NEWS AND VIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11369, 11 May 1900, Page 3

NEWS AND VIEWS.

MAT SALLEH'S DEATH;

THRILLING STORY OP THE FIGHTING*

IN NORTH BORNEO;" Foil . details of the' defeat of the' rebel chief? Mat Salloh in North Borneo'. havo boon re-,' ceived in England. . ~,....•''"' " , Tho previous news brought matters up to January 20, on which date the British had occupied Kalansatan, oiio of tho robel forts commanding the chief's stronghold, which at that time it was (found. impossible to ' surround, tho rebels being entrenched in an almost impregnable position, and ' thoir fort ■ honeycombed with underground earthworks like a rabbit warren. '< -.'■■[ .^' : . : '"."' ; .''■'".

During tho progress of tho operations, says > Router's Agency, thero were many instances of notable pluck.' For Instance, when the ; charge was sounded against ono of the forts, ' tho attacking force wero suddenly pulled Up.' short by an outer feneo of sharpened bamboo, which they commenced to cut down. ..-' When tho first breach was made a Javaneseboy named Leyman, servant to Mr. Iraser, tho Resident, rushed through the opening, and, carrying a quantity of oil, set a light to the buildings inside tho fort. , Ho then, under heavy fire from the enemy, rushed across and ignited other buildings. Ho has been specially mentioned in despatches. ; During the operations Mat Saitoh's people brought into action a brass gun which on the third shot burst, doing much damage.. At daybreak on January 21 a 7-ppundor was placed •in position, 'and a general bombardment of Mat Salleh's fort at 250 yds ami 400 yds rango was commenced. A house m tho fort of Mat Jator (ono of Mat Salloh a supporters) was set alight by tho shell, fire, and soon tho wholo fort was burnt to tho ground. This fort, which was intended as a place, of retreat for Mat Salleh, was of immense' strength, with skilfully-planned earthworks and trenches. Tunnels were' through the solid ground, rendering the placo almost , imporvious to shell fire. .* .- y Mr. Clifford, the Governor, in his report, says: " It was a piece of unusual good fortune which led to this fort being taken without a blow, for it stood high upon' a bluff overlooking the river, and would have been impossible to take by storm > without tho loss of far more men than the force at our disposal could possibly afford." ~, Tlio enemy from Mat Salleh's largo fort, on seeing Mat Jator's in flames, with great pluck climbed up and tried to unroof their own buildings, but without success. / Commandant Harington,, who, having recovered, had now assumed charge of the operations, moved his headquarters to tho precipice where Mat Jator's fort had been situated, and until tho end of January kept up a continuous shell fire, so that Mat' Salleh and all 'his peoplo wero driven to live underground in filthy holes dug beneath their fort in tho solid earth. ~' |a'«. - '

Thoso who ventured to emerge oven for a moment during tho daytime were exposed to a galling firo from tho. British positions, and many hi tho fort lost their lives. One evening a Bajau ventured to appear on the fort wall and shout defiance. He was at first hit in tho legs and fell over, butpluckily sat up, opened his coat, and exposed his chest. lie was immediately shot dead. On January 26 the company's force successfully cutoff Mat Salleh's water supply by constructing a dam and diverting the course of tho river, and tho bombardment bocame sovcror than ever. . Shelling continued the whole day, and the enemy lost heavily. Tho Maxim had great effect, and caused a perfect stampedo of rebels from one underground hole to tho other. , On tho following day a point-blank bombardment of tho rebel stronghold was commenced at 150 yards, immonso damage being done. Durin" tho night a number of rebels crept out, undor cover of darkness, to rush the Maxim, but their movement was ob-

