent.—perhaps more—of the squadron are actually yeomen, and well furnished with knowledge of drill. It is a treat to see their faultless line and rapid concert of movement. Fine men they are, too—big in the bone, handsome in face—and already they have acquired that quick, intense glance which you rarely see save in the long-time men of the veldt. Their scouting is rather rash as yet. The manner in which they skirmished into Potchefstroom was almost sinfully daring. Even Major Karri Davies admits sorrowfully that the Imperial Light Horse are not beside the Scots' Yeomen at wiping up a country and picking its bones. The Scottish Yeomen can always find articles of diet that the impatient scouts have passed over, and when the troopers' messes are fresh with country produce. Eorty per cent, of the troopers are gentlemen "of the right sort." One is heir to 12,000 acres of fat Scots pasture land. Another is the Marquis of Ansa's youngest son. Another steers a well-known yacht to frequent victory. Another burdens me daily with questions about the mines of tho Rand—-he has a few spare thousands, and does not mind a high price for solid stock or heavyish risk in a likely gamble. They are men of the moor and the loch, masters of the horse and the hound. I think they would take on any team the. rest of the army could put up at any sport or game, except polo or cricket, and win. There are six Scots football internationals in the corps, several writers to the signet, half a dozen doctors (as troopers), and all the farrier-sergeants are practising vets. One trooper is, according to another trooper, "the biggest poacher in my parish." One or two will have to discuss with deans and tutors a hitherto unexplained absence from Oxford. The Scottish Yeomanry are neat chaps about a camp. Their rifles are always clean, and when they leave camp thenmen do not dilly-dally and find that they have to gallop to get their squadron. One reason of their efficiency is the large proportion of Imperial officers they have. Let me give an illustration of the grit of the corps: When we were at Ventersdorp last Sunday week General Hunter got full information about Mr Christian De W T et's pranks, which included cutting the railway and telegraph lines. It was necessary that this information should reach Lord Roberts soon and in detail, and the. only means was to send a despatch to Johannesburg throuiih a yet unpacified, a yet untravelled country. The despatch was written in three ciphers. A cyclist was called for, and Trooper Forbes Mackay, of the Berwick and Lothian Yeomanry, volunteereed. He took one cipher, an officer's patrol taking another, and a Kaffir the third. Mr-Mackay left Ventersdorp at ten o'clock, and pushed through an unknown eouotry, but when he had done twenty miles his machine came to a conclusive smash. He walked the remainder of the eighty odd miles, doing the journey in twenty-five hours, arriving an hour before the officer's patrol, and several hours before the Kaffir, who went by remote native paths.—'Morning Post' correspondent.

THE CONCENTRATION OAMPB. One of the most satisfactory features in these maligned camps is the schools, which seem to be everywhere well attended, and to have a most beneficial effect on the children. Dr Kendal Franks, reporting on the Verceniging camp, remarks:—The general appearance of the children at their lessons ■was most encouraging. They looked comparatively clean, very happy, and interested in their lessons. Several of tho children, who liad no knowledge whatever of English before they came in the camp, read quite nicely to me out of their reading twok. I notioed several grown-up girls amongst them, one especially, who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old. She was learning, for the first time m her life, to read and write, and was very pleased at the commendation she received for the progress she had made. The number of scholars on the books is, I consider, very g00d—237 out of 457 children in camp. AEowing for the numhe-r of infants', ana those too young to attend the school, I think the attendance is very encouraging. There can be no doubt whatever lh.it any prejudices or doubts which the parents may have originally entertained as to their children attending an English school arc fast dying out, and quite a keenness in the matter of education is developing in the majority of th<3 camps. In some of the camps, such as Nylstrooni, dressmaking, shoemaking, carpentering, and others trades are also being taught, and at Volksrost a small plot for vegetable gardening has also been allotted to the camps. In view of descriptions of the camps as prison csuips, it is interesting to notice that the Boer refugees at Volksrust can go into the town or ramble outside the camp, with certain boundaries, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Considerable quantities of clothing, boots, etc., have also been distributed.

UNFORTUNATE SIR E. C.-tf. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannenran is getting more than one opportunity to explain his references to "methods of barbarism " in South Africa. Sir Frederick Miliar, writing to him, ironically remarks: " I gather from your lost speech that you did not intend vour words to bear the meaning they conveyed to others, but that you intended only to make a party attack on the Government." Sir Frederick suggested that Sir Heury should make his meaning clearer. and concluded by asking which side had adopted the most Christian methods—the Boers when they invaded our territory expatriating all English subjects, turning them out of house ami home, and packing them into open trucks without food or water, or the English soldiers who collected the deserted Boer families, fed them, and clothed them? Sir Henry Campbell-Ban-nerman replies that he can hardly be expected to enter upon a treatise on the ethics of warfare- He regretted he could not repeat his views m private correspondence, adding that he was quite familiar with the arguments Sir Frederick bad employed. Sir Frederick has retorted that Sir Henry has never yet attempted to answer these arguments, and says he is at a loss to imagine how S'rr Henry can conceive it to be bis duty to deliberately encourage our enemies at one of the most critical periods of our history. ______________