THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11842, 20 December 1901, Page 5

THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

APPLICATIONS LARGELY EXCEED REQUIRED NUMBER. THE AUCKLAND SECTION. , For the Auckland City section of the Eighth Contingent, which is to number WO, there ; are already 315 besides 24 applications for commissions. All the applicants are notified by district order in another part of this issue to present the illselves for examination to the Recruiting Board at the Choral Hall, on Monday next, between nine o'clock in the morning and five o'clock in the evening. Applicants for commissions other than officers of the defence forces, who wish to serve in the ranks, if not granted a commission, must present themselves before the Recruiting Board at their own centres, so that they may have a chance' for enrolment, failing selection as officers. , • ,

[BY TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Thursday. Captain Shand (of the No. 1 Thames Rifles), Lieutenant Strange (of the Piako Mounted Rifles), and Surgeon-Captain Lapraik (of Thames) have been appointed as an Examining Board for the Thames district in respect to the enlistment of recruits for the Eighth Contingent. The Board will meet on Monday next for the purpose not only of medically examining the candidates, but also to make the final selection of 20 men, including, the riding and general efficiency tests, as the men have to be in Wellington not later than January 6. Already 17 names have been handed in. including two or three returned troopers, and a number of others have also signified their intention of offering their services. > ■ -'_■■■• ; >\ • [by TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] V ' . Wanganui, Thursday. Over 50 applications have been received here for the 20 places allotted to Wanganui in the Eighth Contingent! - Of the applicants

10 are ; returned troopers, and it is anticipated that at- least another 10 will app'y, so that the mounted corps in this district will have no chance of being represented. There is a very strong feeling here r that Wanganui's quota ■is entirely out of proportion to the number of men to be raised, more especially in view of the-fact that the Wanganui district in the past has suppliedas many mens as Wellington for the other contingents. Wanganui has 14 corps, representing'looo. men, including seven mounted corps, to choose from, and yet under the present conditions the chances of providing a solitary representative are very remote. ;

Pat.jlKHston" North, Thursday. Eighty-five applications have so far been received for enrolment in the Eighth Contingent here. Chrtstchcrch, Thursday. .

A large number of applications for places in the Eighth' Contingent have *• been received by ■ the } Defence ■ here. Some 20 members of returned contingents have put in applications. TO THE EOITOB. Sir,—l think that th© Premiers suggestion that the Eighth Contingent should not bo subdivided, but - kept in . on© column, is a grave' mistake. v - The colonial contingents have.' been of the greatest service as scouts, for which duty their practical . training has proved to have been of the greatest value, and the offer should not be fettered by the conditions proposed.—l am, etc., , JaS. Burtt. > Auckland, December 16, 1901. ; EMIGRATION TO SOUTH AFRICA, [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS association*.] Wellington, Thursday. The Premier, at the. request of the- Imperial authorities, is taking steps to prevent the emigration to South Africa of dangerous and undesirable persons. • ' RETURNED TROOPERS. [by telegraph.—press association.] Wellington, Thursday. ; The following soldiers returned via Sydney, by the Monowai this morning: —Lieutenant Joyce (Christchurch), Corporal Fairclough (Otago), Troopers Morrish (Marlborough), and Tatam (South Canterbury), MEMORIAL TABLET. A memorial tablet to the late Trooper E. Wigmore was unveiled last evening at King's Colleg, Remuera, in the presence of a large gathering. The Rev. W. Beatty, M.A., performed the ceremony, and paid a high tribute to the memory of the deceased trooper, who had been a past pupil of the college. The tablet is a brass one; bearing the inscription :—" To the memory of,, Trooper E. ;F. Wigmore, killed in South Africa, 1900. This tablet is placed by past and present boys of the King s College. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."

A TROOPER'S LETTER. The following is the concluding portion oi Sergeant Gannon's letter, the: first part oi which we have already published: — *

*' October 25: . To-day the Seventh. New Zealand Regiment is holding a rugged ridge to prevent; the enemy ; from , occupying it. There is a narrow strip of jungle at. the foot of the kopje. The mounted; troops from Plumer's column are searching the bush for prisoners, " rifles, ammunition, and ; supplies. The blacks report stuff hidden in the bush. I think Plumer's men are fighting in the under scrub, because I can hear ; the Mauser rifle, which makes a totally different report to our rifles. . When Plumer's troops retire (Sixth New Zealanders) wo will return to camp. ; ■ "It seems to me that wo have just completed the 'movement in this .' district, and each column mil trek to its . own base. Botha, in command of the Boer forces, lias fled. The majority of his men are now taking cover about Ermelo and in the rugged country on the Zululand border. Colonel Garrett's mobile column will trek to Vryheid, a ba-se-of-supply town off the line of com- ! munication. There we will receive clothing and supplies. . Most likely we will operate _ in that district, putting down . small sniping commandos. When j Commandant Botha makes another move towards mobilising bis scattered forces, we will receive fresh marching orders . At present I think the Boers are numerous enough about Vryheid to make us keep on the alert, and give us. all the fight we may look for. "Commenting en _ another matter, I can now see that the British made a great blunder by destroying : all farms, etc., and ; by taking the Boer women into refugee laagers. If the farms had been allowed to stand, and the women to occupy them,> we could easily make marches in the dead of night, and know where to find the Boers. As it is, we often make night marches to the ruined farmhouses, in the hope of capturing some of the enemy, to only find that they, had been there. On the other hand, by the .women and 1 children occupying the farms, - it would mean more assisting the burghers in the field to eat the food the Boer army is at this period subsisting upon. It is rumoured that the Boers have been seen trekking over the veldt between our present camp and Vryheid township. Opposition means that the 'gentle Mauser,' now so familiar to us, will play its part." •

PRO-BOERS. TO THE EDITOR. _ Sir, How true the proverb, " Speech is silver; silence gold." The pro-Boers everywhere by their blatant ballooning only, tend to strengthen the British determination to end finally this wretched attempt at war. Can it not be called so ? The remnant of Boers left to fight must see how futile, is the prolongation of the struggle. It is not even that of a drowning man grasping at a straw. And how little they must know of British pluck and bulldog pertinacity.The very obstinate persistency of Paul Kruger and his coadjutor Dr. Leyds will only tighten the rivet; that is being clenched in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony. This protracted struggle has taught many, very useful lessons. Great Britain did not want it, or to annex territory; hut simply justice for her subjects there; and now she only wants the humanising of South Africa rend justice, freedom ; and liberty to all alike, white and black. And who are better able to do this than Britons ? the most effective colonisers in the world. Two decades hence the poor benighted Boers, will see what the rooincks have done for them. The Transvaal had but two —aggrandisers and burghers; . nor did the former want liberal education for the latter, or blades. The slur recently passed on the colonies by the minor press of Germany is not accentuated by that Empire, and is most neatly answered by Now Zealand's proposal of an Eighth Contingent of 1000 men. It is . a happy politic patriotism and is a precedent to the southern hemisphere. The pro-Boers should understand the British aim and object. Let them first understand that no. possible intervention can be allowed—annexation must be settled -finally and safely, arms laid down, and peace and goodwill will be shown to all, yet not without retributive justice bcincr meted out with a firm and impartial hand to • delinquents. So far the acts of Britain have been most conciliatory, long-suffering, humane and kind. Where then, does the shoe' pinch the pro-Boer ? Unfortunately his continual agitation prolongs the guerilla campaign, - delays peace, unsettles trade and causes needless bloodshed.— am, etc., : . An ißisn Cosmopolitan. ;