served, and they wero driven off under firo. Heavy firing continued during the night of January 31, and there wero many alarms. At two. a.m. a Bajau woman who had • bolted from the fort reported that Mat Salleh had been killed, and that the rebels, who had suffered heavy loss, had been without food or water for four days. Tho Dyak outposts, who had been engaged all night, finally got into Mat Salloh's fort at fivo a.m. on February 1, and found that tlio remainder of the rebels had fled. ' *; A search was at onco made for Mot Salleh's grave, and in order to identify the body the remains were exhumed: He had been shot through the left temple, tho bullet carrying away the back of tho head. It was ascertained that ho had been killed by a Maxim shot at noon on January 31, within a few yards of tho door of his inner fori. Pursuing parties wore at onco dispatched after tho retreating rebels, and returned in a few days having killed or captured a largo number of the enemy. All Mat Salloh'6 wives and other women and children wero taken alive. Tho outer wall of Mat Salleh's fort was found to bo 6ft high and 10ft thick. Tho two innor walls were equally strong, and the wholo was surrounded by a stockade and a bamboo chevaux do frise, while the ground was heavily planted with sharpened bamboos.Insido tho fort was a network of trenches tunnels, and underground works. Each member of tho garrison had dug himself a hole below fho ground, and in these the rebels dwelt during the last days of tho siege, suffering terribly from tho filth of their surroundings, from hunger (for they wero afraid to do much cooking), from thirst, and from disease No detailed list of tho enemy's loss is yet available, but it is known to have been very severe. Tho British loss was, comparatively speaking, very slight, only ono European officor, Dr.' Cunyugham, being amongst.' wounded.

After providing sufficient forco to hold the district, tho expedition, which had been joined by tho Governor shortly after the death of Mat Salleh, returned to tho coast.

POST CHEQUE NOTES. Senator McMillan, of Michigan, lias (fays an American paper) introduced into the- Senate, and Representative Lent/, in the House, Bills providing for tho issuo •■ of " post ohoques," for the conveniens of tlio public in transmitting small amounts of money through the mails. The measures havo boon framed in response to an urgent public demand. , The. present postal order system by no means fills tho requirements of tho time. It is costly and inconvenient, and, moreover, does not servo all tho purposes desired. The 'wo Bills now before Congress are essentially alike. They provide for the issuance of ".United States post cheque notes" in denominations of five dollars, two dollars, and one dollar," to replace the entire issue of money repr&anted by those amounts, and fifty million dollars in fractional notes, of 50, 25, 15, 10, and five cent denominations. Each note to contain blank spaces for the namo and address of the payee and his signature and that of the per-, eon who sends- it, such signature In nuke it payable at; tho post office where 'ho payeeresides, and transforming it into a cheque on tho United Slates Government, to be used tho samo as a personal cheque or the present money order. In lion of the fee for issuing the note, a two-cent stamp for notes of ono .dollar or upward, or a one-cent stamp for notes of fractional parts of a dollar, to be affixed to each noto by the' person_ using tho samo to transmit it through tho mails. When redcomed the notes to bo reissued. .It will Ito seen that under tho proposed system it will not bo necessary to go to the post office and make out a blank application for the money ordor every timo a person wishes to send any Bum from five cents to five dollars through tho mails with safety. The person desiring to transmit tho money can take any postal cheque in goneral circulation and use it for that purpose. When once it has been ondorsed in tho mannov prescribed it will then be valueless for circulation and l>o payable only to the person to whom it is drawn. Money transmitted in that way will bo as safe as if sent by a bank cheque or by express, or by the present system of postal orders, while the convenience- and cheapness of it will bo a vast improvement on either of tho present methods of sending email sums across tho country. The proposed reform being now fairly before Congress, it is to be hoped it will bo taken up and enacted at this session. It will bo a measure of immediate benefit to all, and it would bo woll for commercial bodies to press upon Congressmen the importance of providing tho srstom *» soon as possible.

Mr. C. S. R. Mackesy.will deliver a left ture, under the auspices of tho Anglo-Israil Association, in tho Y.M.C.A. Kooins tin? evening.

THE HABIT OF HEALTH.

If we think of soap as a mean's of cleauli-' noss only, even then Teaks' Soap is a matter, of course. It is tho only soap that is all soap and nothing but soap—no free fat nor free alkali in it. But what does clean inoss lead to ? It leads to a. wholesome body and mind; to clean thoughts; to the habit of health; to manly and womanly beauty. Pure Boap-PBAES' Soap.

TUCKER'S OUSTARD POWDER. Four packets assorted flavours in each M box; everywhere. ~..-,•' y: A REVOLUTION ;-

' Has been made in tho Now Multiplex Dunlop Tyres. It is tho greatest improvement! since'the advent of the Pnoumatic Tyre.