THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11842, 20 December 1901, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

M§los : >A THOUSAND MEN OFFERED. . REPLY FROM BRITISH GOVERNMENT. • .•. .: ->Vsplendid offer highly APggfev ■ PRECIATED. ■' \ ' . ' OF NEW ZEALAND > FORCES. ■ ■ t Wellington, Friday. ' The Premier lias cabled, through the Go- ' vernor, to the Imperial authorities offering ; v.a -thousand men and officers for service in South Africa. •' Wellington, Saturday. The following is an extract- from the com- • i" munication sent by the Premier to the Governor for transmission to the Secretary of "/"' State for the Colonies offering the despatch - of an Eighth Contingent: — * "In response to a call, the Government, It \ ion behalf of the people of New Zealand, . offer for acceptance by the Imperial Governj j ment a further contingent of mounted inl ' * fantry '' for > service in South Africa, the I numerical strength of which to go up to i. " .-A 1000 officers and men, thus making the • . : ;5 ,- Eighth from this colony. Length of service not to exceed 12 months ' or to the close of the war if tie same should ; be ended within a shorter period. "The New Zealand Government also defH sire that the Imperial authorities shall com■Mr municate with the General commanding in South Africa, and inform him that it is our Woi wish that this Eighth Contingent should not, unless absolutely necessary, be subdi- . vided, but be kept in one column, and that ' with it we wish the Sixth and Seventh Contingents 110 v.' serving in' South Africa placed 'in the same column. By so doing a. two-fold object would be gained—our forces would t'J maintain their strength and iield ofHciency, and it would tend to encourage a large number .of .officers and men of the Sixth and Seventh Contingents whose time of service 4 will soon have expired to remain and volunteer for further service. " Officers and men who have returned to the.colony and those now in South Africa inform me that if what 1 suggest be, as far as practicable, given effect to great good would result ; officers and men would be more cheerful and fight determinedly and more efficiently.. It has been a grievance in ~'7 ; ."f,the past that details of our contingents have ?.flfljbeen. with different columns and even the ,i > contingents themselves have been split up. -f/,' 1 This we trust will be avoided. Amalga- :< l' mation would do good and ensure a stronger force and prevent many officers and men \ wishing to return when their time is up. "'Speaking for the people of New Zealand, they cheerfully respond to this further -11 call,-feeling it to be intthe best interests of the Empire that definite and vigorous acry,-' tion, and thus increasing of the number of ■ • y : mounted troops in South Africa, should take place without delay. The Premier at- the v~. same time expresses the opinion that addi- . tional troops would not have been required : had all statesmen and parties in the United Kingdom been guided by a- love of country -.y.-' and patriotism, reserving adverse criticism \f* for a fitting opportunity, for there can be little doubt that unguarded speeches, writ- * ings, and actions have encouraged the Boer* •V to go on with a hopeless struggle, and led 7 to the prolongation of the' war and the loss % } <if valuable lives/' .yf At a luncheon given to-day by members of the Ministry to a number of men who have been on active service in South Africa, the ... / Premier, in speaking of the offer of an Eighth Contingent of 1000 men, said he had ". made representations to the Secretary -of '•'.State for the Colonies that the Sixth, .••."Seventh, and Eighth Contingents should be kept in one column, and he would also com- \ municate directly with Lord Kitchener to . this effect. As to the method to be adoptfed in equipping the new contingents he 1 0 thought the contingent should be divided I into, two sections, and he considered two I steamers would be required to take 500 men | each. He hoped to have one section! I S equipped in the South Island and the other - in the North Island. However," the final arrangements were not yet made, as he had 'to consult his colleagues and the officers of the Defence Department. His greatest trouble would be in dealing with the two '/• ■ or three thousand offers which he would rerj* ceive for service in this contingent. There was a much wider field for selection now than when the First Contingent went away, as there were' now 18,000 volunteers as against only 14,000 at- that time. The. e was also better opportunity % of selecting from the mounted corps. ■; ' "The Premier has received intimation that the Imperial Government highly appreciates "t- the splendid offer by New Zealand, which "j; -has been communicated to the Secretary of ,v State for War, > ■/:. The Defence Office here is being inundated i-WH; with. offers to join the contingent, from re- *.'■•' turned troopers and others, including three V or four officers. „ It is unlikely the camp will be formed till the holidays are over, but the .?•. Defence Department will push forward its ?■ preparations in the meantime. Timaku, Saturday. :■ Colonel 4 Jowsey and Major Crawshaw have offered their services for the Eighth Contingent. Wellington', Monday. Lord Kitchener has cabled to Mr. Seddon ' as follows : — "I am grateful for your offer. The New Zealanders have done splendidly on all occasions. I will do what I can to meet your wishes and bring the Sixth and Seventh Contingents together when opportunity offers, but you will realise that during the progress of operations it is difficult to trans*. ' fer troops who are doing so well as these contingent?." APPLICATIONS FOR ENROLMENT. Wellington, Monday. •' Preference will be given to returned ■ - troopeis physically tit, next to volunteers in mounted corps, and next to volunteers in ■ general. Single men will be preferred to | married. It is expected that the contingent- will be despatched in about a month. MR. SEDDON AND THE BRITISH PRO-BOERS. Wellington, Monday. > Of all the members of Parliament only three were unfavourable to the proposal to fS ;- . send .1000 men to - South Africa. Speaking on Saturday, the Premier urged that- " political capital should not be made out (f ' the attitude of these three members. They were responsible not to Government, not to the people generally, but to their constituents, who would no doubt note their line of action. There sihould not bo any differences at the present Lime, when it was necessary that the colony should show a bold an<j united front to the world. Mr. Sed- | - don severelv criticised those who had "vntten and spoken at Home in such a way as to encourage the Boers, and said that those who ' make these unguarded speeches and published writings which had encouraged < . the enemy in their obstinacy were to some extent responsible for tlio deaths of. the 111 troopers killed. Had such things happened in New Zealand- such men would probably have been impeached, and would have lost