KITCHENER'S YEAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11854, 4 January 1902, Page 1 (Supplement)

KITCHENER'S YEAR.

A RECORD OF SUBSTANTIAL; PROGRESS. THE END DISTINCTLY VISIBLE. A SLOW BUT SURE PROCESS. .Pretoria, November 21. As it is drawing near the end of Lord Kitchener's year of command, it is interesting ''note':. the substantial progress which has been made towards ending the resistance of the enemy. .-■■•■■■ Early during the past year the Boers were still numerous, and practically over-ran both : the Transvaal and the Free Stale. Large ■sweeping 'movements : were instituted //by -! Lord Kitchener, 'which resulted in : driving ■ the enemy out "of certain strongholds, while at: the same time /considerably/reducing their strength. When this system had sufficiently ; answered the purpose, Lord Kitchener ini augurated a system of ' blockhouses for'the protection of the line. ' ' , : : Last November the enemy interrupted the ' line 32: tiniest last month, and nip (to (the! I present date this month,/there has not been ; a single break. As soon as the railways were protected;/ the-; present system: was/ adopted of enclosing large areas /; with blookhouses, {: and when the portions .en- : closed were thoroughly / cleared ;/ of / the• enemy they were strictly patrolled by the Constabulary. The result has been eminently satisfactory, a. large; and increasingarea having been thoroughly denuded of.the enemy. Irately a small party of the enemy entered one of these protected areas, and within a few hours were captured. Consequently the area of the enemy's operations is gradually but surely being restricted. THE REALITY OF THE PROGRESS. The average captures during the last eight months have been 2000 monthly. All' these Boer's, whose desire to continue the war has weakened,; have now been . either; captured or have surrendered. > The remain-/ der are desperate men.V{| It is impossible by merely looking at the weekly summaries to form any idea of the real progress which has ? been effected. Provision is being made on the railways for an equivalent to over 4000 Cape trucks. It will be possible now not only to meet military demands, but also to; cope with the; large volume/of; civil traffic, which /is being steadily increased by the military authorities month to month. ; The civil/administration has been firmly | established. Already among the surren-; dered and captured burghers has / been i formed a strong /pro-British { party, which, recognising the hopelessness of their cause, has determined to do its utmost under the new Government to further the prosperity of the country. Over 1600 miles of railway have now been thoroughly blockhoused. Contrary to expectation the men occupying the blockhouses like the work. WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE. What remains now to be done is; simply to wear down the Boers who are still in the field by constantly harassing them. In the opinion of • those best able to . judge?/ the end is distinctly visible, but it is useless' to expect the war to be finished by' any/ sudden ; coup. Every Boer now 5 taken , fights hard before capture. It is therefore necessary to understand, when reading summaries of captures, that they represent a number of little affairs, which are only brought to a successful issue by dint of hard marching and harder lighting. The enemy now' in the field, are deter-; mined to fight- desperately.; therefore, it is to be expected that we shall incur more casualties before finishing the ;,Boer?' resistance, but the spirit of th« army is excellent. From my own personal experience, | having';- followed the V operations for two ! years, I can declare that the army has lost nothing of its keen determination! Although hard tried by long marches and bad weather, it remains quite cheerful,/ knowing that its work, although gradual, is still; imiformly successful. As the ; numbers of; the enemy are being decreased by the work of our columns, it is quite possible that our captures in the future may correspondingly decrease. Still; the systematic way in which the . country is being denuded of the enemy is having daily success, and the process, though / necessarily slow, is / none the less sure. -~ None know it better th fri the enemy themselves. • '

The Legislature of. Germany/, is about to pass a Bill that no agent in Germany allowed to send any women performers outside to any country in the world without a special permit. It will also pass a Bill to prohibit agents from receiving 10 per cent., of the performer's salary and make the ma-. nagement pay the same to them if they, book. The agents now have formed /an; organisation to fight these Bills.. As was announced by cable, Mr. George Clutsam was the winner: of Messrs. Chappell/and- Co.'s £100 prize, open for competition to all ;British composers, {for an{ orchestral suite, and 'by mail the further news comes that he gained second prizo in the same competition with another composition. Mr. ;George Clutsam : was {formerly of New. ; Zealand, and lived in Duriedin, and later in Auckland, some years ago. Boys' Norfolk suits: Smith and Cauehov',, : Limited, '/are showing 'a; splendid range in this style, with plain or strap awl bufklo { . ksucksfs. ■ " '-.:—*' v