THE MAN ON THE SPOT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13650, 18 January 1908, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE MAN ON THE SPOT.

SIR DUNCAN McKESZIE, K.C.M.G. Colonkij " Dung" MoKbkzir, as he is familiarly known throughout Natal, is one of the most interesting figures in contemporary colonial history. Sprung from a hardy stock of Scotsmen who have admittedly been leaders of men in the garden colony for many years, he combines those wonderful gifts of pioneer, farmer, hunter, and soldier which are never met with except in the case of our best colonials.

Picturc to yourself a man somewhat above the middle height, of a sturdy, well-knit figure, with " horseman" written all over him. A handsome, well-shaped head, bronzed and burnt with the fierce sun of many African summers. Shrewd, penetrating, hard blue §yes, and a thoroughly military " cotton-wool" moustache. There you have Duncan McKenzie.

. Natal has faith in McKenzie, and rightly no. To the colony he is all that a military leader should be. He speaks Zulu like a Zulu, and understands the natives better than they ck> themselves. During last year's operations he led his men through a terrible country without a single disaster. The only British officer allowed in the field by the Natal Government was Major-Gene-ral Stephenson, who personally accompanied Colonel McKenzie through the trying bush-beating, and who publicly expressed his high appreciation ot the conduct of the operations. TJIK HABIT OF GKTTIXG TirROCRH. Colonel McKenzie has seen the growth of Natal from small beginnings. It is said that he started life as a transport-rider— i.e., a carrier of goods and passengers by means of bullock waggons, it is also history that as a transport-rider he succeeded, getting his people through at all costs, no matter how many bullocks he sacrificed in the process, and* taking risks that his colleagues refused. These characteristics he still possesses. No matter what hardships his men endure, and he with them, he gets through. And that, after all. is the main thing. There is nothing about the native or his wiles that he is not thoroughly conversant with, and he has been through every native trouble since his boyhood. He wears as many ribbons as a British veteran, yet he is a simple colonial farmer. He served all through the late Boer war with his favourite corps, the Natal Carabiniers. At a late period of the campaign ha was in command of the Second Imperial Light Horse. It is firmly believed by all fighting colonials that if McKenzie had had his way he would have laid De Wet by the heels very easily. A riCTITBESQUE INTERVIEW. - There is a story, which is, and will long be, a subject of' camp conversation when the pickets are set and the fires are burning, of how after ten days' hard and incessant patrolling with a picked lot of his I.L.H. he had carefully located De Wet, and returned for reinforcements. According to military etiquette, lie had to report his actions to a certain British general who was not beloved by colonials in the field. Having heard his story, the general poohpoohed tho whole thing. McKenzie lost his temper, and the astonished general heard some astounding truths about-himself in language of the most piquant description. Stung by his taunts, the general ordered him out "of his tent and under arrest. But as the nearest squadron-, of the I.L.H. had heard the altercation, and as ominous murmurs began to echo down the lines, wiser counsels prevailed, and McKenzie was not arrested. But neither was De Wet captured. Therein colonial military history Buffered a loss of two highly picturesque incidents.

In private life the colonel is very _ fond of polo-—a great name in Natal, in spite of the roughness of the groundand in this connection a good yarn is told of him. Once, not many years ago, he and his brother,' Dr. McKenzie, of Durban, who is the leading surgeon in Natal and very like him in physique, were playing in a match in opposite teams. A friendly argument arose during the game; and both suddenly dismounted from their ponies and proceeded to soundly pummel each other in schoolboy fashion. 'Then, shaking hands and laughing merrily, both jumped into the saddle and resumed the game with the utmost serenity' Such is the man in whose hands and in the wisdom of whose judgment rests the safety of the Garden Colony. Stern, inflexible, exacting, a born leader and a scout by instinct, lie is a man to be implicitly trusted. But he would never brook any personal or political interference. When lie took the command last year it was on the distinct understanding that his hands were in no way tied. The extraordinary conditions that prevail make this an absolute necessity. . Only the man on the spot can expect to cope with the Zulus successfully. Children of nature as they are, they have the inherent opportunism of all children. To meet their changes of front and to probe the workings of their minds it is essential that the man on the spot should be absolutely unfettered, and no man realises this better than Colonel McKenzie. SUCCESSES LAST TEAR. Owing to'" the fact, doubtless, that no Imperial troops were employed last year, and that there was decided friction between the Colonial and Imperial Governments, no rewards or decorations were announced for the hardships of that campaign. But Colonel McKenzie got his due in the last Birthday Honours List, when he was raised from a Companion to a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. One can say with truth that many men have got this distinction for far less service to country and the Empire at large than Duncan McKenzie. It is but common justice, however, to record the fact that Colonel McKenzio's signal successes last year were due in no great measure to the loyal co-operation of Colonel John Roy ft on, C.M'.G., D.5.0., who commanded that splendid _ corps of rough-riders known as Royston's Horse. On all occasions, in camp, in the field, in the press, and at the subsequent review of the "Great White liripi" before the late Governor at Pjetermaritzburg, Colonel McKenzie was the foremost to acknowledge his and the colony's indebtedness to Colonel Royston, who is also a. fanner in Natal, and who has fought in all South African campaigns since his boyhood. In the Boer war he. commanded the' Border Mounted ifles. So long as plucky little Natal breeds such men as those the* lonely whites, scattered over the wide veldt like sheep on a mountain side, may follow Sir John Fisher's advice to the British people and "sleep quiet in their beds."